Immediate Reactions to Sark's Kentucky-Week Presser
- By Alex Dunlap
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 35 Replies
Here are a few immediate thoughts about, and reactions to, Steve Sarkisian's Kentucky-week press conference coming off a gritty win on the road against Arkansas that kept Texas in control of its own destiny:
- Sark starts out by saying Arkansas was an awesome win on the road. Texas is the only undefeated team on the road in conference play. The defense was fantastic. Alfred Collins isn't getting enough credit nationally for his fantastic brand of football. Hayden Conner OL of the week, fourth time a Texas OL has won it. Toughest game of the season coming up versus Kentucky. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: I love that Sark is positioning the mindset of the team to believe this, but let's hope UK is not the "toughest game of the season," that would be a disaster.
- Danny Davis asked about the seniors: Sark says he's really appreciative of the guys who were holdovers from the old staff. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Sark's favorite thing to talk about, by far, is how proud he is of players who stick around and develop on the bench.
- On PK taking heat as the program was building, but now getting respect: super proud of the entire defensive staff. Heard a ton about our secondary last year, what they allegedly were. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: I'm all for giving credit for the growth of the defense but it is rewriting history to say the pass defense last year was good. It wasn't an "allegedly" leaky unit, it was a leaky unit. A lot of the improvement was addition by subtraction and unleashing the good players to really play more. I think Nansen's emphatic focus on LB/DB communication has helped greatly as well. One thing is for sure: Terry Joseph and Blake Gideon seem FIRMLY off of any hot seat.
- Sark again says this is the most important game of the year. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He's gonna keep saying it I guess.
- Kirk Bohls asked about UK's good games -- Ole Miss, Georgia: Ton of respect for Stoops, very sound football teams in all three phases. Will grind you out then take their shots like in the Ole Miss game. Tried their best to do the same in Ole Miss and Tennessee games. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: UK doesn't seem like a good football team and maybe it's the PTSD of graduating from Texas in the early 2000s but I never love playing a member of the Stoops family.
- Eric Henry asked about explosive plays being about equal to last year and is it as explosive as last year: Sark said they're just trying to move the football and win games. We're managing games in a way that allows us to be successful. Couldn't have been more proud about how the offense handled the fourth quarter. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He seemed to be a little surprised to hear they've been as explosive this year.
- Wescott Eberts asked about Alfred Collins' improvement: sometimes it's more difficult to remain consistent when you're not getting as many plays. When you're playing more you lean into doing the little things right. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Right, but in fairness, Collins has played a lot in the past and been nowhere near this good. NOWHERE NEAR. The switch has totally flipped.
- Bob Ballou asked about the Jahdae decision to come back and how much has he improved? It was the move to corner full time and then use him in special situations in nickel and dime. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Another opportunity for Sark to talk about his favorite topic, staying committed to the program and developing. Collins, Helm, Barron, Ford, Sweat, etc. etc. etc.
- Is Quinn playing his final college home game on Saturday? "No idea." ALEX'S THOUGHTS: If he's not playing his final college home game on Saturday, I don't think his final college home game will be at Texas given the circumstances but what do I know.
- On Chiefs running his end around for the UF game: "I've copied way more plays from Andy Reid than he's copied from me." ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Lol. still pretty awesome to see your play used the very next week by the defending world champs.
- Brian Davis asked about as an offensive coach how does it feel to have such a good defense: Sark says he doesn't just gravitate to the offense, but probably has better relationships with the defensive players than the offense because he goes overboard to make sure he has those relationships. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He also doesn't yell at those guys as much in practice! Of course they like him more
- On Juan Davis's journey: ALEX'S THOUGHTS: We don't even need to hear the answer. Favorite topic. Stay the course, don't transfer, develop, be ready when you're number is called etc.
- Anwar asked about 5:1 ratio of INTs to passing TDs allowed and also about Jaydon Blue: Sark said it has to do with experience of the defensive backfield and incorporating the linebackers. We don't blow coverages. They make every pass play feel contested. When their is a guy open it's like "what happened?" As for Blue, he worked this morning, think he's good. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: That's a stat I hadn't heard. Impressive.
Ed Clements asked about 5 teams vying for SEC championship: First time in SEC without divisions, what would it look like now if that were still the case. I think it's a good thing, our conference is extremely challenging and it's going to come down to the last weekend. That's why this weekend is the biggest of the year to put us in position for that final week. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Look, I hope the team treats it as the biggest game of the year, but it's clear Sark means the biggest game of the year SO FAR.
Chip Brown asked about Mo Blackwell and Deandre Moore: Hopefully Blackwell can go, Moore knicked up in the game, hopefully we can get both those guys back. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: We're going to have to wait on the injury reports for those dudes, not too much concrete there.
Ced Golden on only Texas and Texas A&M controlling their own destiny: Similar to last year, two years ago we were at the mercy of other teams. Last year, we said we're going to be in control. We sing that same song this year. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Texas needs to focus on Texas and not A&M or anyone else. Just play your game. Walk into the house, pee on the rug, mark your territory, eat all the snacks, zero F's given.
- Roger Wallace asked about how to stay even-keel: "what a cool moment Saturday to have in that locker room, then we got on the bus and were like 'OK let's go home," it never feels like we're winning a Super Bowl in that locker room." ALEX'S THOUGHTS: I'm sure Ewers has a little bit of an affect on that, he's a pretty chill guy.
- CJ Vogel asked about the jumbo package with Agbo, etc. not being a part of the equation this year. Sark says he feels better about Gunnar Helm being in there as a blocker than they have in the past where they needed to use an offensive lineman. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He's effectively saying Gunnar is a more complete TE than JT Sanders.
- Bohls: Kirby Smart says he doesn't understand the CFP committee, do you look at the analytics of that?: I know there's point differentials involved and I've taken a knee inside the ten, kneeled it out last week, I think that's the right way to play the game. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Sark seems convinced that if the team plays the brand of football they've been playing and intend to keep playing, things will take care of themselves and it's a hard thing to disagree with -- but just imagine if it did come down to some cockamamie point differential ...
- On the handshakes and having fun, the dances, etc. : They are truly a team. We are not a defense, offense, special teams. They are in it together. It's what makes this group special, they put forth a lot of effort, work their tails off and have fun doing what we need to do. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: My favorite is still from the UF game when Ewers and the OL had their dance. I have no idea what the theme was but I must have watched it ten times because it was so funny.
- Sark starts out by saying Arkansas was an awesome win on the road. Texas is the only undefeated team on the road in conference play. The defense was fantastic. Alfred Collins isn't getting enough credit nationally for his fantastic brand of football. Hayden Conner OL of the week, fourth time a Texas OL has won it. Toughest game of the season coming up versus Kentucky. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: I love that Sark is positioning the mindset of the team to believe this, but let's hope UK is not the "toughest game of the season," that would be a disaster.
- Danny Davis asked about the seniors: Sark says he's really appreciative of the guys who were holdovers from the old staff. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Sark's favorite thing to talk about, by far, is how proud he is of players who stick around and develop on the bench.
- On PK taking heat as the program was building, but now getting respect: super proud of the entire defensive staff. Heard a ton about our secondary last year, what they allegedly were. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: I'm all for giving credit for the growth of the defense but it is rewriting history to say the pass defense last year was good. It wasn't an "allegedly" leaky unit, it was a leaky unit. A lot of the improvement was addition by subtraction and unleashing the good players to really play more. I think Nansen's emphatic focus on LB/DB communication has helped greatly as well. One thing is for sure: Terry Joseph and Blake Gideon seem FIRMLY off of any hot seat.
- Sark again says this is the most important game of the year. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He's gonna keep saying it I guess.
- Kirk Bohls asked about UK's good games -- Ole Miss, Georgia: Ton of respect for Stoops, very sound football teams in all three phases. Will grind you out then take their shots like in the Ole Miss game. Tried their best to do the same in Ole Miss and Tennessee games. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: UK doesn't seem like a good football team and maybe it's the PTSD of graduating from Texas in the early 2000s but I never love playing a member of the Stoops family.
- Eric Henry asked about explosive plays being about equal to last year and is it as explosive as last year: Sark said they're just trying to move the football and win games. We're managing games in a way that allows us to be successful. Couldn't have been more proud about how the offense handled the fourth quarter. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He seemed to be a little surprised to hear they've been as explosive this year.
- Wescott Eberts asked about Alfred Collins' improvement: sometimes it's more difficult to remain consistent when you're not getting as many plays. When you're playing more you lean into doing the little things right. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Right, but in fairness, Collins has played a lot in the past and been nowhere near this good. NOWHERE NEAR. The switch has totally flipped.
- Bob Ballou asked about the Jahdae decision to come back and how much has he improved? It was the move to corner full time and then use him in special situations in nickel and dime. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Another opportunity for Sark to talk about his favorite topic, staying committed to the program and developing. Collins, Helm, Barron, Ford, Sweat, etc. etc. etc.
- Is Quinn playing his final college home game on Saturday? "No idea." ALEX'S THOUGHTS: If he's not playing his final college home game on Saturday, I don't think his final college home game will be at Texas given the circumstances but what do I know.
- On Chiefs running his end around for the UF game: "I've copied way more plays from Andy Reid than he's copied from me." ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Lol. still pretty awesome to see your play used the very next week by the defending world champs.
- Brian Davis asked about as an offensive coach how does it feel to have such a good defense: Sark says he doesn't just gravitate to the offense, but probably has better relationships with the defensive players than the offense because he goes overboard to make sure he has those relationships. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He also doesn't yell at those guys as much in practice! Of course they like him more
- On Juan Davis's journey: ALEX'S THOUGHTS: We don't even need to hear the answer. Favorite topic. Stay the course, don't transfer, develop, be ready when you're number is called etc.
- Anwar asked about 5:1 ratio of INTs to passing TDs allowed and also about Jaydon Blue: Sark said it has to do with experience of the defensive backfield and incorporating the linebackers. We don't blow coverages. They make every pass play feel contested. When their is a guy open it's like "what happened?" As for Blue, he worked this morning, think he's good. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: That's a stat I hadn't heard. Impressive.
Ed Clements asked about 5 teams vying for SEC championship: First time in SEC without divisions, what would it look like now if that were still the case. I think it's a good thing, our conference is extremely challenging and it's going to come down to the last weekend. That's why this weekend is the biggest of the year to put us in position for that final week. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Look, I hope the team treats it as the biggest game of the year, but it's clear Sark means the biggest game of the year SO FAR.
Chip Brown asked about Mo Blackwell and Deandre Moore: Hopefully Blackwell can go, Moore knicked up in the game, hopefully we can get both those guys back. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: We're going to have to wait on the injury reports for those dudes, not too much concrete there.
Ced Golden on only Texas and Texas A&M controlling their own destiny: Similar to last year, two years ago we were at the mercy of other teams. Last year, we said we're going to be in control. We sing that same song this year. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Texas needs to focus on Texas and not A&M or anyone else. Just play your game. Walk into the house, pee on the rug, mark your territory, eat all the snacks, zero F's given.
- Roger Wallace asked about how to stay even-keel: "what a cool moment Saturday to have in that locker room, then we got on the bus and were like 'OK let's go home," it never feels like we're winning a Super Bowl in that locker room." ALEX'S THOUGHTS: I'm sure Ewers has a little bit of an affect on that, he's a pretty chill guy.
- CJ Vogel asked about the jumbo package with Agbo, etc. not being a part of the equation this year. Sark says he feels better about Gunnar Helm being in there as a blocker than they have in the past where they needed to use an offensive lineman. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He's effectively saying Gunnar is a more complete TE than JT Sanders.
- Bohls: Kirby Smart says he doesn't understand the CFP committee, do you look at the analytics of that?: I know there's point differentials involved and I've taken a knee inside the ten, kneeled it out last week, I think that's the right way to play the game. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Sark seems convinced that if the team plays the brand of football they've been playing and intend to keep playing, things will take care of themselves and it's a hard thing to disagree with -- but just imagine if it did come down to some cockamamie point differential ...
- On the handshakes and having fun, the dances, etc. : They are truly a team. We are not a defense, offense, special teams. They are in it together. It's what makes this group special, they put forth a lot of effort, work their tails off and have fun doing what we need to do. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: My favorite is still from the UF game when Ewers and the OL had their dance. I have no idea what the theme was but I must have watched it ten times because it was so funny.
Interesting OU note: Venables wife perhaps sick?
- By SWTHORN123
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 36 Replies
Chatter on some OU boards that BV's wife may have her breast cancer rearing its ugly head again after going through treatment a while back for that. Hope it isn't true. Article below on her breast cancer being in remission from a while back
www.espn.com
Wife of Sooners' Venables diagnosed with cancer
Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables said his wife, Julie, was diagnosed with breast cancer in June and underwent surgery on Friday.
View from the Cheap Seats-Razorbacks
- By echeese
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 24 Replies
View from the Cheap Seats-Razorbacks
“They hate our guts” – Sark
“They hate our guts” – Sark
“I don’t know what Darrell Royal did to these guys back in the 60’s but they hate our guts”. Sark in the pre-game interview. Yep, these guys hate us more than they love themselves.
Arkansas was sky high for the game and the fans were loud. TEXAS would stumble and bumble to a 10-Zip halftime lead which should have been more but some home-cooking by the refs ignored a blatant pass interference in the end zone that denied TEXAS a 1st and goal. Not much doubt in this writer's mind that had we gone up 17-0 at that point, the Pigs would have folded. In many ways, this was similar to the Vandy game where small mistakes such as dropped passes or just off target throws kept the game close. Remember the old adage, let a dog hang around, they might bite you late. That was Arkansas’ strategy and it almost played out that way.
4 years ago when Sark was hired, if you said TEXAS would be a defense-first team our 1st year of SEC play, most would have thought you nuts. But that is where we are today, leaning on the defense to win games. And did they ever play well. In the opening half, Coach Pete’s young charges would force 5 punts and an INT on Arkansas’ 6 drives. For the game, they would force 9 tackles for loss to go with 6 sacks and 2 turnovers. The single biggest play of the game would come halfway into the 4th quarter. Arkansas had climbed back to be within reach of TEXAS at 13-10. TEXAS would answer with a long drive to go up 20-10. Razorbacks’ offense was starting to click and they had moved the ball near the TEXAS red zone only to see big Alfred Collins run down their WR from behind and force a strip which Michael “Can you believe I was a walk-on” Taffe scooped up the bouncing ball at the 6:55 mark of the 4th quarter.
TEXAS’ old friend Ja’Quadian Jackson made his presence known in the 2nd half as the one-time QB prospect for the Horns, one-time Utah QB/RB would help get the Pigs offense on track. His 5.1 yards per carry and TD helped the Pigs make a game of it.
TEXAS would not give the Pigs the ball back as the Horns would go on a 14-play, almost 7-minute drive to end the game. Not the Horn's best game of the season but certainly not the worst. One of those solid wins vs an opponent playing for their season and a team that flat-out doesn’t like TEXAS.
Though 10 games, Gunnar Helm is TEXAS’ leading pass catcher both in terms of total receptions and yards. Another of those stats we did not expect to see through 10 games. Part of this is Quinn spreads the ball around very well with 9 different players catching balls in this game alone. Gunnar has been a very reliable safety blanket for Quinn and he is climbing his way up NFL draft boards. We can see him as a late 2 or early 3rd round pick. He’s made himself some money this year.
Glass half full: 1 penalty on the offensive line this week and that a meaningless false start as Big Bird Auburn would make the re-kick.
Glass half empty: 2 sacks, both allowed by All-American Banks and 9 tackles for loss. Oddly both came as Quinn was trying to move up in the pocket.
And while it lacked the style points of the win vs the Gators, say Hello Win Column all the same. Oddly, both TEXAS and Texas A&M both control their path to the SEC title game and each must simply win the next two.
Offensive Player of the Game
Jayden Blue- Lead all rushers for the game with 84 yards and a 5.9 ypc average to go with 3 receptions for 19 yards. He scared us with a fumble late in the game but the ball dribbled safely out of bounds.
Honorable Mention-Matthew Golden, 2 catches 2 TDs, we like it.
Defensive Player of the Game
Alfred Collins forced a fumble in the 4th on a hustle play where he chased down a WR, created the turnover which Michael Taffe quickly secured. This would close out the game as the Pigs would not touch the rock again. TEXAS would run the next 6:55 off the clock. In addition, he would record a sack and 2 tackles for loss. He’s on a roll, here’s to him keeping it going.
Honorable Mention-Jahdea Barron, 6 solo tackles a key interception which led to 7 points, 2 tackles for loss, a pass break up and a sack. He leads the SEC with 4 interceptions on the season.
Special Teams Player of the Game
Kick off return team-Twice they pinned Arkansas back inside their own 15
Stats that Matter
- 2/7 2 turnovers gained, 7 points and a drive ending in victory formation
- 2/0 2 total penalties on TEXAS with ZERO turnovers
- 10 TEXAS/Sark is 10-0 in their last 10 true road games
- 80 80th game between TEXAS and Arkansas dating to 1894
- 15 Interceptions by the Horns on the year leading the SEC
- 2 of 5 5 Red Zone Trips, 2 TDs and 2 FGs, punt
- 13-21 In SEC play, TEXAS has scored 13 TDs on 21 trips into the RZ
History
This was the 80th match-up between our former Southwest Conference partner. TEXAS now leads the series 57-23. There were some classic games played by these 2, none bigger than the Big Shootout, played Dec 6th 1969. This would also be the author's first football game to watch, ever. Watched it on a black and white Sanyo TV. The game where President Richard Nixon attended and declared TEXAS the National Champion. Nixon was always a football fan and had played as a walk-on at Whitter College.
The book, Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming is an outstanding look at the backstories of the game and at life in the late 60s.
The movie My All-American also delves into the game.
On Deck
TRAP GAME. Kentucky is coming to town. This is a team that beat Ole Miss and lost to Georgia by 1. Sark has to make sure the team not looking ahead to it’s game with Aggie where the winner is assured an SEC title game spot. Let’s face it, TEXAS often plays down to their competition. Kentucky isn’t a strong offensive team (#109 Scoring offense) but they play solid defense (ranked #30 in scoring D). This would be a great game to jump on them early, force them to be one dimensional, and get a big enough lead to get the backups some needed reps.
We see this one 30-10.
Hard to believe we are down to 2 games in the regular season already. Often a bittersweet time of the year.
Fighting Mack Browns
Mack’s crew beat Wake Forest to qualify for a bowl game.
If we had a playoff vote:
TEXAS v Arkansas Highlights
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