Texas Offense May Doom Longhorns' Chances at Becoming Bowl Eligible

So close, yet so far away is the ideal way to describe the Texas Longhorns' 31-26 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.

It wasn't all bad for Texas at Cotton Bowl Stadium. The Longhorns offense more than doubled the number of yards the Sooners racked up, and Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes helped lead the charge when the Longhorns were down by 18 points with 12:50 left in the game, bringing Texas within five points of Oklahoma.

But the effort came too late in the game, which has been an ongoing storyline for Texas this season.

"We had some dropped balls that could have kept us on the field. We didn't get some push at times in the offensive line. It’s just part of the process," offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. "Football, on both sides and both teams, is never clean. You can try and make it clean, that’s our job to make it clean, but it’s a process. You have got to keep working." 

Swoopes is still getting used to holding the starting role, and the offensive line continues to be a work in progress for the Longhorns, but how long will it take everything to come together?

Better yet, will it come together soon enough to become bowl eligible?

Those questions remain unknown.

Texas has reached the midway point of the season and has only beaten North Texas and Kansas. The 2-4 record is the worst record for Texas since 1956.

And there are more big opponents on the upcoming schedule.

The Longhorns have to win four more games to become bowl eligible, which is doable. But it will not be an easy task.

Texas will face 2-4 Iowa State at home next week, then it hits the road to face No. 17 Kansas State and Texas Tech.

Every opponent remaining on the schedule is outscoring the Longhorns. Since Swoopes took over for David Ash, the Longhorns have averaged 16 points per game.

"We just have to be consistent, and offensively we have to get first downs and execute. We didn’t execute," head coach Charlie Strong said following the loss to Oklahoma. "We dropped a ball or two. We had some opportunities to make it happen, and we just did not make it happen."

Strong did not receive any gifts in his first year coaching the Longhorns, and his offense is making matters much worse. The offense has to come together and find a way to muster up some points in order to make a bowl game. 

The fate of this team is in the hands of the offense. But unfortunately for Texas fans, the future does not look very bright. And the Longhorns' bowl likelihood continues to dwindle each week.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.