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I did something this past weekend I never even dreamed was a possibility … I ran the Marine Corps Marathon.
If you, like me, have never run a marathon before, I have to tell you that it is an absolute spectacle. There are wild scenes like the guy who juggled the entire 26.2 miles. There are also heart-rendering scenes like the Ukrainian soldier running with a prosthetic leg.
Then there was the scene I stumbled upon in mile 12, the “Blue Mile.” It is a one-mile section of the course dedicated to honor fallen service members. There are posters along the entire one-mile stretch showing those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
About halfway through I saw a lady having her picture taken next to one of the posters. The poster showed a young Marine First Lieutenant who died in Afghanistan. The lady took her phone back from the guy who took the picture, pulled out a Kleen-Ex and wiped her tears and then started running again.
My heart ached for that lady for a long time (still does). She clearly knew the young lady in the poster. I don’t know if she knew that poster would be on the course or if she just happened upon it. Either way, I can’t imagine the emotions that had to have had on her.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t prepared for some of the things you happen to see while running a race like that. I would have joined her in crying out on the course … if only I had enough liquids in me at that point to produce tears.
Of course, I wasn’t prepared physically for the race either.
Through work, life and travel … I didn’t have nearly enough time to train for the marathon. In fact, the longest run I had done prior to the race was a 12-mile run done the week before. I was more than ready to bail on the race altogether but I couldn’t defer it until next year and so my wife and I plunged ahead. We didn’t tell anyone we were running it because A) we weren’t sure if we were actually going to run it and B) we weren’t sure if we could finish it if we did. I did not put myself in a position to succeed.
But once I was out on the course, I became determined. I wasn’t going to give up and just let it beat me. I may not have trained properly, but I was going to keep going and finish that damn race come Hell or high water. And I did.
My time is completely irrelevant. The race wasn’t against the clock (except for the fact that you have to be running fast enough to beat certain time checks or they close the course and force you to stop in order to open up city streets to traffic again). No, for me, the race was just against the finish line.
Obviously, you may be wondering what this has to do with the Texas Longhorn football team. Well if I know anything, it’s that sports is full of life lessons that can be applied to all of us. The reverse of that is true too. Life lessons can be applied to sports as well.
There are two lessons I took away from the marathon that made me think of the Texas Longhorns. One concerns Maalik Murphy and the other concerns the Texas coaches.
MAALIK MURPHY …
Maalik Murphy stepped in as the starter for the BYU game and showed what we’ve suspected all along … he has the talent to be a star quarterback.
“He’s got all the arm talent in the world,” said Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. “He’s a really natural passer of the football,” Sarkisian said. “It’s that natural feel of putting air under a ball, or layering a ball. So that part’s pretty natural to him.”
But … much like me going into the marathon, Murphy is not yet ready.
The redshirt freshman was 16 of 25 for 170 yards, two touchdowns and two turnovers.
This is not a slam on Maalik. Most quarterbacks aren’t ready to excel as redshirt freshmen. It is just part of the growing process.
In addition to the turnovers, there were multiple throws that were just slightly behind the receivers. That’s mostly a timing issue which should improve as he continues to get reps with his receivers. The off-timing was particularly noticeable with star wide receiver Xavier Worthy who was targeted 10 times but only came away with four catches for 27 yards.
This play is a great example. Worthy is open on the slant but the ball is behind him. Maybe that’s because Murphy isn’t used to the speed and timing of someone like Xavier Worthy? Or maybe Murphy had his eyes on the DE who was crashing down on him after Ja’Tavion Sanders didn’t make it over to pick up the block. Either way, that’s a play that is very likely a completion if Quinn Ewers was behind center.
Again, that’s not a slam on Murphy. Ewers had plenty of those missed plays last year. Heck, the timing between Ewers and Worthy was absolutely horrendous last season. But the two worked on it all offseason and they were putting together a very good year this season before Ewers went out with the shoulder sprain.
Murphy is going to have to get ready really quickly this week. The level of competition steps up considerably with Kansas State coming to town. Kansas State knows how to get after the quarterback and their 3-3-5 defense can confuse even experienced QBs. Witness the fact that the same Houston quarterback who passed for nearly 400 yards against Texas was held to 88 total yards passing against Kansas State last week.
K-State wants to focus first on the run game and then make life tough for the quarterback. The last time the Wildcats faced a freshman quarterback, they hounded Texas Tech QB Jake Strong into three interceptions.
“We’ve been able to make a few teams one-dimensional,” said Kansas State head coach Chris Kleiman. “We’re not going to be able to do that (with Texas). We have to be really good at being able to control some of the run game and we absolutely have to take away their shot plays because they’re extremely talented at the receiver and tight end position and they’re getting behind everybody.”
TEXAS COACHES NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT ...
Murphy needing more time to figure things out is understandable. The Texas coaches needing to figure things out eight games into the season is less so.
If I didn’t put myself in position to succeed during the marathon, that’s on me. The Texas coaches not putting their players in position to succeed is on them.
What am I talking about? I’m talking about fundamental design schemes that hang the players out to dry (and I’m not talking about the red zone woes … which have been well-documented).
Let’s start with Texas offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Kyle Flood. Flood’s skills as a recruiter and a coach have become legendary. Think Bama wouldn’t love to have him back right now? But that doesn’t mean he is infallible and the designs of some of his pass-blocking schemes don’t fit the skills of the players who are executing them.
Left guard Hayden Conner is being asked to do too much. Multiple times against BYU, offensive line coach Kyle Flood had Conner pull out to the right in order to pick up blitzes … but Conner didn’t have the speed to pull it off and it led to two turnovers and a couple of sacks.
Early in the 1st quarter, Conner was pulling from his left guard spot out to the right to protect Maalik Murphy in pass-pro and he doesn’t get there in time. The result was Murphy was put under pressure by BYU defensive end Tyler Batty and Murphy had to rush the throw. Of course, no one really remembers that part of the play because the catch from Ja’Tavion Sanders was one of the best catches of the season.
Two plays later, the same thing happened … this time it led to Murphy’s interception (which he has to protect the ball better). Still, watch Conner try to pull out to the right. This time, linebacker AJ Vongphachanh was coming in and Conner needed to get there a little quicker in order to better engage. Instead, Conner was a beat slow, the BYU LB has the outside leverage and easily sheds the block attempt to force the horrendously bad throw by Murphy.
Watch Conner here on the first play of the second quarter. Texas is in the red zone and looking to score (although that’s no guarantee). BYU Defensive End Isaiah Bagnah comes in on a blitz and Conner can’t get to him in time. The result is a sack and fumble recovery for Bagnah and Texas doesn’t get any points on the drive.
Texas is 12th in the conference in sacks allowed having given up 18 so far this season. Incidentally, Kansas State is tied with Texas for second in the conference in sacks at 19. That’s a bad combination heading into Saturday’s matchup.
If Hayden Conner doesn’t have the speed to reach a blitzing linebacker or edge rusher (and it’s not like BYU is loaded with talented future NFL players at those positions), then Kyle Flood has to find a different way to protect the quarterback … especially when it’s a freshman quarterback getting his first taste of college football. The Texas coaches are not putting their players in the best position to succeed.
Of course, it’s not just on offense. I harped on this quite a bit in last week’s column, but defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski continues to call for soft coverages which leads to easy conversions for Texas’ opponents … like this play.
This play is 4th and 2 in the second quarter. Let me repeat again … 4th down and two yards to go for a first down. And yet, Gavin Holmes is playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and immediately backpedaling on the snap of the ball. How in the name of all that’s holy is this defense expected to come up with a stop when all the QB has to do is get the ball to his wide receiver and it becomes an easy first down? I mean, even an underhanded toss like a granny shooting a free throw would work because it would take too long for Holmes to change direction and come up and make a play on the ball.
Texas lost to OU because of soft coverage from the DBs and miscommunication in the secondary. Soft coverages allowed Houston quarterback Donovan Smith to throw for 378 yards with easy plays like this:
Will Howard is a better quarterback than Donovan Smith or Kedon Slovis.
If the coaches don’t do a better job of putting their players in a position to succeed then you can forget about the playoffs AND the Big 12 Championship Game because Texas will lose to Kansas State and the goals heading into the season will be gone.
Here's the thing ... just like when I was running the marathon, there comes a time when every college football team just has to put its head down, go out and do the damn thing, even when you're injured and tired. That's where the Horns are now. It's time to see their determination and go out and do the damn thing.
THE GALEY POLL …
Screw the AP and the Coaches poll … the ONLY poll that matters is the Galey poll. This is my official/unofficial ranking of college teams following week one games.
THOUGHTS ON MY POLL: (and yes, I hear it … )
I’ve had Georgia at the top spot all year and they are finally starting to play like a team that could be the best in the country. I’m certainly not going to drop them now that they have appeared to figure out how to go play a dominant brand of football.
I honestly considered putting Oregon ahead of Washington. I know the Huskies beat the Ducks heads up … and going into that game I thought Washington was the better team. But coming out of that game, I thought Oregon was the better team, even though they lost. If not for some questionable coaching calls, I think UO wins that game and they would be one of the top four teams in the country. Since the loss in Seattle, Oregon has gone on to play some of the best football in the country on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, Washington has struggled to beat some of the lower-ranked Pac-12 teams. So, all of that to say, I think Oregon is better and will finish higher than Washington, I’m just not ready to make that call just yet.
Yes, OU beat Texas in Dallas. And yes, OU and Texas have the same record. But just like the Oregon/Washington game, I came out thinking the losing team was actually the better team on the field. Unlike Oregon, Texas has not gone on to play the best football it is capable of playing. So, even though Texas has struggled some, they are still ranked higher than OU because the Sooners have looked as bad, if not worse than Texas and a loss in Kansas means you are going to fall. Period. End of story.
I moved LSU up because it just looks so damn good on offense. It’s almost a shame the Tigers already have two losses because Jayden Daniels is playing Heisman-worthy football right now. If he goes into Tuscaloosa and pulls off the upset, that would definitely vault him into the Heisman front-runner status.
I’ve been too low on Louisville all season. Losing to Pitt early on will do that to you. But they’ve been playing some damn good football in their first year under head coach Jeff Brohm. Right now, if I were putting money on it, I would say Louisville is the most likely team not named FSU to make it to the ACC Championship Game.
I’ve been bullish on Kansas State all year. The Wildcats are a damn good football team and I’m surprised to see them ranked below Kansas in the CFP. All they have done is gone out and win in convincing fashion (something I’ve been saying all along that Texas needs to do, but has yet to do).
UPON FURTHER REVIEW …
As Texas embarks on its last season in the Big 12, I’m keeping track of questionable calls against the Horns in every game officiated by a Big 12 crew.
The game against BYU was the worst called game since Rice. The sheer number of no-calls is astonishing. I have logged plenty of holding calls in the description below … but I left out a number of plays in which holding definitely took place, they just weren’t as egregious as what I did include.
BYU VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Derek Anderson
Umpire: Michael Henderson
Linesman: Doug Moore
Line judge: Quentin Givens
Back judge: Daniel Young
Field judge: Gabriel DeLeon
Side judge: Mark Graves
Center judge: Brian Alos
Replay Official: Marcus Marsden
14:08 in the 1st quarter, Xavier Worthy goes over the middle and gets taken down before the ball gets there, but there is no interference call.
12:36 in the 1st quarter, 2nd & 11: Byron Murphy is double teamed by BYU’s Center and Right Guard and held with a choke hold and he still gets pressure on the QB up the middle.
12:30 in the 1st quarter, 3rd & 11: Byron Murphy is mauled by BYU’s right tackle with an arm around Murphy’s neck.
11:41 in the 3rd quarter, 1st & 10: Once again a choke hold on Byron Murphy goes completely unnoticed and the result was a 17-yard gain.
1:10 left in the 3rd quarter. This is the play that the refs correctly called hands to the face on Vernon Broughton (and it was not in the end zone so it was not a safety). But look at what the left guard is doing to Alfred Collins. That hold starts outside of the endzone so it wouldn’t be a safety either … but nobody was looking at that play. And while we’re on this play, the left tackle was also jerking around Barryn Sorrell.
9:28 left in the 4th quarter. Barryn Sorrell just gets mauled but there is no holding call. It didn’t end up mattering because the Horns picked of Slovis on the play so the holding call would have been declined, but a flag should have come out.
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TEXAS VS. HOUSTON
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Michael VanderVelde
Umpire: Rick Podraza
Linesman: John Braun
Line judge: Darren Deckard
Back judge: Robert Lewis
Field judge: Robert Asel
Side judge: Fulton Carson
Center judge: Chris Tallent
Replay Official: Eugene Semko
OU VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: David Alvarez
Umpire: Stuart Schake
Linesman: Rick Smith
Line judge: Mark Estermyer
Back judge: Terrance Jones
Field judge: Joseph Martinez
Side judge: Brendon Barnes
Center judge: Abram Anaya
Replay Official: Richard Brown
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KANSAS VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Kevin Boitmann
Umpire: Apollo Martin
Linesman: Eric Carmouche
Line judge: David Young
Back judge: Joel Wetzel
Field judge: Edward Vinzant
Side judge: Eric Hartman
Centerjudge: Stacy Hardin
Replay Official: Donald Kapral
No questionable calls.
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TEXAS VS. BAYLOR
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Derek Anderson
Umpire: Michael Henderson
Linesman: Doug Moore
Line judge: Quentin Givens
Back judge: Daniel Young
Field judge: Gabriel DeLeon
Side judge: Mark Graves
Center judge: Brian Alos
Replay Official: Marcus Marsden
9:20 in the third quarter, a questionable holding call.
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WYOMING VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Kevin Mar
Line Judge: Bret Bascue
Umpire: Marlow Fitzgerald
Back Judge: Lyndon Nixon
Linesman: Bradford Edwards
Field Judge: Randy Smith
RICE VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Tutashinda Salaam
Line Judge: Kelly Deterding
Side Judge: Eric Hartman
Umpire: Bill Bishop
Back Judge: Christopher Alston
Linesman: Matt Burks
Field Judge: Rich Almeroth
TWEETS OF INTEREST
Speaking of the officiating against Texas.
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Texas versus Kansas State is going to be strength on strength. Strong run games (on both sides) versus strong run defenses (on both sides).
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I refuse to talk about Texas’ chances of making this year’s playoff until I see them put together a game where they play very good football for all four quarters. I’m sorry, but the team I see week in and week out just doesn’t look like a playoff team to me.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun projecting what the playoffs would look if the 12-team model started this season.
Who wouldn’t be down with Texas hosting Ole Miss in the college football playoffs? Lane Kiffin coming to take on Steve Sarkisian in Austin? Yes, please!
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I don’t post a lot of these award watch lists but this is a very cool award and I hope Michael Taafe ends up bringing it home.
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Texas volleyball is absolutely killing it.
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Texas Soccer just keeps winning.
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The Big 12 released its conference scheduling format for the new conference sans Texas and OU. Frankly, it’s a pretty straight forward and kind of boring model. I expected more from Yormark.
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I truly feel bad for Iowa Hawkeye fans having had to endure the abysmal offense that they rolled out under Brian Ferentz. I’m truly hopeful for them that they get someone in who has a clue what the forward pass is.
Of course, it’s not JUST Iowa … the Big Ten in general is just boring football.
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The life of a coach ain’t easy … but the paydays make it worth a lot of crap.
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Does anyone else think Jim Harbaugh would be a good fit for the Las Vegas Raiders?
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This is honestly a real shame. Millions of baseball fans are missing out on a very good series. There is some damn good baseball being played.
Go Rangers!
YOU!
Now is your chance to sponsor the column. Our previous sponsor paid for more than three months of sponsorship fees in the first two weeks of signing up. That can be you! Contact @BlakeSkaggs if you want that kind of successful promotion for your business. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity!
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I did something this past weekend I never even dreamed was a possibility … I ran the Marine Corps Marathon.
If you, like me, have never run a marathon before, I have to tell you that it is an absolute spectacle. There are wild scenes like the guy who juggled the entire 26.2 miles. There are also heart-rendering scenes like the Ukrainian soldier running with a prosthetic leg.
Then there was the scene I stumbled upon in mile 12, the “Blue Mile.” It is a one-mile section of the course dedicated to honor fallen service members. There are posters along the entire one-mile stretch showing those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
About halfway through I saw a lady having her picture taken next to one of the posters. The poster showed a young Marine First Lieutenant who died in Afghanistan. The lady took her phone back from the guy who took the picture, pulled out a Kleen-Ex and wiped her tears and then started running again.
My heart ached for that lady for a long time (still does). She clearly knew the young lady in the poster. I don’t know if she knew that poster would be on the course or if she just happened upon it. Either way, I can’t imagine the emotions that had to have had on her.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t prepared for some of the things you happen to see while running a race like that. I would have joined her in crying out on the course … if only I had enough liquids in me at that point to produce tears.
Of course, I wasn’t prepared physically for the race either.
Through work, life and travel … I didn’t have nearly enough time to train for the marathon. In fact, the longest run I had done prior to the race was a 12-mile run done the week before. I was more than ready to bail on the race altogether but I couldn’t defer it until next year and so my wife and I plunged ahead. We didn’t tell anyone we were running it because A) we weren’t sure if we were actually going to run it and B) we weren’t sure if we could finish it if we did. I did not put myself in a position to succeed.
But once I was out on the course, I became determined. I wasn’t going to give up and just let it beat me. I may not have trained properly, but I was going to keep going and finish that damn race come Hell or high water. And I did.
My time is completely irrelevant. The race wasn’t against the clock (except for the fact that you have to be running fast enough to beat certain time checks or they close the course and force you to stop in order to open up city streets to traffic again). No, for me, the race was just against the finish line.
Obviously, you may be wondering what this has to do with the Texas Longhorn football team. Well if I know anything, it’s that sports is full of life lessons that can be applied to all of us. The reverse of that is true too. Life lessons can be applied to sports as well.
There are two lessons I took away from the marathon that made me think of the Texas Longhorns. One concerns Maalik Murphy and the other concerns the Texas coaches.
MAALIK MURPHY …
Maalik Murphy stepped in as the starter for the BYU game and showed what we’ve suspected all along … he has the talent to be a star quarterback.
“He’s got all the arm talent in the world,” said Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. “He’s a really natural passer of the football,” Sarkisian said. “It’s that natural feel of putting air under a ball, or layering a ball. So that part’s pretty natural to him.”
But … much like me going into the marathon, Murphy is not yet ready.
The redshirt freshman was 16 of 25 for 170 yards, two touchdowns and two turnovers.
This is not a slam on Maalik. Most quarterbacks aren’t ready to excel as redshirt freshmen. It is just part of the growing process.
In addition to the turnovers, there were multiple throws that were just slightly behind the receivers. That’s mostly a timing issue which should improve as he continues to get reps with his receivers. The off-timing was particularly noticeable with star wide receiver Xavier Worthy who was targeted 10 times but only came away with four catches for 27 yards.
This play is a great example. Worthy is open on the slant but the ball is behind him. Maybe that’s because Murphy isn’t used to the speed and timing of someone like Xavier Worthy? Or maybe Murphy had his eyes on the DE who was crashing down on him after Ja’Tavion Sanders didn’t make it over to pick up the block. Either way, that’s a play that is very likely a completion if Quinn Ewers was behind center.
Again, that’s not a slam on Murphy. Ewers had plenty of those missed plays last year. Heck, the timing between Ewers and Worthy was absolutely horrendous last season. But the two worked on it all offseason and they were putting together a very good year this season before Ewers went out with the shoulder sprain.
Murphy is going to have to get ready really quickly this week. The level of competition steps up considerably with Kansas State coming to town. Kansas State knows how to get after the quarterback and their 3-3-5 defense can confuse even experienced QBs. Witness the fact that the same Houston quarterback who passed for nearly 400 yards against Texas was held to 88 total yards passing against Kansas State last week.
K-State wants to focus first on the run game and then make life tough for the quarterback. The last time the Wildcats faced a freshman quarterback, they hounded Texas Tech QB Jake Strong into three interceptions.
“We’ve been able to make a few teams one-dimensional,” said Kansas State head coach Chris Kleiman. “We’re not going to be able to do that (with Texas). We have to be really good at being able to control some of the run game and we absolutely have to take away their shot plays because they’re extremely talented at the receiver and tight end position and they’re getting behind everybody.”
TEXAS COACHES NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT ...
Murphy needing more time to figure things out is understandable. The Texas coaches needing to figure things out eight games into the season is less so.
If I didn’t put myself in position to succeed during the marathon, that’s on me. The Texas coaches not putting their players in position to succeed is on them.
What am I talking about? I’m talking about fundamental design schemes that hang the players out to dry (and I’m not talking about the red zone woes … which have been well-documented).
Let’s start with Texas offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Kyle Flood. Flood’s skills as a recruiter and a coach have become legendary. Think Bama wouldn’t love to have him back right now? But that doesn’t mean he is infallible and the designs of some of his pass-blocking schemes don’t fit the skills of the players who are executing them.
Left guard Hayden Conner is being asked to do too much. Multiple times against BYU, offensive line coach Kyle Flood had Conner pull out to the right in order to pick up blitzes … but Conner didn’t have the speed to pull it off and it led to two turnovers and a couple of sacks.
Early in the 1st quarter, Conner was pulling from his left guard spot out to the right to protect Maalik Murphy in pass-pro and he doesn’t get there in time. The result was Murphy was put under pressure by BYU defensive end Tyler Batty and Murphy had to rush the throw. Of course, no one really remembers that part of the play because the catch from Ja’Tavion Sanders was one of the best catches of the season.
Two plays later, the same thing happened … this time it led to Murphy’s interception (which he has to protect the ball better). Still, watch Conner try to pull out to the right. This time, linebacker AJ Vongphachanh was coming in and Conner needed to get there a little quicker in order to better engage. Instead, Conner was a beat slow, the BYU LB has the outside leverage and easily sheds the block attempt to force the horrendously bad throw by Murphy.
Watch Conner here on the first play of the second quarter. Texas is in the red zone and looking to score (although that’s no guarantee). BYU Defensive End Isaiah Bagnah comes in on a blitz and Conner can’t get to him in time. The result is a sack and fumble recovery for Bagnah and Texas doesn’t get any points on the drive.
Texas is 12th in the conference in sacks allowed having given up 18 so far this season. Incidentally, Kansas State is tied with Texas for second in the conference in sacks at 19. That’s a bad combination heading into Saturday’s matchup.
If Hayden Conner doesn’t have the speed to reach a blitzing linebacker or edge rusher (and it’s not like BYU is loaded with talented future NFL players at those positions), then Kyle Flood has to find a different way to protect the quarterback … especially when it’s a freshman quarterback getting his first taste of college football. The Texas coaches are not putting their players in the best position to succeed.
Of course, it’s not just on offense. I harped on this quite a bit in last week’s column, but defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski continues to call for soft coverages which leads to easy conversions for Texas’ opponents … like this play.
This play is 4th and 2 in the second quarter. Let me repeat again … 4th down and two yards to go for a first down. And yet, Gavin Holmes is playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and immediately backpedaling on the snap of the ball. How in the name of all that’s holy is this defense expected to come up with a stop when all the QB has to do is get the ball to his wide receiver and it becomes an easy first down? I mean, even an underhanded toss like a granny shooting a free throw would work because it would take too long for Holmes to change direction and come up and make a play on the ball.
Texas lost to OU because of soft coverage from the DBs and miscommunication in the secondary. Soft coverages allowed Houston quarterback Donovan Smith to throw for 378 yards with easy plays like this:
Will Howard is a better quarterback than Donovan Smith or Kedon Slovis.
If the coaches don’t do a better job of putting their players in a position to succeed then you can forget about the playoffs AND the Big 12 Championship Game because Texas will lose to Kansas State and the goals heading into the season will be gone.
Here's the thing ... just like when I was running the marathon, there comes a time when every college football team just has to put its head down, go out and do the damn thing, even when you're injured and tired. That's where the Horns are now. It's time to see their determination and go out and do the damn thing.
THE GALEY POLL …
Screw the AP and the Coaches poll … the ONLY poll that matters is the Galey poll. This is my official/unofficial ranking of college teams following week one games.
| RANK | TEAM | PREVIOUS RANKING |
| 1 | GEORGIA | 1 |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 2 |
| 3 | OHIO STATE | 3 |
| 4 | FLORIDA STATE | 4 |
| 5 | WASHINGTON | 5 |
| 6 | OREGON | 8 |
| 7 | TEXAS | 7 |
| 8 | ALABAMA | 9 |
| 9 | OLE MISS | 13 |
| 10 | PENN STATE | 11 |
| 11 | OKLAHOMA | 6 |
| 12 | LSU | 15 |
| 13 | MISSOURI | 17 |
| 14 | NOTRE DAME | 14 |
| 15 | LOUISVILLE | 19 |
| 16 | OREGON STATE | 10 |
| 17 | AIR FORCE | 18 |
| 18 | KANSAS STATE | 25 |
| 19 | TENNESSEE | 22 |
| 20 | UTAH | 12 |
| 21 | UCLA | 21 |
| 22 | JAMES MADISON | 23 |
| 23 | TULANE | 24 |
| 24 | KANSAS | UNRANKED |
| 25 | OKLAHOMA STATE | UNRANKED |
THOUGHTS ON MY POLL: (and yes, I hear it … )
I’ve had Georgia at the top spot all year and they are finally starting to play like a team that could be the best in the country. I’m certainly not going to drop them now that they have appeared to figure out how to go play a dominant brand of football.
I honestly considered putting Oregon ahead of Washington. I know the Huskies beat the Ducks heads up … and going into that game I thought Washington was the better team. But coming out of that game, I thought Oregon was the better team, even though they lost. If not for some questionable coaching calls, I think UO wins that game and they would be one of the top four teams in the country. Since the loss in Seattle, Oregon has gone on to play some of the best football in the country on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, Washington has struggled to beat some of the lower-ranked Pac-12 teams. So, all of that to say, I think Oregon is better and will finish higher than Washington, I’m just not ready to make that call just yet.
Yes, OU beat Texas in Dallas. And yes, OU and Texas have the same record. But just like the Oregon/Washington game, I came out thinking the losing team was actually the better team on the field. Unlike Oregon, Texas has not gone on to play the best football it is capable of playing. So, even though Texas has struggled some, they are still ranked higher than OU because the Sooners have looked as bad, if not worse than Texas and a loss in Kansas means you are going to fall. Period. End of story.
I moved LSU up because it just looks so damn good on offense. It’s almost a shame the Tigers already have two losses because Jayden Daniels is playing Heisman-worthy football right now. If he goes into Tuscaloosa and pulls off the upset, that would definitely vault him into the Heisman front-runner status.
I’ve been too low on Louisville all season. Losing to Pitt early on will do that to you. But they’ve been playing some damn good football in their first year under head coach Jeff Brohm. Right now, if I were putting money on it, I would say Louisville is the most likely team not named FSU to make it to the ACC Championship Game.
I’ve been bullish on Kansas State all year. The Wildcats are a damn good football team and I’m surprised to see them ranked below Kansas in the CFP. All they have done is gone out and win in convincing fashion (something I’ve been saying all along that Texas needs to do, but has yet to do).
UPON FURTHER REVIEW …
As Texas embarks on its last season in the Big 12, I’m keeping track of questionable calls against the Horns in every game officiated by a Big 12 crew.
The game against BYU was the worst called game since Rice. The sheer number of no-calls is astonishing. I have logged plenty of holding calls in the description below … but I left out a number of plays in which holding definitely took place, they just weren’t as egregious as what I did include.
BYU VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Derek Anderson
Umpire: Michael Henderson
Linesman: Doug Moore
Line judge: Quentin Givens
Back judge: Daniel Young
Field judge: Gabriel DeLeon
Side judge: Mark Graves
Center judge: Brian Alos
Replay Official: Marcus Marsden
14:08 in the 1st quarter, Xavier Worthy goes over the middle and gets taken down before the ball gets there, but there is no interference call.
12:36 in the 1st quarter, 2nd & 11: Byron Murphy is double teamed by BYU’s Center and Right Guard and held with a choke hold and he still gets pressure on the QB up the middle.
12:30 in the 1st quarter, 3rd & 11: Byron Murphy is mauled by BYU’s right tackle with an arm around Murphy’s neck.
11:41 in the 3rd quarter, 1st & 10: Once again a choke hold on Byron Murphy goes completely unnoticed and the result was a 17-yard gain.
1:10 left in the 3rd quarter. This is the play that the refs correctly called hands to the face on Vernon Broughton (and it was not in the end zone so it was not a safety). But look at what the left guard is doing to Alfred Collins. That hold starts outside of the endzone so it wouldn’t be a safety either … but nobody was looking at that play. And while we’re on this play, the left tackle was also jerking around Barryn Sorrell.
9:28 left in the 4th quarter. Barryn Sorrell just gets mauled but there is no holding call. It didn’t end up mattering because the Horns picked of Slovis on the play so the holding call would have been declined, but a flag should have come out.
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TEXAS VS. HOUSTON
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Michael VanderVelde
Umpire: Rick Podraza
Linesman: John Braun
Line judge: Darren Deckard
Back judge: Robert Lewis
Field judge: Robert Asel
Side judge: Fulton Carson
Center judge: Chris Tallent
Replay Official: Eugene Semko
- No holding call at start of third quarter as Ethan Burke is almost wrestled to the ground and he is still able to get pressure and almost come up with a sack.
- 8:00 left in the 3rd quarter, and Texas facing a 4th and 2, Adonai Mitchell gets laid out before the ball gets to him but no pass interference was called.
- At 10:00 left in the 4th quarter and Texas up by three, Houston was pinned deep but they were able to escape by basically hog tying Barryn Sorrell.
OU VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: David Alvarez
Umpire: Stuart Schake
Linesman: Rick Smith
Line judge: Mark Estermyer
Back judge: Terrance Jones
Field judge: Joseph Martinez
Side judge: Brendon Barnes
Center judge: Abram Anaya
Replay Official: Richard Brown
- :00 into the game: Missed facemask by OU against Texas during the opening kickoff of the game.
- 13:52 left in the 3rd quarter: Missed holding call on Byron Murphy.
- 11:30 left in the 4th quarter: No facemask called against OU as they tackle Xavier Worthy on the goal line on 4th and goal from the one.
- 4:45 left in the 4th quarter: Missed pass interference call as OU DB mauled Worthy.
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KANSAS VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Kevin Boitmann
Umpire: Apollo Martin
Linesman: Eric Carmouche
Line judge: David Young
Back judge: Joel Wetzel
Field judge: Edward Vinzant
Side judge: Eric Hartman
Centerjudge: Stacy Hardin
Replay Official: Donald Kapral
No questionable calls.
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TEXAS VS. BAYLOR
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Derek Anderson
Umpire: Michael Henderson
Linesman: Doug Moore
Line judge: Quentin Givens
Back judge: Daniel Young
Field judge: Gabriel DeLeon
Side judge: Mark Graves
Center judge: Brian Alos
Replay Official: Marcus Marsden
9:20 in the third quarter, a questionable holding call.
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WYOMING VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Kevin Mar
Line Judge: Bret Bascue
Umpire: Marlow Fitzgerald
Back Judge: Lyndon Nixon
Linesman: Bradford Edwards
Field Judge: Randy Smith
- 7:27 left in the 2nd quarter: Refs fail to call pass interference during a pass to Ja’Tavion Sanders.
- 4:44 left in the 3rd quarter: Refs call pass interference against Texas despite the ball appearing to be uncatchable.
- 2:11 left in the 3rd quarter: The head linesman, Bradford Edwards is standing on the 8 yard line when the Wyoming quarterback runs out of bounds at about the 11 yard line. Edwards is then run over and stands up and marks the ball at the 8 … the exact spot he was standing when Svoboda ran out of bounds yards ahead of him. You can chalk this up to the fact that Edwards was run over in the process, but the Side Judge was standing right there as well and did not correct the mistake.
RICE VS. TEXAS
BIG 12 CREW:
Referee: Tutashinda Salaam
Line Judge: Kelly Deterding
Side Judge: Eric Hartman
Umpire: Bill Bishop
Back Judge: Christopher Alston
Linesman: Matt Burks
Field Judge: Rich Almeroth
- At 7:37 mark in the first quarter, the crew blows a replay review calling a X. Worthy catch a drop, despite the fact the ball never hit the ground.
- 4:45 in the first quarter: missed pass interference call
- 2:30 left in the third quarter, another missed pass interference call … on the same side of the field
TWEETS OF INTEREST
Speaking of the officiating against Texas.
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Texas versus Kansas State is going to be strength on strength. Strong run games (on both sides) versus strong run defenses (on both sides).
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I refuse to talk about Texas’ chances of making this year’s playoff until I see them put together a game where they play very good football for all four quarters. I’m sorry, but the team I see week in and week out just doesn’t look like a playoff team to me.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun projecting what the playoffs would look if the 12-team model started this season.
Who wouldn’t be down with Texas hosting Ole Miss in the college football playoffs? Lane Kiffin coming to take on Steve Sarkisian in Austin? Yes, please!
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I don’t post a lot of these award watch lists but this is a very cool award and I hope Michael Taafe ends up bringing it home.
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Texas volleyball is absolutely killing it.
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Texas Soccer just keeps winning.
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The Big 12 released its conference scheduling format for the new conference sans Texas and OU. Frankly, it’s a pretty straight forward and kind of boring model. I expected more from Yormark.
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I truly feel bad for Iowa Hawkeye fans having had to endure the abysmal offense that they rolled out under Brian Ferentz. I’m truly hopeful for them that they get someone in who has a clue what the forward pass is.
Of course, it’s not JUST Iowa … the Big Ten in general is just boring football.
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The life of a coach ain’t easy … but the paydays make it worth a lot of crap.
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Does anyone else think Jim Harbaugh would be a good fit for the Las Vegas Raiders?
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This is honestly a real shame. Millions of baseball fans are missing out on a very good series. There is some damn good baseball being played.
Go Rangers!
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