bullet

From the article: "...When Yormark took the Big 12’s reins on Aug. 1, he hired media consultants at Endeavor and IMG Media to assist in negotiating extensions and the Big 12’s fortunes rebounded when they were able to reach an agreement in recent days that will see a 72.7% increase in the average annual value of its current deal, which started in 2012. The difference between the rights fee ESPN and Fox will pay from the last year of the old deal in 2024-25 and the first year of the new deal in 2025-26 is much more modest. In striking these deals prior to the exclusive negotiating window with ESPN and Fox, the Big 12 managed to achieve several of its primary objectives, namely stability and security, the ability to go back to its 12 member schools to seek an extended grant of rights and a leg up on any future conference expansion. The conference also likes the idea that the shorter six-year deal that runs through 2031 means that the Big 12 will be back in the market ahead of both the SEC, whose deal with ESPN goes through 2034, and the ACC, whose ESPN deal expires in 2036...."

While I agree about the reason for the UT move (along with influence on NIL, pay for play and other rule changes), it wasn't so much the SEC getting inroads into Texas recruiting as certain schools. Yes, Alabama and Georgia were SEC schools, but Ohio St. was not. It was those big names who made the CFP grabbing the blue chips. In 2021 per 247, Ohio St. took the top 2 players in Texas. Alabama got 4 of the top 18. OU had 4 of the top 13. Aggy had 5 of the top 18, but none of the top 7. UT only had 1 in the top 35. Texas Tech and Tennessee got the other 2 players in the top 18. 2020 wasn't as bad, but Alabama got #1 and #13 and Ohio St. got #2 and #23. Georgia got #11.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34870361/texas-steve-sarkisian-sorry-missing-eyes-texas Sounds like Sark should have to run the bleachers. He's been here two years and accidentally forgets a tradition. "Texas coach Steve Sarkisian opened his Monday news conference following the Longhorns' 41-34 loss to Oklahoma State by apologizing for not singing "The Eyes of Texas," the school song, before leaving the field. "As you know, I owe an apology to Longhorn Nation," Sarkisian said. "I made a mistake at the end of the game in not singing 'The Eyes of Texas' when the game was done. That was not anything intentional. That was not anything that had to do with our players. I think our players just followed me up the ramp into the locker room, obviously upset by the way the game ended....""

No sliding. Its really a defenseless position and a QB is going to get badly hurt from a defender who can't stop or who doesn't see it. Plus if they are going for the midsection and you slide, you get hit in the head.

I would have taken the penalty. Their kicker was really good under 50 yards.

Exactly. I'm pretty sure they should have stood over it. They certainly do it to us. I've seen them stand over the ball until the offense has to call a TO to avoid delay of game.

Winning close games is the sign of a good coach and good program. Losing close games is the sign of a bad coach and a program with a losing attitude. To get to the top you need to be able to win the close games. That is one of the biggest red flags in my mind about Sarkasian. Charley Strong era Texas should NOT be our standard.

https://texashsfootball.com/nfl-quarterbacks-from-texas/ Just 25% of the starting NFL QBs in 2020.

He looked a little frustrated yesterday, but I don't have a problem with Worthy. We just have a problem with QBs getting the ball to him when he's 5 to 10 yards ahead of the DB he just outran.

I was curious. P5 games yesterday average penalties per team was 6.4. Most penalties was Texas with 14. Second was Tennessee in their rout of UT-Martin with 13. Next was 11. Fewest was Oklahoma St. with 0. Next were Cal and Missouri with 2. Largest gap was 14 Texas-OSU. Next largest was UTK-UTM at 8 (13 to 5) and BC-WF at 8 (11-3). In the other 20 games, 16 games the gap in penalties was 0 to 4. 2 it was 5. 2 it was 7.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/commentary-college-football-review-are-refs-needling-usc-texas-and-other-expansion-defectors/ar-AA13hr1f USC fan: "...I did not rip the officiating in my column from Utah because I did not allow myself to be fully convinced that a Pac-12 crew was taking every opportunity to punish USC for leaving for the Big Ten and propping up one of the best remaining Pac-12 programs that was playing a must-win game at home. No, I could not make that premise the focus of my column because it simply had to be wrong. Pac-12 refs are just bad, right? Their ineptitude does not discriminate. But then I saw Texas 14, Oklahoma State 0. And I had to wonder: Are Pac-12 and Big 12 officials making it extra hard on their departed? Texas, future Southeastern Conference member, is in its second season of its Big 12 farewell tour. USC, future Big Ten member, is in its first season of two saying goodbye to the Pac-12...."

Here is what is on the air next weekend. Networks seem to definitely be more fond of Big 12 than ACC and Pac 12. Big 10-ABC-2, Fox, ESPN2, BTN SEC-CBS, ESPN, SECN-3 Big 12-Fox, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 (Texas is off this weekend and OU is on FS1) ACC-ABC (ND at Syracuse), ESPN, CBSSN, ACCN-3, ESPN3 (Miami!!!) Pac 12-ESPN (late night), FS1-2 (one on Friday), ESPNU, Pac 12N AAC-ESPN, ESPN2, CBSSN, ESPN+

Well there were also those multi-interception games against UH in the late 80s when we gave them 60+ 3 straight years, but at least they were throwing it somewhere in the vicinity of a guy in Burnt Orange. Even Garret Gilbert vs. Alabama managed to get us back into the game before fumbling it away.

Surprised we are #26 in both polls. Top 3 loss team.

The biggest positive is the upgrade in talent. Mack got complacent and bad at evaluation. Strong was lazy. Herman couldn't keep his people. Maybe next year we will have the best talent in the Big 12 and a good base for the next coach if Sark doesn't get it done then.

Especially considering it only happened 3 times in the 15 years before we got here. And it only happened 3 times in that time span by the rest of the Big 12 combined. Before "he" got here

Oh, I'm not ready to fire him, but he's turning out so far just like he did at his previous stops. Same for Tom Hermann-won unexpected games, lost unexpected games. Same for Mackovic, great offensive mind who had good games and bad games and no defense. Same for Mack-great recruiter, really good teams, but almost always 2nd place in the conference. 7 win Sark looks like a 7 win coach. Don't know why we expect coaches to perform better than the did elsewhere.

There are coaches who can lose despite talent. Sark may be one of them. We'll see. All I can say is he's a vastly better recruiter than Strong and not a total complete dumbshit coach like Strong was. Will he ever get us beyond 8-4? Jimbo is 3-4 at this point. He's another of them. He was about to get fired at FSU after winning a title.

We've had a LOT worse pass blocking games. Pressure was probably worse every single game last year and QBs didn't miss their receivers by 20 yards. You must be the same people who kept trying to say Charlie Strong was a good coach despite all evidence to the contrary. Ewers may end up being a really good QB, but he had one of the worst performances in Texas history yesterday. I don't know why, but Ewers was historically awful.

Execution was bad But other than Ewers looking like a HS freshman, the other disturbing thing is a pattern of standing around on defense, which is why OSU got that last TD. Jamison wrapped him up and two other guys just stopped and watched. When he slipped away from Jamison, it was a TD. Same thing happened with one of those long TDs last week. What happened to running to the ball? Is it a fear of late hit penalties? Laziness?

Stanford/ND was on the Notre Dame network, so they weren't getting paid for that.

LHN just had a stat explaining Sark. Last two years, Texas has lost 5 games with double digit in first half. The rest of the Big 12 combined-3 games. All Texas teams from 2006-2020-3 games.

I was hoping the Iowa St. game was a sign we had gotten over that.

Half the calls were legit, stupid offside or false start. The real issue was that somehow there were 0 vs. Oklahoma St. And there were 3 total bullshit calls that were so bad the refs had to huddle and call off the flag. I've never seen so many picked up in a game. At least one of the refs was determined to let OSU win for whatever reason.