TEXAS BOWL: ARKANSAS VS. TEXAS

Last loss weighing on Horns

Texas coach Charlie Strong takes the field prior to a game against North Texas on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014 at Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Texas coach Charlie Strong takes the field prior to a game against North Texas on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014 at Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Texas Coach Charlie Strong described his debut season with the Longhorns as an "up and down" year that ended with an inexplicable dud.

The Longhorns won three games in a row in November against Texas Tech, West Virginia and Oklahoma State to reach six victories and bowl eligibility, then had 11 days to prepare for a Thanksgiving Day clash in Austin against No. 5 TCU.

The Horned Frogs rolled into Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and administered a stinging 48-10 loss that was propelled by six takeaways, including two returned for touchdowns.

Strong admitted Tuesday at a news conference that it has taken him a while to get over that loss.

"I don't know still if I'm over it," he said.

Strong and his Longhorns (6-6) still have time to recover from the setback before facing rival Arkansas (6-6) Dec. 29 in the Texas Bowl. Yet nearly three weeks later, the 38-point blowout against TCU hangs over their heads.

"The thing about the loss that hurts so bad, it was for the seniors and we were at home," Strong said. "We had been playing well, and then you get to that game ... the stage was set. You had a big stage.

"You would have thought that we would have come out and performed better than what we performed. It was just a hard one to swallow."

Texas running back Malcolm Brown said the Longhorns would learn from the TCU loss.

"I'm still confident," Brown said. "You can't let games like this just ruin the next game."

Strong is hoping the disappointment from that home loss, the Longhorns' third of the season, will serve as motivation to beat Arkansas and propel Texas into a winning season.

"It's about guys that just want it," Strong said. "It's about your preparation, but then it comes down to just how bad guys want to go out and practice and how important it is to them.

"Right now our attitude is pretty good. You can tell in the first few days whether they're going to want to go to a bowl game or just go through the motions."

Strong's last team to face an SEC team in a bowl game was plenty motivated. His 2012 Louisville Cardinals stunned No. 4 Florida 33-23 in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, 2013.

Strong said the Longhorns are in the middle of finals and have not had practices devoted to Arkansas yet.

"Final exams end on the 17th, and starting on the 18th we'll start our preparation for Arkansas and we'll practice all the way through to the game," said Strong, adding that the Longhorns would drive to Houston after practicing Dec. 24 and then practice on Christmas Day before having a team get-together at the hotel.

Strong acknowledged the team's quarterback play must improve after sophomore Tyrone Swoopes threw four interceptions in the finale.

"He's got to get better. It's no different than anyone else on the team," Strong said. "It's very visible with his position, but there's a lot of positions that need to get better.

"The young man, he's not very pleased with his effort. We know that, and he knows he can play a lot better than what he did."

Swoopes took over as the starter after junior David Ash was forced to give up football because of recurring headaches after the season opener. Swoopes completed 211 of 359 passes (58.8 percent) for 2,352 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season.

Quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson was asked if Swoopes' play against TCU shook his faith in the quarterback.

"Not at all," Watson said. "That's not the way our staff is made. That's not the way Charlie's made, the way I'm made. ... We're in the business to grow young people and make them better."

There were positive signs for the Longhorns despite the lopsided loss to TCU.

Texas held the Horned Frogs to a season-low 368 total yards and 135 rushing yards. The work by Texas' rush defense will likely be a key factor when they face the Razorbacks, who rank 26th nationally with 220.3 rushing yards per game behind 1,000-yard rushers Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins.

"They have two backs who have rushed for 1,000 yards, and the quarterback [Brandon Allen] does a good job of just managing the game," Strong said. "He throws the ball, but he throws it well enough where he does get completions and they are able to move the chains. ... Defensively, it's going to be about us stopping the run."

Sports on 12/17/2014

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