Big 12 Football: Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska Stink It Up in Week 3

The supposed three toughest teams in the Big 12 (Nebraska, Texas, and Oklahoma) all looked less than spectacular on Saturday.

Nebraska struggled mightily against a winless FCS South Dakota State squad.  Oklahoma should have likely gotten beat by the 1-3 Cincinnati Bearcats after jumping out to a comfortable 24-9 lead.  Texas got embarrassed on national television by a very middle-of-the-road UCLA team in Austin.

Needless to say, it was a tough week for the Big 12, and their three top 10 ranked teams.

So what did these games really reveal about these teams?

Nebraska

Of the three teams, I'm not sure that Nebraska's less than stellar effort against an FCS opponent is as worrisome as the other two.  The Huskers have put together three pretty good efforts against their other opponents this year, and can utilize this contest as a wake up call for what was likely some inflated egos after an impressive showing against Washington last week.

With the Big 12 season on tap, an 11-day layoff before that game, and some significant arse chewing material to review with its players, look for head coach Bo Pelini and company to get this team focused for their trip to Manhattan on October 7th.

Oklahoma

The Sooners' effort against Cincinnati has to be concerning for any Sooner fan.  Of the four games played this year, the Sooners could easily be sitting at 1-3 with losses to three average to well below average football teams.

There have been some major chinks in the armor exposed in the once-proud Sooner defense.  The Sooners defense currently ranks 97th in the country, giving up 421.25 yards per game.

But the Sooners' problems don't end on the defensive side of the ball. 

When looking at the offense, it is tough not to notice the "softness" of the Sooner running game.  As it stands right now, the Sooners have the 96th-ranked rushing offense in the country, and are only cranking out 2.96 yards per carry.  That just isn't going to cut the mustard in Big 12 play. 

At some point in time, the Sooners are going to need to run the football to beat somebody along the way, and if they can't get it done in games against Air Force, Utah State, and Cincinnati, how are you expecting them to get it done against Texas, Texas Tech, or Texas A&M?

Texas

Wow!  What was that?  A 34-12 loss against a less than average UCLA team?  At home?  With what was likely considered one of the better defenses in the entire country, especially against the run, the Longhorns underbelly was exposed against the Pistol formation of the UCLA Bruins.

Out of 65 offensive plays, the Bruins only threw the ball nine times for a grand total of 27 yards, but were able to grind out 264 yards on the ground against the once-proud front seven of Texas.  Included in that total was the 118 yards put together by Johnathan Franklin, and the 98 yards contributed by Derrick Coleman. 

Putting up over 150 rushing yards against the Longhorns would have been impressive, but the 264 yards put together yesterday by UCLA was well beyond even the most optimistic expectations of Bruins fans.

And the struggles don't end with the Longhorns defense.

Is it fair to say that the "experiment" in trying to bring about a power running game in Austin has been a complete and utter failure?  In the first week of the season, the Longhorns ran the ball 46 times compared to 24 passes.  Week 2 the numbers were 35 runs and 29 passes.  Week 3 it was 36 runs and 43 passes.  Week 4, 23 rushes and 45 passes.

Simply put, the Texas offense went from roughly a 65/35 run-pass ratio in Week 1 to a 35/65 run-pass ratio by Week 4.  Is this a sign that all of the offseason work put in by the Longhorns to implement a power running attack has been completely scrapped?

Don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out in the coming weeks, and my money is on the 'Horns coaching staff reverting to the pass happy attack they have been known for over the past four years led by Colt McCoy.  Either way, what hasn't been seen is any signs of a power running game from the Longhorns as their rushing offense is 77th in the country in both yards per game and yards per carry. 

Not good numbers any way that you look at it. 

So where do the Longhorns go from here?  Hard to say, but head coach Mack Brown and his staff have a lot of work to do before the meat of their schedule comes around, and it starts next week with Red River Rival Oklahoma.

If the Longhorns can't get some things ironed out offensively and defensively, a four- or five-loss season is staring them square in the face.

NOTE:  Official NCAA Statistics were utilized in this article.