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I wanted to take a couple of minutes to highlight some things I noticed during (and after rewatching) the OU game. This further supports a lot of positive indications that Herman can now rely on base-line competence from the offense and, accordingly, can set up and install wrinkles to trip up opponents. Basically, as I’ve told a friend, Herman is smart enough and a good enough schemer that he can basically “create” an offensive touchdown or two a game just by scheming it (so long as everyone does their part). Don’t know what I mean? See below: Play 1: Mesh/RB Wheel to Tre Watson You all know this play. But let me set the scene: Texas and OU are tied 10-10 at the beginning of the 2nd quarter. Texas is backed up at 3rd and 20, and Ehlinger completes an 18 yard pass to Andrew Beck, setting up a 4th and 2. Texas rushes to the line and sets up to run the QB sweep that Ehlinger would pound OU with, but OU calls timeout. After the timeout, Texas comes out with its base 11 personnel, but OU puts in a heavy personnel package to try to stop the 4th down attempt. OU has three down linemen and four linebackers are on the field. Texas throws a swing pass to Tre Watson, who gets enough for the first on a lunge past the sticks. After the first, Texas rushes to the line, keeping its same personnel package. OU doesn’t have time to substitute. The result? Here’s what the formation looks like pre-snap: At the bottom of the screen, Collin Johnson and LJH are lined up, and they’re covered by OU cornerback Tre Brown and…. Defensive End Mark Jackson? Herman immediately sees the gift he has been given and assumes that Jackson will have responsibility for whoever runs a route into the flat. He’s right. Jackson jumps Tre Watson’s flare route, looking like he almost thinks he can pick the pass off by jumping in front of it. Unfortunately for him, Watson isn’t running a flare; he’s running a wheel. Watson turns on the jets and runs by him. Jackson actually commits a pretty flagrant hold here, trying to prevent Watson from abso-fucking-lutely torching him. But to no avail. Touchdown Good Guys. This route combo is similar to one that Texas has had a ton of success on against OU in the past, although we’ve traditionally thrown the wheel to a slot receiver. Think Marcus Johnson in 2013: And Devin Duvernay in 2016: Urban Meyer’s playbook calls the play “mesh sit,” and draws it up like this (the below is a carbon copy of what we actually ran): I would still like to see this offense run the mesh/wheel more, because I think it could be a devastating route combo with Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay on the post/wheel portion, while big bodies Beck and LJH run crossing routes in the middle of the field. Something like this out of trips, maybe? So this is what I mean when I say Herman “created” a touchdown. We’ve had this route combo in our back pocket all year, waiting for the right time to use it. Once we got OU to overextend itself by putting too many big defenders on the field, Herman immediately went in for the kill. Play 2: Sam’s QB Stretch Play(s) These, too, need no introduction. Sam hammered OU all day long with the QB stretch, rushing for three scores, even when OU was overloading the field, trying to prevent the runs. But how were they so successful? Why did OU have no answer? The answer, my friends, lies in Herman’s QB Power/RPO package that Texas ran against TCU. Here’s the formation Texas ran repeatedly against OU: Look familiar? That’s right. It’s the same pre-snap look as Herman’s QB Power/RPO package that we ran to great effect against TCU (pre-RB motion): Why is that important? First, Stoops and Co. have seen this formation on film and they know that Texas can successfully run a WR bubble out of it. Here, that bubble would go to LJH. In fact, OU is in such a tizzy trying to get lined up that the bubble to LJH probably would’ve scored on this play. They also know that the package features a QB power look, meaning they have to keep enough bodies in the middle of the defense to prevent Sam from gashing them up the gut. And they know that the set features a WR tunnel screen, so they cannot just pin their ears back, hoping to stop the QB run. What’s the result? OU has to play (pretty much) base defense against this look, because they know they can get hit anywhere across the field from it. What’s the result? Texas is able to repeatedly gash them with the QB stretch play, because (unlike TCU’s response to this formation), their defensive end is lined up INSIDE the tackle, and their outside linebacker is lined up just outside the tackle. The result? They can all be reached by run blocks, leaving Keaontay Ingram to kick out the force defender. Fucking touchdown. I love this sequence, because it shows a lot of maturity from our offensive staff to remember what they put on film against TCU, to self-scout and analyze how other teams will react to it, and to come up with new and interesting wrinkles to use off the same formation for successful plays in the future. The result of these QB stretch runs will likely be that the other portions of the RPO package open back up. And if teams start overloading the TE/RB side, a RB counter with Keaontay Ingram is definitely in the cards. But the coup de grace will be when we line up in this formation and run the “fake” stretch run with a pop pass to Beck. This would actually be the exact formation and play as LJH’s pop-pass to Collin Johnson on our first offensive series, but we’ll run it with Ehlinger to Beck. Excited to see it. Conclusion: Football is chess. Your opponents study your previous moves, so gambits you’ve successfully pulled off in the past will not work in the future. But knowing that your next opponent will watch what you’ve done previously and work to stop it can be put to your advantage, when you can exploit your opponent’s counters. Mike Stoops fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is “Never get involved in a land war in Asia. But only slightly less well known is this: “Never go in against a Texas Longhorn, when the golden hat is on the line!” Now let’s go whip the shit out of Baylor.

So does he.

Well, there's also the choice about which Senator will actually be there to answer the phone and really work for Texans when Texas-specific interests - which may be INCREDIBLY important to Texans, but aren't sexy and don't get much coverage on Fox and CNN -- need the assistance of a US Senator. Beto has a history of taking those calls and working for those issues. Ted has a history of letting the phone ring, and focusing on campaigning in Iowa. I may disagree with Cornyn on many things, but the man and his office answer the phone and actually work on the un-glamorous issues behind the scenes that really matter for the people of Texas. Your life is much more significantly impacted by things like the electric power grid, water planning, etc., than it is by anthem kneelers and such. Ted is a no-show on the issues that actually matter to you in your daily life. But you've done a damned fine job of being suckered away from what's really going on by carnival-level sleight of hand.

I don't think he's mentally ill. I think he's just a stupid person who has acquired a platform to show us how stupid he is. His rants sound like they come from a passionate but immature and uneducated teenager because that's as far as his mental capacity ever developed. It only seems crazy because we expect more coherent thought from an adult. Now here's the fun part... Guess which one I'm talking about...

Yes, but it's still much better than having "I am Taylor Hamm" in your profile

This is specifically who I was referencing. Now that the news is out, a couple of other thoughts to add here: 1) His cousin is the QB at Melissa and he's a 2020 guy. He could be QB2 in the 2020 class for Texas. He's good, he'd be developmental, and he's a practical choice. 2) They'd take Lewis, Washington and Powell, still. Powell could play multiple positions, so he's not necessarily a WR. 3) None of this would impact the recruitment or offer to Bru McCoy. 4) If Texas keeps winning, there could be some last minute feeding frenzy issues that impact numbers, so some of the WR calculations are probably fungible. Should be interesting to watch.

Yeah, but do you get to see cool animals in the background whilst discussing recruiting and then go have to find your kid? Didn't think so. You don't get that kind of stuff from a "text group".

This should be good for recruiting.

I really don't care, do you?

So about those NFL kneelers . . .

The Russians beat you to it.

It’s cute how you and Matt Mackowiak and all the little GOP step n’ fetchits posted the same thing around the same time on the same day. How compliant of you. Newsflash: I’m a fairly successful person and I admire business success. Ted Cruz is a career political operative and he’s done really well financially for a guy who never spent a day in the real economy or created a single job. Beto O’Rourke and his wife, on the other hand, made real money in the productive economy. That fact that you think doing well financially through your own work and good fortune is a political liability is your dumbass party in a nutshell. If only Beto had stiffed contractors and filed for bankruptcy multiple times, he could be the GOP nominee for president.

I'd rather not orchestrate a fabricated rivalry with a football program that used gang rape as a selling tool to lure players and is a textbook example of selling your soul to win football games.

Just think what would happen if she were to turn Asian too

Are you paying attention to any of the things you’re saying?

You should go work for the FBI and help catch serial killers.

As someone with shared custody, I think he's a piece of shit for interrupting what time he does get with his kids to talk about college football recruiting. Fuck Taylor Hamm, that worthless fuck.

Most here have expressed sympathy for his kids. The guy publicly posted a video of his kid crying because Hamm would rather chase HS football players than spend time with his family. Then he did a recruiting chat from what was supposed to be a zoo visit with his children. He should be made fun of for his divorce because he has made it clear, in public, that he is a shitty father and I am sure that also means he was a shitty husband.

NO.

I think that Tom Herman is a fascinating character study and his character is very much the foundation of his coaching style as well. I’ve said elsewhere that Herman seem like he’s somewhere on the spectrum. He displays major social anxiety, OCD and a very literal turn of mind. TH also displays unusual body language and odd word choices. Not necessarily Asperger’s but something like it. Fortunately for us, it would seem he’s got of bit of Rain Man in him. Using the Myers Briggs system from afar I would call Tom Herman an ISTJ. The Introvert part is an easy call. He may be the most self-contained HC I’ve seen at a major college program. One characteristic of introverts is that they have few but close relationships. When Herman says that the only people who matter are in the locker room and advises players to tighten their circle he is going to his default settings. He is not comfortable in group settings with strangers and associates. You can see that discomfort fall away when he’s with close friends and his football family. He’s also a lot more comfortable in one on one or in small group settings. He genuinely cares about the team and the program far more than about anything outside the circle. Young people are pretty good at sniffing out hypocrisy and they are reacting positively to the devotion of their head coach. Herman may seem arrogant at press conferences but the truth is he doesn’t care that much what the rest of us think because he wants to focus that energy on the team. That and his social awkwardness combine to leave a bad impression. The Sensing part is not quite as obvious but still quite clear. Our HC is intensely practical, extremely detail oriented and very literal minded. You can see the last in the way he often qualifies statements so as to be as correct as possible. The detail orientation shows up in the way he has so many facets of the program pointing to his practical goals. He wants toughness and he has installed an offense that promotes it, preaches it constantly and hired an S&C coach and DC to instill it. Herman is obviously a Thinking rather than Feeling personality. He even thinks about stock questions at pressers when 95% of the coaches would blurt out some pre-determined coach speak boilerplate. The Judging factor shows up in the detail, detail, detail, planning and focus. The setup of tendencies just so they can be broken is one product of this trait. His constant focus on the next game is as well. 1-0 and “how we respond” are the result of this. Eventually some player(s) who lack TH’s natural inclination may break under the relentless focus but it seems to be working well for him so far.

Someone on this thread ya voting for the “Hispanic immigrant.” I’m still laughing. How about this—y’all go ahead and vote for a fucking Canadian. I’ll vote for the native born Texan to represent this state in the goddamn senate.

Just a reminder that if you want to prevent people from voting, you are an unAmerican piece of shit.

Hey, y'all know how I keep reminding you that the Republic is doomed? We have a thread topic in the politics forum titled "Kanye." I presume that there is no further debate about my thesis, correct?

The majority of that 1/3rd of the population view Democrats and establishment Republicans as "the man" that's been keeping them down. They like Trump for the same reason they liked Stone Cold Steve Austin -- he provides a proxy through which they can vicariously fight back against the politician, the boss, the bitch ex-wife who has makes their life shitty. There is a tiny minority of that 1/3rd that are economic elites that care about only their own wealth and preserving the existing structure where their position of power is assured. Ironically, it is they that have made the decisions to automate away our outsource the jobs that used to keep that majority of the 1/3rd in the middle class. Those economic elites have crafted a very effective whitesploitation campaign to manipulate under-educated, lower-class white people to their own ends. And that's why the GOP is happy to stay in bed with Trump. He is showing them exactly how to preserve their relevance against the inexorable shift toward a white-voter minority in this country.

Welcome to college football 2018. There's Alabama and everyone else. I don't think any conference has more than 1 or 2 "very good teams" so the odds of a team facing multiple very good teams this season is low. Go through the conferences to see who the very good teams are. ACC - Clemson and ??????. Clemson has looked OK this season and they've been fortunate they have not faced another similar "very good" team this season while they transition to the Trevor Lawrence era. The rest of the ACC is hammered dogshit. B1G- Ohio State for sure, though their defense is shaky (though not as bad as OU). Penn State is a carbon copy of OSU with worse coaching apparently (elite offense, avg to below average defense) and Michigan has navigated the easy part of their schedule since ND. Is either PSU or Michigan a very good team? Probably, though one might end up with 3+ losses before the season is done which means they were probably just a good team. SEC- Beyond Alabama (who hasn't played anyone yet-their season really starts after Thanksgiving), there is Georgia (who hasn't played a very good team yet) and........Barn? Nope, they've already lost 2. LSU? Better than expected, but if they lose to GA this week, they aren't better than 9-3 this season. SEC has actually been worse than is perceived.....this was a year that QB play was supposed to elevate the league, but has been disappointing beyond Tagavoila. (Say, what happened to that Lock fellow everyone was talking up last December?) Maybe the SEC needs to import more Hawaiians/Polynesians. Pac 12 After Dark - Probably should have most of their games after dark since the only difference between the Pac 12 and ACC this year is the ACC has Clemson. Washington may be the best of a sad bunch but no very good teams here. I think TX is a Top 15 team, but probably not a Top 5 team, even if we were to magically win out and get to the playoff somehow. We aren't elite at anything, but instead have relied on developed talent executing at a reasonably high level to succeed this season. I say reasonably because we do have Maryland, Tulsa, and K State data points to suggest that we haven't been at a high level all season. But against USC, TCU, and OU we have played at times at an elite level, though not for 4 quarters. Assuming we win this week, I think 9 wins becomes the floor (absent a rash of injuries). Sam may not be VY or Colt, but he's playing at a high enough level (coupled with an improved o-line) to get us to competing for the conference championship this year, which was a big goal this year and the right trend marker.

The Dallas Morning News may not have called Ted a liar, but anyone with half a brain can see that he lied. Beto did not support a $10 per barrel levy. Ted claimed that Beto did support a $10 per barrel levy. That is a lie. Just like Ted has lied many other times to the people of Texas. It really amazes me that the so-called tough guy Republicans who stand up for all that is moral and good for this country are perfectly happy having Republican politicians lie to their faces repeatedly simply because the lie is something that they want to hear. That is not tough and that is not Texan. Texans value honesty and integrity and when someone lies to their face, they call them on it and put them in their place, not the Oval Office or the Senate. The Texans like you and Johnny Sack who eat up Republican lies like a fat kid at DQ and say, "please, sir, may I have some more" are not tough as Texas. You're fucking pussies.

View from our first campsite on the Nehalem River Some pics as we explore our way south down the coast. I think most of these were in Samuel Bardman State Park The Lady Bird Johnson Grove and our campsite in RWNP. Rogue River Gorge Not much sun the day we were at Crater lake, but the occasional sun really made the blue water pop on occasion. Umpqua Hot Springs carved into the side of the mountain. View from the Timberline Lodge. Views from our campsite near Mt. Hood. Waterfalls in the CRG This was the best view we got of MSH. Tons of rain and wind. It had snowed there earlier in the morning. The edge of the blast zone, 14 miles away, and the new bridge.

Well, to be fair, Ted Cruz is also a crime against humanity.

Depends

Give me a Big 12 title and a Sugar Bowl berth and I’d be more than happy with that. Not gonna lose any sleep over the CFP this year.

Wait so a 4 team playoff with 5 P5 conferences is perfect? Got it. It would really make the NFL interesting if they just told the NFC East champ "sorry you are out of the playoff even though you won your division." This stuff will and has always been a beauty contest and it will continue to be until you expand to 8 teams, 8 is perfect. Conference champions are automatic and then after the conference champions you take the next 3 highest ranked teams, possibly giving the Boise States and UCFs of the world a chance. EDIT: The above is what will most likely happen if we go to to an 8 team playoff; I however, would like to go to an 8 team playoff, do away with a biased committee and re-introduce a better version of the BCS system with a little bit higher emphasis on SOS, and let that system determine the best 8 teams and then let those teams duke it out. I thought the BCS actually was pretty accurate, people just hated the fact that it determined a 2 team championship game, especially in 2008 when we were more than deserving of a shot at it.

WTF!

Thursdays in the Humidor - Recruiting Edition (10/11/18)

Saquon is the second best Nittany Lion ever at hitting small holes.

He's a mentally ill person who makes music people like. Really not any deeper than that.

Well, It's less developed now...

It’s refreshing to see an incoherent rant in the Oval Office not coming from the President.

This is a good thread as our fanbase in general (probably all fanbases) overreacts way too much with a Big L or Big W. We weren't going 3-9 (as some predicted) after Maryland and we don't want any part of Bama now. Watching a replay of OU, there were certainly some great with a big mix of absolute shit on both sides of the ball. This is an improving team that is fun to watch but we're not near ready for prime time. Our inconsistency will almost certainly result in another L or 2. I just want to get through this weekend with a W so hopefully the staff can step back and spend a weak refocusing on fundamentals. As long as we don't fuck it up this weekend, our bye really couldn't come at a better time to get things cleaned up and get healthy for the home stretch.

The mythological Texans may feel that way. But real Texans are not very smart.

There are already two dicks in the video. How many more does it need?

Isn't that the beauty of "originalism"? You get to ascribe a single intent to a large group of people with varying viewpoints who after lengthy debate and negotiation put down a single compromised position on paper. Its always bullshit, so the judge gets to pretend like whatever interpretation fits their political leaning is what the original drafters must have intended.

OP sounds like a fucking moron. No other sport does the "playoffs" the way college football does theirs. Not even the divisions under FBS. The "playoffs" are fucking terrible as they don't even take into account every P5 conference winner. The only sport where a team can go undefeated and not be recognized as anything. They get to play in a glorified scrimmage. The bowl system is so fucking lame yet so many enjoy it. They don't count and are scrimmages. Every single one of them besides the 3 playoff games. The rest are meaningless. It's a sport that only cares about the revenue and nothing else.

That's a long interview by Dvoracek and it's impressive that he finished it without getting arrested.