Santa Gertrudis
V.I.P.
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2013
- Messages
- 163
All-
We are winding down yet another sub-par season as it pertains to Texas Football. At this point we are sitting at Year 4 under Mack Brown and his rebuilding project. Keep in mind, Bob Stoops won a National Championship in Year 2 at OU. Urban Meyer took over a losing program at Ohio State and after 2 season, he finally lost his first game last night. Saban had his struggles with an ugly loss in year 1 of his stint at Bama, but in Year 2 Bama was back in the National picture. After 3 years of the rebuilding project under Mack Brown, we are no where closer to being back on the National scene in College Football today than we were 3 years when this rebuilding project began. As much as some may not want to hear it, and as disappointing as it is to see our guys miss out on yet ANOTHER Conference Championship, what happened yesterday in Floyd Casey Stadium is the BEST thing that could have happened to the program we all dearly love. Had we won yesterday then Mack could have made a business case that he was able to overcome injuries to key personnel and STILL deliver a Conference Title and BCS Bowl Berth. I had been told early on that Mack had been told to beat OU and get to a BCS Bowl (not necessarily win the Big 12 but go to a BCS Bowl!) or he was out. He knew the score prior to the season ever beginning and now the results are in and so is the verdict on his future at UT.
As an alum, a donor, Texas-Ex Life Member, & parent of a UT student, I am in a unique position where I get to hear and see first-hand not only what other donors, season ticket holders, and students are all thinking and saying. You want to know WHY the students aren't backing their athletics programs right now? It's because they all underachieve and disappoint. There are just too many other things going on in Austin competing for the students' money and time (ACL, F-1, etc.) And as much as everyone loves Texas Football, the Football Team is NOT entertaining to watch and quite frankly the result on the field in many cases is an embarrassment. At the end of the day, this team struggled early-on with New Mexico State. Got a mud hole stomped into them in Provo. Got another mud hole stomped into them in Austin by ole Miss. We escaped getting embarrassed in Aimes, IA under "questionable" officiating circumstances. Barely escaped Morgantown against an awful West Virginia squad that is on the verge on firing their coach. Our boys then get yet another mud hole stomped into them by Okie State at home. And then Bellmont can't figure out why kids don't want to rush back up to Austin Thanksgiving night to watch our boys play "Tech" instead of being at home with their families?
Perhaps it because the opponent was Tech? Perhaps they knew this was not a very good football team and they aren't going to show up in droves until there is a change made at the top? Like many of us, the kids feel as if their beloved program is being held hostage until Mack Brown is gone. Mack is no longer seen as that "cool" coach in '05 that brought a National Championship back to the University of Texas. Instead Mack is viewed as the "old grandpa that coddles his spoiled kids/players" or a house guest that has well over-stayed their welcome and doesn't know it's time to leave. That brings us to the Baylor game. This is the 2nd to last "Observations" I will be doing for this season. At this point, there really isn't anything that I saw that the rest of you didn't. Nevertheless, on to observations from the game and in some cases the season:
1. Malcolm Brown left everything he had on the field last night. The kid had well over 100 yards rushing in the first half alone yet finished the game with only 131 yards. The kid was averaging over 5.2 yards a tote but what does our OC do in the 2nd half of the game last night. Entrust the outcome on the game on Case McCoy's arm. As much as folks like to say, "Mack deserves better!" You know who deserves better? Kids like Malcolm Brown and others on this team that entrusted their Football careers to the University of Texas and its coaching staff.
2. Injuries to David Ash or not, a program like the University of Texas should NEVER be in a position to have Case McCoy as its starting QB. Does anyone see how many QB's from Texas are in the NFL right now? And we're the Flagship school?!
3. Peter Jinkins was ALL over the field last night. Better late than never. But the kid was flat-out balling yesterday.
4. Our Offensive Line did a nice job for the most part yesterday however it is difficult for any Offensive Line to block against stacked fronts. At the end of the day, unless you're Nebraska or OU circa '84 or Auburn today, at some point you HAVE to be able to complete a pass to keep the defense honest. We couldn't complete a pass to continue to keep drives alive. At the end of the day, the offensive line can only block- they can't throw the ball. They can't catch the ball. They can only block.
5. Despite giving up 30 points in crappy conditions, I felt the defense played a decent game. A lot of that had to do with the weather containing Baylor. But our guys didn't quit until that 1 play drive after Case' pic. That being said, just like the offensive line the defense has to have help. They can't stay on the field and withstand 3 and out after 3 and out. Eventually the dam will break- and it did just that in the 2nd half.
6. Major Applewhite is WAY over his head as OC. I thought he would get better as the season progressed- he did not.
7. The progress our defense made this season under Greg Robinson coming in in relief of Diaz is nothing short of impressive. Our guys actually can tackle. Our guys are actually in position to make plays. What the Hell Mack was thinking after bringing Diaz back shows you just how little the guy knows about football today. Hell, I've spoken to Diaz personally on a couple of occasions and as a layman could see the guy was a "fertilizer salesman with a mouth full of samples." If Mack Brown can't see that then he is dumb. If the University of Texas is paying Mack Brown $5.4M/yr to coach our program then the University of Texas and its benefactors even dumber!
8. Our receivers not named Shipley all looked as if they would rather be in the warm locker room then playing for a Conference Championship.
9. Anthony Fera will be missed next season. We recently lost the commitment of the Daly from North Carolina as a kicker for '14. NEWSFLASH: There is a kid named Clayton Hatfield out of Boerne Champion who actually out-kicked Daly at UT kickers camp earlier this year who would GLADLY take his place in a heartbeat. Hatfield, a current Tech commit and will be kicking in the US Army All-American Bowl, is a HUGE Texas fan. His dad Charles is a UT Alum. They were devastated when Clayton didn't pick up an offer from beloved UT but OU and Tech did. Matter of fact, the kid didn't commit to OU out of hatred of OU due to UT ties. Hell, I thought Mack preferred kids from Texas that actually WANTED to be at UT?!
10. As much havoc as Reed & Jeffcoat have had getting to the QB in recent weeks, yesterday was a bit tougher for them. Perhaps it was because of the field conditions that they couldn't get a good push-off the ball but for us to have success yesterday, those guys were going to have to wreak havoc. They did not.
11. Decisions by this staff (and ultimately Mack Brown) have shown that the decision-making at the top has become reckless. First consider the decision to retain Diaz as DC. Next,, consider Mack had to be "forced" to fire Diaz. The consider the situation and decision making associated with Ash. In the past I suggested that David Ash was prematurely rushed back from his concussion and was skewered for it. Come to find out Ash WAS rushed back prematurely from his injury and now his career in football is threatened altogether. Finally, consider the "pulling off the shirt" of Tyrone Swoopes. How will THAT action impact that kid's development? Yeah, pulling off Swoopes redshirt was well worth the 17 plays we got in return! There are just so many lapses in judgement by this staff (especially from Mack & Major) that I don't know how anyone can NOT question motives on what they decide going forward with ANY situation. That is not a good place for ANY coach to be in. When trust is lost then it's over. Trust is lost. It's over.
12. How is that watered-down Big 12 Conference working out for you so far Deloss & Mack? When you have Baylor winning the Big 12 then you can see just how far not only UT has fallen, but how far the Conference as a whole has fallen as well. While the Big 10 is playing a Championship Game in Indianapolis on National TV, when the ACC is playing in Charlotte, when the PAC 12 is playing a Conference Championship game in Tempe, and of course the SEC is playing a Conference Championship game in Atlanta, the Big 12 is having its Conference Championship determined on 2 frozen tundras in Stillwater, OK and Waco, TX. Nice move guys. I'm sure the recruits really like what they saw yesterday as it pertains to the Big 12. And people can't understand why the Big 12 Conference did not sign a single 5* recruit while in contrast ole Miss signed 5 last February.
13. Fox Sports is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE with their College Football Coverage that included Craig Bolerjack & Joey Harrington. Harrington needs to be selling mobile phones for Verizon NOT being a color commentator for a College Football game. I've heard people doing this for years but yesterday was the very first time I have ever turned off the sound from the Broadcast and turned on Craig Way instead. I have NEVER done that before. Those 2 announcers shouldn't even be doing Hockey games for the San Antonio Rampage. They were awful. And to keep referring to Floyd Casey as something special- what a joke! That place is a dump! Hell, Baylor Fans will tell you it's a dump! The references about that dump being a special place was beyond my comprehension and lost all credibility with any viewer that knew better. What's more is people want to watch good games with good broadcast teams. The job that Charles Davis and Gus Johnson wasn't much better and that was the Big 10 Conference Championship! How in the Hell a guy like Petros Papadakis has a gig with a Network like Fox shows you just how BAD Fox College Sports is today!
14. Case McCoy threw for 54 yards yesterday. Despite the bad weather, with all of the rules to benefit the offense and increase scoring in football today, Case McCoy threw for just 54 yards yesterday. Let that sink in for a minute. And before you blame it on the weather, bad weather or not, Bryce Petty still threw for 287 yards yesterday.
15. If Mack Brown didn't know that it was time to leave before tomorrow, he sure does at this point. That game was there for the taking. We had Baylor on a slow track, in ideal conditions for us to slow-down their vaunted offense and manhandle their suspect defense with our offensive line of running game, and what did we do? Lay an egg of course.
16. OU going to a BCS game? REALLY?! That is the worst OU Team Stoops has had in 10 years and THEY are going to a BCS Bowl Game. Meantime, we returned 19 starters and we're going to the Alamo Bowl if we're lucky.
17. Did anyone other than me see the SEC Championship Halftime Show with Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman, & Brian Jones yesterday? The topic of Saban came up. I listen to Tim Brando's sports show frequently and know that the guy that does his show from Shreveport is obviously a HUGE SEC homer! Anyway, Brando of all people said that Nick Saban was on the set of Game Day yesterday extensively and had a National platform to finally put the whole "Saban to Texas" rumor to bed once and for all. He did not do so. HMMM…
18. Yes I believe Saban will be the next Head Coach at Texas. For the record, McPhaul has never wavered. I won't go all in at 100% like he did but I will say this: I will be EXTREMELY surprised if he is NOT the next HC at Texas. For the record, none of my contacts have wavered either.
19. I'm not so sure someone can come in like Malzahn did this season with Auburn and makes us respectable from Day 1. The wheels are off the wagon. The cart is in the ditch. The program is FUBAR. Insert appropriate cliche here ________. With the way evaluations and decisions have been made in recent years, at this point I cannot help being critical and scrutinize any and all decisions Mack Brown has made from recruiting to strength and conditioning to managing players' health, to whom Mack hires and fires on his staff.
20. If there is no change, expect donations to be impacted, expect finances to be impacted, expect the relationship with LHN, ESPN, & IMG to be impacted, expect attendance to be impacted, expect merchandising sales to be impacted, expect student participation to be impacted, and of course expect recruiting to be impacted- DRAMATICALLY! There is not one damn thing this program can sell itself on or build on at this point. After 4 seasons, this isn't' an anomaly, it's a trend.
In closing, I am excited about the changes coming. I have been saying for quite some time that Mack was out but after yesterday his fate is finally sealed. There was actually some upheaval that perhaps Powers would have problems asking Mack to hang-it-up had we somehow beat Baylor for the Big 12 Conference yesterday. Now that that is out of the way, I expect us to see a lot of movement by Thursday.
Exciting times are ahead.
SG
We are winding down yet another sub-par season as it pertains to Texas Football. At this point we are sitting at Year 4 under Mack Brown and his rebuilding project. Keep in mind, Bob Stoops won a National Championship in Year 2 at OU. Urban Meyer took over a losing program at Ohio State and after 2 season, he finally lost his first game last night. Saban had his struggles with an ugly loss in year 1 of his stint at Bama, but in Year 2 Bama was back in the National picture. After 3 years of the rebuilding project under Mack Brown, we are no where closer to being back on the National scene in College Football today than we were 3 years when this rebuilding project began. As much as some may not want to hear it, and as disappointing as it is to see our guys miss out on yet ANOTHER Conference Championship, what happened yesterday in Floyd Casey Stadium is the BEST thing that could have happened to the program we all dearly love. Had we won yesterday then Mack could have made a business case that he was able to overcome injuries to key personnel and STILL deliver a Conference Title and BCS Bowl Berth. I had been told early on that Mack had been told to beat OU and get to a BCS Bowl (not necessarily win the Big 12 but go to a BCS Bowl!) or he was out. He knew the score prior to the season ever beginning and now the results are in and so is the verdict on his future at UT.
As an alum, a donor, Texas-Ex Life Member, & parent of a UT student, I am in a unique position where I get to hear and see first-hand not only what other donors, season ticket holders, and students are all thinking and saying. You want to know WHY the students aren't backing their athletics programs right now? It's because they all underachieve and disappoint. There are just too many other things going on in Austin competing for the students' money and time (ACL, F-1, etc.) And as much as everyone loves Texas Football, the Football Team is NOT entertaining to watch and quite frankly the result on the field in many cases is an embarrassment. At the end of the day, this team struggled early-on with New Mexico State. Got a mud hole stomped into them in Provo. Got another mud hole stomped into them in Austin by ole Miss. We escaped getting embarrassed in Aimes, IA under "questionable" officiating circumstances. Barely escaped Morgantown against an awful West Virginia squad that is on the verge on firing their coach. Our boys then get yet another mud hole stomped into them by Okie State at home. And then Bellmont can't figure out why kids don't want to rush back up to Austin Thanksgiving night to watch our boys play "Tech" instead of being at home with their families?
Perhaps it because the opponent was Tech? Perhaps they knew this was not a very good football team and they aren't going to show up in droves until there is a change made at the top? Like many of us, the kids feel as if their beloved program is being held hostage until Mack Brown is gone. Mack is no longer seen as that "cool" coach in '05 that brought a National Championship back to the University of Texas. Instead Mack is viewed as the "old grandpa that coddles his spoiled kids/players" or a house guest that has well over-stayed their welcome and doesn't know it's time to leave. That brings us to the Baylor game. This is the 2nd to last "Observations" I will be doing for this season. At this point, there really isn't anything that I saw that the rest of you didn't. Nevertheless, on to observations from the game and in some cases the season:
1. Malcolm Brown left everything he had on the field last night. The kid had well over 100 yards rushing in the first half alone yet finished the game with only 131 yards. The kid was averaging over 5.2 yards a tote but what does our OC do in the 2nd half of the game last night. Entrust the outcome on the game on Case McCoy's arm. As much as folks like to say, "Mack deserves better!" You know who deserves better? Kids like Malcolm Brown and others on this team that entrusted their Football careers to the University of Texas and its coaching staff.
2. Injuries to David Ash or not, a program like the University of Texas should NEVER be in a position to have Case McCoy as its starting QB. Does anyone see how many QB's from Texas are in the NFL right now? And we're the Flagship school?!
3. Peter Jinkins was ALL over the field last night. Better late than never. But the kid was flat-out balling yesterday.
4. Our Offensive Line did a nice job for the most part yesterday however it is difficult for any Offensive Line to block against stacked fronts. At the end of the day, unless you're Nebraska or OU circa '84 or Auburn today, at some point you HAVE to be able to complete a pass to keep the defense honest. We couldn't complete a pass to continue to keep drives alive. At the end of the day, the offensive line can only block- they can't throw the ball. They can't catch the ball. They can only block.
5. Despite giving up 30 points in crappy conditions, I felt the defense played a decent game. A lot of that had to do with the weather containing Baylor. But our guys didn't quit until that 1 play drive after Case' pic. That being said, just like the offensive line the defense has to have help. They can't stay on the field and withstand 3 and out after 3 and out. Eventually the dam will break- and it did just that in the 2nd half.
6. Major Applewhite is WAY over his head as OC. I thought he would get better as the season progressed- he did not.
7. The progress our defense made this season under Greg Robinson coming in in relief of Diaz is nothing short of impressive. Our guys actually can tackle. Our guys are actually in position to make plays. What the Hell Mack was thinking after bringing Diaz back shows you just how little the guy knows about football today. Hell, I've spoken to Diaz personally on a couple of occasions and as a layman could see the guy was a "fertilizer salesman with a mouth full of samples." If Mack Brown can't see that then he is dumb. If the University of Texas is paying Mack Brown $5.4M/yr to coach our program then the University of Texas and its benefactors even dumber!
8. Our receivers not named Shipley all looked as if they would rather be in the warm locker room then playing for a Conference Championship.
9. Anthony Fera will be missed next season. We recently lost the commitment of the Daly from North Carolina as a kicker for '14. NEWSFLASH: There is a kid named Clayton Hatfield out of Boerne Champion who actually out-kicked Daly at UT kickers camp earlier this year who would GLADLY take his place in a heartbeat. Hatfield, a current Tech commit and will be kicking in the US Army All-American Bowl, is a HUGE Texas fan. His dad Charles is a UT Alum. They were devastated when Clayton didn't pick up an offer from beloved UT but OU and Tech did. Matter of fact, the kid didn't commit to OU out of hatred of OU due to UT ties. Hell, I thought Mack preferred kids from Texas that actually WANTED to be at UT?!
10. As much havoc as Reed & Jeffcoat have had getting to the QB in recent weeks, yesterday was a bit tougher for them. Perhaps it was because of the field conditions that they couldn't get a good push-off the ball but for us to have success yesterday, those guys were going to have to wreak havoc. They did not.
11. Decisions by this staff (and ultimately Mack Brown) have shown that the decision-making at the top has become reckless. First consider the decision to retain Diaz as DC. Next,, consider Mack had to be "forced" to fire Diaz. The consider the situation and decision making associated with Ash. In the past I suggested that David Ash was prematurely rushed back from his concussion and was skewered for it. Come to find out Ash WAS rushed back prematurely from his injury and now his career in football is threatened altogether. Finally, consider the "pulling off the shirt" of Tyrone Swoopes. How will THAT action impact that kid's development? Yeah, pulling off Swoopes redshirt was well worth the 17 plays we got in return! There are just so many lapses in judgement by this staff (especially from Mack & Major) that I don't know how anyone can NOT question motives on what they decide going forward with ANY situation. That is not a good place for ANY coach to be in. When trust is lost then it's over. Trust is lost. It's over.
12. How is that watered-down Big 12 Conference working out for you so far Deloss & Mack? When you have Baylor winning the Big 12 then you can see just how far not only UT has fallen, but how far the Conference as a whole has fallen as well. While the Big 10 is playing a Championship Game in Indianapolis on National TV, when the ACC is playing in Charlotte, when the PAC 12 is playing a Conference Championship game in Tempe, and of course the SEC is playing a Conference Championship game in Atlanta, the Big 12 is having its Conference Championship determined on 2 frozen tundras in Stillwater, OK and Waco, TX. Nice move guys. I'm sure the recruits really like what they saw yesterday as it pertains to the Big 12. And people can't understand why the Big 12 Conference did not sign a single 5* recruit while in contrast ole Miss signed 5 last February.
13. Fox Sports is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE with their College Football Coverage that included Craig Bolerjack & Joey Harrington. Harrington needs to be selling mobile phones for Verizon NOT being a color commentator for a College Football game. I've heard people doing this for years but yesterday was the very first time I have ever turned off the sound from the Broadcast and turned on Craig Way instead. I have NEVER done that before. Those 2 announcers shouldn't even be doing Hockey games for the San Antonio Rampage. They were awful. And to keep referring to Floyd Casey as something special- what a joke! That place is a dump! Hell, Baylor Fans will tell you it's a dump! The references about that dump being a special place was beyond my comprehension and lost all credibility with any viewer that knew better. What's more is people want to watch good games with good broadcast teams. The job that Charles Davis and Gus Johnson wasn't much better and that was the Big 10 Conference Championship! How in the Hell a guy like Petros Papadakis has a gig with a Network like Fox shows you just how BAD Fox College Sports is today!
14. Case McCoy threw for 54 yards yesterday. Despite the bad weather, with all of the rules to benefit the offense and increase scoring in football today, Case McCoy threw for just 54 yards yesterday. Let that sink in for a minute. And before you blame it on the weather, bad weather or not, Bryce Petty still threw for 287 yards yesterday.
15. If Mack Brown didn't know that it was time to leave before tomorrow, he sure does at this point. That game was there for the taking. We had Baylor on a slow track, in ideal conditions for us to slow-down their vaunted offense and manhandle their suspect defense with our offensive line of running game, and what did we do? Lay an egg of course.
16. OU going to a BCS game? REALLY?! That is the worst OU Team Stoops has had in 10 years and THEY are going to a BCS Bowl Game. Meantime, we returned 19 starters and we're going to the Alamo Bowl if we're lucky.
17. Did anyone other than me see the SEC Championship Halftime Show with Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman, & Brian Jones yesterday? The topic of Saban came up. I listen to Tim Brando's sports show frequently and know that the guy that does his show from Shreveport is obviously a HUGE SEC homer! Anyway, Brando of all people said that Nick Saban was on the set of Game Day yesterday extensively and had a National platform to finally put the whole "Saban to Texas" rumor to bed once and for all. He did not do so. HMMM…
18. Yes I believe Saban will be the next Head Coach at Texas. For the record, McPhaul has never wavered. I won't go all in at 100% like he did but I will say this: I will be EXTREMELY surprised if he is NOT the next HC at Texas. For the record, none of my contacts have wavered either.
19. I'm not so sure someone can come in like Malzahn did this season with Auburn and makes us respectable from Day 1. The wheels are off the wagon. The cart is in the ditch. The program is FUBAR. Insert appropriate cliche here ________. With the way evaluations and decisions have been made in recent years, at this point I cannot help being critical and scrutinize any and all decisions Mack Brown has made from recruiting to strength and conditioning to managing players' health, to whom Mack hires and fires on his staff.
20. If there is no change, expect donations to be impacted, expect finances to be impacted, expect the relationship with LHN, ESPN, & IMG to be impacted, expect attendance to be impacted, expect merchandising sales to be impacted, expect student participation to be impacted, and of course expect recruiting to be impacted- DRAMATICALLY! There is not one damn thing this program can sell itself on or build on at this point. After 4 seasons, this isn't' an anomaly, it's a trend.
In closing, I am excited about the changes coming. I have been saying for quite some time that Mack was out but after yesterday his fate is finally sealed. There was actually some upheaval that perhaps Powers would have problems asking Mack to hang-it-up had we somehow beat Baylor for the Big 12 Conference yesterday. Now that that is out of the way, I expect us to see a lot of movement by Thursday.
Exciting times are ahead.
SG
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