I think Arch would be an All-SEC player if he had been starting all season.
Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (Go medium, young man...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
I think Arch would be an All-SEC player if he had been starting all season.
Enjoy the game with your kids! Still waiting to take my 2 little ones.
As far as bye weeks are concerned, this one went pretty well for the Longhorns.
* A pathway to the SEC title game opened up with Texas A&M's loss to South Carolina. It's almost pretty simple ... win the final four games of the season (and have LSU lose) and the Longhorns will be in Atlanta for a chance at their first SEC championship.
* The game against a gritty Florida squad was made easier with the injury to true freshman five-star quarterback D.J. Lagway, leaving the Gators with not much other than redshirt freshman Aidan Warner, a transfer from Yale who has completed 9 of 25 passes for 96 yards and an interception this season. In a year when the schedule has offered up a number of sketchy quarterback situations, the Gators could come to town this weekend with the worst.
* Speaking of quarterback injuries, Arkansas looms in a couple of weeks and while the Razorbacks lick their wounds from a 63-31 home loss to Ole Miss, they’ll try to figure out their own quarterback situation after an injury to starting quarterback Taylen Green left them with freshman Malachi Singleton playing most of the second half. Meanwhile, if Steve Sarkisian needed an offensive blueprint for the game in Fayetteville, Lane Kiffin provided him one on a day when the Rebels rolled up 694 yards of offense.
* As far as the Aggies are concerned, they'll have to sweat out the injury to starting running back Le'Veon Moss, who left the game against the Gamecocks with a knee injury. The early word out of the A&M camp after the game was that the injury isn't viewed as a disaster, but it could still be a situation that could see him missing some time this month.
A different result in Columbia this weekend might have seen the Longhorns potentially boxed out of a spot in Atlanta, even with a win in College Station, but the pathway to first-season immortality remains open.
Assuming the likes of wide receiver Isaiah Bond and safety Andrew Mukuba were able to heal up with the week off, you'd be hard-pressed to complain about the events of the weekend if you're the type of person who gets a lot of burnt orange stuff as presents under the Christmas tree.
The amount of virtue that will be assigned to this season will come down to what happens in the final four games of the regular season, two of which come against offensively-challenged home foes, while the other two will come against hosting teams that combined to give up 107 points.
Yes, the two looming road games will feel like Daniel walking into the lion's den, but Ole Miss and South Carolina revealed both teams as very beatable. Very, very beatable.
The Longhorns are either a championship-caliber team or it's not, but the possibility is sitting on a silver platter for them.
Let's find out if they can take it.
No. 2 - Go medium, young man ...
To hear Steve Sarkisian tell it, opposing teams aren't giving the Longhorns much of a chance to attack teams down the field in the passing game.
It seems opposing safeties are bailing deep at the snap or the ball, which is significantly contributing to Texas' inability to challenge teams in the vertical passing game. Well, that and the fact that outside of the 2023 Alabama game, starting quarterback Quinn Ewers doesn't tend to have a lot of success when climbing out on these limbs of the passing tree.
Of course, there are a lot of ways to attack a team down the field and they don't all have to feature Ewers heaving the ball down the field to a receiver running a go route. With opposing safeties playing deep, there's a massive part of the field available to the Texas passing game in the areas between the 10-12 yards from the line of scrimmage where the safeties line up pre-snap and the area of the field where they end up dropping to.
The problem is that Ewers isn't sticking those throws in the intermediate passing game the way the Longhorns need him to. Take a look at Ewers' passing depth map (courtesy of PFF):
When throwing outside of the numbers, Ewers has completed only 6 of 17 throws this year between 10-19 yards, for 93 yards. Ewers has been much more accurate between the numbers (11 of 17), but he's turned the ball over twice (vs. zero touchdowns) when working that area of the field.
What's mystifying is that these areas of the field are the areas where he had the most success in 2023. Just look at the numbers:
As critical as I've been of Ewers' play in recent weeks, it needs to be said that I've always felt like his ability to work these exact areas of the field is his No. 1 strength as a player. When Ewers is at his best, these are the throws that make him a guy that NFL teams would covet.
If Texas is going to accomplish its goals on offense down the stretch, these are the areas where Ewers must start thriving in, not the areas where the safeties are hanging out in hopes of preventing the play that Texas rarely executes in the first place.
No. 3 - Out of curiosity ... let's do some cockamamie stuff ...
Out of random curiosity, I wondered on Sunday how PFF would rank the best Longhorns this season in order.
The 80s
1. (88.0) CB Jahdae Barron
2. (84.6) DT Alfred Collins
3. (84.6) S Michael Taaffe
4. (83.0) LT Kelvin Banks
5. (83.) LB Anthony Hill
6. (83.0) DE Colin Simmons
The 70s
7. (78.6) S Andrew Mukuba
8. (75.6) DT Vernon Broughton
9. (75.4) WR Isaiah Bond
10T. (74.6) DE Barryn Sorrell
10T. (74.6) CB Malik Muhammad
12. (74.1) LB David Gbenda
13. (72.1) RB Tre Wisner
14. (71.1) C Jake Majors
15T(70.3) RB Jaydon Blue
15T. (70.3) RT Cameron Williams
The 60s
17. (69.6) LB Liona Lefau
18. (68.9) LG Hayden Conner
19. (67.0) DE Trey Moore
20. (66.4) CB Jaylon Guilbeau
21. (65.5) WR Matthew Golden
22. (65.3) WR DeAndre Moore
23. (64.2) QB Quinn Ewers
24. (63.4) RG D.J. Campbell
25. (62.3) TE Gunnar Helm
On case you're wondering, Arch Manning's season grade is ... wait for it ... 90.1.
No. 4 - Ready or not, here I come ...
I'm taking this weekend off from Orangebloods.
For the first time since my twins were born in 2014, I'm going to take the entire family to DKR on Saturday for their first Texas football experience. Honestly, neither of my kids is into football at all, but maybe this is just the thing that will help make it a little more interesting.
Therefore, I'll let someone else handle my post-game duties this weekend. I'm ready to have some fun.
I’ve just got to get my hands on four tickets. Oh, and if anyone wants to give me an invite to their suite, I'm perfectly okay with pulling an @Alex Dunlap and flat out asking for it.
No. 5 - Updated Texas Scholarship Board ...
Steve Sarkisian mentioned this week that they are still recruiting as a staff under the notion that the scholarship limit number they need to work with is 85 and not the proposed 105 scholarship limit that could be in place by August.
The Longhorns are currently sitting at 85. They will slice 18 seniors off the roster at the end of the season. There are currently 21 commitments, which means that the Longhorns are +3 going into next season before any attrition takes place.
Last year, 80+% of power four schools lost at least 20 scholarship players to attrition, so it's safe to project that the Longhorns will have plenty of room to address their needs in the Portal and with any high school players they choose to bring in.
No. 6 - If I had a vote that mattered ...
1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Texas
5. Miami
6. Tennessee
7. Indiana
8. Notre Dame
9. BYU
10. Penn State
Heisman Trophy
1. Cam Ward (Miami)
2. Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
3 Dillon Gabrel (Oregon)
4. Travis Hunter (Colorado)
5. Kurtis Rourke (Indiana)
No. 7 - Time to panic ...
I almost don't know what to say about the Texas Volleyball team.
Three weeks ago, the season appeared to be on track and an SEC title was within grasp with three straight home games looming on the schedule.
First, Texas lost to A&M. Ok, anything can happen ... I guess.
Then, Texas lost to Missouri. Uh, oh ...
On Sunday, Texas lost to freaking Oklahoma...
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I'll give them 13, but your point is completely fair. Texas should dominate the Florida offense.
(Sell) I feel like that's the kind of thing that would have been said about Mack Brown with Major Applewhite/Chris Simms in 2000 and 2001 ... and it proved to not reflect his ceiling.
(Buy) The staff doesn't believe in him. I'm not sure that he'll find a better landing spot, especially since Arch Manning seems to like throwing in his direction, but he has to be as frustrated as any player in the program.
(Sell) I'm not sure Texas can afford to be vanilla.
(Sell) They've got to be better and do more, but this group isn't the problem.
(Buy) I'll let you know if I ever need to sell ... you won't need to ask.
(Sell) Give him one more year and get ready to execute a real plan if he fails.
(Sell) I think Texas wins out. Your situation isn't an impossibility by any stretch, but I believe in this team.
(Sell) Great quarterbacks make offensive lines look better more often than the other way around.
(Buy) Don't think for a second that the team from last night will be the one that shows up in College Station.
(Buy) That's probably accurate.
(Sell) Alabama's Ryan Williams will be the best wide receiver in the SEC next year.
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... SEC Thoughts: Where was the Georgia that played Florida two weeks ago when they came to Austin? I don't think Texas fans truly realize how good the Kentucky defense is, but they'll know soon enough. You could see South Carolina beating A&M coming from 2,000 miles away. Bru McCoy has 25 catches for 345 yards and zero touchdowns this season. He's never averaged more than 13.8 yards per catch in any season. A possible NFL player? Yes. A 5-star? Not in retrospect.
... I'll never understand Tom Herman taking the Florida Atlantic job and I'm not sure what is going to await him after he eventually loses this job.
... Thank goodness James Franklin isn't at Texas. Can you imagine watching that offense?
... Matt Campbell losing an undefeated season in week eight at home to Texas Tech is the most Big 12 thing that's ever happened.
... Clemson ... what the hell was that?
... Oh, Nebraska ... are the Huskers about to miss out on a bowl?
... What the hell am I supposed to even say about the Cowboys?
... Never seen this before.
... I am not mad at Joel Embiid at all. Philly reporter Marcus Hayes name-dropped his son and deceased brother in an attempt to question Embiid's professionalism. I can't condone the kind of physical violence that would leave Hayes in the hospital ... but a shove? Yeah, I can live with letting a man shove someone that brings my family into places they shouldn't be.
... lulz
... Hold up, Alex Ovechkin is 36 goals away from Gretsky's all-time record? Wow ...
... Premier League Randomness: Thank you, footy gods. These are the weekends you dream of. Man City, Arsenal and Austin Villa all dropped three points, while Aston Villa, Chelsea and Manchester United each dropped two. Arsenal fans on social media are a strange lot. That group acts like the Gunners are Real Madrid. Liverpool needs to give Mo Salah his extension and let that man chase down the all-time greats. He's 11 goals behind Henry. 13 behind Lampard. 20 behind Aguero. 23 behind Cole. Could he score 44 in the next 2+ seasons to catch Rooney for 3rd place? It's a tall climb, but he needs to be given that chance.
No. 10 – The List: SRV
It's been more than a dozen years since I did an SRV list for this column.
How is that possible?
I have a feeling there will be much disagreement. He's one of the few artists that I've ever ranked who I'm not sure has an obvious No. 1. Am I wrong?
Let's just get to it.
Last 5 Out: Superstition, The Things (That) I Used To Do, Cold Shot, Change it and Couldn't Stand The Weather
10. Riviera Paradise
I want everyone to know that I stewed for more than an hour over which song to put in the 10th spot.
9. Lenny
It has to make the list ... period. But, is this too low?
8. Little Wing
If I had a dollar for every time I've heard this song in an Austin bar over the years ...
7. Life By The Drop
This is one of the songs that I can't tell if I have slotted too low or just right. It's not one of his guitar scorchers, but it's so authentically him.
6. Voodoo Child
It's Jimi ... but it's still uniquely SRV. It's one of the greatest songs of all-time, no matter how you slice it.
5. Crossfire
I know there will be some calls for this to be in the No. 1 slot, but I like a few others just a little more.
4. Tin Pan Alley
This. Song. Is. A. Whole. Damn. Mood.
3. The Sky Is Crying
My personal favorite. I think this was the song that turned me on to SRV when I was a teenager.
2. Pride and Joy
Written by SRV about an old girlfriend. Thank goodness for her because it gave us an all-timer.
1. Texas Flood
It feels like the quintessential SRV song. It might not be your favorite SRV guitar performance of all-time, but almost everyone agrees that it's in the top 3.
Horns O better figure it out over the next 3 weeks as Quinn would have been dismantled IMO against that aggie d on Saturday, coming from a Quinn supporter.
The passing tree chart says it all. For the most part, there is sufficient time to make on read and throw any 10-15 yard route on the passing tree.
(Buy) The staff doesn't believe in him. I'm not sure that he'll find a better landing spot, especially since Arch Manning seems to like throwing in his direction, but he has to be as frustrated as any player in the program.
Damn, @Ketchum, company owner privilege is real. I said this in a thread a few weeks ago and got crucified by the board, AND my thread got deleted altogether. It must be nice!
(Buy) The staff doesn't believe in him. I'm not sure that he'll find a better landing spot, especially since Arch Manning seems to like throwing in his direction, but he has to be as frustrated as any player in the program.
Damn, @Ketchum, company owner privilege is real. I said this in a thread a few weeks ago and got crucified by the board, AND my thread got deleted altogether. It must be nice!
