Lost amid all of the noise that comes from winning a home playoff game is the fact that there were stressful moments in the win when the Longhorns were without Cam Williams, Jake Majors, Tre Wisner and Isaiah Bond.
When Clemson cut the Texas lead to 31-24 in the fourth quarter, Steve Sarkisian sent his offense out onto the field with Hayden Conner at center, Cole Hutson at left guard, Trevor Goosby at right tackle, Jaydon Blue at tailback and true freshman Ryan Wingo at wide receiver. For a unit that had ridden the struggle bus in recent weeks, this rash of personnel change was less than optimal on paper.
It didn't even matter.
The Texas offense got the ball back with its island of misfit toys holding down the fort and it went 83 yards in two plays because ... well, it's what the moment called for. Most importantly, Blue emerged from the opportunity as a potential star-weapon reborn. When I said I thought Blue would be one of the best backs in the SEC this season back in August, Saturday afternoon is what I had in mind the entire time.
Still, it shouldn't be lost that all of it came together at the exact moment when Texas was without the most amount of first-team personnel as it has been without all season. It says a lot about this group that it just kept on producing no matter what. Texas winning the game in an identity that Sarkisian will want to claim while doing so with personnel it might not have trusted 24 hours prior is the story of Saturday's entire affair
Next man up is a much easier motto to proclaim than it is to execute, but the Longhorns did exactly that on Saturday with the season truly on the line for the first time all season.
It will serve them well in the coming weeks and not just in Atlanta.
No. 2 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
... Might be a good week to figure out this third quarter thing that just keeps turning into more of a thing with each game that passes. The Longhorns have officially been outscored 55-16 in the third quarters of the last seven games.
... Tre Wisner is a mere 27 yards away from 1,000 rushing yards this season. The streak is going to survive!
... Don't look now, but Jaydon Blue is a mere 290 yards away from 1,000 rushing yards on the season and he's officially sitting at 1,008 yards of all-purpose offense going into the Arizona State game.
... Trevor Goosby might be a top-5 most important player in the program going into the 2025 season. It's no small thing that he can play anywhere and be just fine as a second-year player. Lamont Rogers was right to notice him in the spring.
... It's kind of stunning to me that Ryan Wingo hasn't really had an explosive breakout game down the stretch. What exactly are we supposed to make of that?
... What are we supposed to be expecting out of the special teams each week and why does it feel like if a disaster doesn't occur, it's a win?
No. 3 - Making sense of the Portal with a week to go ...
We know that the Longhorns want to do more business in the Portal, but that doesn't mean that all of the business will take place in the winter Portal window, which has produced a downtick in terms of overall quality that is available.
A few general observations ...
1. There are very few players in the Portal that are universally regarded as impact players.
2. No school is dominating. There's a couple of schools that have made a couple of really solid signings (Ole Miss and LSU come to mind), but there's no school that is dominating the Portal at a significantly higher level than its national peers.
3. The spring might become the window with the most fireworks this cycle.
Let's look at this by position:
Quarterbacks
John Mateer (Via Washington) - Signs with Oklahoma
Rivals (1), 247 (1) and On3 (1)
Luke Kromenhoek (Via FSU) - Signs with Mississippi State
Rivals (NR), 247 (6) and On3 (65)
Mateer is universally regarded as the top prospect in the window thus far and that tells quite a story when you consider that he was only pretty good this season in the passing game against Power Four programs or even in the season-finale at home against Wyoming. The rest of the quarterback class is pretty meh. It doesn't seem like the year to be shopping for quarterbacks.
Running Backs
Ahmad Hardy (Via La.-Monroe) - Signs with Missouri
Rivals (35), 247 (57) and On3 (5)
Justice Haynes (Via Alabama) - Still available
Rivals (NR), 247 (26) and On3 (14)
Haynes is the only running back in this cycle that is rated as a top-30 Portal prospect by two of the major services. It's another position that isn't overflowing with available difference-making talent.
Wide Receivers
Eric Singleton (Via Georgia Tech) - Still Available
Rivals (3), 247 (3) and On3 (2)
Micah Hudson (Via Texas Tech) - Signs with Texas A&M
Rivals (2), 247 (17) and On3 (50)
Kevin Concepcion (Via NC State) - Still Available
Rivals (8), 247 (15) and On3 (3)
Barion Brown (Via Kentucky) - Signs with LSU
Rivals (7), 247 (18) and On3 (18)
Zachariah Branch (Via USC) - Still Available
Rivals (NR), 247 (4) and On3 (31)
Nick Anderson (Via Oklahoma) - Signs with LSU
Rivals (24), 247 (11) and On3 (6)
Duce Robinson (Via USC) - Still Available
Rivals (6), 247 (5) and On3 (38)
Dane Key (Via Kentucky) - Still available
Rivals (12), 247 (10) and On3 (26)
The thing that stands out about one of the deepest positions in the Portal (again) is just how many of the top players at the position are signing with an SEC program. In addition to LSU landing its pair and A&M landing Hudson, it looks like Branch could be headed to Georgia, Singleton to Auburn and a few others could also stay in/head to the conference.
Tight Ends
Max Klare (Via Purdue) - Still available
Rivals (56), 247 (30) and On3 (7)
Tanner Koziol (Via Ball State) - Signs with Wisconsin
Rivals (66), 247 (58) and On3 (11)
Luke Hasz (Via Arkansas) - Signs with Ole Miss
Rivals (60), 247 (31) and On3 (42)
Meh.
Offensive Linemen
Xavier Chaplin (Via Va. Tech) - Signs with Auburn
Rivals (NR), 247 (22) and On3 (8)
Patrick Kutas (Via Arkansas) - Signs with Ole Miss
Rivals (103), 247 (9) and On3 (91)
Joshua Bruan (Via Arkansas) - Signs with Kentucky
Rivals (14), 247 (NR) and On3 (29)
There's just not a lot to be doing cartwheels over at this point.
No. 4 - Now let's look at the defensive side of the ball ...
Defensive Tackles
Bear Alexander (Via USC) - Signs with Oregon
Rivals (135), 247 (NR) and On3 (NR)
Jahiem Oatis (Via Alabama) - Signs with Colorado
Rivals (79), 247 (14) and On3 (NR)
Lee Hunter (Via UCF) - Signs with Texas Tech
Rivals (NR), 247 (34) and On3 (10)
David Blay (Via La. Tech) - Signs with Miami
Rivals (44), 247 (23) and On3 (197)
Even though the Longhorns have a dire need for talent, experience and depth at this position, I'm, not sure that there's anyone on the market that has emerged as a must-have. When and if that guy emerges, can Texas seize the moment?
Edge
Princewill Umanmielen (Via Nebraska) - Signs with Ole Miss
Rivals (17), 247 (7) and On3 (45)
Patrick Payton (Via FSU) - Signs with LSU
Rivals (NR), 247 (2) and On3 (100)
Meh. Not much meat on the bone.
Defensive Backs
Dillon Thieneman (Via Purdue) - Signs with Oregon
Rivals (4), 247 (59) and On3 (4)
Tecario Davis (Via Arizona) - Still available
Rivals (28), 247 (13) and On3 (9)
Mansoor Delane (Via Va. Tech) - Signs with LSU
Rivals (11), 247 (40) and On3 (130)
Julian Humphrey (Via Georgia) - Signs with Texas A&M
Rivals (19), 247 (44) and On3 (118)
The Longhorns haven't really thrown themselves into the defensive back mix at this point.
No. 5 - Official outgoings/incomings list ...
Outgoing: (9)
WR - Johntay Cook
DT - Aaron Bryant (signs with Vanderbilt)
DT - Jaray Bledsoe (signs with Mississippi State)
DT - Sydir Mitchell (signs with LSU)
DT - Tia Savea
Edge - Justice Finkley
Edge - Tausili Arkansas
LB - Derion Gullette (signs with Mississippi State)
CB - Jayvion Cole
Incomings (3)
DT - Cole Brevard (via Purdue)
LB - Brad Spence (via Arkansas)
P - Jack Bouwmeester (via Utah)
No. 6 - Updated Scholarship Board ...
No. 7 - CFB Playoff Weekend Musings ...
... Can you imagine being Oregon this weekend and being the No. 1 team in the nation and your reward in the quarterfinals is No. 8 Ohio State?
... That Jeremiyah Love 98-yard touchdown run for the Irish was absolutely electrifying. The explosion of noise is what this is all about.
... If you'd seen SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings on Game Day about two hours before kickoff, you'd have known that SMU was about to get pile-driven into the ground. That man's hands were cold and he could not hide it.
... The first one to 10 points might win the Notre Dame/Georgia game on New Year's Day. It is not a good thing for the Dawgs that Carson Beck isn't available. They officially have a real problem.
... Texas should have made Notre Dame freshman cornerback Leonard Moore more of a priority. That kid is a future Sunday player.
... Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams live in similar zip codes.
... Drew Allar is just a guy.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I have zero expectations for anything meaningful.
(Sell) Give him 2+ weeks to get ready for a semifinal in Dallas.
(Sell) I think Arizona State might surprise you with its turnout.
(Buy) Texas is going to batter the Sun Devils.
(Buy/Sell/Buy) I would automatically assume that Howard and Gabriel will "carve up" the Texas secondary because a future NFL player in Klubnik played at perhaps the apex of his college play thus far.
(Sell) But, they probably should.
(Sell) Not really.
(Buy) Easily. The seeding will eventually change, but this is what needed to exist to get the plane off the ground.
(Buy) I expect Texas to dominate.
(Buy) I think that's probably true.
(Sell) I feel like I have the perfect blend of understanding of what these data points should mean, given the context. I would counter I'm not the one making a big deal out of such a scenario. Don't mistake a data point without built in confirmation bias to be the end-all, be-all, regardless of surrounding context.
(Buy) I'm going to say that's probably the exact right number.
(Sell) I think it's probably 50-50 in the semis against either Oregon or Ohio State, so I'd say the real number is probably 45%.
(Buy) Yes, for sure.
(Sell) He's properly recognized as a good player.
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... Penn State is your 2024 NCAA Volleyball National Champion.
... Get better, Tank Dell. That was really hard to watch.
... I hate that Washington fans have Jayden Daniels to feel good about. Remember when the NFL was fun, Cowboys fans?
... Bijan Robinson is up to 1,102 rushing yards this season and 1,513 all-purpose yards.
... It's hard to put into words how cool I thought Rickey Henderson was when I was a kid. When I first started collecting baseball cards when I was seven, I remember it feeling like winning the lottery whenever i pulled his 1983 Fleer Special Superstar card out of a pack. His rookie card was the Holy Grail when I was a few years older. It made your collection to have it. Rickey always just felt different than anyone else that ever played the game. He was faster. More dynamic. Electric. Special. That he was a total kook only made his legend even bigger. There will never be another Rickey. How could there be? RIP.
... Premier League Thoughts: Just keep picking up three points each week, Reds. Don't let up. That was a really good performance against Spurs, but we can't let up. Man City free-falling is not something is going to get old, no matter how long it lasts. F them. Forest with 4 more league points than City through 17 games is simply impossible to believe. Nice job, Everton. Nice job, Bournemouth.
No. 10 – The List: Best TV of 2024
Let's just dive right into it. It's my Top 10 pieces of television in 2024.
10. True Detective: Night Country
For everything that the series wasn't, it was one hell of an entertaining ride, even if it didn't always make a lick of sense.
9. Agatha All Along
I'm not sure that this series stuck the landing, but at its best, it was pretty incredible Marvel YV making.
8. Masters of the Air
Is it possible that this show has become underrated by the end of the year?
7. Shrinking
This is the best show on TV that doesn't get enough wide acclaim. It gets me in my feels every week.
6. Ripley
Andrew Scott is in the wheelhouse in this role. I like it a lot more than I thought I would
5. House of the Dragon
I will stand on the table for HotD. I don't care what anyone says.
4. Tokyo Vice
Do yourself a favor, go to Max and start watching right away.
3. The Bear
Season 3 didn't hit the heights of season 2, but it still ticks every single one of my boxes.
2. The Penguin
One of my favorite comic book adaptations of television ever created. Almost perfect television.
1. Shogun
Perfect television. Absolute must-watch.
