When Steve Sarkisian announced Hudson Card was going to be the starting quarterback for the season opener, all I wanted was for it to be the final decision. No going back and forth on a week to week basis. No flip-flopping during games, rotating one in and another out.
For the first two weeks, my wishes were not granted. Casey Thompson got to play a majority of the second half against Louisana and once Sarkisian had seen enough of Card’s struggles against Arkansas, he was replaced. Heading into the Rice game, Thompson was named the starter.
From there, Sarkisian has done what I originally asked for. No. 11 has been the guy, through thick and a lot of thin.
But now, it’s time to shake it back up and put Card in as the starting quarterback.
I’ll preface this by saying Thompson is far from the main issue with this Texas team. The offensive line cannot protect, whether it be run or pass blocking. No edge player on the roster gives a Big 12 tackle an ounce of fear in obvious pass-rush situations. Nobody can seem to tackle either. The wide receivers go missing or drop balls.
We could go on for a while.
Inserting Card as the starter is not going to magically fix all of those problems. He’s a redshirt freshman with two career starts and one that was brutal to watch. Struggles are going to be somewhat expected.
Where we do not know if he can help this team, though, is in the second half of these games Texas has blown for three consecutive weeks. Sarkisian never gave Card the opportunity to prove himself there — the leash was too short.
For some reason, the head coach has been a lot more generous with Thompson. Maybe because from a numbers perspective, it has not been awful. Sarkisian pointed out Thompson threw five touchdowns against Oklahoma despite the loss during one of his press conferences.
The famous old eye test has shown otherwise.
Thompson has shown us how he plays in the second half. Especially on the final drive of the game when a touchdown is required. 0/5 with an interception combined vs Oklahoma State and Baylor.
Twice now has Thompson had the opportunity to wash away poor performances with a late score to keep Texas in the ball game. Twice he has done, quite literally, absolutely nothing.
Bigger picture, looking at just the second half, Texas is scoring 9.0 points when you factor out Texas Tech. The killer mentality needed to put Sarkisian’s ‘All gas, no brakes’ mantra on display has been lacking for a month now.
With all the problems with this team, a quarterback who can win despite the issues is needed. Card may not be the answer, but the opportunity is at least deserved. If it was not, Sarkisian would have never originally named him the starting quarterback.
What we do know is Thompson is a solid quarterback during the first halves of games. Once he comes out of the locker room, attempting to maintain the lead he helped build, something magically switches. The killer mentality is clearly not there.
Even in his three wins against Rice, Texas Tech, and TCU — Thompson’s performances have not elevated Texas to victories. Lesser opponents and Bijan Robinson did. Never have you ever been able to say he’s single-handily lifted the team to a win.
The time is now.
Making a switch heading into a tough road crowd in Ames against Iowa State may not make a lot of sense. However, at some point, the leash is extended too far before it snaps and everything is lost.
With a 4-4 record and a Big 12 championship way out of the equation, next season should become the main point of focus. Four games and a possible bowl game remain. Sarkisian has the opportunity to see if Card can really be a difference-maker in live Big 12 games.
Otherwise, we’ll be year again in a year, in the exact same position, still debating about who should be the starting quarterback. And Sarkisan’s seat will go from ice cold to a just melted, room temperature glass of water.