Yes, Coach Wilson IS to blame.

Consider. OU held the 3rd ranked Longhorns to 269 total yards and just 16 points, despite OU’s five turnovers. How? By taking away the 5 to 10 yard slants that are Colt McCoy’s bread and butter, and by bringing what McCoy acknowledged were 5 blitz packages UT had never seen. In other words, by doing the unexpected. Credit Venables.

Now compare the offensive side. What Wilson surely knew going in was that in the last 10 years the team that can run wins in Dallas; that OU’s 0-line (even when relatively intact) can’t run block even against mediocre defenses; and that aside from Bradford (and Madu, inexplicably relegated to special teams), OU had only 2 big-play-makers left, Murray and Broyles. Why, then, did Murray touch the ball only 13 times (only 5 carries), and Broyles touched it only twice, including a touchdown play that wasn’t practiced or actually called? With UT swarming to the point of attack, why didn’t OU even attempt more than 1 misdirection play? How about a halfback pass, a flea-flicker, or a host of other options; anything to make the offense less predictable. And in the red zone, why throw 3 unsuccessful fade routes to a receiver that’s neither faster nor bigger than the defender?

Most telling of all, why, on fourth and 1 at midfield, do you look disorganized, give the defense time to get set, and then run off tackle into UT’s strength? What about a flip, or anything unexpected? Then, later in the same quarter, you burn a vital timeout on fourth and a half-yard, and this for a sneak? It’s not the failure of OU’s first fourth and one that’s so bad – it’s that Wilson showed he hadn’t planned and hadn’t practiced how OU would respond to this all-too-predictable situation at a critical time late in the game. Boise State and others showed that to beat a team that’s as good or better, it’s all about unpredictability – you can’t just line up and run the usual. Does anybody think Wilson has a can’t-miss call, or any predetermined play, for a critical 2-point conversion? I've followed OU football for 45 years and seen a lot of good and bad coaching. Good coaching is when you get the most from the talent that's available.

Wilson may be a nice guy, but he’s proved over and over that it’s time for a demotion.