BYU kicked our butts, and I'm fairly certain OU, OK State, Baylor, K State, and UCLA will too. I really don't expect a miracle turn around given the lack of depth, lack of experience, etc.

So - I thought the Big 12 (see my prior posts, "The meaning of NSD") might have five years of life left. I may be wrong. With the combination of the Aggies doing well and the prospect of our not doing all that well (that may be a big understatement) for the next couple of years, I can easily see Patterson pulling the plug after two or three years not only on Strong but on the Big 12 as well. As I expect our defection from the Big 12 is a matter of when, not if, then I could see Patterson calling for a "clean break" and doing both in a couple of years. Generate some excitement and a smoke screen to hide the obvious.

I'm not going to panic. Even top programs have some down years - just look at Notre Dame over the past ten years or so and how about Michigan right now and even Ohio State? But the perfect storm is coming together and it will likely hit in two - three years at most - unless we pull off a miracle turn around. No matter how good a coach Strong might be, Texas has too little depth and too little experience to think we'll contend in the next few years. And we can speculate all we want about how good a recruiter Strong is or is not, but help from that direction is likely three to four years away.

Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride.