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statsman

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Everything posted by statsman

  1. He is seven wins behind Saban at year’s start. He is 38 behind Bryant. Robinson and Paterno are past Bryant. It might be just Saban that he’s chasing.
  2. On the Sooner boards, they’re taking the long view- they want to hire a young, innovative up-and-comer at OC to fix the offense. Which is hilarious. There are no sure things there. Sure thing OCs take new jobs as HCs, not OCs. The kind of OC you can hire is more like Tim Beck, Sterlin Gilbert, Kendall Briles. That’s just how things are now. They hired Riley in 2015 and made him HC in 2017. Or, they can hire an up-and-coming position coach as OC, which is a gamble. The end for all these “what if we…” decision trees end up at the same place- “Make a list of HC candidates “
  3. Far be it from me to quibble with you, but I think you’re severely underestimating the economic allure of Indian casinos and legal cannabis products. Is it possible you have not visited the state of Oklahoma recently?
  4. But, is it? Ten years ago, I really felt that Mack, for all his talk about looking for a high point to leave on, really didn’t want to go from $5.5 M per year for coaching to $1.5 m per year for emeritus status and some broadcasting. Would you? He ended up getting a buyout (low eight figures), I believe For all that we can say, “He has made plenty and ought to be set”, how can any of us make that decision for him? Not knowing anything, the correct play for UNC is to assume he believes he needs the money, and to not assume any benevolence or generosity.
  5. I would. Arnold isn’t coming back next year. His NIL hit is too big, and he’s not taking a cut. OU won’t put all their QBing eggs in one basket again (I expect them to seek a new QB in the portal), and they’re not budgeted for two big NIL QBs. So, if he’s not coming back next year, what is his role this year? Frankly, I won’t be surprised if he leaves the team, as a mutual decision agreeable to both parties. Of course, I may be talking out my ass. A lot of this probably depends on how payments are scheduled. OU has screwed their QB position up like I have not seen in decades. Letting Gabriel get away was a huge mistake, but the precursor, the original mistake, was assessing Arnold, and the OL, and deciding he was good enough to commit the 2024 season to.
  6. WRT Hawkins’ performance. Yes, he led two TD drives. No, he was not running an offense. Klatt noted that, in the second half, OU abandoned the run game and balance, and just asked Hawkins to play hero ball against a Vol defense playing to keep everything in front of them. You can try to build on that. You’ll have something like the John Chiles offense of 2007 Texas or Jerrod Heard of 2014.
  7. Amended IFY
  8. I think you’re forgetting (or have suppressed) Blake Bell in 2013. Against Texas: 26-12, 133 yards (longest was 47), 0 TDs, 2 picks. Four sacks.
  9. Exhibit A in “why the B1G’s academic standards precluded them from accepting OU as a member”
  10. I had a summer intern who played water polo. She said that, pregame, officials did a fingernail check and clipped nails that were too long, for safety.
  11. In 2021, Patterson was openly telling TCU boosters that they needed to pay up, or other schools were going to take their best players away. After his experience at UT, I got the idea that Patterson doesn’t dislike what college football has become as much as he doesn’t want to run a program that is at a disadvantage (not enough money) in the modern game.
  12. To be fair- in ‘99, Mack(and Texas) allowed it to dominate the week. Mack offered to cancel the game (Texas had already clinched the B12 South), and encouraged everyone off the two deep to donate blood. The LHB made a special half time show. In 2009, the Ags really tried hard to play up the 10th anniversary. Texas (the whole school and program) declined to participate (the TAMU-Baylor game was actually closer to the 10th anniversary date). Thankfully, the broadcaster (ESPN) declined to play up the Ags’ commemorative activities, too. (I have to wonder if someone from Texas spoke to ESPN). Still, we know that in the off season, Ag regents explored starting their bonfire up again, on campus, unsuccessfully. I fully expect the Ags (none of whom in leadership were around 25 years ago) to make a big deal about it, seeking an emotional and sympathy edge.
  13. Thx. Even if it’s 2:30, that’s late enough to overcome hotel jackassery. Also, Sark is wired different from Mack. When the Ags try to play up the 25th anniversary of the bonfire collapse (I have a 98% expectation that they will), Sark is more likely than past Texas coaches to say, “What does that have to do with me or my team?” And refuse to engage.
  14. There was no way to prepare the allied forces in the Pacific in the 1930’s and ‘40s for the dichotomy of the Japanese- at home they would be kind and considerate to a fault, and at war they would kill surrendered prisoners and eat their livers. Similarly, this staff will just have to learn about Ags for themselves. Luckily, it’s a night game this year, right? So no breakfast denial shenanigans
  15. Three games on ESPN or Fox on Saturday is pretty good for them. Kansas/TCU streaming is something
  16. Drew Kelson made the point that, although OU and the Ags are in a similar place, they got there from different directions. Sooners are so used to good football, they have cognitive dissonance. The Sooner fans cannot conceive of a crappy offense wearing crimson and cream with paper clips in their helmets. It doesn’t compute. Meanwhile, the Ags expect their crappy offense to excel because they have no idea what good football looks like. Driving home this morning, the Sooner podcasts were more entertaining than the Texas podcasts. I suspect Venables is much like the Sooner fanbase- he has been attached to not just good, but exceptional offense for over a quarter of a century, and he doesn’t quite get how much planning and good work goes into having one (although he will either learn or go back to being a DC). This is why Castiglione gave Venables a preseason extension, so as to not be forced into a premature decision. OU is much like the Dallas Cowboys right now. They gave a lot of money to Arnold, Burks and Damonic Williams and expected them to be great, because they cost a lot. It doesn’t work that way. Now, Arnold might have a future. Who knows? OU has gone decades since not having a capable QB on the roster (interrupted by short stints of Bell and Breville). Making decisions without having solid answers is a new territory for them. If Arnold has a future, can OU commit to it?
  17. I believe it. In 2013, after the embarrassing BYU loss, powerful boosters were unhappy. Mack told them- “you won’t have to fire me. I’ll resign at season’s end.” A couple of games later that became, “If I don’t win the conference, I’ll leave gracefully”. After the loss to Baylor, he told them that he thought he saved his job by playing for the conference title on the last weekend.
  18. Without getting paid
  19. The Texas schools in the B12 have a lot of history, and should care about playing each other, but I’m not convinced they do. Baylor and TCU have one of the longest rivalries, and yet, only occasionally played each other while not in the same conference. TCU is declining to continue its SMU series. The dynamic you see repeated again and again- the school perceived to have (or believes it has) the superior status is less willing to schedule its longtime nearby rival if it’s not forced to by its conference.
  20. That is an amazing quote by Taurasi. I mean, in the NBA, touted rookies come in all the time, take a while to get their legs and catch up to the speed, and then ignite. I can’t imagine LeBron (who was a highly touted rookie like I just described) saying about any NBA rookie something like Taurasi did. Is the WNBA really that different?
  21. The cheat code for college HC’s is to have a HC with a rep for developing QBs. That allows the programs to have QB depth at a discount, and makes the OL and WR recruiting pitch simpler. I see theee programs like that in P2: Texas, USC and Bama. Who are the Mid2 and G5 HCs (or OCs looking to move up) with that rep? That’s who Florida should be looking at.
  22. As for the Texas schedule, when opponents were announced in June 2023, MSU had just come off a 9-4 season and Florida had been 6-7 in Napier’s first season. I don’t think anyone expected both of them to challenge Vandy for the wooden spoon.
  23. In a nutshell- the B12 does great on Friday night, competing with HS football. It suffers on Saturday, going up against good games. Oh, and people like to watch Sanders’ CU team.
  24. Sure. And the Big XII is similarly dumb for not having UH play TT these next couple of years, as well as TCU dropping the SMU series.
  25. I enjoy that aspect. I find my needs for nearby games and rival fan interaction are met just fine by having OU, TAMU and Arkansas on the annual schedule. I think Baylor fans needs are met just fine by having TCU, UH, and TT on their annual schedule.
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