(Photo courtesy of Hookem.com)
Less than 24 hours following the Strawberry Canyon Disaster, I find myself less focused on the fact that Texas gave up a 50-cent piece on the defensive side of the ball as much as the way it happened.
Let’s face it, college football is a sport that has been trending towards high-scoring offense for years and there are going to be games in almost every season when an 80+ point shootout will break out that would make an old school coach like Darrell Royal blush. Hell, for the last nine months, I’ve had this game circled on the calendar as a possible trouble spot on the Texas schedule because of the fact that Texas has been shaky on the road under Charlie Strong and Cal has just enough going for it on offense to make a coin-flip shootout possible.
A 50-43 type game was always a possibility, especially if Cal quarterback Davis Webb got super hot, so even those of us who were drinking the burnt orange Kool-Aid after an exciting 2-0 start knew what loomed over the California hills on Saturday night.
I think we all understand that there are going to be nights when the defense struggles. Loud and clear, right?
What is very, very, very hard to understand is a defense in its third year under the same defensive coordinator that looks like it hadn’t practiced a day all season or spent any time preparing for its opponent.
The Longhorns weren’t just bad on defense against the Bears. The unit was like an abomination of abominations.
The tackling was abysmal. The communication was awful. The play-making was nonexistent. The awareness to what Cal liked to do on offense was atrocious. It didn’t matter which players played because the entire unit at every level looked like worst of the bad Texas Tech defenses.
Yes, Alabama gave up 43 points on Saturday against Ole Miss, but at no point did anyone watching that game feel like the unit was incapable of the very bare basics of defensive football, a truth that cannot be found in this current Vance Bedford defense.
Five times in the last 15 games the Longhorns have played, the Texas defense has given up at least 45 points. Which means that one out of every three times the team plays, the offense needs to score almost as many points as the 2005 national championship offense averaged just to have a chance to win the game.
Enough is enough.
One of the reasons Charlie Strong was hired was the promise that he would bring elite defensive play to the table, which was desperately needed after the final years of the Mack Brown era featured some of the worst defenses in school history. Of course, what has replaced those awful defenses are at times even worse defenses and it can’t keep continuing or everything that Strong has built in less than three years runs the risk of being wasted.
My guess is that Strong will not risk this rare opportunity of having a job of this stature by letting someone else decide his fate. Whether it’s announced or not, I expect him to take over the defense right now.
Not tomorrow. Not after the Oklahoma State game. Now.
No more meetings with the offense for Strong, just fixing a broken side of the ball that is more dear to his heart because if we base our judgments on what we’ve seen, he’s already waited too long.
In theory, there’s only one elite defensive coach on this staff and it’s not Strong’s defensive coordinator.
No. 2– About all that burnt orange Kool-Aid consumption ...
Not all was lost for the team and the program on Saturday night, despite the dreadful state of the defense.
The reality is that the Longhorns still play in the Big 12 and at this very moment, that means Texas plays in the worst power five conference in the country and there’s no reason to believe that there’s any true class at the top of the Big 12 standings.
Oklahoma is very mortal. Oklahoma State is very mortal. Baylor is very mortal. TCU is very mortal. The entire league bleeds like Clark Kent in Superman II when he decides to get into a scuffle with a truck driver.
Nobody wants to hear it in the aftermath of an awful night of Texas football, but a conference championship and a major bowl game are still readily available for this team if it can continue building. From week to week, we’re going to see a lot of shootouts in this conference, so just go ahead and buckle up because there’s a lot of football left to be played.
No. 3– Charlie’s impact on the Louisville depth chart ...
As I watched Louisville dismantle Florida State on Saturday, I found myself wondering how much of the success this team was enjoying this season was related to Charlie Strong’s work as a recruiter and evaluator before leaving for Austin.
It turns out that his fingerprints are still all over that program, as 12 current Louisville starters are guys he brought into the program. Before you ask, no, he had nothing to do with Lamar Jackson.
Here’s a look at the Louisville starting line-up, with Strong’s recruits listed in bold.
Offense
LT 74 Geron Christian (6-6, 314, So., Ocala, Fla.)
LG 50 Khalil Hunter (6-4, 304, Sr., Orlando, Fla.)
C 61 Tobijah Hughley (6-3, 294, Sr., Lexington, Ky.)
RG 56 Kiola Mahoni (6-3, 308, Sr., East Paolo Alto, Calif.)
RT 72 Lukayus McNeil (6-6, 315, So., Indianapolis, Ind.)
HB 18 Cole Hikutini (6-5, 248, Sr., San Francisco, Calif.)
TE 89 Keith Towbridge (6-5, 265, Sr., Toledo, Ohio)
QB 8 Lamar Jackson (6-3, 204, So., Pompano Beach, Fla.)
RB 23 Brandon Radcliff (5-9, 209, Sr., Miami, Fla.)
FB 46 Lamar Atkins (5-11, 236, Sr., Miami, Fla.)
WR 2 Jamari Staples (6-4, 195, Sr., Lineville, Ala.)
WR 17 James Quick (6-1, 180, Sr., Louisville, Ky.)
WR 7 Reggie Bonnafon (6-3, 208, Jr., Louisville, Ky.)
Defense
DE 14 Drew Bailey (6-3, 285, Jr., Orlando, Fla.)
DT 97 DeAngelo Brown (6-0, 310, Sr., Savannah, Ga.)
DE 90 De’Asian Richardson (6-3, 335, Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.)
OLB 99 James Hearns (6-3, 248, Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.)
ILB 55 Keith Kelsey (6-1, 236, Sr., Gainesville, Fla.)
ILB 32 Stacy Thomas (6-1, 232, Jr., Miami, Fla.
OLB 92 Devonte Fields (6-4, 242, Sr., Fort Worth, Texas)
CB 15 Trumaine Washington (5-10, 180, Jr., Miami, Fla.)
S 25 Josh Harvey-Clemons (6-5, 228, Sr., Valdosta, Ga.)
S 22 Chucky Williams (6-2, 210, Jr., Hialeah, Fla.)
CB 10 Jaire Alexander (5-11, 188, So., Charlotte, N.C.)
No. 4– Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… I said it a few times and I’ll keep saying it, bring Tyrone Swoopes into the game in the red zone when the ball is inside the five-yard line. Bring him in for third and one. The rest of the game snaps need to be going to Shane Buechele. I really don’t know what the coaches were trying to accomplish at times last night with the rotation of the two.
… Through three games this season, Malik Jefferson has made one tackle for loss, forced zero fumbles and generally hasn’t been an impact player. One of the first things Charlie Strong needs to do when taking over the defense is get his best player going.
... Jefferson has three more tackles than Chris Nelson through three games.
… As a starting safety, Dylan Haines has recorded five tackles and done little else in two games. No pass breakups. No plays that led to turnovers. No tackles for loss.
… Michael Dickson averaged only 43.5 yards per punt on Saturday with two of his four kicks downed inside the 20-yard line. He good.
… Is Anthony Wheeler playing at the highest level of anyone on the defense? Off the naked eye test, he looked like UT’s best defender against Cal at the very least.
… After finishing my work last night at a little before three in the morning, I’m ready to let the Pac-16 idea die. I don’t really care to do that ever again.
No. 5 – Buy or sell …
BUY or SELL: The Cal loss is worse than the Iowa State loss as this is year three and the talent now on the defensive side of the ball?
(Sell) Texas didn’t even compete in Ames last year.
BUY or SELL: Texas gives up 50+ points again this season?
(Buy) The data suggests that it will happen or nearly happen before the end of week five.
BUY or SELL: Texas will be 2-3 after the OU game? And OB will be in epic meltdown mode?
(Sell) I think Texas recovers from this loss with a win in Stillwater.
BUY or SELL: This loss is more about Texas being out talented by Cal, than it is Texas being outcoached by Cal?
(Sell) Cal does not have superior talent.
BUY or SELL: Brandon Jones forces his way into a starting spot by the bowl game?
(Buy) The sooner, the better.
BUY or SELL: The failure to challenge the critical catch where the Cal receiver clearly did not control the ball through to the ground is on the coaches in the box and not the ones on the field?
(Sell) Where was the replay official and what the hell was he doing?
BUY or SELL: The Big 12 is the worst match-up for a Charlie Strong defense out of all P5 conferences?
(Buy) Almost everyone has a bastard version of a high-powered college offense at the very least.
BUY or SELL: This loss hurt some of UT's recruiting momentum?
(Sell) I don’t think the Cal loss will impact recruiting at all.
BUY or SELL: If Sterlin Gilbert leaves, Charlie doesn't have enough political capital left to get another rebuild year with two new coordinators.
(Sell) It depends on how the rest of the season goes, an element you left out of the wording of your question.
BUY or SELL: Coach Strong is a great evaluator of player talent but a horrible evaluator of coaching talent?
(Buy) Truer words might have never been written.
No. 6 – College Football randomness ...
… Alabama led 48-30 with less than four minutes left in the game and then had to hold on for dear life. Something weird seems to happen late in the fourth quarter with Nick Saban teams.
… Oklahoma was never really in that game against Ohio State. There was just a difference in class on the field in Norman on Saturday night.
… I wonder what the folks on Iowa message boards were saying about Greg Davis this weekend?
… After falling behind 21-7 at Colorado, Michigan went on a 38-7 run to close the game. Jim Harbaugh has something cooking in Ann Arbor.
… Notre Dame is just a team. Nothing will ever wipe away the job Texas fans had in that game, but the shine is somewhat off.
… Kevin Sumlin might just keep his job.
… Lamar Jackson or Teddy Bridgewater? Who you taking as a college player? As good as Bridgewater was as a player, he never looked better than Jackson looked in that destruction of Florida State. My goodness, that team looked awesome on Saturday.
… Stat of the Week: This one leaves a mark.
No. 7 – Dak boy is good!
I just can’t say enough about the kind of revelation Dallas rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has been to this forever pessimistic fan.
After expecting nothing of him when he was drafted, he’s made the 2016 Cowboys season interesting and on Sunday he took it one step further by making it a joyous day in leading the Cowboys from behind in the fourth quarter to win at Washington.
His final line: 22 of 30 for 292 yards, zero turnovers and a 103. 8 rating.
Are you kidding me? I’m just going to enjoy the ride.
No. 8 – Confessions of a fantasy football owner …
**** Warning: NSFW****
No. 9 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… Scattershooting on week two in the NFL…
A. It wasn’t artistic, but that 19-12 win over the Chiefs counts every bit as much as the pretty ones if you’re the Texans. That was the Brock Osweiler I expected to see in a Houston uniform, but as long as he keeps throwing the ball to Deandre Hopkins, things will be all right.
B. If you’re ever going to travel to play New England on three days rest, Thursday night is the night for the Texans.
C. Fozzy Whittaker rushed for 100 yards against San Francisco and will probably be the lead guy while Jonathan Stewart is out with an injury. Time to pick him up through fantasy waivers.
D. The Giants defense is the real deal.
E. Corey Coleman is a bad dude.
F. Justin Tucker is worth every penny the Ravens pay him.
G. Jameis Winston had the same kind of day on Sunday that his Seminoles had on Saturday.
… Cameron Rupp has 15 home runs this year for the Phillies and 49 RBI.
… The post-season is almost here.
… I paid zero attention to Canelo Alvarez’s fight in Dallas this weekend. It’s either GGG or a snorefest right now.
… Happy 18th birthday, Christian Pulisic. See you at Anfield soon.
… Scattershooting on the Premier League week five …
A. Kevin de Bruyne plays soccer like he’s writing a love sonnet.
B. Oh, Jordan Henderson, I love you.
C. Man City is pretty f’ing good.
D. West Ham looks like a broken team at the moment.
E. Trouble in paradise already, Jose?
No. 10 - And finally …
Must-read from the weekend.
