Santa Claus ain't real.
Want to know the mood of the room I'm sitting in? That's it.
The man who once told you to dream big before Texas lost seven out of its final 10 games in 2016 has reached the point where my ability to believe in the best of things is hanging on by the thinnest of white hairs growing out of my own face.
Over the course of the last 30 years, I've been around a few things around the 40 Acres. Back in 1989, I ran onto the field to get James Francis' autograph after Baylor beat Texas 50-7. I was in the Texas SID office in 1994 when a disgruntled student assistant was fired for sending a "Fire DeLoss Dodds" fax across the hall to Dodds' office from the SID office (no, it wasn't me!). The Red Banquet.
I feel like I've seen stuff and yet I don't quite know how to process what transpired this weekend at DKR with Kansas winning a Big 12 road game as a 31-point underdog, its first conference road win since October 4, 2008. For those keeping score at home, that was exactly one week before Quan Cosby obliterated Lendy Holmes on a Jordan Shipley touchdown reception in a historic win over Oklahoma.
We're left in a world where everyone seems to want to pick a side ... is it the players or the coaches? Who deserves the blame on a season that is looking increasingly likely to end without a bowl invite to speak of? Where exactly should the moving signs be sent?
Frankly, I'm out of benefit of the doubt for everyone.
That goes for Steve Sarkisian, who has failed at his job in year one. Simple as that. The buck stops with him. His team is regressing on him with every week. The sign of good coaching would be improvement in all three phases of the game and that's the opposite of what has occurred. Confidence in the locker room has plummeted. The discipline within the team, on and off the field is gross.
Does this mean that all of this is Sark's fault? Should he be fired? Does this mean that he can't turn this thing around?
No, no and no.
However, Sarkisian and the entire Texas coaching staff can own a big chunk of responsibility for all of this.
For those that believe I'm piling on Sarkisian and protecting the players ... read this next part closely. How could they show up so flat? Where's the pride? Why does it look like a true freshman from Fresno cares more than the rest of the team combined?
You'll forgive me if I'm less concerned about talent for one weekend than I am about heart because what happened on Saturday night was not about talent. It was about "give-a-f*ck". Kansas had a bunch and the Longhorns showed up with almost none. Everything that we needed to know about how the Bo Davis tape played inside that locker room was reflected in the first two quarters of the game.
As the late Dick Tomey might have said, "Not. Our. Standard."
Finally, speaking of trust issues, I'm not sure how much I trust myself right now.
Much like the 2010 season, I'm left wondering how I didn't see the worst-case situation for this team unfolding from a mile away? As someone that felt like the floor of this team was somewhere in the 6-6/7-5 range and felt like he completely understood the state of the roster going into the season, why was I so willing to give benefit of the doubt? What made me so certain that Sarkisian couldn't be any worse than Tom Herman, despite no head coaching experience on his resume to suggest it was true?
At the moment, I just can't trust myself.
I can't trust any of it.
I blame everyone.
It will take a while before any of the distrust fades away.
No. 2 - About the locker room ...
A couple of disclaimers before we get too far into this section without attempting to properly frame it.
a. This section needs to begin with an acknowledgement that this coaching staff was incredibly well-received by the current Texas players before this season began. As someone that had a chance to speak directly with what felt like half of the team because of the NIL outreach that took place during the summer, I didn't have a single player give anything other than glowing remarks about the staff heading into the beginning of the season.
Not one.
In retrospect, this might be where some of my benefit of the doubt towards Sarkisian going into the year came from. The first year with Herman and his players was a disaster, while Charlie Strong didn't exactly win the entire locker room in his first season, either. This was easily the best transition inside the locker room from one head coach to the next since the arrival of Mack Brown in 1998.
b. Even in making remarks about the unanimous favorable opinion of Sarkisian I had personally witnessed, it needs to be stated loudly that no locker room is completely monolithic. If you'll allow me to make a personal observation, I don't know that the locker room has completely recovered from the stress it was under during an incredibly trying 2020 calendar year. In trying to please everyone, Herman really pleased no one a season ago and various factions of players behind the scenes were formed.
We're talking about a situation where he marched with his players one week, only to reportedly take a position on The Eyes of Texas situation that made many of those he marched with unsettled. Herman wanted to be down for his team, but he didn't want to be down with them. Meanwhile, Herman was just trying to be a football coach and not lose his job, while trying to handle a hot frying pan of friction that included trying to placate everyone ... and failing. Personally, I viewed Herman as someone that was in an impossible situation and then made tactical mistakes that made it even more impossible.
If the team had an online relationship status, it would probably read "It's complicated."
Why am I bringing all of this up? I'm just reminding everyone of what existed at this time 12 months ago. Perhaps it is completely irrelevant or maybe the locker room Sarkisian was hired to take control of was simply more complicated than the usual head coaching transition.
Ok, with this attempt to establish a little bit of a backstory, let's see if we can dig our way through the dynamics of the last few weeks based on the intel I've received from a handful of varying perspectives.
1. The Baylor loss was the real gut-punch from within. My understanding is that even with losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, there was still a heavy buy-in with the players towards the coaches. Coming out of the game, I was told that there weren't many players in the locker room that were in the Halloween spirit following the loss to the Bears. If you go back and look through the various player social media accounts, there were not many costumes on display that weekend.
2. Monkey-Gate didn't go over incredibly well in all corners of the locker room, mainly because it was seen as the type of crested distraction that the players had made a real effort to avoid, even as recent as that exact weekend with Halloween weekend at the team's doorstep following a third straight loss. Jeff Banks seems like a popular member of the coaching staff, but the players have eyes and the optics of the moment were problematic, given the circumstances.
If they had beaten Baylor that day, all of what has happened since is likely avoided.
3. The elephant in the room about the Joshua Moore situation is that it happened less than 24 hours after the program had become a punchline for TMZ headline writers. From what I can gather, at least a handful of those in the locker room were less upset about the accountability lecture than they were about the timing of it, given ... yanno ... the whole Monkey-Gate deal.
4. I have not sensed that there was a real strong consensus about how the Moore thing should have played out in the eyes of the locker room. There seems to be a sense from at least a small minority of the team that believed that the suspension helped keep the situation from becoming a bigger distraction going into the Iowa State game, even if taking a harder stance would have done more good in the long-term.
5. Even after the loss to Baylor, I can verify that players were incredibly determined to stay focused on football. One of the things that we offered to all of our players signed to NIL deals was a chance to talk about anything other than football just for the potential levity of it all, but every single player chose to talk about the losses on the field over giving someone a chance to say they were distracted from football because OB was asking one of them about their favorite food spots.
6. All I can say about the Bo Davis thing is that there is a sense that the timing fell flat to some on that bus receiving the message, at least partially due to all of the things that had happened during the week. One family member told me this past week that the players love Bo, but they didn't want to hear from him or anyone else at that moment. "Not even Bo," this source said.
7. The locker room did not go nearly as wild about the Davis speech/video as the fan base did. It wasn't really a rallying cry ... that I know of. This was just a mentally worn out team going into the Kansas game. Maybe it was just a stressful week or maybe this is a year’s worth of stress coming to a head.
Regardless, you get the sense moving forward into 2022 that there will be a need to re-establish trust within the program between the players and coaches. From my vantage point, Sarkisian is a liked coach. This team wants to believe in his message. Not everyone does at this exact moment.
The bottom line is that winning cures a lot of this and the team hasn't won a game in almost 43 days.
These are the things that can happen when a team is seven weeks into a thirsty stretch.
No. 3 - Shout out to Xavier Worthy ...
That was some kind of performance on Saturday night from Xavier Worthy and I just think we need to take a moment and salute him.
It's one thing to have 23 targets in a single game (TWENTY-THREE!!!!!), but yet somehow it's something completely different when you do it when you're hobbling all over the field like Kellen Winslow in the playoffs against the Dolphins four decades ago.
He's just one hell of a football player. This program has never had anyone quite like him. Imagine what he's going to look like when he's not coming off a year away from not playing football and is no longer a freshman?
Here's hoping this kid makes it through the next two seasons without injury because he has a chance to break every Texas receiving record in a way that could see them potentially never broken again.
On a side-note, Worthy's NIL contract with Orangebloods is dead. It simply wasn't something he wanted to continue to do and we respect his decision. Having a chance to get to know him in the last three months has been a lot of fun. He's had a magical season on the individual level and watching him evolve over the last three months has been quite insightful.
No. 4 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
... I understand Sarkisian wanting to get Hudson Card some playing time on the third series of the game, but I'm not sure I understand sticking with Card after his fumble helped put the Longhorns behind by two touchdowns with a couple of minutes left in the half. It felt critical at that moment that the Longhorns go back to Thompson, who had thrown a touchdown pass in his last possession of play, for such a critical moment in the game. Waiting to do so until after Card threw a horrible pick-six to put the Longhorns down by 21 was a coaching decision gone bad that eventually proved to be one of the defining moments of the night.
... It was hard not to think of the first half of the 2011 BYU game when Card threw the pick-six. That was the moment when you wondered if there was any coming back for Garrett Gilbert and I kind of felt that way about Card last night.
... Jonathan Brooks looks way more the part of a big-time college running back than I would have guessed he'd be as a true freshman. Bravo to that young man.
... Attaboy, Marcus Washington. That's quite a step forward for him. Here's hoping he can keep that level of production in these last two weeks.
... Which members of the Texas offensive line do you feel good about as no-doubt-about-it starters in 2022?
... If the Brockermeyer brothers were/are to become starting offensive linemen for the Texas program in due time, isn't the best thing that could happen at this point is that they both develop under the watch of Alabama people until it's time to contribute ... no offense to anyone involved in development of the current linemen. They get an SEC S&C program, get to compete against the elite of the elite every day in practice and will have experience under Nick Saban. You could make a case that it wouldn't be bad if all 85 dudes on the roster had all of that.
... The Texas pass rush has generated three sacks in the last four games combined.
... I've complimented the talent of the Texas secondary all season, but at some point someone has to make a play and no one made a play last night from this group.
... The kind of moment that Baylor had on Saturday in the aftermath of beating OU is exactly what this Texas program needed at some point this season and probably isn't going to have another chance to grab.
No. 4 - A look at the 2021 Texas transfers ...
With so much talk about the Portal in the last few weeks, I thought everyone might be somewhat interested in seeing how the transfers from the last 12 months (and a few more) have done this season upon leaving the Texas program.
Marquez Bimage (DE - California) - Just like when he was in Austin, he's not exactly a wrecking ball off the edge as a pass rusher (0.5 sacks and 2 quarterback hits), but he's been a rock at the point of attack for Cal and his 7.0 tackles for loss would rank first on this current version of the Longhorns. More than anything, his three recovered fumbles and two forced fumbles are the most created turnovers of anyone on the Cal team.
Daniel Carson (DL - Western Illinois) - Had played in seven games coming into the weekend and had posted 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
Malcolm Epps (TE - USC) - Has caught a pass in every game but one this season for the Trojans, grabbing 10 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown through nine games.
Keaontay Ingram (RB - USC) - Is one of the Pac-12's leading rushers with 856 yards and five touchdowns on 139 carries (5.9 YPC).
Jalen Green ( DB - Mississippi State) - Has started nine games for Mike Leach, while recording 28 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups on the season.
Kennedy Lewis (WR - UTSA) - Lewis hasn't caught a pass all season for the Road Runners and has played in only one game.
Juwan Mitchell (LB - Tennessee) - Has played in only three games this season for the Vols because of a shoulder injury that ended his season, registering eight tackles in the process.
Jake Smith (WR - USC) - The former prep All-American is out this season while recovering from a broken foot that was hurt in the Texas spring game.
Byron Vaughns (DE - Utah State)- The defensive end has 25 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks for the Aggies, ranking as one of the team's top defensive playmakers this season as a junior.
Kenyatta Watson (CB - Georgia Tech) - The Georgia native hasn't recorded a defensive stat for the Ramblin Wreck all season.
Other recent transfers of note
Xavion Alford (S - USC) Leads the Trojans in interceptions (2) and is tied for the team lead in pass break-ups as a redshirt freshman.
Jean Delance (OT - Florida) - Over the last three seasons, Delance has started 30+ games for the Gators at right tackle and is part of a line this season that has allowed only five sacks (among the lowest in the country).
Ja'Quinden Jackson (RB - Utah) - The former quarterback has played in three games coming into the weekend, recording 30 yards on 6 carries and one touchdown as a back-up running back.
Caleb Johnson (LB - UCLA) - The senior has been a two-year starter for the Bruins, ranking 6th on the team in tackles this year.
Jordan Pouncey (WR - Florida) - He's played in eight games this season coming into the weekend, but hasn't caught a pass.
Cameron Rising (QB - Utah) - Has emerged as a starter for the Utes this season, posting a 145 efficiency rating with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions.
No. 6 - Transfer watch ...
Considering that the Portal is so critical to Texas making improvements in 2022, we can't start keeping track of what's in the portal early enough.
The widespread post-season exodus into the Portal is still a month or so away, but for now I've created an updated Top 11 players available in the Portal list.
1. Kingsley Suamataia (OL - Oregon) - A five-star prospect nine months ago, he played in one game this season as a reserve left tackle and then entered the portal. The Longhorns are among a host of teams that have shown interest.
2. Paul Tchio (OL - Clemson) - Tchio played in 14 games in his career with the Tigers, including one this season against NC State. Per Mike Farrell: "Texas offensive line coach Kyle Flood knows Tchio well from recruiting him at Alabama and that could give them an early edge although geography could play a role here."
3. Marcus Banks (CB - Alabama): According to Rivals, "Banks played in seven games as a true freshman, saw mostly time on special teams in 2020, including in the National Semifinal and Championship games and then mainly served as a back-up this season. This fall he did get his first career start, a game that he finished with four tackles and an interception." Texas has apparently shown interest, so we'll be following this one closely.
4. Navonteque Strong (LB - LSU): Played in only eight games this season before hitting the portal, recording 17 tackles and a sack. Rivals reported that the Longhorns have shown early interest. We'll be following up.
5. Kayden Lyles (OL - Wisconsin) - Rivals reports that Texas has an interest in Lyles, who was Wisconsin's starting center before injuries sidetracked his career with the Badgers. Has only one season of eligibility remaining. Has also played guard in his career.
6. Joseph Charleston (S - Clemson) - Played in 11 games for the Tigers last season and was third on the team in tackles. Was expected to start this season, but didn't win the job and now he's looking for a new team. Has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
7. Myles Brennan (QB - LSU) - He's never been able to fully get right physically, but as a talent, he's someone that has been expected to emerge as a starter for the Tigers. Early indications point towards him staying in the SEC.
8. Jadan Blue (WR - Temple) - The program's second all-time leading receiver, Blue has a 1,000-yard season under his belt in 2019 and he's projected to be a guy that come in and make a one-year impact.
9. Gurvan Hall (DB - Miami) - Having played a lot of football in his career for the Hurricanes (14 career starts), he's a very productive player (148 career tackles). The Longhorns haven't made contact yet, but he's definitely a player that improves a secondary in need of help.
10. Bradley Jennings (LB - Miami) - After starting every game in 2020, Jennings dropped to back-up status this season and he's looking for a place where he can start in his final season. Hall leaves Miami with 148 tackles, 6 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 interception and 6 pass breakups.
11. Xavier Williams (WR - Alabama) - His career hasn't been able to get off the ground at Alabama because of injuries. He's a risky take at this point because of those injuries, but there's a sense that there's a good player in there somewhere.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) This team's overall quarterback play over 10 games is so much higher than a lot of teams from the last 12 seasons. Say whatever you want about Casey Thompson, but he ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 in passing efficiency. How do we think this team would have done against the Tyrone Swoopes-led 2014 team?
(Sell) I definitely wouldn't say that, but just to be clear, it wasn't really my sources that started the Aaron Rodgers stuff. I believe a Bruce Feldman piece on The Athletic quoting a former staff member started that public metaphor.
(Sell) It might just be denial, but I just can't wrap my head around a seven-game losing streak. But, it's on the table, obviously.
(Sell) Sorry man, I've been down that word play game before. He has not been damn good this season.
(Sell) I can't prove that it's not and I might change my mind by the end of the season if this team finishes 4-8.
(Sell) Not if it doesn't get much better as soon as next season. This program already lost the last decade. It cannot fail to embody Jeremy Foley's famous words about doing immediately what needs to be done eventually.
(Sell) It's hard to imagine that Card will stick around knowing that it's going to be tough for Sarkisian to give him trust moving forward after this season. That leaves Thompson, who might also leave if he feels like he's walking into a situation where any portal target is being brought in to replace him. Your scenario could happen, but Sark has to make sure Thompson sticks around, right?
(Sell) The Mannings really love Sarkisian. The Longhorns will be a bridesmaid, which puts them above 0% chances.
(Buy) - The Longhorns scored 104 points in two of the losses. Win those two games and the Longhorns are 6-4 right now.
(Buy) I don't want to talk about it.
(Buy) I mean ... yeah.
(Sell) The kid has a ton of raw tools. He's just not ready to play at this level yet. It's terribly concerning how shakable that he's been, but I'm not willing to give up on him. I'm not sure I've ever seen a kid that was this well thought of by two different staffs, only to really look nothing like a player that deserves the plaudits he was given.
(Sell) Strong was really poor in 2014. I was pretty sure that he couldn't count by intervals of 40 in the middle of games.
(Sell) He'll be back ... likely next year.
(Sell) That just makes him a 2022 version of the 2017 version of Tom Herman and nobody wants that.
No. 8 - Scattershooting on the sports weekend ...
... I wouldn't worry much about the beating Gonzaga gave Texas over the weekend. The Zags are further along than Texas in UT’s story together and its all-time great player had an all-time great game. There will be better days ahead.
... Huge weekend for the women's Texas basketball team in going on the road and punking Stanford in their own crib. That's big-time, Vic.
... Rori did her dirty.
... At least Texas A&M lost, amiright?
... Caleb Williams will be ok. Momma always said there would be days like this for young quarterbacks.
... I don't want to hear about Big 12 tiebreakers when it comes to what Baylor did at the end of the game with Oklahoma because when there were still two seconds left on the clock, they weren't trying to kick a field goal. I'm ok with the pettiness, but let's just call it what it is and not pretend.
... Can anyone name a better trio of wide receivers on the same team at the same time than what Ohio State currently has with its trio of Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Maybe LSU from a few seasons ago? Maybe those Miami teams from the 1980s? All I know is these three dudes are incredible.
... That was some bounce-back game for the Cowboys. They pretty much did to the Falcons what the Broncos had done to them.
... Marcus Johnson making plays for the Titans on Sunday had me yearning for a good ol' TV dinner.
... Dan Campbell's Lions make me sad.
... Mac Jones > Baker Mayfield.
... From an ESPN article On Kevin Durant's brilliance this season: "Durant leads the league in scoring: 29.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, space-sucking defense. Brace yourself for the shooting numbers: 58.5% overall, 40.4% on 3s, an ungodly 64.5% on 2s -- including an absolutely hilarious 61% on mid-rangers.
... Whoa.
No. 9 - Top 10 Bruno Mars songs ...
Full confession: I'm a little late to the Bruno Mars train. Over the course of the last decade, I've always been aware of his biggest hits and always bopped to his best stuff, but I'd be lying if I said that I had rushed out to listen to any of his first three career albums.
This week I went all-in with Mars after he released "Smoking Out the Window" and followed it up a week later with his full album release with Anderson Paak called "An Evening with Silk Sonic." I'm not lying when I tell you I've listened to the song below at least 100 times this week.
I think it's one of the best R&B albums of all-time. Without question, it's the best thing that Mars has ever released. It's so damn good that I'm not sure what to compare it to from a full album standpoint. It's just banger after banger after banger. A pure masterpiece.
Therefore, it's time to do a Top 10 list in honor of his climb to the top of the mountaintop as a performer in his era.
10. Fly As Me
9. Gorilla
8. It Will Rain
7. Grenade
6. Locked Out of Heaven
5. After Last Night
4. When I was Your Man
3. Leave The Door Open
2. Uptown Funk
1. Smokin Out The Window
Yup, the song that is a week old is already the No. 1 in my heart and mind.
No. 10 - And Finally...
After this weekend, who doesn't want puppy and rooster hijinks? It's the content we need.
