Texas Football: 5 Takeaways from the Longhorns' Bowl Game

Following their 31-7 loss to Arkansas in the Texas Bowl on Monday, the Texas Longhorns are back to square one. 

Charlie Strong's team is once again on the quarterback search, has no offensive identity and will lose a massive amount of experienced talent. There's a talent infusion coming, but it's more likely that Texas is two years away rather than one.

"Texas has got to mean something," Strong said during his postgame press conference. "Right now, it doesn't mean much."

Texas' head coach has his work cut out for him, and that's the biggest takeaway from the mess we saw in Houston.

Tyrone Swoopes Is Not the Answer at Quarterback

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

In all likelihood, the Tyrone Swoopes experiment came to a brutal end against the Hogs.

Once again, Texas will host an open quarterback controversy during spring football and fall camp—as it should, because Tyrone Swoopes is not the answer.

Following a five-turnover performance against TCU, Swoopes laid another massive egg in Texas' lifeless loss to the Hogs. The sophomore finished with just 57 passing yards on his 25 attempts, coughing the ball up twice more and rushing for minus-32 yards.

For those counting, he had 25 total yards on 30 plays.

Over his last two games, Swoopes accounted for two touchdowns against seven giveaways. Even worse, the Longhorns were outscored 79-17 during that time, managing a pitiful 59 yards of offense in the Texas Bowl.

Swoopes' latest showing has Strong fully committed to exploring other options, as he said after Monday's rout: "We got to get better at that position. We got a young man committed. You like to go get another one if we can. It's going to be a competition there. It's going to be a competition at all positions. I mean, where can we lay our hat on right now?"

The first to get a look will be redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard, a two-time state champion and heralded 4-star recruit, per 247Sports. Heard is a true dual-threat and a talent who has already made an impression on guys like receiver Marcus Johnson, who told reporters:

"

Jerrod is a shifty guy in the back field. He makes things happen with his feet. At the same time, when we watch him in practice, he'll make great passes. It's one of those things where once he gets more comfortable with the offense, you'll be able to see him more. He'll be able to show you why he won two state championships and what he can do on the field.

"

Heard will get every chance to be the guy in 2015. And if he can't take hold, it seems more likely that the coaches would look at younger talent before going back to Swoopes.

The Entire Offense Needs a Makeover

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Texas couldn't get anything going against Arkansas, which was a theme in big losses this season.

Tyrone Swoopes will shoulder most of the blame, but this entire Texas offense should be put on notice as we move into the offseason.

To recycle a quote from Strong after the game, "Where can we lay our hat on right now?"

It's certainly not on the passing game that has been unreliable for five years, and you can't say it's a running game that just mustered two yards.

The Longhorns had no offensive identity against Arkansas and really didn't have one all year. Sure, they found some big plays in wins, but they were a bottom-four Big 12 team in both yards per carry and yards per passing attempt.

They were bad in both phases of the game, which was why, for the first time in Texas' 121-year history, the Horns lost five games by more than 20 points, as pointed out by the Houston Chronicle's Mike Finger.

In those losses, the Horns scored a total of 31 points.

Charlie Strong's Grace Period Has Come to an End

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

No matter what its record ends up being, Texas' big losses must come to an end in 2015.

The blame for Texas' 6-7 record, blowout losses and abysmal offensive performances should not all fall on Charlie Strong. But there does have to be real improvement moving forward.

Strong inherited one of the least talented offensive teams the Longhorns have had in the past 20 years. Anyone looking for evidence should note that the most productive player, receiver John Harris, never saw the field his first four years on campus.

Add in the lack of discipline that forced Strong to ax nine players, and it's impossible to deny Mack Brown handed him a napalm-filled dumpster fire.

That said, it has to look better than losing 41-7 to BYU, turning the ball over five times against TCU and mustering 59 offensive yards in a bowl game.

Strong knows it too, as he told reporters after the game:

"

The last two games is just so frustrating because you look at the TCU game and you look at this game, that's not an indication of what this football is and what this football team is all about. For that to happen, it's an embarrassment to the program. That should never, ever happen within this program. But we got work to do. We just got to get it done.

"

It's not that Strong, who has been recruiting his tail off, should already be on the hot seat. The Longhorns just can't continue to get embarrassed like this, and that's not exactly a lofty standard.

The Longhorns Still Have a Long Way to Go

USA TODAY Sports

Malcom Brown is one of several talented Longhorns on his way out of Austin.

While it would be inexcusable for Charlie Strong to get blown out five times next season, fans must realize the Horns are not a one-year fix either.

For one, Strong is about to lose a ton of talent from a 2014 team that had none to spare. Leading rusher Malcolm Brown is a senior, as are leading receivers John Harris and Jaxon Shipley.

On defense, All-American Malcom Brown will almost certainly declare. Throw in that leading tackler Jordan Hicks, top corner Quandre Diggs and All-Big 12 defensive end Cedric Reed are all seniors, and it's hard not to see this as Strong starting over.

If there's any consolation here, it's that Texas' head coach will be able to stock this recruiting class with his type of players. Led by 5-star linebacker Malik Jefferson, per 247Sports, several members of this 2015 crop will at least crack the two-deep.

The growing pains will be there, but so will the talent. At least the entire offensive line is coming back.

We're All Going to Miss Quandre Diggs

USA TODAY Sports

The Longhorns will miss Diggs' contributions on and off the field.

Quandre Diggs spent four years as Texas' top cornerback as well as, for the better part of that time, its brash leader on and off the field. The Longhorns are really going to miss that next season.

When Charlie Strong came aboard, there was little doubt Diggs would buy in and have a great senior season. The 5'10" corner played with the same fire that his new head coach brought to the sideline, which led to some season-changing performances by the senior.

More than just his play, Diggs' leadership has been an extension to Strong, backing up every sweeping change with unwavering support. He even left us with one final nugget after the embarrassing performance in the Texas Bowl:

"

#Texas CB Quandre Diggs on entitled players: "Honestly, in my eyes, there's guys in the locker room who don't deserve to be there."

@ChipBrownHD, 30 Dec 2014

"

Who will emerge from such a young team to take Diggs' place as the voice of this locker room, much less step up to take over as the No. 1 corner?

Before spring even starts, bet on probable quarterback Jerrod Heard becoming the guy this team follows. As for the top corner, the hope is he's yet to join the roster.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and information courtesy of TexasSports.com.