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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
 Best and worst of 2012: Texas Longhorns
By David Ubben

 Time to continue our series on the best and worst moments of 2012 for each team in the Big 12. Next up: Texas.

Worst moment: The Disaster in Dallas

Another Red River Rout. This is getting old for the folks in Texas, and the No. 1 topic of conversation in Austin in the week that followed was Mack Brown's job security. The Longhorns gave up four rushing scores to the Belldozer and a 95-yarder by Red River rookie Damien Williams. They were outgained by 388 yards, the most since 1950, and provided the biggest highlight of their biggest rival's season. Just ugly, ugly stuff for the Longhorns, who fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play and ignited doubts about whether another season without a bowl was possible. Texas added some garbage time TDs late to turn a 56-8 fourth-quarter deficit into a 63-21 final score. It didn't help much. It was Texas' second consecutive loss to Oklahoma by at least 38 points and fourth blowout loss to the Sooners since the birth of the Brown-Bob Stoops rivalry.

Best moment: Slumpbustin' in Lubbock 

Texas had lost nine consecutive games to teams in the top 20, but showed some potential in a win on the road against Texas Tech, which was ranked No. 18 at the time. The Longhorns beat Tech on the way down in retrospect, but it was still a satisfying win for the Longhorns, especially for Mike Davis and Johnathan Gray. Davis caught two touchdown passes and was hilariously flagged for holstering his guns in a parody of Tech fans' "Guns Up" hand sign. Gray ran for 100 yards for the second consecutive game and proved he could be counted on, even though he was a true freshman. It was also a big day for the defense. Tech reached the red zone and settled for field goals on four occasions. That's ultimately where Texas won this one, but the Longhorns moved to 7-2 and 4-2 with the win to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive at the time with their third consecutive win of a streak that would eventually reach four.