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W-L Predictions for Conference Play

The defense has gotten better every time out. Offense, playcalling and special teams(kicking to be specific.) are still about where they were last year.

Like I said I know we all want to beleive we are in better hands and have our own theories about what will happen in the future or what would of happened in the past. The truth is none of us know at this point. I remember many thinking the OU Gand a couple years ago was a turning point for Stromg, it wasn't and then we thought the ND game was the turnimg point for Strong. It wasn't and those were wins. Now we're saying a close USC loss is the sign Herman is the guy... maybe that will prove to be the case. But being skeptical of that doesn't make a strong loveror less of a fan. Texas could very easily lose the next 4 games and be 1-5. We need to see more from Herman before he should be considered better than anyone.
Show where someone on here said that because Texas played USC tough they have arrived. It seems you stack up your own strawman to knock it down. YOU are the ONLY one on here who thinks Strong should still be at Texas.

It doesn't matter if Herman is the guy in this argument. WE KNOW STRONG WAS NOT THE GUY.
 
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Has nothing to do with Strong. I've just seen sevreal times people remark "well our coaching is better so we will win x". What have we seen where anyone can make that statement right now? Could Herman be better than Strong? Yes he could be. I don't think we've seen nearly enough to make the assessment that he is or isn't. So anyone making proclamations or predictions based on the coaching being better is WAY ahead of themselves at this point.
I can understand some hesitation here. I myself thought that Herman's on-field coaching would be way way better than Strong. We haven't seen nearly as many dumb penalty and time out errors with Herman as we did with Strong, but I agree that we HAVE seen some questionable play calling that I didn't think we'd see.

However, the biggest difference to me is the eye test when it comes to our players. Even in games we won with Strong, we looked like a team with bad fundamentals. We looked like a team that wasn't prepared and wasn't intense. We looked exactly like we did with Maryland. Since then, however, I've seen marked improvement. We looked crisp against SJSU. And even though we lost to USC and we made several mistakes in the game, we looked poised and we looked prepared and we looked hungry and we looked every bit like our players believed they could overcome. THAT is something I rarely saw, if ever, in 3 years with Charlie Strong.
 
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However, the biggest difference to me is the eye test when it comes to our players. Even in games we won with Strong, we looked like a team with bad fundamentals. We looked like a team that wasn't prepared and wasn't intense. We looked exactly like we did with Maryland. Since then, however, I've seen marked improvement. We looked crisp against SJSU. And even though we lost to USC and we made several mistakes in the game, we looked poised and we looked prepared and we looked hungry and we looked every bit like our players believed they could overcome. THAT is something I rarely saw, if ever, in 3 years with Charlie Strong.
Ditto. They looked like they belonged on the field. There was some hitting going on by the defense. Subjective - yes. But true.
 
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I can understand some hesitation here. I myself thought that Herman's on-field coaching would be way way better than Strong. We haven't seen nearly as many dumb penalty and time out errors with Herman as we did with Strong, but I agree that we HAVE seen some questionable play calling that I didn't think we'd see.

However, the biggest difference to me is the eye test when it comes to our players. Even in games we won with Strong, we looked like a team with bad fundamentals. We looked like a team that wasn't prepared and wasn't intense. We looked exactly like we did with Maryland. Since then, however, I've seen marked improvement. We looked crisp against SJSU. And even though we lost to USC and we made several mistakes in the game, we looked poised and we looked prepared and we looked hungry and we looked every bit like our players believed they could overcome. THAT is something I rarely saw, if ever, in 3 years with Charlie Strong.
I can see what your saying here about Strong cleaning up some of the penalties and all that, but I will say that could have as much to do with players growing up and gaining expierence as much as the change in coaching.

To me the Iowa state game will be a real test. It's easy to get the guys prepared to beat SJSU after they just got their ass kicked by Maryland. It's easy to have a great week of practice and play hard against USC. I mean those are the games you dream of playing in. I'm curious what hapoens in the Iowa state game. If we come out and really look like the best team on the field(the way we should look) that would go a long way to telling me ok we're headed in the right direction here.
 
Show where someone on here said that because Texas played USC tough they have arrived. It seems you stack up your own strawman to knock it down. YOU are the ONLY one on here who thinks Strong should still be at Texas.

It doesn't matter if Herman is the guy in this argument. WE KNOW STRONG WAS NOT THE GUY.
I'm not debating weather Strong was or wasn't the guy. I know that's a fight you beleive you are having with me but it's a one man fight. My position on Strong is and alewys has been that the guy is a good coach who was a bad fit for a lot of reasons. Agree with that or don't I don't really care. I've never said Strong should still be at Texas you've made that up to fit your own agenda against me... Thats certainly your right to do so it's a free country but it's not true. I get that you don't like he for whatever reason. Again. Your right im certainly not losing sleep,over it.

My questions and skeptsim of Tom Herman having nothing to do with Stromg. I beleive Clob as alluded to this in a few posts he's made. If you disliked the Strong hire based on the idea that he wasn't ready or qualified for a job like Texas you HAVEto be skeptical of the Herman hire because they have basically the same resume. But big money guys, fans, etc seem so sure that he's the guy. All I'm asking is why what is it that we've seen so far? You are among a few that are very sensitive to that and instead of engaging in dialogue you've chosen to make this about me liking Charlie Strong or even calling me an Aggy.
 
I'm not debating weather Strong was or wasn't the guy. I know that's a fight you beleive you are having with me but it's a one man fight. My position on Strong is and alewys has been that the guy is a good coach who was a bad fit for a lot of reasons. Agree with that or don't I don't really care. I've never said Strong should still be at Texas you've made that up to fit your own agenda against me... Thats certainly your right to do so it's a free country but it's not true. I get that you don't like he for whatever reason. Again. Your right im certainly not losing sleep,over it.

My questions and skeptsim of Tom Herman having nothing to do with Stromg. I beleive Clob as alluded to this in a few posts he's made. If you disliked the Strong hire based on the idea that he wasn't ready or qualified for a job like Texas you HAVEto be skeptical of the Herman hire because they have basically the same resume. But big money guys, fans, etc seem so sure that he's the guy. All I'm asking is why what is it that we've seen so far? You are among a few that are very sensitive to that and instead of engaging in dialogue you've chosen to make this about me liking Charlie Strong or even calling me an Aggy.
When you speak every person on this forum hears this "blah blah Strong was done wrong blah blah Strong is a good coach blah blah blah Herman is the same as Strong blah blah

I don't have any agenda against you other than you acting like Strong is Saban and was not given a chance. This "fit" crap is getting old to.....a bad fit means he can't coach worth a crap at a high level.

Strong is the coach at USF. Feel free to go over there and worship him. YOU keep bringing up Strong. YOU. No one else. YOU. Strong absolutely sucked at The University of Texas. Period. The END.
 
When you speak every person on this forum hears this "blah blah Strong was done wrong blah blah Strong is a good coach blah blah blah Herman is the same as Strong blah blah

I don't have any agenda against you other than you acting like Strong is Saban and was not given a chance. This "fit" crap is getting old to.....a bad fit means he can't coach worth a crap at a high level.

Strong is the coach at USF. Feel free to go over there and worship him. YOU keep bringing up Strong. YOU. No one else. YOU. Strong absolutely sucked at The University of Texas. Period. The END.
@ryan_sublett...Yes let's compare how Herman has coached up our players vs how Strong did in some head-to-head scenarios.

In 2016, after beating ND, we come out against UTEP and win 41-7. Impressive? Yes. But I remember watching that game and thinking we didn't look that great. Compare that to this year SJSU 56-0. First of all, our offense scored 15 more points this year against SJSU, despite having a true freshman QB in his first start and no Foreman. Secondly, our defense pitched a shutout. Sure, last year against UTEP they only scored 7, but look at SJSU. They have averaged a MUCH better offense than UTEP has. They put up 19 points early against Strong's USF team. Our defense holding a decent SJSU to 0 is far more impressive than last year's defense holding crappy UTEP to 7. The coaching change from week 1 to week 2 here is far better than anything I saw Strong accomplish. But will it continue...?

Week 3 against USC, our defense maintains their strength, keeping the #4 team and Heisman-caliber USC offense to only 17 points in an entire regulation game. That's outstanding. Compare to last year's game 3 against Cal. Both in hostile California environments. Which school had the better offense? 2016 Cal or 2017 USC? I think that's an easy answer. And yes, our offense didn't play as well against USC as our offense played last year at Cal. However, we are dealing with a better defense in USC and we are dealing with several injuries. Furthermore, I remember watching that Cal game and cringing at how poor we were playing. I rarely did that at all this weekend against USC.

It's true that we will know more next week after Iowa State and we will know more each and every week. We have a very small sample size to pull from. But even an easy glance over Strong's resume at Texas has questions.

Compare 2017 game against SJSU to 2016 game against Kansas.
Compare 2017 game against USC to 2015 game against Cal. (looks like Maryland, which I believe is a holdover from the Strong influence)
Look at 2015 Rice game. 42 to 28 is not very impressive.
2015 ND lost 28-3. Ouch. Not even competitive.
2015 Iowa State. Shutout. Let's see how we look next week in Ames.
 
I'm not debating weather Strong was or wasn't the guy. I know that's a fight you beleive you are having with me but it's a one man fight. My position on Strong is and alewys has been that the guy is a good coach who was a bad fit for a lot of reasons. Agree with that or don't I don't really care. I've never said Strong should still be at Texas you've made that up to fit your own agenda against me... Thats certainly your right to do so it's a free country but it's not true. I get that you don't like he for whatever reason. Again. Your right im certainly not losing sleep,over it.

My questions and skeptsim of Tom Herman having nothing to do with Stromg. I beleive Clob as alluded to this in a few posts he's made. If you disliked the Strong hire based on the idea that he wasn't ready or qualified for a job like Texas you HAVEto be skeptical of the Herman hire because they have basically the same resume. But big money guys, fans, etc seem so sure that he's the guy. All I'm asking is why what is it that we've seen so far? You are among a few that are very sensitive to that and instead of engaging in dialogue you've chosen to make this about me liking Charlie Strong or even calling me an Aggy.

How many more times are you gonna keeping harping on strong. He wasn't just a bad fit, he sucked here. End of story
 
How many more times are you gonna keeping harping on strong. He wasn't just a bad fit, he sucked here. End of story
You guys are the ones harping on Strong. Every time I don't kiss Hermans rear a couple of you start talking about me defending Strong. A few of you have this obsession with proving he's awful. Most of us have moved on. You should as well.
 
Strong will never be a successful coach at a level higher than a Louisville or USF. Also, talk about a baked cake, USF was built for success due to his successor that upgraded to Oregon.

Strong is not a good game manager, nor is he good at conveying his message once the poo hits the fan. He is a quality recruiter (yet all the highly ranked in-state kids were still in exodus during his tenure) and a good coach.

Herman is a different cat, in all aspects of the game.

Apples and Oranges
 
Strong will never be a successful coach at a level higher than a Louisville or USF. Also, talk about a baked cake, USF was built for success due to his successor that upgraded to Oregon.

Strong is not a good game manager, nor is he good at conveying his message once the poo hits the fan. He is a quality recruiter (yet all the highly ranked in-state kids were still in exodus during his tenure) and a good coach.

Herman is a different cat, in all aspects of the game.

Apples and Oranges

They may be apples and oranges, but the result on the field is still fruitcake.
 
If you disliked the Strong hire based on the idea that he wasn't ready or qualified for a job like Texas you HAVEto be skeptical of the Herman hire because they have basically the same resume.

Ryan what I've learned is just because you have the same resume as someone else doesn't make you the same person. Herman and Strong are not the same at all you can even tell during press conferences. I liked Strong and I was one that argued about his resume too. These are two different people with different visions for their teams.
 
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They may be apples and oranges, but the result on the field is still fruitcake.
...and yet, I already feel more comfortable with this staff early on. It's a different product and they certainly appear headed in the proper direction. I couldn't say that about a Strong team from week to week.

I hate fruitcake...
 
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Aw yeah! We have about 20 black bananas in the freezer. It's time to make a few loaves.
 
Hmm. Lots of new information to consider. Had OU sneaked away with a win today over Iowa State, I would have picked them to lose next week. But now I think they will be pissed and hungry for blood. Also, TCU looks like the league champion. Baylor and Tech look harder to beat than before. WVU is tough. Ok State looks beatable. My predictions after being 3-2:

Saturday Oct. 14 Oklahoma Sooners I think our team is a bit tired and beat up and we won't be able to match up with OU's fury.
LOSE (3-3)

Saturday Oct. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys I think this will flip with the OU game. If we happen to beat OU, we will probably lose here. But I suspect we lose a close one to OU, the players are pissed, and we come out at home against Ok St ready to play and we win by 7. Our offense should be able to beat their defense.
WIN (4-3)

Saturday Oct. 28 at Baylor Bears No longer a sleepwalk, but we have got to win this.
WIN (5-3)

Saturday Nov. 4 at TCU Horned Frogs TCU easily looks like the best team in the league. I think Herman will make this close, but TCU will outmatch us.
LOSE (5-4)

Saturday Nov. 11 Kansas Jayhawks Don't take them for granted. But should be easy. Get bowl eligible this week.
WIN (6-4)

Saturday Nov. 18 at West Virginia Mountaineers By the end of the season, Herman will have us clicking on all cylinders, and we will win this out.
WIN (7-4)

Friday Nov. 24 Texas Tech Red Raiders We will need to score a lot of points, but hopefully we've found a great offensive rhythm by the end of November.
WIN (8-4)

big12-logo-70.png
Big 12 Championship Game
I just don't think we are quite there this year. This will probably be TCU versus one of the Oklahomas.

Bowl Game
Herman has plenty of time to prepare us for this and we walk away with a victory.
WIN (9-4)
 
Texas is good enough to beat everyone in the league. But, Texas is very inconsistent. Because Texas is a young team with a new coaching staff, I expect them to improve each week & be more consistent as they find their identity (what works really well, most of the time).
 
Texas can beat everyone that remains on the schedule. I had KState as the 4th most difficult remaining and while it was a grind. That's how KState go. Texas had two beautiful drives with no points, the game could have been slanted in Texas favor. As this team grows, you don't want to face them...The USC coach hit that nail on the head.
 
Texas can beat everyone that remains on the schedule. I had KState as the 4th most difficult remaining and while it was a grind. That's how KState go. Texas had two beautiful drives with no points, the game could have been slanted in Texas favor. As this team grows, you don't want to face them...The USC coach hit that nail on the head.
If only Texas had Williams, Rodriguez, and Shackleford back and healthy.......although Cuney played very well....there was not a lot of pressure up the middle and NO bad snaps that I remember...which is one thing Shackleford will do from time to time.

Texas is learning how to win...slowly but surely.....
 
Texas can beat everyone that remains on the schedule. I had KState as the 4th most difficult remaining and while it was a grind. That's how KState go. Texas had two beautiful drives with no points, the game could have been slanted in Texas favor. As this team grows, you don't want to face them...The USC coach hit that nail on the head.
Yes, the K St game was way closer than it should have been. Ignoring injuries, we left 6-13 points on the field. Additionally, our defense had them pinned and stopped deep and a pass interference call led to a huge TD throw from scrimmage that was a 14-point swing after us not scoring.
 
We know now that our defense can shut down any offense in the country. So the question is...can our miserable offense find a way to score points against the remaining 5 defenses? And will our defense continue playing lights out despite little confidence our offense will help them out by scoring enough points to win games, now that we are 3-4.

Saturday Oct. 28 at Baylor Bears No longer a sleepwalk, but we have got to win this. Our defense should be able to shut them down.
WIN (4-4)

Saturday Nov. 4 at TCU Horned Frogs TCU easily looks like the best team in the league. They are playing scary, each and every week. Hopefully we can keep this game close like our other big games, but I don't think we have the offense to win in Ft Worth.
LOSE (4-5)

Saturday Nov. 11 Kansas Jayhawks Never take them for granted again. But should be easy.
WIN (5-5)

Saturday Nov. 18 at West Virginia Mountaineers WVU is a good team, but I don't think they're as good as OU or Oklahoma State. I personally don't think they are good enough to call this 'the moment' but we should be able to finally get an upset this week and get bowl eligible.
WIN (6-5)

Friday Nov. 24 Texas Tech Red Raiders We will need to score some points, but hopefully we've found some kind of offensive rhythm by the end of November. Our defense should be able to hold Tech under what they scored against Iowa State.
WIN (7-5)

big12-logo-70.png
Big 12 Championship Game
TCU versus one of the Oklahomas.

Bowl Game
Herman has plenty of time to prepare us for this and we walk away with a victory.
WIN (8-5)
 
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We know now that our defense can shut down any offense in the country. So the question is...can our miserable offense find a way to score points against the remaining 5 defenses? And will our defense continue playing lights out despite little confidence our offense will help them out by scoring enough points to win games, now that we are 3-4.

Saturday Oct. 28 at Baylor Bears No longer a sleepwalk, but we have got to win this. Our defense should be able to shut them down.
WIN (4-4)

Saturday Nov. 4 at TCU Horned Frogs TCU easily looks like the best team in the league. They are playing scary, each and every week. Hopefully we can keep this game close like our other big games, but I don't think we have the offense to win in Ft Worth.
LOSE (4-5)

Saturday Nov. 11 Kansas Jayhawks Never take them for granted again. But should be easy.
WIN (5-5)

Saturday Nov. 18 at West Virginia Mountaineers WVU is a good team, but I don't think they're as good as OU or Oklahoma State. I personally don't think they are good enough to call this 'the moment' but we should be able to finally get an upset this week and get bowl eligible.
WIN (6-5)

Friday Nov. 24 Texas Tech Red Raiders We will need to score some points, but hopefully we've found some kind of offensive rhythm by the end of November. Our defense should be able to hold Tech under what they scored against Iowa State.
WIN (7-5)

big12-logo-70.png
Big 12 Championship Game
TCU versus one of the Oklahomas.

Bowl Game
Herman has plenty of time to prepare us for this and we walk away with a victory.
WIN (8-5)


Been going according to plan so far. I think Tech in Austin day after Thanksgiving will be a fun game but I give us 80% chance of winning that. But 6-6 going into a bowl game doesn't look very impressive. That's why, for me, this Saturday's game at WVU is the most important game of the second half of our season. No one really expected us to beat TCU, and everything else has played out as scripted. At this point, losing to Tech would be a disaster and simply can't happen. Splitting, with a loss at WVU, puts us right where our projections have us. If Herman wants to light a fire and instill some confidence, we have to find a way to upset the Mountaineers. They're a good team and it's a tough road game, and although not a top-15 upset, it would be an impressive win and gives the Horns the chance to end the season 8-5. This game has enormous potential to sway perceptions.
 
Been going according to plan so far. I think Tech in Austin day after Thanksgiving will be a fun game but I give us 80% chance of winning that. But 6-6 going into a bowl game doesn't look very impressive. That's why, for me, this Saturday's game at WVU is the most important game of the second half of our season. No one really expected us to beat TCU, and everything else has played out as scripted.

The Maryland game was a bad one. But yeah I was hoping for an 8-4 record with a win against OU or OK St. I'll really be happy now if we can win out and then win our bowl game. Go out on top and hopefully go into offseason with excitement for next year. Some of the fans need some hope because if not this board will be "we suck" post all off season and I don't think I can read through that until Sept.
 
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I think 8-5 if we can win this week would at least make everyone feel like we’re at least pointed in the right direction, and gives Herman some momentum headed in to the offseason. I’m sure Herman doesn’t want a 5-7, 6-6 type season with the heat getting hotter on Beck and he by proxy.
 
Where is flourBluff horn ? I’m interested in hearing his take on the state of the program.
 
FBH is probably trying to dig up DKR as we speak. Funny thing is, he thinks he has all of the answers on how to fix UT football, but I don't recall him saying who he would have hired to have replaced Mack or Strong. :rolleyes:
 
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