Charlie Strong Shows He Has Texas in Right Direction with First Signature Win

AUSTIN, Texas — Six years had passed since the Texas Longhorns beat a ranked opponent at home. That drought ended Saturday in a 33-16 upset over No. 23 West Virginia.

The Longhorns offense put up 24 points on the Mountaineers in the first half alone, and the Texas defense held West Virginia's offense out of the end zone for three quarters.

But the game was far from complete.

The offense had one of its better performances in the first portion of the game but played flat for the majority of the second half.

Quarterback Tyrone Swoopes completed 8 of 14 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown in the first half yet didn't throw another touchdown in the second half. He finished the game 11-of-29 passing for 124 yards and an interception.

But the defense made up for the offense's second-half issues and was the difference-maker in the win.

Prior to Saturday's game, West Virginia ranked No. 21 nationally in scoring offense and averaged 36 points per game. Texas held the Mountaineers offense to two touchdowns that ended in the Mountaineers' lowest scoring game of the season.

"It is a process. We know it's a week-by-week," first-year head coach Charlie Strong said following the win. "We may play one half of it very good, and the next half we just want to make sure we get a big enough lead where we can hold them off. But we know that we can really improve. We can get better, which we still have some areas where we can really improve in."

The main areas of concern are the offense's consistency and the kicking game.

Some will say quarterbacks receive too much praise in wins and too much criticism in losses. But to be the leader of the offense—especially at a school like the University of Texas—the quarterback will need to be prepared to handle both scenarios.

Swoopes has done a decent job of taking over the reins following David Ash's career-ending injury. But it would be difficult for Texas fans to put their full faith in Swoopes' ability. He has shown flashes of talent but continues to make rookie mistakes in big games. His interception against West Virginia was a perfect example.

The kicking game is an issue in itself. Strong pulled starting punter William Russ after his 23-yard punt in the first quarter against West Virginia. But it wasn't just one game that caused him to be benched.

Russ had a 12-yard punt against Kansas State that caused the Wildcats fanbase to literally laugh out loud at how bad it was.

And that is not an exaggeration.

The Longhorns are far from a finished product, but if Texas fans can take anything from Saturday's win, it's that Strong has the team headed in the right direction.

Texas (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) still has two difficult opponents on its schedule. The Longhorns will head to Stillwater, Okla., next week to face Oklahoma State before hosting TCU (8-1, 5-1) on Thanksgiving.

The Cowboys (5-4, 3-3) have struggled this season, but playing in Stillwater is never an easy task. The fans—particularly the Paddle People—make it difficult for visiting teams to stay focused.

"Week by week we continue to get better. I told the team we have three weeks left to go play. We have to get up for a game each and every week. We have to get better in all phases: offense, defense and then the kicking game," Strong said.

"This was just a total team win where we didn't flinch at all. We kept battling. We wanted to make it a physical game and we were able to make it a physical game. But we know we have two left. We're not concerned about the bowl right now. We just want to enjoy this one this evening and get ready to go play Oklahoma State next week."

If the Longhorns want to continue this momentum, the team can appreciate this upset over a ranked opponent but needs to remember what remains on the line: becoming bowl-eligible with a sixth victory.

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