Brown still looking for winning formula

Oklahoma has caused so much misery for Texas coach Mack Brown that even his own players feel bad for him. <br/><br/>``Sometimes I feel sorry for him,'' Longhorns linebacker Derrick Johnson said

Sunday, October 10th 2004, 3:26 pm

By: News On 6

Oklahoma has caused so much misery for Texas coach Mack Brown that even his own players feel bad for him.

``Sometimes I feel sorry for him,'' Longhorns linebacker Derrick Johnson said after Brown's losing streak against Oklahoma hit five with a 12-0 loss on Saturday.

``He takes all the pressure. But there's pressure on us, too,'' Johnson said.

Brown had said going into the game that his job was safe no matter what the outcome.

That's a good thing for him. The No. 9 Longhorns (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) are still searching for answers as to how to turn around a rivalry that has become a midseason rite of misery.

As he's done before, Brown blamed himself for the loss.

``I'm responsible for this team, so if we lose it's my responsibility,'' he said. ``Players win, coaches lose at our place.''

Since beating the Sooners in 1999, Brown has yet to find a winning formula again.

After last season's 65-13 defeat, he revamped his defensive coaching staff, changed the offseason conditioning program and preseason practice regimen and persuaded star players Cedric Benson and Derrick Johnson to spurn the NFL draft.

None of it paid off against the Sooners. Again.

The Longhorns can at least say they played it close. Saturday's game was not nearly as lopsided as the routs of 2000 and 2003.

Brown's offseason defensive changes _ bringing in new co-coordinator Greg Robinson and assistant head coach Dick Tomey _ helped to close the gap.

``Our team played tougher than last year; our team played longer, harder than last year,'' Brown said. ``Our defense gave us a chance to win.''

But there was no chance to claim a moral victory.

The Texas offense was shut out for the first time since 1980. It was also the first shutout in this series since the Sooners blanked Texas in 1972.

``If you don't score, you can't win,'' quarterback Vince Young said. ``It was a tough day for the offense.''

Young didn't have a chance to display the brilliance he flashed against the Sooners last year.

The Sooners stacked the line to stop Texas' powerful running attack, leaving Young little room to improvise under pressure. He finished with 54 yards rushing and 86 yards passing and couldn't capitalize on seven drives that took the Longhorns into Sooner territory.

He also fumbled twice, including a critical turnover at the Oklahoma 16 in the second quarter when the game was still scoreless.

``That was a turning point for us,'' Young said.

The Sooners also bottled up tailback Cedric Benson, holding him to 92 yards on 23 carries, less than half of his average of 186.5.

With five straight losses to the Sooners, Texas fans are likely to turn up the heat on Brown to jettison offensive coordinator Greg Davis, who has been with Brown during his entire tenure in Austin.

Asked if he was happy with the play-calling Saturday, Brown said ``We've got to go back and look at that. We didn't score so obviously we're not happy with what we did offensively.''

Texas players were careful not to point fingers after the game.

``We were a play away,'' from winning, said Johnson, who will end his career without a victory over the Sooners.

``It was frustrating, but I don't put it on the offense. We've got to regroup.''

Texas has shown it can do that. Under Brown, Texas is 4-0 the week after losing to Oklahoma.

The Longhorns won the Big 12 South in 2001 when the Sooners stumbled late in the season. They came within another late-season OU loss of making it to the BCS last year after closing out the regular season with six straight wins.

``I told the guys we have to move on,'' Brown said. ``Missouri won't care if we won or lost against Oklahoma.''