Texas Longhorns 36, Oklahoma State Cowboys 30
The Curse of The Mullet has lifted, and the sun shines again in Austin! A really great win for the Horns.
Bye Week
Greetings from Memphis! Arrived late Thursday night after a long day with my favorite airline, Southwest. They really are good. Held our connecting flight in Dallas long enough to get us on and our luggage. I can’t say enough good things about Herb’s airline. No news as of now on Baby Dean, but soon! Appreciate the support from my colleagues and clients, as always.
Wild Weekend in College Football
Week 4 was a wild and fun weekend for college football fans. Full recap below, but early special shout-outs to a few winners. Southern Methodist with a huge win over Texas Christian, 41-38. The Mustangs are 4-0. Pittsburgh pulled of a big upset of #15 Central Florida, 35-34. And the last game of Saturday night was one of the craziest I’ve seen in a long time (caught a good chunk of the second half), as UC Los Angeles pulled off the upset of Washington State in Pullman, 67-63 – and that was in regulation. Oh man.
Life is Good
The Weight. Truly one of the best American songs from the 20th Century. Playing for Change does some cool videos. Combine a great song with Robbie Robertson, Ringo Starr, Lukas Nelson, and musicians from around world, and you get a work of art.
Longhorn linebacker Jeffrey McCullough graduated last spring in 3 years. He is now taking post-grad classes in Finance at McCombs. He got his real estate license a year ago, and he has started a shoe company. We have some real studs on the Forty Acres.
Staying on defense, Keondre Coburn’s nickname is “Snacks”. Love this.
VIDEO: Texas DT Keondre Coburn got the nickname "Snacks" from Malcolm Roach during his recruiting visit.
"I had some snacks on me and he was like 'why do you always have snacks with you?' so ever since then he's been calling me snacks." #HookEm pic.twitter.com/GG8XhTvhRN
— Jeff Barker (@JeffBarker_) September 17, 2019
Okie A&M vs. Texas Longhorns
That was quite a football game. I will have a more detailed review next week. The Horns could have and should have covered the 6.5 line, and but for turnovers we would have hit the over as predicted.
High points: the defense, the offensive line, Sam Ehlinger, Devin Duvernay, and Keontay Ingram. Low points: turnovers and terrible special teams decisions. I shall stay out of the fourth down argument.
Here is what Todd Orlando and his defense did to the Cowboy offense, versus their season average.
| Statistic | Okie State | Against Texas |
| Rushing Offense | #9 – 285.3 ypg | 226 yards |
| Passing Offense | #49 – 261.7 ypg | 268 yards |
| Total Offense | #12 – 547 ypg | 294 yards |
| Scoring Offense | #9 – 49.3 ppg | 30 points |
| Third Down Conversions | #3 – 60.5% | 47.3% |
| Chuba Hubbard | 173.7 ypg, 7.89 ypr, 7 TDs | 121 yards. 3.3 ypc, 2 TDs |
| Tylan Wallace | 130 ypg, 26 ypc, 6 TDs | 5/83 yards, 16.6 ypc, no TDs |
I know Sanders ran for 109 on top of the 268 he threw for, but Orlando out-coached Gundy, and we effectively shut down their two biggest weapons, forcing Sanders to beat us – and he couldn’t.
Sam had a typical great Sam Game. 20/28, 281 yards, and 4 TDs. He also ran for 70. Yes, his first pick of the season, but that pass was just a tad high, and maybe catchable.
Passing, Ehlinger is now:
- #12 nationally with 309.3 yards per game
- #14 nationally completing 72.9% of his passes
- #7 nationally, with 1,237 yards.
- #4 nationally with 15 passing touchdowns.
- #8 nationally with a Rating of 181.01
Sam is No. 4 nationally in total yards of offense, with 1,428, and he is No. 6 nationally in total offense, with 357 yards per game. And Sam is doing this all while playing with an injury. One tough man, and I am so glad he is a Texas Longhorn.
Keontay Ingram had a great game. Word is that practice Friday was his first one without a brace on his leg, and played without it Saturday. 21 carries for 114 yards.
Duvernay caught 12 of Sam’s 20 passes, for 108 yards and a score. Devin is No. 21 nationally in yards per game, at 94.3, but he is No. 1 in the nation in receptions with 39 and in receptions per game, with 9.8.
And the line. Man they played a great game. I can’t wait to watch the replay. No sacks, just 3 TFL. They played a whale of a game.
Honorable mention for Brennan Eagles. He had just the one catch – but it was for 73 yards and a touchdown (Eagles was our second leading receiver with those 73 yards).
Montrell Estell’s interception was a huge play, as was Chris Brown’s. Kudos on those game changing plays.
Now, the bad news/good news: We had two bad plays on punt returns – the muffed punt and then our Senior Captain’s decision to field that last punt, when it really didn’t matter. The lack of preparedness on the onside kick could have been fatal. God bless Chris Adimora. The play on fourth down for which Coach Herman immediately took responsibility. But the good news – all of this is fixable, and my guess is it will be.
I was off on my prediction of 45-41, but close enough.
Reviews on the Interwebs
Inside the Numbers, from Gerald Goodridge on BON
Good, Bad, and Ugly, from Anthony Rizzo on BON.
Scipio Tex on Barking Carnival.
Okay, that wasn’t a review. But that was one of the coolest things for me since I started this little epistle and the website. The endorsement from Scipio made my heart swell. Thanks Paul!
Texas Victory Highlights
Highlights from the Big 12 (4:09):
Highlights from ESPN (6:04)
Jim Nicar
This week’s Jim Nicar offering. Follow him on Twitter @jimnicar, and check out his excellent website, https://jimnicar.com/
Texas Memorial Stadium in 1959:
It's game day!
1959: The @UTAustin stadium 60 years ago, as seen from the Tower. With 66,000 seats, lights were recently installed in 1955. Across the street, the alumni center is still a half-decade away. That's the ROTC building, later Russell Steindam Hall, in the foreground. pic.twitter.com/k5husYS6YM
— Jim Nicar (@JimNicar) September 21, 2019
Everyone Gets a Trophy
Kevin Dunn (104.9 the Horn, and follow him on Twitter – @KevinDunn01) and Paul Wadlington have a new podcast- Everyone Gets a Trophy. Paul and Kevin talk sports through a Texas lens. Check it out! Apple iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
Polls
AP Top 25: Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana State, The Ohio State University™, Land Thieves, Auburn, Wisconsin, Florida, Notre Dame. Texas up to No. 11. Virginia at 18 (21 last week; 31 was a typo). Southern Cal back in at 21. Texas Agricultural & Mechanical drops to 23. K State in at No. 24. Okie State and Southern Methodist both in the Others Receiving Votes group, with OSU at 27 and the Ponies at 28.
Coaches Poll: Clemson, Roll Tide, UGa, Land Thieves, Louisiana State, The Ohio State University™, War Eagle, Go Gata, Wiscy, and L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac. Texas at No. 11. Wahoos at 18 and Texas Agricultural & Mechanical is 21. K State in at No. 22.
The Juan Heisman Tailgate
Another outstanding tailgate party this last weekend. Great turnout and much more manageable than the LSU blowout, and no horns down. Great work by the Early Crew – Bill Skeen, Jack Nash, Jim Stone, Rick Whiteley, Judd Messer, Collin Shaw, Grant Martin, and Butters Barton. Marcus and Otis put out quite a spread – the pork tenderloin with the smoked/grilled onions was particularly tasty. Great tequila and palomas and margaritas from Dulce Vida Tequila, and lots of good Texas Beer Company – Blonde Lager and Pale Ale. And good to have my friend Quan Cosby stop by.
Week Five in College Football
Big XII
Our first weekend with a full slate of conference games (aside from the Texas bye of course). Every Big 12 team is entering the weekend with a winning record except Kansas, which is 2-2. Oklahoma, Baylor, and Kansas State are all 3-0. Texas Tech, Texas Christian, and Iowa State are 2-1. Okie A&M is 3-1. Very respectable first month for the Big XII.
Kansas and Texas Christian kick at 11:00 a.m. at Amon G. Carter, with game broadcast on FOX Sports 1. Texas Christian favored by 15.5, and the over/under is 49. I would take the points, but I think the Frogs prevail.
Land Thieves host the Sand Aggies in Norman. I always marvel that if you go to Tech, a road trip to Norman probably makes you feel good about Lubbock. 11:00 a.m. on FOX. No. 5 Land Thieves favored by 27, and the over/under is 70.5. I think betting on the Land Thieves this year is dangerous, because Lincoln Riley can probably score as many points as he wants in any given game (except the RRS and maybe Bedlam). So if he just decides to start resting starters, they might not cover. But they will win. Handily.
Iowa State in Waco to play BU. 2:30 p.m. on ESPN. Cyclones favored by 3.0, and the over/under is 55. Tough pick.
No. 24 K State in Stillwater to play Okie A&M. 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Cowboys favored by 4.5, and the over/under is 60.5. I like the Vegas pick in this one.
Top 25
Friday Night
No. 12 PSU at Maryland, 7:00 p.m. on FS1. PSU -6.5.
No. 15 and undefeated California hosts Arizona State (3-1). 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. Bears favored by 4.0, and the over/under is 42.5. Should be an interesting game. I think Cal takes this one.
Saturday
No. 8 Wisconsin still at home and coming off the big win over Michigan. Undefeated Badgers host 1-2 Northwestern. 11:00 a.m. on ABC. Wiscy favored by 24.5, and before last weekend I would have thought that was high. Maybe not. Over/under is 46.5.
No. 14 Iowa (3-0) has Middle Tennessee in Kinnick Stadium. 11:00 a.m. on ESPN2. Hawkeyes favored by 24 over the Blue Raiders, who are 1-2. Iowa should roll and cover. Over/under is 52.5.
No. 20 Michigan tries to get well in the Big House. 2-1 Wolverines host 1-2 Rutgers. 11:00 a.m. on BTN. Michigan favored by 28, and the over/under is 49. Michigan to win, Rutgers covers.
No. 23 Texas Agricultural & Mechanical is the only 2 loss team in the Top 25. Good news for the aggies is they will still only have 2 losses after this weekend. Arkansas is also 2-2, but that is the only thing these have in common (besides the obvious [what most Texas fans think of them]). Aggies the road loss to No. 1 Clemson and the close home loss last weekend to Auburn. Pigs barely beat Portland State, got thumped by Ole Miss (Hotty Toddy!), got a big win over a weak Colorado State team, and then got beat at home by San Jose State in Fayetteville, 24-31. Pigs not good. Aggie favored by 23.5, and the over/under is 61. Texas Agricultural & Mechanical wins and should cover. 11:00 a.m. on ESPN.
Aggies do get a lot of media attention.
No. 1 Clemson plays Coach Mack Brown’s 2-2 Tarheels in Chapel Hill. 2:30 p.m. on ABC. Tigers favored by 27.5, and the over/under is 60. Clemson wins, but Coach covers.
Ole Miss is 2-2. This weekend will be tough. At No. 2 Alabama, 2:30 p.m. on CBS. Tide favored by 37.5. Ouch. Over/under is 60. Hotty Toddy!
I hope my Ole Miss friends will not take offense, but this is pretty hysterical. And accurate, in a caricature sort of way, except for the fact that the photos are real. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Rebs. But enjoy.
https://www.bannersociety.com/2019/9/25/20880575/ole-miss-football-gifs
Huge game for our family: No. 18 Virginia (4-0) at No. 10 Notre Dame (2-1). 2:30 p.m. on NBC. Irish favored by 11.5, and the over/under is 48.5 May the best team win.
Michigan State is 3-1 and ranked No. 25. The get 3-1 Indiana in East Lansing. I apologize Chris, but I just don’t think your Spartans are very good. But I do think they can beat the Hoosiers. MSU favored by 14, and the over/under is 44. 2:30 p.m. on BTN.
No. 9 Florida (4-0) hosts Towson. I think the 37.5 line might be low. Gators will beat Towson badly. 3:00 p.m. on $EC Network. Over/under is 58.5.
Mississippi State (3-1) at No. 7 Auburn (4-0). 6:00 p.m. on ESPN. Tigers favored by 10. War Eagle.
UConn (1-2) at No. 22 UCF (3-1). 6:00 p.m. on ESPN2. UCF favored by 42.5. Wow.
No. 5 The Ohio State University™ (4-0) at Nebraska (3-1). 6:30 p.m. on ABC. Buckeyes favored by 17, and the over/under is 66.5.
3-1 Washington State at No. 19 Utah (3-1). Huge game for the Pirate after that devastating loss last weekend. If Cougars rebound, they will stay in the hunt for a Pac 12 title. Lose, and they are probably playing for fun. Utes favored by 6.0, over/under is 56.5.
Other Games of Interest
Thursday night, I was in Memphis, but did not go to see Navy lose to the Tigers. 23-35.
Friday
Duke (2-1) at Virginia Tech (2-1), 6:00 p.m. on ESPN. Hokies favored by 2.5.
Air Force Academy (2-1) hosts San Jose State (2-1). AFA favored by 20. 7:00 p.m. on CBSSN. Good luck to the Academy!
Saturday
Brigham Young (2-2) at Toledo (2-1). 11:00 a.m. on ESPN+. Brigham Young favored by 2.5.
Southern Methodist plays South Florida, and so Buechele will face his old coach. Mustangs are 4-0, Charlie Strong’s Bulls are 1-2. 3:00 p.m. on ESPNU, and Southern Methodist favored by 8.0. Over/under is 62.
Nicholls (2-1) at Texas State (1-3). 6:00 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium. Texas State 3.5 underdogs.
UTEP (1-2) at Southern Mississippi (2-2). USM favored by 26. Ouch.
Rice Owls are a good 0-4 football team. They host Louisiana Tech (3-1). LATech favored by 8.5. Go Rice!
Stanford (1-3) at Oregon State (1-2). 6:00 p.m. on Pac12 Network. Cardinal favored by 4.
Kentucky (2-2) at South Carolina (1-2). Coach Boom needs a win, badly. 6:30 p.m. on $EC Network. Will and the Cocks favored by 3.
Houston at North Texas, 7:00 p.m. in Denton. UNT favored by 7.5, over/under is 58.
Week 5 Viewing Guide
The Week that Will Be:
From HornMafia:
Last Week in College Football
Big XII
Southern Methodist wins the Battle for the Iron Skillet 2019! Texas Christian was 9.5 point home favorite, and the Southern Methodists handed (the briefly No. 25) Frogs a 41-38 upset at Amon G. Carter. Just a huge, huge win. I suspect there is a lot of hand-wringing going on in the 19th hole at both Ridglea and River Crest.
Iowa State did indeed rebound – with a basketball score. Cyclones 72-20.
Recall the line in the West Virginia at Kansas game was Mountaineers by 4.5 points. WVU 29, Kansas 24.
Baylor at Rice. I was wrong. Rice did rally late to cover, but it was nothing like a 26+ point line. Final score: Rice 13, Baylor 21.
Top 25
Friday Night
How about that? Southern Cal upsets Utah, 30-23.
Boise State wins and covers Air Force.
Saturday
I wonder how many games Alabama has won in the 15 years by a score of 49-7? Seems to be frequent. Southern Miss never had a chance.
Louisiana State destroyed Vandy, 66-38. Reports that Tiger fans were 90% of the stadium. Haven’t heard about the locker room temperature.
Florida swamped Tennessee, 34-3.
Not stunning that Wisconsin won. Stunning that Wisconsin beat the living daylights out of Michigan, 35-14, and it really wasn’t that close. Line was Wiscy by 3.5
Ole Miss did not win the Cal game, losing 20-28. Won the tailgate again though. Hotty Toddy.
The Ohio State University™ 76, Miami 5. Just brutal.
It just means more when they lose in College Station. Auburn 28, Texas Agricultural & Mechanical 20. Whoop! WDE.
Pitt Panthers 35, UCF 34.
Washington 45, Brigham Young 19.
Tough times on the Farm. Ducks 21, Cardinal 6.
Virginia rallied to avoid a huge upset by Old Dominion. Cavaliers 28, ODU 17.
Clemson 52, Charlotte 10.
Giant game that lived up to the hype. Georgia 23, Notre Dame 17. Would have enjoyed watching that one. Sorry Mark and Rich!
Colorado with the road upset in the desert, 34-31 over Arizona State.
Washington State’s defense had an epic bad second half, and they let a winless UC Los Angeles score 50 points in the second half and beat the Cougars 67-63. The Pirate doesn’t pull a lot punches. “We are a JayCee softball team”.
Other Games of Interest
Michigan State with a big win at Northwestern, 31-10.
I was right about Appalachian State being a tough game for the Tarheels. Sure enough, App State 34, UNC 31. Sorry Coach.
Central Michigan is not good. Miami (FL) 17, Chippewas 12.
Missouri beats South Carolina 34-14 and covers.
Texas State wins! 37-34 over Georgia State. Remember Georgia State? They beat Tennessee 38-30 to open the season. Go play the game. Start with Texas State is better than Tennessee.
UTSA destroyed in Denton. North Texas 45, Roadrunners 3.
San Jose State 31, Arkansas 24. Pig Sooey! Breaks my heart.
Nevada 37, UTEP 21.
Washington & Lee
The Generals with another big win, 52-14 over Guilford. W&L ran for 426 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per rush. Great win!
Generals head to Farmville to play the Hampsters. Hampden-Sydney and W&L have played 77 times, a rivalry that began in 1899. Tigers have the edge, 39-36-2. Double or nothing Carl?
Preview and game notes:
https://www.generalssports.com/sports/fball/2019-20/releases/HSC_Notes
Drew Fish Band was great at Longhorn City Limits. Good work Drew and Andy.
God Bless Texas
Tim Taylor
Tailgating before Home Football Games
The Juan Heisman Tailgate
Lot 38, East of Sid Richardson Hall.
HOOK EM HORNS!!
© Timothy C. Taylor, Sr. 2019. All Rights Reserved (as to original material).
On Twitter: @tctayloratx
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Tim Taylor
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