TCU Horned Frogs vs. Texas Longhorns 2020

October 2, 2020

Good Morning Longhorn Fans!

Horned Frogs vs. Longhorns

Texas Christian University and The University of Texas kick-off Saturday morning at 11:00 am on Campbell-Williams Field in Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.  The game will be broadcast on FOX with Gus Johnson on the PxP, Joel Klatt with commentary and analysis (and I suspect correctly pronounced names), and Jenny Taft on the sideline.  I have become a fan of Joel Klatt.  He does good work, his Twitter account is excellent, and he is an objective sports journalist.  As always, broadcast around the world on the Longhorn IMG Radio Network.  Craig Way, Roger Wallace, and Quan Cosby.  You can listen in Austin on KOKE-FM.  The Frogs and Horns have played 90 times since 1897 (when TCU was Add-Ran College), and Texas leads the series 63-26-1.  Six of the Frogs’ 26 wins have come since joining the Big 12 in 2012.  Late Thursday night, Texas was favored by 11.5 (Vegas line opened at 13), the over/under is 63.  If you haven’t checked out the Longhorns Gameday Digital Guide, you should.  It is good:

https://texassports.com/publications/texas-vs-tcu-digital-guide

Texas Longhorns 63, Texas Tech Red Raiders 56

Several years ago, a friend and reader of this little missive, and who also happened to be on the Federal Bench, gave me some advice.  He complimented my writing and suggested that my use of curse words was unnecessary and that perhaps I should end that practice.  This was many years ago, and at the height of the Golden Decade when Texas blogs and blackboards flourished and the writers, posters, and bloggers used all of the bad words you know, and then some, with great vigor and regularity.  But as a lawyer who does not casually look askance at a “suggestion” from a United States District Judge and as someone who on occasion does in fact heed good advice, I reformed by writing.  Very, very rarely have I resorted to bad words since then.

But.

That game in Lubbock.   H O L Y   S H I T !

Craziest game I think I have ever seen.

All’s well that ends well.

A win is a win is a win.

Take the W anyway you can get it.

And of course, Old ugly is better than old nothin’. (DKR, for those too young to know.)

All true but aren’t some of y’all wondering what in the heck happened on the South Plains on September 26, 2020?  I am.  I will analyze some below, but first, a little crow.  To my good Tech friends: I was wrong.  I apologize for assuming y’all were as bad as your first game suggested and that Texas was going to waltz in and whip butt.  Nope.  One heck of a game.  The only two things I think I got right was that Texas would win, and that was pretty dang questionable at one point, and that the teams would cover the over (we did, by 48 points!).

How questionable?  The win probability calculator on ESPN after Tech went up by 15, with 3:13 to play:

At least I got the right things right.

And that my friends, is a comeback.  That is a Heisman caliber quarterback and a world class leader.  #QB1.

How big a comeback?  Per Alex Loeb, over the last 5 years, teams were 11 – 1,852 when trailing by 15 or more points in the fourth quarter.

Great video from UT.  3 minutes.

Good 13 minutes highlights:

Highlights from the Big 12:

You can re-watch the whole game here.  Or you can fast forward to 2:41:06, which is the kickoff after Thompson’s big touchdown (and after Bowman threw the horns down).

Sweet karma for young Mr. Bowman.

Horns go up.

I would note that the last trip to Lubbock, November 10, 2018, was also a thriller.  Lil’ Jordan Humphrey with that amazing catch and touchdown for the Texas win.

That was the night of Mary Elizabeth’s wedding, and a few of us decided to catch the last few minutes.  This was the post-catch celebration.  A lot of fun.

Texas Christian Horned Frogs vs. The Texas Longhorns

 For most of my life, the Texas Christian game on the Longhorns’ schedule could pretty much be penciled in as a W when the season schedule was released.  There was the occasional loss, but they were rare.  Then the Southwest Conference broke up, and the Frogs were left on the outside looking in with the Ponies and the Cougars.  From 1996 to 2011, Texas played Texas Christian one time:  2007, when #7 Texas beat #19 TCU in Austin, 34-13.

Sometime in 2010 or 2011, the TCU Athletic Director, a guy named Chris Del Conte, was working on conference realignment for the Frogs.  In fact, Texas Christian committed to join the Big East Conference (leaving the Mountain West).  But then Texas Agricultural & Mechanical announced it was leaving for the $EC, and this dude we now know and love as “CDC” came to Austin and met with DeLoss Dodds (at Headliners Club, I should note), and the rest is history.  Texas Christian got an invitation to join the Big 12 (along with West Virginia), and the summer of 2012 the Horned Frogs joined a Power 5 conference.  (the following from a Reuters article)

“I am fired up,” said an emotional Chris Del Conte, TCU athletic director, addressing student athletes in a boisterous news conference on the TCU campus in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday night. “Today is living proof that dreams do come true because of your efforts.”

The move comes after the Horned Frogs had already committed to joining the Big East conference for next year. By bolting from the Big East before officially joining, TCU owes a $5 million exit fee, Del Conte said, though they will not have to wait the required 27 months before leaving. TCU was scheduled to join the Big East on July 1.

At 12:01 am, July 1, 2012, Texas Christian University joined the Big 12.

And they have given the Longhorns all kinds of hell ever since.  In the last 8 years, our record is 6-2.  Not a good one.  Frogs are 3-1 in Austin.  That win was in 2018, when Texas won 31-16. Sam was 22-32, 255 yards and 2 TDs in that game.  Last year in Fort Worth was one of his worst games; 22/48, 211 yards and 2 scores, but 4 interceptions.  I suspect that will motivate Ehlinger, and I am expecting a much different game for him Saturday.

The Official Preview:

https://texassports.com/news/2020/9/28/no-9-9-football-preview-vs-tcu-oct-3-2020.aspx

The Official Texas Game Notes:

https://texassports.com/news/2020/9/28/no-9-9-football-preview-vs-tcu-oct-3-2020.aspx

Depth Chart

The Statistics

Look at those offensive statistics!  And Sam Ehlinger said we haven’t scratched the surface yet of what this offense can do.  Oh boy this is going to be great!

here are now 72 teams in the national stats.

Offense
Statistic
Texas
Texas Christian
Rushing Offense #19 – 211 ypg #59 – 99 ypg
Passing Offense #9 – 371.5 ypg #6 – 399 ypg
Total Offense #7 – 582.5 ypg #15 – 498 ypg
Scoring Offense #1 – 61 ppg #29 – 34 ppg
First Downs #13 – 27.5/game #15 – 27/game
Sacks Allowed #14 – 2, 18 yards #52 – 6, 56 yards
Tackles for Loss Allowed #22 – 8, 30 yards #28 – 10, 35 yards
Third Down Conversions #50 ‑ 38.5% #20 ‑ 50%
Fourth Down Conversions 25 ‑ 50% 54 ‑ 0% (0-1)
Red Zone Offense #25 – 93% / 79% #1 – 100% / 100%
Long Run Plays #20 – 13/10; 4/20; 1/30; 1/40 #59 – 4/10; -0-
Long Pass Plays #14 – 30/10; 13/20; 6/30; 3/40 #38 – 15/10; 7/20; 4/30; 1/40
Long Scrimmage Plays #13 – 43/10; 17/20; 7/30; 4/40 #51 – 19/10; 7/20; 4/30; 1/40
Defense
Statistic
Texas
Texas Christian
Rushing Defense #10  – 76.5 ypg #58 – 212.0 ypg
Passing Defense #44 – 260.5 ypg #28 – 211.0 ypg
Total Defense #21 – 337 ypg #44 – 423.0 ypg
Scoring Defense #38 – 29.5 ppg #52 – 37.0 ppg
Sacks #50 – 2, 16 yards #50 – 2, 21 yards
Tackles for Loss #26 – 14, 57 yards #62 – 5, 30 yards
First Downs Allowed #25 – 19/game #6 – 14/game
Third Down Conversions #23 – 34.4% #12 – 27.3%
Fourth Down Conversions #15 – 25% #1 – 0% (0/0)
Red Zone Defense #10 – 62% / 62% #52 – 100% / 67%
Long Run Plays Allowed #5 – 3/10; 1/20; 1/30; 1/40 #19 – 5/10; 4/20; 3/30; 2/40
Long Pass Plays Allowed #45 – 21/10; 5/20; 1/30 #6 – 7/10; 2/20; 2/30; 2/40
Long Scrim. Plays Allowed #35 – 24/10; 6/20; 2/30; 1/40 #8 – 12/10; 6/20; 5/30; 4/40
Other
Statistic
Texas
Texas Christian
Turnovers #22  – 1F, 1I; 2 #22 – 1F, 1I; 2
Turnover Margin #15  –  4 : 2; +1.0 #52  –  1 : 2; -1.0
Penalties #51 – 16, 155 yards #30 – 10, 66 yards

*Based on total number of penalties.

 

Match-up Comparison
Texas Offense
Texas Christian Defense
Rushing Offense – 211 ypg 212.0 ypg – Rushing Defense
Passing Offense – 371.5 ypg 211.0 ypg – Passing Defense
Total Offense – 582.5 ypg 423.0 ypg – Total Defense
Scoring Offense – 61.0 ppg 37.0 ppg – Scoring Defense
First Downs – 27.5/game 14/game – First Downs Allowed
3rd Down Offense – 38.5% 27.3% – 3rd Down Defense
4th Down Offense –  50% 0% – 4th Down Defense
Red Zone Offense – 93/79 100/67 – Red Zone Defense
LRP – 13/10; 4/20; 1/30; 1/40 5/10; 4/20; 3/30; 2/40 LRP Allowed
LPP – 30/10; 13/20; 6/30; 3/40 7/10; 2/20; 2/30; 2/40 – LPP Allowed
LSP – 43/10; 17/20; 7/30; 4/40  12/10; 6/20; 5/30; 4/40 – LSP Allowed

 

Texas Defense
Texas Christian Offense
Rushing Defense – 76.5 ypg 99 ypg – Rushing Offense
Passing Defense – 260.5 ypg 399 ypg – Passing Offense
Total Defense – 337 ypg 498 ypg – Total Offense
Scoring Defense – 29.5 ppg 34 ppg – Scoring Offense
First Downs Allowed – 19/game 27/game – First Downs
3rd Down Defense – 34.4% 50% – 3rd Down Offense
4th Down Defense –  25% 0% – 4th Down Offense
Red Zone Defense – 62/62 100/100 – Red Zone Offense
LRP Allowed – 3/10; 1/20; 1/30; 1/40 4/10; -0- – LRP
LPP Allowed – 21/10; 5/20; 1/30 15/10; 7/20; 4/30; 1/40 – LPP
LSP Allowed – 24/10; 6/20; 2/30; 1/40 19/10; 7/20; 4/30; 1/40  – LSP
 Texas Christian Horned Frogs

 The Frogs lost to Iowa State 34-37 last weekend.  It was a close score and a close game, and I think once again Gary Patterson has a solid football team who will be competitive in the conference.  Since 2012, that has not been good news for Texas.

The Frogs are led on offense by Max Duggan (#15, 6-2, 201 Sophomore, Council Bluffs, Iowa).  Chris Ash says Duggan is the closest thing to Sam Ehlinger in Big XII as far as a dual threat quarterback.  Since the Frogs only have one game under the belt, not a lot to go on as far as 2020 stats.  He is 16/19, 3 TDs, 1 pick, 241 yards; 11 carries for 32 yards (gross – he was sacked twice for 22 yards).   His stats from last year:  130 rushes for 555 yards and 6 TDs; 181/339, 15 TDs, 10 INTs, 2077 yards.  He is a solid quarterback, and he is 1-0 against Texas.

Running backs.  Again, not much yet.  Emari Demarcado (#3, 5-11, 207, Junior), had 8 carries for 39 yards against the Cyclones.  Darwin Barlow and Kendre Miller each had 3 carries.  Taye Barber was leading receiver, with 5 catches for 82 yards and a score.  Demercado also had 5 catches, for 42 yards.

Defensively, leading tackler versus ISU was Garret Wallow (#30, linebacker, 6-2, 230, Senior from New Orleans), 9 tackles, 5 solo, 2 TFL for 18 yards, a sack for 16 yards, and a forced fumble.  First Team All-Big 12 last year, and active leader for the Frogs with 214 career tackles.  He led the conference in 2019 with 125 tackles.  Going to have find him and block him.  Dee Winters (LB, #13, 6-1, 223) had 8 tackles, 5 solo.  Safeties Trevon Moehrig (#7, 62, 202, Junior from Smithson Valley) and Ar’Darius Washington (#24, 5-8, 178, Sophomore from Shreveport) are good.  Washington was 2019 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.  They will give Sam and our receivers trouble, and I bet those holes in the middle Sam picked apart last week are not so easily found on Saturday.

The difference maker for Texas Christian is Gary Patterson.  He is a really good coach.  Most career wins in school history, with 172 (the great Dutch Meyer had 109).  He is 107-53 against conference opponents, 26-27 against ranked opponents, and 70-37 on the road.  And 6-3 against the Longhorns.

The staff at Horns247 are all picking Texas, but most by a touchdown or less. They all expect a close game.

TCT Prediction

I missed badly last week.  I am still surprised about the Tech game.  I am not making the same mistake this week.  This year’s stats are meaningless, and the fact is Gary Patterson knows how to beat the Longhorns.  He does it all the time.  He has a solid team with a good quarterback, and they will play Texas tough.  But I do think that Texas is better than TCU.

I think this game is one of the most important of the season.  A team that has been a real nemesis for 8 years.  A defense that has consistently played Texas really well.  An offense that does just enough to beat the Horns.  I think the Texas offense will do just fine.  The wild card is our defense.  As we saw in Lubbock, our not so tall defensive backs had some challenges with big receivers, especially T.J. Vasher.  The Frogs have 6 tight ends on the roster:  6-1, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and 6-6.  Wide receivers include 6-5 John Stephens, Jr., 6-3 Te’Vailance Hunt, 6-5 Savion Williams, 6-5 Chase Curtis, 6-4 Mitchell Hanson, and 3 other guys at 6-4.  Those aren’t their main guys, who are all more in the 5-11 and 6 foot range, but my point is they can put height and length on the field if they want.  Also, as noted, 19 missed tackles against Tech.  If the defense tackles and plays like it did in Lubbock, Duggan could have a career game, and we may be sweating out a fourth quarter Dicker the Kicker field goal attempt to win.

All things considered, I am thinking the Vegas line is pretty accurate.  And I am going to hope and pray that some of the defensive issues are fixed.  And the penalties.  So I will go with Texas 45, Texas Christian 31.  Hook Em.

Previews on the Interwebs

Cameron Parker on Burnt Orange Nation:

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2020/9/30/21495802/week-3-opponent-preview-tcu-horned-frogs-texas-longhorns-ehlinger-duggan-gary-patterson-herman-tom

TCU Official Preview:

https://gofrogs.com/news/2020/9/28/football-preview-at-9-texas.aspx

Longhorns 63, Red Raiders 56

As those of you who have been reading my email for awhile know, I usually recap the prior game (especially a win) with a pretty thorough, drive-by-drive review.  Simply not possible this week with timing and of course the fact that there were 15 scoring drives (plus the 2 special teams scores).  38 possessions.  So, a few highlights, lowlights, and other observations.

Top highlight for me was Sam Ehlinger.  First and foremost, his confident leadership.  When Tech scored that last touchdown (which was almost inexcusable), Sam told Herman “They left us too much time.  We’re gonna tie this thing and win it in overtime.”  And the Longhorns did.  Add to that 88 yards gained rushing (69 net with the 2 sacks), a running touchdown, five passing touchdowns (plus the two point conversion to Eagles to save the game ) on 27/40 (262 yards), and you understand why Sam Ehlinger was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week again.  For the season, Sam is 9/13 with 7 touchdowns in the redzone. That is good.  Sam is also the first Texas quarterback to have 5 passing TDs in consecutive games.

Ehlinger highlights:

Joel Klatt on Sam’s work in the comeback:

Another highlight was our ground game.  After the air raid passing attack against UTEP, the Longhorn offense ground out 240 yards gained (214 net) on 48 attempts.  Ingram with 89 and a long of 26 on 12 carries, Sam 88 with a long of 24 on 16 attempts, and Roschon Johnson with 16 rushes for 51 yards and a score.  Bijan Robinson ran 4 times for 12 yards and flew once and I don’t know how his back wasn’t broken and thank God that young man appears to be okay.  Wow.  But query why we were so focused on the rushing game given the prior game’s success in the air?  And in hindsight, the miraculous success in the comeback drives & scores and overtime?

Our receivers didn’t make some catches they should have made, but they sure made the catches we needed when they mattered most.  Joshua Moore was a one man highlight reel, with 73 yards on just 5 catches and 3 of those were touchdowns.  One of them really important.  Schooler was consistent and reliable with 7 catches for 58 yards, and Kai Money had 4 for 39.  Look at Moore’s catch here:

Dicker the Kicker.  2 for 2 on field goals, one from 43.  7 for 7 on PATs.  Perfect work young man.

That was the good.

The bad was defense.  I understand there were 19 miss tackles.  I haven’t had time to watch film, but I am almost wondering if that was 19 missed tackles, or 19 plays with missed tackles.  Because we had more than one where we had multiple whiffs.  That has to change, or we will not have the season we hope and expect.

Our offensive line did not have a good game.  Two sacks.  Sam under a lot of pressure.  Bad holding calls.  Which leads me to …

Another bad was penalties.  10 penalties for 100 yards.  Now, I understand that the Big 12 office reviewed and said 3 or 4 of those shouldn’t have been called, but that doesn’t do us much good.  Plain and simple, penalties cost us a couple of drives, and penalties nearly cost us a game that Texas should have won by 2 or 3 scores.

A really bad was the TV announcers.  Brando and Tillman were blatantly biased.  Not sure if they are pro-Tech, anti-Texas, or both.  But they suck.  Hope we don’t get them again anytime soon.

Mixed was special teams.  The muffed punt that gave them a score.  Their onside kick.  Bad.  Our block punt for a score and our onside kick, good.

Juan Heisman Tailgate

11:00 am games are always hard on the tailgate.  So is Covid-19.  No tailgate party, but a few of us are going to park in Lot 38 near Juan Heisman around 10:00 o’clock Saturday morning.

Polls

AP Top 25:  Clemson, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, The Ohio State University™, Auburn, Miami (Florida), Texas, and PSU.  Coach Mack and the Heels at 12.  Texas Agricultural & Mechanical at 13.  Okie State 17, Land Thieves 18, and Louisiana State 20.  Michigan at 23, Pitt at 24.

Coaches Poll:  Clemson, Roll Tide, Go Gata, Dawgs, L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac, The Ohio State University™, War Damn Eagle, Miami of Florida, The University of Texas Longhorns, and PSU.  Tarheels 11, Texas Agricultural & Mechanical is 13, Mississippi State at 14.  Land Thieves 16.  Okie A&M 19.  Michigan 21.  Hokies at 23.  Pitt at 25.

This Week in the Big 12

 Baylor at West Virginia, Milan Puskar Stadium, 11:00 am on ABC.  BU favored by 2.5, and the over/under is 53.5.  Going to be an interesting game.

No. 17 Okie State at Kansas, 2:30 pm on ESPN.  Cowboys favored by 22.5, and the over under is 54.  Take the Pokes and the points and the over.

Texas Technical at K State, 2:30 pm on FOX Sports 1.  Wildcats favored by 2.5 over Tech, and the over/under is 64.  So, think about this:  The first game of the season, Tech fought tooth and nail to beat Houston Baptist, and Kansas State lost to Arkansas State.  The second week of the season, Texas Tech dang near beat the Longhorns, and K State went to Norman and beat the No. 3 Land Thieves.  The boys in Vegas are smart, and a 2.5 home favorite is pretty close to even.  Which makes sense.  Because I have no idea who will win this game.  Not a clue.

The evening prime time game, which Bob Bowlsby and the Big 12 Conference chose for such slot over Texas and the Frogs, is No. 18 Land Thieves at Iowa State.  On ABC.  Thanks Bob.  Kick-off in Jack Trice Stadium is 6:30.  Should be a watchable game.  OU favored by 7, and the over/under is 62.5.  I will be watching.

This Week in the Top 25

Friday Night

No. 22 Brigham Young (2-0) hosts Louisiana Tech (2-0) in Provo.  8:00 pm  ESPN2.  Brigham Young favored by 24, and the over/under is 59.5.  Take the Cougars and the over.

Saturday

No. 3 Florida (1-0) welcomes South Carolina (0-1) to The Swamp.  11:00 am on ESPN.  Gators favored by 17.5, and the over/under is 57.5.  Thinking the Cocks may cover.

Missouri (0-1) at No. 21 Tennessee, 11:00 am on the $EC Network.  Vols favored by 12 and the over/under is 48.5.

No. 24 Pittsburgh is 3-0.  They get NC State at home on Heinz Field.  Wolfpack is 0-1 and 14 point underdogs.  Over/under is 47.5.  Pitt wins. Not sure about line.

Big game in Tuscaloosa.  No. 2 Alabama and No. 12 Texas Agricultural & Mechanical. Both 1-0.  2:30 pm on the Columbia Broadcasting System.  Alabama favored by 17.5, over/ under 52.5.  Do I smell an upset?  Know, that it isn’t what I smell. Although the aggies might cover.

No. 12 UNC (1-0) at Boston College (2-0).  2:30 pm on ABC.  Tarheels favored by 14, over/under is 54.5.  I think Coach Brown gets another win, but Eagles cover.

South Florida (1-1) at No. 15 Cincinnati.  2:30 pm on ESPN+.  Cinci favored by 21, o/u is 45.5.

Really good game in Dallas at 2:30.  No. 25 Memphis (1-1) and Southern Methodist (3-0).  ESPN2.  Tigers only favored by 2.5, and over/under is 74.5.  I feel good about Buechele and the Ponies in this one.

No. 7 Auburn at No. 4 Georgia.  The Oldest Rivalry in The South.  6:30 pm on ESPN.  Will be tuning in for this one.  Should be a great game between the hedges.  UGA favored by 6.5, o/u is 44.5.

Tulsa at No. 11 UCF in the “Bounce House” in Orlando.  6:30 pm on ESPN2.  I will not be tuning in for this.  UCF favored by 21, o/u is 72.

Arkansas (0-1) at No. 16 Mississippi State (1-0).  Oh my.  Mike Leach in the $EC. More on the win over Louisiana State below.  Hail State favored by 17, and over/under is 69.  I will take the Pirate and bet the over.  6:30 pm on the $EC Alternate Channel.

No. 20 Louisiana State at Vanderbilt.  Both teams winless.  6:30 pm on $EC Network.  Tigers favored by 21, and the over/under is 50.5.  That just can’t be right, since Vandy only lost to Texas Agricultural & Mechanical 12-17 last week, and Texas Agricultural & Mechanical is a title contender, right? Vanderbilt clearly underrated.  If they only lost by 5 to the Aggies, then they will probably beat the Tigers by a touchdown or two.

Virginia Cavaliers at No. 1 Clemson.  7:00 pm on the ACC Network.  The Wahoos coming off that big win over Duke, but 28.5 point road dogs to the Tigers.  Over/under is 55.  Will be watching some of this with Parker and the family. Hook em Hoos!

Other Games of Interest

UTSA is 3-0 and heading to Birmingham to play the Blazers (2-1).  Vegas thinks that winning streak ends, as UAB favored by 20.5.  Over/under is 54.5.

Abilene Christian at Army, 12:30 pm on CBSSN, from Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.  No line.

Ole Miss at Kentucky.  3:00 pm on SEC Network.  UK favored by 6, over/under is 61.5.  Hotty Toddy!

Navy at Air Force, 5:00 pm on CBSSN.  Middies favored by 7, and over/under is 46.5.  As I have noted, I am particularly fond of the service academies.  This year, Navy is on the radar even more, as Ford Knippa, one of my good friend and law partner Brad Knippa, is a Plebe at the Naval Academy.  Good kid.

Rice was supposed to start their season at Marshall, but the game is postponed.

Good Stuff

The Week That Will Be:  Back to the Future.  HornMafia (Matt Craig) on Barking Carnival:

https://www.barkingcarnival.com/2020/10/1/21496523/the-week-that-will-be-back-to-the-future-texas-longhorns-football-big12

Texas Pregamer

https://www.barkingcarnival.com/2020/10/2/21498312/texas-pregamer-tcu

Last Week in the Big 12 – Week 4

Kansas State 38, Land Thieves 35.  Nope, didn’t see that coming.  “I would suggest a meaningful wager on OU to win and cover.”  Wildcats scored 17 unanswered in the fourth quarter, capped by a 50 yard field goal to take the lead with 4:32 to play.  After the score, the Land Thieves went 3 and out, but then held KSU and got the ball back.  But with 49 seconds to play, Rattler was picked off, sealing the win for K State.  Tis a pity.

Iowa State 37, Texas Christian 34.  The line was Cyclones by 2.5.  Pretty good odds-making given all the circumstances.

Oklahoma State 27-13 over West Virginia, easily covering the 7 point line.

Kansas 14, Baylor 47.

Week 4 in the Top 25

 No. 5 Florida had no trouble with the Ole Miss Rebels, scoring double digits each quarter in route to a 51-35 win (covering). Over/under was 57.

Auburn 29-13 over  Kentucky, covering.

UCF 51-28 over East Carolina.  Pirates covered.  Over/under was 77.

Pittsburgh 23-20 over Louisville.  Panthers were favored by 3.  That’s pretty good work.

Louisiana struggled to beat Georgia Southern 20-18.

Mississippi State 44, Louisiana State 34.  Welcome to the $EC Mike Leach!  It was what we expected.  The Bulldogs put the ball in the air 60 times.  K.J. Costello completed 36 of those passes for 623 yards and 5 touchdowns.  The two interceptions by the LSU Tigers was not enough.  State covered the line by 26 points.  I was right about taking the over!  Going to be really interesting to see what happens in the SEC over the next season or so if Leach and his Air Raid offense finds success against the vaunted defenses of the Southeastern Conference.  Wonder how many defensive coaches ordered Sam Gwynne’s The Perfect Pass this week?

Army 10, Cincinnati 24.  Cinci was favored by 13.5.

Georgia 37, Arkansas 10.  Line was 27.5.  Just amazing.

Alabama 38, Missouri 19.  Tigers covered, as I thought they might.

Good game between Tennessee and South Carolina.  The Volunteers won 31-27, covering the 3.5 pint line.

Miami (Florida) destroyed Florida State 52-10.  It was ugly.  There are issues in Tallahassee. Hurricanes almost got the over by themselves.  The line was 11.

Vanderbilt 12, Texas Agricultural & Mechanical 17.  Kellen Mond was only able to complete 17/28 passes for 189 yards against the big, tough Commodore defense, which in 2019 was ranked 95 in scoring defense and 101 in total defense.  Vandy with a big cover of that 31 point line.  Gig em!

Hokies 42, Wolfpack 24.

Troy 7, Brigham Young 48.

Other Games of Interest Last Week

 UT San Antonio Roadrunners are 3-0!  UTSA 37, Middle Tennessee 35.

UTEP 31, UL Monroe 6.  ULM was favored by 9.5. Somebody didn’t know something.  But sure makes the Longhorns win look good.  Keep winning UTEP!

Virginia 38-20 over Duke. Wahoos!

Louisiana Tech 66, Houston Baptist 38.  HBU now 0-2 against Techs, although they played the Red Raiders a lot closer (33-35).

Texas State 21, Boston College 24.  Bobcats covered.

Mustangs ran all over Stephen F. Austin, 50-7.  Really.  Buechele only had 141 yards (2 TDs).   Southern Methodist ran for 260.

Texas Volleyball

The great Longhorns volleyball team started off the season last weekend in Norman, sweeping the Land Thieves 3-0 in the first match and winning 3-1 in the second. Interesting schedule this season, as all teams play both of their matches with a team the same weekend.  Texas beat swept Kansas Thursday night here in Austin, and play the second match Friday night.

The Longhorns are ranked No. 1 in the country.  Good luck and HOOK EM!

Chicago Cubs and Baseball                

 I love my Cubs.  I cannot wait to get back to Wrigley Field.

Cubbies lost the first Wild Card game to the Marlins.  The Marlins.  Game 2 Thursday was postponed due to inclement weather.  1:00 pm Friday on ABC.  Go Cubs!  Let’s win 2!

In 1932 Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig each homered twice in a game for the Yankees.  Thursday night, Fernando Tatis, Jr. and Will Myer each homered twice for the Padres, as San Diego tied the series with St. Louis at 1 each.  Rubber game Friday night at 6:00 pm on ESPN.

Also on Thursday, Atlanta beat the Reds 5-0 to advance to the Division Series.  And Los Angeles beat the Brew Crew 3-0 to advance.  Clayton Kershaw with 13 strikeouts.

Oakland A’s have been money this season.  They won the WC series over the Chicago White Sox, and the Athletics will play the Houston Astros in the ALDS.  That starts Monday.  As does the Yankees & Rays series, which ought to be really good.

Speaking of the Astros and as a side note, and I am not picking on the Twins, but they achieved a milestone with their loss on Wednesday to the Astros.  The last time the Twins won a postseason game was in 2004 against the Yankees (Game 1 of ALDS).  They lost the rest of the games in that series, and they have not won a postseason game since.  16 years, 18 straight losses.   The worst streak in North American professional major sports history.

Music

Here are the last four songs off of W&L Juke 1, Side A.

Higher & Higher, Jackie Wilson

I’ll Always Love My Mama, The Intruders

Do You Believe in Magic?, the Lovin’ Spoonful.

Give Me Just a Little More Time, The Chairmen of the Board

Not one of my college songs, but I ran across this a day or so ago.  Jerusalem, performed by the Cadet Glee Club of West Point.

Red River Shootout

I will hopefully be heading to Dallas for the annual Cotton Bowl match with the Land Thieves.   I know many of you are going to see streaks end this year.  However, as I have done in the past, I welcome the opportunity to share some of your OU stories and streaks in next week’s newsletter.  Judge Yeakel, I have yours.  Anyone else who wants to share, please send them to me by Tuesday.  Thanks, and let’s beat the hell out of OU.

Jim Nicar

Jim Nicar is a Texas treasure.  Jim, thank you for all the great content you share.  https://jimnicar.com/

Jim tweeted this photo Thursday, a harvest moon over Austin and The Tower.

God Bless Texas

Tim Taylor

Tailgating before Home Football Games
The Juan Heisman Tailgate
Lot 38, East of Sid Richardson Hall.

www.AustinHornsFan.com

HOOK EM HORNS!!

© Timothy C. Taylor, Sr. 2020.  All Rights Reserved (as to original material).

www.jw.com/ttaylor

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