AUSTIN, Texas Texas coach Mack Brown has decided it s time to get mad about a disappointing season.
Brown, who rarely airs any dirty laundry in his program, called out his players this week for their arrogance and entitlement and his assistants for not doing a good enough job with Texas losing three of its last four games.
And with upstart No. 25 Baylor rolling into Austin this week, another upset loss at home could spawn a mushroom cloud of fury Saturday night.
I am the one who has to set the tempo, Brown said. We have to fix things. You cannot just lay down. You are not going to quit. You are not going to roll over and die ... If we are good enough to beat Nebraska, we are good enough to still go back and have a great season.
Texas beat Nebraska on the road. The Longhorns biggest problems have been at home.
Texas (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) lost at home to UCLA and Iowa State and in both cases was badly outplayed. And while few Texas fans can conceive of losing to Baylor, the reality is the Bears bring in their best team in years behind tantalizing quarterback Robert Griffin.
Griffin and third-year coach Art Briles together have pumped life into a previously moribund program. Baylor (6-2, 3-1) is ranked for the first time since 1993, bowl-eligible for the first time since 1996 and sitting atop the Big 12 South.
This is a program that nearly was nearly jettisoned into no-man s land last summer when it looked like the Big 12 might break apart.
We knew we could do it. The big key word around here is believe, and we believe in each other, Baylor defensive back Mikail Baker said. Every time we re out there we don t think we re going to lose, we know we re going win the game. That is the attitude you have to have.
And that s the big change under Briles: Baylor believes it will win.
The challenge is making believers out of the rest of the country.
Baylor is still considered an underdog Saturday. Beat Texas in Austin and the Bears serve notice that they could win the Big 12 South.
You can t be satsified with being at the bottom or being in the middle, Griffin said. If we continue to go out and play, there s no telling what can happen.
There s no telling what would happen in Austin if Texas loses at home again, just a season removed from playing for the national championship.
First-year starting quarterback Garrett Gilbert is starting to feel the heat from fans after throwing six touchdown passes and eight interceptions through the first seven games. His two worst outings came in the losses to UCLA and Iowa State.
Brown has to fix more than just Gilbert. Texas hasn t run the ball well outside of the Nebraska win, the wide receivers struggle to get open and the defense has been pushed around by teams that run straight at them.
If I had a magic wand I d be doing something more than coaching football. I d be saving lives, Brown said.
The Longhorns may turn to former quarterback Colt McCoy for a lift. McCoy, who won an NCAA record 45 games (and never lost to Baylor), will be at the game for a ceremony to retire his No. 12.
Brown may ask the Cleveland Browns rookie to address his old team.
He fought through not being highly recruited. He fought through, You ll never be tough enough, Brown said. Everything that was thrown at him as a road block, he jumped over. ... So we re in a great position here, and we need to fight to get back to that.
