Hard not to be emotionally involved in that one. I wish we’d won.
During the game, I told Helen that Texas was a stupid football team. How are they stupid? I don’t have the energy to count the ways.
Briefly
- I could argue that the two blocked kicks against Texas were the difference in the game. Texas has allowed two punts and one field goal to be blocked through four games. I don’t have the data, but it seems to me that teams that have punts and kicks blocked almost always lose.
- If I was Tom Herman, I would have seriously considered going for two points after the touchdown that tied the game at the end of regulation. I have a witness. It’s possible that since Texas didn’t have any timeouts left, Herman didn’t think he had time to get a play called. Of course, that’s a terrible reason not to go for it since every game plan should include the play you’re going to call for a two point conversion. I don’t think Herman is a quick-twitch thinker. To be fair, Herman would have been roundly criticized—not by me—if he had gone for two and failed.
- Of all the criticisms of Tom Herman I’ve read in the last 48 hours, the one that made the strongest impression on me was this. Herman has his second-best offensive tackle playing center. Derek Kerstetter is good pass protector as a right tackle. He’s not a good center. In year four of his tenure, Herman doesn’t have a starting-caliber true center.
- On a sugar high after the Sugar Bowl, Chris Del Conte gave Herman a five-year contract extension. When will we ever learn?
HooK ‘Em,
W.E.
