Dreaming
Take me, shake me and tell me this ain’t a dream
~from Stephen Bishops”Save it for a Rainy Day”
Texas beats Notre Dame. Texas easily handles a lower tier opponent and beats the point spread. Texas is #11. Texas has a good and potentially program-changing quarterback. If you told me these things were going to happen six months ago, I would have told you you’re dreaming.
Observations from the UTEP game and the weekend
The offensive line, without three starters most of the game (four if you still count Tristen Nickelson a starter), played better than any Texas offensive line since 2008. Tackle Elijah Rodriguez, in pass protection, was the only glaring weak spot I noticed. As long as Kent Perkins, Conner Williams, and Zach Shackelford come back healthy this week, this is a unit with serviceable depth.
Jacorey Warrick, with nine receptions and a touchdown after two games, is a real weapon for this offense.
How ‘bout that three-star recruit Travis Roach? The freshman linebacker has had a noticeable impact in both games so far and is logging much more playing time than five-star linebacker recruit Jeffery McCulloch. He’s #32 in your program for those of you keeping score at home.
The lady who sits behind me did show up. Sigh.
I thought running back Chris Warren looked just OK against UTEP. He needs to develop some vision for the holes and run lower in my opinion. According to my favorite Longhorn blogger Scipio Tex, Warren is miscast as a standstill running back in the spread offense. In other words, he needs a running start like tailbacks get in an I formation. On the other hand, I like what I saw from freshman running back Kyle Porter. In the words of Darrell Royal, he’s got some spurt.
I attended Westwood High School football games for seven years and they always, I repeat always, had a kicker who could get kickoffs into and in many cases out of the end zone. Why is it so difficult for Texas to have such a kicker?
To kill the boredom while stretching before a nine-hole round of golf on Sunday, I was watching the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers game. I saw #85 on San Diego catch a pass and I thought, that’s Antonio Gates. Then I wondered, how the heck do I know that? If you’d asked me five minutes earlier, the only Charger I could have named was Philip Rivers. I don’t know anything else about Antonio Gates, not where he went to college, not how long he’s been with Chargers, zilch, zero, nada yet I knew who #85 was who just caught a pass. Then, five minutes later, Helen, while doing a crossword puzzle, asks me, hall of famer Wagner’s first name? Without missing a beat I answered Honus, as I walked out the door. Again, how do I know that? I don’t know what position Wagner played, what team or teams he played for, or what era he played in and yet I instantly, confidently knew the answer.
I’m not gloating. Not at all. In fact if anything just the opposite. Just think what I might accomplish if so much useless information wasn’t stored in my brain.
That’s all for now. Seems like I’m much more prolific when I’m criticizing the Longhorns than when I’m pleased with them. Let’s hope these columns remain short.
Over/Under Results
The contest this week proved to be slightly more difficult than last week with an average score of 5.8. Interestingly, all 16 contestants correctly prognosticated that Shane Buechele would throw fewer than two interceptions.
We may have to label Steve Holstead, “tough-luck Steve,” as he tied for first place for the second straight week but was nosed out by David Frink in the tiebreaker. Steve and David’s educated guesses were right 8 out of 10 times this week. David earned his victory calling it Giants 24, Cowboys 20.
By-the-way, if, over the years, you’ve wondered, why my write-ups of the Over/Under Results are kind of goofy, I’m mimicking my 5th-grade gym teacher’s style in the 1967 Vestal Hills Elementary School “Hoop Scoop” intramural basketball reports.
HooK ‘Em,
W.E.
