Texas vs Maryland Game Week Thread

[Katfid54 8635]

6 minutes ago, NowThis said:

who is the Terp starting QB? Pigrome was smashing UT until his injury, then Hill came in and did well. Terps played with their 3rd string QB most of the season. 

RB Ty Johson is back who ran for over 100 on Texas last year. They lost WR DJ Moore to the Carolina Panthers. 

I have a feeling this game is going to be close. 

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2018/8/1/17637160/texas-longhorns-maryland-terrapins-tom-herman-todd-orlando

Canada's game week PC is today.  I assume they'll release their depth chart at his presser.

[Doc Reeves 6434]

After last year, I’m just goi g to wait and see

[Katfid54 8635]

25 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Canada's game week PC is today.  I assume they'll release their depth chart at his presser.

Just released:

QB is Hill or Pigrome.

[closetojumping 62747]

11 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Just released:

QB is Hill or Pigrome.

Canada wants to throw the ball, so I assume we'll see Hill until he goes down to a new injury.

[Katfid54 8635]

Looking at their offensive depth chart, their OL should be stout.  Let's hope Nelson can give their true soph. center fits, because the other four linemen are all returning starters, who played very well against our DL last year.  I know very little about their other skill position players other than Ty Johnson, who murdered us last year (11 yards/carry), and Taivon Jacobs (who had like 80 yards receiving against us, pretty much all on one play).

For the DL, it will be interesting to see if Aniebonam is back in form.  Cowart (a transfer from Auburn and former #3 recruit in the nation) looked solid in their spring game.  If you haven't watched it, it's on Youtube and extremely not worth the watch.  Depending on how their two tackles are (neither of whom played much, if any, against us last year), I'm a bit worried that the pass rush from their front four could give us some problems.  Our tackles better come ready to play.

Their LBs were both ~60 tackle a year guys last year (Tre Watson is a grad transfer from Illinois, where he was a team captain last year).  They should be unspectacular. 

Their secondary is mostly back from last year, where it was mediocre to bad (although some of that may have had to do with the fact that, after Aniebonam went down, they had 0 pass rush).  We'll see if they've improved.

[Machinator 32099]

We talk about how the Texas depth chart has experience, but Maryland is pretty close. 20 starters are upperclassmen.

[Katfid54 8635]

4 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Canada wants to throw the ball, so I assume we'll see Hill until he goes down to a new injury.

I generally agree, although Canada does have a QB draw package of plays.  I could see him sending Pigrome as a change of pace with something like Harsin's "David Ash" package from way back in 2011.

[ShowmeyourTDs 1141]

3 hours ago, Hank_Hill said:

Will be on a river with no cell service for 3 days this weekend. Anywhere to watch the game online after the fact?

Did you get married on the second Saturday of October too?

[Katfid54 8635]

1 minute ago, Machinator said:

We talk about how the Texas depth chart has experience, but Maryland is pretty close. 20 starters are upperclassmen.

Their problem is that they haven't gotten good production from a lot of those guys.  But, yeah, they're old and they're relatively experienced (although they don't return as many starts or as much actual production as we do).  If all was normal in College Park and Durkin was there gameplanning, I would be super nervous about this game.  As it is, I'm still not sure it's going to be a cakewalk (my 99-0 game week thread prediction, be damned).

[Katfid54 8635]

One thing that I think will be interesting is what impact Canada's HC duties will have on his OC duties.  I am sure he's still going to be calling the plays, but (I think) he was a "booth" guy (like Herman).  Will be interesting to see how he adjusts to being down on the sideline and being responsible for everything a HC has to be responsible for on game day, while also having to adjust on the fly to whatever Orlando throws at him.

Another huge benefit is that Durkin won't be able to be involved in game week prep and in-game adjustments to what we roll out on offense.  He's a great defensive mind, so that's a huge benefit, given that his absence hasn't been backfilled by anyone else.

[Machinator 32099]

1 minute ago, Katfid54 said:

One thing that I think will be interesting is what impact Canada's HC duties will have on his OC duties.  I am sure he's still going to be calling the plays, but (I think) he was a "booth" guy (like Herman).  Will be interesting to see how he adjusts to being down on the sideline and being responsible for everything a HC has to be responsible for on game day, while also having to adjust on the fly to whatever Orlando throws at him.

Another huge benefit is that Durkin won't be able to be involved in game week prep and in-game adjustments to what we roll out on offense.  He's a great defensive mind, so that's a huge benefit, given that his absence hasn't been backfilled by anyone else.

This is the one factor about the whole situation that makes me genuinely more confident in Texas winning.

[closetojumping 62747]

 

7 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

One thing that I think will be interesting is what impact Canada's HC duties will have on his OC duties.  I am sure he's still going to be calling the plays, but (I think) he was a "booth" guy (like Herman).  Will be interesting to see how he adjusts to being down on the sideline and being responsible for everything a HC has to be responsible for on game day, while also having to adjust on the fly to whatever Orlando throws at him.

Another huge benefit is that Durkin won't be able to be involved in game week prep and in-game adjustments to what we roll out on offense.  He's a great defensive mind, so that's a huge benefit, given that his absence hasn't been backfilled by anyone else.

 

6 minutes ago, Machinator said:

This is the one factor about the whole situation that makes me genuinely more confident in Texas winning.

Let's think about this a little more, though. It's interesting.

The Durkin distraction is one of those issues that makes the logic-oriented left-brainers in our base somewhat hopeful but dismissive, and the emotionally-oriented right-brainers pretty optimistic that it's a big deal. I think the science/accounting/engineering/legal/actuarial types are looking at this and assuming that if Canada is worth a shit, the team will be ready. The flip to that is that these are 18-23 year old humans who have been thrown into a bizarro state of flux with no precedent to lean on and a temporary HC with no experience whose only qualification for the role is that he wasn't around long enough to be more than the least stinky coach on the staff. 

I'm on the side of the fans here that thinks this is a pretty big, unpredictable deal for that team. No Durkin plus the cloud of negativity surrounding that whole group plus Canada never having HC'ed is less likely to be a rallying point and more likely to be a major emotional drag. 

Beyond any of that, Canada is one of the most overrated assistants I've seen in years. He has years of mediocrity wherever he's been, he gets fired at NCSU, scrapes further into the barrel by landing at Pitt, lucks into an experienced and talented QB, has one big year, takes a paycheck to get his ass fucking ogre-stomped at LSU, sinks back down into Maryland and falls ass backwards into the interim coaching role. This guy has to be looking at things through a fog of war-type surreal experience right now, and Saturday he's going to be the man on the sidelines for all aspects of the game in front of 82,000+ people, half of whom are going to be hostile. I didn't like his ability to adjust during games anyway, and now? Nope. 

Regarding the defense, they certainly have experience, but it's sort of like Kansas having a ton of experience. It's not all good news because some of that experience sucks, especially in the secondary and the interior of the DL. Cowart is a fucking lunatic who I'd like to see us double-team and antagonize in order to put him on skates. The other DE is a fucking stud if he's healthy. The LBs? Meh. To me, we need competence on offense and our defense needs to show up from the jump and create chaos. This Maryland team enters the game on shaky emotional footing and if we can put them on tilt early, the game is done by halftime. With Year 2 in the system on both sides, and a ton of experience, I expect Texas to play like the Texas we all reminisce about seeing on Saturday.

[TheFlagship 433]

35 minutes ago, Machinator said:

We talk about how the Texas depth chart has experience, but Maryland is pretty close. 20 starters are upperclassmen.

Scares you to death

[Katfid54 8635]

2 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Let's think about this a little more, though. It's interesting.

The Durkin distraction is one of those issues that makes the logic-oriented left-brainers in our base somewhat hopeful but dismissive, and the emotionally-oriented right-brainers pretty optimistic that it's a big deal. I think the science/accounting/engineering/legal/actuarial types are looking at this and assuming that if Canada is worth a shit, the team will be ready. The flip to that is that these are 18-23 year old humans who have been thrown into a bizarro state of flux with no precedent to lean on and a temporary HC with no experience whose only qualification for the role is that he wasn't around long enough to be more than the least stinky coach on the staff.  

I'm on the side of the fans here that thinks this is a pretty big, unpredictable deal for that team. No Durkin plus the cloud of negativity surrounding that whole group plus Canada never having HC'ed is less likely to be a rallying point and more likely to be a major emotional drag.  

Beyond any of that, Canada is one of the most overrated assistants I've seen in years. He has years of mediocrity wherever he's been, he gets fired at NCSU, scrapes further into the barrel by landing at Pitt, lucks into an experienced and talented QB, has one big year, takes a paycheck to get his ass fucking ogre-stomped at LSU, sinks back down into Maryland and falls ass backwards into the interim coaching role. This guy has to be looking at things through a fog of war-type surreal experience right now, and Saturday he's going to be the man on the sidelines for all aspects of the game in front of 82,000+ people, half of whom are going to be hostile. I didn't like his ability to adjust during games anyway, and now? Nope.  

Regarding the defense, they certainly have experience, but it's sort of like Kansas having a ton of experience. It's not all good news because some of that experience sucks, especially in the secondary and the interior of the DL. Cowart is a fucking lunatic who I'd like to see us double-team and antagonize in order to put him on skates. The other DE is a fucking stud if he's healthy. The LBs? Meh. To me, we need competence on offense and our defense needs to show up from the jump and create chaos. This Maryland team enters the game on shaky emotional footing and if we can put them on tilt early, the game is done by halftime. With Year 2 in the system on both sides, and a ton of experience, I expect Texas to play like the Texas we all reminisce about seeing on Saturday. 

A few thoughts:

1.) I'm trying not to play into the emotional aspect of Durkin's absence and McNair's death (although, at a gut level, I agree with you that there's likely to be some reaction from college kids to both events).  Even so, Durkin's absence leaves a whole on the defensive side of the ball, which we can hope to exploit.

2.) You and I are on the same page regarding Canada.  Adding in HC duties to a guy who is going to be trying--for the first time ever--to get a team to run his extremely complicated offense?  That sounds like a potentially disastrous recipe, if he's "doing it all."  (And I think he will be.)

3.) If there's one coach on the planet who knows what Cowart's weaknesses are and how to exploit them, you've got to think it's Herb Hand.

 

 

[closetojumping 62747]

6 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

A few thoughts:

1.) I'm trying not to play into the emotional aspect of Durkin's absence and McNair's death (although, at a gut level, I agree with you that there's likely to be some reaction from college kids to both events).  Even so, Durkin's absence leaves a whole on the defensive side of the ball, which we can hope to exploit.

2.) You and I are on the same page regarding Canada.  Adding in HC duties to a guy who is going to be trying--for the first time ever--to get a team to run his extremely complicated offense?  That sounds like a potentially disastrous recipe, if he's "doing it all."  (And I think he will be.)

3.) If there's one coach on the planet who knows what Cowart's weaknesses are and how to exploit them, you've got to think it's Herb Hand.

 

 

Agreed on all parts, including you wanting to downplay the emotional side of what's happening for them. Nothing wrong with that, it's just the way you were born, man. If there was someone on here screaming at us that the emotional aspects to what's happened are all that matters and that Maryland will be a total fucking mess on Saturday, I'd more inclined to go over that cliff than to put the issue in the mental parking lot and spend time pondering the game where it isn't a part of the equation. 

[Katfid54 8635]

4 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Agreed on all parts, including you wanting to downplay the emotional side of what's happening for them. Nothing wrong with that, it's just the way you were born, man. If there was someone on here screaming at us that the emotional aspects to what's happened are all that matters and that Maryland will be a total fucking mess on Saturday, I'd more inclined to go over that cliff than to put the issue in the mental parking lot and spend time pondering the game where it isn't a part of the equation.  

Fair.

I think it's also possible that, if MD keeps the game close early, these emotional issues could feed Maryland and make them a much tougher out than they otherwise would be.

[Machinator 32099]

I don't know if I would downplay the emotional aspect as much as I view it as having a highly variable effect on the game outcome. I could see the team rallying in the memory of their fallen teammate, with a massive chip on the shoulder after their coach was torn apart by the media (wrongly, in their eyes), en route to the performance of their fucking lives. I could also see all the chaos and uncertainty of this past offseason come to roost and be the straw that breaks the camel's back when the team faces serious adversity on the field.

Edit: more or less what Katfid said, I guess

Edited August 28, 2018 by Machinator

[po elvis 2075]

our desire to not repeat last year trumps any possible rallying around anything by Maryland.

[BurdineBandit 815]

5 minutes ago, po elvis said:

our desire to not repeat last year trumps any possible rallying around anything by Maryland.

take it to the cloak room.

[Tex Pete 20400]

22 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Fair.

I think it's also possible that, if MD keeps the game close early, these emotional issues could feed Maryland and make them a much tougher out than they otherwise would be.

That's the wild card to me. It's really hard to say if all the emotion will be a boost or an anchor to them. They could respond by wanting to prove to the world how much they loved McNair and love Durkin, or they could be really down about both. If we knock their fucking teeth out, it shouldn't matter.

I'm with ctj in thinking Canada is a big meh. If you're into ho-hum offense, he's your guy, but nothing about him is scary to me. They'll certainly try to throw something at us that we aren't expecting, but after last year, I don't think we will be caught flat-footed.

On offense, we just need to be methodical and play under control. Sam needs to not freak out and make stupid mistakes, and the OL surely can't be worse than they were last year.

[po elvis 2075]

9 minutes ago, BurdineBandit said:

take it to the cloak room.

i am fine biden my time here.

[closetojumping 62747]

11 minutes ago, Machinator said:

I don't know if I would downplay the emotional aspect as much as I view it as having a highly variable effect on the game outcome. I could see the team rallying in the memory of their fallen teammate, with a massive chip on the shoulder after their coach was torn apart by the media (wrongly, in their eyes), en route to the performance of their fucking lives. I could also see all the chaos and uncertainty of this past offseason come to roost and be the straw that breaks the camel's back when the team faces serious adversity on the field.

Edit: more or less what Katfid said, I guess

That's fine, if you believe the odds to go something like 20% emotional imbalance likelihood in favor of MD/60% likely that there is no emotional intangible worth considering/20% emotional imbalance working against MD. Severe engineering/science/accounting types would scoff at even this, and they'd claim a premise around "emotions do not drive collaborative outcomes" or some shit. I'm practically sending out a fucking bat signal for Huckleberry to make an appearance here. 

If you think the imbalance likelihood is disproportionately in favor of things swinging against MD, however, then factoring that into the expected outcome makes sense. That's where I sit. I think we'll either see very little recognizable emotions beyond the norm for anyone, and it will just be football. If that isn't the case, I expect MD to look like they've never played the sport before, or to take on a bunch of penalties and then that devolves into a bunch of 1,000 yard stares from both staff and roster alike. I view the premise that they're riding some sort of positive emotional tidal wave to be so unlikely that I've dismissive of it. 

[taybo20 2877]

4 hours ago, Hank_Hill said:

Eh, its the Devils, doubt I’ll regret it. 

To each their own. You’ll be able to catch it at some point. LHN will re-air it.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

I'm a highly emotional guy, so I've got a lot of experience with how it impacts performance.

Here's the bottom line:  highly talented, well prepared individuals win emotional contests more often than not. Not so talented, less well prepared individuals almost always lose them.

Emotions are a big hairy deal in college sports. But they are not the only big hairy deal.

[Sock Drawer 214]

30 minutes ago, Tex Pete said:

the OL surely can't be worse than they were last year.

 

Don't call me Shirley.

[Tex Pete 20400]

25 minutes ago, Walden Ponderer said:

I'm a highly emotional guy, so I've got a lot of experience with how it impacts performance.

Here's the bottom line:  highly talented, well prepared individuals win emotional contests more often than not. Not so talented, less well prepared individuals almost always lose them.

Emotions are a big hairy deal in college sports. But they are not the only big hairy deal.

Agreed. I'm just saying sometimes you "withstand the surge," and sometimes the tidal wave has overcome you by the time the surge is over. Mack always underestimated the impact of emotion on a game (See: multiple OU ass whippings, Arkansas failures, the bonfire game) Not that I expect any facet of this game to be remotely similar to any of our Mack/GD abortions. There is also a lot of value in not running an east-west offense. 

[Magus Ossis 2802]

8 minutes ago, Tex Pete said:

Agreed. I'm just saying sometimes you "withstand the surge," and sometimes the tidal wave has overcome you by the time the surge is over. Mack always underestimated the impact of emotion on a game (See: multiple OU ass whippings, Arkansas failures, the bonfire game) Not that I expect any facet of this game to be remotely similar to any of our Mack/GD abortions. There is also a lot of value in not running an east-west offense. 

Dude, the preferred nomenclature is coast west offense.

[jinx 2635]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

 

Beyond any of that, Canada is one of the most overrated assistants I've seen in years.

I agree completely with this.  My LSU friends let me know that he was going to bring them to new heights last year.  This year some other guy is going to.

[Tired of Lurking 637]

In reference to their wide receivers...

[jinx 2635]

1 hour ago, BurntEyes said:

I'm familiar with this emotional part, but in my experience watching it rarely last a full quarter. You might see it at the start but... In the words or Mike Tyson

Everybody's got plan until they get punched in the face.

Getting early momentum will kill that bullshit.. however, that requires our offense to not be last year's "Texas Offense" -

You happy Tom?

I was going to quote Tyson too...

I am more inclined to think that the emotions could backfire and tank them if they start poorly.  But what Walden said is right, it don't really make a shit.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

2 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

All else being equal in a physical contest the calm competitors always get my money. I'm emotional as well, but when shit hits the fans, or it "Go Time" the calm guy is less prone to emotional mistakes. Pressing, reaching and ultimately folding it unable to find success is what I have seen time and again. I point to my second favorite sport boxing.. the calm guy with a very thin, hard to see smile always gets my vote over the amped up guy.

I'll add the obvious caveat that for defense, it's more acceptable to be amped than it is for offense. Not to the point of missing assignments, obviously, but still.

[joeycovers 391]

The Turtles have had investigators non-stop. Change in HC. All in addition to a teammate that recently passed. 

 

UT squad looking for revenge will come in focused and eager. 

 

Its gonna get ugly fast. UT by more than experts think

[closetojumping 62747]

Speaking of all of this, Maryland started classes yesterday and they've continued to deal with two different investigating groups. These groups have continued to meet with players and coaches alike, including today and yesterday. They have a board meeting on Thursday and there is a low outside chance that, based on the reports they receive that day, that they could go behind closed doors for a private session and decide outcomes. The more likely scenario is that this continues to play out for a few more weeks.

To say that they're dealing with distractions is an understatement. Some of these coaches could be culpable, and there's little doubt that this is polarizing for the players. If they somehow fired Durkin on Thursday or Friday, it could be the most bonkers opponent situation that I think a team could honestly face on Saturday. Fuck, look at our conversation. The situation for these guys is already insane.

[longhrnfan 61]

2 minutes ago, joeycovers said:

The Turtles have had investigators non-stop. Change in HC. All in addition to a teammate that recently passed. 

 

UT squad looking for revenge will come in focused and eager. 

 

Its gonna get ugly fast. UT by more than experts think

This is exactly what I think. Texas by 20+

[VinyVango 694]

It the O-line cleans up a lot of complete whiffs between the tackles resulting in free runs for defenders on our QBs and RBs last year, that will be a big plus.  There were way to many plays where defenders waltzed into our backfield virtually unimpeded due to missed assignments and 1/2 ass effort in the initial year of the Herman tenure.  Vahe needs to play like an angry senior.  Hopefully Shack's ankles are 100% for the first time in his career here.  I have no idea what to expect at RG.

[Daichee Bell 2925]

25 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

All else being equal in a physical contest the calm competitors always get my money. I'm emotional as well, but when shit hits the fans, or it "Go Time" the calm guy is less prone to emotional mistakes. Pressing, reaching and ultimately folding it unable to find success is what I have seen time and again. I point to my second favorite sport boxing.. the calm guy with a very thin, hard to see smile always gets my vote over the amped up guy.

[LTtxfan 49263]

1 hour ago, Walden Ponderer said:

I'm a highly emotional guy, so I've got a lot of experience with how it impacts performance.

Here's the bottom line:  highly talented, well prepared individuals win emotional contests more often than not. Not so talented, less well prepared individuals almost always lose them.

Emotions are a big hairy deal in college sports. But they are not the only big hairy deal.

 "South Austin" is the Expert on lots of "big hairy deals"

Edited August 28, 2018 by LTtxfan

[cdain3 3454]

I think this will be like the 2011 ucla game. 

[Machinator 32099]

 

[jofus 2266]

Kasim Hill sounds too much like Taysom Hill. Doomed. 

[Viper 12109]

31 minutes ago, cdain3 said:

I think this will be like the 2011 ucla game. 

ah yes, the DJ Grant game.

[Stampeder 92]

21 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

First time I've heard him speak.  If a presser by the head coach is a predictor of things to come, they're in a world of hurt.

[ousux 5597]

Burt must still be dealing with the case of the brick hands...

I still remember when Burt was going to be our next star reciever..

[ousux 5597]

I'm in it for the long haul. Always looking ahead. In that same vein, I'm already stressing over losing Casey Thompson, which is what, at least a year a way? But you are right, I should focus enjoying the season right in front of me. NC or bust. 

I'm not stressing about that (got RoJo coming in really soon) but i'd be shocked if Thompson chooses the Buchele career path...with less playing time than Shane has had. Stranger things have happened and it would be great to have quality depth at QB, but I can't see it happening that way..

[ousux 5597]

Did you get married on the second Saturday of October too?

Worse, he actually went to the wedding of a coworker he doesn't even really like..

[Katfid54 8635]

47 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

Canada's response to the question at the 10 minute mark is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen.

[Sgt Hulk 13786]

45 minutes ago, jofus said:

Kasim Hill sounds too much like Taysom Hill. Doomed. 

came here to post this exact thing  uber fucked if he has a knee brace  cancel the game 

[Stampeder 92]

27 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

That cackle/giggle was weird as fuck.

In over his head was my main takeaway.  Secondary take was the near complete focus on the recent events as opposed to the game by the media.  We'll see how it shakes out on Saturday, but this doesn't feel like a team ready to go play a game.

[Poolflood 845]

If we go out and punch them in the nose right off the bat they're going to fall back on all the built in excuses they have to lose and we win by 20+.  We start off shity we're in for a dog fight till the end

[Steamboat1874 4069]

4 hours ago, taybo20 said:

To each their own. You’ll be able to catch it at some point. LHN will re-air it.

Actually they won't.

The game is on Fox and I am pretty sure the only games they re-air are ESPN/ABC and LHN telecasts or I could not know what the fuck I am talking about.