Texas Football: How Longhorns Can Avoid Going Winless in November

For many years, the Texas Longhorns have hung a sign above the tunnel to the football field that states, "People Remember November." 

It's cliche, but it is very true.

Taylor Gaspar

November is one of the most important months in college football. It's the final stretch of the regular season where teams can prove their worth, or prove they are worthless.

In the case of Texas, the Longhorns just need to put up some wins.

Texas is sitting at 3-5 as it prepares for a gauntlet of a season finale.

The Longhorns have road games at Texas Tech and at Oklahoma State, which are two of the more hostile environments in the Big 12. Texas will also face No. 20 West Virginia in two weeks and No. 7 TCU at home to finish out the 2014 regular season.

None of these games will be gimmes. In fact, there's a good chance Texas may walk away with only one win.

The win will likely come Saturday against Texas Tech.

"You have two teams coming off of a loss. Texas Tech probably figures they have us coming in off a loss, so they have to play well," Texas head coach Charlie Strong said. "Both teams were embarrassed last week."

The Red Raiders' second season under head coach Kliff Kingsbury has been one to forget. Similar to the Longhorns, Kingsbury's team has a 3-5 record and suffered an embarrassing loss last weekend.

And embarrassing is an understatement.

The Red Raiders surrendered 82 points on the road against TCU.

Texas Tech ranks No. 119 in total defense and has given up an average of 506.3 yards per game to opposing offenses.

On paper, this looks to be a favorable matchup for the Longhorns.

But playing in Lubbock is not an easy task. The fans are notoriously loud, throw tortillas on the field and will almost always verbally harass opposing teams from the stands.

It will be up to the Texas players to take control of the sideline and set the tone for the game, which is something the team struggled to do last week against Kansas State.

"It felt flat. There really wasn't any energy on the field at the start of the game," senior wide receiver John Harris said following the 23-0 loss to Kansas State. "There was no energy at all. Not even in the stadium."

Harris' statement caused a lot of reporters to question the mentality of the Longhorns. Is Texas relying on an opposing fanbase to pump up the team?

If so, there will be many more people who question Texas' mentality.

It isn't the job of opposing fanbases to pump up the visiting team. If anything, home crowds are trying to do the exact opposite.

One thing is certain, there will be energy in Jones AT&T Stadium Saturday, but it will not be a pleasant environment for Texas.

Something needs to change with the Longhorns' mindset, and it needs to happen this weekend.

Quarterback Tyrone Swoopes has to get the offense going early against the Red Raiders. The sophomore is coming off of a game where the Longhorns offense put up a goose egg against Kansas State.

If Swoopes truly understands the demands that come with being the starting quarterback for Texas, he should know that type of performance is not acceptable for Texas fans.

In order for Texas to not suffer a winless November, the Longhorns offense has to step up to the task.

There's a good possibility Texas will be underdogs in the final three games of the season. Getting a win Saturday in Lubbock will be vital to the teams' morale moving forward and will keep the postseason bowl hopes alive.

But the road does not end in Lubbock, and the Longhorns have to remember the importance of putting up wins in November.

It's a daunting task for a 3-5 team to upset three of four remaining opponents, but it is not impossible. The Longhorns have to take what the coaches have given them and execute on the field in order to not be forced to watch bowl games from their homes.

"It just comes down to execution. It happens. We haven't executed," Strong said. "But we still have four games left to go play. That's why we don't sit there and say, 'It's the end.' It's not the end. You know what, it's four games. Texas Tech this week, so let's get ready to go play."

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.