Category Archives: Texas Football

When the Horns lose

It was sad to watch the Longhorns break their six game winning streak Saturday night with a 38-13 drubbing, especially fueled as it was by three Case McCoy interceptions, two of which Oklahoma State turned into touchdowns.

And you had to wonder why the Texas defense didn’t play near as well as they had in the previous six games, particularly when they had dominated Oklahoma back in October. But then there was the fact that OK State was just about the best team the Horns have played this season. Much better than Oklahoma. Undoubtedly why the Cowboys were ranked 12th, a long twelve spots above Texas at No. 24.

All the recriminations of September, when Texas got whooped by BYU and Ole Miss, are likely to return now. Sure I liked it much better when the Horns were winning consistently, as they did from about 1999 right up through 2009, but other teams that were good then ain’t so much now either.

It is ironic that the Aggies, who once were an easy enough Texas win most Thanksgivings now figure they’re too good to play Texas again. “Not relevant,” as their president put it back in the spring. I suppose not, not with QB Johnny Football running their new SEC show. He wanted to play for Texas, but Texas wasn’t interested. More irony.

Maybe it is time for coach Mack Brown to go. But I still can’t see him being fired. They’ll have to convince him to retire. Might should also find Major Applewhite a job other than offensive coordinator. But he was a star Texas QB for years. He’s not any more likely to be fired than Brown, who brought UT one national championship and at least getting to play for a second one, though they lost it. The Ags are still trying to get “relevant” enough to play for one. Heh.

It’s a hard game, tackle football, fun to watch when your team is wining. Hard to take when they aren’t. But it’s like anything else. Like they say: you ought to dance with who brung ya’. The Horns of old, back in the days of QB Peter Gardere, brung me, so to speak, when I started paying attention to Texas football. And he could be as erratic as Case McCoy. When his teams weren’t.

Can they beat Texas Tech, which got its own whipping from Baylor? Maybe. Can they beat Baylor, their last game of the regular season? Probably not. It’s hard to see anyone beating Baylor this season. And Baylor used to be the Big 12 doormat where every team wiped their feet. Irony makes the world go round.

UPDATE:  Then OK State validated its crushing of Texas by throttling Baylor 49-17, whose last seven points came in garbage time. Might even make Baylor a trifle more vulnerable to Texas on Dec. 7. But only a  trifle.

It’s fun to watch Longhorns football again

Although, in truth, I almost fell asleep late in the fourth quarter. But only because it was after midnight (that 3-hour lightning delay) and the Texas D was still “steamrolling TCU” as they had all night. Even when Case threw two stupid interceptions, the Frogs couldn’t capitalize because the Texas D simply wouldn’t let them.

Now doormat Kansas should be a gimme next Saturday and probably West Virginia the week after that and maybe OK State the following weekend and even Texas Tech on Thanksgiving. Baylor, we are told, is a powerhouse this year but in truth they haven’t played a good team. If they join the Horns in beating Oklahoma next week, it’ll be time to get impressed and, maybe, worry.

But even if that happens it’s fun to watch Longhorns football again. Something I haven’t been able to say since 2009.

Of slow blogging and Lord Shiva

Mr. Goon complained the other day in a private email that I seem to be slow blogging lately. True.

Reason being I’m formatting, proofreading and indexing my next book, for the second time (don’t ask), a 336-page history of my great grandfather’s 13th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment—mostly taken from my blog about it but with some new material. Trying to get it done and for sale at Amazon before Halloween.

Meanwhile, I’ll mention a recent post I read at Althouse, a favorite blog, on the American Indians complaining about the Cleveland Indians name and logo, not to mention the Washington Redskins. Commenters there (so many of them, whew) caught my interest, as usual.

One: The “Redskins should keep their nickname…but change their logo to a [new] potato.” Ha. No offense to Redskins QB RGIII, a fav of Baylor fans and other Texans who watch football.

Another: “I accept the Fighting Irish and the drunken Leprechaun logo, so I am free to tell (the Indians) to piss off.”

Best: “Truly, it seems like half the people in this country spend all day looking for some way to be a victim.”

My own take: Given all the immigrant Indians from India (and the relative paucity of American Indians) the Cleveland Indians ought to keep their name but change their logo to Lord Shiva, the Destroyer. Much more relevant nowadays.

Is that racist? Tough.

Via Althouse.

Holy Bevo

Nobody but themselves expected the Longhorns to dominate Oklahoma like they did at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas today, 36 to 20.

“The Longhorns won convincingly because they out-physicaled the Sooners, both offensively and defensively. Texas’ offensive line played its best game of the season, as did the defense.”

If these guys show up every week for the rest of the season, they just might win the Big 12 again this year. Hook Em.

Hail Mary, hail yes

It was fun watching Longhorn John Harris pull down Case McCoy’s 44 yard Hail Mary in the closing seconds of Thursday’s first half at Iowa State. After that it was pretty much Case-as-usual, i.e. overthrowing his receiver in the end zone, etc. At least he didn’t fumble or throw an interception.

I often wonder why Texas is stuck with McCoy Jr. and concussion-prone David Ash, but then I remember that McCoy Sr. hasn’t found a starting job in the NFL since he busted his career at Cleveland. Not to mention bad boy Vince who attituded himself out of his first and last NFL starting job at Tennessee.

The extraordinary thing is all the current college stars or starting NFL quarterbacks Texas could have had but didn’t, including A&M wonder Johnny Manziel.

“The [Florida State Jameis] Winston debacle could stand on its own as a red flag that something is amiss in Texas’ recruiting process, but when you add in the lack of an offer to guys like Luck, Mallett, Griffin and Manziel, the pattern is clear.”

Unfortunately clear. It really is time for Brown to go, and after watching the never-very-good-at-passing Case throw 45 times at Iowa State (versus 29 runs) Brown should take play-caller Applewhite with him.

An hour or so after what is sure to be next Saturday’s nuclear destruction by Oklahoma would be an excellent time to send them on their way.

UPDATE:  Ash officially can forget about a possible Sooners collision. The Horns stood little chance with him playing but, probably none with Case substituting.

The Horns unsuck

A new Longhorns team showed up in Austin Saturday night and beat KState 31-21 for the first time in ten years. The suck Horns of the past two games were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, QB David Ash seems to have another concussion.

Can’t imagine Ash’s parents (if not his coaches) would allow him to continue playing, as he would risk disability or even death. And if he doesn’t play again, the unsuck Horns could quickly be back to suck. He apparently is their only QB with an accurate long ball in him.

Johnny F’ing Football

Texas Monthly’s cover article on Aggie’s QB Johnny Manziel is a good ‘un. I like him much better now. Thought himjust a typical teenage jerk before.

He’s from an old Texas family of Lebanese Americans who made it big in oil back in the early Twentieth. The wunderkind is fresh out of a tiny Kerrville high school of no football reputation, except for him when he played QB there. I wasn’t surprised to learn that UT turned him down for a scholarship. They’ve turned down all the good QBs, lately, it seems. But so did Baylor and TCU.

And so did A&M’s old coach Mike Sherman. Only Sherman’s firing, bringing in Kevin Sumlin, saved JFF. So far, anyhow. If he just doesn’t blow it. But he’ll always have the size issue (just 6’1″) far as the NFL is concerned.

Darkwater, an Aggie alum, says “Manziel’s young and immensely talented, but I hope that what appears to be cockiness (as opposed to a great sense of humor) can be kept in check. His Heisman does invite a huge target on his back, and some of the stories are inflated.”

Let’s hope. After watching UT’s Vince Young self-destruct with a bad attitude and Colt McCoy dissemble for the Cleveland Browns, we need a smart, achieving Texas quarterback to brag on. If we didn’t have JFF, ’bout all that’s left (other than Redskins’ RGIII) would be Baker Mayfield, formerly of Lake Travis High, one of the Austin area’s richest preps, now with the Red Raiders.