"Just a Bit Outside" is brought to you by:
Elite Sports Memorabilia owner Brandon is a longtime Orangebloods member @Txbaseball22 . ESM has THE BEST in Longhorn memorabilia anywhere. You can find memorabilia from UT legends such as Vince Young, Ricky Williams, Sam Ehlinger, Cat Osterman and Ivan Melendez. He also works with current Longhorns such as Quinn Ewers and Xavier Worthy.
Speaking of Ewers, Brandon has some autographed helmets (full size and mini) from Ewers. Now is the time to get them before he blows up this season and demand goes through the roof. Vegas has Ewers as one of the favorites to win the Heisman, so get your memorabilia NOW!
If there is some other kind of memorabilia you're looking for, please reach out to Brandon - he can probably get it.
You can reach Brandon via email at esmsportsut@gmail.com, or on facebook at Elite Sports Memorabilia if you have any questions or would like to place an order.
Social Media
Facebook Elite Sports Mem
Twitter @EliteSportsMem
Tik Tok elite sports mem
IG Elite_Sports_Memorabilia_UT
EBAY STORE:
Ebay Elite Sports Memorabilia UT
JOIN THE GROUP:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/elitesportsmemorabilia/?ref=share_group_link
===========================================================================
Quinn Ewers heads into the 2023 football season with sky-high expectations for both himself and his team.
The Longhorn quarterback has transformed his body and his hair during the offseason and the improvement shone throughout the spring.
Texas fans saw the improvement, see the talent around him and the expectations are that he is going to lead this team to at least a 10-win season and a conference championship.
And yet, is it possible that even with all of those expectations, he’s underrated?
The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman set about ranking college quarterbacks and it didn’t turn out well for Ewers.
theathletic.com
Mandel and Feldman have Ewers in the fifth tier of quarterbacks alongside such stalwarts as DJ Uiagalelei, the former Clemson quarterback who lost his starting gig and transferred to Oregon State (where he still hasn’t been able to win the starting job). Other tier five QBs are Kansas State’s Will Howard, former OU quarterback Spencer Rattler, Kedon Slovis – the USC => Pitt Panther => BYU quarterback and Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart.
All of these guys are quarterbacks who have lost their jobs and transferred or are battling to keep their jobs.
If you think the tier of quarterbacks Ewers is hanging out with is bad, wait until you see some of the names ahead of him.
TIER 4:
Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin
Cam Rising, Utah
Jalon Daniels, Kansas
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Jordan Travis, Florida State
Tanner Mordecai was a fine quarterback at SMU and he will likely put up big numbers in Phil Longo’s offense at Wisconsin, but would you really take him over Ewers? The same could be asked of Jalon Daniels at Kansas or even Dillon Gabriel at OU.
TIER 3:
Jayden Daniels, LSU
Frank Harris, UTSA
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
Bo Nix, Oregon
Michael Pratt, Tulane
Devin Leary, Kentucky
Michael Pratt has put up pretty decent numbers at Tulane, but they weren’t so much greater than what Ewers produced … and Pratt was a third-year starter while Ewers was in his first year (and battling an injury).
Feldman went so far as to call JJ McCarthy a dark horse Heisman candidate (I’ll get to that later). McCarthy was an efficient quarterback last year, playing in a run first, run last offense.
Frank Harris is such a good quarterback, he’s coming back for his seventh collegiate season (that’s not a typo). You know what kind of quarterbacks play seven seasons of college football? QBs that are good enough for college but not the NFL. That’s not a slight on Harris, being a star quarterback in college is a hell of an accomplishment, but it probably doesn’t put you as one of the best in all of college football.
TIER 2:
Drake Maye, North Carolina
Michael Penix Jr., Washington
It’s hard to argue with this tier. Maye and Penix are elite quarterbacks who have already shown their skill in college, whereas Ewers still has to prove it.
TIER 1:
Caleb Williams, USC
He’s the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
Believe me, I understand the people who still question whether Ewers is the guy. He had some struggles last season. His footwork is sloppy. He has struggled with the deep ball going all the way back to his high school days (I definitely remember @Ketchum getting ripped for saying so when he was still a recruit – and if I forgot, he would remind me).
But if I was Ewers, I’m not sure there would be anything that would motivate me more than seeing me grouped alongside guys like Spencer Rattler or being behind Tanner Mordecai.
OTHER ANALYSTS WEIGH IN:
Former Alabama quarterback (and fellow Southlake Carroll alum) Greg McElroy knows a thing or two about quarterbacking. He weighed in on Ewers’ standing in the college football world this week as well.
“If we’re going based strictly on quarterbacks physical potential, Quinn Ewers would be number one (in the Big 12). Ewers might be a number one in the entire country,” McElroy said on Always College Football. “He’s definitely top 10, top five in the country just based on sheer potential. The problem is it was up and down last year. Look at the first six quarters: phenomenal. Early against Alabama: really, really good. Against Oklahoma: really, really good, against Oklahoma State: really, really bad. (Then) against Washington: really, really bad, against TCU: bad.
“You look at all those different ups and downs. It’s difficult at this point to feel great about Quinn Ewers being consistent. I need consistent productivity from the quarterback position, and I don’t know if he’s the guy that’s going to give it to me but if he could recreate the magic that he had against Oklahoma on a weekly basis, the guy will be unstoppable.”
HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS:
Mandel and Feldman may not be very high on Ewers, but Vegas loves the guy.
sports.betmgm.com
Ewers is sitting at the third-best odds to get the stiff-arm trophy with +1400 odds.
Those kind of odds make sense, even if you don’t fully believe in his ability. These odds aren’t just what Vegas thinks about someone’s ability, it is also a function of enticing people to bet on someone. In other words, a big-name quarterback at a big-name school is more likely to have someone bet on him than a big talent quarterback playing at a smaller school (Cam Rising at Utah, +5000).
The other bit of something to consider is that the Heisman isn’t just a trophy for the best player in college football, it is a trophy that is usually given to the best quarterback on a winning team.
That is why you see Carson Beck’s odds so low (+2000). Beck is set to lead Georgia as they seek to defend their title. The same thing goes for TreVeyon Henderson at Ohio State.
Ewers is the starting quarterback at a premier program that Vegas has winning 10 games this season. If Texas wins that many games and Ewers stays healthy all season, then he will absolutely be in the conversation for the Heisman. Note, I’m not saying he’ll definitely be in New York, but he will be in the conversation if those things happen.
But again, Ewers is an unproven quarterback. Do you really think he is the third best candidate to win the Heisman this year? Could it be possible he’s overrated?
Time will tell.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 2024 SEC SCHEDULE:
One week from today, the SEC is going to release which teams Texas will face in its inaugural season. The conference is planning a big reveal show on the SEC Network.
Just a reminder, the conference voted to stay at eight conference games for the 2024 season with one permanent rival.
Texas already has three non-conference games scheduled for next season, and will need to add a fourth non-conference game pretty quickly (more on that later).
2024 SCHEDULE:
Aug. 31 – Colorado State – DKR (time & television TBD)
Sep. 7 – Michigan – Michigan Stadium (Fox – time TBD … but bet money it will be 12 (ET))
Sep. 14 – UTSA – DKR (time & television TBD)
Oct. 12 – OU – Dallas (time & television TBD)
That leaves seven conference opponents and one non-conference game needed to fill out the schedule.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey gave hints last week about what the conference will look at when determining who plays who next year.
"We have a combination of the expectation of fairness and balance,” Sankey told reporters covering the SEC Spring Meetings last week. “We've been asked to make the competitive disparity in strength of schedule more narrow than it is and achieve a perfect balance. That'd be great if you can make an undefeated team play an undefeated team.
"I think I've been clear about honoring traditional rivals so I'm excited about that, but I'm not going to give my schedule away right now. We understand the priorities. (We will) definitely to the extent we can (schedule secondary rivals)."
So, given that the SEC wants to have a competitive balance and schedule rivals when possible, we can make some fairly educated guesses about who Texas will have to play during its first season in the SEC.
SEC SCHOOLS AVAILABLE TO MATCH UP AGAINST:
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Missouri
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
First off, you can bet money that UT will have to travel to College Station to take on A&M, likely either on Thanksgiving or that weekend.
Arkansas is another no-brainer. I’m not sure if that will be home or away, but you can definitely pencil in the piggies.
Also, nobody could possibly call it a rivalry, but I expect we will once again see the old Big 12 matchup of Texas vs. Missouri.
I don’t think they’re going to match up Texas and Alabama again after playing a home-and-home series the past two years.
Given their proximity, I think LSU may very well be in play. The 2019 matchup in Austin was a marquee game that season with a lot of national attention. The fact that the return trip never got played in 2020 due to COVID leads me to believe that the Horns may very well make the trip to Baton Rouge next season.
That leaves three more games to fill out the schedule. Those games could come from any of the remaining teams for any number of reasons. So I’m just going to assume there will be one of the Mississippi schools, one of the Tennessee schools and one of either Georgia or Florida.
CONFERENCE MATCHUPS:
OU
Missouri
Arkansas
LSU
Mississippi State
Tennessee
Florida
Texas A&M
One final note about this setup … because OU is a neutral site game, I would expect to see Texas get three conference home games next season with four true road games.
2024 NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENT:
As I mentioned, the decision to stick with eight conference games means Athletic Director Chris Del Conte is going to need to work the phones to find a non-conference opponent to fill out next year’s schedule.
Because it’s so last minute (relatively speaking), there are not a whole lot of options available. Most teams already have contracts in place for their non-conference slate.
I went through every FBS team schedules to find the schools which do have a date available. Here they are, grouped according to whether I think they are a likely, possible or no chance pairing.
This extra game will need to be a home game to make up for the lack of conference home slates. It would also behoove CDC to schedule a cupcake so that the Horns can guarantee themselves an extra W during their first year in the SEC. Finally, it will probably take place in November when the SEC typically has an open date from their conference schedule. That timing also limits who might be available.
LIKELY: (these teams have openings and could be interested in getting paid to get beat)
NO CHANCE: (These teams are unlikely to agree to a payday game against Texas, or they’re just too tough of an opponent to guarantee a UT win – which defeats the purpose of the fourth non-conference game.)
So here, ultimately, is what I think the 2024 Texas football schedule could look like.
2024 TEXAS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (HYPOTHETICAL):
Aug. 31 – Colorado State – DKR (time & television TBD)
Sep. 7 – Michigan – Michigan Stadium (Fox – time TBD … but bet money it will be 12 (ET))
Sep. 14 – UTSA – DKR (time & television TBD)
Sep. 21 – Arkansas – Fayetteville, AR (time & television TBD)
Sep. 28 – Missouri – DKR (time & television TBD)
Oct. 5 - OPEN
Oct. 12 – OU – Dallas (time & television TBD)
Oct. 19 – Mississippi State – Starkville, MS (time & television TBD)
Oct. 26 – Florida – DKR (time & television TBD)
Nov. 2 – LSU – Baton Rouge, LA (time & television TBD)
Nov. 9 – Tennessee – DKR (time & television TBD)
Nov. 16 – UConn – DKR (time & television TBD)
Nov. 23 – OPEN
Nov. 29 – Texas A&M – College Station (time & television TBD)
We’ll all have to tune in to the SEC Network next Wednesday to find out which conference opponents UT will have to face in its inaugural SEC season.
BRING ON THE SUPER REGIONALS!
Every time I start to get excited about UT baseball, they let me down. Every time I start to give up on UT baseball, they go and play like world beaters.
“We’re a very good team when we play together,” head coach David Pierce said Wednesday. “We can look like a poor team if we’re not doing things right.”
He can say that again. But I’m not falling for it.
Nope, the Horns can’t suck me back in – despite the fact that they swept through the Miami regional like they were the seeded team expecting to just take care of business on its way to Omaha.
Not that anybody is predicting the Horns will make it to Omaha for the fourth time in the last five years under Coach Pierce.
“I still think we’re overlooked,” said Pierce. “I mean, right now nobody’s picking us to win anything.”
That’s right coach, I’m not predicting a return trip to Omaha. I can’t get sucked in again believing that Lucas Gordon and Lebarron Johnson Jr. are going to stroll into Palo Alto and just mow down every tree that stands up before them.
Johnson did turn in a masterful performance in Miami last weekend throwing a complete game to beat the host team Miami 4-1.
“The kid, he just has gotten so much more comfortable being on that mound and competing,” said Pierce. “I mean, confident. You can just see it in his mannerisms, his body language. When you talk about a developmental story, that may be the best ever from where he was when he got here to where he is right now.”
Ok, sure, LBJ has developed into an elite pitcher this year. I could maybe see myself getting excited about the starting pitching. But I can’t get sucked in to believing that the bullpen just won’t matter – or that if it is needed, that Travis Stehle, Zane Morehouse, Charlie Hurley and the rest will perform well above what they’ve done the rest of the season.
“Every one of our players at some point of the season – I wouldn’t say rock bottom, but really, really struggled,” said Pierce, stating the obvious. “The ability to come out of that is a tribute to their makeup, their character and their coaches staying with them, just problem solving.”
That really is inspirational. We’ve all seen the struggles. I’ve written about them. I’ve also seen them come out and turn in some masterful performances, especially as the calendar ticked over into May and now June.
Pierce has been telling his team for more than a month now that they need to play like their in the Super Regionals, win or go home. Now they ARE in the Super Regionals and it is win or go home time.
“It’s just the best time of year for college baseball,” Pierce said. “To be in the top 16 is a lot different than being in the top 64. You separate yourselves. And like I told our guys after they won the regional, you earned it. I mean it, from day one you’ve earned it. You believed in each other and you believed in yourself.”
It’s great that they believe in each other. But am I going to believe in them?
I’ll let President Bush answer for me.
That’s right Papa Bush. You and I can’t get sucked in to believing that Dylan Campbell, Peyton Powell, Jared Thomas, Porter Brown, Garret Guillemette, Eric Kennedy and Jack O’Dowd are going to light up the Stanford pitching and score runs in bunches.
I’m not falling for ANY of it.
After all, this is a Stanford Cardinal team that is hitting .318 (as a team). Second baseman Drew Bowser is the only starter hitting below .300 (.274).
This team hits home runs in bunches - 113 for the year. For reference, Texas hit 128 last season which was a team record – by far. Stanford’s 113 would be second best in UT baseball history. The second best home run total in UT history is actually this year’s team with 89.
While the Cardinal doesn’t have an Ivan Melendez type of hitter, it does have six starters with double digit dingers.
The Horns are DOOMED when they get to California this weekend.
Hopefully, they already have their flights booked back to Austin for late Saturday night so that they can be back home in time to comfort themselves with Sunday brunch.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
There is more than just a trip to Omaha on the line when the Horns take on Stanford this weekend.
Now is also a great time to support the Texas Longhorn baseball team.
Indiana State doesn’t get to host the Super Regional matchup against TCU because the area is already hosting a Special Olympics event which has left them short of hotel rooms in the area as well as volunteers to work the game. So good for the TCU fans who are raising money for the Indiana Special Olympics to compensate, in some small way, for the loss of the regional. That’s a classy move by the Frog fans.
Given that I already expect the Horns to fail in spectacular fashion, you can expect there to be plenty of calls for David Pierce’s head on a platter. Of course, those calls will continue to happen until he wins it all – that’s just how it goes with UT baseball – whether it’s fair or not.
While I’m still on the Pierce bandwagon, it’s hard not to look at what Adrian Alaniz is doing at Sinton and not project him as a potential replacement one day in Austin.
Baseball, perhaps more than any other sport, can be impacted so much by the manager. Alaniz is proving that at Sinton.
Do you honestly think there is something in the South Texas water that makes the players at Sinton better than anywhere else in the state? Of course not. Sinton is winning baseball games because of what Alaniz is doing as the manager.
I know there will be plenty of people who would say, “you can’t appoint someone with no college coaching experience to take over at UT.” Normally, I would tend to agree. However, I also believe that baseball coaching tends to cross all levels. You can either coach guys up or you can’t. He clearly can.
Plus, it’s not like he doesn’t know what the pressures are like at UT. He is an alum who has a College World Series ring to show for his time on the 40.
I’m just saying, it is not the craziest idea in the world … but let’s still give Pierce every chance in the world in the meantime. After all, the Horns are headed to the fourth super regional under his leadership.
Speaking of college baseball coaches – I’m still absolutely amazed that there are so few African-American coaches in the sport (truthfully, there aren’t enough in every sport – not just baseball). That’s why I’m so glad that Kerrick Jackson is getting a chance to take over the Missouri Tiger baseball team. I don’t know if he (or anyone) can win at Mizzou, but I’ll be cheering for him to succeed.
We’ve already talked about how expectations for the football team are sky-high this year. If there’s one thing the annual Blue-Chip Ratio tells us, it’s that UT has more than enough talent on hand to win it all. Are they on the same level as Georgia, Alabama or Ohio State? Nope. But do they have enough to win? Absolutely. Plus, if Texas does at least win the Big 12 title this year, you can expect this ratio to grow moving forward given that Sark is an elite recruiter.
Football Scoop is right – nothing sells a program better than the parents of players already in the program. Word of mouth beats all of the talking points coaches spew to recruits.
John Canzano came out with the scoop today that the Pac-12 has agreed to a Grant of Rights for when the conference finally gets a new media rights deal.
Supposedly, the conference members have agreed to sign those rights away for an unknown period of time. It will also include an incentive based revenue sharing plan so that the school that makes it to the College Football Playoff will get more than their other conference partners.
If that’s true, it’s news to Arizona’s president, Robert Robbins.
Arizona has been linked with a potential move to the Big 12, along with Colorado. That move can’t and won’t happen if the school signs the GoR.
Roberts was also asked about if he is open to a new conference.
Colorado and Arizona aren’t the only two schools linked with Big 12 expansion.
I get why some in the Big 12 don’t really want to see some of their money head out to Spokane or Storrs, but I also think that Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is right about basketball being an undervalued property. If he can convince the schools to add UConn and Gonzaga, then the Big 12 will be far and away the best basketball conference in college and there will be additional value there down the road.
Former Longhorn Connor Williams wants to get paid. Let’s hope that works out.
Texans fans – it’s time to start getting excited.
I’ve always loved the Seahawks uniforms (then and now). I’m excited to see the throwbacks during a game this season.
You’ve probably already seen this video, but it’s worth showing again. It’s not the reflex or the strength that is the most important, it’s her focus.
Somewhere out there, Willie Mueller is looking around, wondering where the stray shot just came from – 45 years after this picture was taken.
Elite Sports Memorabilia owner Brandon is a longtime Orangebloods member @Txbaseball22 . ESM has THE BEST in Longhorn memorabilia anywhere. You can find memorabilia from UT legends such as Vince Young, Ricky Williams, Sam Ehlinger, Cat Osterman and Ivan Melendez. He also works with current Longhorns such as Quinn Ewers and Xavier Worthy.
Speaking of Ewers, Brandon has some autographed helmets (full size and mini) from Ewers. Now is the time to get them before he blows up this season and demand goes through the roof. Vegas has Ewers as one of the favorites to win the Heisman, so get your memorabilia NOW!
If there is some other kind of memorabilia you're looking for, please reach out to Brandon - he can probably get it.
You can reach Brandon via email at esmsportsut@gmail.com, or on facebook at Elite Sports Memorabilia if you have any questions or would like to place an order.
Social Media
Facebook Elite Sports Mem
Twitter @EliteSportsMem
Tik Tok elite sports mem
IG Elite_Sports_Memorabilia_UT
EBAY STORE:
Ebay Elite Sports Memorabilia UT
JOIN THE GROUP:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/elitesportsmemorabilia/?ref=share_group_link
===========================================================================
Quinn Ewers heads into the 2023 football season with sky-high expectations for both himself and his team.
The Longhorn quarterback has transformed his body and his hair during the offseason and the improvement shone throughout the spring.
Texas fans saw the improvement, see the talent around him and the expectations are that he is going to lead this team to at least a 10-win season and a conference championship.
And yet, is it possible that even with all of those expectations, he’s underrated?
The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman set about ranking college quarterbacks and it didn’t turn out well for Ewers.
College football QB tiers: Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., but who’s next?
Our "QB Tiers" list heading into the 2023 college football season.
theathletic.com
Mandel and Feldman have Ewers in the fifth tier of quarterbacks alongside such stalwarts as DJ Uiagalelei, the former Clemson quarterback who lost his starting gig and transferred to Oregon State (where he still hasn’t been able to win the starting job). Other tier five QBs are Kansas State’s Will Howard, former OU quarterback Spencer Rattler, Kedon Slovis – the USC => Pitt Panther => BYU quarterback and Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart.
All of these guys are quarterbacks who have lost their jobs and transferred or are battling to keep their jobs.
If you think the tier of quarterbacks Ewers is hanging out with is bad, wait until you see some of the names ahead of him.
TIER 4:
Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin
Cam Rising, Utah
Jalon Daniels, Kansas
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Jordan Travis, Florida State
Tanner Mordecai was a fine quarterback at SMU and he will likely put up big numbers in Phil Longo’s offense at Wisconsin, but would you really take him over Ewers? The same could be asked of Jalon Daniels at Kansas or even Dillon Gabriel at OU.
TIER 3:
Jayden Daniels, LSU
Frank Harris, UTSA
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
Bo Nix, Oregon
Michael Pratt, Tulane
Devin Leary, Kentucky
Michael Pratt has put up pretty decent numbers at Tulane, but they weren’t so much greater than what Ewers produced … and Pratt was a third-year starter while Ewers was in his first year (and battling an injury).
Feldman went so far as to call JJ McCarthy a dark horse Heisman candidate (I’ll get to that later). McCarthy was an efficient quarterback last year, playing in a run first, run last offense.
Frank Harris is such a good quarterback, he’s coming back for his seventh collegiate season (that’s not a typo). You know what kind of quarterbacks play seven seasons of college football? QBs that are good enough for college but not the NFL. That’s not a slight on Harris, being a star quarterback in college is a hell of an accomplishment, but it probably doesn’t put you as one of the best in all of college football.
TIER 2:
Drake Maye, North Carolina
Michael Penix Jr., Washington
It’s hard to argue with this tier. Maye and Penix are elite quarterbacks who have already shown their skill in college, whereas Ewers still has to prove it.
TIER 1:
Caleb Williams, USC
He’s the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
Believe me, I understand the people who still question whether Ewers is the guy. He had some struggles last season. His footwork is sloppy. He has struggled with the deep ball going all the way back to his high school days (I definitely remember @Ketchum getting ripped for saying so when he was still a recruit – and if I forgot, he would remind me).
But if I was Ewers, I’m not sure there would be anything that would motivate me more than seeing me grouped alongside guys like Spencer Rattler or being behind Tanner Mordecai.
OTHER ANALYSTS WEIGH IN:
Former Alabama quarterback (and fellow Southlake Carroll alum) Greg McElroy knows a thing or two about quarterbacking. He weighed in on Ewers’ standing in the college football world this week as well.
“If we’re going based strictly on quarterbacks physical potential, Quinn Ewers would be number one (in the Big 12). Ewers might be a number one in the entire country,” McElroy said on Always College Football. “He’s definitely top 10, top five in the country just based on sheer potential. The problem is it was up and down last year. Look at the first six quarters: phenomenal. Early against Alabama: really, really good. Against Oklahoma: really, really good, against Oklahoma State: really, really bad. (Then) against Washington: really, really bad, against TCU: bad.
“You look at all those different ups and downs. It’s difficult at this point to feel great about Quinn Ewers being consistent. I need consistent productivity from the quarterback position, and I don’t know if he’s the guy that’s going to give it to me but if he could recreate the magic that he had against Oklahoma on a weekly basis, the guy will be unstoppable.”
HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS:
Mandel and Feldman may not be very high on Ewers, but Vegas loves the guy.
Heisman Trophy Odds & Betting Favorites For 2024
Here's the 2024 Heisman Trophy betting odds market, as priced by the BetMGM online sportsbook.
sports.betmgm.com
Ewers is sitting at the third-best odds to get the stiff-arm trophy with +1400 odds.
Those kind of odds make sense, even if you don’t fully believe in his ability. These odds aren’t just what Vegas thinks about someone’s ability, it is also a function of enticing people to bet on someone. In other words, a big-name quarterback at a big-name school is more likely to have someone bet on him than a big talent quarterback playing at a smaller school (Cam Rising at Utah, +5000).
The other bit of something to consider is that the Heisman isn’t just a trophy for the best player in college football, it is a trophy that is usually given to the best quarterback on a winning team.
That is why you see Carson Beck’s odds so low (+2000). Beck is set to lead Georgia as they seek to defend their title. The same thing goes for TreVeyon Henderson at Ohio State.
Ewers is the starting quarterback at a premier program that Vegas has winning 10 games this season. If Texas wins that many games and Ewers stays healthy all season, then he will absolutely be in the conversation for the Heisman. Note, I’m not saying he’ll definitely be in New York, but he will be in the conversation if those things happen.
But again, Ewers is an unproven quarterback. Do you really think he is the third best candidate to win the Heisman this year? Could it be possible he’s overrated?
Time will tell.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 2024 SEC SCHEDULE:
One week from today, the SEC is going to release which teams Texas will face in its inaugural season. The conference is planning a big reveal show on the SEC Network.
Just a reminder, the conference voted to stay at eight conference games for the 2024 season with one permanent rival.
Texas already has three non-conference games scheduled for next season, and will need to add a fourth non-conference game pretty quickly (more on that later).
2024 SCHEDULE:
Aug. 31 – Colorado State – DKR (time & television TBD)
Sep. 7 – Michigan – Michigan Stadium (Fox – time TBD … but bet money it will be 12 (ET))
Sep. 14 – UTSA – DKR (time & television TBD)
Oct. 12 – OU – Dallas (time & television TBD)
That leaves seven conference opponents and one non-conference game needed to fill out the schedule.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey gave hints last week about what the conference will look at when determining who plays who next year.
"We have a combination of the expectation of fairness and balance,” Sankey told reporters covering the SEC Spring Meetings last week. “We've been asked to make the competitive disparity in strength of schedule more narrow than it is and achieve a perfect balance. That'd be great if you can make an undefeated team play an undefeated team.
"I think I've been clear about honoring traditional rivals so I'm excited about that, but I'm not going to give my schedule away right now. We understand the priorities. (We will) definitely to the extent we can (schedule secondary rivals)."
So, given that the SEC wants to have a competitive balance and schedule rivals when possible, we can make some fairly educated guesses about who Texas will have to play during its first season in the SEC.
SEC SCHOOLS AVAILABLE TO MATCH UP AGAINST:
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Missouri
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
First off, you can bet money that UT will have to travel to College Station to take on A&M, likely either on Thanksgiving or that weekend.
Arkansas is another no-brainer. I’m not sure if that will be home or away, but you can definitely pencil in the piggies.
Also, nobody could possibly call it a rivalry, but I expect we will once again see the old Big 12 matchup of Texas vs. Missouri.
I don’t think they’re going to match up Texas and Alabama again after playing a home-and-home series the past two years.
Given their proximity, I think LSU may very well be in play. The 2019 matchup in Austin was a marquee game that season with a lot of national attention. The fact that the return trip never got played in 2020 due to COVID leads me to believe that the Horns may very well make the trip to Baton Rouge next season.
That leaves three more games to fill out the schedule. Those games could come from any of the remaining teams for any number of reasons. So I’m just going to assume there will be one of the Mississippi schools, one of the Tennessee schools and one of either Georgia or Florida.
CONFERENCE MATCHUPS:
OU
Missouri
Arkansas
LSU
Mississippi State
Tennessee
Florida
Texas A&M
One final note about this setup … because OU is a neutral site game, I would expect to see Texas get three conference home games next season with four true road games.
2024 NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENT:
As I mentioned, the decision to stick with eight conference games means Athletic Director Chris Del Conte is going to need to work the phones to find a non-conference opponent to fill out next year’s schedule.
Because it’s so last minute (relatively speaking), there are not a whole lot of options available. Most teams already have contracts in place for their non-conference slate.
I went through every FBS team schedules to find the schools which do have a date available. Here they are, grouped according to whether I think they are a likely, possible or no chance pairing.
This extra game will need to be a home game to make up for the lack of conference home slates. It would also behoove CDC to schedule a cupcake so that the Horns can guarantee themselves an extra W during their first year in the SEC. Finally, it will probably take place in November when the SEC typically has an open date from their conference schedule. That timing also limits who might be available.
LIKELY: (these teams have openings and could be interested in getting paid to get beat)
- Rice: The Owls only have 10 games scheduled leaving them with two openings. They very well may be up for a return trip to Austin, even though they’re playing at DKR this season.
- North Texas: It’s been a long time since UT has taken on the Mean Green.
- UTEP: Texas and UTEP have a number of games already on the books for future seasons. It wouldn’t be hard to add one more.
- Army: As an independent school, the Black Knights have to work to fill out their schedule. They currently have 10 games locked in for next year giving them two openings. One of those openings happens to be November 23. If Texas is playing A&M on Thanksgiving Day, then that Saturday would probably not work for UT given the short turnaround. If the A&M game is on Friday or Saturday then the matchup with Army the week before could work.
- UCONN: UConn is also an independent and actually has an opening on November 16. The UConn athletic department is in dire need of money so a payday game against UT makes all the sense in the world to me.
- New Mexico State: The Aggies have an opening November 9. They have also had plenty of experience playing at DKR. The only real holdup here is that they play A&M on the 16th. Would they really want to play back-to-back payday games in the state of Texas that late in the season? After all, this is a team coming off a bowl game win last year and they may very well be hoping for another bowl appearance next year.
- Florida Atlantic: The Tom Herman revenge game?
- SMU
- Temple (should maybe be in the likely category? – but they’re already playing OU next season).
- Florida International
- Jacksonville State
- Middle Tennessee State
- Central Michigan
- Air Force
- Utah State
NO CHANCE: (These teams are unlikely to agree to a payday game against Texas, or they’re just too tough of an opponent to guarantee a UT win – which defeats the purpose of the fourth non-conference game.)
- Boston College
- Duke
- NC State
- Houston
- TCU
- Northwestern
- Rutgers
- Washington
So here, ultimately, is what I think the 2024 Texas football schedule could look like.
2024 TEXAS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (HYPOTHETICAL):
Aug. 31 – Colorado State – DKR (time & television TBD)
Sep. 7 – Michigan – Michigan Stadium (Fox – time TBD … but bet money it will be 12 (ET))
Sep. 14 – UTSA – DKR (time & television TBD)
Sep. 21 – Arkansas – Fayetteville, AR (time & television TBD)
Sep. 28 – Missouri – DKR (time & television TBD)
Oct. 5 - OPEN
Oct. 12 – OU – Dallas (time & television TBD)
Oct. 19 – Mississippi State – Starkville, MS (time & television TBD)
Oct. 26 – Florida – DKR (time & television TBD)
Nov. 2 – LSU – Baton Rouge, LA (time & television TBD)
Nov. 9 – Tennessee – DKR (time & television TBD)
Nov. 16 – UConn – DKR (time & television TBD)
Nov. 23 – OPEN
Nov. 29 – Texas A&M – College Station (time & television TBD)
We’ll all have to tune in to the SEC Network next Wednesday to find out which conference opponents UT will have to face in its inaugural SEC season.
BRING ON THE SUPER REGIONALS!
Every time I start to get excited about UT baseball, they let me down. Every time I start to give up on UT baseball, they go and play like world beaters.
“We’re a very good team when we play together,” head coach David Pierce said Wednesday. “We can look like a poor team if we’re not doing things right.”
He can say that again. But I’m not falling for it.
Nope, the Horns can’t suck me back in – despite the fact that they swept through the Miami regional like they were the seeded team expecting to just take care of business on its way to Omaha.
Not that anybody is predicting the Horns will make it to Omaha for the fourth time in the last five years under Coach Pierce.
“I still think we’re overlooked,” said Pierce. “I mean, right now nobody’s picking us to win anything.”
That’s right coach, I’m not predicting a return trip to Omaha. I can’t get sucked in again believing that Lucas Gordon and Lebarron Johnson Jr. are going to stroll into Palo Alto and just mow down every tree that stands up before them.
Johnson did turn in a masterful performance in Miami last weekend throwing a complete game to beat the host team Miami 4-1.
“The kid, he just has gotten so much more comfortable being on that mound and competing,” said Pierce. “I mean, confident. You can just see it in his mannerisms, his body language. When you talk about a developmental story, that may be the best ever from where he was when he got here to where he is right now.”
Ok, sure, LBJ has developed into an elite pitcher this year. I could maybe see myself getting excited about the starting pitching. But I can’t get sucked in to believing that the bullpen just won’t matter – or that if it is needed, that Travis Stehle, Zane Morehouse, Charlie Hurley and the rest will perform well above what they’ve done the rest of the season.
“Every one of our players at some point of the season – I wouldn’t say rock bottom, but really, really struggled,” said Pierce, stating the obvious. “The ability to come out of that is a tribute to their makeup, their character and their coaches staying with them, just problem solving.”
That really is inspirational. We’ve all seen the struggles. I’ve written about them. I’ve also seen them come out and turn in some masterful performances, especially as the calendar ticked over into May and now June.
Pierce has been telling his team for more than a month now that they need to play like their in the Super Regionals, win or go home. Now they ARE in the Super Regionals and it is win or go home time.
“It’s just the best time of year for college baseball,” Pierce said. “To be in the top 16 is a lot different than being in the top 64. You separate yourselves. And like I told our guys after they won the regional, you earned it. I mean it, from day one you’ve earned it. You believed in each other and you believed in yourself.”
It’s great that they believe in each other. But am I going to believe in them?
I’ll let President Bush answer for me.
That’s right Papa Bush. You and I can’t get sucked in to believing that Dylan Campbell, Peyton Powell, Jared Thomas, Porter Brown, Garret Guillemette, Eric Kennedy and Jack O’Dowd are going to light up the Stanford pitching and score runs in bunches.
I’m not falling for ANY of it.
After all, this is a Stanford Cardinal team that is hitting .318 (as a team). Second baseman Drew Bowser is the only starter hitting below .300 (.274).
This team hits home runs in bunches - 113 for the year. For reference, Texas hit 128 last season which was a team record – by far. Stanford’s 113 would be second best in UT baseball history. The second best home run total in UT history is actually this year’s team with 89.
While the Cardinal doesn’t have an Ivan Melendez type of hitter, it does have six starters with double digit dingers.
The Horns are DOOMED when they get to California this weekend.
Hopefully, they already have their flights booked back to Austin for late Saturday night so that they can be back home in time to comfort themselves with Sunday brunch.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
There is more than just a trip to Omaha on the line when the Horns take on Stanford this weekend.
Now is also a great time to support the Texas Longhorn baseball team.
Indiana State doesn’t get to host the Super Regional matchup against TCU because the area is already hosting a Special Olympics event which has left them short of hotel rooms in the area as well as volunteers to work the game. So good for the TCU fans who are raising money for the Indiana Special Olympics to compensate, in some small way, for the loss of the regional. That’s a classy move by the Frog fans.
Given that I already expect the Horns to fail in spectacular fashion, you can expect there to be plenty of calls for David Pierce’s head on a platter. Of course, those calls will continue to happen until he wins it all – that’s just how it goes with UT baseball – whether it’s fair or not.
While I’m still on the Pierce bandwagon, it’s hard not to look at what Adrian Alaniz is doing at Sinton and not project him as a potential replacement one day in Austin.
Baseball, perhaps more than any other sport, can be impacted so much by the manager. Alaniz is proving that at Sinton.
Do you honestly think there is something in the South Texas water that makes the players at Sinton better than anywhere else in the state? Of course not. Sinton is winning baseball games because of what Alaniz is doing as the manager.
I know there will be plenty of people who would say, “you can’t appoint someone with no college coaching experience to take over at UT.” Normally, I would tend to agree. However, I also believe that baseball coaching tends to cross all levels. You can either coach guys up or you can’t. He clearly can.
Plus, it’s not like he doesn’t know what the pressures are like at UT. He is an alum who has a College World Series ring to show for his time on the 40.
I’m just saying, it is not the craziest idea in the world … but let’s still give Pierce every chance in the world in the meantime. After all, the Horns are headed to the fourth super regional under his leadership.
Speaking of college baseball coaches – I’m still absolutely amazed that there are so few African-American coaches in the sport (truthfully, there aren’t enough in every sport – not just baseball). That’s why I’m so glad that Kerrick Jackson is getting a chance to take over the Missouri Tiger baseball team. I don’t know if he (or anyone) can win at Mizzou, but I’ll be cheering for him to succeed.
We’ve already talked about how expectations for the football team are sky-high this year. If there’s one thing the annual Blue-Chip Ratio tells us, it’s that UT has more than enough talent on hand to win it all. Are they on the same level as Georgia, Alabama or Ohio State? Nope. But do they have enough to win? Absolutely. Plus, if Texas does at least win the Big 12 title this year, you can expect this ratio to grow moving forward given that Sark is an elite recruiter.
Football Scoop is right – nothing sells a program better than the parents of players already in the program. Word of mouth beats all of the talking points coaches spew to recruits.
John Canzano came out with the scoop today that the Pac-12 has agreed to a Grant of Rights for when the conference finally gets a new media rights deal.
Supposedly, the conference members have agreed to sign those rights away for an unknown period of time. It will also include an incentive based revenue sharing plan so that the school that makes it to the College Football Playoff will get more than their other conference partners.
If that’s true, it’s news to Arizona’s president, Robert Robbins.
Arizona has been linked with a potential move to the Big 12, along with Colorado. That move can’t and won’t happen if the school signs the GoR.
Roberts was also asked about if he is open to a new conference.
Colorado and Arizona aren’t the only two schools linked with Big 12 expansion.
I get why some in the Big 12 don’t really want to see some of their money head out to Spokane or Storrs, but I also think that Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is right about basketball being an undervalued property. If he can convince the schools to add UConn and Gonzaga, then the Big 12 will be far and away the best basketball conference in college and there will be additional value there down the road.
Former Longhorn Connor Williams wants to get paid. Let’s hope that works out.
Texans fans – it’s time to start getting excited.
I’ve always loved the Seahawks uniforms (then and now). I’m excited to see the throwbacks during a game this season.
You’ve probably already seen this video, but it’s worth showing again. It’s not the reflex or the strength that is the most important, it’s her focus.
Somewhere out there, Willie Mueller is looking around, wondering where the stray shot just came from – 45 years after this picture was taken.
