I'm not sure that Charlie Strong ever enjoyed a honeymoon period when he took over the Texas job this year, but in the event there was any confusion about where things stand heading into the third game of the season, let me officially do the honors
The honeymoon is o-v-e-r.
A 41-7 home loss to the team that essentially retired Mack Brown a year ago will do that. Hell, any 41-7 loss will end a honeymoon, but especially a 41-7 loss to a team that I'm not even sure Texas fans even respect.
The Era of Embarrassment was thought to have ended with Mack Brown's departure, but the truth about what faces this team this season was exposed in a way on Saturday night that simply cannot occur against the likes of North Texas.
Against an honest-to-goodness team with a pulse, the wheels came off the bus again and suddenly everything that everyone thought was possible for this team going into the season has been ripped into tattered pieces.
What remains is a quarterback position on training wheels, an offensive line that ranks among the worst my eyes have seen anywhere across the country this season, a skill position unit that lacks game-breakers, a defense that still has major issues at linebacker and a kicking game that lacks kickers the team can trust.
And the give-up gene of which Strong is determined to rid the program still exists.
Oh, and the momentum the staff desperately needs to finish off the Class of 2015 and jumpstart the Class of 2016 is nowhere to be found.
Did I mention that three of the next four weeks of the season feature the No. 9, No. 10 and No. 11 teams in the country as ranked by the Associated Press?
Other than that, everything is pretty good around the 40 Acres at the moment.
Two games into the season and the curtain has been pulled all the way back so everyone can take a good, hard look at the state of affairs that Mack Brown left behind for the new coach. Make no mistake about it, this is Mack Brown's mess that Strong has been assigned to fix and the complete process to full recovery is going to be messy. There will be blood.
From the moment Strong arrived in Austin, implementing his mentality and ethos has been at the forefront of his rebuilding plan, and with adversity suddenly staring his team in the eyes from three inches away, a little bit of doubt about Strong's plan has started to surface. His breaking of the colts throughout the pre-season hasn't come without a price and now we've seemingly reached a line in the sand moment with this team.
My advice?
Break'em 2014 season be damned.
With the upside of this season in serious doubt, it's time to start building for the future and more than anything else, it's time to find out which players in this program have the guts to lead the way. Those that are getting in the way of program development will show themselves soon enough.
If it means Strong has to burn the damn thing all the way to the ground, then do it because there's absolutely nothing about the program right now that needs to be preserved. When this season ends, Strong needs to know who he can count on and who needs to likely find another place to play football.
For the next 10 games, 2014 needs to be about 2015. Play the young kids. Find out who in the program flinches in the face of adversity and who doesn't. Once those players that don't flinch are found, build around them.
With a team that in no shape, form or fashion is ready to compete for anything of substance, doing anything less will prove to be a disservice to the long-term viability of Strong's program.
It won't be pretty. It won't be fun. It is much-needed.
So, go ahead, Charlie break the colts until there is no more breaking to be done and if it means setting fire to the stables to finish the job once and for all so be it.
No. 2 - Recognizing one Longhorn that doesn't flinch
While Taysom Hill had one hell of a game on Saturday and would appear to be a dark-horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy, I'm not sure he was the best player on the field.
Even on a night when his team lost by 34 points, the single-most dominant player in the Texas/BYU game was Longhorns junior defensive tackle Malcom Brown.
It's pretty rare when the stat sheet can tell the entire story as it relates to the play of a defensive tackle, but in this case you'd have to say the numbers reflect what happened on the field pretty well.
Eleven tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble.
Whether the Cougars used one man or two in an attempt to block the former five-star from Brenham really didn't matter because Brown just destroyed whatever crossed his path all night. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Brown's performance is that it never dipped when the game started to get away from the Longhorns, as he was perhaps the only Longhorn on the field that refused to go down in anything less than a blaze of glory.
As far as I'm concerned, Brown IS the only captain this team has right now and every player on the team needs to be taking notes.
I'm guessing Charlie Strong wishes he could clone 84 more just like him.
No. 3 - The Tyrone Swoopes story
On a night when the offense scored only a single touchdown, finding positives can be a tough challenge, but there were a few things that the coaching staff can feel good about with its new starting quarterback.
First of all, the offense might not have performed at anything close to a high level against the Cougars, but I didn't come away thinking that Swoopes was the biggest problem on the night or that the game was too big for him. In fact, I was a little encouraged by Swoopes' confidence and body language throughout the game, as I never sensed the frustration of the night was impacting his play.
Secondly, Swoopes showed a pretty live arm throughout the night, even if the Texas coaches seldom let him test it.
Considering that we didn't know whether Swoopes would even be able to function at all, given the circumstances of his development, these two positives from a 34-point loss serve as mini-moral victories. There's something to work with there, it's just up to the Texas coaches to get it out of him, both in the short- and long-term.
If anything, Swoopes looked like a player that wanted to do more, but was restricted by an offensive coaching staff that doesn't yet trust him to open up the offense to him, which explains why the passing game was played inside a phone booth all night.
Of course, the fact that the offensive line serves as nothing more than a turnstile for opposing defenses is an itty, bity problem that isn't going away. If a solid running game and a good offensive line are a young quarterback's best friend, then it's possible Swoopes is surrounded by mortal enemies.
Little by little, Texas offensive coordinator Shawn Watson is going to need to give Swoopes more material to work with because it will take points to win games on this schedule, likely more points than Strong is used to needing in his pre-Big 12 days.
If Swoopes can't handle it all, then he can't handle it all, but the Longhorns can't play for 60 minutes, lose by 34 and not ever truly find out what Swoopes can do, which is exactly what happened on Saturday.
Strong wants his players to play without fear, but he needs to ask his coaches to live by the same code.
Moving forward, if the goal is winning games and not just keeping them close, the Longhorns don't really have a choice.
No. 4 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns
Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray are very good college running backs, but there's just nothing exceptional about either player's explosiveness or overall athleticism, and the offense is suffering because of it with an offensive line that can't open holes for them. Their only chance for success is to make plays on their own and neither has proven capable of that task, as each needs offensive line help that he just don't have.
John Harris is proving to be a nice safety blanket for Texas quarterbacks, but the inability to get the ball into Marcus Johnson's hands seems like a mistake. There's no good excuse for not getting him touches or even trying to get him touches.
. 93,463 fans showed up on Saturday and I have a feeling that might be as good as it gets this season. Will there be a home game all season in which you won't be able to get in the door for 20 bucks?
I re-watched the game a second time on Sunday and can't say that there was single offensive lineman that played at a winning level. Joe Wickline has never had as much work to do as he does right now with this group.
No. 5 - From A-to-Z: A look around college football
All My Exes Used to live in Texas: The biggest upset of the night went down in Columbus and it featured a quarterback who just happens to be the son of a former Longhorn starting quarterback. Yup, Michael Brewer didn't receive an unconditional offer from Mack Brown, but he does have a win in a night game in one of the toughest venues in college football.
Bringing back the 80s: If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Brian Bozworth might need to get a restraining order against Nevada defensive end Brock Hekking.
Close call: Texas Tech didn't exactly overwhelm UTEP as much as it survived the Miners by the hair on its chinny chin chin. Down by three with five minutes to go in the game, Davis Webb took the Red Raiders 75 yards in seven plays to save Coach Cool from a setback loss. Still, there are red flags all over the place as it relates to the Red Raiders.
Doing the damn thing: Down by nine at home to a Michigan State team desperate to send the nation a message, Oregon didn't panic as much as it simply put its foot down and suffocated the Spartans with its speed and playmakers, as it scored the final 28 points of the game and sent the rest of the nation a statement about what it can do in this year's Pac-12 race.
Early Play of the Year: With the score tied at 24-24 with 30 seconds to go in regulation, Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah took matters into his own hands and ripped out McNeese State's heart in the process.
Freshman silliness: Leonard Fournette flashing the Heisman post in his second career game made Kenny Hill blush. Good grief.
Goodbye, dear friend: We're going to miss these two teams playing each other.
Heisman Tracker After Week 2: 1. Georgia running back Todd Gurley 2. Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota 3. Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill
If I had a vote that mattered
1. Georgia
2. Oregon
3. LSU
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida State
6. Alabama
7. Texas A&M
9. Auburn
9. USC
10. Notre Dame
James Franklin ain't walking through that door : Which means we can go back to forgetting about Vanderbilt football after it fell to 0-2 and lost 41-3 to Ole Miss. It must have been nice while it lasted.
Keep off the field: My goodness, did Pat Haden think he was Jerry Jones on Saturday when he left the stands and came down to the sideline to talk to officials in the middle of USC's game against Stanford? And he's on the playoff committee that will name the four teams that play for the national title? Yeah, that makes sense
Let's sit them at the kid's table for Thanksgiving: We're not even 10 days into September and you can pretty much forget about any Big 10 team being a factor on the national level this year, which should make things nice and easy when it's time to put a Final Four into the upcoming playoff. Just to recap, the conference's best chance at a high-impact out-of-conference win went up in flames in Eugene, as Michigan State lost by three scores. Meanwhile, Michigan lost to Notre Dame by 31, Ohio State lost at home to Virginia Tech by 14, Northwestern lost by eight to Northern Illinois and Purdue lost by 21 to Central Michigan.
Maybe the wrong team is in the Big 12: I was going to make a BYU/Texas joke in this space, but I think I'll just move along
Next week's Big Game: Georgia at South Carolina. The only game that matches ranked teams, we all know that South Carolina shouldn't be ranked after its abysmal performance against the Aggies to open the season, but this is a big one for the Dawgs because this is one of the more ominous road SEC games on the schedule. If they can get through the Gamecocks, the SEC East would seem to be there for the taking.
Offense is easy in Waco: Down its starting quarterback and several important wide receivers, Baylor simply inserted the next guys in line and dropped a 70 spot on Northwestern State. Say what you want about Art Briles, but that offense of his is something else.
Picking up steam: Although I still have some doubts about Oklahoma, there's no question that the Sooners have arrived in the 2014 season as if it they been shot out of a cannon. You can nitpick a few things, but Trevor Knight looks incredibly comfortable at quarterback, the running game is making plays, Sterling Sheppard gives them a dynamic playmaker in the passing game and the defense looks very respectable. It's impossible to look at the Sooners at the moment and not see a heavy favorite in this year's Big 12.
Quote of the Weekend: "I feel like we're watching Germany and Brazil in the World Cup."
Fox broadcaster Joe Davis in the second half of the Texas/BYU game.
Replacing Garrett Gilbert: Say what you want to about the former Longhorn quarterback and current St. Louis Rams practice squad member, but SMU's offense is an absolute shipwreck without him. Where is the June Jones offensive genius? After failing to put up a single point in the first seven quarters of the 2014 season, the Mustangs finally struck oil on the final play of the game Saturday against North Texas, the lone bright spot in an embarrassing 43-6 loss.
Stealing Defeat From the Jaws of Victory:: I don't know what else to call what happened to Stanford in its game against USC, as the Cardinal dominated so much of the game, but missed so many opportunities to separate from the Trojans that it allowed itself to fall into a fourth-quarter, one-possession game and it lost. That probably should have been a two-touchdown win when you consider Stanford had the ball inside the USC 25-yard line seven times (and came away with 10 points), rather than a three-point less. That'll sting for a few days.
Tweet of the Day: From our own Anwar Richardson, who literally posted what I was thinking on UT's second drive of the game:
@AnwarRichardson
I want to say something nice about Tyrone Swoopes, but I'm scared to jinx him RIGHT now
U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you ugly, hey! Ohio State redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett had a nice opening performance for the Buckeyes, but he was 9 of 29 for 219 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions against the Hokies. Urban Meyer might be a quarterback guru, but his newest protégé has a ways to go before he's truly ready for prime-time.
Vegas Misses, Too: In the aftermath of what took place at DKR on Saturday, it's a little head-scratching to think that Vegas odds-makers had the Longhorns as a slight favorite going into the game. I'm guessing that mistake won't be made again.
Winning Ugly: For a while on Saturday, it looked like Kansas State was going to take one on the chin against Iowa State, as it trailed 28-13 with a minute to go in the second quarter in Ames. Yet, behind the arm and legs of Jake Waters (377 total yards of offense), Bill Snyder's gang escaped with a four-point road win to kick off Big 12 action. The Wildcats are nothing special, but Waters is really evolving as a player and the fact that he wanted the ball in the final two minutes is a sign that his confidence is reaching new heights. As soon as the Wildcats took possession of the ball at their own 20-yard line with 3:01 left in the game, you just had the sense Waters would win the game for them.
X-Factor: Notre Dame is a different team when Everett Golson is playing quarterback and the Irish might just be undefeated and a top-five team when they travel to Tallahassee later in the year.
Youth is served : Baylor freshman K.D. Cannon took advantage of increased playing time by catching six passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns, all of which went for 40+ yards and beyond.
Zoolander's Magnum Spotlight Moment of the Weekend: UCLA 42 Memphis 35. W.T.F.
No. 6 - How Bout Them Cowboys!!!!!
With my twins dressed in Cowboys blue (and pink) for their first Dallas Cowboys game, it's probably a good thing that
a. They aren't old enough at nearly six months old to know what they are watching.
b. They learn right from the beginning what being a fan of this team is all about these days.
As for the game itself whatever. I do have one question to ask to which I really don't want an answer.
What the hell are we going to do if the best of Tony Romo is behind us and there are many more performances like today left in front of us?
^&%$.
No. 7 - J.J. Watt for President
I said on my radio show earlier this week after J.J. Watt signed his new mega-deal with the Texans that we might be watching the greatest defensive end in the history of the NFL, except we just haven't fully come to the realization because we're still in the middle of his prime and we usually save these types of accolades for the end of a player's career.
In the aftermath of what happened Sunday in Houston, I'm going to say it again
We might be watching the greatest defensive end that has ever played the game in J.J. Watt and it's not because he's that good.
He's that f'ing good.
We're talking Deacon Jones, we're talking Reggie White and we're talking Bruce Smith. Those are the three that represent Watt's competition for that honor and none of them cast shadows over the former two-star prospect from the state of Wisconsin.
In my lifetime, the greatest offensive lineman I've seen with my own eyes was former Dallas Cowboys left tackle Erik Williams when he was in his prime and before he was injured in a car accident that forever changed his abilities. For those that never witnessed Williams in his prime, just know that he used to absolutely beat the otherwise-incredible White to such an extent that you privately wondered if White had stolen his Trans-Am or talked badly about his mom AND grandmother.
Williams didn't so much as dominate White as it seemed like he was physically assaulting him.
In all the years I've watched football, I've never seen a defensive lineman that I thought truly would have wanted a piece of the Williams that existed in 1992 and 1993. Jared Allen? Julius Peppers? Michael Strahan?
Child, please.
Finally, after all of these years, I can say there's a player that might damn well have been up to the task and that player is Watt, who dominates on the field like no other defensive end I've ever seen. Consider what he did Sunday against Washington, whether it was a sack, a blocked PAT, a recovered fumble or general disruption on almost every play, his fingerprints were all over a 17-6 win between two fairly otherwise unimpressive teams.
Hell, maybe it's too soon to hit him with that kind of label, but I know that I can't think of a player that I believe is better than him to my naked eye. Maybe just as good, but sure as hell not better.
I do know this I'd have paid good money to see Williams and Watt do battle for 60 minutes. My gut tells me it would be a better battle than White and Smith were able to muster when given their chance.
No. 8 - Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind
I missed the EPL today, it's true.
I do not want to talk about fantasy football for the next 24 hours.
Jadaveon Clowney just can't catch a break. I'm not going to follow the pack that is calling him Mr. Glass, but I can't deny that the man is always banged up at the very least.
Derrick Johnson suffered a ruptured Achilles in Kansas City's loss to Tennessee. Damn, damn, damn
All of you who were doubting my pick of the Dolphins as a wild-card pick HA!
As for the Patriots, what the hell was that?
I'm not even going to try and explain what happened in the Pittsburgh/Cleveland game, but what a wild opener that was.
If I'm A.J. Green, I'm asking for twice as much money as A.J. Dalton is making.
Am I alone in being as disinterested in the US Open as I've ever been? And that's before the big names on the men's side were eliminated.
Did not watch Adrien Broner's mess this weekend, but I hear he didn't cry, so there's that.
No. 9 - Pop goes the culture because the culture goes pop
Hottie of the Weekend: I wonder if super models should be excluded from the category
Instagram of the Weekend (NSFW): Jen Selter Sexy Bottom on Instagram
Can't Hang: Court grants man divorce over wife's demand for excessive sex
Full Frontal: Kristen Wiig Naked Welcome to Me: "Everyone Is Going to See Everything"
For the butt men (PNSFW) : J. Lo and Iggy Azalea show their rumps in new video
Can't believe it's happening: Clooney getting hitched in Venice
Miley Link of the Weekend (NSFW): The pasties come out to play.
No. 10 - The List: Janis (Listen to the entire list via Spotify)
Without the amount of time needed to fulfill this week's challenge, I decided to give myself another week to finish the quest and I'm leaving you with an oldie, but a goodie.
Let's get on with the list ( subscribe via Spotify )
The last five out: All I Need is Loneliness, Call on Me, Intruder, The Last Time, Move Over
Ok, here we go
10. Trust Me
Janis is in a flirty mood and she wants you to know that it's safe to come on over.
9. Little Girl Blue
You really get a sense for Pearl's range in this beautiful rendition of an old Broadway song, as it's stripped down to a simple arrangement and one of the most beautiful R&B numbers you'll ever hear. It reminds me of Mary J.
8. One Good Man
Oh man, it's more of Janis doing her sultry, dirty, sweaty thing with a sick blues riff behind her. I would imagine that a lot of hippy women seduced their men with this bad boy.
7. Kozmic Blues
More pure vocal greatness. It's a shame this song isn't more known because she rips and roars in this sucker, only to flash her gentleness in spots in a way that just blows your mind.
6. I Need a Man to Love
It's like she's channeling her inner Otis Redding in this grimy favorite of mine. Someone get that woman a man.
5. Cry Baby
It's one of the quintessential Janis songs for good reason, as she slays the beast in a way that has forced singers to try and emulate for more than four decades and always coming up short.
4. Piece of My Heart
It's an all-time classic for a million reasons. In addition to Janis singing the hell out of the song, it's just a great jam that makes you want to move.
3. Ball and Chain
Janis was at her best when she took a hard bluesy number and threw every ounce of dirt and nastiness she had into the song, creating a surge as powerful as the sun. There's owning a song and then there's moving around with it with your hands wrapped around the neck this song is the latter.
2. Me and Bobby McGee
Janis recorded this song days before her death and the song's writer Kris Kristofferson didn't even know it existed until after she had passed away. It turned out to be one of the greatest songs ever recorded and if you want to argue it should be No. 1 on the list, I won't fight you.
1. Summertime
It's one of the all-time great songs that have ever been written and Janis takes it to the moon.
Archives List
Blues/Jazz: Listen via Spotify )
Classical: Listen via Spotify)
Country: Listen via Spotify )
Electronic: Listen Via Spotify
Funk: Listen Via Spotify (Part II - After Hours))
Metal: Listen Via Spotify
Pop: Listen via Spotify )
Punk: Listen via Spotify)
Random: My Number 1's on Spotify
Rap: Listen via Spotify),
R&B: Listen via Spotify)
Reggae: Listen via Spotify)
Rock: Listen via Spotify )
and Listen via Spotify )
The honeymoon is o-v-e-r.
A 41-7 home loss to the team that essentially retired Mack Brown a year ago will do that. Hell, any 41-7 loss will end a honeymoon, but especially a 41-7 loss to a team that I'm not even sure Texas fans even respect.
The Era of Embarrassment was thought to have ended with Mack Brown's departure, but the truth about what faces this team this season was exposed in a way on Saturday night that simply cannot occur against the likes of North Texas.
Against an honest-to-goodness team with a pulse, the wheels came off the bus again and suddenly everything that everyone thought was possible for this team going into the season has been ripped into tattered pieces.
What remains is a quarterback position on training wheels, an offensive line that ranks among the worst my eyes have seen anywhere across the country this season, a skill position unit that lacks game-breakers, a defense that still has major issues at linebacker and a kicking game that lacks kickers the team can trust.
And the give-up gene of which Strong is determined to rid the program still exists.
Oh, and the momentum the staff desperately needs to finish off the Class of 2015 and jumpstart the Class of 2016 is nowhere to be found.
Did I mention that three of the next four weeks of the season feature the No. 9, No. 10 and No. 11 teams in the country as ranked by the Associated Press?
Other than that, everything is pretty good around the 40 Acres at the moment.
Two games into the season and the curtain has been pulled all the way back so everyone can take a good, hard look at the state of affairs that Mack Brown left behind for the new coach. Make no mistake about it, this is Mack Brown's mess that Strong has been assigned to fix and the complete process to full recovery is going to be messy. There will be blood.
From the moment Strong arrived in Austin, implementing his mentality and ethos has been at the forefront of his rebuilding plan, and with adversity suddenly staring his team in the eyes from three inches away, a little bit of doubt about Strong's plan has started to surface. His breaking of the colts throughout the pre-season hasn't come without a price and now we've seemingly reached a line in the sand moment with this team.
My advice?
Break'em 2014 season be damned.
With the upside of this season in serious doubt, it's time to start building for the future and more than anything else, it's time to find out which players in this program have the guts to lead the way. Those that are getting in the way of program development will show themselves soon enough.
If it means Strong has to burn the damn thing all the way to the ground, then do it because there's absolutely nothing about the program right now that needs to be preserved. When this season ends, Strong needs to know who he can count on and who needs to likely find another place to play football.
For the next 10 games, 2014 needs to be about 2015. Play the young kids. Find out who in the program flinches in the face of adversity and who doesn't. Once those players that don't flinch are found, build around them.
With a team that in no shape, form or fashion is ready to compete for anything of substance, doing anything less will prove to be a disservice to the long-term viability of Strong's program.
It won't be pretty. It won't be fun. It is much-needed.
So, go ahead, Charlie break the colts until there is no more breaking to be done and if it means setting fire to the stables to finish the job once and for all so be it.
No. 2 - Recognizing one Longhorn that doesn't flinch
While Taysom Hill had one hell of a game on Saturday and would appear to be a dark-horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy, I'm not sure he was the best player on the field.
Even on a night when his team lost by 34 points, the single-most dominant player in the Texas/BYU game was Longhorns junior defensive tackle Malcom Brown.
It's pretty rare when the stat sheet can tell the entire story as it relates to the play of a defensive tackle, but in this case you'd have to say the numbers reflect what happened on the field pretty well.
Eleven tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble.
Whether the Cougars used one man or two in an attempt to block the former five-star from Brenham really didn't matter because Brown just destroyed whatever crossed his path all night. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Brown's performance is that it never dipped when the game started to get away from the Longhorns, as he was perhaps the only Longhorn on the field that refused to go down in anything less than a blaze of glory.
As far as I'm concerned, Brown IS the only captain this team has right now and every player on the team needs to be taking notes.
I'm guessing Charlie Strong wishes he could clone 84 more just like him.
No. 3 - The Tyrone Swoopes story
On a night when the offense scored only a single touchdown, finding positives can be a tough challenge, but there were a few things that the coaching staff can feel good about with its new starting quarterback.
First of all, the offense might not have performed at anything close to a high level against the Cougars, but I didn't come away thinking that Swoopes was the biggest problem on the night or that the game was too big for him. In fact, I was a little encouraged by Swoopes' confidence and body language throughout the game, as I never sensed the frustration of the night was impacting his play.
Secondly, Swoopes showed a pretty live arm throughout the night, even if the Texas coaches seldom let him test it.
Considering that we didn't know whether Swoopes would even be able to function at all, given the circumstances of his development, these two positives from a 34-point loss serve as mini-moral victories. There's something to work with there, it's just up to the Texas coaches to get it out of him, both in the short- and long-term.
If anything, Swoopes looked like a player that wanted to do more, but was restricted by an offensive coaching staff that doesn't yet trust him to open up the offense to him, which explains why the passing game was played inside a phone booth all night.
Of course, the fact that the offensive line serves as nothing more than a turnstile for opposing defenses is an itty, bity problem that isn't going away. If a solid running game and a good offensive line are a young quarterback's best friend, then it's possible Swoopes is surrounded by mortal enemies.
Little by little, Texas offensive coordinator Shawn Watson is going to need to give Swoopes more material to work with because it will take points to win games on this schedule, likely more points than Strong is used to needing in his pre-Big 12 days.
If Swoopes can't handle it all, then he can't handle it all, but the Longhorns can't play for 60 minutes, lose by 34 and not ever truly find out what Swoopes can do, which is exactly what happened on Saturday.
Strong wants his players to play without fear, but he needs to ask his coaches to live by the same code.
Moving forward, if the goal is winning games and not just keeping them close, the Longhorns don't really have a choice.
No. 4 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns
Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray are very good college running backs, but there's just nothing exceptional about either player's explosiveness or overall athleticism, and the offense is suffering because of it with an offensive line that can't open holes for them. Their only chance for success is to make plays on their own and neither has proven capable of that task, as each needs offensive line help that he just don't have.
John Harris is proving to be a nice safety blanket for Texas quarterbacks, but the inability to get the ball into Marcus Johnson's hands seems like a mistake. There's no good excuse for not getting him touches or even trying to get him touches.
. 93,463 fans showed up on Saturday and I have a feeling that might be as good as it gets this season. Will there be a home game all season in which you won't be able to get in the door for 20 bucks?
I re-watched the game a second time on Sunday and can't say that there was single offensive lineman that played at a winning level. Joe Wickline has never had as much work to do as he does right now with this group.
No. 5 - From A-to-Z: A look around college football
All My Exes Used to live in Texas: The biggest upset of the night went down in Columbus and it featured a quarterback who just happens to be the son of a former Longhorn starting quarterback. Yup, Michael Brewer didn't receive an unconditional offer from Mack Brown, but he does have a win in a night game in one of the toughest venues in college football.
Bringing back the 80s: If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Brian Bozworth might need to get a restraining order against Nevada defensive end Brock Hekking.
Close call: Texas Tech didn't exactly overwhelm UTEP as much as it survived the Miners by the hair on its chinny chin chin. Down by three with five minutes to go in the game, Davis Webb took the Red Raiders 75 yards in seven plays to save Coach Cool from a setback loss. Still, there are red flags all over the place as it relates to the Red Raiders.
Doing the damn thing: Down by nine at home to a Michigan State team desperate to send the nation a message, Oregon didn't panic as much as it simply put its foot down and suffocated the Spartans with its speed and playmakers, as it scored the final 28 points of the game and sent the rest of the nation a statement about what it can do in this year's Pac-12 race.
Early Play of the Year: With the score tied at 24-24 with 30 seconds to go in regulation, Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah took matters into his own hands and ripped out McNeese State's heart in the process.
Freshman silliness: Leonard Fournette flashing the Heisman post in his second career game made Kenny Hill blush. Good grief.
Goodbye, dear friend: We're going to miss these two teams playing each other.
Heisman Tracker After Week 2: 1. Georgia running back Todd Gurley 2. Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota 3. Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill
If I had a vote that mattered
1. Georgia
2. Oregon
3. LSU
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida State
6. Alabama
7. Texas A&M
9. Auburn
9. USC
10. Notre Dame
James Franklin ain't walking through that door : Which means we can go back to forgetting about Vanderbilt football after it fell to 0-2 and lost 41-3 to Ole Miss. It must have been nice while it lasted.
Keep off the field: My goodness, did Pat Haden think he was Jerry Jones on Saturday when he left the stands and came down to the sideline to talk to officials in the middle of USC's game against Stanford? And he's on the playoff committee that will name the four teams that play for the national title? Yeah, that makes sense
Let's sit them at the kid's table for Thanksgiving: We're not even 10 days into September and you can pretty much forget about any Big 10 team being a factor on the national level this year, which should make things nice and easy when it's time to put a Final Four into the upcoming playoff. Just to recap, the conference's best chance at a high-impact out-of-conference win went up in flames in Eugene, as Michigan State lost by three scores. Meanwhile, Michigan lost to Notre Dame by 31, Ohio State lost at home to Virginia Tech by 14, Northwestern lost by eight to Northern Illinois and Purdue lost by 21 to Central Michigan.
Maybe the wrong team is in the Big 12: I was going to make a BYU/Texas joke in this space, but I think I'll just move along
Next week's Big Game: Georgia at South Carolina. The only game that matches ranked teams, we all know that South Carolina shouldn't be ranked after its abysmal performance against the Aggies to open the season, but this is a big one for the Dawgs because this is one of the more ominous road SEC games on the schedule. If they can get through the Gamecocks, the SEC East would seem to be there for the taking.
Offense is easy in Waco: Down its starting quarterback and several important wide receivers, Baylor simply inserted the next guys in line and dropped a 70 spot on Northwestern State. Say what you want about Art Briles, but that offense of his is something else.
Picking up steam: Although I still have some doubts about Oklahoma, there's no question that the Sooners have arrived in the 2014 season as if it they been shot out of a cannon. You can nitpick a few things, but Trevor Knight looks incredibly comfortable at quarterback, the running game is making plays, Sterling Sheppard gives them a dynamic playmaker in the passing game and the defense looks very respectable. It's impossible to look at the Sooners at the moment and not see a heavy favorite in this year's Big 12.
Quote of the Weekend: "I feel like we're watching Germany and Brazil in the World Cup."
Fox broadcaster Joe Davis in the second half of the Texas/BYU game.
Replacing Garrett Gilbert: Say what you want to about the former Longhorn quarterback and current St. Louis Rams practice squad member, but SMU's offense is an absolute shipwreck without him. Where is the June Jones offensive genius? After failing to put up a single point in the first seven quarters of the 2014 season, the Mustangs finally struck oil on the final play of the game Saturday against North Texas, the lone bright spot in an embarrassing 43-6 loss.
Stealing Defeat From the Jaws of Victory:: I don't know what else to call what happened to Stanford in its game against USC, as the Cardinal dominated so much of the game, but missed so many opportunities to separate from the Trojans that it allowed itself to fall into a fourth-quarter, one-possession game and it lost. That probably should have been a two-touchdown win when you consider Stanford had the ball inside the USC 25-yard line seven times (and came away with 10 points), rather than a three-point less. That'll sting for a few days.
Tweet of the Day: From our own Anwar Richardson, who literally posted what I was thinking on UT's second drive of the game:
@AnwarRichardson
I want to say something nice about Tyrone Swoopes, but I'm scared to jinx him RIGHT now
U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you ugly, hey! Ohio State redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett had a nice opening performance for the Buckeyes, but he was 9 of 29 for 219 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions against the Hokies. Urban Meyer might be a quarterback guru, but his newest protégé has a ways to go before he's truly ready for prime-time.
Vegas Misses, Too: In the aftermath of what took place at DKR on Saturday, it's a little head-scratching to think that Vegas odds-makers had the Longhorns as a slight favorite going into the game. I'm guessing that mistake won't be made again.
Winning Ugly: For a while on Saturday, it looked like Kansas State was going to take one on the chin against Iowa State, as it trailed 28-13 with a minute to go in the second quarter in Ames. Yet, behind the arm and legs of Jake Waters (377 total yards of offense), Bill Snyder's gang escaped with a four-point road win to kick off Big 12 action. The Wildcats are nothing special, but Waters is really evolving as a player and the fact that he wanted the ball in the final two minutes is a sign that his confidence is reaching new heights. As soon as the Wildcats took possession of the ball at their own 20-yard line with 3:01 left in the game, you just had the sense Waters would win the game for them.
X-Factor: Notre Dame is a different team when Everett Golson is playing quarterback and the Irish might just be undefeated and a top-five team when they travel to Tallahassee later in the year.
Youth is served : Baylor freshman K.D. Cannon took advantage of increased playing time by catching six passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns, all of which went for 40+ yards and beyond.
Zoolander's Magnum Spotlight Moment of the Weekend: UCLA 42 Memphis 35. W.T.F.
No. 6 - How Bout Them Cowboys!!!!!
With my twins dressed in Cowboys blue (and pink) for their first Dallas Cowboys game, it's probably a good thing that
a. They aren't old enough at nearly six months old to know what they are watching.
b. They learn right from the beginning what being a fan of this team is all about these days.
As for the game itself whatever. I do have one question to ask to which I really don't want an answer.
What the hell are we going to do if the best of Tony Romo is behind us and there are many more performances like today left in front of us?
^&%$.
No. 7 - J.J. Watt for President
I said on my radio show earlier this week after J.J. Watt signed his new mega-deal with the Texans that we might be watching the greatest defensive end in the history of the NFL, except we just haven't fully come to the realization because we're still in the middle of his prime and we usually save these types of accolades for the end of a player's career.
In the aftermath of what happened Sunday in Houston, I'm going to say it again
We might be watching the greatest defensive end that has ever played the game in J.J. Watt and it's not because he's that good.
He's that f'ing good.
We're talking Deacon Jones, we're talking Reggie White and we're talking Bruce Smith. Those are the three that represent Watt's competition for that honor and none of them cast shadows over the former two-star prospect from the state of Wisconsin.
In my lifetime, the greatest offensive lineman I've seen with my own eyes was former Dallas Cowboys left tackle Erik Williams when he was in his prime and before he was injured in a car accident that forever changed his abilities. For those that never witnessed Williams in his prime, just know that he used to absolutely beat the otherwise-incredible White to such an extent that you privately wondered if White had stolen his Trans-Am or talked badly about his mom AND grandmother.
Williams didn't so much as dominate White as it seemed like he was physically assaulting him.
In all the years I've watched football, I've never seen a defensive lineman that I thought truly would have wanted a piece of the Williams that existed in 1992 and 1993. Jared Allen? Julius Peppers? Michael Strahan?
Child, please.
Finally, after all of these years, I can say there's a player that might damn well have been up to the task and that player is Watt, who dominates on the field like no other defensive end I've ever seen. Consider what he did Sunday against Washington, whether it was a sack, a blocked PAT, a recovered fumble or general disruption on almost every play, his fingerprints were all over a 17-6 win between two fairly otherwise unimpressive teams.
Hell, maybe it's too soon to hit him with that kind of label, but I know that I can't think of a player that I believe is better than him to my naked eye. Maybe just as good, but sure as hell not better.
I do know this I'd have paid good money to see Williams and Watt do battle for 60 minutes. My gut tells me it would be a better battle than White and Smith were able to muster when given their chance.
No. 8 - Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind
I missed the EPL today, it's true.
I do not want to talk about fantasy football for the next 24 hours.
Jadaveon Clowney just can't catch a break. I'm not going to follow the pack that is calling him Mr. Glass, but I can't deny that the man is always banged up at the very least.
Derrick Johnson suffered a ruptured Achilles in Kansas City's loss to Tennessee. Damn, damn, damn
All of you who were doubting my pick of the Dolphins as a wild-card pick HA!
As for the Patriots, what the hell was that?
I'm not even going to try and explain what happened in the Pittsburgh/Cleveland game, but what a wild opener that was.
If I'm A.J. Green, I'm asking for twice as much money as A.J. Dalton is making.
Am I alone in being as disinterested in the US Open as I've ever been? And that's before the big names on the men's side were eliminated.
Did not watch Adrien Broner's mess this weekend, but I hear he didn't cry, so there's that.
No. 9 - Pop goes the culture because the culture goes pop
Hottie of the Weekend: I wonder if super models should be excluded from the category
Instagram of the Weekend (NSFW): Jen Selter Sexy Bottom on Instagram
Can't Hang: Court grants man divorce over wife's demand for excessive sex
Full Frontal: Kristen Wiig Naked Welcome to Me: "Everyone Is Going to See Everything"
For the butt men (PNSFW) : J. Lo and Iggy Azalea show their rumps in new video
Can't believe it's happening: Clooney getting hitched in Venice
Miley Link of the Weekend (NSFW): The pasties come out to play.
No. 10 - The List: Janis (Listen to the entire list via Spotify)
Without the amount of time needed to fulfill this week's challenge, I decided to give myself another week to finish the quest and I'm leaving you with an oldie, but a goodie.
Let's get on with the list ( subscribe via Spotify )
The last five out: All I Need is Loneliness, Call on Me, Intruder, The Last Time, Move Over
Ok, here we go
10. Trust Me
Janis is in a flirty mood and she wants you to know that it's safe to come on over.
9. Little Girl Blue
You really get a sense for Pearl's range in this beautiful rendition of an old Broadway song, as it's stripped down to a simple arrangement and one of the most beautiful R&B numbers you'll ever hear. It reminds me of Mary J.
8. One Good Man
Oh man, it's more of Janis doing her sultry, dirty, sweaty thing with a sick blues riff behind her. I would imagine that a lot of hippy women seduced their men with this bad boy.
7. Kozmic Blues
More pure vocal greatness. It's a shame this song isn't more known because she rips and roars in this sucker, only to flash her gentleness in spots in a way that just blows your mind.
6. I Need a Man to Love
It's like she's channeling her inner Otis Redding in this grimy favorite of mine. Someone get that woman a man.
5. Cry Baby
It's one of the quintessential Janis songs for good reason, as she slays the beast in a way that has forced singers to try and emulate for more than four decades and always coming up short.
4. Piece of My Heart
It's an all-time classic for a million reasons. In addition to Janis singing the hell out of the song, it's just a great jam that makes you want to move.
3. Ball and Chain
Janis was at her best when she took a hard bluesy number and threw every ounce of dirt and nastiness she had into the song, creating a surge as powerful as the sun. There's owning a song and then there's moving around with it with your hands wrapped around the neck this song is the latter.
2. Me and Bobby McGee
Janis recorded this song days before her death and the song's writer Kris Kristofferson didn't even know it existed until after she had passed away. It turned out to be one of the greatest songs ever recorded and if you want to argue it should be No. 1 on the list, I won't fight you.
1. Summertime
It's one of the all-time great songs that have ever been written and Janis takes it to the moon.
Archives List
Blues/Jazz: Listen via Spotify )
Classical: Listen via Spotify)
Country: Listen via Spotify )
Electronic: Listen Via Spotify
Funk: Listen Via Spotify (Part II - After Hours))
Metal: Listen Via Spotify
Pop: Listen via Spotify )
Punk: Listen via Spotify)
Random: My Number 1's on Spotify
Rap: Listen via Spotify),
R&B: Listen via Spotify)
Reggae: Listen via Spotify)
Rock: Listen via Spotify )
and Listen via Spotify )
