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Initial Thoughts: Texas Longhorns @ Wyoming Cowboys

Posted by CloseToJumping on September 12th, 2009 under Football

I know this game will be reviewed by our fanbase ad nauseum, including myself. That said, I spent the day, from UConn-UNC, Iowa/Iowa State, etc., all the way to Oregon State/UNLV tonight at sports bars staying pretty sober and have a few thoughts after thinking on the game in the context of the day and the various boards.

  1. I have often heard that a QB will try to lose at least one game per year for any given team. I have found that to be relatively true. At the same time, I’ve always felt that truly elite AND experienced QBs on a given level will not do this. McCoy didn’t do this last year and he didn’t do it today. VY and Leinart in 2005 tell a similar story. We take McCoy for granted sometimes, but in watching the various other games over the first two weeks, it’s easy to see that we shouldn’t. The guy had a weak game today in many respects, and it was still a better performance than almost anyone else I saw. Dude was over 60% and never once looked honestly even annoyed. I see the 1st half today a lot like the 1st half of the Tech game last year. McCoy has seen better halves, but was our problem really McCoy? No, not at all.
  2. Along the lines of item 1, I see the real truth being something to the effect of “a QB and/or an OC will try to lose at least one game per year for you”. Look, I finished my Greg Davis hating a long time ago. I came into the realization that he’ll be around as long as he wants and I made my peace. That includes the post-Brown era. Maybe he is ushered into retirement at some point after Brown is gone, but Muschamp is not just going to tell the guy “good luck” when he takes the job. Anyone that has ever hired, fired, promoted, demoted, and counseled-out personnel (or anyone that has had one of those things happen to them) has to understand this. Humans just don’t tell visibly successful cohorts to GTFO when they take the helm unless real, sustained hate is involved. It won’t happen here. In any event, Davis called a really, really poor first half today. I thought he did something similar against Tech last year. I am hopeful that he’s back to decent or better next week. His second half performance today was fine.
  3. We are not creating enough turnovers. Moreso than anything on offense, this concerns me. I like what our defense is doing for the most part. I also have a lot of faith in Muschamp as a thinker and an implementer. That combo is rare and that’s why we like him. It gives me hope that the turnovers will come. That considered, we need to be making more plays that shift the game progression as a defensive unit. We’re clearly slowplaying some things defensively, and I hope we’re ready to unleash the hounds next week, but flickswitches rarely occur. It seems like it will be more gradual. Aaron Williams is havoc personified, so that gives me hope. Think what you want about Gideon, but he doesn’t think about the ball at all when he’s playing. This will continue to be a problem. Gideon is not alone in the secondary on this issue. Luckily, the secondary is pretty damned good anyway, Gideon included on some level. Still, turnovers need to start being realized in meaningful ways. Cross the fingers on Muschamp’s planning and teaching with his coaching partners.
  4. Our defensive line can play. Houston has been a known and forgotten entity. That is too bad. He can play at an elite level and we’re seeing that. The DEs are also very solid, although I think they’re being somewhat restrained by purposeful scheme right now. Muckleroy and Robinson are good and can be great. E Acho and Earnest are not weak spots on the front 7, so I like the LBs, especially if Norton can play honestly beyond his injury. Kheeston Randall almost appears to be a revelation. He is a quality DT that we’ll be happy to have starting for us for a while. Alexander actually showed something today, but I am from Missouri on his productivity against a good O. Should be interesting.
  5. Despite the absurdity on the fake punt, our STs are indeed Special, and in a good way. We have excellent return schemes and talent. Malcolm Williams, Shipley, and Monroe are all very good, with the potential for greatness. We cover our kicks and punts well, too. We can also kick field goals and punt pretty damned well. I doubt we get beat because of STs this season and I offer that our STs are about as good overall as any in the country. In regard to the punt fake and the FG fake, I don’t think the direction and repetition has been clear. I believe at some point, they told Tucker that if he ever sees an opening, to take it. After his first punt, I personally wondered what would have happened if he had kept the ball. He might have been asked the same thing on the sideline. The next opportunity, the punter probably saw something that wasn’t there. I doubt he was told to fake it, but I doubt anyone remembered to advise him not to, and he is a kicker, so he probably did what he thought was ok. He no doubt learned from it. In regard to the FG fake, I agree with keeping fakes on the ground, but we need some reps in practice.
  6. I have posted recently about the WR position and my feelings on some weaknesses there. I still think we have work to do, and part of that is Brown, Davis and Kennedy understanding what they have. Shipley is just a damned fine WR. Kirkendoll is becoming a very solid option in the intermediary game, but he’s not a behind the line guy. Buckner is clearly being incorporated in a way that should make us feel good. Guys like Williams, Chiles, and the backs seem to be somewhat misunderstood right now. Williams is a burner that plays better than he practices. He is a differentiator against opponents. Let him get long and throw him the ball. His talent and skill set is obvious. Chiles is not a bang-bang guy. Effort needs to be taken to get him north and south in space. I like the screen to him a lot if we can block it, but this isn’t the only option. A basic bench/sail set-up will work very well with him. Flare the slot guy underneath him, send a guy long inside of him as well, and then hit him on a slant. We could run entire drives with that same play set-up against many teams. When he has a chance to step out, literally, he is truly different. Outside of that, he looks pedestrian. In regard to the backs, I will not lament the stupidity we show repeatedly in regard to screens. It is obvious that it is not something that is worked on enough. Screens are as much timing as anything, and they take work. We’re worse at them than anyone else when it comes to backs. Stop it. Exploit the backs on angle routes, flare routes, and wheels. WHEELS. I don’t remember a time when I felt like we ran the Wheel routes enough. They work very, very well. Monroe and Newton are built for those.
  7. I was pleased to see that Newton can actually play. We know Monroe is damaging for about 10 snaps a game. Play those guys and Johnson more, please. McGee may well be a nice guy, but he’s an irrelevant component to this offense. North/South guys and home run hitters are on this team, embrace them and play them.
  8. Buckner is surprising in his effectiveness, especially since he appears terrified to be on the field. This is a guy constantly acting hurt or searching for sidelines. His talent is obvious, but his “want to” needs work. I hope they beat that into him. If they do, he can make this offense excellent and he can be terrific as a Flex-TE and work himself into a draftable NFL status.
  9. I don’t want to go too Dagny Taggert/John Galt here, but winning really is all that matters for this team from here. Our in-conference brethren are clearly destined to fall short, probably repeatedly, before we play them. On top of that, the schedule is purely weak. There will be no signature game for this team this year. I hope they attempt to make this coming game with Tech their best take on that. Tech is undefeated and they blew out their opponents, so that helps. We need to destroy these guys with vengeance. OU and OSU we should take seriously and maybe we get lucky with Missouri or Kansas and they win a bunch as well. Whatever the case, no one has as clear a path to playing for it all as Texas. Rare is the seaosn in which 3 real contenders go undefeated. Count on that not happening and just win, baby. The odds are terrific if we win out that we play for it all, even if USC passes us in the polls on Sunday.

Thoughts?

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38 Responses

  1. CloseToJumping said:

    September 12th, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    I really hate the 8 ) coding. I have always hated it. I hate it more than Carl Reese or Mike Haywood.

  2. topogigio said:

    September 12th, 2009 at 11:13 pm

    our line play was porous for long stretches on both sides of the ball at times today given the competition. makes me nervous for when we play teams with talent (OU).

  3. phishpac said:

    September 12th, 2009 at 11:43 pm

    Good write up. I share a lot of your sentiments, especially about Greg’s play calling in the first half. In the end, we kicked their ass and missed the spread by only a half point. We did what we were supposed to.

    Oh.. and fuck Dagny. Hank Rearden was the man, can’t believe she blew him off for wonderboy.

  4. txindc said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 12:49 am

    I’ve had to survive on the open threads for the last two games. Here are my observations of our fans/commenters.

    Before the Wyoming game:
    “Our receiving corps is SO deep! They’re all playmakers. John Chiles is the real deal!”
    After the Wyoming game:
    “Besides Shipley, this is the most mediocre group of receivers ever. John Chiles obviously isn’t ready for this move.”

    Before the Wyoming game:
    “Our o-line is top 5 in the country, no doubt. They’re juggernauts.”
    After the Wyoming game:
    “This is the worst o-line we’ve had in years.”

    Before the Wyoming game:
    “The season looks good. We’re firing on all cylinders, we’ve got lots of fresh talent, and depth.”
    After the Wyoming game (well, up until the 3rd qtr):
    “OH NO THE SKY IS FALLING!”

    I swear the altitude affected the fans’ heads more than the team.

  5. txindc said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 12:57 am

    Also, Mizzou barely squeaks one out against Bowling Green, and Dan Snyder’s triumphant return to K. State requires sacrificing one to UL-Lafayette (yeah, that team that the 2005 Horns blew out 60-3). Also, OU is wishing they had switched their first home and away games.

  6. blackscholes said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 1:05 am

    Would Gideon be a candidate to add some weight and move up to LB?

    I can’t really define it very well, but Colt looks just odd somewhat this season with some of his throws/decisions. He’s looked awkward to me, tossed some floaters, tried to finesse shit when it wasn’t called for, had some significant overthrows (the conditions today probably explain that to at least some degree). I’m wondering if it’s either a case of too little confidence (in his WRs?) or too much confidence. Just does not look to me yet like the kid we saw last season.

    Really like the comments re the WRs. Spot on. The Buckner limping routine is getting curious.

    I’m lumping forevermore McWhorter in with Davis in terms of performance. Just awful. And with virtually the pick of the litter for a number of years now he has no one to blame. Tanner and Hall were the kids he chose – Tanner so early in the cycle it was head-scratching – and they are back-ups at best. I think I better understand why Bruce Matthews could not in good faith send his kid to us. Aggy is still an atrocious choice, but that’s not the point.

    If we can put Ogbannaya in the league, after today I’m of a mind that Newton is looking like a much better option. Hitting the hole, following your blocks, catching the ball out of the backfield – sometimes that’s just enough.

    Davis serving in a Muschamp administration? I really hadn’t thought about that. Maybe as a bridge, but I’m hard-pressed to think he’d be the guy long-term. Not to mention he brings absolutely nothing – nothing – to recruiting, and with Muschamp not yet showing the ability to close that could be a concern.

  7. TaylorTRoom said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 4:49 am

    Davis, McWhorter and Tolly are all in the 59 – 63 age group. In the next few years, the staff will start getting notably younger.

    Newton looked almost like this in HS- unexceptional physical talent, but extremely well-coached (knew how to hold the ball, make his blocks, square his shoulders, i.e. all of the fundamental stuff). The world would have been a better place if Jamaal Charles knew the fundamentals of RB as well as Tre Newton. I see Newton as the guy who should play when the more talented backs have holes in their games, but not the guy to count on for elite performances in league games.

  8. beatendeadhorse said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 5:11 am

    “Think what you want about Gideon, but he doesn’t think about the ball at all when he’s playing. This will continue to be a problem. Gideon is not alone in the secondary on this issue. Luckily, the secondary is pretty damned good anyway, Gideon included on some level.”

    Watch the tape of both games and you’ll see Gideon not only telling Earl Thomas what to do but the linebackers as well. I think I”ll go with Muschamp’s judgment on Gideon.

  9. parlinhall said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 5:49 am

    This was never going to be as strong a season as fans wanted it to be.

    More than we’d like it to, the team’s success is going to depend on in-game coaching. That first half we had a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card, because it was Wyoming. The staff won’t have that luxury later in the season.

  10. ransomstoddard said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 6:04 am

    We are clearly badly missing the talent of Miller, Cosby and some others. I don’t think this team will be as good as last year’s and certainly not in the class of Florida, if not also USC. More: 1. the defense is fast but the complete lack of turnovers and Kindle’s disappearing act are puzzling. Wyoming was not double-teaming him, they were easily handling him one on one. Maybe we got too excited too fast about him. 2. Colt has no confidence in anyone but Ship. That is a problem. 3. Our running back by committee has turned in to ‘we don’t have a decent Division I back so here is some clutter.’ 4. Not surprisingly, Greg Davis can’t figure out how to put all these parts together. 5. At this point of the season, Nebraska is the most impressive Big 12 team.

  11. horncasting said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 6:45 am

    I didn’t have a problem with Davis’s play calling in the first half. The problems started when the WR’s started dropping catches they normally make, getting Colt out of sync, and then the entire offense went downhill with more drops, poor passes from him, drive killing penalties and a sack. Poor first half was more on the players execution than play calling.

    This offense would miss Cosby alot less if Collins were playing.

    Gideon may not be creating any turnovers, but he sure is always there to clean up the missed tackles being made by the other guys who seem more concerned with stripping the ball or making a highlight hit than making a solid tackle. Should we start talking about the lack of turnovers being created by everyone else in the secondary not named Williams or Brewster?

    Buckner tweaked something early but never went out of the game and he kept producing. I’m not sure how that equals being terrified and constantly looking for the sidelines. It reminded me of the WR (Collins or Kirkendoll) in the Fiesta Bowl that got hurt and sucked it up on the last drive than a player afraid to be out there.

    Newton looks like a bright spot in the running game and doing all of the things Chris O. did for us last year. Monroe can continue to give the homerun threat if they can figure a way not to telegraph he is getting the ball ever time he is in.

    Chalk this game up as similar to the UTEP game last year and don’t read too many things into it. This team can still be as good or better than the 2008 team.

  12. horncasting said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 6:49 am

    “I don’t think this team will be as good as last year’s and certainly not in the class of Florida, if not also USC.”

    Florida I’ll give you for now, but USC? You must think their defense is better than ours because there is no way Ohio State holds our offense to 17 points and only 1 real drive with a TD.

  13. Sasha is a Longhorn Dog said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 6:52 am

    Personnel issues aside, I will again point out that everyone was pulling the “we’re not going to be good” refrain last year at about this time. The 2008 team didn’t click until the ou game. Give these guys a little benefit of the doubt. The D played outstanding. McCoy just has unearthly expectations. Chill. Start to worry in a few games.

  14. batate said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 6:54 am

    We sure did turn it on in the second half. Any chance we were just working on some precision short stuff, knowing that the intermediate stuff would be there in the second half?

    Tech is the first real test. If we pass it and stay healthy, we’re looking pretty good heading into OU.

  15. uthookem said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 6:59 am

    Yep, I’m tapping the brakes on negativity. This team is right now the second best team in the country, by far, and we are still getting our shit together.

    Let’s cruise by 20+ next week against Tech and we’ll know whether or not we really have something.

    Hook ‘em!

  16. Gene Claude said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 7:35 am

    Why were you pretty sober at a sports bar? I couldn’t get past that.

  17. Flamingmonkey said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 7:51 am

    Some of you people are unbelievable in just how quickly you go from “we’re the best in the country” to “we suck”. That Mack has survived as long as he has is a amazing. He must have the patience of a saint.

  18. bartoncreek said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 8:02 am

    Agree with the mostly optimistic take. There was a day when Greg would have continued with what was obviously a bad game plan for all 4 quarters. Credit to him for adjusting at halftime. As much as some of us hate to admit, he has gotten much better at that.

    Colt is missing Quan, but we will get it figured out with the WR situation. This is not an average group of WRs. They are better than that from a talent standpoint. We just have to figure out how to better use their skillsets. In my older age, I have mellowed and tend to not melt down over one bad half of football. We will figure it out.

    The D was quite good. All 10 points came off the special teams mistakes. Can’t ask for much more. The pressure was constant and came mostly from our front 4. We still haven’t showed much in the form of blitz packages these first two games. I’m curious as to what we will see against Tech. Of course, blitzing Tech with regularity is a bad idea too in my opinion.

  19. doback said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 8:02 am

    TTR said: “Newton looked almost like this in HS- unexceptional physical talent, but extremely well-coached (knew how to hold the ball, make his blocks, square his shoulders, i.e. all of the fundamental stuff). The world would have been a better place if Jamaal Charles knew the fundamentals of RB as well as Tre Newton. I see Newton as the guy who should play when the more talented backs have holes in their games, but not the guy to count on for elite performances in league games.”

    Amen to that shit on a Sunday morning..
    At some point in the second quarter I thought we had stumbled into a tent with Jake Gyllenhaal and the ghost of Heath Ledger. And it was starting to really hurt, but we survived.
    We survived epic failure on a fake punt, blocked punt and a fake FG. We survived our robo-QB not being his sharpest and receivers dropping some balls. We survived our O-line not doing anything particularly well. We survived Greg Davis…
    It was 41-10 with no major injuries and this morning I didn’t wake up in fuckin’ Stillwater..

  20. CloseToJumping said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 8:06 am

    Flamingmonkey, uthookem, Sasha,

    I have to tell you, I can’t figure out if these “Oh no, negativity!!!!” posts are being tossed at the original post, or some of the responses. If at some of the responses, I get it. At the original post? It is a headscratcher. I don’t feel like I typed anything very controversial out there in the original post and I closed it with how I think we need to approach things so we can play for it all.

    I looked at what I saw and took a relatively innocuous set of positions. Moreover, those thoughts revolved around one game, not a conclusion on what is going to happen for the rest of the season. If the original post was a bit much for you, I’ve got nothing for you in my posts, I don’t think.

    horncasting–

    Buckner got up limping after dropping a pass and pulling himself from the game for a while. He ran aggressively at the sidelines last week. I’d like to see the guy just play, antics aside. It doesn’t change that I believe he looked good and we’ve got a good find with him at his spot, as I posted in the original post.

    As to you having no problems with Davis’ playcalling in the first half, I guess we see games like this differently, I don’t know. There looked like a whole lot of “let’s not risk too much on the road here” going on.

    beatendeadhorse–

    I was as complimentary as I’ll be on Gideon in the first post. He’s a “coach on the field” and such, but the free safety has to make plays. He’s also not alone right now in solid secondary productivity without the big plays that we’ll need in a big game. I am not handwringing, but we need more.

    blackscholes, TaylorTRoom–

    I felt like what I typed out there indicated something akin to the bridge concept, as opposed to what seems like a lot of people think, where there’s a housecleaning of some sort for a top 5 program.

    GeneClaude–

    Relatively sober is fundamental for enjoying the entirety of a fall Saturday in my book.

    Thanks for the thoughts on the thread, guys. I feel pretty good about what lies ahead, myself.

  21. Flamingmonkey said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 8:34 am

    Mine was dircected more at the ransomstoddard type than you CTJ.

    I’m certainly no sunshine pumper and I’m in agreement with you on almost all of your points. We defintely have things that need to be addressed by the coaches, but I think we’re sill a damn fine football team.

  22. kafka said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 8:44 am

    Colt frequently looked angry on the sideline. He frequently did not throw on rhythm which leads to all kinds of problems. Colt should check down to his dump receiver more quickly and more often.

    Could you be more specific about GD’s bad play calling? What specifically was wrong and what should he have been doing? I thought the horns threw too much intermediate stuff and should have been throwing under the zone (when Wyoming was playing zone) more often.

    Chiles is the horns’ number 4 receiver this season:
    Ship

  23. doback said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 8:54 am

    “Also, Mizzou barely squeaks one out against Bowling Green, and Dan Snyder’s triumphant return to K. State”

    How Dan Snyder finds the time to own the Redskins and coach K. State, I’ll never know..

  24. kafka said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 9:14 am

    Colt frequently looked angry on the sideline, Wyoming was confusing him a bit. He frequently did not throw on rhythm which leads to all kinds of problems. Colt should check down to his dump receiver more quickly and more often.

    Could you be more specific about GD’s bad play calling? What specifically was wrong and what should he have been doing? I thought the horns threw too much intermediate stuff and should have been throwing under the zone (when Wyoming was playing zone) more often. Maybe the WRs were not sitting down in the holes in the zone very well.

    Where is the love for Chiles? I’m amazed that Chiles is the horns’ number 4 receiver already this season (i.e. only two games into his WR career at UT):
    Ship 15 catches, 1 TD
    Buckner 11 catches, 1TD
    Kirk 9 catches, 1 TD
    Chiles 8 catches, 2 TDs

    It was great to see Chiles getting mobbed by his teammates after his TD (short pass, 26 yard run by Chiles). I also noticed that once on third down and short, GD and Colt thought throwing to Chiles was the surest way to get the first down (which Chiles did by bulling his way for the yardage). Chiles is already doing better than most everybody expected at WR and he is going to get better (he is a smart guy who is a quick learner).

    Is there any reason to believe that Buckner is not playing in pain when he is limping? This is another guy who had an amazing first couple of games as a starter.

    I would also like to see Malcolm playing more. It is amazing that Malcolm has been so slow to earn the confidence of GD/Colt while Chiles has earned their confidence so rapidly.

    Newton has looked great but it might be partially because the holes for running are bigger in the second half (when he does most of his running). By all means play him a bunch in the first half and let’s see how he does.

    Our safeties don’t still don’t catch the ball too well.

  25. horncasting said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 10:05 am

    “As to you having no problems with Davis’ playcalling in the first half, I guess we see games like this differently, I don’t know. There looked like a whole lot of “let’s not risk too much on the road here” going on.”

    How was the play calling in the second half any different than the first? (Assuming you were ok with it in the second half). If I am remembering right they actually attempted more long passes in the first half than in the second. I just don’t see the overly conservative playcalling, with the possible exception of the 3rd down pass to Shipley on the very first drive (that ended in a field goal). I see the same play calling that lead to one of the best offenses in the country all of last year.

  26. texoz said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 10:15 am

    How’s Kindle been doing? Haven’t heard any negative, but haven’t heard a lot of positive either. Would have thought he’d be making some noise by now.

  27. Sasha is a Longhorn Dog said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 11:28 am

    Context clues, CTJ. Of course I was responding to some of the other posters. How you could get confused on that issue confuses me. But, since I have now been made aware of your propensity to think that everything is directed squarely at you, I will be blatant as to whom I am responding to in future posts.

  28. Tim said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 11:41 am

    I like how Mack Brown threw Justin Tucker under the bus in his half-time interview, what a class act.

  29. Scipio Tex said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Would you like Brown to say that his kicker didn’t go batshit crazy, Tim?

  30. texoz said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    Anyone watching the game realized immediately that Justin Tucker must have had a bout of snow blindness when he faked the punt.

    It’s an weird punting scheme, that sprint right, rugby style. It almost invites the punter to run as he sees moving blockers in front of him. It definitely sets up nicely for a fake, just not at that particular moment.

  31. sizzlechest said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    Sasha,

    Lighten up, Francis.

  32. henley said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 8:49 pm

    I’m not overly gung ho on the team just yet, either, but I fail to see how anyone that watched the games can say that Kindle has been a disappointment.

    He made the Wyoming QB remember him, according to a guy who attended the WYO post-game press conf.

    Don’t let the box score convince you of the quality of his play.

  33. Scipio Tex said:

    September 13th, 2009 at 9:05 pm

    I agree henley. He had some big hits just as the guy was letting go of the ball. And Wyoming was moving the pocket and getting the ball out pretty quickly.

  34. dedfischer said:

    September 14th, 2009 at 10:02 am

    We’re going to kick the ever-living dog shit out of Texas.

  35. Blake Borron said:

    September 14th, 2009 at 11:35 am

    I liked what I saw from Alexander.

  36. hankkingsley said:

    September 14th, 2009 at 11:47 am

    “Williams is a burner that plays better than he practices.”

    Agreed and I’m mystified by the coaching staff’s decision to not feature him at all this year.

    It’d be one thing if he had an attitude problem and was lazy in practice. Everything I’ve read mentions that Malcolm is a very hard worker and the players/coaches love him. He’s been inconsistent in practice? Fine. But has he been inconsistent in the actual games? I haven’t seen it.

    Release the Kraken, for fuck’s sake.

  37. huge said:

    September 14th, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    by all means, release him…

    he isnt doing shit for my fantasy team as it is.

  38. dedfischer said:

    September 14th, 2009 at 6:14 pm

    Now, the 2nd part: Laying 2/1 odds that my previous post makes a ChrisApplewhite post-game post.

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  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   1 hour, 29 minutes ago

    Anyone else as confused as I am by this “Ivan Brothers” ad campaign? WTF?

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   1 hour, 32 minutes ago

    Cuse looking strong. Another week of R&R for the big man….

  • Luke wrote a new blog post: BYU postgame   1 hour, 59 minutes ago

    http://nbcsportsmedia1.msnbc.com/j/apmegasports/201003202121769017659-pf.widec.jpg

    What a glorious, glorious day of basketball at the Ford Center Saturday.

    First, Ali Ali Farokhmanesh and all the other Panthers with cool names took down Kansas as Sherron Collins made his best effort to shed that “clutch” label on the last game of his collegiate career. Then of course, Kansas State waved goodbye to Jimmer

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  • Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Best Opening Round I Can Remember   2 hours, 35 minutes ago

    Ali Farokhmanesh hitting the biggest shot of the season is the definition of March Madness.

    Ali Boma Ye!!!

  • skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem   3 hours, 57 minutes ago

    It is just amazing to me that most posters think that Jordan has improved so much in the last half of the season.
    The one thing I will say is that Jordan has just started to show his ability with a basketball. The reason that he did not show his talents is up to all the

  • Ag_in_TX wrote a new blog post: Purdue Pre-game   4 hours, 3 minutes ago

    Offense

    Both teams are unselfish and preach sharing the ball. A&M is a balanced scoring team. Sloan showed in the first round against Utah State, for example, that he can defer when his teammates have things going. Purdue once again will have to rely on JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore to produce, and hope

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  • Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post We Have Our Answer   4 hours, 19 minutes ago

    And yes, it appears JoPo wrote pretty much the same thing. It’s hard to believe with all the national talking heads, fans, and everyone in between saying otherwise, but I think it’s the only conclusion to draw for anyone that really watched this team.

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  • Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post We Have Our Answer   4 hours, 19 minutes ago

    And yes, it appears JoPo wrote pretty much the same thing. It’s hard to believe with all the national talking heads, fans, and everyone in between saying otherwise, but I think it’s the only conclusion to draw for anyone that really watched this team.

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  • Hiphopopotamus wrote a new blog post: We Have Our Answer   4 hours, 21 minutes ago

    Normally, after a big win or a crushing defeat, I don’t know what to think, say, or feel, because I can’t. And that what makes this one different; it’s just as painful, but I saw it coming. Instead of getting blindsided by the oncoming traffic, I was able to brace myself for the

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  • whiskey commented on the blog post The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour   4 hours, 40 minutes ago

    I’m with you the off season is already old. I’m ready for the season to start. NDS I am completely fascinated by the Tech vs. Lech business. I can’t believe they ran off the guy that put them on the map and subsequently ended up with an arguable upgrade in Tubs.

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  • whiskey commented on the blog post Spring Preview: Tech Offense   4 hours, 45 minutes ago

    Ded 9-12 wins is pretty optomistic. I like it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Tubs can do with them this year especially on D. I’m surprised you think the QB battle between Sticks and Nick will be close. Interesting, I figured Sticks was a runaway. I hope Corndog

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  • dedfischer wrote a new blog post: Spring Preview: Tech Offense   5 hours, 28 minutes ago

    Got a little time this morning and I’m rearing to talk some football.  Here’s what the depth chart looks like headed into spring and a few thoughts:

    Offense

    QB  Sr. Taylor Potts/Sr. Steven Sheffield – We’ve all annointed Sheffield as the starter, and I think that’s the case if we continue to run 99% of our snaps

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  • Black Scholes commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem   8 hours, 23 minutes ago

    lawdog – on the topic of regression, this crew can’t compare with the senior seasons Thomas and Atchley put up. Something ain’t right in this scenario. Mason topped out his sophomore year and Pittman last year.

    Wangmene is ‘Manos de Piedra’ redux, so that was really never going to work out.

  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Top Ten Reasons Why Cal Can Beat Duke   10 hours, 22 minutes ago

    This would probably go a bit better if you read it in your Bobby Knight voice and it had two decades worth of goodwill built up from its gratuitous appearance on a popular late night television show. But oh well.

    1) Interior Worries. As in the Bears shouldn’t have any defensively

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  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Round 2 Saturday Recaps   11 hours, 19 minutes ago

    We talked about the upset of the decade in this post, but I watched some other great basketball today I’d like to comment on.

    For me, the theme of the day was well-played basketball. I’m not only talking about what Northern Iowa did, I’m talking about the other seven games being really well

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  • Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Madness Magic: Northern Iowa Upsets Kansas   11 hours, 33 minutes ago

    Just a phenomenal game.

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  • Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Recapping The South   11 hours, 44 minutes ago

    Udoh was a fargging beast in that game. Very athletic player.

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  • Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   12 hours, 8 minutes ago

    Jesus. I think I see four horseman on the horizon.

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  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Madness Magic: Northern Iowa Upsets Kansas   12 hours, 11 minutes ago

    Today reminded me why I love this tournament so much. A good friend of mine mentioned to me that college basketball is the great equalizer of all athletic endeavors. At least of the sports we care about. He’s right.

    For instance, you can have a 40 inch vertical, be Iverson quick,

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  • Nate Heupel commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   12 hours, 15 minutes ago

    Patrick,

    Unless you’re completely retarded, you know precisely what I meant. The closest any Big 12 team has gotten to winning the infamous Fuller Cup is the 2007 Texas squad. I can’t remember a team being that horribly undisciplined as a whole aside from the insane OU teams of the 80’s. That’s not

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  • Nate Heupel commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   12 hours, 15 minutes ago

    Patrick,

    Unless you’re completely retarded, you know precisely what I meant. The closest any Big 12 team has gotten to winning the infamous Fulmer Cup is the 2007 Texas squad. I can’t remember a team being that horribly undisciplined as a whole aside from the insane OU teams of the 80’s. That’s not

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  • Sailor Ripley wrote a new blog post: This Is Sparta!   12 hours, 28 minutes ago

    Please make yourself welcome and Adam will be by shortly to keep you up to date on all Michigan State Spartan happenings.

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  • Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Barnes worst team   12 hours, 32 minutes ago

    I suppose anyone could be your “favorite Longhorn basketball player” but Ford did more than just about anyone…although Durant is clearly better. Ford’s supporting cast was better than Durant’s in his sophomore year. Durant’s had more talent (Augustin, James, Abrams) but Ford’s was more developed (Boddicker, Ivey, Mouton, Thomas) and had worked with him for