Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (About going back to DKR...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
Great write up......hard to believe you don't attend more games. I find it is so much better to be at the game than TV if you want really see what the defenses are trying to do. They are never on screen before the play starts.Attaboy, Quinn.
As someone who believed that the single-most important aspect of the weekend for the Longhorns was getting their star boy at quarterback into the kind of rhythm against Florida that we'd move beyond all of the conversation that has surrounded the most important player on the field for most of the last month ...
Mission accomplished.
There's no need to overreact over a win over a depleted 4-5 Gators team that issued a press release this week announcing that Billy Napier would return in 2025 (because you sure as hell can't do it after losing 49-17!), but there's also no need to downplay what might have been the best game of Ewers' career from a statistical standpoint.
Ewers was pretty freaking awesome in completing 19 of 27 passes for 333 yards, 5 touchdowns and zero turnovers. His 235.1 game rating was 104 points higher than the performance against OU, 124 higher than his numbers and Georgia and more than 80 points higher than the numbers against Vanderbilt.
It's the first 200+ rating of his career, unless we count the partial performance against UTSA in mid-September.
As @Anwar Richardson wrote in the Sunday Pulpit earlier today, if that version of Ewers shows up the rest of the season, the Longhorns will not only be the team to beat in the SEC, but possibly in the national playoff race as well.
With Ewers potentially back on track in a big, big way, the Longhorns can turn their attention to the final three weeks of the season without a lot of reason for pause.
The task is simple. Beat Arkansas. Beat Kentucky. Beat Texas A&M. Play for the SEC title and a top 4 seed in the playoffs.
Easy peasy, right?
Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. All focus needs to be on dismissing 17-point underdog Arkansas this weekend and I think most folks know that the Razorbacks will be a trickier opponent than Vegas or anyone else might project. Yet, when the Longhorns are firing on all pistons like they were against the Gators, I'm not sure Texas truly has a peer in the sport in 2024.
All it took was for Ewers to play at an area near his ceiling as a player for the reminders of what this team can accomplish week in and week out to become obvious to the naked eye once again.
Long may it continue.
No. 2 - Six thoughts from my return trip to DKR ...
As many of you know, I put work aside this weekend in the name of taking my family of four to its first experience at DKR. Here are a few thoughts after having a chance to soak it all in.
1. My daughter Haven loved everything about the experience and wants more, while her twin brother Hendrix admitted in the second quarter that he was miserable, wanted air conditioning and just didn't care for much of what was happening around him.
2. Chris Del Conte has truly done a great job of revolutionizing the game day experience. If my wife hadn't caused us to get out of our hotel two hours later than I had planned, we'd have been able to take advantage of the carnival atmosphere more than we did. Both kids wanted to play games that would have won them plushies and all I could think about was not wanting to have to carry a large stuffed animal around for 3-4 hours. But, I give a strong tip of the tap to Del Conte and his team. They've created pure chaos outside of the stadium (in a good way) and the efforts inside the stadium matter.
3. I thought the Florida fans we came into contact with were as nice of a group as any I can remember visiting. It reminded me of Michigan fans at the Rose Bowl 20 years ago. I didn't come across a single Florida fan that I thought acted like a Richard Cranium.
4. Considering we were only a block and a half away from Casino El Camino, I made sure to get a late dinner on Friday night and the experience was what I kind of expected. The staff gave absolutely zero f**** and I was vocally admonished for only tipping $4.75 on a $19.25 tab at the counter. The burger? I thought it was very dry and didn't come close to the one I had at Texas Card House Social on Saturday. I took three bites and left. I probably won't go back, but not because the guy at the counter was a little rude. That was actually my favorite part.
5. The women at the game and the outfits they decided to wear to the stadium were 5-star quality. The people watching was stellar.
6. A really special thanks to @Rookie97 for the tickets on Saturday. Safe travels, my friend. I owe you.
No. 3 - Butkus Award Power Rankings ...
Butkus Award semi-finalist Anthony Hill had another day of production on Saturday that will likely boost his hopes of becoming a finalist for the award later this month, finishing the Florida game with a team-high 8 tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
His season totals now look like: 66 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF and 4 QB hits.
Here's a look at how the other semi-finalists performed this weekend.
1. Jihaad Campbell (Alabama) - Had one of the best nights of the weekend with 12 tackles, 3 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF and 1 quarterback hit in the win over LSU.
Season totals: 78 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF and 1 FR
2. Chandler Martin (Memphis) - Posted 11 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and a quarterback hit in a win over Rice.
Season totals: 84 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF, 4 FR, 9 QB hits
3. Chris Paul Jr. (Ole Miss) - Recorded 9 tackles and a quarterback hit in the upset win over Georgia.
Season totals: 74 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 FR, 9 QB hits
4. Sean Brown (NC State) - Had 10 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in a loss to the Fighting Maalik Murphys.
Season totals: 73 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 2 FF, 2 FR, 13 QB hits
5. Jalon Walker (Georgia) - Finished with 6 tackles and a tackle for loss in UGA's loss to Ole Miss.
Season totals: 40 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 FR, 6 QB hits
6. Aiden Fisher (Indiana) - Recorded a team-high 14 tackles in a win over Michigan.
Season totals: 98 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 3 QB hits
7. Shaun Dolac (Buffalo) - Recorded 12 tackles and one quarterback hit in a win over Akron
Season totals: 132 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 2 INT, 4 QB hits
8. Carson Schwesinger (UCLA) - Recorded 7 tackles and 2 interceptions in a win over Iowa.
Season totals: 92 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 INT, 1 FF, 1 QB hit
9. Jay Higgins (Iowa) - Recorded 4 tackles and a quarterback hit in a loss at UCLA.
Season totals: 98 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, 3 INT, 2 FF, 1 FR, 4 QB hits
10. Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma) - Finished with a pretty incredible 19 tackles (5 solo) in a loss to Missouri.
Season Totals: 96 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 QB hits
No. 4 - Scattershooting (Burnt-Orange Style...) ...
... The Texas defense is allowing 3.95 yards per play this season. Indiana is second in the nation at 4.18 yards per play. Of the six teams in college football allowing less than 4.5 yards per play, three of them are in the SEC (Texas, Tennessee and Ole Miss).
... Get the ball to your playmakers in space and let them make plays. That happened on Saturday.
... That was the Trey Moore that a lot of people thought we'd be seeing when he transferred from UTSA. More of that, young man.
... THAT was the Jaydon Blue I thought we'd see all season. Is he finally healthy? It sure looked like it.
... Colin Simmons hasn't had a sack in September and hasn't had a tackle for loss since the OU game. That freshman wall is real. The question is whether he'll get over it before the season ends.
... Saturday was Justice Finkley's first game action since the OU game and he recorded his first (assisted) tackle since the La-Monroe game.
... Speaking of true freshmen, Ryan Wingo has had more than 20 yards receiving in a game only once since the La-Monroe game on September 21. It's possible the breakout game in conference play just isn't going to happen, which is a surprise.
... Going into game 10, I'm still not sure what to make of the Texas running game. I have no idea what to expect next week, but it was good to see Jerrick Gibson flash and finish with 100 yards.
... Transfer cornerback Jay'Vion Cole played for the first time since the La-Monroe game and has played in only four games this season. Assuming the redshirt season holds, it's kind of impossible to know what to think of his role next season. Is this level too high? It's hard to imagine that he can beat out Kobe Black, so is the best-case scenario a role similar to Gavin Holmes? Might he re-enter the Portal?
... I played all of the "mores" with Quinn Ewers on Prize Picks and was rewarded for it. Keep hammering the Gunnar Helm "mores," folks.
No. 5 - Updated Texas Scholarship Board ...
No. 6 - If I had a vote that mattered ...
1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Indiana
5. Tennessee
6. Notre Dame
7. Penn State
8. Alabama
9. Ole Miss
10. Georgia
Heisman Trophy
1. Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
2. Travis Hunter (Colorado)
3 Dillon Gabriel (Oregon)
4. Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss)
5. Kurtis Rourke (Indiana)
No. 7 - Anything and Everything But Football ...
... Who had the Texas soccer team scooping up the first SEC title of any kind for the athletic department? It wasn't always pretty but the Longhorns were gutsy as hell in the SEC Tournament.
... The biggest goal in Texas soccer history?
... I don't know how good the Texas men's basketball team is going to be, but I'm going to enjoy watching Tre Johnson chase all of Kevin Durant's freshman scoring records.
... Hoops Stat of the Weekend
Kevin Durant's point total through two career games at Texas: 41
Tre Johnson's point total through two career games at Texas: 57
... The good news for the Texas Volleyball team is that it ended a three-match losing streak this week. The bad news? With five games to go in the regular season, winning the SEC regular-season title could be out the window.
Here are the remaining schedules for the top four in SEC Volleyball:
Kentucky: vs. Georgia (11/17), vs. Mississippi State (11/20), vs. Arkansas (11/24) and at Missouri (11/27)
Missouri: vs. Florida (11/15), at Ole Miss (11/22), at Mississippi State (11/24) and vs. Kentucky (11/27)
Florida: at Missouri (11/15), at Auburn (11/20), at South Carolina (11/27) and at Georgia (11/30)
Texas: at Auburn (11/15), at Alabama (11/17), at Oklahoma (11/22), vs. Tennessee (11/27) and vs. Ole Miss (11/30)
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I don't know that fun is the word that I would use in terms of real-time emotion. It was hard to completely focus on the game when I had to focus on the needs of my kids. It was rewarding to do it with them, but I missed my usual set-up more than I thought I would.
(Sell) I think you'll see more of a focus than it did against Florida, but I don't think the running game is what gets Texas deep into a playoff run and I don't think Sark does, either.
(Sell) 3-0.
(Buy) The Wildcats have a much better defense, especially up front. Oh, and they are only terrible at quarterback, not all-time horrendous.
(Buy) They have different skill sets, but when it comes to being a hammer between the numbers, Gbenda is the better player, yet not as spectacular of a playmaker.
(Buy) If we're talking about a rating of 230+... yes. If we're talking about him being a very good player down the stretch ... sell. I'm hopeful that's who he'll be close to being for the rest of the season.
(Sell) I agree that this is the way I'd feel in most situations, but I'm hesitant to say that I agree with this as an ironclad rule. The SEC tie-breaker rules are kind of cockamamie and that alone has me leaning towards the sell.
(Buy)
(Sell) I don't see it.
(Sell/Sell/Sell) You got the rare triple sell!!!!! I need to see it from Baker before making bold declarations. Neither of those two center options look like the answer as a starter for 2025 at this point. I've 85% given up on Neto.
(Buy) It doesn't use the deep intermediate area of the field enough.
(Sell) Anything? It was the best statistical game of his career.
(Sell) I was ready to be working by 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
(Buy) Everyone needs to keep in mind that the teams that a 10-2 Texas team would be competing against will lose more games. Even a two-loss Alabama was in the mix this week and it's early November.
(Sell) That thought never crossed my mind. I thought the crowd was ok. It felt like an 11 a.m. game.
(Sell) I don't think you can take a quarterback that high and afford for him to develop behind the scenes for three seasons. He still has a lot of college football that needs to be played.
(Sell) He saw his first game reps since week three on Saturday. I'm not sure that he'll play again the rest of the season. I wouldn't make any assumptions.
(Buy) I could be wrong, though. I don't know that the coaches know.
(Sell) I mean...
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... SEC Thoughts: When Jalen Milroe is on, he's the best player in college football. If you can grasp that the performance against Texas was a significant outlier, it makes understanding Georgia's season a lot easier. Way to go, Lane! What's the opposite of despondent? Looking ahead to the weekend, I think Georgia is going to beat the shit out of Tennessee. Poooooooor Sooooooners. My Saturday night was made with the final two minutes of the Missouri/OU game. Holy hell, that was enjoyable. How long are LSU fans going to put up with Brian Kelly?
... Tip of the cap to Deion Sanders. I didn't think that team was making a bowl game in August.
... Dear Utah, welcome to the Big 12. It does not get better.
... Has there ever been a less talked 8-1 Notre Dame?
... I'm just numb as a Dallas fan, which is a blessing because I might have otherwise cared about what happened in the Eagles game on Sunday. Whatever.
... Bijan had what might have been the best day of his pro career thus far on Sunday, rushing for a career second-best 116 yards and two rushing touchdowns for the first time in his career.
... My Sixers are the worst team in the NBA with a 1-7 record. Trust the process?
... Wait, the Cleveland Cavs are 11-0?
... Premier League Randomness: It wasn't a perfect weekend, but it was pretty close, as Liverpool picked up three points, while Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea all dropped points. Just keep winning, Reds! It felt icky when rooting for Chelsea on Saturday, but I have no regrets. Pedro Nero for president! Newcastle put Nottingham Forest in its place on Sunday. What the hell was that, Spurs? 3rd-9th in the table is separated by a point. The upper-middle class is making each week a bit of a roller coaster across the league.
... Rest in peace, Tonny Todd ... aka Candyman ... aka Morgan Freeman's bodyguard in Lean on Me.
... I'm in... if I can find a way to make time to get to the theater.
No. 10 – The List: Denzel Washington
Gladiator II arrives in theaters in 12 days and the early returns are saying that Denzel Washington gives one of his best performances in it.
The Oscars hype is real.
The excitement led me to revisit a few of my favorite Denzel performances this week and ... well ... here we are. Let's just get right to it.
Last 5 out: He Got Game, Fences, Devil in a Blue Dress, Glory and Courage Under Fire
10. The Equalizer
It feels like one of the pieces of the trilogy deserved a spot somewhere on the list.
9. American Gangster
This one is aging like fine wine. Every time I watch it, I find myself liking it more.
8. Man on Fire
The best of the "Denzel will F you up" movies that have dominated so much of his last 20 years.
7. Flight
Maybe the latest truly awe-inspiring performance of his career to date. Can Gladiator II change this statement?
6. Crimson Tide
Denzel and Gene Hackman going toe to toe on a submarine ... yes, please.
5. Remember The Titans
I can't help it ... I love this movie.
4. Mo Better Blues
The most underrated of his partnerships with Spike Lee.
3. Training Day
It's probably the performance that he's most remembered for and I would understand anyone wanting to slot this into the top spot.
2. Inside Man
This has low-key emerged as the Denzel movie that I watch the most from a rewatch standpoint.
1. Malcolm X
All these years later, it feels like the definitive performance of his career and the definitive performance in his working partnership with Spike Lee. It's a perfect performance.
Good Denzel list. Glory should be top 10 and Man on Fire should be higher.
Denzel is like Tim Duncan to me, a Hall of Fame talent for sure but is still overrated.
The simple fact is there is no good tiebreaker scenario that exists when you have a 16 team conference, only an 8-game conference schedule, and no divisions. Until the SEC goes back to a division structure, 9 out of every 10 years, the SEC conference title will be decided by 4-5 iterations of tie-breakers, trying to break ties between multiple teams that did not play each other during the season.
Can we start calling it the mSEC championship? It is as mythical as any national title before the BCS/CFP era.
The movie is sooooooo overrated. Ferris Buellar as the commander. Each character was out of some cookie cutter Hollywood fantasy typecasting. Boring. The battle scenes were dull. Bah.
(Buy)
==========================================================================
One thing that concerns me about that game is possible weather. I've seen too many games in that stadium where the wind was the biggest thing. I guess it isn't nearly the big deal as it was back in the day before it was all enclosed, so maybe my concerns are moot.
But how confident are you in our passing game having to carry us if we play them (or anyone else) in a heavy rain, like Georgia and Mississippi had to deal with?
I'm just trying to convince myself that we can really run the table without a really strong ground game.
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I mean...
a. Yu're not wrong about the weather possibly being a wildcard.
b. Running the ball well will seriously help.
It's more re-watchable. And it's from a series of films that an entire generation of people know him for.
Very few people under the age of 40 have seen Glory.
The Fast and Furious movies printed money for decades and nobody considers them anything more than mindless distractions...I absolutely enjoy the Equalizer franchise but again, it's just a vigilante film series (like a better version of Death Wish). Man on Fire isn't much different.
Please let's not confuse popularity with artistic accomplishment.
You can disagree about performance, it didn’t resonate with me like Glory. But leave it off the list?
This is what Variety says about his role in Malcom X: "It’s a gargantuan turn from Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s ambitious portrait of the slain civil rights leader. Nominated for best actor, it stands as one of the Academy’s most egregious overlooks, in favor of Al Pacino’s turn in “Scent of a Woman.” Nevertheless, he inhabits the very essence of the figure, and his performance not only stands as the best of his impressive career, but as one of the best in the history of the cinematic art form"
It's a borderline selection IMO. It just didn't make it for me, but I understand those that would want to include it.
"All it took was for Ewers to play at an area near his ceiling as a player for the reminders of what this team can accomplish week in and week out to become obvious to the naked eye once again."Attaboy, Quinn.
As someone who believed that the single-most important aspect of the weekend for the Longhorns was getting their star boy at quarterback into the kind of rhythm against Florida that we'd move beyond all of the conversation that has surrounded the most important player on the field for most of the last month ...
Mission accomplished.
There's no need to overreact over a win over a depleted 4-5 Gators team that issued a press release this week announcing that Billy Napier would return in 2025 (because you sure as hell can't do it after losing 49-17!), but there's also no need to downplay what might have been the best game of Ewers' career from a statistical standpoint.
Ewers was pretty freaking awesome in completing 19 of 27 passes for 333 yards, 5 touchdowns and zero turnovers. His 235.1 game rating was 104 points higher than the performance against OU, 124 higher than his numbers and Georgia and more than 80 points higher than the numbers against Vanderbilt.
It's the first 200+ rating of his career, unless we count the partial performance against UTSA in mid-September.
As @Anwar Richardson wrote in the Sunday Pulpit earlier today, if that version of Ewers shows up the rest of the season, the Longhorns will not only be the team to beat in the SEC, but possibly in the national playoff race as well.
With Ewers potentially back on track in a big, big way, the Longhorns can turn their attention to the final three weeks of the season without a lot of reason for pause.
The task is simple. Beat Arkansas. Beat Kentucky. Beat Texas A&M. Play for the SEC title and a top 4 seed in the playoffs.
Easy peasy, right?
Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. All focus needs to be on dismissing 17-point underdog Arkansas this weekend and I think most folks know that the Razorbacks will be a trickier opponent than Vegas or anyone else might project. Yet, when the Longhorns are firing on all pistons like they were against the Gators, I'm not sure Texas truly has a peer in the sport in 2024.
All it took was for Ewers to play at an area near his ceiling as a player for the reminders of what this team can accomplish week in and week out to become obvious to the naked eye once again.
Long may it continue.
No. 2 - Six thoughts from my return trip to DKR ...
As many of you know, I put work aside this weekend in the name of taking my family of four to its first experience at DKR. Here are a few thoughts after having a chance to soak it all in.
1. My daughter Haven loved everything about the experience and wants more, while her twin brother Hendrix admitted in the second quarter that he was miserable, wanted air conditioning and just didn't care for much of what was happening around him.
2. Chris Del Conte has truly done a great job of revolutionizing the game day experience. If my wife hadn't caused us to get out of our hotel two hours later than I had planned, we'd have been able to take advantage of the carnival atmosphere more than we did. Both kids wanted to play games that would have won them plushies and all I could think about was not wanting to have to carry a large stuffed animal around for 3-4 hours. But, I give a strong tip of the tap to Del Conte and his team. They've created pure chaos outside of the stadium (in a good way) and the efforts inside the stadium matter.
3. I thought the Florida fans we came into contact with were as nice of a group as any I can remember visiting. It reminded me of Michigan fans at the Rose Bowl 20 years ago. I didn't come across a single Florida fan that I thought acted like a Richard Cranium.
4. Considering we were only a block and a half away from Casino El Camino, I made sure to get a late dinner on Friday night and the experience was what I kind of expected. The staff gave absolutely zero f**** and I was vocally admonished for only tipping $4.75 on a $19.25 tab at the counter. The burger? I thought it was very dry and didn't come close to the one I had at Texas Card House Social on Saturday. I took three bites and left. I probably won't go back, but not because the guy at the counter was a little rude. That was actually my favorite part.
5. The women at the game and the outfits they decided to wear to the stadium were 5-star quality. The people watching was stellar.
6. A really special thanks to @Rookie97 for the tickets on Saturday. Safe travels, my friend. I owe you.
No. 3 - Butkus Award Power Rankings ...
Butkus Award semi-finalist Anthony Hill had another day of production on Saturday that will likely boost his hopes of becoming a finalist for the award later this month, finishing the Florida game with a team-high 8 tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
His season totals now look like: 66 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF and 4 QB hits.
Here's a look at how the other semi-finalists performed this weekend.
1. Jihaad Campbell (Alabama) - Had one of the best nights of the weekend with 12 tackles, 3 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF and 1 quarterback hit in the win over LSU.
Season totals: 78 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF and 1 FR
2. Chandler Martin (Memphis) - Posted 11 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and a quarterback hit in a win over Rice.
Season totals: 84 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF, 4 FR, 9 QB hits
3. Chris Paul Jr. (Ole Miss) - Recorded 9 tackles and a quarterback hit in the upset win over Georgia.
Season totals: 74 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 FR, 9 QB hits
4. Sean Brown (NC State) - Had 10 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in a loss to the Fighting Maalik Murphys.
Season totals: 73 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 2 FF, 2 FR, 13 QB hits
5. Jalon Walker (Georgia) - Finished with 6 tackles and a tackle for loss in UGA's loss to Ole Miss.
Season totals: 40 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 FR, 6 QB hits
6. Aiden Fisher (Indiana) - Recorded a team-high 14 tackles in a win over Michigan.
Season totals: 98 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 3 QB hits
7. Shaun Dolac (Buffalo) - Recorded 12 tackles and one quarterback hit in a win over Akron
Season totals: 132 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 2 INT, 4 QB hits
8. Carson Schwesinger (UCLA) - Recorded 7 tackles and 2 interceptions in a win over Iowa.
Season totals: 92 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 INT, 1 FF, 1 QB hit
9. Jay Higgins (Iowa) - Recorded 4 tackles and a quarterback hit in a loss at UCLA.
Season totals: 98 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, 3 INT, 2 FF, 1 FR, 4 QB hits
10. Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma) - Finished with a pretty incredible 19 tackles (5 solo) in a loss to Missouri.
Season Totals: 96 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 QB hits
No. 4 - Scattershooting (Burnt-Orange Style...) ...
... The Texas defense is allowing 3.95 yards per play this season. Indiana is second in the nation at 4.18 yards per play. Of the six teams in college football allowing less than 4.5 yards per play, three of them are in the SEC (Texas, Tennessee and Ole Miss).
... Get the ball to your playmakers in space and let them make plays. That happened on Saturday.
... That was the Trey Moore that a lot of people thought we'd be seeing when he transferred from UTSA. More of that, young man.
... THAT was the Jaydon Blue I thought we'd see all season. Is he finally healthy? It sure looked like it.
... Colin Simmons hasn't had a sack in September and hasn't had a tackle for loss since the OU game. That freshman wall is real. The question is whether he'll get over it before the season ends.
... Saturday was Justice Finkley's first game action since the OU game and he recorded his first (assisted) tackle since the La-Monroe game.
... Speaking of true freshmen, Ryan Wingo has had more than 20 yards receiving in a game only once since the La-Monroe game on September 21. It's possible the breakout game in conference play just isn't going to happen, which is a surprise.
... Going into game 10, I'm still not sure what to make of the Texas running game. I have no idea what to expect next week, but it was good to see Jerrick Gibson flash and finish with 100 yards.
... Transfer cornerback Jay'Vion Cole played for the first time since the La-Monroe game and has played in only four games this season. Assuming the redshirt season holds, it's kind of impossible to know what to think of his role next season. Is this level too high? It's hard to imagine that he can beat out Kobe Black, so is the best-case scenario a role similar to Gavin Holmes? Might he re-enter the Portal?
... I played all of the "mores" with Quinn Ewers on Prize Picks and was rewarded for it. Keep hammering the Gunnar Helm "mores," folks.
No. 5 - Updated Texas Scholarship Board ...
No. 6 - If I had a vote that mattered ...
1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Indiana
5. Tennessee
6. Notre Dame
7. Penn State
8. Alabama
9. Ole Miss
10. Georgia
Heisman Trophy
1. Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
2. Travis Hunter (Colorado)
3 Dillon Gabriel (Oregon)
4. Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss)
5. Kurtis Rourke (Indiana)
No. 7 - Anything and Everything But Football ...
... Who had the Texas soccer team scooping up the first SEC title of any kind for the athletic department? It wasn't always pretty but the Longhorns were gutsy as hell in the SEC Tournament.
... The biggest goal in Texas soccer history?
... I don't know how good the Texas men's basketball team is going to be, but I'm going to enjoy watching Tre Johnson chase all of Kevin Durant's freshman scoring records.
... Hoops Stat of the Weekend
Kevin Durant's point total through two career games at Texas: 41
Tre Johnson's point total through two career games at Texas: 57
... The good news for the Texas Volleyball team is that it ended a three-match losing streak this week. The bad news? With five games to go in the regular season, winning the SEC regular-season title could be out the window.
Here are the remaining schedules for the top four in SEC Volleyball:
Kentucky: vs. Georgia (11/17), vs. Mississippi State (11/20), vs. Arkansas (11/24) and at Missouri (11/27)
Missouri: vs. Florida (11/15), at Ole Miss (11/22), at Mississippi State (11/24) and vs. Kentucky (11/27)
Florida: at Missouri (11/15), at Auburn (11/20), at South Carolina (11/27) and at Georgia (11/30)
Texas: at Auburn (11/15), at Alabama (11/17), at Oklahoma (11/22), vs. Tennessee (11/27) and vs. Ole Miss (11/30)
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I don't know that fun is the word that I would use in terms of real-time emotion. It was hard to completely focus on the game when I had to focus on the needs of my kids. It was rewarding to do it with them, but I missed my usual set-up more than I thought I would.
(Sell) I think you'll see more of a focus than it did against Florida, but I don't think the running game is what gets Texas deep into a playoff run and I don't think Sark does, either.
(Sell) 3-0.
(Buy) The Wildcats have a much better defense, especially up front. Oh, and they are only terrible at quarterback, not all-time horrendous.
(Buy) They have different skill sets, but when it comes to being a hammer between the numbers, Gbenda is the better player, yet not as spectacular of a playmaker.
(Buy) If we're talking about a rating of 230+... yes. If we're talking about him being a very good player down the stretch ... sell. I'm hopeful that's who he'll be close to being for the rest of the season.
(Sell) I agree that this is the way I'd feel in most situations, but I'm hesitant to say that I agree with this as an ironclad rule. The SEC tie-breaker rules are kind of cockamamie and that alone has me leaning towards the sell.
(Buy)
(Sell) I don't see it.
(Sell/Sell/Sell) You got the rare triple sell!!!!! I need to see it from Baker before making bold declarations. Neither of those two center options look like the answer as a starter for 2025 at this point. I've 85% given up on Neto.
(Buy) It doesn't use the deep intermediate area of the field enough.
(Sell) Anything? It was the best statistical game of his career.
(Sell) I was ready to be working by 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
(Buy) Everyone needs to keep in mind that the teams that a 10-2 Texas team would be competing against will lose more games. Even a two-loss Alabama was in the mix this week and it's early November.
(Sell) That thought never crossed my mind. I thought the crowd was ok. It felt like an 11 a.m. game.
(Sell) I don't think you can take a quarterback that high and afford for him to develop behind the scenes for three seasons. He still has a lot of college football that needs to be played.
(Sell) He saw his first game reps since week three on Saturday. I'm not sure that he'll play again the rest of the season. I wouldn't make any assumptions.
(Buy) I could be wrong, though. I don't know that the coaches know.
(Sell) I mean...
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... SEC Thoughts: When Jalen Milroe is on, he's the best player in college football. If you can grasp that the performance against Texas was a significant outlier, it makes understanding Georgia's season a lot easier. Way to go, Lane! What's the opposite of despondent? Looking ahead to the weekend, I think Georgia is going to beat the shit out of Tennessee. Poooooooor Sooooooners. My Saturday night was made with the final two minutes of the Missouri/OU game. Holy hell, that was enjoyable. How long are LSU fans going to put up with Brian Kelly?
... Tip of the cap to Deion Sanders. I didn't think that team was making a bowl game in August.
... Dear Utah, welcome to the Big 12. It does not get better.
... Has there ever been a less talked 8-1 Notre Dame?
... I'm just numb as a Dallas fan, which is a blessing because I might have otherwise cared about what happened in the Eagles game on Sunday. Whatever.
... Bijan had what might have been the best day of his pro career thus far on Sunday, rushing for a career second-best 116 yards and two rushing touchdowns for the first time in his career.
... My Sixers are the worst team in the NBA with a 1-7 record. Trust the process?
... Wait, the Cleveland Cavs are 11-0?
... Premier League Randomness: It wasn't a perfect weekend, but it was pretty close, as Liverpool picked up three points, while Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea all dropped points. Just keep winning, Reds! It felt icky when rooting for Chelsea on Saturday, but I have no regrets. Pedro Nero for president! Newcastle put Nottingham Forest in its place on Sunday. What the hell was that, Spurs? 3rd-9th in the table is separated by a point. The upper-middle class is making each week a bit of a roller coaster across the league.
... Rest in peace, Tonny Todd ... aka Candyman ... aka Morgan Freeman's bodyguard in Lean on Me.
... I'm in... if I can find a way to make time to get to the theater.
No. 10 – The List: Denzel Washington
Gladiator II arrives in theaters in 12 days and the early returns are saying that Denzel Washington gives one of his best performances in it.
The Oscars hype is real.
The excitement led me to revisit a few of my favorite Denzel performances this week and ... well ... here we are. Let's just get right to it.
Last 5 out: He Got Game, Fences, Devil in a Blue Dress, Glory and Courage Under Fire
10. The Equalizer
It feels like one of the pieces of the trilogy deserved a spot somewhere on the list.
9. American Gangster
This one is aging like fine wine. Every time I watch it, I find myself liking it more.
8. Man on Fire
The best of the "Denzel will F you up" movies that have dominated so much of his last 20 years.
7. Flight
Maybe the latest truly awe-inspiring performance of his career to date. Can Gladiator II change this statement?
6. Crimson Tide
Denzel and Gene Hackman going toe to toe on a submarine ... yes, please.
5. Remember The Titans
I can't help it ... I love this movie.
4. Mo Better Blues
The most underrated of his partnerships with Spike Lee.
3. Training Day
It's probably the performance that he's most remembered for and I would understand anyone wanting to slot this into the top spot.
2. Inside Man
This has low-key emerged as the Denzel movie that I watch the most from a rewatch standpoint.
1. Malcolm X
All these years later, it feels like the definitive performance of his career and the definitive performance in his working partnership with Spike Lee. It's a perfect performance.
I'm sorry to be keeping ir real, but Quinn's best games have been against our worst opponents. Particularly teams with weak defenses. I know he was injured against UTSA and I'm hoping like hell he is healed enough to withstand what is coming our way and the same is goes for the offensive line. We need to be comparing apples to apples and not apples to walnuts.
