Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with Brian Davis, Texas beat writer

SDS spoke with Brian Davis of the Austin-American Statesman to get his thoughts on the upcoming Texas Bowl matchup between Texas and Arkansas. Davis discusses Texas head coach Charlie Strong and other bowl topics as well as predicting who will win this much anticipated battle between old Southwest conference rivals.

A huge thank you to Brian Davis for participating. You can follow him on Twitter — @BDavisAAS

Drew Laing: How would you rate Charlie Strong in his first season as the head coach? Is Texas head in the right direction under him?

Brian Davis: Strong gets sort of an incomplete from me in his first year. There were too many things working against him. No coach could get out of the gate having lost his starting quarterback (David Ash), three offensive linemen and nose guard all before Week 4. He had to insert backup quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, a player many thought would get moved to tight end. That being said, the defense made considerable strides this year. That alone bodes well for the future. He changed the culture within the program, which is why I think he’ll do well over time. Think about last year — many people called Texas soft. You wouldn’t say that now.

Laing: Texas and Arkansas’ rivalry was in its heyday before most of these players were born. Do you sense any sort of rivalry feel among the Texas players?

Davis: Frankly, no. All these players today know is that Arkansas is in the SEC. They don’t even know what the acronym SWC means.

Laing: The obvious matchup that could give Texas trouble is Arkansas’ running backs. Do you see the Longhorns putting up much of a fight in that area?

Davis: The entire game can be boiled down to this matchup — Arkansas’ run game vs. Texas’ run defense. Here’s the thing about the Longhorns’ defensive line: It gets worn down as the game goes on. Look back at who ran the ball well. Texas gave up big yardage in the second half of games all season. And the offense could never figure out the third quarter. So if Malcolm Brown, Hassan Ridgeway, Cedric Reed and the rest of the defensive line doesn’t come to play, they’ll be chasing two 1,000-yard backs from behind all night long.

Laing: Is Tyrone Swoopes capable of handling Arkansas’ defensive line pressure?

Davis: Who knows about Swoopes at this point? His five-turnover performance against TCU may have turned a lot of Texas fans off permanently. When Strong has been asked about Swoopes here in December, he starts the response by saying, “Well, we know we need to recruit better to the position …” That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. But here’s the thin. You can’t give up on Swoopes completely. What’s behind him? Quarterbacks coach Shwan Watson said numerous times that backup Jerrod Heard wasn’t capable of pushing Swoopes for playing time this season. Maybe he just said that to keep fan expectation low, maybe it’s the truth. But if Swoopes has any hope of holding onto the job in 2015, he MUST play well against the Hogs.

Laing: What’s your Texas Bowl prediction?

Davis: I’m terrible at predicting scores. But I have a feeling the Razorbacks will play well defensively, and the Longhorns won’t have enough offensive juice to keep up. Both teams are in the strange spot of sporting a 6-6 record. I’ve asked Strong several times about the importance of winning the bowl game. Oh, sure, the team always wants to win but there’s a major difference going into the offseason saying you are a “winning” program vs. a “losing” program. Unbelievable difference. One thing’s for sure, if they’re going to start this thing at 8 p.m. central, it better be a great game no matter who wins.

Drew Laing

Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.