Texas Football: No easy answers for defensive struggles

Tom Herman: 'if it were easy, it would be fixed tomorrow'

The numbers aren't favorable. 

Texas ranks 93rd in scoring defense, No. 119 in total defense, No. 126 in passing defense and No. 71 in rushing defense so far this year. 

Film study reveals core issues of a lack of pass rush, players out of position and most importantly, missed tackles. The Longhorns are coming off a defensive performance that saw them give up 48 points to a Kansas squad that had scored 52 in three previous Big 12 games combined. 

For the coaching staff, it's as close to back to the drawing board as you can get without starting over. 

"I would say it's everything," Tom Herman said during his Monday press conference. "I mean I don't, there's nothing, if it were that easy it would be fixed tomorrow, but it's not. To just say it's one thing or if we do this then we will be a really good defense."

Herman is right. It's not as easy as giving more effort - players are still flying full speed on most plays. It's as simple as changing schemes - the team is using many of the same core principals that produced a top 10 defense in the S&P rankings as few as two years ago. It's certainly not talent, as Herman himself will quickly tell you. 

"Personnel-wise, I'm never going to say it's personnel," Herman said. "We're going to have really good players at The University of Texas." 

One could easily blame the rash of injuries on that side of the ball, but the truth is there were cracks and fissures showing defensively long before players started dropping like flies.  

The Longhorns appear to be caught in a quicksand situation on defense. Every attempt to fix it seems to pull them a little further down. The staff is has shifted to focus more on fundamentals and tackling in practice, but a few drills mid-to-late October probably isn't going to right this ship. 

So then what is the answer? If I knew how to fix the Texas defense I would be making a heck of a lot more money than I am now. But I do know enough to tell you that the defense has a chance of squandering one of the greatest single-season performances by a quarterback in school history. 

As broad as Ehlinger and the offense's shoulders have been so far this year, they probably can't support the defense through five more games and a potential Big 12 title contest. 

Can the defense come through and help before the breaking point?