Kansas State Wildcats vs. Texas Longhorns 2019

November 8, 2019

Kansas State Wildcats vs Texas Longhorns

Texas and our purple nemesis meet for the 20th time this Saturday at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, with K State holding a 10-9 series edge over the Horns.  But Herman has won both of his games against the Cats, and Texas is 7-3 in Austin.  Texas at 5-3, K State at 6-2, and both teams at 3-2 in the conference.  Loser is eliminated from any shot at the Big 12 Championship Game, whereas the winner still has a chance, especially if Iowa State upsets the Land Thieves Saturday (that would put Iowa State, OU, and the winner of our game all at 4-2 in conference, tied for second).  Texas is favored by 7, and the over/under is 56.5.

The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Entertainment & Sports Programming Network, with Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, and Tom Luginbill on the call.  Around the world on the Longhorn Radio Network with the Voice of the Longhorns Craig Way, Roger Wallace with insight and analysis, and my friend Quan Cosby working the sideline.

It will also be Veterans Recognition Day.  This was always a special game for Frank Denius, and he is sorely missed.  Here is short clip of the paratroopers jumping into the Stadium a few years ago. As I recall, they landed with the game ball and handed it to Mr. D.

This is a very cool one from 2014. Camera is on the Golden Knight’s helmet.  Amazing views.

 

Texas Longhorns Volleyball

The No. 1 Longhorns play the Land Thieves in Norman Friday night.  Preview here, and there is a link to watch.

https://texassports.com/news/2019/11/7/no-1-volleyball-preview-at-oklahoma.aspx

College Football Sesquicentennial

Wednesday was the 150th anniversary of the first college football game, when Princeton and Rutgers met.  My great friend Jeff Zlotky, a Princeton alumnus, provided this week’s Ivy League Report, and he has a piece on that game.

Lots of great articles out there.  If you don’t subscribe to The Athletic, I highly recommend it.  Good content, good app.  Among the articles for this big anniversary was Matt Brown’s All-Time Team.  Only one Longhorn made his first team, Tommy Nobis.  Agree with that choice, and looking at 150 years of players and selecting a first team was no doubt hard.  But Tim Tebow as the first team quarterback?  I am not buying it.  Second team QB was Sammy Baugh, which I think is a better choice.  No Longhorns on the second team.

Good Stuff

The Texas men’s basketball team opened the new season with a solid 69-45 win over Northern Colorado.  More important than the win was not just the return of Andrew Jones, but his amazing game.  Jones had a career-high 20 points, was 8-13 and 4-5 from behind the arc, all in just 29 minutes.  It had been 673 days since his last field goal in a game (thanks LHN).

So happy for AJ.

Jim Nicar

A great photo of the campus at sunset in 2006, which is this week’s feature photo.

Jimmy Fallon did his show Thursday night from The University. It was epic.  An amazing advertisements for The University of Texas and Austin.  In his opening he was talking about how they had to do a lottery for tickets to the live taping and it was really hard to get into the show; he said “But if you wanted to be somewhere it is easy to get into, you all would be at Texas A&M right now”:

Here was his opening.  Pretty good.

Not sure who at The University made that happen, but huge kudos.

Kansas State vs Texas

If you are in a hurry, here is my prediction: Texas wins this game.  We have a number of key guys back, our biggest weakness is our pass defense, and K State has the lowest rated passing offense in the conference.  Our defense will play better, Sam is going to have a good game, and with Whittington back, our offense will have a full and healthy running back corps.

Kansas State started the year 3-0, with wins over Nichols (49-14), Bowling Green (52-0), and Mississippi State (31-24).   They dropped two in a row, 13-26 to Okie State and then 12-31 to Baylor at home.  But they have won three in a row again:  24-17 over Texas Christian, 48-41 over the Land Thieves, and 38-10 over Kansas.

Chris Klieman is in his first year in Manhattan.  But his 26th year coaching.  He was head coach at North Dakota State 2014-2018, piling up a 69-6 record with the Bison.  He won four FCS National Championships, including a perfect season in 2018.  The only year he wasn’t national champion was 2016, when they lost in the semifinals to James Madison, who won it all that season.  The year before he became head coach, 2013, he was the defensive coordinate at NDS, when the Bison went undefeated and won the championship.  Oh, and he won the Missouri Valley Football Conference every year he was head coach.  He is a winner.  K State picked a good one to succeed the great Bill Snyder.

Wildcats have 21 players from Texas.

The K State QB, Skylar Thompson (#10), is having a big year running.  As we know, running quarterbacks, especially wearing purple, cause problems for Texas (I don’t understand it).  Thompson is 6-2 and 212 pounds, and has 10 rushing touchdowns (leading KSU).  He’s ranked #19 in rushing in the conference, with 331 yards, 41.4 ypg average.  He had 127 against Kansas last week.  To keep that in perspective, Ehlinger is #16 in the Big 12, with 361 yards on the ground, 5 TDs running, and averaging 45.1 ypg.  Passing, Thompson is #10 in the conference.  He has 1,336 yards, 7 TDs, and averaging 167 yards per game.  Sam is No. 3, with 2,378 yards, 23 TDs (best in the Big 12), 297.3 yards per game.

James Gilbert (#34) is ranked 61 in the country and fifth in the Big 12 in rushing, with 558 yards, averaging 79.7 per game (5 TDs).  He ran for 105 against the Land Thieves.

Dalton Schoen, WR, is the leading receiver, with 25 catches for 389 yards and 3 TDs.  Schoen has had 5 catches against Texas in each of our last two matches.  Behind him is wide receiver Malik Knowles with 231 yards on 16 catches with 2 scores.  Nick Lenners, the tight end, has 9 catches for 128 yards and one score.

Leading the defense is Denzel Goolsby, #20, a senior DB, with 36 tackles, 24 solo.  Wayne Jones, #4 and also a defensive back, has 35 tackles, 23 solo.  Senior linebacker Da’Quon Patton, #5, is third with 32 tackles, 24 solo.  He’s from Vista Ridge in Cedar Park.  Elijah Sullivan, #3, another linebacker, has 31 tackles, 23 solo, and 3 TFL and a sack.  Wyatt Hubert, 6-3, 258 pounds at defensive end, #56, has 6.5 TFL for 40 yards and 4 sacks for 33 yards.  Trey Dishon, #99, 6-2 and 311 pounds, tackle, has 4.5 TFL for 26 yards and 3 sacks for 22 yards.

The Statistics

First Ranking is National, Second Ranking is Big 12.

Offense
Statistic
Texas
Kansas State
Rushing Offense #65, #7 – 167.9 ypg #23, #4 – 217.3 ypg
Passing Offense #14, #3 – 308.8 ypg #113, #10 – 171.6 ypg
Total Offense #19, #6 – 476.7 ypg #83, #8 – 388.9 ypg
Scoring Offense #11, #2 – 39.1 ppg #41, #6 – 33.4 ppg
First Downs #2, #1 – 26.6/game #82, #8 – 20.6/game
Sacks Allowed #104, #10 – 23, 145 yards #39, #5 – 14, 70 yards
Tackles for Loss Allowed #67, #5 – 49, 199 yards #56, #4 – 46, 136 yards
Third Down Conversions #3, #1 – 54.1% #28, #4 – 45.1%
Fourth Down Conversions #101, #9 – 41.7% #41, #3 – 60%
Red Zone Offense #24, #6 – 91% / 79% #7, #2 – 95% / 74%
Long Run Plays #36, #5 – 51, 7, 2, 1, 1 #31, #3 – 52, 12, 4, 3, 3, 1
Long Pass Plays #16, #3 – 100, 31, 11, 8, 5, 2, 1 #101, #8 – 63, 22, 6, 1
Long Scrimmage Plays #11, #2 – 151, 38, 13, 9, 6, 2, 1 #84, #9 – 115, 34, 10, 4, 3, 1
Defense
Statistic
Texas
Kansas State
Rushing Defense #64, #5  – 160.1 ypg #74, #7 – 166.8 ypg
Passing Defense #127, #10 – 305.4 ypg #18, #1 – 186.3 ypg
Total Defense #118, #9 – 465.5 ypg #43, #5 – 353.1 ypg
Scoring Defense #97, #9 – 31.5 ppg #26, #2 – 20.4 ppg
Sacks #104, #10 – 13, 72 yards #97, #9 – 14, 109 yards
Tackles for Loss #78, #7 – 48, 161 yards #109, #10 – 39, 169 yards
First Downs Allowed #115, #8 – 23.3/game #14, #2 – 16/game
Third Down Conversions #90, #9 – 41.4% #2, #1 – 24.7%
Fourth Down Conversions #75, #7 – 54.6% #1, #1 – 0% (0-8)
Red Zone Defense #114, #7 – 89% / 59% #130, #10 – 100% / 58%
Long Run Plays Allowed #68, #5 – 44, 11, 4, 2, 1, 1 #74, #7 – 45, 13, 8, 6, 2, 1, 1, 1
Long Pass Plays Allowed #119, #10‑96, 37, 17, 11, 5, 1 #21, #2 – 60, 26, 11, 2, 2, 2, 2
Long Scrim. Plays Allowed #114, #9 ‑ 140, 48, 21, 13, 6, 2 #40, #4‑105, 39, 19, 8, 4, 3, 3, 1
Other
Statistic
Texas
Kansas State
Turnovers #42  – 4F, 7I; 11 #9 – 6F, 1I; 7
Turnover Margin #37, #4 –  14:11; 0.38 #21, #1 – 12:7; 0.63
Penalties #87, #9 – 58, 508 yards #41, 3 – 49, 442 yards
Punt Returns #130, #10: -1.33/ypr #68, #6: 7.46/ypr

*Based on total number of penalties.

Match-up Comparison
Texas Offense
Kansas State Defense
Rushing Offense – 167.9 ypg 166.8 ypg – Rushing Defense
Passing Offense – 308.8 ypg 186.3 ypg – Passing Defense
Total Offense – 476.7 ypg 353.1 ypg – Total Defense
Scoring Offense – 39.1 ppg 20.4 ppg – Scoring Defense
First Downs – 26.6/game 16/game – First Downs Allowed
3rd Down Offense – 54.1% 24.7% – 3rd Down Defense
Red Zone Offense – 91/79 100/58 – Red Zone Defense
LRP – 51, 7, 2, 1, 1 45, 13, 8, 6, 2, 1, 1, 1– LRP Allowed
LPP – 100, 31, 11, 8, 5, 2, 1 60, 26, 11, 2, 2, 2, 2 – LPP Allowed
LSP – 151, 38, 13, 9, 6, 2, 1 105, 39, 19, 8, 4, 3, 3, 1 – LSP Allowed

 

Texas Defense
Kansas State Offense
Rushing Defense – 160.1 ypg 217.3 ypg – Rushing Offense
Passing Defense – 305.4 ypg 171.6 ypg – Passing Offense
Total Defense – 465.5 ypg 388.9 ypg – Total Offense
Scoring Defense – 31.5 ppg 33.4 ppg – Scoring Offense
First Downs Allowed – 23.3/game 20.6/game – First Downs
3rd Down Defense – 41.4% 45.1% – 3rd Down Offense
Red Zone Defense – 89/59 95/74 – Red Zone Offense
LRP Allowed – 44, 11, 4, 2, 1, 1 52, 12, 4, 3, 3, 1 – LRP
LPP Allowed – 96, 37, 17, 11, 5, 1 63, 22, 6, 1 – LPP
LSP Allowed – 140, 48, 21, 13, 6, 2 115, 34, 10, 4, 3, 1 – LSP

 Devin Duvernay is third in the nation and first in the Big 12 in number of receptions, with 69.  Based on receptions per game, he is first at 8.6. He is averaging exactly 100 yards per game, which ranks him #14 nationally.

What’s crazy is what I am most worried about right now is our offensive line.  Heading into the game with the Land Thieves, Texas was doing okay protecting Sam.  We had allowed 10 sacks for 62 yards and were 57th in the country.  Three games and two losses later, we are 104 in the nation and last in the Big 12 in sacks allowed, with 23 for 145 yards.  Sam Ehlinger has to have time to throw the ball Saturday.  If he does, we win by 17.  If he is under pressure, getting sacked, and forcing throws, it will be tight.

I think the rest of the stats are pretty self-explanatory, and pretty depressing on defense.  What is encouraging is our long plays on offensive, as well as our efficiency on third down.

But note K State’s third down and fourth down defense: No. 2 in the nation on third downs, allowing under 25%, and best on fourth down: no one has converted a fourth down on them.

Depth Chart:

Chris Naggar will be punting this week with Bujevski injured.

The depth chart with the defensive backs looks so much better.  Sterns back, Jamison starting at corner, I like it.

Official Preview:

https://texassports.com/news/2019/11/4/preview-rv-rv-football-vs-no-20-22-kansas-state-nov-9.aspx

Game Notes:

https://texassports.com/documents/2019/11/4//Texas_Week11_Notes.pdf?id=14552

Previews:

Wes Crochet on BON:

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/11/6/20948989/kansas-state-wildcats-texas-longhorns-preview

Scipio Tex, in Inside Texas:

https://insidetexas.com/forums/threads/kansas-state-preview.89322/

I think Texas wins this, 34-24.

College Football Playoffs

The CFP rankings came out this week, and the full top 25 are listed below.  I thought it might be of interest to provide some of the official information on the CFP voting and ranking process.

First, this is the summary of the official voting process.

  1. Each committee member will create a list of the 30 teams he or she believes to be the best in the country, in no particular order. Teams listed by three or more members will remain under consideration. At the conclusion of any round, other teams can be added to the group of teams under consideration by a vote of three or more members.
  2. Each member will list the best six teams, in no particular order. The six teams receiving the most votes will comprise the pool for the first ranking step. This is known as the “listing step”.
  3. In the first ranking step, each member will rank those six teams, one through six, with one being the best. The best team in each member’s ranking will receive one point; second‐best, two points, etc. The members’ rankings will be added together and the three teams receiving the fewest points will become the top three seeds. The three teams that were not seeded will be held over for the next ranking step.
  4. Each member will list the six best remaining teams, in no particular order. The three teams receiving the most votes will be added to the three teams held over to comprise the next ranking step.
  5. Steps No. 3 and 4 will be repeated until 25 teams have been seeded. There will be seven rounds of voting; each round will consist of a “listing step” and a “ranking step”.

[Source, and if you are interested there are some notes:   https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2017/10/20/voting-process.aspx]

If you want to know more, here is the link to the Selection Committee Protocol, which includes the Recusal Policy:

https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2016/10/24/selection-committee-protocol.aspx

The committee looks at all the stuff you would expect, and the principles were adopted at the beginning of the current CFP system.  From the beginning, they said would “place an emphasis on winning conference championships, strength of schedule and head‐to‐head competition when comparing teams with similar records and pedigree”.  [Note the possible confusion with the lack of an Oxford comma after “schedule”.]  One of the things they focus on is “game control”.  That is building and maintaining a lead.  ESPN has a game control metric, which they say “reflects the chance that an average Top 24 team would control games from start to end the way this team did given the schedule”.  Pretty interesting. Here is the ESPN “Playoff Picture”, which as this and other metrics.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/playoffPicture

Juan Heisman Tailgate

The Crew returns to Lot 38 this week for a big tailgate party.  Our annual lamb chop and red wine party, complimented by lots of good Texas Beer Company ales and beers, Dulce Vida Tequila, the usual line-up of other beers from our friends at Capitol Wright, and other adult beverages.  Feel free to bring your favorite red wine this week to share.  We plan on having lunch ready by noon.

 

Polls – Week 11

CFP:  The Ohio State University™, Louisiana State, Alabama, and PSU are the top 4.  Then: Clemson, Georgia, Oregon, Utah, Land Thieves, and Florida.  Next ten  Auburn, Baylor, Wisconsin, Michigan, Notre Dame, K State, Minnesota, Iowa, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Memphis, Boise State, Oklahoma State, Navy and Southern Methodist.

AP Top 25:  Louisiana State, Alabama, The Ohio State University™, Clemson, PSU, Georgia, Oregon, Utah, Land Thieves.  Baylor up to 11.  Notre Dame at 15, K State at 20, Southern Methodist at 23.  Texas receiving 37 votes, two spots out of the Top 25.  So if the Horns can get the win this weekend, we should re-enter the Top 25.

Coaches Poll:  Roll Tide, Bayou Bengals, Dabo Tigers, The Ohio State University™, PSU, UGA, Ducks, Land Thieves, Utes, and the Brazos Baptists at 10.  , L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac at 15.  K State at 22, Southern Methodists at 23.  Texas dropped out, but are “first out”, receiving 79 votes.  So like with the AP, a win gets Texas back in the polls.

This Week in College Football

This week, we switch to the CFP ranking for teams.

Big XII Week XI

The Revivalry:  No. 12 and undefeated Baylor at Texas Christian (4-4, 2-3).  The Bears and the Frogs tee it up at 11:00 a.m. in Amon G. Carter Stadium.  FOX Sports 1.  This will be the 114th game in this series that started in 1899.  Texas Christian leads the series 55-52-7, and it is one of the most competitive (in terms of parity) in college football rivalries with at least 100 meetings.  This week’s game is huge, because it starts Baylor’s toughest three game stretch – they play the Land Thieves on November 16 and Texas on November 23, although both of those games are in Waco.  Line is only Baylor by 2.5, and I think the Horned Frogs have a real shot at the upset.  Over/under is 48.

Texas Tech plays West Virginia in Morgantown.  Also an 11:00 a.m. start, this one on ESPN2.  These two teams are both 3-4, and the loser will likely not get bowl eligible.  After this week, the Sand Aggies have Texas Christian and Kansas State before wrapping up the season here in Austin on Black Friday with the Horns.  The Mountaineers are at K State, home with Okie A&M, then play at Texas Christian.  Sand Aggies favored by 2.5, and the over/under is 59.  If I was forced to place a bet, it would be a small one, and I would put it on West Virginia.

Iowa State and the No. 9 Land Thieves in Norman.  7:00 p.m. on FOX.  Before the season, I was guessing that these teams would each have one loss or be undefeated coming into this game.  Oklahoma has one loss, but not the one I was expecting.  Iowa State has 3 losses, 2 in the Big 12 (BU and Okie A&M).  Land Thieves favored by 15, and the over/under is 67.5.  Given two of the top 10 quarterbacks in the nation are meeting, I am surprised the total isn’t in the 70’s.  Brock Purdy is No. 3 – 2,796 yards, 15 TDs, averaging 320.9 yards per game.  Hurts at No. 10, 2,469 yards, 23 TDs, and 308.6 yards per game.

Top 25 – Week 11

Saturday morning starts strong with 5 games at 11:00 involving ranked teams.

Maryland at No. 1 The Ohio State University™.  11:00 on FOX.  The Terps are 3-6 with just one Big 10 win.  Buckeyes of course undefeated, and they are favored by 43.5.  Over/under is 66.

No. 4 PSU at No. 17 Minnesota, 11:00 a.m. on ABC.  One of these teams will get a loss Saturday.  The Gophers are home dogs, 6.5 points.  Over/under is 48.  Go Minnesota!

Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4) at No. 10 Florida (7-2, 4-2).  11:00 a.m. on ESPN.  Gators favored by 26, and the over/under is 50.  Gators will win, but that is a big line.

No. 25 Southern Methodist (8-1, 4-1) gets East Carolina in Highland Park.  11:00 a.m. on FOX Sports 1.  Mustangs favored by 21.5, and over/under is 72.5.  Southern Methodist to win and cover.

No. 2 Louisiana State at No. 3 Alabama.  2:30 p.m. on CBS.  Crimson Tide favored by 6, and the over/under is 63.  Really wish this was a night game so we could watch it.  Another match of the undefeated, and the winner will control the $EC West.

No. 19 Wake Forest (7-1, 3-1) at Virginia Tech (5-3, 2-2).  2:30 p.m. on ACC Network.  Wake is having a great year.  Their quarterback, Jamie Newman, is No. 12 in the nation, right behind Sam Ehlinger.  Newman has 2,059 yards, 20 TDs, and averaging 294.1 yards per game.  Demon Deacons favored by just 2.5, and the over/under is 61.5.  I think Wake Forest keeps winning.

U Conn at No. 20 Cincinnati.  2:30 p.m. on CBSSN.  Cinci favored by 35, over/under is 54.5.

No. 18 Iowa at No. 13 Wisconsin.  3:00 p.m. on FOX.  Badgers favored by 9, and the over/under is 38.5.  Could be a really good game.  Or Wiscy might run all over the Hawkeyes.

Missouri at No. 6 Georgia.  6:00 p.m. on ESPN.  Bulldogs favored by 16.5, and over/under is 48.  Mizzou is hard to figure out.  Opening game loss to Wyoming, then reeled off five wins in a row, now back to back losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky.  Given that chance the Tigers play like they have the last 2 weeks, take Georgia to cover.

No. 5 and undefeated Clemson at NC State (4-4, 1-3).  Tigers might be in a bad mood after not being in the top 4.  Look for them to exercise some major game control.  Clemson favored by 32.5, and the over/under is 53.5.

No. 15 Notre Dame (6-2) at Duke (4-4).  6:30 p.m. on ACC Network.  Irish favored by 9, and over/under is 50.  Notre Dame to win and cover.

Wyoming at No. 22 Boise State, 9:15 p.m. on ESPN.  Good late game on the Smurf Turf.  Boise favored by 14, and the over/under is 48.

Other Games of Interest This Week

Midweek MACtion started this week.  Of interest was the Miami Redhawks victory of Ohio in the Battle of the Bricks Wednesday night, 24-21.  Miami 4-1 in the MAC, and on top of the MAC East with that win.

Thursday night, Temple beat South Florida 17-7.  Charlie Strong’s Bulls fall to 4-5 and 2-3 in the American.

Saturday

Georgia Tech at Virginia, 11:30 a.m. on “ACCNX”.  Cavaliers are on top of the ACC Coastal Division at 4-2.  The Ramblin’ Wreck is at the bottom.  Wahoos favored by 15, and the over/under is 46,

New Mexico at Ole Miss, 3:00 p.m. on the SEC Network.  Rebs having a tough year (3-6), but not like the New Mexican aggies, who don’t have a win.  Ole Miss favored by 29, and the over/under is 64.5.  Should be an easy win for the Rebs at Vaught-Hemingway.  Hotty Toddy!

U Mass at West Point.  11:00 a.m. on CBSSN.  Army favored by 34, over/under is 61.5.

UTSA at Old Dominion, 1:00 p.m.  ODU favored by 3.5.  On ESPN3.

Charlotte at UTEP, 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+ from the Sun Bowl.  49ers favored by 13, over/under is 57.

Stanford (4-4, 3-3) at Colorado (3-6, 1-5).  2:00 p.m. on the PAC 12 Network.  Cardinal favored by 3, and the over/under is 56.

Texas State hosts South Alabama (1-7, 0-4).  Bobcats are 2-6 and 1-3 in the Sunbelt.  2:00 p.m. down the road in San Marcos.  Texas State favored by 7, and the over/under is 41.5.

Southern Cal at Arizona State.  Trojans are 5-4, 4-2 in Pac 12 play, while Sun Devils are 5-3, 2-3.  But ASU is favored by 1.5, and the over/under is 56.5.  2:30 p.m. on ABC.  If Southern Cal loses this, I think a coaching change in LA is inevitable.

Washington State at Cal, 6:00 p.m. on the PAC 12 Network.  Identical records:  4-4, 1-4 in conference.  Cougars favored by 8, and the over/under is 51.

The Week that Will Be:  Don’t Stop Believin’

From HornMafia:

https://www.barkingcarnival.com/2019/11/6/20952891/the-week-that-will-be-dont-stop-believin-texas-longhorns-football

Washington & Lee

A brutal, heart-breaking loss last week in Ashland to Randolph-Macon.  It was 13-7 Yellow Jackets at half, and W&L led 14-13 after 3 quarters.  Then it got crazy.  34 points in the last 7 minutes of the game, and Randolph-Macon scored 10 in the last 39 seconds to win 36-35, after recovering an onside kick and then getting a game winning field goal with 7 seconds left.  Josh Breece paced the Generals with 195 yards rushing and 2 scores, including a 75 yarder.  Pollard had 5 completions for 180 yards and 2 scores.

This week, the Generals meet the Southern Virginia Quakers for just the second time.  Southern Virginia 3-5 and 2-5 in conference.  1:00 p.m. Shenandoah Valley time at Wilson Field in Lexington.

Game notes:

https://generalssports.com/news/2019/11/4/football-game-notes-for-the-southern-virginia-game.aspx

Last Week in College Football
Big XII – Week X

Baylor had the squeaker over West Virginia 17-14 Thursday night.

K State dominated the Sunflower Showdown, whipping the Jayhawks as Skylar Thompson ran for 127 yards and 3 TDs.  38-10, blowing away the 6 point line.

Texas Christian lost at Oklahoma State, 27-34.  Vegas had it right (line was Okie A&M by 2.5).  Over/under was 58.

Top 25 – Week 10

Michigan 38-7 over Maryland, wining and covering. Called that one.

Wake Forest 44-10 over North Carolina State, which also goes in the win column.

Notre Dame survived over Virginia Tech, 21-20.  What a game.  Last minute TD to win.

Georgia 24-17 over Florida at The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.  The Gators rushed for 21 (twenty-one) yards (in the whole game).  Bulldogs were favored by 6.5.  Good work.

Clemson beat Wofford 59-14.

Utah 33-28 over Washington in Seattle.  Big win for Utah.

Hotty Toddy!  Good teams win, great teams cover.  Ole Miss 14, Auburn 20.

Cincinnati 46-43 over East Carolina.  Bearcats were favored by 24, and I predicted that ECU would cover.  But I didn’t think it would be that close.

Heartbreaker for the Southern Methodists in Memphis.  Despite 456 yards and 3 TDs from Buechele, the Mustangs fall to the Tigers 48-54.  If you watched, when SMU scored late to close within a score, they went for 2 points, to make it a 6 point game.  The line was Memphis by 6.

Oregon brutalized Southern Cal, 56-24.  It was ugly for the Trojans.  A 32 point win when the line was 4.5.

Boise State 52-42 over San Jose State.

Other Games of Interest Last Week

Friday night, Navy started slow at U Conn.  But once the engines got warmed up, they steamed over the Huskies.  A 14-7 lead after the first quarter, and the Midshipmen won 56-10.

Virginia with a big road win at North Carolina, 38-31.

UT San Antonio had a less than pleasant trip to College Station, as Texas Agricultural & Mechanical treated our cousins from the Alamo City poorly, 45-14.  Roadrunners covered though.

Marshall 20, Rice 7, and the Owls again didn’t even cover.

UTEP lost at North Texas, 26-52.  UNT was favored by 23.

Army and Air Force ended up being a close battle.  A late stop gave the Falcons a 17-13 victory.

Mississippi State beat Arkansas 54-24,  The pigs don’t have a conference win yet.  Bummer.

Texas State goes down at Louisiana Lafayette, 3-31.  Cajuns covered.

Colorado 14, UC Los Angeles 31.  Bruins cover.

Brigham Young 42-14 over Utah State.  Much different than I (or Vegas) was expecting, as Brigham Young was a 3 point underdog.

Texas Basketball

Texas plays at Purdue Saturday, 6:00 p.m. on FOX Sports 1.  Next week, two games at the Erwin Center.  Tuesday night we have California Baptist at 7:00 p.m., then Friday night Prairie View A&M at 7:00 p.m.

Ivy League Football Report

[Beat Writer’s Note:  In honor of the 150th anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game, which was held on November 6, 1869 between Princeton and Rutgers, Messrs. Taylor and Schooler have turned this week’s Ivy League Report over to a guest writer.  There is no truth to the rumor that I attended that first game – Jeff Zlotky, Princeton, 1982]

Through four weeks of Ivy League Conference play, three schools have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.  Dartmouth and Princeton sport identical 7-0 records (4-0 in conference play), while Yale has a 6-1 record (3-1 in conference play, with its only blemish a 10-42 loss to Dartmouth four weeks ago).  Princeton and Dartmouth are ranked 9th and 13th in the FCS Coaches’ Poll while Yale has also received votes.  All three of these schools have an opportunity to emerge as Ivy League champs (and theoretically Harvard could as well at 2-2, but that’s as likely as a Big XII Championship for the Horns at this point).  One of the many quirks of the Ivy League is that it will award co-championships and there is no tie breaker for head to head wins.

Before looking at last week’s games, here’s a quick look at that first football game from 150 years ago:

Rutgers hosted what was then known as the College of New Jersey (soon to be officially renamed Princeton University) on November 6, 1869.  The teams played in street clothes, bareheaded except for what was described as Rutgers’ scarlet “turbans”.  The Scarlet Knights won by a score of 6-4.  As the host team, the teams played under the Rutgers’ rules at the time.  The game was not timed, but rather a team would win by either becoming the first team to score six goals or by being ahead at nightfall.  Historian Tom McCabe writes that based on contemporary written accounts, the game was strongly influenced by both soccer and rugby skills.  The 25-man teams used a round ball and the players moved it primarily with their feet.  The early rules prohibited the teams from carrying the ball in order to advance it, although the ball could be batted with a hand.  One early painting of the game depicts a rectangular, soccer-like goal with a goaltender in front.  Although the final score sounds like Rutgers scored three safeties to two for the losing squad, apparently a team scored a single point for what was described at the time as a goal.

The Tigers soon had a chance to avenge this opening loss, as the teams played again a week later at Princeton under Princeton’s rules.  The Tigers won that game 8-0 and would go on to lead the all-time series, 53-17-1. The two schools last played in 1980, a 44-13 win for Rutgers. (Trust me, this writer did attend that game and it wasn’t that close.)  The teams stopped playing after that when Princeton dropped down to what is now known as the FCS.

Last Week’s Games:

Princeton and Cornell played the first game of the weekend on Friday night under the watchful eyes of the nation on ESPNU, a game that the Tigers won 21-7 to extend their win streak to 17 games.  The Big Red held Princeton’s offense in check throughout, including two stops on fourth and one in the first quarter, and kept things interesting until late in the fourth quarter.  Princeton’s QB Kevin Davidson threw for 186 yards on 20 of 29 passing with one TD, and running backs Collin Eaddy (two touchdowns) and Ryan Quigley rushed for 95 and 82 yards respectively.

Yale hosted Columbia and won convincingly 45-10.  Senior Kurt Rawlings led the way with four total touchdowns and a career-high 390 passing yards.  The Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) put up a season-best 580 total yards of offense as they dominated throughout.

In a game that served as an outstanding cure for insomnia for about 59 minutes and 54 seconds, Harvard led Dartmouth 6-3 until the final play of the game.  Mere words cannot do justice to Dartmouth’s 43 yard Hail Mary as time expired.  Here’s the Dartmouth Sports Information Office video of the final play (which you may have seen as No. 3 in ESPN’s Top 10 for the day), one in which three Harvard linemen had the chance to sack Dartmouth QB Derek Kyler and two Harvard defensive backs had the opportunity to bat the ball down rather than tip it up to Dartmouth receiver Masaki Aerts for the game winner:

Harvard had the opportunity to put the game out of reach one minute before, but they were stopped on a fourth and goal from the Dartmouth two yard line.  With one minute to go, no timeouts, and the ball at their own four, Kyler led his team downfield in just six plays to set up the game-winning Hail Mary pass as time expired.  Dartmouth channeled it’s best Scott Gieselman impersonation (the BC tight end who caught the pass that set up the Hail Flutie) by completing a 22 yard pass to receiver Derek Estrada to set up the Big Green at the Harvard 43 yard line.   Notwithstanding its narrow victory, Dartmouth has been one of the most dominant teams in the country and prior to the game led the FCS in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

Also in Ivy League play, Brown and Penn played the most exciting complete game of the weekend, with the Quakers capturing their first league win on a 22 yard field goal by Daniel Karrash with two seconds left to give Penn a 38-36 win at home.  Brown made up a 16 point deficit to take a 36-35 lead with 4:10 left.  Penn then embarked on a 16 play, 74 yard drive to the one yard line to set up the winning kick.  Brown outgained the Quakers in yardage by a 477-304 margin and Bears quarterback EJ Perry, who ranks second in the FCS in total offense, totaled four touchdowns and 355 yards of total offense.  Brown turnovers and some untimely penalties negated the yardage advantage and gave Penn the opportunity to win at the final gun.

This Week’s Schedule:

All of this week’s Ivy League games will be played on Saturday.  Brown (1-6, 0-4 Ivy) will host Yale (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) in a battle of two prolific offenses that will meet for the 124th time in their history.   Columbia (2-5, 1-3 Ivy) will host Harvard (4-3, 2-2 Ivy), a series that first began in 1877.  The Crimson have won the past 15 straight games against the Lions.  Penn (3-4, 1-3 Ivy) will host Cornell (2-5, 1-3 Ivy) at its annual homecoming game in the battle for the Trustees’ Cup.

The premier game of the weekend will pit Dartmouth versus Princeton in the battle of undefeated teams to be played at Yankee Stadium in honor of the 150th anniversary of college football.  The two teams were undefeated last year at this time, and Princeton won that showdown 14-9.  As a result of the venue and the second consecutive year that the teams meet while undefeated late in the season, this year’s game is being hailed by some as the Game of the (Short) Century 2.  While this game is unlikely to galvanize the country as will the other battles of undefeated teams featuring LSU-Alabama or Penn State-Minnesota, if you choose not to watch Texas or another a Power Five game you can tune in on ESPNU at 2:30 CST.  The last time Princeton brought a 17 game winning streak and Dartmouth brought a nine game winning streak into a Princeton-Dartmouth game was in 1965, a game the Tigers lost 28-14.  While not considered a football venue, you’ll recall that the former Yankee Stadium was the site of the NFL Championship Game of 1958 between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts, in what is often regarded as “The Greatest Game Ever Played”.

Next Week in Ivy League Football:

In the annals of GameDay heading off the beaten path, there was never a snowball’s chance that the gang would head to the Bronx to celebrate this week’s Dartmouth-Princeton game, especially considering that GameDay has skipped exactly one Alabama-LSU game since 2011.  Perhaps GameDay will consider an Off the Beaten Path Game Day next weekend when Princeton hosts Yale, marking the 141st time the two schools will have played.

Music

Thanks for all the great feedback on last week’s music.  Based on the responses, I have included some of my other favorites from my W&L Juke tapes, and a couple of these were mentioned by multiple people.

Most notably, this first one, Tighten Up by Archie Bell & the Drells, from Houston Texas.

Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, Treat Her Like a Lady

Build Me up Buttercup, from The Foundations:

The Tams, with Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy

Chairmen of the Board, Give Me Just A Little More Time

The Spinners, It’s A Shame

Boy Scouts of America

This past Wednesday night the Capitol Area Council bestowed is annual Distinguished Citizen Award on Clarke Heidrick.  He gave a great acceptance speech, that included recognizing two gentlemen in attendance who have been Eagle Scouts for over eighty years:  Harry Whittington and Lloyd Lochridge.  It was very cool.

Not too late to contribute to the event and help us raise money for Scouting.  If you are interested in making a donation, mail a check to me at the address below, payable to “Boy Scouts – CAC”.

I didn’t brag on this last week, but I will this week since the Juan Heisman Tailgate will be back in full swing.  The Distinguished Citizen Award has been given since 2004.  The recipients include 4 men who are part of the Juan Heisman Tailgate Crew or benefactors of the Tailgate:  Tim Crowley, Gary Farmer, David Roche, and Joe Holt.

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).

www.jw.com/ttaylor

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Tim Taylor
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Austin, Texas  78763-5371