Man, it feels good to be a Longhorns fan right now.
The Longhorns are ranked No. 3 in the country going into the Red River Shootout. You can practically smell this team competing for a playoff spot in two months and from there you can almost taste playing for a national championship.
The roster is full of future NFL talent. There are potential first-team All-Big 12 players at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker and in the defensive backfield. If you're keeping score at home, that's every offensive and defensive position on the field.
As a fan, work becomes a little less hard when you've got this kind of team to root for. Food tastes better. Jokes are funnier. Your spouse's nagging is a little less bothersome.
Life is ... just ... better.
Well, let me tell you folks something ... none of this comes free. The dirty little secret in college athletics is that these weekly dopamine hits have always cost lots of money. Before the new NIL era, it sometimes arrived in the form of suitcases full of money, his and hers TransAms or maybe even a new house/tractor/loan/whatever. Hell, sometimes it's as sly as a mom getting a job in a competitive marketplace without a resume and/or lack of experience to warrant such a hire.
In 2023, things are slightly more transparent in this brave new NIL world.
Players get paid. Businesses with connections to athletic departments pay players. Corporations pay them. Mom and pops pay them. Collectives, featuring monthly donations from fine folks like yourselves, pay them. This stuff is fairly transparent.
Have you seen those recent social media videos with Mattress Mack and Kelvin Banks? That's not an accident. Banks has an NIL deal with Mattress Mack.
While Steve Sarkisian and his staff deserve a lot of credit for the job in recruiting that they've done, one could argue that the money made available in NIL - both for recruiting and team retention - deserves even more credit.
Adonai Mitchell didn't
just come to Texas to be close to family. Xavier Worthy isn't still on campus because he loves Zilker Park. T'Vondre Sweat didn't come back to Texas for another season when the NFL was calling because he liked playing for free so much that he thought he would do it for one more season. The last commit in recruiting (Brandon Baker) has been quite open about that his decision would be based largely on the NIL opportunities available to him once he arrives on campus.
Honestly, we can go through the entire roster and we'll find NIL fingerprints all over it.
The 2023 Texas football team isn't a fairy tale. It's the product of this brave new NIL world when everything comes together terrifically.
Why am I bringing this up right now? Why not wait until after the OU game to focus on this topic?
Believe me, I gave some consideration to those questions and my answer to both of them is that there isn't a lot of time to waste. This conversation isn't one for the future, it's for right now.
When I reached out to a source this week to ask about players on the current roster that would be eligible for a departure for the NFL that would be on a list of possible key retention targets (see T'Vondre Sweat and Jaylan Ford from last year), one of the first names I asked about was junior defensive tackle Byron Murphy.
"That's the guy," the source said.
"We just need more money. It's that simple. We have to retain more kids than we have ever had to retain," the source continued when asked about the current state of affairs.
The purpose of this section isn't to lecture you. Or shame you. It's designed to educate you on what's happening in what could be argued is the single most important area in the athletic department.
The guys that write six- or seven-figure checks for libraries, weight rooms, coaching buyouts, etc. largely are not participating in these NIL ventures. Also, it's not that the like of Jay Hartzell, Chris Del Conte and Steve Sarkisian aren't trying to recruit these heavy hitters to get in on the much-needed fundraising. That trio has gone all over the nation to meet the most affluent Texas alums on the planet in an effort to enhance UT's NIL revenue streams.
They've mostly been met with head shakes.
Maybe all of the people in the football suites at DKR assume that more help isn't truly needed because their eyes tell them that the situation looks fine without them. Maybe the rich folks feel like they've already given too much. Maybe too many people just don't believe in the idea that athletes should be paid and don't want to contribute to it.
Yet, everyone seems to be enjoying the wins. I haven't heard of any empty suites because people are protesting the way the current team has been built on the shoulders of the ideology they oppose.
The truth of the matter is that those that are carrying all the water have subscribed to the "Field of Dreams" model of NIL building, hoping that if they build it, everyone else will come in afterwards.
Thus far that just hasn't happened. Hell, football wasn't even the No. 1 most supported sport in TexasOne Fundraising until after the Colin Simmons commitment. Seriously. Let the implications of that truth sink in.
It will take millions to retain some of the draft-eligible players on this team. It will take even more millions to retain many of the best non-draft-eligible players on the roster. It takes even more millions to put together a top-5 recruiting class.
This is the cost of those dopamine hits you enjoyed on Saturday.
At the moment, the heavy lifting is being done by a very, very few select people. If this team wins a national championship, those people will deserve statues on campus as much as any of the players will.
The word I continue to receive in my communications with people with knowledge of Texas NIL workings is that the current situation is unsustainable.
Yes, the TexasOne Fund needs more monthly donors, but more than anything else, it needs more heavier investors. It needs more Mattress Macks. It needs them by the dozens.
As you head to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, keep these truths in mind. None of this is happening just because. There are no accidents. This team that you love so much wasn't created by the NIL Fairy. No one put a wish-list on a piece of paper under their pillow, only to find a pile of money under it the next morning.
It can all go away in an instant if a number of people that you can count on a few fingers were to cry "Uncle!" at any point.
This isn't me lecturing you, it's me warning you.
No. 2 - Let's talk about Dillon Gabriel ...
In my mind, this year's Cotton Bowl is going to come down to the quarterback play of both teams.
It's Quinn Ewers vs. Dillon Gabriel.
We've seen Ewers play well in two games against ranked teams so far this season, both against Alabama and Kansas.
As it relates to Gabriel and this OU team, they haven't played a game this season against a team that is currently receiving so much as a single vote in either of the two Top 25s.
The scouting report on Gabriel is that he eats up anything from bottom-feeders to average teams. Anything even slightly above average has been his kryptonite. That's not a subjective hot take.
Here is a look at the games he has played against top-25 teams in his career:
2020
vs. No. 7 Cincinnati (L-36-33): 26 of 49 (53.3%) for 243 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 110.8 efficiency rating
vs. No. 16 BYU (L 49-23): 21 of 45 (46.7%) for 217 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a 101.8 efficiency rating
2022
vs. No. 19 Kansas (W 52-42): 29 of 42 (69%) for 403 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 160.6 efficiency rating
vs. No. 22 Oklahoma State (W 28-13): 20 of 40 (50%) for 259 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 115.9 efficiency rating
vs. No. 13 Florida State (L 35-32): 14 of 24 (58.3%) for 243 yards 1 touchdown and zero interceptions for a 157.1 efficiency rating.
For full transparency, we should probably show you his numbers against the best team he's ever played against, which was the TCU game before last year's Texas game.
at TCU (L 55-24): 7 of 16 (43.8%) for 126 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a 109.9 efficiency rating
In the six toughest games of his career, Gabriel has a 2-4 record, a 54.2% completion percentage and a 124.65 efficiency rating.
Whatever hype he receives this week from the national media coming into this game, just know that this is who he has been in games that matter and he's never once in his life played a team as good as the one he'll face in the Cotton Bowl.
He's a major question mark for OU coming into this game. That's not a subjective take. That's what his resume tells us.
No. 3 - All hail, Jonathon Brooks - Texas Starting Running Back ...
It looks like Steve Sarkisian is going to get his 1,000-yard running back this season, but you get the sense that it's not happening the way he thought it would.
There's no question that Sarkisian loves CJ Baxter. He started him in the first two games of the season. Hell, if you ask him about Brooks, he'll start getting the shakes if he doesn't compliment Baxter within the first 30 seconds of his response. I'm kidding ... kind of ... but as
@Anwar Richardson likes to say ... Baxter is Sarkisian's boo.
Yet, it's Brook who ranks third nationally in rushing through five games this season.
His 119.4 yards per game translates to 1,433 yards over 12 games. That's 1,552 yards over 13 games. And 1,672 yards over 14 games.
After rushing for only 109 yards on 26 carries in the first two games of the season, he's been feasting now that the coaches are feeding him the rock, as he's seen his average number of touches climb from 13 per game to 20 per game since the Wyoming game.
He's the guy. Nothing has been given to him. He's literally gone out and taken the steering wheel.
The whole situation might leave Sarkisian in a situation where he will have to massage Baxter's shoulders a little, especially after the former 5-star recruit won the starting job coming out of camp. As I joked earlier, it's clear by his public words that Baxter won't be forgotten. A moment won't go by when Sarkisian doesn't have him on the brain.
Sarkisian constantly preaches that his program is a meritocracy and that translates to Brooks being his guy until further notice.
p.s. - Brooks is the next guy that will need to receive a big NIL deal. Any Mattress Mack's out there that want to take that on?
No. 4 - Final Kansas Game Impressions ...
... The early word on Ja'Tavion Sanders that I'm getting isn't as optimistic as I was expecting. It might be more like 40-60 than 50-50 from what I heard on late Sunday afternoon. Expect him to be limited all week and to be listed as day to day, but there was some pessimism in the first word I heard this week about it. We hope to have a fuller update later tonight.
... Here's a look at Quinn Ewers game-by-game efficiency ratings through five games: 169.1, 166.4, 136.2, 199.6 and 153.1 - season rating: 164.7. Keep it up, young man.
... Now THAT was the Adonai Mitchell that we kept hearing about in August's camp. Before that 10-catch day against Kansas, he'd had only a single five-catch day in his career (11/13/21 at Georgia) and only two other times had him caught four passes in a game (his last being vs. Oregon on 9/3/22).
... If Ja'Tavion Sanders is going to be out or very limited, the coaches can't simply try to force Gunnar Helm into being a replication of Sanders in the name of not adjusting the offense. They'll need to make some changes.
... I'm still an advocate for getting Johntay Cook more involved on obvious (and non-obvious) passing situations.
... The captains for today's game against Kansas were DB Kitan Crawford, LB David Gbenda, TE Gunnar Helm and OL Jake Majors.
... The Longhorns have allowed 7 or fewer points in 9 of 10 halves played this season.
... Full credit to the KU offensive line for limiting the Texas defensive line to zero tackles for loss in the entire game. I can't imagine that happens again all season.
No. 5 - If I had a vote that mattered ...
1. Texas
2. Washington
3. Michigan
4. Georgia
5. Ohio State
6. Florida State
7. Oregon
8. USC
9. Alabama
10. Penn State
(Heisman Trophy)
1. Caleb Williams - QB - USC
2. Michael Penix - QB - Washington
3. Cam Ward - QB - Washington State
No. 6 - Some stats to know going into Saturday ...
... Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in scoring offense with 47.4 points per game and scoring defense with 10.8 points allowed per game. Texas is fourth in scoring offense with 36.0 points per game and second in scoring defense with 12.8 points allowed per game.
... Oklahoma is second in offensive yards per game with 510 yards per game and ranks second on defense with 319 yards allowed per game. The Longhorns rank sixth in offensive yards per game with 478.4, while ranking first on defense with only 290.8 yards allowed.
.... Oklahoma is averaging only 4.0 yards per carry as a team against a very soft schedule, while allowing only 3.2 yards per carry on defense. Texas averages 5.0 yards per carry on offense and allowed only 3.1 yards per carry on defense.
... Oklahoma averages a Big 12-best 352.4 passing yards per game, while Texas ranks fourth with 286.6 yards per game. OU also leads the league in passing efficiency with a 192.5 team efficiency ranking, while Texas ranks fourth with a 162.8 rating.
... The Sooners rank first in defensive passing efficiency with a 102.7 rating, while Texas ranks second with a 107.5 rating.
... OU is making 85.7% of its field goals, while Texas is making only 64.3% of its field goals.
... OU ranks 12th in the Big 12 in net punting (39.8 yards), while the Longhorns rank second (44.6 yards)
... OU has allowed only 4 sacks all season, but they've made only 8 sacks on defense, while the Longhorns have allowed 9 sacks and recorded 13 sacks on defense.
... The Sooners don't have a single running back among the top 20 rushers in the entire conference.
... Dillon Gabriel leads the Big 12 in passing efficiency, while Quinn Ewers ranks third with a 164.7 rating.
... Oklahoma's Andrel Anthony ranks fourth in receiving with 387 yards.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Buy) He could end up in the top five, even if he doesn't come back. The value of hitting on a quarterback in the draft and playing him on a rookie contract is the stuff that NFL dreams are made of.
(Sell) I'm not sure on Watts and Sarkisian didn't say a word about his situation after the game, which seems to possibly say something without saying something. I think Sanders plays.
(Sell) The OU defense isn't porous.
(Buy) There's a reason why three-peats never happen.
(Buy) That's more than fair.
(Buy) Sell. Seven points is a lot. Maybe four.
(Buy) That seems likely. It's done well for me all season. We might be done getting Mitchell at under 50 yards.
(Buy) That's fair. I think I expected a little more aggression post-Alabama.
(Buy) Nothing has really changed.
(Sell) None of that matters IMO.
(Sell) There's still a game out there on the schedule where more than 30 will be needed. We're talking about college football. It could be this week.
(Sell) I think it's going to be a single-digit kind of game.
(Sell) I don't believe UNC has it in them.
(Buy) Give me Cook.
(Sell) It's Gabriel's ball game as far as OU is concerned.
(Buy) Yeah, that's more than fair.
(Sell) I think there will be a shootout at some point.
No. 8 - 3 Quick Texas Volleyball Notes ...
a. BYU came to Austin as the highest-ranked team in the national rankings at No. 9 and left town with a couple of losses after taking the opening set in both matches. Welcome to the Big 12, Cougars. The Longhorns might be leaving the conference, but the regular-season title still comes through Austin until it happens.
b. The Longhorns are tied with Central Florida at the top of the Big 12 standings with a 4-0 record.
c. No. 19 Kansas (3-1 in Big 12 play) is next on the schedule with games on Thursday and Friday in Austin. Both matches will be televised on LHN.
No. 9 – Scattershooting on anything and everything …
... This Georgia team is not the same as the last two seasons. I'm not sure the Dawgs want a piece of the Longhorns.
... Brock Bowers might have taken the lead for the Mackey Award over Sanders on Saturday with a 8/157/1 day.
... He lives ... in a van ... down by the river.
... Washington drops to No. 2 in my personal Top 10 after a fairly close road win at Arizona.
... I was probably more impressed with USC against Colorado than I have been with the Trojans all season.
... If Duke played in the Big 12, it might be good enough to make the Big 12 title game. I'm impressed.
... Alabama was impressive on Saturday night. That's good for the Longhorns. Keep rooting for more of that.
... Take that, Patriots. We've owed the Patriots an ass-whipping for a very long time.
... The Hoodie is done. I can't believe he chose Mac Jones.
... I'm telling you guys ... CJ Stroud can play. Ask the Pittsburgh Steelers.
... One week after scoring 70, Miami lost 48-20 at Buffalo. The NFL is something else, man ...
... Rest in peace, Tim Wakefield.
...
Curt Schilling is the scum of the earth.
... The Bucks and the Celtics are out here improving their teams and my Sixers are trying to figure out what to do with all-in James Harden.
... All you need to know about The Ryder Cup is that this happened.
... The Astros won the West. Of course, they did.
... I loathe the Marlins. Bring it on.
... Premier League officiating is a disgrace. I complain about it all the time because it makes the officials in the Big 12 look like Hall of Fame contributors to the sport of football by comparison. After what happened this weekend to Liverpool, all soccer fans should be demanding transparency. Let us hear the audio.
No. 10 - The List: Top 10 World War II movies ...
I watched A Bridge Too Far for the first time this week. I say this week because the movie is almost three hours, which meant it took the better part of three nights for me to finish because I fell asleep a few times.
It was solid. Not great, but solid. On the other hand, the cast is out of this world with the likes of Sean Connery, Michael Caine, James Caan, Elliott Gould, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neal and Robert Redford making appearances.
It's not a Top 10 all-timer, but it was worth checking out. Watching it got me to thinking about an all-time Top 10 World War II movie list.
Here's the catch. It actually has to have war represented with soldiers in the field in the movie. It can't just take place during World War II because that opens up a can of worms because it would mean films like Casablanca and Schindler's List would have to be included and I just don't think of those movies as "war movies."
One more thing ... TV series were also allowed.
My list, my rules. Let's get to it.
Honorable mention: (in no order) Dunkirk, Where Eagles Dare, From Here to Eternity, The Great Escape, Hacksaw Ridge, Come and See, A Bridge Too Far and The Longest Day
10. The Dirty Dozen
Can I raise my hand and admit that while I like The Dirty Dozen, I don't love it to pieces? It feels like it HAS to make the list, but if I'm about to jump on the couch and watch one of the movies in my top 10, it's easily the 10th choice for me. You might need to prepare for the fact that 6 of my top 10 was made post-1995.
9. The Thin Red Line
I have to admit, I didn't love this movie when it first came out, but over the years I've come to view it as a borderline masterpiece. Roger Ebert once wrote about the film, "The movie's schizophrenia keeps it from greatness (this film has no firm idea of what it is about), but doesn't make it bad. It is, in fact, sort of fascinating." Exactly, Rog. The schizophrenia is everything.
8. Letters From Iwo Jima
It might be the best film ever directed by Clint Eastwood. Also, I love anything that Ken Watanabe is in.
7. The Pacific
It's not Band of Brothers, but that's about the only negative thing you can say about the series. I gave it another watch this summer and realized just how much I'd done myself a disservice in not watching it in a number of years.
6. Das Boot
The best submarine movie of all-time. That’s indisputable, right?
5. Saving Private Ryan
Here's the thing about SPR ... it hits a lot of my spots, but it especially hits me in my feels. When Ryan is standing in front of the headstone at the end of the movie wondering if he lived a good enough life, it makes me cry every time. Every time.
4. The Bridge on the River Kwai.
It feels like this movie is underrated.
I know it won Best Picture. I know it was referenced in season one of The Wire. I know it has been selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry. It still feels underrated.
3. Inglorious Basterds
Yes, it's World War II fantasy, but I'm including it because it's my second favorite QT movie ever made and, honestly, it's really close to the No. 1 spot. One of two movies on this list that are on the short list of my favorite movies ever made.
2. Patton
If we're talking about movies and not including TV series, then this epic is No. 1 on my list.
1. Band of Brothers
It's on the short list of the best things TV has ever created.
