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Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (Spitballing all weekend)

Ketchum

Resident Blockhead
Staff
May 29, 2001
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The problem with having a bye week in the middle of one of the strangest seasons I've covered in the 26 seasons I've been covering the Texas football program is that it gives you a lot of time to ponder an assortment of random things.

After spending far too much time trying to figure out how to creatively spin out the pile of thoughts in my head into a seamless piece of creative writing beauty, I've given up.

You're not getting creative. Just a pile of thoughts in this first section.

A word vomit of sorts.

Here goes ...

* As someone that was ridiculed as a misguided worrywart for predicting a 7-3 record for the Longhorns before the season started, I'm slightly amused at the situation the program is currently in with a 5-2 record and an easier-than-it-is-hard pathway to a Big 12 Championship game. Sight unseen, I feel like if I had offered the Texas fan base an 8-2 regular season and a spot in the Big 12 Championship game before the season started, an overwhelming majority of fans would have snapped my hand off in a race to accept it.

After all, we're talking about a team that was 7-5 a season ago, had a historically complicated off-season and was entering a season of unknown with the threat of COVID hanging over the team each week. An 8-2 record wouldn't be perfect, but it would do the trick of accomplishing the greater goal of giving the team a chance at a Big 12 Championship. Other than killing misguided notions of competing for a spot in the playoff, 8-2 would represent serious improvement in the standings from a year ago and it does the same thing that a 10-0 and 9-1 record would accomplish, which is set up a 60-minute standoff for the school's first conference championship since 2009. Hell yes, most of you would have taken that deal. Only the fanatical part of being a fan would lead someone to pass up shooting from the lay-up line in the name of chasing an extra layer of glory when you haven't tasted a smidge of any kind of true glory in 11 years.

That's like a single guy that hasn't been on a date in 11 years telling an active friend in the dating market that he's going out on too many dates and should instead be looking for someone who is perfect.

Of course, that getting to the conference title game alone doesn't make for a successful season around here as much as it represents steps of improvement that shouldn't exist at this stage of Tom Herman's tenure in Austin, but there's no getting around the fact that this team is headed towards hitting a reasonable set of expectations through the first 10 games of the season. It's not there yet. A 7-3 record feels most likely, but the Longhorns will likely be favored in each of its final three games.

* Timing is everything. It's very possible that we'll get to a final record that should fit into the category of acceptable based on the fact that it gets the team into the Big 12 Championship game for only the second time since the Big 12 Championship game enjoyed a rebirth, but the timing of that performance in Lubbock, coupled with the following losses to TCU and Oklahoma created a momentum of desperately desired change that doesn't slow down because a string of wins inconveniences it. If we get to a point where the Longhorns are 8-2, the losses to Oklahoma and TCU wouldn't seemingly justify a dismissal by itself, but that they happened together during a time of historically explosive off-field minefields has made for a fascinating set of circumstances.

* The recruiting in 2021 is an incredible disappointment and a borderline disaster when you consider what the Longhorns haven't been able to accomplish with the in-state plate of prospects that was available to the staff, but the truth of the matter is that I don't have a great feel for what would happen in the 2022 class should the Longhorns emerge from this season as Big 12 champions. While things have been stuck in the mud for the 2021 class for a while, there are signs that a number of top 2022 in-state prospects have the Longhorns at the top or near the top of their leaderboards. It would be naive to believe that winning a Big 12 title wouldn't have a positive bounce for recruiting when you remember what the win in the Sugar Bowl a few years ago achieved. Perhaps the million dollar question in this scenario is what would happen to 2022 and 2023 recruiting if things went sideways on the field, similarly to what happened in 2019, which the program hasn't yet recovered from?

* It's hard not to wonder how different the state of Herman's tenure might look if he had looked to go with a bunch of recruiting rain-makers when he turned over his staff instead of hiring a bunch of guys with reps as developers of talent, but not necessarily dominant in recruiting. The feeling at the time was that if Texas won on the field, recruiting would take care of itself. That was a fairly naive position for Herman to take when he hired his staff because it speaks of an overestimation of Herman's juice with top prospects. Herman is nothing like Mack Brown as a recruiter, which means that four years into his tenure, he's not a guy that can turn water into wine with regards to recruiting momentum.

* There's still a part of me that will believe Texas hires a guy like Urban Meyer when I see it, with most of my doubt centered around the notion that Texas will be willing to break the bank in a potential bidding war with Meyer. The word I got recently was that a potential deal with Meyer would likely be heavy in incentives and bonuses if it ever came to fruition but the working part of my brain wonders how someone with all the leverage would be won over with a contract built on incentives in order for it to compete at the highest levels nationally in terms of total take-home.

* The elephant in the room with Herman in 2020 is that the entire season is being seen through the prism of the anger created from The Eyes of Texas situation. It's hard not to wonder how this season would feel if the leadership in athletics that emerged in October hadn't needed to arrive only after a public disaster.

* If there's one thing that really bothers me about what we've seen in the last month or so, it's the attack on Herman's character with attempted smears related to off-field activity. I think it's complete trash. If you want to get rid of the guy because his coaching isn't good enough, fine, go for it. This other stuff? Trash. Don't let your thirst for change related to football make you cross the line of decency out of desperation. Be better than that.

* South Carolina setting 13 million on fire to rid itself of Will Muschamp (see section. 10) is an interesting development because it creates another precedent for the Longhorns to lean on if it seeks to do the same later in the season. UT is a place that loves to have others do the things it wants to do first, just so that it can have some optics cover. It's an underrated little event for the "change" crowd.

No. 2 - The COVID cloud ...

It was kind of hard to watch college football this weekend and not notice that half the schedule was wiped out because of COVID.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the season thus far in Austin is that the Longhorns have been able to navigate the schedule seamlessly thus far without a COVID outbreak causing the pause-hammer to come out. Seriously, it got Baylor big-time earlier in the season. It got A&M this weekend and might get the Aggies again next weekend. It's been a while, but TCU had a game cancelled earlier this season as well.

With seemingly the entire SEC forced to sit out this weekend, it's more than fair to wonder how the hell this season is going to finish. Personally, it feels like everyone is going to treat it like "the show must go on" to some degree, but when my mother-in-law asked me what might represent the straw that would break the camel's back, I had to confess I didn't have a good answer.

Into the next few weeks of the season we go, with cases exploding all over the country at dizzying rates, with where it might end up, no one seems to know.

No. 3 - ICYMI on Sam ...


This piece of news would seem to answer the questions about whether Sam Ehlinger would consider coming back to Austin for a fifth season because of the current NCAA rules over eligibility during the pandemic (2020 is a free season for everyone).

With four or five games left in his career, his place on my list of the top Texas quarterbacks of all-time seems cemented.

1. Vince Young.
2. Colt McCoy
3. James Street
4. James Brown
5. Bobby Layne
6. Sam Ehlinger
7. Chris Simms
8. Major Applewhite

The list hasn't changed a bit since the start of the 2019 season, which is disappointing for everyone because cracking the top four seemed possible 20 months ago and that it hasn't occurred speaks to the heights that haven't been reached.

No. 4 - A few thoughts on Terrence Cooks' commitment ...

a. I'm not sure that I care at all that he isn't highly rated (rating range hovers between low-four star/high three-star depending on the service) because highly-rated linebackers from the state of Texas have the highest bust rate of any position on either side of the ball in the entire state. Of the 14 highest rated in-state linebackers from 2003-2016, only Keenan Robinson was truly a plus-college player. Honestly, it would be scary if he WAS highly rated because of the incredible bust-rate. I kid ... kind of.

b. Cooks feels like a guy that fits the prototype of a successful linebacker in the Big 12. On paper, he profiles like a tweener on a traditional linebacker prospect scale, but his physical tool belt suggests that he can eventually have a DeMarvion Overshown-type of evolution over his collegiate career. While every linebacker in the state is a long-shot these days when it comes to emerging as a future Sunday player, I can close my eyes and see him becoming a really good Big 12 linebacker. His versatility is the reason why he ended up with 35 offers at the time of his commitment. View him as a long-shot bet with a really high upside as opposed to a long-shot bet with limited upside.

c. Cooks and Morice Blackwell feel like double-downs on landing a future starting linebacker with an Overshown-ish skill set/game. If the Longhorns can hit on one of the two moving forward, and by hit I mean one of the two emerges into a starting level player with NFL ability, you'd have to consider that a major win. The math suggests that it's unlikely to occur, but both of these kids are going to arrive with fans from the scouting community.

d. From a profile standpoint, Cooks and Blackwell might not be the two best linebacker prospects in the state, but they do project as the two best with games that profile to the type of skill sets that thrive the most among Big 12 linebackers.

No. 5 - Strong Troll Game ...

Urban is messing with your minds at this point.
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No. 6 - Real greatness ...

It's too bad you guys don't care more about volleyball because the Longhorn are basically Ohio State football in the sport and just wrapped up another Big 12 title over the weekend.



No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
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CDC according to your sources is seriously considering letting Herman go after this season.
(Buy) That's absolutely on the table.

You and the guys prefer “Staff” to “Mods!!!!”
(Buy) I can't speak for everyone else, but I hate being called a mod. Maybe hate is too strong of a word, I can't decide.

An 8-2 regular season finish along with another OU Big 12 champ game loss ends Tom’s position as HC at the University of TX.
(Buy) It comes down to whether Texas leadership believes a deal with an upgrade is in the bag. If not, I'm less emphatic.

There’s more to be said off the field wise that you can’t disclose right now leading to TH’s dismissal ...
(Sell) I feel like we've been very transparent.

Shane is a better college QB than Sam
(Sell) It's not a one-sided discussion, but it's still one that favors Sam.

This season's coaching is a steaming pile of shit. Go Urban.
(Sell) There's been some good coaching and development taking place on the defensive side of the ball.

With Covid causing so much disruption (13 games cancelled this weekend), 2020 is a total mess. CDC and Texas will use this as a way to move on from Herman even with a Big 12 title because they will blame the weirdness of the season and the lack of momentum in recruiting.
(Sell) It's always in the hip pocket, but it's not being thrown around a ton right now. I always reserve the right to change this answer.

If this were the second year that Ash and Yurcich had their defense and offense installed, this team would have no more than 1 loss? i.e. The lack of continuity and experience with this staff is the reason for the teams shortcomings.
(Buy) Probably.

The defense collapses in one of the final three games.
(Buy) Until the benefit of the doubt is earned, it shouldn't be given.

The fix is in, and the Herman decision has already been made. At the end of the season, regardless of outcome, Herman will resign for “personal” reasons (or whatever he wants to call it), and get paid the rest of his contract. Urban’s contract has already been agreed upon.
(Sell) No, I don't believe that.

No. 8 - Scattershooting on the world of sports ...

... It feels like Dustin Johnson is going to be this decade's Phil Mickelson, as the sports world will spend a lot of his career focused on what he didn't do and then one day you'll look up and he'll have four or five majors baked inside of a Hall of Fame career. After this weekend's win at The Masters, Johnson is basically half-way there.

... The Masters really missed the gallery. I'm not taking anything away from Johnson's win, it just didn't feel nearly the same.

... Dylan Frittelli landing a fifth-place finish represented his first real successful run at a major. The former Longhorns star was one of the big winners of the weekend.

... Tiger posting a 10 on the 12th hole on Sunday was the most relatable thing about him since his wife came at his car with a golf club.

... My goodness, what the hell is going on at Michigan? I'm having a hard time comparing that situation to anything. 49-11 at home to Wisconsin after losing to Indiana by 17 the previous week? 1-3 to start the season? Hoo-boy.

... I'm not sure if it's because a former radio producer of mine from my YahooSportsRadio days played at Indiana (it is), but I find myself rooting for this Hoosiers team and enjoying its success.

... What are USC fans feeling right now? Really feeling?

... It kind of feels like LSU got a get out of jail card in not having to play Alabama.

... That Nuke Hopkins catch to win the game over Buffalo on Sunday is one of the best catches I have ever seen in my life. It mostly rendered me speechless.

... You'll never convince me that Nick Chubb wasn't trying to make Scott Van Pelt's Bad Beat section of Sportscenter...


... No matter what Ronald Jones ever accomplishes, and on Sunday he scored a 98-yard touchdown in the NFL, he'll always be Roland Jones to me.

... Shame on you if you benched Tom Brady in fantasy after that horrible performance last week. You had to know he was going to have a Brady bounce-back game.

... The NFL kind of sucked on Sunday until that Hopkins catch.

... You never would have convinced me when Freddie Freeman was 25 that he would one day be an MVP, let alone a near unanimous one. It's kind of crazy these days to see a one-team lifer like Freeman.

... James Harden in Brooklyn? Sure, let's see what the hell happens with that.

... Consider me a very big fan of the Lakers adding Dennis Schroder. He's a very good catch and shoot three-ball shooter (37-percent in his career) and that's the kind of shot you'd expect him to get a lot of in that Lakers line-up. Unless you believe that the 33-year old Green has a bounce back season in him (and he could), this feels like a win for the Lakers.

... F International soccer.

No. 9 - The List: Top 10 TV Shows of 2020 ...

After devouring The Queen's Gambit this week on Netflix (it was sensational), I thought I'd be in the mood for a little TV series rankings.

I'm not saying these are the best 10 shows of 2020. I'm just saying these are the 10 best shows of 2020 that I've seen this year with six weeks to go.

10. Pen15
9. Tiger King
8. Schitt's Creek
7. Perry Mason
6. Curb Your Enthusiasm
5. The Last Dance
4. I'll Be Gone In The Dark
3. Ted Lasso
2. Better Call Saul
1. The Queen's Gambit

No.10 - And finally ...

In light of South Carolina eating 13 million dollars worth of buyout money in order to rid itself of Will Muschamp, which makes the second school the former Texas defensive coordinator has flamed out in as heads coach, it's begs a question I'm not sure we've ever given enough proper consideration....

What the hell was Texas thinking more than a decade ago when it named Muschamp as the "head-coach-in-waiting" ?

It's not revisionist history to say that the hire came completely out of left field when it happened and it seems crazy to me now that the rock star defensive coordinator was viewed as more important than the hall of fame head coach the move inadvertently marginalized. I'll always maintained to this day that the beginning of the end for Mack was the moment that the retirement seed was planted in his head with this move to secure Muschamp for the long-haul.

From that moment on, Mack seemed to defer to Muschamp in a number of key areas, several directly related to recruiting.

So, let me ask again... what the hell was DeLoss Dodds and Texas thinking? How could a guy with no head coaching experience ever be deemed so important? How did we all allow this to happen?
 
“... Tiger posting a 10 on the 12th hole on Sunday was the most relatable thing about him since his wife came at his car with a golf club.”

LOL well said.
 
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If at the time, UM is all but in the bag...but say TH beats OU...how will they address that situation? Is this our only shot or would UM still consider us next year as well?
 
Personal Thoughts:
CDC Go ask the Brock Bros what the hell it's gonna take. And then do WHATEVER it is. Don't want Hudson Cards years to be spent behind a sorry ass oline😔. I truly do hope Casey is given every opportunity to earn the right to be QB1 his senior year. I appreciate his loyalty and not being a bitch about it.
 
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Great all around write up. Many many topics covered. I especially respect the fact that you called out anyone who disses on TH’s character.

Personally, I would like to see UT admn go for it for once in my 45 years of being a fan and nail down a top of the line already proven head football coach.
We can all thank TH for improving things post CS.
 
* If there's one thing that really bothers me about what we've seen in the last month or so, it's the attack on Herman's character with attempted smears related to off-field activity. I think it's complete trash. If you want to get rid of the guy because his coaching isn't good enough, fine, go for it. This other stuff? Trash. Don't let your thirst for change related to football make you cross the line of decency out of desperation. Be better than that.
Say what? This message board is full of posters who name-call Herman every single day and throw insults at him left and right based on rumored off-field activity. Seems like it's totally allowed on here as there are never any repercussions . . . .
 
If there's one thing that really bothers me about what we've seen in the last month or so, it's the attack on Herman's character with attempted smears related to off-field activity. I think it's complete trash. If you want to get rid of the guy because his coaching isn't good enough, fine, go for it. This other stuff? Trash. Don't let your thirst for change related to football make you cross the line of decency out of desperation. Be better than that.
What? Who’s doing that?

I’ve seen a few “vodka Tom” comments on here, but far from anything that would be an attempt to smear his character. Most of the hate here has been coaching and game outcome related.
 
“... Tiger posting a 10 on the 12th hole on Sunday was the most relatable thing about him since his wife came at his car with a golf club.”

LOL well said.

WOW. Did that really happen? Tiger got a 10 on a hole that wasn't a 10 on a hooker at Hooters? I was a junior PGA and on my high school golf team and I only carded a 10 stroke hole once, and that was on a par 5 with penalty... But, Tiger, probably shat more birdies by the time he was a 3 year old on the Johnny Carson show than I did in my golf career.
 
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So, let me ask again... what the hell was DeLoss Dodds and Texas thinking?

How could a guy with no head coaching experience ever be deemed so important?

How did we all allow this to happen?

1 and 2) They weren't. Back then most of us were not as dialed in as you and thought Mack would have the train rolling for a long time and it just needed a pilot. He was a good DC. People liked him. We've sucked as much with him as we would without him.

3) The same way we allow everything to happen. We're Texas.. its what we do.
 
@Horndrew - No, I am good with the post.

@Ketchum - If I am being too much of a jackass, then feel free to delete the post. Just trying to set a fellow OB'er who is challenging my facts right

From Dec 13th, 2013.

Go get Jim Harbaugh.
Over the course of the last week, as the knowledge of Mack Brown's farewell and acknowledgment of a lost opportunity in pursuing Nick Saban has started to sink in for every Texas football fan on the planet, the question has been asked so many times and so many names have been mentioned with the position that it's turned into a little bit of a national punch-line. I mean … who hasn't been rumored to have an interest in the Longhorn coaching position at this point?
Therefore, let me make this real simple … go get Jim Harbaugh.
Don't let the laughter both you from those that believe you'd be making a fool out of yourself for trying to poach the loser of last year's Super Bowl from one of the most attractive gigs in the NFL. Don't let the daunting nature of the task put so much fright into the mind that you become too scared to even try. Don't do anything other than this ... ask yourself who the best possible candidate for the job is?
Who is the only candidate on the wish-list with experience of building an elite program from scratch, while also achieving even more success at the highest level of the sport?
Who is the only coach on the wish-list that would bring a lightning bolt of momentum that would come closest to matching the arrival of Saban within the Longhorn fan base?
Who is the only coach on the wish list that built his elite program around the recruiting and development of a number of Texas high school players, some of the high-profile variety and others that were not?
Ask yourself this question … if David Shaw is pretty much everyone's vision of a dream candidate, who would you prefer if you had the choice between him and Harbaugh? You know the answer. As good as Shaw has proven to be on the college scene, the answer every day of the week and twice on Sunday is the answer to all of these questions.
Go get Jim Harbaugh.
Could the Longhorns pull it off? I'll be honest, I'm not sure, but let me tell you what I do know. Harbaugh is currently in the third year of a five-year, $25 million contract and while there's been talk of an extension in the off-season, it is still something that is in the talking stage and not the signing stage. That means that he has two years and $10 million left on the contract.
I also know that according to ProFootballTalk, a source reports that if Harbaugh wanted to leave for the Longhorns, the 49ers organization wouldn't stand in the way.
Here's something else I know, according to a report by Forbes this week, the Longhorns could pay each scholarship player on the football team $100,000 next year, while setting another $10 million on fire just for fun, and they would still have a greater team value with more created revenue and profits than the No. 2 team in college football ? Notre Dame. When people talk about Texas being the Joneses, this is what they mean. The program literally has so much money at its immediate disposal that it could create a bonfire of $100 bills next Thanksgiving in the name of starting a new tradition if it wanted to.
In talking with a number of people about Harbaugh this week, the sense I have is that the job definitely is intriguing, but he hasn't given more than a few glancing thoughts about it.
So, here's what I propose: make him think about it.
Eight years, $80 million and all of it is guaranteed. On top of that, I make a commitment of $40 million for his assistant coaches over the course of his contract ($5 million per season), while also committing another $16 million to support staff ( $2 million per year).
One of the harsh realities of the battle for Saban is that the Longhorns could have offered an out-of-this-world $100 million contract and the Tide would have matched it without even blinking. The 49ers? Does anyone really think they'd establish a new pay-scale in the NFL by matching the deal? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Make him turn down your $80 million. Make the 49ers match it. Make the entire world know that if you want something, by God, you'll use every available resource at your disposal to get what you want. In the process, make the rest of the football world pray you never want their coach.
Texas, for once in your life, just go be Texas. Let yourself be overwhelmed with the same audacity that made Jett Rink and J.R. Ewing the men all Texans secretly wish they could be.
Go get Jim Harbaugh.
 
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