Imagine that you’re a Longhorn fan who has been in a coma since late August. You’ve just awakened and one of the first things you do is go online to see how the Texas football team is doing. You can’t believe your good fortune. Not only have you awakened from a two-month coma, your Texas Longhorns are 9-1! They beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa for goodness sake. They sit atop the Big 12 standings and to use an overused cliché, they control their own destiny in the Big 12. All that stands between Texas and a date in the Big 12 Championship game are wins on the road against an unranked 6-4 Iowa State and at home against unranked Texas Tech. By the way, Tech has TT on their helmets. But wait, it gets even better! Texas is #7 in the College Football Playoff rankings. So, if Texas wins their two remaining regular season games and the Big 12 Championship game they have at least a 50/50 chance of making the four-team CFP Playoff.
You don’t have to have just awakened from a coma to have an appreciation of where Texas stands 10 games into the season. Yet there are many Texas fans who aren’t totally satisfied with the team’s performance. An informal, unscientific poll of Willie Earl readers shows that a majority are either not satisfied at all or are sensing impending doom for Texas in their remaining regular season games and the Big 12 Championship game if they qualify. To this writer, the Longhorns are a mystery. I have no sense whether Texas will finally dominate a lesser opponent, continue to let big leads slip away but still win, or will finally lose a close game.
Old Man Rant
Sarkisian and the players talk a lot about how great the “culture” of the team is. They cited a play from the TCU game as an example. You probably remember the 1st quarter interception of a deep shot by Quinn Ewers. TCU’s Millard Bradford returned it 40 yards before Jordan Whittington caught up to him and forced a fumble recovered by Xavier Worthy. It was a heads-up hustle play by Whittington and Worthy. But that’s what they were supposed to do. To make a hustle play into some kind of heroic example of your team’s great culture elicits a sigh and an eyeroll from me. And I would counter, if your culture is so wonderful, why are you struggling to put away inferior teams such as Houston and TCU? Why did you start out the second half of the TCU game lethargic and passive? Did you think you had the game won? I would think a team of elite players and an elite coaching staff with a great culture wouldn’t be hanging on for dear life against teams they are heavily favored to defeat. You can bet that if Texas loses one of their remaining games that Sarkisian and the players will talk about how their culture will help them endure a shattering loss. Don’t tell me about your culture. Just go out and stomp some butt. I’ll bet that’s what Michigan is going to do to Maryland on the road Saturday and what Georgia will do to Tennessee in Knoxville.
Iowa State at night oh my
Iowa State is dangerous in Ames at night right? In 2023 they’re 1-1 beating TCU and losing to Kansas. In 2022 they were 0-2 in Ames at night losing to Kansas State and Texas Tech. Borrowing a game for Pardon the Interruption on ESPN: Is playing a night game in Ames a big deal, a little deal, or no deal at all? My answer: No deal at all.
How Texas can lose to Iowa State
Iowa State quarterback, Rocco Becht, is good. Here’s what my friend Paul Wadlington has to say about him: QB Rocco Becht has improved in fits and starts and he’s averaging 7.4 yards per attempt, has a 15-7 TD/INT ratio and has enough mobility and elusiveness to be a problem extending plays. I like him. He doesn’t really play scared. Even when he should.
Becht is the type of quarterback that historically has given Texas problems. Texas’ secondary frequently busts assignments. This could be exacerbated by a quarterback that can extend plays. Can’t you just picture Becht leading Iowa State on a game winning drive late in the fourth quarter by making plays against a confused Texas secondary?
We know that Jonathan Brooks is good. With him out for the rest of the season, we may find out he’s even better than we realized. What if Brooks has been making the offensive line look better than they are by gaining significantly more yards than average running backs would have? If Texas struggles in the running game, will Sarkisian chuck the run game and have Ewers throwing the ball all over the lot? Remember last season when Ewers was 19 of 49 in losing to Oklahoma State and 17 for 39 in losing to TCU? Losing patience in the running game is a classic Sarkisian way to lose.
Of course, Texas could lose in the standard ways teams lose games such as committing crucial turnovers and having catastrophic special teams breakdowns.
I predicted a 41-16 Texas win over TCU last week. No prediction this week. As I said above, the 2023 Longhorns are a mystery to me.
Hook ‘Em,
W.E.
Glenn Campbell, a Frink family favorite for generations.
I still get something in my eyes when I see videos of Glen Campbell singing Wichita Lineman, Galveston (especially), or By the Time I Get to Phoenix. Was privileged to see him in concert three times. He was one of greatest entertainers of our, or any, time.
Horns in the all-white unis, seems to me, just have too much talent for the Cyclones.
Glenn Campbell is also a favorite here. To borrow his lyrics, I need you (a win) more than want you… Hook ‘em.
I’d be overjoyed to be wrong tonight. Betting the “don’ts”……..