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Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Now is the time for Tom Herman to be a star ...)

It's fascinating to see some of you die on the anti-bodysuit hill when it was such a small piece of the article. Some of you won't see it this way, but I find it to e revealing.
 
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Watching the Mack Brown hired videos, Brown was making 170K at North Carolina when Texas hired him for 600+K. :eek::eek::eek:
 
Serena & Venus should just say F the French. She has played long enough not to have to put up with their crap. She will earn the same if not more money this year than usual. She is one of the greatest tennis players ever. Does not need them.

She has already said she is fine with the ruling and likes the official that made the decision. Also said most of her team was French so don’t make much of this. She will play in the French Open next year if she is healthy.
 
She has already said she is fine with the ruling and likes the official that made the decision. Also said most of her team was French so don’t make much of this. She will play in the French Open next year if she is healthy.
She deserves better from the sport. There is literally no explanation for what it means to suggest the catsuit was insulting to tennis?

There's zero justification to defend the ruling.
 
In your defense you get trolled and challenged at a higher clip than most
giphy.gif
 
Saturday represents a pretty significant moment in the career of Tom Herman.

No hyperbole.

As he enters his second season as the head coach at Texas, it's impossible to get away from the fact that he was hired because Texas decision-makers believed that in this offensive age of college football, they were getting an elite offensive coach who would emphatically fix the Texas offensive issues of this decade.

The thinking was that if you opened the pocket book and paired him with an elite defensive coordinator, the sky was the absolute limit.

Well, Todd Orlando did his part as the highly-paid elite defensive coordinator. I think we all believe that he'll do his part again this season. Why? Because we believe he's truly elite, so much so that you could argue that he's the most valuable asset in the Texas program at the moment.

The issue that I would suggest exists is that Tom Herman was hired to be the most valuable asset in the program, no one else.

Therefore, when the 2018 season kicks off on Saturday, it represents a chance to completely reset the narrative for this program on the offensive side of the ball.

According to Herman, what he's seeing from his offense this August is monumentally better than what he was seeing a mere 12 months ago, a season that featured him telling us on a weekly basis all the reasons why his side of the ball was a mess. Yet, going into this season, his quarterback play is better and more experienced. His offensive line has its fixer in Herb Hand and everyone is healthy. Meanwhile, the skill talent is good enough to win with at any school in the country. Hell, even Andrew Beck is back and we know Herman loves him some Andrew Beck.

Forget about Tim Beck. Forget about who calls play. Forget the details, as the only thing that matters is that the offense is bad-ass because Herman was hired to provide a bad-ass offense, regardless of all that other stuff.

As someone who finds himself consistently impressed with various aspects of Herman's capabilities as head coach, it's time to add actual offensive coaching to the list of things all of us feel real good about with regards to his job performance.

It begins on Saturday.

Impress us, Tom. Pretty please.

No. 2 - Quickly talking quarterbacks ...
image


With Anwar fully addressing the Sam Ehlinger discussion on Sunday, I don't want to repeat some of the same themes, so here's my complete set of quick-hitting takes about the quarterback position heading into the opener.

* I'm an Ehlinger guy and believed in his upside as a college football player before anyone on the planet (outside of those at Westlake High School) did. If you'll remember, I ranked him as the No. 10 prospect in Texas at a time when he had zero offers and really wasn't yet on a high level recruiting radar. If he can stay healthy, and that's seemingly a decent-sized if, I think he has a chance to be a first-team all-Big 12 quarterback before he's done playing. What I don't know yet is whether he's still a year away and being forced into a starting role because of dire need or truly ready to be a guy that can lead a program to a championship.

* Shane Buechele is between a rock and a hard place. It is in his best interest to emerge from this season with two seasons of eligibility remaining because I think the possibilities at Texas are shrinking. Unless Ehlinger suffers a long-term injury, Buechele is dealing with a situation where a redshirt is the best thing for him, but possibly not for the program. Maybe Buechele is staying at Texas until his eligibility runs out and my speculation is completely misplaced, but my read on Buechele is that he wants to play and not just watch from the sidelines, even if it is at Texas. It'll be fascinating to see how Tom Herman handles Buechele this season.

* By mid-season, Cameron Rising could be the true No. 2 on the roster. Herman is making hints about how much he likes his true freshman and we know he's got four games with which to tinker.

No. 3 - Are we underestimating the loss of The Punter ...






I find it impossible to quantify exactly what it means for a team that went 7-6 last season to have lost the Vince Young of college football punters, but we probably haven't talked enough about the loss of the greatest punter in school history.

A guy that has walked into the NFL and induced a nation-wide session of jaw-dropping.

If the Longhorns merely replace a legendary punter with someone who is average, we're talking about a difference of 5-6 yards of field possession every time the ball is kicked. While I can't say how many games Texas might have lost if Dickson wasn't around, I feel safe in saying the Longhorns possibly don't win the bowl game without his MVP performance. At the very least, he was the difference between a winning season last year and a losing one.

There were so many big little moments in virtually every game of the season. His ability to completely flip field position in a monstrously critical way occurred so many times. There was the 53-yard bomb against USC in the fourth quarter. Or the 69-yard monster against Oklahoma (he averaged 55.0 yards on five punts that day). Or those 10 of 11 punts against Missouri he downed inside the 20-yard line.

TEN IN ONE GAME.

With a record that ended up average, I think we've potentially underestimated what his actual value to last year's team really was. It feels like Malik Jefferson can be replaced. DeShon Elliott, too. Same with Poona Ford.

Dickson?

I have no idea.

No. 4 - I love this kid ...

Ring that bell, baby! Ring that bell!


No. 5 - Story-time with Uncle Ketch...
story-time.png


"I'm pissed, I'm stunned, it's Mack Brown."

For those that were frequenting University of Texas message boards (Austin360, holla!) back in 1997, these words by an Orangebloods Hall of Fame poster served as the moment when word first broke that Mack Brown was going to be the man to replace John Mackovic as the head coach at Texas.

Yet, from the mainstream media standpoint, this story served as one of the first big news breaking moments of my career, as Andy Liscano and myself worked together to break the story while working at KEYE-42 TV in Austin. After breaking the hire of Augie Garrido the previous year after stalking him in the wee hours of the morning in a DFW airport hotel, being first on this story allowed us to firmly cement our place as news-breakers in the Austin market. One of my favorite keepsakes from that week is a copy of the front page of the Dallas Morning News, which cited us for being the first to break the story.

Now ... for the first time in two decades, the highlights from that day on our station and the rest of the stations have been uncovered. Enjoy.


No. 6 - Bonus Story-telling time ...

For those that don't know a ton about my background, I arrived at Rivals.com in the spring of 1999 after a four-year stint at KEYE-TV. During those four years, we did what no one else in the country in any market was doing in television ... we made a big deal out of recruiting. While no other station in the market was covering it much at all, we were leading our sportscast with it and I personally spearheaded the online coverage on the station's new website, which is what ultimately paved the path for me to have the career that I've had.

Here's a look at some of our old recruiting coverage at KEYE-TV, including an interview with one of the first commitment breaks of my career - Adam Dunn to Texas.



No. 7 – Buy or Sell …
BUY-SELL.gif


BUY or SELL: Sam Ehlinger has the type of performance against Maryland that leaves little doubt as to why Herman chose him early to be the starter?

(Sell) Great question. I'm expecting the offense to take a few weeks to completely gel and come together. I think Ehlinger has a solid performance, but perhaps not an emphatic one.

BUY or SELL: Herman has met or exceeded expectations a year and a half into his tenure?

(Sell) I'm not sure how it could otherwise be argued after the first season with the offense and the question marks that remain unanswered going into season No. 2.

BUY or SELL: Texas beats Maryland?

(Buy) I'd just be careful about my prediction with this one. This was my prediction on this game last season:

"I expect to see a Texas team that plays loose and free for the first time in a long time. I expect to see a more mature Texas team. I expect to see much improved special teams and defense. I expect Shane Buechele to throw three touchdowns. I expect a more disciplined football team. I expect sloppiness to decrease. I expect the defense to create a touchdown. I expect some style points in the Tom Herman debut.

Texas 38 - Maryland 10"


BUY or SELL: if the Urban Meyer shoe was on The University of Texas' foot, you believe our leadership would have responded differently? If so, what would have been the appropriate action.

(Buy) Without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, Urban Meyer would have lost his job if this situation had occurred with him steering the ship at Texas. I've had too many conversations with high-level decision-makers over the 20 years for me to think anything other than that. It matters to Texas that it be perceived as a football power, but a football power that allows it to sit on top of a hill and doesn't reflect poorly on the rest of the university.

BUY or SELL: Cameron Rising gets snaps v. Maryland (and with redshirt rule you wouldn't put him the game just to hand off at the end to run out the clock)?

(Sell) Rising plays in the second half against Tulsa. Buechele will take the back-up snaps in the opener if anyone does.

BUY or SELL: These numbers would represent a 9-10 win season

* Ehlinger- 2800 yards throwing 28 td 475 rush yards 10 rush td
* Humphrey- 800 Rec Yards 7 td
* Tre Watson- 750 Rush Yards 8 td 300 rec yards 3 td
* Hager- 14 sacks
* G Johnson- 120 tackles
* Boyd- 5 int


(Buy) Texas might go undefeated if all those thing happen.

BUY or SELL: if Jake Smith continues to have these outstanding performances, he’ll eventually earn his fifth star?

(Buy) He's knocking on the door as it is. It's not an impossible idea, but I tend to think he'll finish near the top 40, but just outside of the five-star range.

BUY or SELL: At some point during the season CTH admits to being the primary play caller?

(Sell) I just don't think he wants it.

BUY or SELL: Without comparing personalities, Herb Hand is a better technician in teaching offensive line play and in getting the best out of the position than any o-line coach over the past 20 years at Texas.

(Sell) When Mac McWhorter arrived at Texas, the line had more talent than the current group, but it was still an absolute mess. In short time, he completely rebuilt the foundation of the line and pieced together the best line (2005) in school history.

BUY or SELL: You enjoyed banning @jshorn less than @UTwiz but only a little?

(Sell) Man, I don't enjoy banning anyone, even if they sometimes drive me crazy. At the end of the day, I prefer a non-drama day on the message boards as much as anything, so that certain posters make the drama rain becomes frustrating at times, but I'm willing to live with frustration in the name of a healthy message board under a couple of conditions. One of them is just don't consistently be a Richard Cranium. Don't be rude for sport or disrespectful for personal grins. Even then, I typically give a lot of slack, but the slack can eventually run out. It's not what I would describe as enjoyable.

No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …

... Congrats to the Hawaii Little League baseball team, otherwise known as champions of the world.

... Given the backlash that has occurred over the weekend, I'd bet money that the French Open changes its tune about the recent attempt to police and control Serena Williams' attire.


... I'm having a hard time figuring out what I think about the Eagles at the moment with Carson Wentz not cleared for contact and Nick Foles looking like the guy we thought Nick Foles was nine months ago. I'm assuming they'll be fine, but the early evidence suggests that a Super Bowl hangover might be in play.

... That five yards per carry average Adrian Peterson posted on Friday night is fool's gold. Careful, fantasy footballers.

... Interesting week on the club soccer scene. Man City draws 1-1. Liverpool wins 1-0. Barcelona wins 1-0 (and needed VAR to escape a 1-1 draw). Atletico Madrid needed a monster Jan Oblack save to escape with a 1-0 win. Basically, almost everyone is still kind of working out the kinks.

... This is what happens when someone makes a business decision in a sport that is all about that business.


No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Texas season-opening games of the last 30 years ...
rawImage.jpg



I've lived in Austin and watched/covered Texas football pretty closely since I was 10 years. Here's a list of the most memorable (good or bad) season-opening games during that time.

10. 1991 at Mississippi State (Mississippi State wins 13-6)

The first game following the Miami disaster in the Cotton Bowl the previous season, and the then No.13 Longhorns lost to an unranked team in a game that kind of signaled the beginning of the end of the David McWilliams era.

9. 2005 vs. La-Lafayette (Texas wins 60-3)

The full power of the Texas Death Star was on display going into a big Ohio State game the following week.

8. 2017 vs. Maryland (Maryland wins 51-41)

Hello, Tom Herman Era ... yikes.

7. 1995 at Hawaii (Texas wins 38-17)

Ricky Williams' introduction to the college football world.

6. 1994 at Pittsburgh (Texas wins 30-28)

Curtis Martin's introduction to the college football world.

5. 2015 at Notre Dame (Notre Dame wins 38-3)

The end of the Shawn Watson era.

4. 1996 vs. Missouri (Texas wins 40-10)

After a monsoon/lightening delayed the game, what remained of the crowd after a 45-minute delay in the third quarter was amazingly dialed in, creating one of the best atmospheres I've ever seen at DKR.

3. 1999 vs. NC State (NC State wins 16-13)

Three blocked punts cost Texas the first game of Mack Brown's second season in Austin.

2. 2016 vs. Notre Dame (Texas wins 50-47)

The greatest moment of the Charlie Strong-era.

1. 1990 at Penn State (Texas wins 23-20)

It was in Happy Valley that the 1990 Shock The Nation Tour began. What's really interesting about that game is that Penn State was only ranked No.21/No.20 (depending on the poll), but that last-second win felt so much bigger than the ranking the Nittany Lions owned would probably warrant.

No. 10 – And Finally...

Five and a half years. That's how long John McCain was held as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. It's almost impossible to fathom the strength and character that would be needed to survive it all, let alone have the ability to come out of it all with the ability to carve out one of the most notable political careers of anyone in the last 50 years.

Of course, politics can make the waters murky when one talks about individual moments of disagreement over the years, but the bottom line for me is that John McCain was just a good man and he left us over the weekend having made sure that it the world was better off because he was in it. Few Americans have ever given more to this country out of love for this country.

At his very best, McCain was the best of us.

Rest in peace.

#10: You should look a little closer into McCain’s background and what exactly made him rise in politics (namely his second wife’s father and his mob connections and financing). The only reason that more people don’t know about it is because Arizona is still a very small and provincial place. No doubt that he suffered greatly in Vietnam, but he was very, very far from “the best of us”.
 
BUY or SELL: Without comparing personalities, Herb Hand is a better technician in teaching offensive line play and in getting the best out of the position than any o-line coach over the past 20 years at Texas.

(Sell) When Mac McWhorter arrived at Texas, the line had more talent than the current group, but it was still an absolute mess. In short time, he completely rebuilt the foundation of the line and pieced together the best line (2005) in school history.
I know what you said is true but what happened to McWhorter after 2005? Did he just get lazy?
 
Andy Liscano (and his hair!)
Judy Maggio
Dave Cody
Jeff Power
Neil Spelce
Tommy P. w/Axtell and Mihm sightings!

Awesome walk down memory lane...very nicely done.
Plus a glimpse of my favorite TV reporter ever, Stephanie Rochon. RIP Stephanie.
 
#10: You should look a little closer into McCain’s background and what exactly made him rise in politics (namely his second wife’s father and his mob connections and financing). The only reason that more people don’t know about it is because Arizona is still a very small and provincial place. No doubt that he suffered greatly in Vietnam, but he was very, very far from “the best of us”.
I said at his best.
 
RIP John McCain.

McCain was a great American, and I wish he had beaten Obama. I think he would of, had he not picked Palin to be his VP.
But, I will never forget or forgive that asinine comment Trump made about “liking the guys that didn’t get shot down”. Lot of nerve for a draft dodger to ridicule a true war hero.
 
Given the respective rosters and what’s going on at Maryland, Texas should smoke the Terps this weekend. If we lose, then “Is Tom Herman the right guy” instantly becomes a legitimate question.

This
 
Saturday represents a pretty significant moment in the career of Tom Herman.

No hyperbole.

As he enters his second season as the head coach at Texas, it's impossible to get away from the fact that he was hired because Texas decision-makers believed that in this offensive age of college football, they were getting an elite offensive coach who would emphatically fix the Texas offensive issues of this decade.

The thinking was that if you opened the pocket book and paired him with an elite defensive coordinator, the sky was the absolute limit.

Well, Todd Orlando did his part as the highly-paid elite defensive coordinator. I think we all believe that he'll do his part again this season. Why? Because we believe he's truly elite, so much so that you could argue that he's the most valuable asset in the Texas program at the moment.

The issue that I would suggest exists is that Tom Herman was hired to be the most valuable asset in the program, no one else.

Therefore, when the 2018 season kicks off on Saturday, it represents a chance to completely reset the narrative for this program on the offensive side of the ball.

According to Herman, what he's seeing from his offense this August is monumentally better than what he was seeing a mere 12 months ago, a season that featured him telling us on a weekly basis all the reasons why his side of the ball was a mess. Yet, going into this season, his quarterback play is better and more experienced. His offensive line has its fixer in Herb Hand and everyone is healthy. Meanwhile, the skill talent is good enough to win with at any school in the country. Hell, even Andrew Beck is back and we know Herman loves him some Andrew Beck.

Forget about Tim Beck. Forget about who calls play. Forget the details, as the only thing that matters is that the offense is bad-ass because Herman was hired to provide a bad-ass offense, regardless of all that other stuff.

As someone who finds himself consistently impressed with various aspects of Herman's capabilities as head coach, it's time to add actual offensive coaching to the list of things all of us feel real good about with regards to his job performance.

It begins on Saturday.

Impress us, Tom. Pretty please.

No. 2 - Quickly talking quarterbacks ...
image


With Anwar fully addressing the Sam Ehlinger discussion on Sunday, I don't want to repeat some of the same themes, so here's my complete set of quick-hitting takes about the quarterback position heading into the opener.

* I'm an Ehlinger guy and believed in his upside as a college football player before anyone on the planet (outside of those at Westlake High School) did. If you'll remember, I ranked him as the No. 10 prospect in Texas at a time when he had zero offers and really wasn't yet on a high level recruiting radar. If he can stay healthy, and that's seemingly a decent-sized if, I think he has a chance to be a first-team all-Big 12 quarterback before he's done playing. What I don't know yet is whether he's still a year away and being forced into a starting role because of dire need or truly ready to be a guy that can lead a program to a championship.

* Shane Buechele is between a rock and a hard place. It is in his best interest to emerge from this season with two seasons of eligibility remaining because I think the possibilities at Texas are shrinking. Unless Ehlinger suffers a long-term injury, Buechele is dealing with a situation where a redshirt is the best thing for him, but possibly not for the program. Maybe Buechele is staying at Texas until his eligibility runs out and my speculation is completely misplaced, but my read on Buechele is that he wants to play and not just watch from the sidelines, even if it is at Texas. It'll be fascinating to see how Tom Herman handles Buechele this season.

* By mid-season, Cameron Rising could be the true No. 2 on the roster. Herman is making hints about how much he likes his true freshman and we know he's got four games with which to tinker.

No. 3 - Are we underestimating the loss of The Punter ...






I find it impossible to quantify exactly what it means for a team that went 7-6 last season to have lost the Vince Young of college football punters, but we probably haven't talked enough about the loss of the greatest punter in school history.

A guy that has walked into the NFL and induced a nation-wide session of jaw-dropping.

If the Longhorns merely replace a legendary punter with someone who is average, we're talking about a difference of 5-6 yards of field possession every time the ball is kicked. While I can't say how many games Texas might have lost if Dickson wasn't around, I feel safe in saying the Longhorns possibly don't win the bowl game without his MVP performance. At the very least, he was the difference between a winning season last year and a losing one.

There were so many big little moments in virtually every game of the season. His ability to completely flip field position in a monstrously critical way occurred so many times. There was the 53-yard bomb against USC in the fourth quarter. Or the 69-yard monster against Oklahoma (he averaged 55.0 yards on five punts that day). Or those 10 of 11 punts against Missouri he downed inside the 20-yard line.

TEN IN ONE GAME.

With a record that ended up average, I think we've potentially underestimated what his actual value to last year's team really was. It feels like Malik Jefferson can be replaced. DeShon Elliott, too. Same with Poona Ford.

Dickson?

I have no idea.

No. 4 - I love this kid ...

Ring that bell, baby! Ring that bell!


No. 5 - Story-time with Uncle Ketch...
story-time.png


"I'm pissed, I'm stunned, it's Mack Brown."

For those that were frequenting University of Texas message boards (Austin360, holla!) back in 1997, these words by an Orangebloods Hall of Fame poster served as the moment when word first broke that Mack Brown was going to be the man to replace John Mackovic as the head coach at Texas.

Yet, from the mainstream media standpoint, this story served as one of the first big news breaking moments of my career, as Andy Liscano and myself worked together to break the story while working at KEYE-42 TV in Austin. After breaking the hire of Augie Garrido the previous year after stalking him in the wee hours of the morning in a DFW airport hotel, being first on this story allowed us to firmly cement our place as news-breakers in the Austin market. One of my favorite keepsakes from that week is a copy of the front page of the Dallas Morning News, which cited us for being the first to break the story.

Now ... for the first time in two decades, the highlights from that day on our station and the rest of the stations have been uncovered. Enjoy.


No. 6 - Bonus Story-telling time ...

For those that don't know a ton about my background, I arrived at Rivals.com in the spring of 1999 after a four-year stint at KEYE-TV. During those four years, we did what no one else in the country in any market was doing in television ... we made a big deal out of recruiting. While no other station in the market was covering it much at all, we were leading our sportscast with it and I personally spearheaded the online coverage on the station's new website, which is what ultimately paved the path for me to have the career that I've had.

Here's a look at some of our old recruiting coverage at KEYE-TV, including an interview with one of the first commitment breaks of my career - Adam Dunn to Texas.



No. 7 – Buy or Sell …
BUY-SELL.gif


BUY or SELL: Sam Ehlinger has the type of performance against Maryland that leaves little doubt as to why Herman chose him early to be the starter?

(Sell) Great question. I'm expecting the offense to take a few weeks to completely gel and come together. I think Ehlinger has a solid performance, but perhaps not an emphatic one.

BUY or SELL: Herman has met or exceeded expectations a year and a half into his tenure?

(Sell) I'm not sure how it could otherwise be argued after the first season with the offense and the question marks that remain unanswered going into season No. 2.

BUY or SELL: Texas beats Maryland?

(Buy) I'd just be careful about my prediction with this one. This was my prediction on this game last season:

"I expect to see a Texas team that plays loose and free for the first time in a long time. I expect to see a more mature Texas team. I expect to see much improved special teams and defense. I expect Shane Buechele to throw three touchdowns. I expect a more disciplined football team. I expect sloppiness to decrease. I expect the defense to create a touchdown. I expect some style points in the Tom Herman debut.

Texas 38 - Maryland 10"


BUY or SELL: if the Urban Meyer shoe was on The University of Texas' foot, you believe our leadership would have responded differently? If so, what would have been the appropriate action.

(Buy) Without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, Urban Meyer would have lost his job if this situation had occurred with him steering the ship at Texas. I've had too many conversations with high-level decision-makers over the 20 years for me to think anything other than that. It matters to Texas that it be perceived as a football power, but a football power that allows it to sit on top of a hill and doesn't reflect poorly on the rest of the university.

BUY or SELL: Cameron Rising gets snaps v. Maryland (and with redshirt rule you wouldn't put him the game just to hand off at the end to run out the clock)?

(Sell) Rising plays in the second half against Tulsa. Buechele will take the back-up snaps in the opener if anyone does.

BUY or SELL: These numbers would represent a 9-10 win season

* Ehlinger- 2800 yards throwing 28 td 475 rush yards 10 rush td
* Humphrey- 800 Rec Yards 7 td
* Tre Watson- 750 Rush Yards 8 td 300 rec yards 3 td
* Hager- 14 sacks
* G Johnson- 120 tackles
* Boyd- 5 int


(Buy) Texas might go undefeated if all those thing happen.

BUY or SELL: if Jake Smith continues to have these outstanding performances, he’ll eventually earn his fifth star?

(Buy) He's knocking on the door as it is. It's not an impossible idea, but I tend to think he'll finish near the top 40, but just outside of the five-star range.

BUY or SELL: At some point during the season CTH admits to being the primary play caller?

(Sell) I just don't think he wants it.

BUY or SELL: Without comparing personalities, Herb Hand is a better technician in teaching offensive line play and in getting the best out of the position than any o-line coach over the past 20 years at Texas.

(Sell) When Mac McWhorter arrived at Texas, the line had more talent than the current group, but it was still an absolute mess. In short time, he completely rebuilt the foundation of the line and pieced together the best line (2005) in school history.

BUY or SELL: You enjoyed banning @jshorn less than @UTwiz but only a little?

(Sell) Man, I don't enjoy banning anyone, even if they sometimes drive me crazy. At the end of the day, I prefer a non-drama day on the message boards as much as anything, so that certain posters make the drama rain becomes frustrating at times, but I'm willing to live with frustration in the name of a healthy message board under a couple of conditions. One of them is just don't consistently be a Richard Cranium. Don't be rude for sport or disrespectful for personal grins. Even then, I typically give a lot of slack, but the slack can eventually run out. It's not what I would describe as enjoyable.

No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …

... Congrats to the Hawaii Little League baseball team, otherwise known as champions of the world.

... Given the backlash that has occurred over the weekend, I'd bet money that the French Open changes its tune about the recent attempt to police and control Serena Williams' attire.


... I'm having a hard time figuring out what I think about the Eagles at the moment with Carson Wentz not cleared for contact and Nick Foles looking like the guy we thought Nick Foles was nine months ago. I'm assuming they'll be fine, but the early evidence suggests that a Super Bowl hangover might be in play.

... That five yards per carry average Adrian Peterson posted on Friday night is fool's gold. Careful, fantasy footballers.

... Interesting week on the club soccer scene. Man City draws 1-1. Liverpool wins 1-0. Barcelona wins 1-0 (and needed VAR to escape a 1-1 draw). Atletico Madrid needed a monster Jan Oblack save to escape with a 1-0 win. Basically, almost everyone is still kind of working out the kinks.

... This is what happens when someone makes a business decision in a sport that is all about that business.


No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Texas season-opening games of the last 30 years ...
rawImage.jpg



I've lived in Austin and watched/covered Texas football pretty closely since I was 10 years. Here's a list of the most memorable (good or bad) season-opening games during that time.

10. 1991 at Mississippi State (Mississippi State wins 13-6)

The first game following the Miami disaster in the Cotton Bowl the previous season, and the then No.13 Longhorns lost to an unranked team in a game that kind of signaled the beginning of the end of the David McWilliams era.

9. 2005 vs. La-Lafayette (Texas wins 60-3)

The full power of the Texas Death Star was on display going into a big Ohio State game the following week.

8. 2017 vs. Maryland (Maryland wins 51-41)

Hello, Tom Herman Era ... yikes.

7. 1995 at Hawaii (Texas wins 38-17)

Ricky Williams' introduction to the college football world.

6. 1994 at Pittsburgh (Texas wins 30-28)

Curtis Martin's introduction to the college football world.

5. 2015 at Notre Dame (Notre Dame wins 38-3)

The end of the Shawn Watson era.

4. 1996 vs. Missouri (Texas wins 40-10)

After a monsoon/lightening delayed the game, what remained of the crowd after a 45-minute delay in the third quarter was amazingly dialed in, creating one of the best atmospheres I've ever seen at DKR.

3. 1999 vs. NC State (NC State wins 16-13)

Three blocked punts cost Texas the first game of Mack Brown's second season in Austin.

2. 2016 vs. Notre Dame (Texas wins 50-47)

The greatest moment of the Charlie Strong-era.

1. 1990 at Penn State (Texas wins 23-20)

It was in Happy Valley that the 1990 Shock The Nation Tour began. What's really interesting about that game is that Penn State was only ranked No.21/No.20 (depending on the poll), but that last-second win felt so much bigger than the ranking the Nittany Lions owned would probably warrant.

No. 10 – And Finally...

Five and a half years. That's how long John McCain was held as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. It's almost impossible to fathom the strength and character that would be needed to survive it all, let alone have the ability to come out of it all with the ability to carve out one of the most notable political careers of anyone in the last 50 years.

Of course, politics can make the waters murky when one talks about individual moments of disagreement over the years, but the bottom line for me is that John McCain was just a good man and he left us over the weekend having made sure that it the world was better off because he was in it. Few Americans have ever given more to this country out of love for this country.

At his very best, McCain was the best of us.

Rest in peace.
Saturday represents a pretty significant moment in the career of Tom Herman.

No hyperbole.

As he enters his second season as the head coach at Texas, it's impossible to get away from the fact that he was hired because Texas decision-makers believed that in this offensive age of college football, they were getting an elite offensive coach who would emphatically fix the Texas offensive issues of this decade.

The thinking was that if you opened the pocket book and paired him with an elite defensive coordinator, the sky was the absolute limit.

Well, Todd Orlando did his part as the highly-paid elite defensive coordinator. I think we all believe that he'll do his part again this season. Why? Because we believe he's truly elite, so much so that you could argue that he's the most valuable asset in the Texas program at the moment.

The issue that I would suggest exists is that Tom Herman was hired to be the most valuable asset in the program, no one else.

Therefore, when the 2018 season kicks off on Saturday, it represents a chance to completely reset the narrative for this program on the offensive side of the ball.

According to Herman, what he's seeing from his offense this August is monumentally better than what he was seeing a mere 12 months ago, a season that featured him telling us on a weekly basis all the reasons why his side of the ball was a mess. Yet, going into this season, his quarterback play is better and more experienced. His offensive line has its fixer in Herb Hand and everyone is healthy. Meanwhile, the skill talent is good enough to win with at any school in the country. Hell, even Andrew Beck is back and we know Herman loves him some Andrew Beck.

Forget about Tim Beck. Forget about who calls play. Forget the details, as the only thing that matters is that the offense is bad-ass because Herman was hired to provide a bad-ass offense, regardless of all that other stuff.

As someone who finds himself consistently impressed with various aspects of Herman's capabilities as head coach, it's time to add actual offensive coaching to the list of things all of us feel real good about with regards to his job performance.

It begins on Saturday.

Impress us, Tom. Pretty please.

No. 2 - Quickly talking quarterbacks ...
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With Anwar fully addressing the Sam Ehlinger discussion on Sunday, I don't want to repeat some of the same themes, so here's my complete set of quick-hitting takes about the quarterback position heading into the opener.

* I'm an Ehlinger guy and believed in his upside as a college football player before anyone on the planet (outside of those at Westlake High School) did. If you'll remember, I ranked him as the No. 10 prospect in Texas at a time when he had zero offers and really wasn't yet on a high level recruiting radar. If he can stay healthy, and that's seemingly a decent-sized if, I think he has a chance to be a first-team all-Big 12 quarterback before he's done playing. What I don't know yet is whether he's still a year away and being forced into a starting role because of dire need or truly ready to be a guy that can lead a program to a championship.

* Shane Buechele is between a rock and a hard place. It is in his best interest to emerge from this season with two seasons of eligibility remaining because I think the possibilities at Texas are shrinking. Unless Ehlinger suffers a long-term injury, Buechele is dealing with a situation where a redshirt is the best thing for him, but possibly not for the program. Maybe Buechele is staying at Texas until his eligibility runs out and my speculation is completely misplaced, but my read on Buechele is that he wants to play and not just watch from the sidelines, even if it is at Texas. It'll be fascinating to see how Tom Herman handles Buechele this season.

* By mid-season, Cameron Rising could be the true No. 2 on the roster. Herman is making hints about how much he likes his true freshman and we know he's got four games with which to tinker.

No. 3 - Are we underestimating the loss of The Punter ...






I find it impossible to quantify exactly what it means for a team that went 7-6 last season to have lost the Vince Young of college football punters, but we probably haven't talked enough about the loss of the greatest punter in school history.

A guy that has walked into the NFL and induced a nation-wide session of jaw-dropping.

If the Longhorns merely replace a legendary punter with someone who is average, we're talking about a difference of 5-6 yards of field possession every time the ball is kicked. While I can't say how many games Texas might have lost if Dickson wasn't around, I feel safe in saying the Longhorns possibly don't win the bowl game without his MVP performance. At the very least, he was the difference between a winning season last year and a losing one.

There were so many big little moments in virtually every game of the season. His ability to completely flip field position in a monstrously critical way occurred so many times. There was the 53-yard bomb against USC in the fourth quarter. Or the 69-yard monster against Oklahoma (he averaged 55.0 yards on five punts that day). Or those 10 of 11 punts against Missouri he downed inside the 20-yard line.

TEN IN ONE GAME.

With a record that ended up average, I think we've potentially underestimated what his actual value to last year's team really was. It feels like Malik Jefferson can be replaced. DeShon Elliott, too. Same with Poona Ford.

Dickson?

I have no idea.

No. 4 - I love this kid ...

Ring that bell, baby! Ring that bell!


No. 5 - Story-time with Uncle Ketch...
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"I'm pissed, I'm stunned, it's Mack Brown."

For those that were frequenting University of Texas message boards (Austin360, holla!) back in 1997, these words by an Orangebloods Hall of Fame poster served as the moment when word first broke that Mack Brown was going to be the man to replace John Mackovic as the head coach at Texas.

Yet, from the mainstream media standpoint, this story served as one of the first big news breaking moments of my career, as Andy Liscano and myself worked together to break the story while working at KEYE-42 TV in Austin. After breaking the hire of Augie Garrido the previous year after stalking him in the wee hours of the morning in a DFW airport hotel, being first on this story allowed us to firmly cement our place as news-breakers in the Austin market. One of my favorite keepsakes from that week is a copy of the front page of the Dallas Morning News, which cited us for being the first to break the story.

Now ... for the first time in two decades, the highlights from that day on our station and the rest of the stations have been uncovered. Enjoy.


No. 6 - Bonus Story-telling time ...

For those that don't know a ton about my background, I arrived at Rivals.com in the spring of 1999 after a four-year stint at KEYE-TV. During those four years, we did what no one else in the country in any market was doing in television ... we made a big deal out of recruiting. While no other station in the market was covering it much at all, we were leading our sportscast with it and I personally spearheaded the online coverage on the station's new website, which is what ultimately paved the path for me to have the career that I've had.

Here's a look at some of our old recruiting coverage at KEYE-TV, including an interview with one of the first commitment breaks of my career - Adam Dunn to Texas.



No. 7 – Buy or Sell …
BUY-SELL.gif


BUY or SELL: Sam Ehlinger has the type of performance against Maryland that leaves little doubt as to why Herman chose him early to be the starter?

(Sell) Great question. I'm expecting the offense to take a few weeks to completely gel and come together. I think Ehlinger has a solid performance, but perhaps not an emphatic one.

BUY or SELL: Herman has met or exceeded expectations a year and a half into his tenure?

(Sell) I'm not sure how it could otherwise be argued after the first season with the offense and the question marks that remain unanswered going into season No. 2.

BUY or SELL: Texas beats Maryland?

(Buy) I'd just be careful about my prediction with this one. This was my prediction on this game last season:

"I expect to see a Texas team that plays loose and free for the first time in a long time. I expect to see a more mature Texas team. I expect to see much improved special teams and defense. I expect Shane Buechele to throw three touchdowns. I expect a more disciplined football team. I expect sloppiness to decrease. I expect the defense to create a touchdown. I expect some style points in the Tom Herman debut.

Texas 38 - Maryland 10"


BUY or SELL: if the Urban Meyer shoe was on The University of Texas' foot, you believe our leadership would have responded differently? If so, what would have been the appropriate action.

(Buy) Without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, Urban Meyer would have lost his job if this situation had occurred with him steering the ship at Texas. I've had too many conversations with high-level decision-makers over the 20 years for me to think anything other than that. It matters to Texas that it be perceived as a football power, but a football power that allows it to sit on top of a hill and doesn't reflect poorly on the rest of the university.

BUY or SELL: Cameron Rising gets snaps v. Maryland (and with redshirt rule you wouldn't put him the game just to hand off at the end to run out the clock)?

(Sell) Rising plays in the second half against Tulsa. Buechele will take the back-up snaps in the opener if anyone does.

BUY or SELL: These numbers would represent a 9-10 win season

* Ehlinger- 2800 yards throwing 28 td 475 rush yards 10 rush td
* Humphrey- 800 Rec Yards 7 td
* Tre Watson- 750 Rush Yards 8 td 300 rec yards 3 td
* Hager- 14 sacks
* G Johnson- 120 tackles
* Boyd- 5 int


(Buy) Texas might go undefeated if all those thing happen.

BUY or SELL: if Jake Smith continues to have these outstanding performances, he’ll eventually earn his fifth star?

(Buy) He's knocking on the door as it is. It's not an impossible idea, but I tend to think he'll finish near the top 40, but just outside of the five-star range.

BUY or SELL: At some point during the season CTH admits to being the primary play caller?

(Sell) I just don't think he wants it.

BUY or SELL: Without comparing personalities, Herb Hand is a better technician in teaching offensive line play and in getting the best out of the position than any o-line coach over the past 20 years at Texas.

(Sell) When Mac McWhorter arrived at Texas, the line had more talent than the current group, but it was still an absolute mess. In short time, he completely rebuilt the foundation of the line and pieced together the best line (2005) in school history.

BUY or SELL: You enjoyed banning @jshorn less than @UTwiz but only a little?

(Sell) Man, I don't enjoy banning anyone, even if they sometimes drive me crazy. At the end of the day, I prefer a non-drama day on the message boards as much as anything, so that certain posters make the drama rain becomes frustrating at times, but I'm willing to live with frustration in the name of a healthy message board under a couple of conditions. One of them is just don't consistently be a Richard Cranium. Don't be rude for sport or disrespectful for personal grins. Even then, I typically give a lot of slack, but the slack can eventually run out. It's not what I would describe as enjoyable.

No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …

... Congrats to the Hawaii Little League baseball team, otherwise known as champions of the world.

... Given the backlash that has occurred over the weekend, I'd bet money that the French Open changes its tune about the recent attempt to police and control Serena Williams' attire.


... I'm having a hard time figuring out what I think about the Eagles at the moment with Carson Wentz not cleared for contact and Nick Foles looking like the guy we thought Nick Foles was nine months ago. I'm assuming they'll be fine, but the early evidence suggests that a Super Bowl hangover might be in play.

... That five yards per carry average Adrian Peterson posted on Friday night is fool's gold. Careful, fantasy footballers.

... Interesting week on the club soccer scene. Man City draws 1-1. Liverpool wins 1-0. Barcelona wins 1-0 (and needed VAR to escape a 1-1 draw). Atletico Madrid needed a monster Jan Oblack save to escape with a 1-0 win. Basically, almost everyone is still kind of working out the kinks.

... This is what happens when someone makes a business decision in a sport that is all about that business.


No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Texas season-opening games of the last 30 years ...
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I've lived in Austin and watched/covered Texas football pretty closely since I was 10 years. Here's a list of the most memorable (good or bad) season-opening games during that time.

10. 1991 at Mississippi State (Mississippi State wins 13-6)

The first game following the Miami disaster in the Cotton Bowl the previous season, and the then No.13 Longhorns lost to an unranked team in a game that kind of signaled the beginning of the end of the David McWilliams era.

9. 2005 vs. La-Lafayette (Texas wins 60-3)

The full power of the Texas Death Star was on display going into a big Ohio State game the following week.

8. 2017 vs. Maryland (Maryland wins 51-41)

Hello, Tom Herman Era ... yikes.

7. 1995 at Hawaii (Texas wins 38-17)

Ricky Williams' introduction to the college football world.

6. 1994 at Pittsburgh (Texas wins 30-28)

Curtis Martin's introduction to the college football world.

5. 2015 at Notre Dame (Notre Dame wins 38-3)

The end of the Shawn Watson era.

4. 1996 vs. Missouri (Texas wins 40-10)

After a monsoon/lightening delayed the game, what remained of the crowd after a 45-minute delay in the third quarter was amazingly dialed in, creating one of the best atmospheres I've ever seen at DKR.

3. 1999 vs. NC State (NC State wins 16-13)

Three blocked punts cost Texas the first game of Mack Brown's second season in Austin.

2. 2016 vs. Notre Dame (Texas wins 50-47)

The greatest moment of the Charlie Strong-era.

1. 1990 at Penn State (Texas wins 23-20)

It was in Happy Valley that the 1990 Shock The Nation Tour began. What's really interesting about that game is that Penn State was only ranked No.21/No.20 (depending on the poll), but that last-second win felt so much bigger than the ranking the Nittany Lions owned would probably warrant.

No. 10 – And Finally...

Five and a half years. That's how long John McCain was held as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. It's almost impossible to fathom the strength and character that would be needed to survive it all, let alone have the ability to come out of it all with the ability to carve out one of the most notable political careers of anyone in the last 50 years.

Of course, politics can make the waters murky when one talks about individual moments of disagreement over the years, but the bottom line for me is that John McCain was just a good man and he left us over the weekend having made sure that it the world was better off because he was in it. Few Americans have ever given more to this country out of love for this country.

At his very best, McCain was the best of us.

Rest in peace.
After that 1999 loss to NC State, while having 3 punts blocked, it was said that DKR asked Mack, "You ever thought of Faking one every now and then?"
 
@Ketchum

FINALLY, somebody has found some coverage of when Mack was first hired. I've always wanted to see coverage and/or his introductory press conference. I've looked many times and nobody has ever posted anything (video-wise).

Some old Texas games I still want to re-watch that nobody has posted on You Tube (or elsewhere):

1994 Texas vs Pitt - the Curtis Martin game (the game was on PPV and I didn't get to watch it)

1999 Nebraska vs Texas (24-20) win. I've always wanted to see a re-play of this game.

2003 Cotton Bowl vs LSU. Another game I've always wanted to re-watch.

The 1999 OU vs Texas game used to be on that list, but somebody finally posted that several years ago on You Tube and it's been on LHN the last year or so.

I have 2 of those on VHS but they should be on YouTube
 
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what exactly is the issue with the wardrobe?

I'm not French and I don't watch tennis. But the lpga came down harder on paige spiranac and made wholesale changes to their rules because of where female golfers were going with their outfits. Were we equally as outraged by their ruling?

Of course not. Ketch reserves special sensitivity for Serena. He even thinks that female tennis players have been wearing cat suits for years. A tennis player named White surprised everyone with a white cat suit at Wimbledon a decade or two ago. The catsuit was immensely banned. The LPGA banned Razorback shirts last year and made rules about the length of skirts. Men can’t play in the NFL with their shirt tails out. BUT the French Open dared make a rule that bans something Serena wore. No mention of any of these wardrobe rules by Ketch until one effects Serena. To her credit she said it is fine so Ketch doesn’t need to ban French fries and French poodles.
 
@Ketchum

FINALLY, somebody has found some coverage of when Mack was first hired. I've always wanted to see coverage and/or his introductory press conference. I've looked many times and nobody has ever posted anything (video-wise).

Some old Texas games I still want to re-watch that nobody has posted on You Tube (or elsewhere):

1994 Texas vs Pitt - the Curtis Martin game (the game was on PPV and I didn't get to watch it)

1999 Nebraska vs Texas (24-20) win. I've always wanted to see a re-play of this game.

2003 Cotton Bowl vs LSU. Another game I've always wanted to re-watch.

The 1999 OU vs Texas game used to be on that list, but somebody finally posted that several years ago on You Tube and it's been on LHN the last year or so.

I remember the 2003 Cotton Bowl v. LSU … nice crisp winter day, sunny and about 55 or so by the end of the game (I mainly remember not being cold at the game), Horns came on strong to win going away in the second half … I remember being pretty damn happy leaving Fair Park that afternoon.
 
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I agree, but Herman isn't getting canned for having a bad Year 2 because of another shitty offense, so...
No he's not, but the pressure is on him this year. Everyone feels what A&M is doing and this is not Sumlin screwing it up. We have a narrow window to win 9+ and we better do it. If we come out and win 7 or 8 that's not going to look good and with OU recruiting better we have to beat them this year.
 
Same, but I am prepared.

I simply don't understand the weird confidence in the offense other than it's August and our record is 0-0.

What is your bar for "not producing"?

I'm drawing the line at top 40. If we can get our offense up into that level of play this year, then it would mean we had a big year, and we can probably keep rolling with where we're going, minus a couple assistant shakeups to help juice recruiting. But a big year would juice it more than anything.

I think if it doesn't get into the top 40 by the end of the year, or if for some reason it's the same disaster it was last year, then CDC needs to walk into Tom Herman's office the day after the last game and say "go pick a new offensive coordinator, and you better pick right, cause this is your last card to play" and Tom goes out and hires someone who will do what he and his staff weren't able to do in their first 2 years. Kliff, Beatty, some hot-shot up and comer, who knows.

A veteran, capable offensive line. First round talents and absolute mismatches at WR. More than serviceable running backs. Veteran QB's. Part of the reason we wanted Tom Herman so bad was because of his ability to develop QB's. "He won a natty with his 3rd stringer!!" The QB's need to be noticeably better this year. Better QB's and a more than decent surrounding cast should get this offense where it needs to go. Key word "should."

If it's a failure, it is not Tim Beck's failure. It will be Tom Herman's, and it will dig him a pretty tough hole to get out of.
 
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I don't think it's hyperbole to say Saturday is a monumental day. When Tom Herman was hired, we were all 100% positive he was a savant that would lead us to greatness. He had some tough circumstances on the football field last year, but it was an unmitigated disappointment.

Tom has done a lot for our program, but he absolutely has some questions to answer, and he needs to answer them right now.

One is that he absolutely has to have the offense fixed. It needs to operate at a level that is in the top 3-4 in the league and gives us enough to win consistently with solid D play. I think there is plenty of talent around for a solid top 40 offense, there are zero excuses for it to not happen. If Tom and staff can't make it happen, then I fear that Tom is not the guy we all thought he was.

If Tom can get the offense operating functionally, there is no reason this team can't win 10 football games. This is the most talented, experienced Texas team we've had in a while. And the schedule feels decently favorable for the first time in awhile.

So I agree. Either Tom Herman is the star we think he is, he gets the offense rolling and we have a monster year, or, it sputters and we dick around to 6 or 7 wins and now no one is confident about what we have going on around here anymore. I don't really see an in-between. Recruiting is already tough in state right now, wait till the vultures start circling.

It needs to happen, right now. There is no excuse. Either Tom is the guy we thought he was, or we were all duped.

We start the process of finding out Saturday.

Here we go, gents. Fingers crossed we were all right.

Bingo. It’s atill crazy to me that CTH has staked his dream job on Tim Beck. And then he doubled down on him instead of replacing him after one of the worst rated Texas offenses in school history (#66).

It’s a bold move Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for him.
 
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NC State game was the first of my undergrad career. Very awkward start to an up and down year.

Big one for me on that list was 2016 Norte Dame. Last game I watched with my Dad as he passed the next day. Can’t believe it will be 2 years.

That game also represents, not coincidentally, my best OB memory. After making an emotional post about it, I received a huge amount of support in a tough time. It was a wonderful surprise that maybe should not have been so surprising. Thanks again, OB.
 
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... This is what happens when someone makes a business decision in a sport that is all about that business.
Honestly, in retrospect, if someone did that in the 80's, when Tyson was coming up, we'd all be calling him a genius right now for knowing when you're out of your league, and not safe.

I agree this was a business decision for the rest of his life. But will they allow him to box again after that?
 
I don't think it's hyperbole to say Saturday is a monumental day. When Tom Herman was hired, we were all 100% positive he was a savant that would lead us to greatness. He had some tough circumstances on the football field last year, but it was an unmitigated disappointment.

Tom has done a lot for our program, but he absolutely has some questions to answer, and he needs to answer them right now.

One is that he absolutely has to have the offense fixed. It needs to operate at a level that is in the top 3-4 in the league and gives us enough to win consistently with solid D play. I think there is plenty of talent around for a solid top 40 offense, there are zero excuses for it to not happen. If Tom and staff can't make it happen, then I fear that Tom is not the guy we all thought he was.

If Tom can get the offense operating functionally, there is no reason this team can't win 10 football games. This is the most talented, experienced Texas team we've had in a while. And the schedule feels decently favorable for the first time in awhile.

So I agree. Either Tom Herman is the star we think he is, he gets the offense rolling and we have a monster year, or, it sputters and we dick around to 6 or 7 wins and now no one is confident about what we have going on around here anymore. I don't really see an in-between. Recruiting is already tough in state right now, wait till the vultures start circling.

It needs to happen, right now. There is no excuse. Either Tom is the guy we thought he was, or we were all duped.

We start the process of finding out Saturday.

Here we go, gents. Fingers crossed we were all right.
100% agreed. Maryland game reminds me of the Cal game in Strong's career. I think we learn a ton about Herman's future, in the Maryland game.
 
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