Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 5)

[BurntOrange&White 39677]

1 minute ago, BigHorn'13 said:

How people continue to watch this team and think it's the defense that's losing us games baffles me. Name one team that won this conference this millennia that runs a "control the clock" offensive philosophy? 

This offense sucks and there's no excuse. 

Oh there is an excuse...

 

[ClubWhatever 12087]

7 hours ago, Valmy77 said:

I know the offense scores points somehow

3 of the 4 defenses we have played are atrocious.  We went to quadruple OT with one of atrocious ones and only scored 45.  Points will trend down for the rest of the year.

[BabaYaga 15214]

25 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

3 of the 4 defenses we have played are atrocious.  We went to quadruple OT with one of atrocious ones and only scored 45.  Points will trend down for the rest of the year.

Yep, how many points did TCU score on us?  Held the 14 the following game.  Buckle up fuckers.  Pains coming....

[Mikey4 2476]

How people continue to watch this team and think it's the defense that's losing us games baffles me. Name one team that won this conference this millennia that runs a "control the clock" offensive philosophy? 

This offense sucks and there's no excuse. 

It's because of the tech game. The defense was absolute shit, we scored a zillion points, and we still barely won. After that, the defense has shown improvement. It's still not Muschamp 2008 or whatever, but it's moving in the right direction and is not our biggest problem. Nevertheless, the narrative was written after the tech game and it's taking time to fix. It doesn't help that we've lost two games such that everybody wants to burn the whole thing down.

 

[927 E. 41st 1124]

 

 

DeShon Elliott

 

@OfficialShon_4

Y’all thought Coach Strong was a bad coach... what’s y’all take now ?

 

4:01 PM · Oct 10, 2020

 

Easy answer, I now think Tom is a bad coach and Charlie was a awful coach. As much as I want Tom gone, he's better than the worst coach in UT history.

 

[LTtxfan 48988]

 

[utexas8 1433]

 

Probably not since both hate Herman.

[dcar00 14036]

3 hours ago, 927 E. 41st said:

 

 

DeShon Elliott

 

@OfficialShon_4

Y’all thought Coach Strong was a bad coach... what’s y’all take now ?

 

4:01 PM · Oct 10, 2020

 

Easy answer, I now think Tom is a bad coach and Charlie was a awful coach. As much as I want Tom gone, he's better than the worst coach in UT history.

 

these former player takes comparing Herman to Strong are LOL.   Herman is losing and sucks but he's not getting run by 30 fuckin points.  Charlie Strong was easily the worst coach in UT History and its not even close.

[Jack Wilson 313]

1 minute ago, dcar00 said:

these former player takes comparing Herman to Strong are LOL.   Herman is losing and sucks but he's not getting run by 30 fuckin points.  Charlie Strong was easily the worst coach in UT History and its not even close.

Defending Herman by saying, "Well, at least he's not as bad as Charlie," is downright embarrassing because Charlie was, bar none, the worst coach in the history of Texas football--hell, maybe in the history of all football.

[dcar00 14036]

18 minutes ago, Jack Wilson said:

Defending Herman by saying, "Well, at least he's not as bad as Charlie," is downright embarrassing because Charlie was, bar none, the worst coach in the history of Texas football--hell, maybe in the history of all football.

WTF, who is defending Herman?

[satyanash 14281]

(Ian Boyd) Inside the gameplan: Understanding Herman's failure in the Cotton Bowl

Quote

There are a lot of questions and conversations about what is ahead for the Texas Longhorns. The season is in a very bad place after losses to TCU and Oklahoma, a near loss against cellar-dwelling Texas Tech, and looming road trips to Stillwater and Manhattan to play the teams at the top of the standings. Obviously if not for Sam Ehlinger’s heroics when allowed to play with spread spacing and tempo, Texas would have lost to Tech by some margin and been blown out by Oklahoma.

This team is playing pretty weak football. Obviously, most people have accepted it and would like to simply move on. “What’s next? Will Tom Herman be fired? When will that happen? Who can we money-whip to come in and replace him? I thought we were going to be Goliath! What do you mean Goliath lost?” It’s valuable to understand exactly what is going wrong to get a good sense of what can and should come next. So let’s revisit a few major themes in the Red River Shootout.

I thought I had a pretty good idea going into the Red River Shootout of who the 2020 Longhorns were as a team. The truth was more grim than I anticipated but the greater shock had to be for Tom Herman. The Texas gameplan for winning the 2020 Red River Shootout paints a very different picture of what this team was in the eyes of Herman than how I saw things with a somewhat optimistic perspective. Some specifics:

Texas had just picked up a first down and hurried into this 1x3 formation to run the “touchdown play 2.0.” The play includes an often poorly blocked 'now screen' to the bottom where the three receivers are, standard zone-read in the box, and an adjustable route for the solo receiver field which can be a hitch against off coverage or in this case a fade against press-man. Oklahoma had obviously seen the touchdown play 2.0 on film and understood it would hit them at tempo, so they’d have to be well rehearsed beforehand on what defense to call and execute. Here’s how it looks on the chalkboard:

Let’s start with a crucial detail I didn’t quite capture in my GIF. The joker linebacker bailed outside to the 'now screen' late and the field corner initially showed press-man coverage on the X receiver outside. Texas picked up the joker’s movement, or at least their decision-maker Sam Ehlinger did, but the “press-man” cornerback waited until Ehlinger’s eyes looked away from the isolated X receiver to drop back into off coverage. Tarik Black was pretty much all on his lonesome out there because the nickel (Brendan Radley-Hiles) was tight and shallow to the line of scrimmage. The hitch was there for as big of a gain as Texas could manage with a timely throw and Tarik Black’s ability to break a tackle. Instead Texas chose one of the options Oklahoma wanted them to choose, the zone-read play.

Many will (and have) asked why Ehlinger didn’t pull the ball and keep it, but the will linebacker is in very good position to minimize any gain there and the joker and safeties are going to close on that confined space in an awful hurry. The “right” read is the give (if not the hitch, which is the actual right answer). Texas has five blockers for three defensive linemen, two linebackers (the will is a C-gap player), and then notoriously poor run defender Brendan Radley-Hiles. It’s really five-on-five, there’s no need to take any real account of Radley-Hiles here.

The problem is the nose-tackle stunt Texas failed to pick up and block. The 3-technique came over the top and Christian Jones couldn’t find him because he was trying to climb up to a linebacker, so he stuffs the play.

As I wrote in the preseason, inside zone-read isn’t a good play from a four-wide formation. Teams know how to set their front and run stunts to thwart the blocking or to force the quarterback to give the ball into an inside play with no cutback lane because the unblocked edge player can step inside to close it. The “touchdown play 2.0” is good insofar as it allows you to isolate the X receiver in a good 1-on-1 matchup and to catch the defense unprepared with tempo. The other options should really be window dressing, particularly given how poorly Texas has been blocking the screen option.

Texas failed both in isolating the X receiver or in catching OU unprepared with tempo. The Mike Stoops era is over. Consequently, an opportunity to turn a promising drive into a rout of the defense instead became second-and-10. On the next play they got Josh Moore in a dig-post combination against Woodi Washington and Ehlinger threw a bad ball incomplete.

On the occasions where their gameplan worked and they found 1-on-1 matchups between their outside receivers and the Sooner cornerbacks, they came up empty. Next came third-and-10, where the jack flew by Christian Jones for a sack. If DeMarvion Overshown hadn’t picked off a pass on the ensuing Oklahoma drive this game almost had an early ending with how this drive fizzled. My point with all of this is to demonstrate the degree to which Texas’ gameplan played into the strengths of Oklahoma under Alex Grinch in a rivalry game. The holes in Texas’ gameplan should not have been surprising to the staff.

The structure of the Alex Grinch defense is to use movement and stunts to tie up the run game and pressure the quarterback, play 1-on-1 on the perimeter, and position the safeties to be able keep things under control in the middle of the field. The linebackers are a part of an occasionally amorphous front, often playing as aggressors and almost always playing downhill. The scheme is similar to Chris Ash’s own approach but with an emphasis on stunts and movement up front rather than massive, powerful D-linemen.

Grinch wants you to try and blend the run game with play-action passing. Against the run they’ll use run stunts, speedy personnel, and numbers to choke out your run game and inflict negative plays. Against the pass they’ll disguise, grab, and hold on the back end to limit the efficiency of 1-on-1 shots while using movement and athletes up front to break down your protections. They’re designed to defend the spread run game and play-action. Unless those are your calling cards as an offense (they aren’t) you play into their hands by attacking them in such a fashion.

In a big game like this, they’ll have all your tempo plays and overall formations scouted and well-drilled in the minds of their players. You are going to face very diminishing returns if you simply try to out-execute Oklahoma with your base schemes in the Red River Shootout. This has always been true. They’ve been scouting and preparing for this game like their lives depended on it. Every year. Your greatest rival and enemy can be trusted above most to tell you who you really are.

As it happens, three of the Sooners’ last four games revealed a different approach you can take to attacking their defense. This alternative strategy involves actually attacking their defense, spreading them out beyond what their personnel are designed to match up against and making their linebackers cover in space. Neither Kenneth Murray nor their new cast at linebacker shine when asked to find and match skill players with great change of direction and speed out in space while managing the quarterback scramble.

As it happens, Texas has a lot of players who thrive on quick routes changing direction against linebackers. It’s one of the places on offense where Texas is truly strong. If anything they have too many quick-moving athletes best utilized in the slot. It’s a five-slot offense with a number of “outside receivers,” traditional slots, and tight ends that aren’t particularly good at anything except working from the slot.

Tom Herman looked at his team which struggles to establish the run without tempo, struggles to win outside 1-on-1, has iffy and inexperienced pass protectors, and then an ultra experienced, mobile quarterback surrounded by excellent inside receivers and thought the way to win a must-win game was to maximize the former traits and minimize the strong suits.

The essence of strategy is to play to your strengths while trying to force your opponent to come to grips with their weaknesses. Tom Herman completely played himself in this game. He was a friend to Oklahoma with this gameplan. The sort of friend that pats you on the back and says “you’re okay” when the truth is you need a kick in the pants. Fortunately for the Sooners, they have some more dependable enemies to help reveal how to shore up their team.

The truth should now be clear for Texas. This isn’t a team that can blend the run game and play-action passing outside to beat opponents. That’s never been this team’s strong suit with Sam Ehlinger behind the helm or any of these offensive lines. Ehlinger’s greatest strength has always been making quick decisions from spread passing concepts, improvising when things break down, protecting the football, and adding a power run dimension in key situations. The 2018 team depended on throwing option routes to Lil’Jordan Humphrey matched on linebackers and winning 1-on-1 with Collin Johnson. In 2019 they had Devin Duvernay versus linebackers and occasionally a run game when Ehlinger could bolster it with pass options to the senior slot.

As I’ve noted for years now, Ehlinger’s most deadly deployment would be in the Air Raid which “builds the entire plane” out of what he and this roster do best. Throwing quick routes on compromised defenses from spread formations. Just look how easy this pick-up was for Texas:

This should have been the entire gameplan.

It’s too late now. Even if Texas moves in this direction for the rest of the season they’ve wasted a lot of time, a lot of practices and meetings, fan/alumni good will, and team morale on doing things the Tom Herman way. Chances they move fully in this direction are low anyways. Ehlinger and his receivers doing their best work in spread passing concepts has been an abundantly clear truth for the entire duration of Herman’s career and he hasn’t adapted.

There was once another team that preferred a power-spread approach up at another large land-grant school, pretty far northeast from Austin. We’ll call them the tree nuts. The tree nuts were coached by someone you may have heard of but his name is often in the news and to name him explicitly would be distracting, so we’ll just call him Metro Weber.

Anyways, Weber and the tree nuts had this annual problem in which their rival from the next state over was using a lot of man coverage and run stunts to wreck their run game and reduce the efficiency of their play-action attack. The tree nuts had a four-year starter at quarterback who could pick up tough yards in the run game and make smart decisions but his struggles beating man coverage down the field with a poorly coached wide receiver corps were even greater than Texas’ issues.

So Weber hired a new offensive coach who introduced crossing patterns --mesh in particular but also a dozen variations off mesh -- all of which turned their rivals’ run-blitzing linebackers into liabilities in space as they tried to pick up and match fast-moving slot receivers running free off rubs and pivot routes. Weber and the tree nuts beat their rival 31-20 with this new approach in year one and then 62-39 in the next season. Metro Weber had to leave his post for complicated reasons shortly after but the new offensive coach took over and kept pouring it on 56-37 the next season.

The Longhorns should learn from this Metro Weber figure and use more spread sets and tempo from here on out. Oklahoma is building their defense to stop RPO spread/play-action schemes and they’re only going to get better at it, likely faster than Herman could improve the Texas power-spread approach. The Longhorns need to adapt quickly to make the most of this season and to have any chance if by some miracle (i.e. Ehlinger heroics) they managed to face the Sooners again in the Big 12 title game.

This season was always going to come down to the play of the offense and whether or not Mike Yurcich could help Texas make the most of having a senior Sam Ehlinger at quarterback. Tom Herman had a chance to drastically evolve the approach by hiring Graham Harrell in the offseason and instead decided to upgrade the existing RPO spread/play-action approach.

To make this approach work, particularly if you tracked how Yurcich’s offenses ran in the past, the key was going to be getting great play at outside receiver. This strategy has not played to the strengths of the Texas roster. The attempt to bolster the two-back spread run game, which wasn’t really broken, with outside zone schemes has done virtually nothing to help this team save for making their run game a little more explosive IF they catch opponents tired and struggling to line up against tempo.

The offensive line’s existing problems picking up stunts has not been shored up by another year of Herb Hand’s coaching, nor moving senior tackles Derek Kerstetter and Denzel Okafor inside to center and right guard. If anything, moving Kerstetter has reduced the effectiveness of Texas’ pass protection. The main reason the team even went 5-4 in conference play last season was their ability to pick up third downs from five-wide sets with five-man pass protection.

The Red River Shootout made clear Tom Herman’s ability to self scout his own team and strategize with his hires and oversight is severely lacking. He was hired as an offensive coach and mind who made clear to Texas fans if the offense struggled, he was the one to blame. It’s year four now and the mistakes and failures are piling up. Texas needs offensive direction from a coach with clearer vision. Herman has already wasted the Sam Ehlinger era, which is a monumental failure given that it’s lasted four years. He should not be allowed to waste any others.

 

[LTtxfan 48988]

On 10/12/2020 at 12:00 AM, Bodacious Bevo said:

  Hide contents

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte is failing at his job. There is no other way to put it. It is hard to sugarcoat. Impossible to ignore.

Oh, Del Conte is good at telling jokes at fundraisers. He has a great sense of humor. If you want to drink and hear a guy tell jokes, Del Conte can provide entertainment that rivals any comedian on open mic night. Heck, Del Conte’s biggest achievement was creating Bevo Blvd., a lively street with food trucks, music and alcohol. Del Conte was responsible for creating concerts after Longhorn home games, prior to the pandemic, of course. Del Conte definitely knows how throw a damn good party.

When it comes to making hard decisions about his coaching staff (dating back to TCU), leading an athletic department, or preventing The Eyes of Texas tradition from becoming arguably the most divisive issue between fans and players in school history, Del Conte is doing nothing to justify earning $2.5 million annually until 2027.

Del Conte has created this chaos.

He has to do a better job of finding solutions.

Texas was defeated by Oklahoma, 53-45 (four overtimes), on Saturday. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley currently has a 4-1 record against Texas’ Tom Herman. Texas could not defeat one of the worst Oklahoma programs in recent memory. We saw Riley bench his starting quarterback, the ultimate surrender decision, and the same guy was reinserted after halftime and led his team to victory.

The Longhorns are 2-2, but it took a miracle comeback against Texas Tech to prevent a 1-3 start. Texas recovered the onside kick and pulled off a victory when it had less than a one-percent chance of winning with around three minutes remaining. Nobody can take the win off Texas’ record. However, it helps to remember how fortunate this team is not to be 0-3 in the Big 12 right now.

After the game, Herman looked defeated. He reminded me of the President who aged dramatically after four years in office. Herman did not have any answers. He talked about how great practice was last Sunday in an effort to show how close his program is to winning football games like this. The coach did not understand his fan base is more concerned about the product they are witnessing each Saturday.

This is the moment when you save a fighter from himself. Herman is not winning the way he or the fan base desires. Recruiting is not going well. Literally, a player quit during the middle of a game this season. Longhorn fans are pissed about his team’s lack of participation in The Eyes of Texas. Herman will not throw in the towel, but I sensed if Del Conte tapped him on the shoulder after Saturday’s game and said they should discuss an exit plan, deep down, Herman might be relieved to get out of this situation. That is just my opinion and nothing I heard from my sources.

Herman was originally under contract until 2021, which meant both sides could have happily parted ways after this season.

Instead, Del Conte gave Herman a two-year extension in 2019, months after the Sugar Bowl victory. Herman is still slated to make $6.25 million in 2021, and Del Conte added $6.5 million in 2022 and $6.75 million in 2023. This is the equivalent of staying married until the children graduate from high school.

By the way, Del Conte also gave running backs coach Stan Drayton and offensive lineman coach Herb Hand raises back in May. Drayton was bumped up from $640,000 to $700,000. Hand’s salary increased from $515,000 to $650,000.

Only $19.5 million for Herman’s contract, plus add in a little extra for his assistants?

Just ask those big money donors to cut a check, right?

You mean the same people who are ticked off about players not participating in The Eyes of Texas?

 

Photo via HookEm.com

I received multiple messages from sources this weekend saying the athletic department has lost at least $25 million in pledges in the past two weeks. That number may not be 100 percent accurate, but longtime fans are withholding their financial support.

By the way, Del Conte expected several donors to cut checks for the south endzone project in December. The completion of that project is in trouble at this rate.

Del Conte should have resolved this issue before the season.

In July, Texas President Jay Hartzell rolled out a comprehensive set of proposals to create a more diverse and welcoming campus, including plans to allocate Athletics’ revenue to recruit and support Black students, rename the Robert L. Moore Building, and honor Black trailblazers at UT through new campus symbols. Hartzell said the university would keep “The Eyes of Texas” as the university’s song but would work to own the history of the song while reclaiming and redefining what the song stands for.

“The Eyes of Texas, in its current form, will continue to be our alma mater. Aspects of its origin, whether previously widely known or unknown, have created a rift in how the song is understood and celebrated, and that must be fixed,” Hartzell said in a press release. “It is my belief that we can effectively reclaim and redefine what this song stands for by first owning and acknowledging its history in a way that is open and transparent.

“Together, we have the power to define what the Eyes of Texas expect of us, what they demand of us, and what standard they hold us to now. The Eyes of Texas should not only unite us, but hold all of us accountable to our institution’s core values. But we first must own the history. Only then can we reimagine its future, and I look forward to partnering with our campus community to do just that.”

At that point, the controversy should have been over.

The President did his part. Dr. Leonard Moore successfully talked players out of boycotting the season and was no longer involved in any athletic discussions. Longhorn players openly applauded the initiatives. I thought it was a very fair compromise for everyone involved.

Del Conte’s task was simple.

Inform the players they need to resume participating in the tradition. They did not have to sing the song, but he expected them to stay after games.

Simple.

Instead, Del Conte never expressed his expectations with student-athletes, which is why there has been chaos. Many cheerleaders did not participate in The Eyes during Texas’ recent home game against TCU. Several band members have said they will not play the song. The football team – black and white players – have skipped the tradition this season. The volleyball team recently stayed on the court but did not acknowledge the song.


That administrative failure is on Del Conte.

I know some fans are blaming the “woke” generation or “social justice warriors” for what is occurring right now. I get that frustration. Nobody wants to be labeled a racist when those sentiments are not in their heart. Fans view this song as a tradition. They played the song at weddings, parties, and it was a source of school pride. I understand the anger.

Yet, I look at how other athletic departments across the country handled the current climate better than Del Conte.

Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard threatened to boycott all team activities after a tweet surfaced of coach Mike Gundy wearing a One America News Network T-shirt. I was not convinced Gundy could prevent a player revolt.

Yet, they put those issues aside and unified.

Oklahoma football players decided not to practice and marched for social and racial justice. That could have ripped apart the team. Instead, there were several productive conversations between players, administrators and coaches.

In addition, the athletic department decided to place a “Black Lives Matter” and “Sooners for Humanity” patch on team jerseys this season.

Texas?

Del Conte told the football staff this week they had to participate in the tradition after games to show respect to their fans. Unfortunately, Del Conte did not have a conversation with players and express his expectations. He definitely has done nothing to publicly express any solutions to the fan base.

As a result, Sam Ehlinger and Cameron Dicker were the only players I saw participating in The Eyes after the Oklahoma loss, while everyone else was in the locker room.

That was unacceptable.

If Del Conte can receive credit for creating a carnival atmosphere, he has to be accountable for this circus.

Del Conte should tap Herman on the shoulder this week and express the importance of finishing this season 8-2, or at least 7-3, because Longhorn fans are tired of losing.

In addition, Del Conte should sit down with players in every sport and express his expectations. I am not saying Del Conte needs to bang the table in anger. Instead, he has to be the leader Texas needs at this moment.

Del Conte has created this chaos.

He has to do a better job of finding solutions.

 

 

Photo via AP

Pretty good read. Depressing but good (if it's accurate). OB/Ketch have also been saying CDC pissed off a bunch of Houston BMDs at an event over the summer by trying to bullshit/politic his way out of the eyes issues and not having answers for them

So Herman was told by CDC multiple times to have the players stay on the field during EOT, and Herman did not figure out how to handle this at the Cotton Bowl...

Pretty stupid hit-job on CDC by Ketch!! 😠

[satyanash 14281]

(Chip Brown) The Insider: Eyes of Texas debacle raises stakes for Tom Herman

Quote

On Wednesday, I spoke with Texas track coach Edrick Floreal, men’s swimming coach Eddie Reese, women’s swimming coach Carol Capitani and softball coach Mike White about what’s been relayed from athletic director Chris Del Conte to UT coaches about how their teams should handle the playing of the Eyes of Texas following competitions. “Chris has made it clear in the current climate, no athlete will be forced to sing, but that we’re going to continue to have the song as a tradition and to behave respectfully during the Eyes,” Floreal said.

Reese, who has won 14 national titles, said Del Conte has repeatedly addressed the Eyes during weekly coaches meetings since the summer. “The understanding we have is during the playing of the Eyes of Texas, we don’t have to sing or Hookem, but we should be there as a team,” Reese said.

White added, “He (Del Conte) has given us some guidelines, such as staying on the field for it (the Eyes). Beyond that, the student-athletes don’t have to sing it if they’re not comfortable with it. Our student-athletes have a voice and deserve to have their own opinion. We have to respect that. The student-athletes should also be respectful of the other side’s opinion - the alumni and boosters of the program - that see the Eyes of Texas as a source of pride and not as a song with racial overtones.”

Capitani said, “He (Del Conte) told the coaches, ‘Bring your team together, do what you need to do to show respect and appreciation for the fans, but you don’t have to sing the song.’” Capitani said Del Conte reached out to coaches again last week to make sure everyone was on the same page about the Eyes of Texas. “He said, ‘I don’t want people just running off the field. That gives the impression your team is divided,’” Capitani quoted Del Conte as saying. “He (Del Conte) was upset, because he thought he had communicated that well previously and been clear with his expectations.”

Three fall sports are currently competing: football, women’s soccer and volleyball. The Texas soccer team has stood together, arm-in-arm during the post-game playing of the Eyes. After the volleyball team huddled initially, with their backs to the fans, during the Eyes, Del Conte went and met with the team and asked the players to simply stand during the Eyes as a show of respect and appreciation for the Texas fans in attendance.

Despite Del Conte reiterating to all his coaches last week not to have players running off the field, the post-game debacle with the Eyes of Texas occurred at the Cotton Bowl following the Longhorns' loss to Oklahoma. So Del Conte met with the football team Wednesday before practice. According to sources, Del Conte asked players to remain on the field for the Eyes.

We’ll know how the team digested that message at UT’s next home game - against Baylor on Oct. 24. (As of right now, Baylor is indicating to Texas the Bears expect to be back at practice this weekend and that next week’s game doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy, barring any new developments.) Texas coach Tom Herman opened his weekly press conference on Monday addressing the Eyes of Texas, and it was clear his vision of how things should go didn’t match up with Del Conte’s expectations.

“I’ve encouraged our staff and team to join me in participating (in the Eyes) after games, if they are comfortable doing that,” Herman said. “I do believe it’s important that we acknowledge and thank our fans after a hard-fought game… That said, some members of our program have concerns and aren’t comfortable participating at this time. And I respect that as well.”

Complicating the issue Saturday was the delay in the playing of the Eyes by the Cotton Bowl operations staff. As the home team, Oklahoma’s alma mater was played first. Without the band attending Texas games thus far, the Eyes wasn’t played at UT’s road game with Texas Tech. According to sources, a large number of Texas football players — even players who wanted to stand for the Eyes after the OU game — didn’t think the Eyes were going to be played and headed to the locker room as OU’s Golden Hat celebration began.

“I don’t think the players were told about the Eyes being played after the OU game, because I know there are many players who would’ve been out there with Sam (Ehlinger),” one parent of a Texas player told Horns247. That parent said the image of Ehlinger standing alone, “as if abandoned by his teammates, was upsetting to a lot of players who want to be present for the Eyes. And it’s resulted in a lot of players — and their parents — being asked about why they weren’t there. It’s another, needless distraction for a team trying to get their season going.”

That parent and multiple other team sources said contrary to speculation, the Texas locker room is anything but divided. “Everything I’m hearing is the players are closeknit and still working very hard,” the parent said. “I think they’re just frustrated they aren’t playing better. But any narrative that the team is divided is totally false.” We’ll see where things go from here on the field.

Off the field, the Eyes of Texas snafu at the Cotton Bowl has raised the stakes for Herman in terms of job security. Phone calls and emails with questions and concerns from influential boosters have poured into UT president Jay Hartzell’s office, sources said. A source close to Hartzell said, “It’s been conveyed to Tom Herman and all our coaches the expectation is for student-athletes to be present for the post-game playing of the Eyes of Texas. “Three teams are playing right now. Two are getting it right (soccer and volleyball). One is getting it wrong (football). That speaks to coaching.”

Sources said reports of some $25 million in UT athletics facility upgrade pledges drying up are false. “We’re in close contact with our donors,” the source in the UT Tower told Horns247. “And Chris (Del Conte) does an exhaustive job of responding and communicating with all Texas fans and boosters. He holds town hall meetings to explain everything going on. He’s totally transparent, and it’s appreciated.”

One UT head coach who asked to remain anonymous said the post-game optics at the Cotton Bowl were bad for the entire university and now serve as a cautionary tale for UT's other coaches and teams. “We are all cheering for football," the coach said. "And Chris (Del Conte) makes it clear to all of us football is the engine of the athletic department. But what happened last Saturday gives the impression we're fighting amongst ourselves when our focus needs to be on being one as a university, focused on fighting our on-field enemies. And, obviously, when you're not winning, this stuff gets magnified even more. If Texas wins that game, no one is talking about this."

Hartzell has worked diligently to meet with members of the 149 student organizations as well as black student-athletes at Texas, who made demands in June for a more inclusive campus. Those demands included replacing the Eyes of Texas with “a new song without racist undertones.” In July, Hartzell announced several changes to make the campus more inclusive, including a statue of the first black football letterman at Texas - Julius Whittier - as well as renaming the school’s football field for Texas Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.

Hartzell said the Eyes would remain as UT’s school song and UT “will own, acknowledge and teach about all aspects of the origins of ‘The Eyes of Texas’ as we continue to sing it moving forward with a redefined vision that unites our community.” Last week, Hartzell announced the report looking into the origins of the Eyes would be overseen by professor Richard Reddick, the school’s associate dean for equity, community engagement and outreach in UT’s College of Education.

“As we move forward and continue to perform and sing ‘The Eyes,’ it is critical that we understand the full history of the song, share that history broadly and provide context around its meanings, origins and roles during the past 120 years,” Hartzell said. He added, “Our important work to ensure that every person on our campus - regardless of background - knows and feels they are welcome at UT will not be completed in a few months. It will take years - and will take all of us participating.”

So, Herman's list of things to clean up following a 2-2 start and his seventh loss to an unranked opponent as a ranked team (most in FBS since 2017) now includes his team's handling of the Eyes. Ironically, when asked on Monday how he'll address the Eyes with his team in the short term, Herman said he would rely on the school's leaders. "Our leadership, both at a university level and an athletic department level, is working very hard on that," Herman said. "And we'll follow their lead, wherever that takes us."

 

[BigHorn'13 3355]

On 10/14/2020 at 8:16 AM, Mikey4 said:

It's because of the tech game. The defense was absolute shit, we scored a zillion points, and we still barely won. After that, the defense has shown improvement. It's still not Muschamp 2008 or whatever, but it's moving in the right direction and is not our biggest problem. Nevertheless, the narrative was written after the tech game and it's taking time to fix. It doesn't help that we've lost two games such that everybody wants to burn the whole thing down.

 

I said it (created a thread) 1st half of KU last year and have maintained Herman and his version of the pro spread sucks. Once it was reported Herman didn't want Harrell and an air raid, I knew regardless of the pick, the "new" offense would still be the same bullshit. 

Maybe it's just watching it on TV but can anyone make a convincing argument that there's a difference between last year's offense and this one (12 personnel for reasons...? And a handful of wrinkles to the existing 11 personnel sets aside?) Maybe I'm just blind. 

[LTtxfan 48988]

2 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

Maybe it's just watching it on TV but can anyone make a convincing argument that there's a difference between last year's offense and this one (12 personnel for reasons...? And a handful of wrinkles to the existing 11 personnel sets aside?) Maybe I'm just blind. 

I'll make an argument...  You're Not Blind

[stork642 4498]

When I first saw the video of Herman getting off the team bus carrying a baseball bat I thought it was some cheesy schtick shit that you would see at U of H.  It’s too bad but he’s not up to this job.  

[Ignatius 4002]

On 10/14/2020 at 8:16 AM, Mikey4 said:

It's because of the tech game. The defense was absolute shit, we scored a zillion points, and we still barely won. After that, the defense has shown improvement. It's still not Muschamp 2008 or whatever, but it's moving in the right direction and is not our biggest problem. Nevertheless, the narrative was written after the tech game and it's taking time to fix. It doesn't help that we've lost two games such that everybody wants to burn the whole thing down.

 

We’ve given up 31 points and over 450 yards in regulation since the Tech game, and that includes a TCU offense that got throttled the next game. Saying the defense isn’t a problem or has ‘improved’ because we haven’t replicated the Lubbock debacle is a ‘narrative’....

Edited October 16, 2020 by Ignatius

[LTtxfan 48988]

Bobby Burton...

FYI

Quote

I am hearing that John Henderson has passed away.  For those unaware, Mr. Henderson was the oldest living Longhorn letterman at 107 years old, playing football for the Horns in the 1930s. He and his wife were named the oldest living married couple in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records with more than 80 years of marriage.

https://247sports.com/college/texas/board/21/Contents/fyi-153085861/

Edited October 17, 2020 by LTtxfan

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2630]

2 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Bobby Burton...

FYI

https://247sports.com/college/texas/board/21/Contents/fyi-153085861/

Interesting. Wonder he hadn’t been honored more by UT. Played in the 30s and alive until just recently. That’s insane to think about. Bet he had some great stories about life on the 40.   Hopefully they were documented before he passed. 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Xian

[satyanash 14281]

1 hour ago, Xian said:

Interesting. Wonder he hadn’t been honored more by UT. Played in the 30s and alive until just recently. That’s insane to think about. Bet he had some great stories about life on the 40.   Hopefully they were documented before he passed. 

He was named honorary captain for one of our games during Mack's final season, forget which one.

 

[Slacks 6791]

I said it (created a thread) 1st half of KU last year and have maintained Herman and his version of the pro spread sucks. Once it was reported Herman didn't want Harrell and an air raid, I knew regardless of the pick, the "new" offense would still be the same bullshit. 
Maybe it's just watching it on TV but can anyone make a convincing argument that there's a difference between last year's offense and this one (12 personnel for reasons...? And a handful of wrinkles to the existing 11 personnel sets aside?) Maybe I'm just blind. 

Better passing route combinations is the only thing I see... More mesh and flood...

WR are doing a better job getting upfield on the bubble screen, so there has been singe coaching there...

Team didn't get to do a full install of a new offense in the spring. Fall camp isn't where you install a new offense, imo. Fall is for reps...

So, yeah, it's going to be the same offense with wrinkles until next season.

There will be a next season.

[BigHorn'13 3355]

8 hours ago, Snacks said:

Team didn't get to do a full install of a new offense in the spring. Fall camp isn't where you install a new offense, imo. Fall is for reps...

I'd argue that, even with a full offseason, what we're seeing is what it would've been anyways... because this is Herman's offense and he stubbornly refuses to adapt. 

 

On a related note, so fucking sick of hearing the excuse "new coordinators/position coaches." It's on Tom that put himself in that position. Why should he get a pass for continuing to fuck up something he already fucked up on from the start?

This offense sucks and there's no excuse for Tom Herman. 

[taybo20 2815]

21 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

I'd argue that, even with a full offseason, what we're seeing is what it would've been anyways... because this is Herman's offense and he stubbornly refuses to adapt. 

 

On a related note, so fucking sick of hearing the excuse "new coordinators/position coaches." It's on Tom that put himself in that position. Why should he get a pass for continuing to fuck up something he already fucked up on from the start?

This offense sucks and there's no excuse for Tom Herman. 

That’s a really good point. A new system definitely brings growing pains. But the problem is that Herman got to fire everybody and put the blame on them. He is in year 4 and there is no excuse left for him. He did t get it right the first 3 years and he is t getting it right now. He needs to be fired.

[CurlyDumps 4440]

Clownboy has also been saying 2020 is "our year" since 2018. He had plenty of time to upgrade his staff, but didn't. So the fact that he waited until the 2020 offseason to break up the frat house is on him. He gets no pass for that. 

He's simply dogshit at evaluating and coaching his coaches. See: Herb Hand. He's learned nothing from his failures. The only reason he made changes was to save his own job.

[Fico 1743]

On 10/15/2020 at 4:42 PM, satyanash said:

(Ian Boyd) Inside the gameplan: Understanding Herman's failure in the Cotton Bowl

 

Reading this is maddening. I hear everyone saying it's not in the current playbook/etc, but fuck that. We ran 5 wide with Whittington & Bjian. That should be the default lineup for the rest of the season. Let Sam play basketball on grass with 2 elite YAC players against LB/S's. If the D runs dime, fuck 'em, bring both into the backfield and run veer or whatever the fuck youngsters call it now-a-days.