I have been neglecting my wife lately. Between work, Texas football and personal obligations, I have been spending a lot more time on my own stuff than with her.
Oh, she understands. She knows that work helps pay the bills. She knows the personal obligations are needed. She understands all of that. But understanding and even acceptance doesn’t always mean that she likes it.
That’s changing this weekend … if only for a weekend.
This weekend, instead of watching Texas football for four hours, I am going with my wife to a winery.
Oh sure, if I were batching it up this weekend, I would be camped out in the ‘ol recliner watching football from morning to midnight.
But that shouldn’t be taken as I am going to the winery out of some sense of obligation, duty or even begrudgingly. In truth, I am happy to be taking a break. I am happy to be taking a break. It’s needed every now and then to get in the right frame of mind.
A winery trip may be a good idea for some of you as well.
I know.
I know you’re disappointed with how the Georgia game played out.
I know you’re frustrated with a closer than it should have been game against Vanderbilt.
I know you’re befuddled about why the offensive line has lost its collective damn mind.
I know Quinn Ewers throwing another pass behind the line of scrimmage makes you long for the good ol' days of Greg Davis.
I know.
It will be alright.
The Texas Longhorns are still 7-1 with four games left to go. They can still achieve every goal they had coming into the season; the SEC crown, a CFP birth and a national championship.
“We're not a finished product. I think our best football is still ahead of us, and we're looking forward to that,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said this week.
What Sark and the boys do during this bye week may determine whether the Horns can achieve self-actualization. They’re coming off their worst performances yet over the last two weeks.
“We've got things that we need to work on schematically,” Sarkisian said. “We've got things we need to work on philosophically that are true to our program. We work for individual players, whether they're a young player or a veteran player, that we need to get healthy. But all in all, proud through eight games to be where we're at.”
The expanded playoff means more football games. There are 12 regular season games, a potential conference title game and then as many as three playoff games. We’re in uncharted territory in college football.
Sark is relying on his personal experience in the NFL and the experience of those who are used to 16-game seasons with playoff byes to figure out how to approach the final run-in of the season.
“I tapped into Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean McVay, guys who year in and year out, are accustomed to being in the playoffs, and what that looks like, and the length of a season and how you get your teams ready, what your bye weeks look like in the NFL, if you have an in-season bye, or if you get a first-round bye in the playoffs, and how they attack that.”
Now, with the calendar turning to November, is when championship teams prove they’re worthy.
Texas has games against Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas A&M still to come. Two of those are against heated rivals in their home stadium. Two of those have the potential of being letdown games.
Florida is playing better football today than they were at the beginning of the season. And Kentucky is sandwiched between those two rivalry road trips.
Keeping the players mentally and physically prepared for what’s coming will not be easy.
“There's layers to that,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “The physical nature of play is taxing, but I also think it is mentally taxing, and the idea that you have to maintain that level of mental intensity and focus in your preparation, week in, week out, I think is critical.”
Football, especially on a season this long, can be mentally taxing on the coaches, players and even the fans.
This weekend is a good time to take a break.
If not a winery, perhaps one of those calming apps that helps you relax?
Or, maybe you hit the ‘ol recliner and watch a bunch of college football games in which you’re not emotionally invested in the outcome.
That actually sounds like a lot of fun. Too bad I’ll be at the winery this weekend.
AROUND THE SEC:
Speaking of games that you are not emotionally invested in the outcome.
Ole Miss @ Arkansas
This game is probably going to be a pretty good game.
The piggies have a pretty good offense and Ole Miss has a pretty good defense. The piggies have outperformed expectations while the Rebels have underperformed expectations.
This game could go either way, especially since it’s being played in Fayetteville.
Vanderbilt @ Auburn
Vandy has to overcome the disappointment of losing to Texas last week. Auburn has to overcome the disappointment of living in Auburn.
Maine @ Oklahoma
Why is this game being played?
Florida @ Georgia
This is one of the better rivalries in the SEC. This game means just about everything to both programs … not that many of their fans can remember what happened in the game after going to the cocktail party.
For the Gators, who are going to be fighting for bowl eligibility this season, a win over Georgia would give their fans something to crow about this year.
All of that means that Florida coach Billy Napier will pull out all of the stops to win in Jacksonville this week. That’s not a bad thing if you’re a Texas fan with the Gators coming to town next week.
UMass @ Mississippi State
Why is this game being played?
Texas A&M @ South Carolina
The Aggies are a two-point favorite on the road.
The Gamecocks are an up-and-down team. You never know which team will show up. But given that this is a night game in Columbia, I suspect the good cocks will show up.
Kentucky @ Tennessee
Tennessee’s offense isn’t nearly as good as people expected them to be but it doesn’t matter because their defense is legit.
Kentucky’s defense is pretty damn good too, but I’m not sure the Wildcats, averaging 19.1 points per game this year – the worst in the conference, will even score this week.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
It looks like the Horns coaches are taking my advice and using the down time for a little time together.
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Two BIG reasons why Texas’ pass defense is so strong this season? Jahdae Barron and Michael Taaffe.
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DeAndre Moore has been playing big this year … but in my experience, if you have to brag about it, you’re probably not really packing it.
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No matter what happens the rest of the way this season … at least you can say Texas is no longer in the Big 12.
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But on the other hand, I do really like Matt Campbell as a head coach.
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This is one of the most incredible stats I’ve ever seen. Duke had no business losing to SMU.
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This is what makes college football so damn good.
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Damn Vandy! Look at you stepping up your golf game!
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Let’s just hope @Suchomel ‘s wife doesn’t pick up on this signal.
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