Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (The chance was there for the taking)

[ColladorUT]

Ketch, enjoy the banter even if the message is consistently lost.

Quick question for fun, if Ehlinger had been a junior and senior these last 2 seasons do you think Texas wins a bunch more games or not?

Reason I ask is it seems like QB play has been the primary difference between successful and unsuccessful seasons. And in that case, I do give Sark some grace due to injury/youth over last 2 years.

Maybe he should have gone after an experienced starter over Ewers, but I can't really blame him for the decision either. Ewers just wasn't ready, and if that's on Sark then so be it.

 

[TheHorn]

I can see why it would seem like a wildly random comment if you jump into thread and miss the context/backstory it was made from.

It's centered on a brief piece of conversation that highlighted how terribly complicated and nuanced the 2020 year would have been for any head coach.

Your last sentence - guess who brought that up? You.
Speaking for myself at least, 2020 isn't even in the rear view mirror. It is miles behind us and I don't care to turn around.

 

[Ketchum]

Ketch - there's far more to TH than his best record compared to Sark's at this point. That's a fact the majority of our fanbase agrees with. Representing our alma mater in manner that's becoming (in so many ways) trumps one extra win in one year or whatever the weak sauce you're serving (well after THanksgiving, both the "T" and "H" capitalized intentionally).

If you want to be critical of Sark, do it, but please do us all a favor and leave TH out of discussions/comparisons. It serves no good...especially if you have concern for remaining slander-free.

As soon as he starts producing better results on the field, I most certainly will.

 

[Ketchum]

Ketch, enjoy the banter even if the message is consistently lost.

Quick question for fun, if Ehlinger had been a junior and senior these last 2 seasons do you think Texas wins a bunch more games or not?

Reason I ask is it seems like QB play has been the primary difference between successful and unsuccessful seasons. And in that case, I do give Sark some grace due to injury/youth over last 2 years.

Maybe he should have gone after an experienced starter over Ewers, but I can't really blame him for the decision either. Ewers just wasn't ready, and if that's on Sark then so be it.

Define bunch more? The truth is that Thompson played with a bad thumb at least as well as Sam did during most of his career from a pure passing standpoint.

 

[Ketchum]

Your last sentence - guess who brought that up? You.
Speaking for myself at least, 2020 isn't even in the rear view mirror. It is miles behind us and I don't care to turn around.

No, it was in response to someone else's comment. It wasn't just brought up in thin air.

 

[ColladorUT]

Define bunch more? The truth is that Thompson played with a bad thumb at least as well as Sam did during most of his career from a pure passing standpoint.

And I would lean towards crediting Sark for that I suppose is my point. Maybe Sam under Sark would've been great instead of good.

If he was great, Texas wins Big 12 this year under his guise.

This is all a lousy excuse for Sark spinning his wheels going into year 3 at the QB position while hoping that the reasons for it are easily fixable.

 

[Ketchum]

And I would lean towards crediting Sark for that I suppose is my point. Maybe Sam under Sark would've been great instead of good.

If he was great, Texas wins Big 12 this year under his guise.

This is all a lousy excuse for Sark spinning his wheels going into year 3 at the QB position while hoping that the reasons for it are easily fixable.

I can't quite go that far, although maybe so if he was a senior in 2022.

 

[TheHorn]

As soon as he starts producing better results on the field, I most certainly will.

Fair enough.
However, be prepared for non-field commentary to enter the equation when discussing TH's overall assessment...can't have it both ways.

 

[tooker00]

Again, starting at the 5:00 mark in the 3rd, the Horns ran the ball 10 out of 12 plays for 83 yards. The 2 passes were quick flips, behind the line of scrimmage - virtual running plays - not downfield throws. That was a "drastic change of play-calling", was it not? The "drastic change of play-calling" took place before the fumble.

Texas threw the ball downfield a grand total of 2 times in the 2nd half; both within the first 4 minutes of the 3rd. The pass to Whitt that he fumbled away with more than 11:00 left in the 3rd Q was their last downfield pass attempt of the game. Maybe this was the halftime adjustment that folks have been clamoring for this season(?).

Granted, Ewers fumble was a bad play on his part, he should've either thrown the ball away or covered up; I'm not sure he saw the DB coming from the back side(?), but he should have seen him. It was also poor protection by the O-Line and a dumb play call by Sark - he admitted as much in his PC. I think they were trying to hit Worthy on a stop and go route down the sideline; they had been setting that up all day. And yes, thankfully, they ran the ball every play after that. You can say Texas ran the ball the final 22 plays of the game, but you can also say.......Texas ran the ball 33 out of the final 35 plays of the game.

Here's what I disagree with Ketch: you (and RGIII during the broadcast) characterized that point in the game as Sark "took the ball out of Ewers hands". I contend that a more accurate statement is that he decided to put the ball in the hands of #5 & #2. Best RB group in the nation, with an O-Line that was large and in charge. It was more about RUN the ball and not PASS the ball - team sport - rather than oh golly, I'm afraid to let Ewers throw it again today.

The correct answer is all of the above. The line was not pass blocking well. But they were run blocking well. Because they were not pass blocking well Sark did not want to take a chance of another mistake. But, the biggest reason he stayed with the running game is the running backs were doing great, getting five plus yards per run. Running the ball was the surest way to win the game.

 

[Rex Tex]

Texas passed it 2 out 4 plays just before the 22-play stretch began, all inside their own 30.

What happened on that fourth play?

Fumble. (Run, Quick out pass for 1 yd, Run, Sack/Fumble - technically a run).

What happened on the 12 plays before that drive? 83% run plays - only 1 downfield pass (that ended in a fumble).
Instead of statistically breaking it down simply as Run-Pass, don't you think it is more accurate to categorize the passes as behind the line of scrimmage quick throws vs downfield passes? ZERO (nil, nada, zilch) downfield passes after the 11:13 mark of the 3rd Q, but you insist that the play calling changed 16 plays later in the 4th Q.

 

[Ketchum]

Fair enough.
However, be prepared for non-field commentary to enter the equation when discussing TH's overall assessment...can't have it both ways.

Oh, I'm used to it all at this point.

 

[Ketchum]

Fumble. (Run, Quick out pass for 1 yd, Run, Sack/Fumble - technically a run).

What happened on the 12 plays before that drive? 83% run plays - only 1 downfield pass (that ended in a fumble).
Instead of statistically breaking it down simply as Run-Pass, don't you think it is more accurate to categorize the passes as behind the line of scrimmage quick throws vs downfield passes? ZERO (nil, nada, zilch) downfield passes after the 11:13 mark of the 3rd Q, but you insist that the play calling changed 16 plays later in the 4th Q.

The play-calling changed from literally the drive right before it.

 

[TheCarney]

Sark has never accomplished what Herman has accomplished as a head coach.

Until that happens, yeah, I have concerns.

Hermann went 7-6, 10-4, 8-5, and 7-3. All include bowl wins. So even if Sark loses the bowl game he's matched or beaten TH's win total from 3 of those 4 years. If he wins the bowl, he's 1 win shy of Herman's best season out of 4.

 

[badboy783]

If that's PFF, forgive me if I ignore their grades.

Nevermind that it supplies data to all 32 NFL teams and near 100 college football programs.

Let's just say their grades are "Done differently." Their grades have Banks as the best OL on the team? Do you ignore that or agree with it?

As long as the grading scale is carried out with the same criteria across the board then the data is something you can draw conclusions on. Same as Alex's deep dig grades. It doesn't matter what the final number is it matters what you can compare it against based on the same grading criteria. We can quibble about sample size, bias, etc but until a computer is grading them, you can pick a part anyone's analytics.

The issue with the Deep Dig is that it compares this year's O-line against much maligned O-line's of the past decade. So when you say "Hey it's much improved!" It's a lot like saying a 7-5 record is much improved over 5-7. A lot like our football program currently. It's improved, but it ain't great.

I realize it's your job here to provide an opinion to your readers. Don't get me wrong here, Alex does a fantastic job and it's probably one of the most valuable columns on the board. It's also way less travled than your 10 thoughts because it actually requires critical thinking. But the context of comparing today's team vs other poor results doesn't really paint the picture of where the bar needs to be, to be considered good. Texas has had 2 OL drafted in the last decade. Alabama has had 13. Want to compare grades with them over the last decade? It's what should be done instead of leading with QB controversy type headlines. I get it, it doesn't move the needle for clicks.

Anyhow, you devalue your credibility with people who either understand the game or take the time to get beyond blanket statements not backed by research. And you are really doing a disservice to the players and coaches when you let out an opinion that says something like "Sark took the ball out of Quinn's hands."

I'm not trying to war with you, strong opinions are good for business, even if they are faulty. What is the price of misinformation? Nobody is going to be as successful as you by starting a site and giving factual game day breakdown. The thousands of casual viewers couldn't give a crap about the protection, the reads, the breakdowns etc. They just want a winning result. Such is life. I just think you could be better.

 

[Gus McCrea]

Welp...I'm damn happy at 8-4 and view it as a success. I thought the o/u for this team was 7.5.

 

[SkullSplitter]

I'm with you on refusing to call this season a success, Ketch. Sark let a huge opportunity pass him by.

 

[jspirohorn]

I got the sense is was playing related. He couldn't just sit behind Stroud.

Ewers needs to mature. In lots of ways.

 

[Rex Tex]

The play-calling changed from literally the drive right before it.

Cool. Hook'em

 

[jspirohorn]

I rewatched the Ewers errant throw (Sanders incompletion) multiple times. A picture does not tell the story, so if you're basing your opinion based on a picture, you should rewatch the film. The takeways I had were the following:
- it was a short pass
- it was thrown at a velocity FAR above need given the circumstances (close, open)
- it was thrown way above his head requiring full extension of Sanders' arms

When a receiving player (WR, TE or RB for that matter) has TIME to adjust to the ball being thrown, I generally agree with the sentiment that it should be caught, but because of all three things listed being present, the fault of that incompletion is 95% Ewers.

Imagine trying to hit a 100mph fastball from half the distance to the pitcher's mound. I'm not saying that's same difficulty Sanders had in making the catch but reiterating you can't expect Sanders to be fully extended in time to catch a ball thrown way harder than needed, especially given how close he was to the LOS.

I think a lot of posters are missing the point when they say Sanders could have caught it. Ewers threw a fastball from 15 feet to a wide open receiver when an easy throw would have done. That's bad decision making on top of bad accuracy.

 

[badboy783]

I think a lot of posters are missing the point when they say Sanders could have caught it. Ewers threw a fastball from 15 feet to a wide open receiver when an easy throw would have done. That's bad decision making on top of bad accuracy.

Sanders Image

Ewers threw the ball from the 27 yard line and it goes through Sanders hands at the 14 yard line. So that would be 39 feet.

It's not the pace of the throw, it's the location. Life should be easier on Sanders. Could he have caught it, yes. It should not have been this difficult. The pace of the throw is fine if he sticks it on his chest. Ewers elbow is low and that's why the ball comes out high.

Video Replay

 

[Tex51]

Good stuff, although I think Jerry is full of shit. They let Cooper go because of money.

Probably right. I’m not looking forward to the days of his cheap ass son Stephen running the club, he’s polar opposite of Jerry when it comes to paying Star players, he wants to let ‘em go.

Once Jerry is gone I doubt we will ever see the Cowboys step up for guys like Tony Pollard and pay him, probably let’s those players go thinking to replace with cheaper and younger players.

 

[Horn1515]

Excellent article. I believe Mack set 10 wins as the floor for a successful season. Mack was fired after a 8 win season including beaten OU. I don't recall anyone thinking he had a successful season that year.

We should keep 10 wins as minimum successful season.

There is significant improvement between the freshman and sophomore seasons for most athletes. May it be true for all our Freshmen,

 

[Tx Tailgator]

It was odd to see you call out Ewers after the Baylor game, but fail to mention how poorly the OL pass blocking was. Given that the OL’s protection was a season’s worst - by a massive margin (Ewers was sacked five times, and I believe four came in the first half) - your criticism seemed especially harsh and oblivious to this important fact.

Maybe it would've been more accurate if you instead said that after the 5th sack that caused a fumble-TD, Sark took the ball out of Ewers hands AND away from an unreliable pass protection. Both could've player better, and both affected parts of the Baylor game.

Yep

 

[hornfanaustin]

I can't go as far as my guy @Anwar Richardson did this morning in declaring the 2022 season for Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns a "success."

I just can't do it.

Oh, I'm not sure that I'm light years away from taking such a step and if the Longhorns complete the season with an impressive bowl win to finish the season 9-4 and inside the top 15, I'm sure I'll be willing to revisit this entire conversation and consider changing my mind based on some nuance related to where things are now versus where they were a year ago.

Yet, at this exact moment, it's hard to see past the fact that the Longhorns finished third in the Big 12 in a year when the league was absolutely dreadful at the quarterback position. The league's No. 2 spot (at a minimum) was there for the taking and the Longhorns failed to take it.

My general rule of thumb for Texas football is that any season that doesn't end with the Longhorns AT LEAST playing for the Big 12 Championship and qualifying for a major bowl game isn't a success.

Period.

No one ever voted for me to be the decider of such things, but this has been the bar of excellence that has existed since I was a student at The University of Texas and a decade-plus of failing to be successful just isn't going to force me into lowering the bar.

Consider the state of the rest of the conference, which featured eight teams with three or more losses in conference play, including the Longhorns. Oklahoma was historically dreadful. Mike Gundy's team finished below .500. Defending champion Baylor finished tied for fifth, also below .500.

Meanwhile, the quarterback play was ... well ... pictures are worth thousands of words, right?

Look at this mess.

View attachment 3524

Exactly two quarterbacks in the entire conference finished in the top 58 nationally in passing and the Longhorns had to play only one of them.

You simply can't ask for a clearer pathway to a conference title if you've got a good enough team that wants to be viewed as a "success."

Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of positives from this season. The defense became exactly the kind of outfit that should have allowed for this team to play for a conference title. The offensive line might have been as good as it’s been since Arch Manning was two years old. Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson were the best 1-2 punch since Brennan Huff and Dale Doback created the best NSFW song of the 21st century.

It's just that the only time in my lifetime when 8-4 is viewed as a success is when the previous season's play was so poor that 8-4 looks like a 1999 New Year's Eve celebration by comparison, which is what is occurring at the moment.

This 8-4 season isn't a success when comparing it to Tom Herman's record. It's not a success when comparing it to the prime Mack Brown years. It's not even a success when comparing it to John Mackovic's "successful" teams. Yet, if we're comparing it to Charlie Strong or last season's debut season for Sarkisiain, it looks like one by comparison.

Through 12 games, it's been solid. It certainly isn't a bad season. Hell, it's right on the cusp of being a success, mainly because the Big 12 was so lousy that a three-loss team would have qualified for the title game if Kansas State had stubbed its toe one more time (where was Tulane when it was really needed?).

Perhaps the best news of all is that a win in the bowl game would leave this team standing on a possible platform in 2023 to accomplish the things needed to undeniably call a season a success. The Longhorns are getting closer, but I can't quite say they are there yet.

No. 2 - Let's talk about Quinn ...

Forget about Friday's game against Baylor for a moment. In the grand scheme of things, it's merely a small piece of the puzzle that makes up his first season in Austin.

What matters most through the recently completed 12-game schedule is that Ewers didn't quite play well enough this season that he'll enter the spring with the starting job on lockdown, which I've maintained for two straight seasons that doing so was one of Sarkisian's No. 1 tasks.

Don't take my word for it. Just look at what Sarkisian said about the shape of the most important position on the field six days ago.

“I think competition is healthy for all of us. To anoint anybody for the future, that probably wouldn't be fair to the other guys in that room. Quinn's made some really good strides. I know there's opportunities he probably would love to have back throughout the year. I think Hudson (Card) has really improved. I thought he was really valuable for us early in the season when we needed him. I think Maalik Murphy is another guy who's got a bunch of upside. I have seen development in him. Like every year, we'll go into the offseason and wipe the slate clean and let these guys compete and battle and see what it looks like because that's what makes us better."

You can take it to the bank that this isn't how Lincoln Riley will discuss a position held by Caleb Williams or how Mack Brown will discuss the return Drake Maye going into 2023.

From my vantage point, there are several very important things it would serve everyone well to remember going into the next 10 months until the 2023 season-opener.

1. There's a really talented quarterback inside of Ewers, even if that player wasn't ready to spread his wings and fly in his first season. The arm talent that made him the No. 1 overall prospect in recruiting still exists.

2. It can't be stressed enough that Ewers is a very young quarterback. When many were ready to see him emerge as a Heisman candidate after the Oklahoma game, I stressed over and over again that young players almost always have ups and downs that you can't set your watch to. No one should be shocked that Ewers played like a pretty typical first-year starter.

3. Even though Ewers finished with a 131.4 efficiency rating in the regular season, he still picked up some invaluable experience. He's played and beaten Oklahoma. He's lost and won on the road. He's played and experienced games with high stakes attached to them. None of this is unimportant and when looking ahead to the competition he'll face for the starting job in 2023, he'll be the only player in the equation that can claim that he's been through all of the various fires the starting quarterback will face.

4. Ewers has to improve at the mental challenges of the position. He has to elevate his ability to make more than a single read in his progressions. He has to own the full offense in a way that he didn't in 2022. His brain simply has to become as valuable as his arm at this level.

Although Ewers ended up winning the quarterback battle in August, there were more than a few whispers about his commitment to the playbook and the mental side of the game.

Point-plank ... this side of his game has to improve or he's going to have a hard time holding on to the job.

Yet, if he's able to make the commitment to the position that will be expected of him, there's no reason to doubt that his performance levels in 2023 can be much higher than they were in 2022.

No. 3 - Re-visiting my thought on Ewers from Friday ...

For the life of me, I'm a bit bewildered at the response to the part of my post-game review of the game that focused on Ewers.

Over the last few weeks, I've been about as loud of a vocal supporter for Ewers than just about anyone else in the industry.

* When people cried to the rafters that he should have been benched in Stillwater, I maintained that it was the kind of test he needed to experience and that I wouldn't have pulled him.

* When people said the performance in Stillwater was the worst in recent memory, I dedicated a huge portion of this column pointing out that it was far from the worst quarterback performance any of you have seen.

* When the Longhorns won in Manhattan, I stressed that he had played turnover-free football and gave his team a chance to win a critical road game.

* I've constantly stressed over and over again that Ewers is a young quarterback and experiencing things that most young quarterbacks deal with.

Therefore, I was more than a little surprised to somehow be positioned as some kind of anti-Ewers, click-bait fire-breather because of comments made in my Instant Analysis column.

So, what did I actually say that warranted such heat? Let's inspect it all, paragraph by paragraph.

"It's just that Quinn Ewers played at a level that basically required Sarkisian to take the ball completely out of his hands in the two drives that decided this game following his fumble that allowed the Bears to take a fourth-quarter lead."

With the Longhorns leading by 5 with 13:30 left in the fourth quarter, Ewers lost a fumble that was returned 16 yards for a touchdown that eventually gave Baylor a 27-24 lead. It was the 10th point of the game that Ewers had contributed to the Baylor cause. In the final 8+ minutes of the game, the Longhorns ran 22 straight plays on offense that asked Ewers to do nothing more than hand the ball off.

That feels like less of a piece of speculative commentary and more of a read of what actually happened.

The stats will show that Ewers was pretty good, as he finished with a 176.9 efficiency rating. Yet, sometimes stats can't tell a complete story. On a day when Ewers handed the Bears 10 points on a safety/fumble combo, while also leaving four points off the scoreboard on a high throw in the red zone to Ja'Tavion Sanders, Ewers' feel for the game and what's happening around him left a lot to be desired.

The stats will show that when Ewers threw the football, he had a really nice game from a statistical standpoint. On several throws, Ewers flashed the kind of arm talent that makes the mouth water. Yes, he did give away a safety when he threw the ball into an area where there were no receivers while he was in the end zone. He did hold onto the ball too long and committed the only sin he simply couldn't by fumbling the ball, which allowed Baylor to totally flip the script of the game in the fourth quarter. His situational awareness did leave a lot to be desired.

"A lot."

Yeah, a lot.

"I mean ... Sark just stopped letting him do anything other than hand off and that decision probably won the game."

That's literally what happened.

"The scene was a giant reminder of how far this team still has to go at the quarterback position. When Sark said that the team would go into the spring with an open competition, he better mean it because it's much needed."

Again, where is the hyperbole and rhetoric that caused the outrage that occurred? The Texas quarterback position needs to play better, can't give the other team points through sloppy situational awareness and will be open for competition in a few months.

I just don't get the outrage.

No. 4 - Next year's Senior Class ...

Assuming that Bijan Robinson turns pro and the likes of Jordan Whittington, Junior Angilau and Devin Richardson have played their final snaps as Texas football players as Friday seemed to suggest ...

We're going to be looking at the smallest senior class I've ever seen.

The list?

RB Keilan Robinson
WR Isaiah Neyor
DT T'Vondre Sweat
DE Alfred Collins
LB Jaylan Ford
LB David Gbenda
CB Jahdae Barron
S Jerrin Thompson
S Kitan Crawford

That's nine before any further attrition or before the Portal potentially adds a few to it. A lot of leadership is departing and will need to be replaced.

No. 5 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...

... Bijan Robinson is 106 yards short heading into the bowl game of a 2,000-yard all-purpose season. Something to aim for!

... Xavier Worthy finished the regular season with nine touchdown receptions, which is two more than second-place in the Big 12 from Bryce Wheaton-Ford (West Virginia).

... No player in the Big 12 hit double digits in sacks this season, which is kind of wild. Barryn Sorrell finished sixth in the conference with 5.5. The next highest for Texas was DeMarvion Overshown, who placed tied for 18th with 5.

... Jahdae Barron held off late charges by Overshown and Jaylan Ford to finish as the team leader in tackle for loss with 11. That says a lot about how all over the field he's been all season.

No. 6 - A Portal profile to keep an eye on ...

On one hand, Kentucky wide receiver Barion Brown was saying all of the right things to the public following Kentucky's win over Louisville.

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On the other hand, Brown's name has been making the rounds behind the scenes as a player that could absolutely end up in the Portal and I would suggest is a player to keep an eye on after catching 45 passes for 604 yards and four touchdowns.

That includes a monster 10 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown against Georgia two weeks ago.

The Portal is about to be bubbling over with talent and this is exactly the kind of player that would improve the Longhorns.

No. 7 – BUY or SELL …

(Buy) Yeah, I think Sark will most likely run it back with the same group of coaches.



(Sell) I just don't see Sark going out for anyone that will get in the way of his young talent.



(Sell) I'm not 100-percent certain that we should count on Neyor being an automatic starter coming off of a major injury. That being said, it's possible we'll see a couple of starters in the top 4, along with Johntay Cook, when it's all said and done.



(Buy) Don't shoot the messenger, but I am expecting it at this point.



(Sell) Maybe I'm naive, but that doesn't sound like Bijan.



(Sell) From a statistical standpoint, it's basically a wash going into next season.



(Sell) Hell no. 15 points?



(Sell) I don't think 8-4 does a whole lot for a majority of the board that watched Tom Herman put up similar seasons. I'm not sure that I would say that the board is overwhelmingly negative, but I would say it is overwhelmingly unsatisfied. Frankly, they have a right to be.



(Sell) It's possible that both things are true and not mutually exclusive. Caleb Williams showed us last year what a 5-star quarterback talent truly looks like and I'm having a hard time putting Ewers in the same sentence with him at the moment, even if some of these growing pains are to be expected.



(Sell) Possibly, but I'm going to go with one or two fewer. Let's call it 8.



(Buy) I expect transfers in the Portal to be very turned on by the Texas NIL situation.



(Sell) Receivers love Sark's offense, his history of producing star players and the fact that Arch Manning lingers in the distance.



(Sell) I wouldn't just completely forget about it at all, but it was a step in the right direction.



(Buy) He's that important.



(Sell) Joe Burrow had arguably the best season of any quarterback in NCAA history. Let's walk before we sprint like Ben Johnson on steroids.



(Buy) We're going into year three with way more questions than answers.

No. 8 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...

... If I had a vote that mattered ...

1. Georgia
2 Michigan
3. USC
4. TCU
5. Ohio State
6. Alabama
7. Doesn't matter
8. Doesn't matter
9. Doesn't matter
10. Matters even less

... Heisman Ballot: 1. QB Caleb Williams (USC), 2. QB CJ Stroud (Ohio State), 3. RB Bijan Robinson (Texas), 4. QB Max Duggan (TCU) and 5. QB Bryce Young (Alabama)

... I couldn't be any more impressed with Michigan after they went into Columbus and shoved it in Ohio State's face. Jim Harbaugh has the team he's always dreamed of having. Do not sleep on them in the playoff.

... Caleb Williams is in a class by himself right now ... and he's back next season.

... Give Jimbo Fisher another 5 years on that contract after Saturday night.

... I know LSU fans are smarting after that ass-kicking. They were so sure of themselves on Thanksgiving Day. Level 1 confirmed.

... Much respect to TCU. I didn't think they had a 12-0 in them.

... Kansas was never going to beat the Wildcats in Manhattan. I felt bad for all of those with hope on Saturday night.

... Joey McGuire beat Texas and Oklahoma in the same season. Respect.

... Attaboy, Ja'Quinden. Glad to see the talent is still flowing strong.

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... It didn't end well for David Shaw and I'm not sure if we'll ever see him coach again, but he had a hell of a run at Stanford and is the postcard picture of doing things the "right way".

... All the USMNT needs to do to advance in the World Cup is beat Iran on Tuesday. Why does that feel like a tall task?

... From a neutral perspective, I'd love to see Messi and Mbappe have a showdown late in this tournament for the ages.

... Never fear UT basketball. You're about to be the center of attention for the next few months outside of recruiting and events from the Portal.

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No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Steven Spielberg Movies ...

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts over the weekend (The Big Picture) and a discussion of Steven Spielberg's best movies was at the heart of a discussion centering around the release of his new movie "The Fabelmans," which is expected to compete for Best Picture at this year's Oscars.

I found myself completely disagreeing with a lot of the list that was created and thought I would take it on in this week's column.

10. Lincoln
9. Munich
8. Minority Report
7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
6. Schindler's List
5. Raiders of the Lost Arc
4. Saving Private Ryan
4. Jurassic Park
2. E.T.
1. Jaws

No. 10 - And Finally ...

Arch Manning is done playing high school sports after his team lost this weekend in the state quarterfinals.

The five-star early enrollee turned the ball over three times, including his first two interceptions of the season. It just wasn't his night.

Now he heads to Texas.

Buckle up, it should be a sight to behold.

If Argentina advances to the knockout stage of the tournament as the second team in their group they will face France in the round of 16.

 

[Baguette]

I guess it boils down to how you define success for a given team team. If your only standard for success is winning some sort of championship, then 90+ percent of teams will not be considered successful in any given year. That's a rational objective for a team like Alabama this year. For this years Texas team, in my mind, success depends on meeting realistiic objectives set at the beginning of the season. Although a very small minority of people had Texas winning the conference at the beginning of this season, most viewed 8+ wins as one measure that would indicate a level of success. Other objectives for success that many of us had included building the offensive and defensive lines into plus units, finding linebackers that could actually play at the P5 level, improving the pass rush ("what pass rush? "), improving team culture in a way that would lead to winning hard fought games, finding reliable kicking specialists, improving strength and conditioning and upgrading the play at QB. I would contend that Texas met or exceeded just about all of these objectives this season and therefore the season was a success based on that standard.

THIS!

 

[Gus McCrea]

Once Hayden Connor went down Baylor D lived in the offensive backfield. HCs backup is a better run blocker than pass blocker. QE is a young qb and he was getting smothered before he could move. You are putting way too much blame on QE, and not giving any credit to Coach Sark for the necessary adjustment to that situation to protect the game, the young qb and play to the strengths of the OL as it was. These eyes saw an offense that was doing fine and quite frankly wasn’t really stopped earlier.

The tale of the season was the team beating itself. Later on the team won on the road, learned to win close games late. The OL and DL were better than than last 10 years. The d rounded into shape nicely. Recruiting is very good. Development happened, not enough with the qb, but most everywhere else. Jim Hightower used to say “when you dig yourself a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.” That’s a good season and a step in the right direction. They finally stopped digging. Tom Herman was smoke and mirrors and even the Sugar Bowl win only pointed out that bad line play can be covered up with a great qb. CS was a bad coach in all phases.
Good season. Good Future.

That does not relax any standard going forward, things need to keep progressing. But painting it in a negative light is disingenuous at best.

Thank you

 

[Ketchum]

Hermann went 7-6, 10-4, 8-5, and 7-3. All include bowl wins. So even if Sark loses the bowl game he's matched or beaten TH's win total from 3 of those 4 years. If he wins the bowl, he's 1 win shy of Herman's best season out of 4.

I'm including all of their seasons as a heads coaches.

 

[Ketchum]

Nevermind that it supplies data to all 32 NFL teams and near 100 college football programs.

Let's just say their grades are "Done differently." Their grades have Banks as the best OL on the team? Do you ignore that or agree with it?

As long as the grading scale is carried out with the same criteria across the board then the data is something you can draw conclusions on. Same as Alex's deep dig grades. It doesn't matter what the final number is it matters what you can compare it against based on the same grading criteria. We can quibble about sample size, bias, etc but until a computer is grading them, you can pick a part anyone's analytics.

The issue with the Deep Dig is that it compares this year's O-line against much maligned O-line's of the past decade. So when you say "Hey it's much improved!" It's a lot like saying a 7-5 record is much improved over 5-7. A lot like our football program currently. It's improved, but it ain't great.

I realize it's your job here to provide an opinion to your readers. Don't get me wrong here, Alex does a fantastic job and it's probably one of the most valuable columns on the board. It's also way less travled than your 10 thoughts because it actually requires critical thinking. But the context of comparing today's team vs other poor results doesn't really paint the picture of where the bar needs to be, to be considered good. Texas has had 2 OL drafted in the last decade. Alabama has had 13. Want to compare grades with them over the last decade? It's what should be done instead of leading with QB controversy type headlines. I get it, it doesn't move the needle for clicks.

Anyhow, you devalue your credibility with people who either understand the game or take the time to get beyond blanket statements not backed by research. And you are really doing a disservice to the players and coaches when you let out an opinion that says something like "Sark took the ball out of Quinn's hands."

I'm not trying to war with you, strong opinions are good for business, even if they are faulty. What is the price of misinformation? Nobody is going to be as successful as you by starting a site and giving factual game day breakdown. The thousands of casual viewers couldn't give a crap about the protection, the reads, the breakdowns etc. They just want a winning result. Such is life. I just think you could be better.

Their college stuff sucks.

Their NFL stuff is good.

 

[Ketchum]

Welp...I'm damn happy at 8-4 and view it as a success. I thought the o/u for this team was 7.5.

I had it at 8.5

 

[Ketchum]

Ewers needs to mature. In lots of ways.

Get better or lose the job. That is what is in front of him.