Magus Ossis

So Texas is underachieving and getting exposed lately? Did we have transcendent talent this past year? I don’t see a good parallel between GD and Meh.

Meh may well suck at all aspects of his job. I certainly have no first hand knowledge of who does what in day to day coaching and recruiting. Was Warehime basically Beck’s 1-on-1 coach this year? Was Meh pissing off players early on because he was taking cues from Herman? Our WR room is doing well. Our passing game in general is doing well. I’m in no hurry to fire a guy who on paper is a significant part of that. I was ready to let him go early this last season but am more inclined to let things develop now. As of about half past Maryland, there weren’t many key pieces of the Longhorn operation we thought were salvageable. Maybe halfway into 2019 I’ll have my pitchfork out. Today I don’t.

That is the kind of love for his brother man that shows he is a good Christian associated with the friendliest fan base on earth.

So Collin is getting along better with his Meh, and Bru came to play for Meh. Sounds like it could be worse. Meh is also the passing game coordinator.

Yeah, that sounds like it could even be something like sarcoma. "Horrible" is not usually used to describe the sorts of illnesses that befall otherwise apparently healthy teenagers.

I don't know how much of what is going right should be attributed to Meh and how much to Meekins. I'm in no hurry to try to sort baby from bathwater at the moment.

Just because our star player this past year was an originally 3* WR, our next most productive WR has elected to stay for his senior year, and we have arguably the best class of receiver recruits in the country doesn't mean we should let our WR coach keep his job. The algorithm used to rank Meh #1 is flawed, but the fact remains. If there is a factor holding Texas back, it is not the WR room. Given the law of unintended consequences, I would be quite happy to leave Meh right where he is for now. As for Warehime...

If Army can survive next year's slate with anything like the success they had this year, maybe they deserve playoff consideration. They will run the gauntlet during their regular season, facing production return rank* #5 Rice, #9 Hawaii, and #14 Western Kentucky. That's three top 15 teams. Not everyone fills the schedule with easy outs such as #121 Texas. Speaking of #121 Texas, they will have their hands full early against not only #15 LSU, but even more serious, a week 3 tilt against the #5 Rice Owls. They complete the tough OOC trifecta with a La Tech squad that fell just outside the top 25 at #30. *Connelly SB returning production rank. AP, coaches, and CFP returning production ranks still pending If someone asked you, ceteris paribus, whether 300 pound guys make better OL or whether 250 pound guys do, we know the answer. But what kind of dipshit would become indignant at the suggestion that his predictions for future football game outcomes, modeled based in part on mean OL weight, may be flawed in the case of certain teams or players? Older college football players are often stronger and more mature in a number of helpful ways than are 17-year-olds. Correlating average age of OL would likely suggest some benefit to older players. But that doesn't mean every set of 5 60-year-olds is far superior to every line of 5 20-year-olds.

The crew covering Texas is, at best, flawed. But not in the ways that Looch thinks or says.

One comment mentioned he was in recovery and conscious so it sounds like he either had surgery or passed out. Appendix? Sounds most likely if comment true.

Meningitis should be in the differential too. And skin infection. And asthma exacerbation.

He is like the “scientist” concluding that pulling the legs off a grasshopper impairs its senses because it no longer jumps when approached. Correlation tells you a summary of what you see. It doesn’t tell you how or why. He is looking at aggregate correlation data from varied circumstances and using it not to make aggregate predictions but specific ones. That’s like worrying about breast cancer in the child of someone who died of breast cancer— before confirming whether the person is man or woman.

I would accept it as axiomatic that we don't know how good future players or future play will be. I think we have some reason to believe that we will have growing pains in the defensive backfield but be pretty salty as the season wears on. We are likely to miss LJ but may see an element of breakaway speed on offense this year that opens new doors for us. We have the same QB, the same coaches, and an increasing average talent level. I am not holding my breath for a reprise of 2005, but I am very optimistic on our returning to the CCG with a good chance to win it this year. If anything derails our season, it is likely to be injury/illness at shallows in our depth chart. Get well, young man, for yourself first.

Bill Connelly has a model that is not impressed with Tom Herman's Longhorns? Is such a thing even possible? I'm glad he is trying to dig deeper into what makes teams good. He is trying to dig into a very large pile of data, and he is starting with correlation strength in past seasons as a predictor for future ones. You can use a can each of red, white, and blue paint to make a flag or a big light purple blotch. OU has high percent returning, just not their Heisman QB or any good QB with any experience playing in the system. Or their star WR. Or a few other key pieces of a puzzle that fit together by making an irresistible offensive force and turnstile defense. aggy returns moderate production by his ratings, but again lacks a few important pieces, like their all-SEC RB, their go-to big WR TE, and much of what defense that could actually play. Texas loses lots of older players who were in front of higher rated but still inexperienced players. LJ is a big loss, but Vahe, e.g., is not some third-and-long bulwark who was keeping our drives alive with his pass pro. This production ratio system is designed so that it will overestimate the value of bringing back corches on the field and the cost of graduating "best we had ready at the timers." His bit about preseason ranking for us seems like evidence he has been sniffing his own farts and expects to tell the world how smart he is when we get trashed by LSU and finish near the bottom of or out of the polls.

Yes, but this year they will no longer be talented true freshman backups. Advantage aggy.

Only so many colors and sizes to choose from.

Make coffee and collate scouting reports. And install GPS trackers on assistant coaches' cars.

aggy 1: Why does it always smell like shit around the 8th green? aggy 2: I dunno. I figured that was just when you always had your morning shart from coffee and lukewarm bacon in the clubhouse.

They generally have such classic SEC cream-puff scheduling that they are unlikely to have a W/L crater any time in the foreseeable future. After taking their quality losswin from Clemson next year, they really face no one of note OOC, with most OOC games either G5 or lower division. Their "cross-division rival" is USCe, not exactly known for perennial FB success. Add in Piggie (not the same as it was in DKR's day. Not for a long time) and the historically unimpressive Mississippi schools, and you are left with few real challenges for teams with pulses, outside of Bama, Auburn, and LSU. Beat none or one of those three and drop one or two games against their slate of softies, and they log their customary record of 7 to 9 wins, 10 in a "breakout" year. They will ultimately part ways with Jimbo not because his style crashed and burned, but because he will have turned in a $75 million version of what they had already been seeing for years.

The classic disease that causes one to need blood drawn is polycythemia rubra vera. The way blood doping is screened, this would definitely trigger a positive that would have to be addressed as noted above. EPO (erythropoietin) is legal but only by prescription. It is forbidden in sports because of the competitive advantage of blood that can carry more oxygen. Steroids can be tested directly and by levels of metabolites. Hair follicle testing leaves a trail long after using. If the will were truly there to crack down on PED use, it could be dramatically reduced. The NCAA members and NFLPA want nothing to do with universal monthly third-party-performed hair follicle collection and storage in case of future allegations or failure of a screening test. Head trauma could also be dramatically reduced if players wore "Dark Helmet-"sized helmets with multiple layers of soft cushion, firm cushion and shell. To protect necks, they would need to be hooked to a harness around the torso. People keep researching ways to try to get a similar effect without so cumbersome a device. It's physics: how to protect the brain from the accelerations (decelerations) resulting from jarring the skull. Injury is unlikely to make football go away, but it may and likely will continue to result in change to the rules and the equipment.

Shepherd has natural talents that hold the promise of being a plus contributor as well unfortunately as multiple red flags. Prior to his recent apparent tweet of loyalty and rumor of being on the outs with FWK, if forced with a gun to my head, I would have bet against his signing with us. I have said and continue to opine, though, that attending/missing the aggy Super Bowl party is the big tell. By Sunday night, I think we will know fairly well where he is heading.

@Randolph Duke I heard a new twist on the "More aggy served..." tale recently. This time, if I have the story straight, more aggy officers served in Vietnam than did West Point grads. I didn't see this specific topic addressed at aggypedia and was wondering whether you have a take on it.

Could help the young lady see the aggy true hospitality.

Varies. Assuming no setbacks or delays, meniscus surgery falls in two buckets. Some tears are treated by trimming out the flap that has torn loose. If that’s what it was, he should be back for spring ball. A few weeks are often plenty to get over the surgery. Some tears are repaired. Those guys are generally not allowed to put weight on the hurt leg for at least a month. Would make spring ball a bit dicey but shouldn’t affect next season. Bottom line, a meniscus injury in January should not affect participation even in the summer, barring some bad luck.

ACC and transfer to UT. If you need to start at a community college, better that it be a reputable one in a vibrant city than at a rural home for lying and denial.