Ed. Note - I just wanted to make this clear right from the get go. Full and 100% credit for this goes to our friend Josh McCuistion of the outstanding SoonerScoop.com. Much like so many of us, tired of hearing the ESPiN crap he took the time to research the stats I'm about to use. So thank you for keeping 'em honest Josh!
Excuses from Longhorns are certainly nothing new, especially after their so quickly forgotten 5-7 season last year. Despite their completely undeserved #10/11 ranking heading into yesterday's massacre, they are in the beginning stages of a substantial rebuilding project. Admittedly, most of their rational fans can admit this and accept it for what it actually is. However, that does not mean they are also above what has proven to be a very common excuse I continue to hear from them. And not only for them, but also from their sugar daddy business partner as well during yesterday's game.
See what they and Horn fans would have you believe is that they are just so incredibly young across the board and that because of that it's understandable (not acceptable mind you, they'd never admit that losing like that to OU is acceptable. Nor would I blame them in the slightest) that OU thoroughly embarrassed them yesterday in the Cotton Bowl. Like most excuses and/or arguments from Texas fans however, the actual facts tend to get in the way of the point they're trying to make. Their optimism, even more so after yesterday, seems to reside in their falsely comforting theory that they're set up to be incredibly successful in the coming years because of how young they are now. They believe that this is an advantage they possess, unlike our Sooners, and will surely lead to their return to dominance in the years to come. So let's have a little fun debunking that false sense of confidence they've cloaked themselves in shall we.
Fun Point #1 - At one point during yesterday's game, you know when ESPiN is trying to do what they do (i.e. spin) and trying to excuse away why their new business partner is getting absolutely worked in front of a national television audience, put up a graphic showing that Texas currently has 56 freshman or sophomores on their roster. See, what they're trying to do there is off some not so subtle excuses (they'd try to call them reasons, but they're liars) and distract you as to why Texas was getting their butts kicked. Not surprisingly, what they failed to acknowledge was the fact that Oklahoma has 52 freshman or sophomores on their current roster. That whopping difference of four apparently not a relevant fact I guess since we were the ones doing the butt kicking and therefore not in need of anyone to make excuses for us.
Fun Point #2 - A likely common retort to Fun Point #1 from Texas fan would be "Well, um, yeah, but our young guys are playing and yours are just back-ups." Ignoring the fact that their "young guys are playing" not because of a massive loss due to graduation or to the NFL draft (again, why acknowledge the facts) rather instead they're playing because the upper classmen that were ahead of them, most of whom are still on the roster, are no longer because they were never really that good to begin with. Fun little sidetrack, but back to the main point at hand. Once again if you hear this, it's just your typical Texas fan ignoring those fun little things called facts. This incredibly young and inexperienced Texas team has 19 freshman or sophomores on their current two deep depth chart. Oklahoma has 18.
So within just those to points, some might call them facts, you've effectively debunked this theory of theirs that they are setting themselves up for some great run in the years to come that a team like OU simply won't be able to contend with. Their roster is stocked with all this young talent and once the Sooners lose all their best players to graduation/the NFL (like many of them are already touting for next year), we'll have no shot at beating their mighty Longhorns. Um, false. The actual facts of the matter are the Sooners are just as loaded with young talent and have done an infinitely better job of developing such young talent.
So consider this a free public service by us here at CCM for you to use as a reference if you are so unfortunate as to come across a typical Texas fan who is all to quick to offer this excuse for yesterday. Enjoy the silence this will illicit surely to be followed by some pathetic attempt at an insult, at which you can simply chuckle and walk away knowing you're a secure Oklahoma fan and that Texas most definitely still and will forever always SUCK!