Things have been bad around Texas football for the past couple years, but an interview with the Austin American-Statesman shows that they might be far worse than anyone could have imagined.
[Also: Four Alabama football players arrested on robbery charges]
In an interview with columnist Kirk Bohls, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds tries to trumpet Texas’ success by saying it’s not as bad as Missouri.
Yeah, Missouri.
“We’re going to have good years again,” Dodds told the Austin American-Statesman. “Our bad years are not that bad. Take a school like Missouri. Our bad years are better than their good years. But we’ve created a standard.”
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why drag Missouri into your problems Texas, especially since the statement is flat out wrong?
Anyone remember the last meeting between the two teams? It was a 17-5 Missouri win in 2011. I think when you lose to Missouri, your down year is definitely worse than Missouri's good year.
In the past three seasons, both teams have had 5-7 campaigns. However, Missouri's came this past year in a new and tougher league. Texas’s came in the Big 12 in 2010, a season in which Missouri won 10 games in the same conference.
Moreover, why would a storied program like Texas ever compare itself to a program that’s never been to a BCS game? Wanna challenge Vanderbilt, too? At least if Dodds had said Colorado, he could point to a national championship in 1990.
Is this how far Texas has fallen? Texas, the flagship university of the most talent-rich state in the country and the standard by which all other athletic departments are measured?
The Longhorns operate on the highest athletic budget and have traditionally had the best haul of athletes in the state. Missouri has to go to Texas to find its best athletes. Texas just has to open its front door.
There is no excuse for Texas to have five-wins seasons or to be comparing itself to a program such as Missouri in any way, shape or form. It's not even close.
Texas was once a staple in BCS bowls and has been a shell of itself since losing the 2009 national championship and quarterback Colt McCoy. After nine consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins, the Longhorns haven’t reached that plateau in the past three years.
A lot of the blame has fallen on coach Mack Brown, but Dodds said the program has no plans to make a change and that it just needs to weather the storm.
[Also: Bobby Petrino takes responsibility for Arkansas’ poor season]
"Next year we will be having a different conversation. Look at the programs that made changes: Lloyd Carr at Michigan, Phil Fulmer at Tennessee, R.C. Slocum at A&M," Dodds said. "They all had great runs and then two or three average years and have been through two or three coaches since. Mack’s our coach. He’s the best person we can have in that position."
Texas has the personnel to be better this year, but that’s what folks said last year. Regardless of the outcome of the 2013 season, perhaps Dodds can start comparing Texas to teams that are historically and financially on its level.
Want to join the conversation? Hit us up on Twitter @YahooDrSaturday and be sure to "Like" Dr. Saturday on Facebook for football conversations and stuff you won't see on the blog.
College basketball video from Yahoo! Sports:
Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Dan Wetzel: IOC's poor decision to add golf costs wrestling its spot in Olympics
• Manchester United vs. Real Madrid will be critical for Cristiano Ronaldo
• Ranking the NFL draft's top talents
• ThePostGame: Could Michael Jordan still play in the NBA?