In a state where football comes in third behind God and family -- and would rank higher in an anonymous poll -- it's a sin the college brand has come to this:
Three of its highest-profile programs will soon post head coaching vacancies, and one is the best team in the state.
For that matter, there might be more openings if Texas Tech didn't owe Kliff Kingsbury so much money, not to mention if Baylor goes after SMU's Chad Morris.
And it's no time for Kevin Sumlin to feel smug, either.
Gary Patterson remains in good standing at TCU because of his large body of work. Neither Charlie Strong nor Jim Grobe had any such luxury.
The fact that Texas' weekly news conference came and went Monday without official confirmation that Strong is out shouldn't surprise. Texas officials are sticking to their stance that they'll wait until after the season to evaluate Strong's job performance. My guess is Charlie will be fortunate to make it through the weekend before the epiphany.
If you thought losing to Kansas was the final straw, you should know it only made the job of Greg Fenves and Mike Perrin easier. The president and athletic director would have a harder time if he'd gone 7-5. Until last Thursday, it might have even saved him. Then Houston shocked the world for the second time this season, at least double the going rate for schools outside the power five.
Tom Herman already was the darling of high-powered Texas boosters, but a little of the shine wore off with the Cougars' losses to SMU and Navy. His upset of Louisville -- in which Bobby Petrino said they were beaten in all three phases of the game -- fired up their passions all over again.
They couldn't let a coach with a 22-3 record overall, a 6-0 mark against Top 25 teams and a habit of high-profile wins go someplace else. Of course, he doesn't want to go anywhere else. He wants to coach at Texas, and the big money is only too glad to oblige him.
The reason Strong will lose his job isn't just because of his record, the worst in Texas' history. It's how the Longhorns looked doing it. Fired his offensive coordinator after one year. Fired his defensive coordinator after two.
Remember the UCLA game in Strong's first season, when Texas' captains lost the toss, elected to kick off and effectively gave the Bruins the ball twice?
Texas' special teams have been an adventure, to say the least. More bad kicks than a junior-high chorus line.
Strong's defense never lived up to expectations, and it's supposed to be his specialty. Even an offense built around Texas' best running back in years couldn't avoid controversy. If Strong wasn't taking the ball out of his best player's hands in the 18-wheeler package, a concept that outlived its expiration date, he was giving it to him 51 times against Kansas. Ought to be an NCAA violation.
Based almost entirely on his brief but fabulous track record as Ohio State's offensive coordinator and Houston's coach, the odds seem promising that Herman figures out most of the above. Might even make good on Strong's prediction of 10 victories for Texas next year.
Frankly, it's about time. The state, as well as the Big 12, could certainly use 10 victories from its most storied football program.
Only two weeks ago, Texas A&M looked like College Football Playoff contenders. Now the Aggies are on the verge of completing yet another second-half collapse with a team that had looked like Sumlin's best yet.
Sumlin's not in danger of getting fired -- he's reportedly owed a lump-sum payment of $15 million if terminated -- but it's safe to say he's used up nearly all of his available grace.
If it's any consolation to Sumlin, the future's far brighter in College Station than in Waco or Lubbock. Baylor's next coach will have to pull a recruiting class out of the dumpster and put a scandal behind it. Kingsbury's defense just gave up 66 points to Iowa State. If Patrick Mahomes turns pro, Kingsbury will no longer have one of college football's most talented quarterbacks to keep it close.
These are times to shake your faith in the natural order of things. If it weren't for Dak Prescott, I might have moved on to basketball already.
Sports on 11/23/2016