Texas’ Charlie Strong at his weakest on the road

Consistently ranked among the country’s most desirable places to live, there are many things to like about Austin, Texas. Mouth-watering barbecue, country music legend Willie Nelson and a tradition-rich Texas football program are just a few.

But times change. Sure, the barbecue is still good, but Willie’s creeping up on 85 and the Longhorns have not been a real player on the national scene since getting blown out by Alabama in the 2009 national championship game.

Despite last week’s 35-34 home victory over Baylor, the clock is ticking on Charlie Strong’s tenure as Texas coach. Approaching the stretch run of his third season, the Longhorns are three games under .500 in his first 33 games.

The consensus around Austin is that Strong has little room for error, perhaps even needing to win his final four regular-season games to keep his job, starting Saturday against Texas Tech in Lubbock.

While the Longhorns have not been consistently good in any setting, Strong’s uncertain future can largely be attributed to his team’s poor performance on the road. In the past two seasons, the Longhorns are 1-7 straight up and against the spread in away games.

Texas’ only road win during that span came as a 21½-point underdog against a Baylor team down to its fourth-string quarterback in last year’s regular-season finale.

Texas linebacker Breckyn Hager did not do any favors for Strong when he suggested the Longhorns needed to “injure that quarterback (Patrick Mahomes II),” to improve their chances of slowing Texas Tech’s fast-paced passing attack.

Texas Tech will have an extra layer of motivation against the already-hated Longhorns. Take the Red Raiders plus-3 as Strong’s time in Austin takes another turn for the worse.

Six more plays (home team in CAPS):

Navy-Notre Dame (Over 64) — Navy’s outmanned secondary has trouble defending more athletic teams capable of throwing downfield. The Midshipmen have scored 42 or more points in their past three games behind improving quarterback Will Worth.

KANSAS STATE (-2½) over Oklahoma State — Kansas State is a no-name, no-frills team with an old-timer coach, but the Wildcats do not beat themselves and have been money in Manhattan since getting trounced by Oklahoma in the middle of last season.

TULSA (-9½) over East Carolina — Second-year Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery earned his coaching stripes as Baylor’s offensive coordinator. The Golden Hurricane have successfully employed his run-first, up-tempo offense. East Carolina is 0-4 straight up on the road this season, losing by an average of 14 points.

CALIFORNIA (+17½) over Washington — The Huskies could be in a foul mood after being omitted from the top four of the College Football Playoff committee’s initial rankings. It is more likely, however, that Washington will be exhaling after a close call, like in Utah last week, and with Southern California on deck next week.

LOUISIANA STATE (+7½) over Alabama — Ed Orgeron is LSU’s interim coach for now, but the likable Cajun who bleeds purple and gold could extend his stay if the Tigers knock off top-ranked Alabama in Death Valley. The last time the Crimson Tide defeated LSU by more than seven points in Baton Rouge was 2002.

NORTHWESTERN (+7) over Wisconsin — The Wildcats have covered four straight, besting the line by an average of 19.5 points in those games. Northwestern has discovered a true receiving threat in senior Austin Carr.

Last week: 4-2 against the spread

Season: 26-28

Paul Stone of VegasSportsAuthority.com is providing college football analysis for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Follow @paulstonesports on Twitter.