A classified ad you might see soon in the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman: For sale by owner, plush home, close to UT campus, please ignore the windows broken by bricks.

It's been another long year in Texas for former Illinois coach John Mackovic. He might not survive this one.

A preseason Top 10 team, the Longhorns are 3-3 with loads of trouble ahead. Like it or not, Mackovic is going to take the blame.

In his first two seasons in Texas, Mackovic went a combined 11-10-1. The fans gave him some slack, figuring it would take time to fix the mess left by David McWilliams.

During Mackovic's third season, the Longhorns started 5-4. After a not-supposed-to-happen loss to Rice, Mackovic heard it from the fans. Wins in the final two games put Texas in the Sun Bowl, where the Longhorns edged North Carolina to finish 8-4. Temporarily, the heat was off.

Texas' best season under Mackovic came in '95, when it finished 10-2-1. Only a blowout loss to Notre Dame and a tie against Oklahoma spoiled a perfect regular season.

A heavy favorite in the Sugar Bowl, Texas got pounded by Virginia Tech. Another reason for the fans to complain about Mackovic.

In '96, Texas started 3-4. A late-season rush put the Longhorns in the Big 12 title game, where they stunned No. 3 Nebraska 37-27. Not even a blowout loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl could take the luster off Mackovic's accomplishment.

The fans in Texas remember back about as far as the last game. That's a bad thing for Mackovic.

The Longhorns' last game was a 37-29 loss at Missouri. The Tigers previous win over Texas came in 1916.

When Oklahoma State wiped out Mackovic's team 42-16 earlier this season, it ended the Cowboys' 53-year drought.

UCLA was 0-2 before its game at Austin on Sept. 13. The Bruins left with a 66-3 win.

Texas closes the season against Colorado, Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas and Texas A&M. Mackovic might need to win 4 of 5 to secure his job. Go 3-2 and he's on the bubble. Go 2-3 and he better start packing.

Texas isn't the only disappointment this season. Here's the other major underachievers:

Alabama, 3-3 – Never easy to follow a semi-legend like Gene Stallings. Mike Dubose's first team lost to Arkansas and Kentucky, teams Stallings would have rolled. Alabama could close the season at 4-7.

Army, 2-4 – One year after going 10-2, Bob Sutton's team is losing to Tulane and Duke. It's never easy to keep winning at the service academies. Apparently, they frown on redshirting future soldiers.

California, 2-4 – Steve Mariucci left after one season for a dream job with the San Francisco 49ers. Tom Holmoe is the third coach in three years. Fix the revolving door and the Bears can start thinking about bowl games again.

Colorado, 3-3 – A preseason Top 10 pick, the Buffaloes barely got past Wyoming and lost close games to Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Michigan showed the Buffaloes weaknesses in a 27-3 win, forcing quarterback John Hessler into mistake after mistake.

Miami, 2-4 – The Hurricanes are 1-4 since the opener, and it took two overtimes to beat Boston College. Miami didn't have a chance against Florida State and lost to an average Pitt team.

Northwestern, 3-5 – The string of New Year's Day bowl games ends at two. Gary Barnett's Wildcats will be lucky to finish above .500. They've got games left against Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa.

Notre Dame, 2-5 – While Lou Holtz relaxes in the CBS studio, eating nachos and drinking tea, Bob Davie watches his team lose on national television. Who got the better end of this deal?

Southern Cal, 3-3 – The first two losses, against undefeated Florida State and Washington State, were acceptable. But losing 35-7 to Arizona State is not allowed in Trojan land.

Bob Asmussen is a News-Gazette staff writer. His column on college football appears Saturdays throughout the season.