Ok, let's talk about it.
As president of the Hudson Card Fan Club, the last thing I can do after my guy posted a quarterback rating nearly 100 points lower than his previous game is bury the discussion down a few sections. In the face of the hottest kitchen Card has ever entered, he didn't so much as blink when the flame got near him as he simply allowed himself to become engulfed into flame over the course of nearly three quarters of action.
While he wasn't throwing the ball into dangerous areas that led to turnovers, that can't be the best part of your performance. We can't come out of a game and say that the best part of a quarterback's performance is that he didn't have too many disasters. Card wasn't good enough on Saturday. He missed throws that should have put points on the scoreboard. His eyes never seemed to find what they wanted to look for and he didn't lead the offense to remotely enough success.
At halftime, Card was 4 of 8 for 39 yards and he simply wasn't giving the offense enough. Even the president of his fan club can admit that Sarkisian looked like Rocky Balboa refusing to throw the towel while Ivan Drago was seconds away from killing Apollo Creed because of a need to protect the ego of his guy.
It's hard to believe that Sarkisian's old boss Nick Saban would have hesitated to make a switch at halftime, considering we've seen him pull the plug on much more accomplished players than Card when the moment calls for it.
At 16-0, the moment was screaming for a change, all in the name of doing what was best for the team in the next 30 minutes of action. That the hook didn't come until the game was effectively over at 33-7 is completely on Sarkisian.
Perhaps it's unfair to suggest that Sarkisian hesitated because he didn't want to create a quarterback debate with a switch six quarters into the season, but it's hard to fathom what else he could have been thinking in not making the switch. Sometimes a guy just doesn't have it and Card didn't have it on this night. Leaving him in did Card and the team about as many favors as Balboa not throwing the towel in did for Creed.
Ironically, if Sarkisian was trying to avoid a debate at the most important position on the field, he failed because that's where we absolutely are heading into the Rice game this week after Casey Thompson outperformed Card in his limited time to a large enough degree that many of those reading this article might riot at DKR is a change isn't made.
What Sarkisian does next is fascinating on multiple fronts. Consider the following:
* Making a switch after two games would essentially translate to Sarkisian admitting that he not only hitched his saddle to the wrong guy, but that he's been wasting a lot of important time and reps since the first scrimmage of August when he positioned Card to take the overwhelming majority of the reps in each practice outside of the one that occurred on the day before he actually told the quarterbacks of his decision.
* In choosing Card as his starter in August, Sarkisian unofficially announced that Card was his quarterback for the future. One of the elements of Sarkisian's decision that was discussed all season was that the winner of the job in 2021 might set the winner up to be the long-term answer at the position, meaning that Sarkisian would need to be prepared to lose the loser of the battle to a transfer at some point. There's been so much discussion about Thompson leaving immediately, but there's little question that both players would likely have a big issue with sitting through the 2022 season. If Sarkisian makes a switch in the third game of the season, it's fair to wonder exactly where the long-term future of the position stands.
* Few will watch the Rice game and believe that the result of the game means much after what happened on Saturday night, but it's exactly the kind of game that could provide a platform for whomever he chooses to begin the process of building momentum that would allow him to keep the job moving forward.
* Sarkisian's team is watching all of this closely. They'll know that Thompson outplayed Card in Fayetteville. They'll know that if it had been any other position on the field, such a thing would matter with regards to future playing time.
Bottom line - Sarkisian has a lot to think about. Either decision has implications that go beyond who gives the team the best chance to win against Rice.
Is he ready to make it?
His actions suggested the answer is yes, and that the answer was Card. His actions also suggest that confidence in his decision-making among the Texas fan base has been shaken in less than 90 minutes of action as the coach.
Whatever happens, the eyes of Texas are watching and ready to render some judgments based on what happens next.
It's never easy around this place, is it?
No. 2 - For the record ...
I'm torn on what I think should happen at the quarterback decision.
On one hand, I'm not a fan of giving up on the guy you thought was the quarterback of the future after 2 1/2 quarters of bad football because it screams of a panic move by a coach that doesn't know what he's doing.
On the other hand, I'm not a fan of suggesting that what happened on Saturday night shouldn't matter at all.
If I had a third hand, I'd also say I'm not a fan of a decision being made on what happens in practice this week.
At the end of the day, Sarkisian needs to trust himself, but if it were me, I'd probably treat a Rice team that just got worked 44-7 by Houston as a platform for both to decide what happens next on the field in actual games. Both would play in the first quarter and throughout the game.
It's far from ideal, but nothing about where things stand is ideal. I'd probably start Card because I'm not going to quit on Card after one miserable half of football, but Thompson doesn't deserve to simply slide back into the kind of back-up role he's been in the first two games.
No. 3 - Discussing Kyle Flood ...
There are three things that I believe represent a bit of an early indictment on the coach that was supposed to be the answer of the offensive line problems that just won't go away.
1. The choice to stand with a pat hand throughout the off-season and not really make any effort to improve the starting options in the transfer portal was just a terrible decision and it's one that everyone that has followed the program closely knew was a terrible decision.
2. Flood's recruiting in the 2022 class hasn't been good enough at this point. There's still room to change this before the 2022 class puts pen to paper, but up until now, it hasn't been good enough.
3. There's not a single starter on the offensive line that I can tell with my naked eye has made progress from last year to this year, which is the single biggest indictment of all at this early stage of the season. The offensive line actually played pretty well in the final two games of the 2020 season with almost the same exact personnel that exists this year and the results from this group right now are borderline horrifying.
I'm not saying that Flood warrants being on the hot seat or anything like that, but we also can't ignore what has actually happened right now just because Flood came from Alabama, is making a ton of money and is Sarkisian's guy.
No. 4 - More randomness with a day to chew on things ...
... It is less incredibly worrisome that Sarkisian is 0-19 in games when his teams have fallen behind by 10+ at halftime than it is that he has been behind by 10+ at halftime in more than 20-percent of the games he's put together as a head coach. The math says what happened last night won't be the last time it happens this season. Hell, the math says it might happen more than once before this season is complete.
... What exactly what Sarkisian's plan in this game? When you look at the early scripting of the offense, I can't tell who he thought needed to get the ball. Where we the screens and short throws that might have allowed his quarterback to get into some kind of groove? Why are they not finding a way to get the ball into Xavier Worthy's hands with end arounds, screens and other plays that can get him in space? Why did it take nearly three quarters for Joshua Moore to get a target? I just don't have any idea what the plan was.
... The defense deserves credit for keeping the Longhorns in the game through the second quarter, but there were some guys that stopped giving maximum effort in the second half and that just can't happen.
... We've talked about the pass rush being a question mark all off-season and there never really appeared to be anyone that was getting close to K.J. Jefferson when he dropped back to pass, as the Longhorns finished as a team with zero sacks and two quarterback hits. This is going to be a problem all year.
... Joshua Moore can't go catchless over 60 minutes. It feels like that's the kind of thing that happened last season after he'd catch a couple of touchdowns the previous week. How are we not beyond that kind of thing happening?
... There were five players I thought could hold their heads up high on Sunday ... Bijan Robinson, Casey Thompson, DeMarvion Overshown, Anthony Cook and B.J. Foster.
... Cook is very quietly having an excellent start to the season. Whatever success is occurring against the Longhorns in the passing game isn't occurring on his watch so far.
... Luke Brockermeyer's lack of athleticism and speed felt like a problem on Saturday night. He'll have better days moving forward, but he just seemed a tick slow in getting to the football for a lot of the game.
No. 5 – ICYMI ...
It's year seven of our post-game show and I'm pretty sure we've never had more people watching than we did in the aftermath of Saturday night.
No. 6 - A little love for the Texas volleyball team ...
The No.1-ranked Longhorns moved to 7-0 on Sunday with a four-set win over Notre Dame, which followed a four-set win over Arizona on Friday night.
So far this season, the only question has been whether the Longhorns will lose a game, not whether they'll lose a match.
If only it could be like this in football.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) Sadly, I've done so many of these after awful losses over the last decade-plus that I'm just numb to it all. No dread.
(Sell) I don't know many coaches that are willing to admit being terribly wrong after just two games. It might be the wrong decision, but changing quarterbacks at this stage would make Sarkisian look like he doesn't know what he's been doing for the last month.
(Sell) Exactly as Tom Herman did, Sark overestimated the level of talent on the current coaching staff.
(Buy) I'll just let the facts speak for themselves. In my 25 years of doing rankings, all six of the quarterbacks I've ever ranked as five-stars that have finished their eligibility have played in the NFL and five of the six were drafted by NFL teams. If we extend the list to quarterbacks I've rated as high four-stars, the numbers are eight of 11 of the highest-ranked quarterbacks I've ever evaluated have played in the NFL. If we extend the data to include all mid four-star quarterbacks, the numbers turn into 11 of the 20 highest-ranked quarterbacks I've ever ranked have turned into NFL players.
You let me know a single person on the planet that has a better track record than that with evaluating high school players and I'll let you talk all the mess you want.
(Sell) Largely, the realistic expectations for this program centered on an 8-4 or 9-3 season. No one on Orangebloods picked this team to make the Big 12 Championship game.
(Sell) The schedule outside of Oklahoma the rest of the way is full of a bunch of crap. Just don't get overly excited when Texas potentially proves to be less crappy than the rest of the teams in the Big 12.
(Sell) lulz.
(Sell) Last night was an abomination in all three phases of the game, the coaching staff, the overall effort and intensity.
(Buy) He's real good. Just ask Sarkisian.
(Sell) There have been teams in the last decade that didn't have any NFL-level draftable players on the roster. That's not the case with this team. I mean ... 2014-16 happened.
(Sell) Texas is still in the running with Campbell, but this was a damaging loss in the pursuit of Stewart IMO.
(Buy) Decent might be good enough in the Big 12 this season.
(Sell) Texas has a bunch of four-star players on the roster that are marginally more valuable than three stars. It has too few five-stars and high four-star level talent.
(Sell) All of the above.
(Sell) I'll take the under.
(Sell) I'm not sure average helps change what happened last night at all.
(Sell) Part of what will make this game miserable in future weeks will be seeing Arkansas exposed as just an ok team over 12 games. Rice was more competitive last week than Texas was this week.
(Sell) I don't really understand this question at all. Ash's sophomore season in 2012 is probably the best quarterback season of the last decade, unless you want to argue that Sam Ehlinger in 2018 was better. Regardless, Ash's career was sidetracked by injuries, which isn't an issue with Card. Maybe put some respect on Ash's name.
(Sell) No, the early returns do not suggest that yet.
(Buy) Bingo. We were supposed to be beyond this team getting its ass kicked to such levels that Charlie Strong's worst teams get mentioned as comparisons.
(Sell) Let me introduce you to Arsenal TV. (NSFW)
(Buy) Of course. He's one of the best coaches in the history of college football. He might be an awful human being that would have hired a racist strength coach and tolerated all sorts of felonies from the players on his roster, but he wouldn't get skull-banged on national television at this level.
(Sell) This was settled last night. Kayla wore a watch last night.
No. 8 - Scattershooting on the sports weekend ...
... The moment when you knew Ohio State was in trouble.
... Iowa State returned 20+ senior just so that it could get thrashed at home and have its starting senior quarterback benched against its in-state rival. Woof.
... I have to believe Florida State fans felt worse on Saturday night than Texas fans. Someone ask @DustinMcComas for an opinion.
... My fantasy football team's first three picks combined for less than 15 points and I likely lost my fifth round pick (Jerry Jeudy) for the entire season after a third quarter injury.
... Are the Texans any good or is Urban Meyer about to flame out in Jacksonville in historic fashion?
... If you had the 49ers at -8.5, I'm really sorry for your weekend.
... Chandler Jones is a damn monster.
... Daniil Medvedev shut down Novak Djokovic's run for history. I didn't see that coming at all.
... Emma Raducanu is going to be a superstar tennis player that crosses over into the public mainstream in a big way. Huge talent. Magnetic personality. Let's hope the British tabloids don't ruin her.
... My first mention of cricket in 20 years of Orangebloods...
No. 9 - Top 10 Most Believable Actors as Athletes in Movies ...
Two weeks ago, Michael J. Fox topped the least of the least believable actors in sports movies, which means this week we'll look at the actors that were the most believable.
Rule: Actors that played the sport that they are nominated in at the professional level were not eligible for the list.
10. Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
9. Maris Valainis as Jimmy Chitwood (Hoosiers)
8. Kurt Russell as Reno Hightower (Best of Times)
7. William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence (The Karate Kid)
6. Kevin Coster as Roy McAvoy (Tin Cup)
5. Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta (Raging Bull)
4. Charlie Sheen as Rick Vaughn (Major League)
3. Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Rod Tidwell (Jerry MaGuire)
2. Jamie Foxx as Willie Beaman (Any Given Sunday)
1. Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed (Rocky, Rocky II, Ricky III and Ricky IV)
No. 10 - And Finally ...
This video deserves its own section and this cat now has one less life to use up on its path towards nine.
