The Texas Longhorns welcomed a Top 10 Oklahoma State football team to Austin, but Horns fans left a lot of empty seats in the stadium prior to kickoff.
It goes without saying Texas is one of college football’s most storied programs: a true blueblood. The Longhorns also have a passionate and devoted fanbase.
Though just 3-3 overall on the young season, new head coach Tom Herman has injected new energy into the program, and the Horns have shown improvement on the field in 2017. And No. 10 Oklahoma State, an important Big 12 Conference rival, visiting Royal Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday, one would expect a rabid, sellout crowd on hand cheering for the upset attempt.
Instead, just minutes before 11 a.m. kickoff (local time), images surfaced showing large sections of empty seats inside the stadium.
https://twitter.com/RedditCFB/status/921771369817309185
Empty seats are often seen as a major red flag for a college football program. The more fans in the stadium, the louder the cheers and the better the atmosphere of the game. But most importantly to some, butts in seats mean dollars spent. As a result, similar pictures circulate throughout the country and are often used as evidence a head coach is on the hottest of hot seats due to fan apathy as well as athletic directors’ disdain for leaving money on the table.
But Herman just got to Austin, and he arrived as one of the hottest coaching prospects in the nation. Plus, other than a shocking loss to Maryland in the season opener, the Horns haven’t played poorly. The other two losses Texas suffered came at the hands of fellow prestigious programs USC and Oklahoma – both of whom are ranked in the Top 10 – with each result by a single possession. Therefore, the empty seats in the stands aren’t a danger to Herman. His seat is as cool as they come.
Next: Hot Seat Watch: 5 coaches who need to win in Week 8
Of course, the Longhorns’ three losses, which have kept them out of the polls and the playoff discussion since the preseason, take some of the blame for the empty seats. Also, the early kickoff is surely a factor. Fans are often slow to leave tailgates outside the stadium.
Still, with a Top 10 opponent and conference rival in town, we expect to see a packed house in Austin.