High Plains Redemption

It would be cliché to report that our lives have been changed by the digital age and the instant access to information and ability to be “connected.” In addition to all the pluses and minuses of this instant access and connectivity it also, in my opinion, has caused the desire of many of us to, want, make and accept instant declarations, pronouncements and predictions about the future. Some recent dandies: Robert Griffin is the best player in the NFL, Penn State will be lucky to win more than two games in 2012; Tiger Woods will never win another major. One of my favorites closer to home from a few years back was the wide spread judgment, a few games into his freshman season, that Colt McCoy was not the “guy” to lead Texas back to the upper echelon. If social scientists conducted a study comparing the accuracy of predictions about the future in the recent digital age versus the pre-digital age—whenever exactly that was—I predict their findings would show no higher degree of accuracy in the digital versus the non-digital age. Also they probably would find that the prediction business has proliferated on a per capita basis during the digital age.

As for our Longhorns, the consensus of pronouncements about their 2012 future prior to the Texas Tech game were premature, at least by one week. You don’t need to read this to know how superbly David Ash, Mike Davis, Jonathan Gray and Carrington Byndom played. Or how, finally, the offensive and defensive lines performed up to expectations. For the first time this season Texas was fun to watch. What happened?

The over whelming observation I take away from this game is that for the first time in a long time Mack Brown and his staff out coached their counter parts on the opposing sideline. Texas’ game plan put the aforementioned players in position to play up to their potential. Texas throwing passes, long ones at that, on first down out of running formations. Who would have ever expected that?  Obviously not the Texas Tech coaches or players.  I’m not an expert but Brown and Diaz seemed to have simplified the defense.

Texas did a lot less shifting around and play to play substituting than in previous games. This seemed to have given the defense a better sense of mission and confidence than in previous games. It appeared to me for the first time this year that Texas went after the win rather than just expecting one, or in the case of the Oklahoma game, hoping for one.

I will not make any predictions or pronouncements about the rest of Texas’ season based on their performance against Texas Tech.  My hunch, though, is that if the coaches and players plan and prepare for the remaining games like they did for the Tech game they will have a high degree of success. If they get back to Austin and lapse into their old habits, their future may fall back into line with the pre-Texas Tech game consensus.

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Have you ever seen Mack Brown so gleeful after a game?  I was very pleased that Brown didn’t gloat or call out his critics after the game. I think it’s a good sign.

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It will be hard for me to root against Alabama after seeing A.J. McCarron’s emotional reaction to their dramatic win over LSU.  In the words of Tom T. Hall, I love winners when they cry.  It was very humanizing for Alabama.

Over/Under Results

It was another week of tough going in the Texas Tech Over/Under with an average of 5.2 correct answers from a total of 14 players. It was made tougher by the flawed question written by moi, which team would have more turnovers. That easily could have been trouble if both teams had the same number. Interestingly it was flawed because neither team had a single turnover. You don’t see that very often.

Anyway, there was a four way tie for second place with Mark Adams, Tom Yoxall, David Frink and Mark Stephan scoring six correct answers.  At the end of regulation Art Zeitz and Helen Frink were tied for the win with seven correct answers. Both Art and Helen picked Oregon over USC, but Helen correctly picked Alabama over LSU to beat out Art who picked LSU. It was Helen’s second career  victory in Over/Under both coming down to the tie breaker.  I must note that Helen resisted the urge of picking LSU just for the sake of picking against Alabama whom she dislikes very much.

HooK eM,

W.E.