HOUSTON -- Texas football Coach Charlie Strong learned a good deal from one of his mentors, Lou Holtz, but the art of the subtle sandbag comment wasn't part of his studies.
Holtz would poor-mouth even his best teams, but Strong was just being his normal direct self when he said at the start of his 10-city spring bus tour in Fort Worth that Texas "will not be in the national championship" in his first season at Texas.
Texas results
(6-6, 5-4 Big 12)
DATE;OPP.;RESULT
Aug. 30;North Texas; W, 38-7
Sept. 6;BYU; L, 41-7
Sept. 13;UCLA; L, 20-17
Sept. 27;at Kansas; W, 23-0
Oct. 4;Baylor; L, 28-7
Oct. 11;Oklahoma; L, 31-26
Oct. 18;Iowa State;W, 48-45
Oct. 25;at Kansas State; L, 23-0
Nov. 1;at Texas Tech;W, 34-13
Nov. 8;West Virginia; W, 33-16
Nov. 15;at Oklahoma State; W, 28-7
Nov. 27;TCU; L, 48-10
Turns out Strong, who is originally from Batesville and attended Central Arkansas, was right. The Longhorns are 6-6 heading into Monday's Texas Bowl matchup against former Southwest Conference rival Arkansas at NRG Stadium.
Texas fans were not accustomed to such blunt remarks, but that is just Strong. At that point, he didn't know he would end up booting or losing nine players from his roster, including some starters.
The Longhorns ended up having a season similar to Arkansas' 6-6 run.
On Texas' flight back from its 23-0 loss at No. 11 Kansas State on Oct. 25, which dropped the Longhorns to 3-5, Strong wondered how his team would find its way to three more victories and bowl eligibility.
"I will say this. I was sitting there at 3-5 and I'm saying, 'Oh, who are we going to beat to get to a bowl game?' " Strong said Saturday.
A 34-13 victory at Texas Tech got things turned around the following week. Texas then thumped West Virginia, the only team to beat Baylor this year, by a 33-16 score and followed that with a 28-7 victory at Oklahoma State to hit the six-victory total required for bowl eligibility.
The Longhorns, like Arkansas, lost their finale but by a much-wider margin -- 48-10 to a TCU team that was ranked No. 3 at the time.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said this matchup, considering each team's 6-6 record, can be viewed as a vital building block for both teams.
"I think Coach Strong and I both envision bigger and better days for our programs," Bielema said, "but to be able to come together ... is exciting."
The Longhorns have been much stronger defensively than offensively, but having to make an unanticipated quarterback switch early in the season is part of the reason. Starter David Ash had to give up the game because of recurring concussion problems after Texas' 38-7 season-opening victory against North Texas.
Sophomore Tyrone Swoopes completed 211 of 369 passes (.588) for 2,352 yards, with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Swoopes has had his poor showings, like a four-interception performance in the loss to TCU, but he also had big-time games.
Swoopes accounted for 384 total yards in Texas' 31-26 loss to Oklahoma, the most ever in the Red River Showdown, breaking former Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford's 382-yard mark in 2008.
Swoopes is No. 78 in the country with a passer efficiency rating of 120.2. He has 495 yards in rushing gains and 201 yards in losses from sacks and other lost-yardage plays.
"When he doesn't see his progression and things like that, he makes plays with his feet a lot," Arkansas linebacker Martrell Spaight said. "He can extend plays with his feet, and he does a great job outside the pocket when he gets flushed out.
"We've got to keep him contained and just handle our business downfield on the receivers."
Senior Malcolm Brown leads the Longhorns with 683 rushing yards, but he is averaging less than 4.0 yards per carry. Jonathan Gray has 628 rushing yards, a team-high 7 rushing touchdowns and averages 4.5 yards per carry.
John Harris has 64 catches for 1,015 yards and 7 touchdowns to lead the receivers. He averages 84.6 yards per game.
The Longhorns are No. 102 in total offense (360.5 yards per game) and No. 101 in scoring offense (22.6 points per game).
Texas ranks No. 32 in scoring defense (23.3), No. 12 in passing yards allowed (186.3) and No. 63 against the run (162.1). Defensive tackle Malcom Brown, who has 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, is considered a high-round draft pick.
"They've got some big players, some celebrated players who have done good jobs this season and done incredible things," Arkansas offensive tackle Brey Cook said.
Sports on 12/28/2014