With four games to go in the inaugural season under Charlie Strong, the truths about this season have revealed themselves as the calendar prepares to turn from the promise of October to the depression of November, and it's not just daylight savings that feels like it's taking a step back before it can go forward.
In a season that can only be described as painful for those that have watched every second of it, the team slogan for the 2014 Texas Longhorns might as well be "Warning: Sausage Being Made."
Performances against Oklahoma and *gulp* Iowa State had created a false sense of promise for many, but there are just too many ugly truths about this team and the accompanying season to ignore in light of a 23-0 performance in Manhattan that should have all of us feeling sorry for those that made the desolate trip to middle-of-nowhere, Kansas to see the game in person.
Ugly truth No. 1: Although the talk of getting to six wins and a bowl game has kept everyone watching in a hopeful and optimistic way, the likelihood of reaching a bowl game is very low with four weeks to go in the season. A schedule that was littered with winnable, misleading games in 2013 has taken a volatile turn and with the team sporting a brutally sobering 3-5 record, it's hard to pinpoint where three more wins are going to come from.
I'm more than willing to concede that Texas will beat Texas Tech this weekend to get to four wins because the Red Raiders look like a person that was so intoxicated from a night of drinking that he (or she for that matter) doesn't recognize what town he's in, let alone what street. But after that?
West Virginia at home doesn't even feel like a coin-flip when you consider the way the Mountaineers have played this season. The game in Stillwater is certainly a winnable game if the Longhorns can find a way to put some points on the scoreboard. The home finale on Thanksgiving actually looks a little scary when you consider what TCU is doing on offense right now to everyone it plays.
I suppose it's possible that Texas could win two of those four games, but winning three would require a level of focus and complete play for an entire month of November and that's something that's impossible to give the benefit of the doubt to following a shutout loss to a Kansas State team that might be the fourth-most talented team Texas has played this season.
Ugly truth No. 2: There's no getting around the fact that a non-bowl season in year No. 1 for Strong is a massive disappointment and potentially limits the ability for rapid progression for the program, both because of the lack of bowl workouts (which serves as an extra set of spring workouts for the teams that qualify for bowls) and the jolt in recruiting that on-field success might create. Barring something completely unforeseen, Strong is going to have to navigate through at least the first 19-20 months of his tenure in Austin without momentum on
the field funneling into the recruiting realm. Elite recruits from all over the state of Texas have been receptive to the current staff, but they want to see proof of Strong's vision of the product before diving in head first and it could make landing high-level recruits difficult until they see what it is that they want to see.
Ugly truth No. 3: Tyrone Swoopes has showed more in this sophomore season than I thought he'd be capable of showing this early in his career, but I can't say for certainty that he's going to be the answer for the team at quarterback in the seasons that will determine whether Strong's program ever truly gets off the ground.
The two weeks prior to Kansas State and directly after Baylor suggested that Swoopes has the potential to be that kind of player and you'd think he'd be the starter heading into the off-season, but he's going to need as much improvement between this year and next year that he made from last year to this year.
Ugly truth No. 4: The quarterback position is surrounded by a very average group of skill players. Outside of John Harris, who is a senior and potentially headed to playing football on Sundays, there's not a single running back, wide receiver or tight end that has played at a level that suggests they should be the focal point of a really good offense. Malcolm Brown's longest run this season is 26 yards and he has only two other runs of more than 20 yards, while averaging less than four yards per carry. Meanwhile, Johnathan Gray has only three runs of better than 15 yards all season, while averaging a slightly better 4.2 yards per carry. Meanwhile, only one touchdown pass this season has gone to a receiver not named John Harris. You can make a case that there needs to be a total makeover of the offensive skill personnel from top to bottom going into 2015.
Ugly truth No. 5: Joe Wickline has a ton of work to do with this offensive line, even if all of the parts on the field this season will return next season. The level of play at the tackle position has to rank as the worst in the entire Big 12 and things don't get much rosier when you go inside. The worst is in the rear-view mirror for Wickline because nothing could ever top what he's been forced to work with in the way of parts, but there's no shortage of heavy lifting still to do.
While I think it's natural to have concerns about a defense that will lose critical pieces at each level of the unit, I'm mostly willing to give Charlie Strong the benefit of the doubt in that area because one of the beautiful truths about this program under Strong is that the defense is going to be more than solid.
But, those other five ugly truths? They're all real and not going away.
Saturday's game in Manhattan revealed what the prior weeks of play tried to conceal, which is that this is a major rebuilding effort Strong is in charge of engineering and there are few, if any, shortcuts available. Of course, much of this isn't a major surprise, as it's stuff that we've been
detailing and discussing for the last few years and certainly within the boundaries of the last 10 months, but to see all of the ugliest of truths highlighted in such dismal fashion again eight weeks into the season was a reminder of the totality of the task.
Going into the off-season, there are very few assurances to be had as it relates to the possibility of major improvement across the board in all areas. To say that Strong has his hands full is an understatement, but if Strong is truly an elite head coach, he'll navigate through the waters, thrive inside of the chaos and eventually produce a product that leaves him within distance of sainthood in this football-crazed state. However, if he's anything less than elite in the program building from this moment forward, the task could simply prove to be too enormous.
No. 2 - The biggest reason for optimism ...
I know what you're thinking at this point.
What the *&%$ are we supposed to think about all of this?
As I've chronicled for months, a variety of complications make this a tricky little rebuild job for Strong and there aren't a lot of advantages he seems to be working with other than the fact that The University of Texas is a hell of a product to pitch, but the one reason for holding out hope is a pretty important one.
Strong is really good, probably even better than I imagined he'd be in a lot of respects when he arrived.
The record on the field is the record on the field and it's definitely damning that he's not even going to match Mack Brown's record from a year ago in his first season, but the circumstances of this season have been fairly brutal, as everything we all said before the season couldn't happen has actually happened. Yet, I'd suggest that there have been a number of very positive things happen behind the scenes of the program that will prove to be paramount when the 2015 and 2016 seasons roll around.
As I've written before, there are five things that Strong has done in his first 10 months on the job that need to be written down on paper and put under your pillow for the next 10 months or so, as you live in this period of great Longhorn football uncertainty.
Player development, out of state recruiting aggression, team building, player evaluation in recruiting and the ability to produce a good defense come hell or high water are the foundation blocks of this program.
Yes, this is a 3-5 football team at the moment, but imagine how things might look right now if not for the improved play of Tyrone Swoopes, John Harris, Taylor Doyle, Hassan Ridgeway, Caleb Bluiett, Naashon Hughes, Jason Hall, Dylan Haines, Mykkele Thompson and every
offensive lineman that has played this season in an important role when they weren't even expected to contribute three months ago. This isn't really a list of the team's best players, rather it's a list of contributors that have shown a variety of flashes that few ever expected this season, which translates to a sign of really positive player development moving forward.
The Longhorns have already tapped into Florida, New Mexico, Louisiana and California in this year's recruiting efforts. Unlike the previous coaching regime, the Longhorns aren't trying to recruit with one hand tied behind their back because of the fear of leaving state borders and being told no. If the elite blue-chip players from Texas won't pick Texas, Strong and Co. will go wherever they have to go to get the players they want.
From a team building standpoint, while the record doesn't reflect what's happening in the locker room, Strong is building a culture that reflects what he desires for his team. Anything less than total commitment to the team isn't tolerated and the players that remain have seemingly bought in pretty hard.
Strong knows exactly what he's looking for in recruiting from an evaluation standpoint.
Strong is going to have a good defense, especially as he gets more of his players in place, which likely translates to this year being the low-water mark for what his program will produce annually.
In the midst of a 3-5 start to the season, it's easy to overlook or ignore the importance of each of those five factors, but those layers of the foundation are as important as wins at the moment because Strong's ultimate high-mark as a coach at Texas will come as a result of all of them.
No. 3 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns
In landing Missouri City Ridge Point linebacker Cameron Townsend on Sunday in recruiting for the Class of 2015, the Longhorns finally tapped into the state's top 50 to land someone at a position that Charlie Strong yearns to add talent to. The 6-1, 206-pound Townsend is a consensus high three-star prospect that is regarded as a state top 50-level prospect, which makes him one of the more highly regarded in-state defensive commits in the entire class. It'll be fascinating to see how Strong uses Townsend in the future because he's an attack-first player that is at his best when moving forward, but he doesn't always show the versatility that you'd like to see from a guy that possesses a little bit of a tweener body. But, these are the types of kids that Strong has had a lot of success with and he's been a level-one priority for the staff since it arrived, so this is a commitment that should make everyone feel pretty good. If Bob Stoops and Strong both want him, he's got a chance to be a player.
I think one of the questions I want answered this week from the offensive coaches relates to Tyrone Swoopes' freedom to make actual reads in the zone-read game or if the outcome of the play is predetermined pre-snap? If the coaches are limiting Swoopes' read options because they
want to protect him, I suppose I can understand leaning towards the virtues of safety, but the offense left a lot of yards on the table this weekend by not having Swoopes run the ball more. It seemed like there were occasions when the entire field was open to Swoopes, only to see him give the ball into a pile of players.
Lost in the aftermath of the loss to Kansas State is the fact that Cedric Reed probably had his most impactful game of the season off the edge as a rusher.
Nobody on the Texas roster had more than John Harris' 42 yards of all-purpose yardage against the Wildcats. It's hard to win that way.
No. 4 -College Football this and that
And then there were two. You had to wonder if the Ole Miss schedule would eventually get the best of the Rebels and it would appear that the task given to them was simply too tall, as evidenced by their heartbreaking loss to LSU in Death Valley on Saturday night. The Rebels let the Tigers hang around all night and allowed a 95-yard touchdown drive when they were nursing a four-point lead in the final 10 minutes of the game. The Rebels are a really good team, but that wasn't a team that looked special in Baton Rouge.
With a chance to tie the game with a 42-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining, the Rebels couldn't get their field goal team on the field in time to avoid a delay of game penalty and you can't blame anyone other than Hugh Freeze because he didn't send his kicking team onto the field until there were 18 seconds remaining on the play-clock. Instead of taking the 47-yard field goal attempt, Freeze put the offense back on the field and Bo Wallace was intercepted on the next play. That'll leave a mark.
That LSU defense is young, but my goodness, it's certainly talented. Watch the hell out in 2015 and 2016.
Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper is good at football. Really good. He might end up being the difference between Alabama being in the Final Four and not being in the Final Four.
... Gary Patterson can say he didn't run the score up on Texas Tech all he wants, but if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's running up the score. Honestly, Patterson should have just owned it and said, "Hell yes, we scored 82 points and if Kliffy wants to do something about it, stop worrying about his hair gel and start worrying about being an actual coach."
Rumors have it that Tech is going to give Kingsbury and extra extension this week just because he's cute and stuff.
West Virginia might be the most underrated team in the country.
If I had a vote that mattered:
1. Mississippi State
2. Florida State
3. Ole Miss
4. Alabama
5. TCU
6. Notre Dame
7. Georgia
8. Oregon
9. Auburn
10. Michigan State
From the department of Three Stars Rankings Are Nothing to Sneeze At: Former Killeen Ellison running back Daniel Cobb (ranked No. 93 on the 2009 LSR Top 100) currently ranks fifth in the nation in rushing for Minnesota with 144.7 yards per game.
Fat Guy Touchdown Pass in the Arkansas game. Ok, Bielema, I'm warming up to you.
No. 5 - Colt McCoy's big night ...
It was only five years ago that Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow were on top of the college football world as one of the most successful trio of quarterbacks in the history of the game.
Five years ago might as well seem like forever when you consider the state of each player and each's respective playing careers.
Tebow is gone as in ghost. Bradford might never start another game for the Rams because he can't be trusted to stay on the field. And then you have McCoy
Entering Monday night's likely fill-in start against the Dallas Cowboys, McCoy might be receiving his final chance to send a statement to NFL teams that he not only deserves to be on a roster, but that his long-term upside is better than trying to decide if he can be a quality back-up.
With Robert Griffin set to soon return, this one moment in on Monday tonight might be it for McCoy and the fact that the scene of this moment will occur at Jerry World with friends and family present only magnifies the moment.
For a guy that has lived a Disney movie for a life, there's something potentially romantic about the setting and the stakes for McCoy. You'd have to imagine that he's been dreaming of playing the Cowboys on Monday Night Football for much of his life and here we are
Are you ready for some football?
No. 6 - In honor of it being the 25th anniversary year of the Herschel Walker trade ...
Should the Houston Texans trade Arian Foster before the trade deadline for whatever level of draft picks they can acquire?
While watching him toy with the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, it was hard not to consider that he's wasting whatever is left in his prime as a player on a team that isn't going anywhere with him as its centerpiece.
Considering that a running back's career could go south at any moment, wouldn't it be wise to move him for a second-round pick to the Patriots if such a trade was available? His value might not ever be higher than right after a month-long stretch of football that has seen him climb back to the top of the NFL's running back rankings and he could absolutely be a difference-maker for the right team down the stretch.
Without any idea of what the long-term future at quarterback truly looks like, I say sell before the deadline hits and start grooming Alfred Blue for the future.
No. 7 - Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind
Madison F'ing Bumgarner.
Is there really a team in the AFC that can challenge the Broncos because it sure didn't look like it on Sunday?
How many of you drafted Tom Brady in fantasy football, lived through the frustrating start to the season, got rid of him and are now angrily watching him revert to MVP-level Brady in the last month?
The Falcons can't let Mike Smith return home to Atlanta with them, can they?
Seattle might have saved it season on Sunday with a gutsy, ugly win at Carolina.
Jamaal Charles is still really good at football.
Don't make Gronk mad because you won't like it when he's mad.
Oh, Lamarr Houston. Never go Johnny Jolly in the fourth quarter of a game that you're being absolutely slaughtered in ever. Also, you can never injure yourself while going Johnny Jolly in the fourth quarter of a game that you're being absolutely slaughtered in ever. That's how you become a verb.
Ready or not, the NBA season starts on Tuesday. Personally, I'm ready.
Being a Liverpool fan has allowed the disappointment that the Dallas Cowboys usually provide me to be filled completely. There's not a player on the team that I really like and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't second-guessing my decision to pick the Reds as a team to cheer for. Good grief, it's not a fun team to root for this year.
Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes was a hell of a good fight, but I didn't feel like I got my money's worth as a whole with UFC179. Weak, boring undercard.
I have no other words for you regarding sports this week I simply give you Tom Izzo as a member of Kiss. This is a real thing.
No. 8 - Live blogging the final episode of Boardwalk Empire ...
************SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!********
Do not read below if you do not want to see spoilers.
************SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!********
************SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!********
1. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LIMIT THE FLASHBACK SCENES.
2. Hate her all you want, but Margaret is a boss.
3. Notice how all the bad guys in the movies say that they do the bad things that they did for their familes? Kind of a weak crutch.
4. I guess the flashback scenes have done one thing... they've explained why he burned that house down earlier in the show.
5. Nucky took care of Eli and gave him a hug on the way out the door, Well done.
6. I miss Van Alden.
7. I didn't enjoy Dr. Narcise's demise nearly as much as I thought I would, but he had it coming.
8. So, the big "ah-ha!" moment of the entire season was the storyline we all saw coming a mile away? I guess Nucky got what he deserved, but good grief.
9. Consider me a disappointed fan.
************END OF SPOILER ALERT! END OF SPOILER ALERT! ********
************END OF SPOILER ALERT! END OF SPOILER ALERT! ********
No. 9 - Pop goes the culture because the culture goes pop
Hottie of the Weekend: Miss Butt Brazil rocks a bikini in Paris
Hottie of the Weekend (Candice category): Candice Swanepoel Sexy Lingerie Shoot for Victoria's Secret October 2014
Acting a Fool: Drake needs to behave
Take That: Taylor Swift doesn't care that you don't like her
It's Woodstock, man: Kate Hudson does her best Matthew McConaughey
English, my man! : Benedict Cumberbatch Can't Say 'Penguins' - The Graham Norton Show on BBC America
Honey No-no: Moma June needs to use some common sense for the sake of her child
Miley Link of the Weekend: Miley Cyrus Rocks Unicorn Onesie, Wraps Up Bangerz Tour-See the Pic!
No.10 - The List: Red Hot Chili Peppers
It's been an interesting two weeks, as I used most of last week to focus on all of the music from the Red Hot Chili Peppers prior to its release of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik album, which represented the moment when the band truly took off into the stratosphere, while much of the last week has been spent listening to everything that came afterwards.
Essentially, it felt like listening to two different bands and I have to confess that from a pure music enjoyment standpoint, I prefer the more mature sound from the group that most of its funk metal stuff from the 80s.
From 1991-2002, the band released four albums and all of them stand the test of time as some of the great alternative rock music produced in the last 25 years.
Without wasting any more time, here's a look at what I expect to be a much-discussed list:
Last five songs out: If You Have to Ask
10. Fight Like a Brave
From The Uplift Mofo Party Plan album, this ios the only song from the group's early
work that cracked the Top 10.
9. Higher Ground
The boys do Stevie Wonder real good.
8. Can't Stop
The best song off of the By the Way album.
7. Breaking The Girl
One of my personal favorites from Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
6. Scar Tissue
You really can't say enough about what John Frusciante's presence in the band meant and this song deatures one of his best solos.
5. Suck My Kiss
I apologize to the perverts out there that demand this song be ranked No.1.
4. Californication
This song has been performed nearly 500 times, which ranks it fourth on the group's all-time performed list.
3. Soul to Squeeze
Originally a b-side to Give it Away and Under the Bridge, this song wasn;'t even released on Blood Sugar Sex Magik and it emerged as one of the best songs the group ever made.
2. Sir Psycho Sex
In a long line of funkadelic songs to choose from, this jam off of Blood Sugar Sex
Magik might be the funkiest the group ever made.
1. Under the Bridge
Pretty much a runaway winner for the group's No.1 song.
Archives List
Blues/Jazz: Listen via
Spotify )
Classical: Listen via Spotify)
Country: Listen via
Spotify ), Listen via Spotify )
Electronic: Listen Via Spotify
Funk: Listen Via Spotify (Part II - After Hours))
Metal: Listen Via
Spotify
Pop: Listen via Spotify )
Punk: Listen via Spotify)
Random: My Number 1's on Spotify
Rap: Listen via Spotify),
R&B: Listen via Spotify)
Reggae: Listen via Spotify)
Rock: Listen
via Spotify), Listen via Spotify )
In a season that can only be described as painful for those that have watched every second of it, the team slogan for the 2014 Texas Longhorns might as well be "Warning: Sausage Being Made."
Performances against Oklahoma and *gulp* Iowa State had created a false sense of promise for many, but there are just too many ugly truths about this team and the accompanying season to ignore in light of a 23-0 performance in Manhattan that should have all of us feeling sorry for those that made the desolate trip to middle-of-nowhere, Kansas to see the game in person.
Ugly truth No. 1: Although the talk of getting to six wins and a bowl game has kept everyone watching in a hopeful and optimistic way, the likelihood of reaching a bowl game is very low with four weeks to go in the season. A schedule that was littered with winnable, misleading games in 2013 has taken a volatile turn and with the team sporting a brutally sobering 3-5 record, it's hard to pinpoint where three more wins are going to come from.
I'm more than willing to concede that Texas will beat Texas Tech this weekend to get to four wins because the Red Raiders look like a person that was so intoxicated from a night of drinking that he (or she for that matter) doesn't recognize what town he's in, let alone what street. But after that?
West Virginia at home doesn't even feel like a coin-flip when you consider the way the Mountaineers have played this season. The game in Stillwater is certainly a winnable game if the Longhorns can find a way to put some points on the scoreboard. The home finale on Thanksgiving actually looks a little scary when you consider what TCU is doing on offense right now to everyone it plays.
I suppose it's possible that Texas could win two of those four games, but winning three would require a level of focus and complete play for an entire month of November and that's something that's impossible to give the benefit of the doubt to following a shutout loss to a Kansas State team that might be the fourth-most talented team Texas has played this season.
Ugly truth No. 2: There's no getting around the fact that a non-bowl season in year No. 1 for Strong is a massive disappointment and potentially limits the ability for rapid progression for the program, both because of the lack of bowl workouts (which serves as an extra set of spring workouts for the teams that qualify for bowls) and the jolt in recruiting that on-field success might create. Barring something completely unforeseen, Strong is going to have to navigate through at least the first 19-20 months of his tenure in Austin without momentum on
the field funneling into the recruiting realm. Elite recruits from all over the state of Texas have been receptive to the current staff, but they want to see proof of Strong's vision of the product before diving in head first and it could make landing high-level recruits difficult until they see what it is that they want to see.
Ugly truth No. 3: Tyrone Swoopes has showed more in this sophomore season than I thought he'd be capable of showing this early in his career, but I can't say for certainty that he's going to be the answer for the team at quarterback in the seasons that will determine whether Strong's program ever truly gets off the ground.
The two weeks prior to Kansas State and directly after Baylor suggested that Swoopes has the potential to be that kind of player and you'd think he'd be the starter heading into the off-season, but he's going to need as much improvement between this year and next year that he made from last year to this year.
Ugly truth No. 4: The quarterback position is surrounded by a very average group of skill players. Outside of John Harris, who is a senior and potentially headed to playing football on Sundays, there's not a single running back, wide receiver or tight end that has played at a level that suggests they should be the focal point of a really good offense. Malcolm Brown's longest run this season is 26 yards and he has only two other runs of more than 20 yards, while averaging less than four yards per carry. Meanwhile, Johnathan Gray has only three runs of better than 15 yards all season, while averaging a slightly better 4.2 yards per carry. Meanwhile, only one touchdown pass this season has gone to a receiver not named John Harris. You can make a case that there needs to be a total makeover of the offensive skill personnel from top to bottom going into 2015.
Ugly truth No. 5: Joe Wickline has a ton of work to do with this offensive line, even if all of the parts on the field this season will return next season. The level of play at the tackle position has to rank as the worst in the entire Big 12 and things don't get much rosier when you go inside. The worst is in the rear-view mirror for Wickline because nothing could ever top what he's been forced to work with in the way of parts, but there's no shortage of heavy lifting still to do.
While I think it's natural to have concerns about a defense that will lose critical pieces at each level of the unit, I'm mostly willing to give Charlie Strong the benefit of the doubt in that area because one of the beautiful truths about this program under Strong is that the defense is going to be more than solid.
But, those other five ugly truths? They're all real and not going away.
Saturday's game in Manhattan revealed what the prior weeks of play tried to conceal, which is that this is a major rebuilding effort Strong is in charge of engineering and there are few, if any, shortcuts available. Of course, much of this isn't a major surprise, as it's stuff that we've been
detailing and discussing for the last few years and certainly within the boundaries of the last 10 months, but to see all of the ugliest of truths highlighted in such dismal fashion again eight weeks into the season was a reminder of the totality of the task.
Going into the off-season, there are very few assurances to be had as it relates to the possibility of major improvement across the board in all areas. To say that Strong has his hands full is an understatement, but if Strong is truly an elite head coach, he'll navigate through the waters, thrive inside of the chaos and eventually produce a product that leaves him within distance of sainthood in this football-crazed state. However, if he's anything less than elite in the program building from this moment forward, the task could simply prove to be too enormous.
No. 2 - The biggest reason for optimism ...
I know what you're thinking at this point.
What the *&%$ are we supposed to think about all of this?
As I've chronicled for months, a variety of complications make this a tricky little rebuild job for Strong and there aren't a lot of advantages he seems to be working with other than the fact that The University of Texas is a hell of a product to pitch, but the one reason for holding out hope is a pretty important one.
Strong is really good, probably even better than I imagined he'd be in a lot of respects when he arrived.
The record on the field is the record on the field and it's definitely damning that he's not even going to match Mack Brown's record from a year ago in his first season, but the circumstances of this season have been fairly brutal, as everything we all said before the season couldn't happen has actually happened. Yet, I'd suggest that there have been a number of very positive things happen behind the scenes of the program that will prove to be paramount when the 2015 and 2016 seasons roll around.
As I've written before, there are five things that Strong has done in his first 10 months on the job that need to be written down on paper and put under your pillow for the next 10 months or so, as you live in this period of great Longhorn football uncertainty.
Player development, out of state recruiting aggression, team building, player evaluation in recruiting and the ability to produce a good defense come hell or high water are the foundation blocks of this program.
Yes, this is a 3-5 football team at the moment, but imagine how things might look right now if not for the improved play of Tyrone Swoopes, John Harris, Taylor Doyle, Hassan Ridgeway, Caleb Bluiett, Naashon Hughes, Jason Hall, Dylan Haines, Mykkele Thompson and every
offensive lineman that has played this season in an important role when they weren't even expected to contribute three months ago. This isn't really a list of the team's best players, rather it's a list of contributors that have shown a variety of flashes that few ever expected this season, which translates to a sign of really positive player development moving forward.
The Longhorns have already tapped into Florida, New Mexico, Louisiana and California in this year's recruiting efforts. Unlike the previous coaching regime, the Longhorns aren't trying to recruit with one hand tied behind their back because of the fear of leaving state borders and being told no. If the elite blue-chip players from Texas won't pick Texas, Strong and Co. will go wherever they have to go to get the players they want.
From a team building standpoint, while the record doesn't reflect what's happening in the locker room, Strong is building a culture that reflects what he desires for his team. Anything less than total commitment to the team isn't tolerated and the players that remain have seemingly bought in pretty hard.
Strong knows exactly what he's looking for in recruiting from an evaluation standpoint.
Strong is going to have a good defense, especially as he gets more of his players in place, which likely translates to this year being the low-water mark for what his program will produce annually.
In the midst of a 3-5 start to the season, it's easy to overlook or ignore the importance of each of those five factors, but those layers of the foundation are as important as wins at the moment because Strong's ultimate high-mark as a coach at Texas will come as a result of all of them.
No. 3 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns
In landing Missouri City Ridge Point linebacker Cameron Townsend on Sunday in recruiting for the Class of 2015, the Longhorns finally tapped into the state's top 50 to land someone at a position that Charlie Strong yearns to add talent to. The 6-1, 206-pound Townsend is a consensus high three-star prospect that is regarded as a state top 50-level prospect, which makes him one of the more highly regarded in-state defensive commits in the entire class. It'll be fascinating to see how Strong uses Townsend in the future because he's an attack-first player that is at his best when moving forward, but he doesn't always show the versatility that you'd like to see from a guy that possesses a little bit of a tweener body. But, these are the types of kids that Strong has had a lot of success with and he's been a level-one priority for the staff since it arrived, so this is a commitment that should make everyone feel pretty good. If Bob Stoops and Strong both want him, he's got a chance to be a player.
I think one of the questions I want answered this week from the offensive coaches relates to Tyrone Swoopes' freedom to make actual reads in the zone-read game or if the outcome of the play is predetermined pre-snap? If the coaches are limiting Swoopes' read options because they
want to protect him, I suppose I can understand leaning towards the virtues of safety, but the offense left a lot of yards on the table this weekend by not having Swoopes run the ball more. It seemed like there were occasions when the entire field was open to Swoopes, only to see him give the ball into a pile of players.
Lost in the aftermath of the loss to Kansas State is the fact that Cedric Reed probably had his most impactful game of the season off the edge as a rusher.
Nobody on the Texas roster had more than John Harris' 42 yards of all-purpose yardage against the Wildcats. It's hard to win that way.
No. 4 -College Football this and that
And then there were two. You had to wonder if the Ole Miss schedule would eventually get the best of the Rebels and it would appear that the task given to them was simply too tall, as evidenced by their heartbreaking loss to LSU in Death Valley on Saturday night. The Rebels let the Tigers hang around all night and allowed a 95-yard touchdown drive when they were nursing a four-point lead in the final 10 minutes of the game. The Rebels are a really good team, but that wasn't a team that looked special in Baton Rouge.
With a chance to tie the game with a 42-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining, the Rebels couldn't get their field goal team on the field in time to avoid a delay of game penalty and you can't blame anyone other than Hugh Freeze because he didn't send his kicking team onto the field until there were 18 seconds remaining on the play-clock. Instead of taking the 47-yard field goal attempt, Freeze put the offense back on the field and Bo Wallace was intercepted on the next play. That'll leave a mark.
That LSU defense is young, but my goodness, it's certainly talented. Watch the hell out in 2015 and 2016.
Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper is good at football. Really good. He might end up being the difference between Alabama being in the Final Four and not being in the Final Four.
... Gary Patterson can say he didn't run the score up on Texas Tech all he wants, but if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's running up the score. Honestly, Patterson should have just owned it and said, "Hell yes, we scored 82 points and if Kliffy wants to do something about it, stop worrying about his hair gel and start worrying about being an actual coach."
Rumors have it that Tech is going to give Kingsbury and extra extension this week just because he's cute and stuff.
West Virginia might be the most underrated team in the country.
If I had a vote that mattered:
1. Mississippi State
2. Florida State
3. Ole Miss
4. Alabama
5. TCU
6. Notre Dame
7. Georgia
8. Oregon
9. Auburn
10. Michigan State
From the department of Three Stars Rankings Are Nothing to Sneeze At: Former Killeen Ellison running back Daniel Cobb (ranked No. 93 on the 2009 LSR Top 100) currently ranks fifth in the nation in rushing for Minnesota with 144.7 yards per game.
Fat Guy Touchdown Pass in the Arkansas game. Ok, Bielema, I'm warming up to you.
No. 5 - Colt McCoy's big night ...
It was only five years ago that Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow were on top of the college football world as one of the most successful trio of quarterbacks in the history of the game.
Five years ago might as well seem like forever when you consider the state of each player and each's respective playing careers.
Tebow is gone as in ghost. Bradford might never start another game for the Rams because he can't be trusted to stay on the field. And then you have McCoy
Entering Monday night's likely fill-in start against the Dallas Cowboys, McCoy might be receiving his final chance to send a statement to NFL teams that he not only deserves to be on a roster, but that his long-term upside is better than trying to decide if he can be a quality back-up.
With Robert Griffin set to soon return, this one moment in on Monday tonight might be it for McCoy and the fact that the scene of this moment will occur at Jerry World with friends and family present only magnifies the moment.
For a guy that has lived a Disney movie for a life, there's something potentially romantic about the setting and the stakes for McCoy. You'd have to imagine that he's been dreaming of playing the Cowboys on Monday Night Football for much of his life and here we are
Are you ready for some football?
No. 6 - In honor of it being the 25th anniversary year of the Herschel Walker trade ...
Should the Houston Texans trade Arian Foster before the trade deadline for whatever level of draft picks they can acquire?
While watching him toy with the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, it was hard not to consider that he's wasting whatever is left in his prime as a player on a team that isn't going anywhere with him as its centerpiece.
Considering that a running back's career could go south at any moment, wouldn't it be wise to move him for a second-round pick to the Patriots if such a trade was available? His value might not ever be higher than right after a month-long stretch of football that has seen him climb back to the top of the NFL's running back rankings and he could absolutely be a difference-maker for the right team down the stretch.
Without any idea of what the long-term future at quarterback truly looks like, I say sell before the deadline hits and start grooming Alfred Blue for the future.
No. 7 - Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind
Madison F'ing Bumgarner.
Is there really a team in the AFC that can challenge the Broncos because it sure didn't look like it on Sunday?
How many of you drafted Tom Brady in fantasy football, lived through the frustrating start to the season, got rid of him and are now angrily watching him revert to MVP-level Brady in the last month?
The Falcons can't let Mike Smith return home to Atlanta with them, can they?
Seattle might have saved it season on Sunday with a gutsy, ugly win at Carolina.
Jamaal Charles is still really good at football.
Don't make Gronk mad because you won't like it when he's mad.
Oh, Lamarr Houston. Never go Johnny Jolly in the fourth quarter of a game that you're being absolutely slaughtered in ever. Also, you can never injure yourself while going Johnny Jolly in the fourth quarter of a game that you're being absolutely slaughtered in ever. That's how you become a verb.
Ready or not, the NBA season starts on Tuesday. Personally, I'm ready.
Being a Liverpool fan has allowed the disappointment that the Dallas Cowboys usually provide me to be filled completely. There's not a player on the team that I really like and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't second-guessing my decision to pick the Reds as a team to cheer for. Good grief, it's not a fun team to root for this year.
Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes was a hell of a good fight, but I didn't feel like I got my money's worth as a whole with UFC179. Weak, boring undercard.
I have no other words for you regarding sports this week I simply give you Tom Izzo as a member of Kiss. This is a real thing.
No. 8 - Live blogging the final episode of Boardwalk Empire ...
************SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!********
Do not read below if you do not want to see spoilers.
************SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!********
************SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!********
1. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LIMIT THE FLASHBACK SCENES.
2. Hate her all you want, but Margaret is a boss.
3. Notice how all the bad guys in the movies say that they do the bad things that they did for their familes? Kind of a weak crutch.
4. I guess the flashback scenes have done one thing... they've explained why he burned that house down earlier in the show.
5. Nucky took care of Eli and gave him a hug on the way out the door, Well done.
6. I miss Van Alden.
7. I didn't enjoy Dr. Narcise's demise nearly as much as I thought I would, but he had it coming.
8. So, the big "ah-ha!" moment of the entire season was the storyline we all saw coming a mile away? I guess Nucky got what he deserved, but good grief.
9. Consider me a disappointed fan.
************END OF SPOILER ALERT! END OF SPOILER ALERT! ********
************END OF SPOILER ALERT! END OF SPOILER ALERT! ********
No. 9 - Pop goes the culture because the culture goes pop
Hottie of the Weekend: Miss Butt Brazil rocks a bikini in Paris
Hottie of the Weekend (Candice category): Candice Swanepoel Sexy Lingerie Shoot for Victoria's Secret October 2014
Acting a Fool: Drake needs to behave
Take That: Taylor Swift doesn't care that you don't like her
It's Woodstock, man: Kate Hudson does her best Matthew McConaughey
English, my man! : Benedict Cumberbatch Can't Say 'Penguins' - The Graham Norton Show on BBC America
Honey No-no: Moma June needs to use some common sense for the sake of her child
Miley Link of the Weekend: Miley Cyrus Rocks Unicorn Onesie, Wraps Up Bangerz Tour-See the Pic!
No.10 - The List: Red Hot Chili Peppers
It's been an interesting two weeks, as I used most of last week to focus on all of the music from the Red Hot Chili Peppers prior to its release of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik album, which represented the moment when the band truly took off into the stratosphere, while much of the last week has been spent listening to everything that came afterwards.
Essentially, it felt like listening to two different bands and I have to confess that from a pure music enjoyment standpoint, I prefer the more mature sound from the group that most of its funk metal stuff from the 80s.
From 1991-2002, the band released four albums and all of them stand the test of time as some of the great alternative rock music produced in the last 25 years.
Without wasting any more time, here's a look at what I expect to be a much-discussed list:
Last five songs out: If You Have to Ask
10. Fight Like a Brave
From The Uplift Mofo Party Plan album, this ios the only song from the group's early
work that cracked the Top 10.
9. Higher Ground
The boys do Stevie Wonder real good.
8. Can't Stop
The best song off of the By the Way album.
7. Breaking The Girl
One of my personal favorites from Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
6. Scar Tissue
You really can't say enough about what John Frusciante's presence in the band meant and this song deatures one of his best solos.
5. Suck My Kiss
I apologize to the perverts out there that demand this song be ranked No.1.
4. Californication
This song has been performed nearly 500 times, which ranks it fourth on the group's all-time performed list.
3. Soul to Squeeze
Originally a b-side to Give it Away and Under the Bridge, this song wasn;'t even released on Blood Sugar Sex Magik and it emerged as one of the best songs the group ever made.
2. Sir Psycho Sex
In a long line of funkadelic songs to choose from, this jam off of Blood Sugar Sex
Magik might be the funkiest the group ever made.
1. Under the Bridge
Pretty much a runaway winner for the group's No.1 song.
Archives List
Blues/Jazz: Listen via
Spotify )
Classical: Listen via Spotify)
Country: Listen via
Spotify ), Listen via Spotify )
Electronic: Listen Via Spotify
Funk: Listen Via Spotify (Part II - After Hours))
Metal: Listen Via
Spotify
Pop: Listen via Spotify )
Punk: Listen via Spotify)
Random: My Number 1's on Spotify
Rap: Listen via Spotify),
R&B: Listen via Spotify)
Reggae: Listen via Spotify)
Rock: Listen
via Spotify), Listen via Spotify )
