2017 Texas Football: The Cake is Baked

rguilmar

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I figured it was about time to start the 2017 thread. It's been a busy year with Charlie Strong getting replaced by Tom Herman. Recruiting took a hit for the 2017 class, which isn't totally surprising (2018 is looking really good, but that's a story for next year).

There are tons of question marks for this year. Will Buechele make the leap as a sophomore after a solid freshman campaign? Will he even be the starter? Who will replace Foreman in the backfield? What will Todd Orlando's defense look like?

Obviously Charlie had his difficulties on Saturdays, but he left the cupboard with a lot more talent than he found it. I'm thinking 8 wins should be a solid but curious as to what others think.
 

canderson

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I'll have more elaborate thoughts later, but I'm pretty excited to see how this season unfolds. I think 8 wins is the definite target, but if they won 7 I won't whine too terribly much.

I'm excited to watch the defensive secondary, I sense a game-changing unit back there.

I believe Porter and Warren will be able to slide into the RB role well since Herman's offense uses the flats much differently.

I really miss Kremlin Watcher and always enjoyed his banter. If you're reading buddy, I hope life is treating you a bit better.
 

Infield Infidel

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I'm curious how Buechele works with Herman, who is a bit of a quarterback whisperer. Braxton Miller, Jt Barrett, Cardale and Greg Ward were all really good with Herman's coaching, and Barrett And Cardale for worse after Herman left OSU. Does Buechele have their pedigree? I don't know where he rated as a recruit.

edit: Braxton Miller not Troy Smith
 
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Bosoxen

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I lack the imagination to see the team do anything but take steps forward. At the very least, they'll no longer have the excuse of youth so it's time to put up or shut up. I still think the defense will be pretty questionable but the offense should put up video game numbers.

Yeah, eight wins sounds about right for a best-case scenario. I certainly wouldn't expect anything more than that.

Does Buechele have their pedigree? I don't know where he rated as a recruit.
According to 247:

Buechele was a 4-star recruit, rated #197 overall, #4 dual-threat QB and #30 in TX.

Barrett was a 4-star recruit, rated #136 overall, #2 dual-threat QB and #17 in TX.

Jones was a 3-star recruit, rated #397 overall, #10 pro-style QB and #22 in OH.

In terms of recruiting pedigree, he's pretty comparable to Barrett.
 

canderson

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One improvement I bet we will see: No kicking off to start the game and after halftime.

#ThanksCharlie

(That should be a prop bet for USF this season)
 

Bosoxen

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Here's another: killing clock when they should be killing clock, rather than running a hurry-up offense.

Christ, that UCLA game was just a complete clusterfuck from start to finish. It really outlined nicely how far in over his head Charlie was. I desperately wanted him to succeed but he just didn't have it.
 

canderson

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Here's another: killing clock when they should be killing clock, rather than running a hurry-up offense.

Christ, that UCLA game was just a complete clusterfuck from start to finish. It really outlined nicely how far in over his head Charlie was. I desperately wanted him to succeed but he just didn't have it.
You know he is winning 12 at USF, right? It's remarkable how out of place the hire was, truly.
 

Bosoxen

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Oh, I fully expect it. He'll be able to more easily get away with being a shitty game manager in an inferior conference.
 

BigSoxFan

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11th game since start of 2014 season giving up 40+ points. 19 games giving up 30+.

This program is broken.
 

Bosoxen

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I've been in Canada and out of pocket.

What the flying fuck? How did Shane have more carries than .... THE RBs???
Part shitty play calling, part happy feet. I was telling my brother earlier that the use of Warren was criminal.
 

canderson

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Part shitty play calling, part happy feet. I was telling my brother earlier that the use of Warren was criminal.
I trust Herman actually. I think after losing 67-13 to USC we have the better QB starting.

But it's irrelevant if the defense is about the worst in football.
 

Kremlin Watcher

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Well that was an improvement. Granted, it was San Jose State, but they got better at everything this week except PK. Ehlinger looked pretty good for a freshman; the offensive line looked great. The RBs were fantastic with Warren finally establishing himself. Receivers dropped a few but demonstrated their depth. D pitched a shutout against a completely overmatched opponent, but zero points is zero points.

The thing that upset me most last week was that they looked like last year's team. Improvement from week to week was all I wanted. We got it, so I am happy. What's going to happen next week in LA I have no idea. But as long as they keep improving, I am still on board.
 

canderson

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Hey to be fair I didn't get to watch any of the 2nd half.

Any improvement is good. SJSU is god-awful and they'll get lit the f up next week so jury still out imo.
 

dcmissle

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Fox promoting the hell out of the ass whuppin' to be. But it's not payback. No title is at stake.
 

dcmissle

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Awesome performance, especially on defense. Congratulations.

I'm now astonished that Maryland put 50 up, with Texas at home no less.

Oh, and I think you have a QB.
 

Bosoxen

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Tim Beck has explaining to do.
Seriously. It's not like they are 20 points back. His abandonment of the run game was a crime against humanity. If Texas gets another top running back recruit while this dickhead is running the offense, I'll be shocked.
 

Bosoxen

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As for the defense, this was the defense I expected of Charlie two years ago. The talent has always been there but they are unbelievably undisciplined. That may have finally been figured out.
 

RingoOSU

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It's that one time a year when I become a Texas fan so they can show my employer's overpaid football team who's boss. Thought I'd share what appeared in their college paper.

Opinion: A thank-you letter to the Longhorns


Then-junior running back Samaje Perine celebrates his touchdown with then-junior wide receiver Jordan Smallwood during the Red River rivalry Oct. 8, 2016.

Siandhara Bonnet/The Daily
Thank you, Texas.

Ever since 2009, Texas has collapsed on and off the field, allowing OU to rack up nearly more Big 12 championships than the entire conference combined.

X's and O's aside, can we all agree that Tom Herman’s obsession with hydration by monitoring his players’ pee color every 10 minutes is a little weird?? We know nearly everything that happens at Texas is broadcast live to the 37 people who watch the Longhorn Network, but this feels a bit excessive.



Alright, alright, alright. Texas looks to be on the upswing. Nothing says offensive explosion like scoring 17 points against Iowa State — actually, wait, how did you guys do that against the Cyclones? Asking for a friend. Also, do you know anyone in need of a defensive coordinator? Ours is … well, you remember the 2015 Red River rivalry.

Say what you will about Oklahoma losing to Iowa State in football — we haven’t been this embarrassed over a loss since Clemson beat us in the College Football Playoff two seasons ago. You remember what it’s like to be in contention for a national title, right?

Let’s be honest, Texas is better than Oklahoma in one aspect of life. Do you know how awful it is to lose to Iowa State on a Saturday and not have liquor stores open on Sunday? Thankfully the game ended by 2:30 p.m., giving us enough time to stock up on booze to get through the weekend.

Oh, speaking of 2:30 p.m., can you believe this year’s kickoff time? Last time our two teams played mid-afternoon was in 2010. You all remember that game, right? Man, do we miss Mack Brown. Is it cool knowing your former head coach is now the face of ESPN’s play-by-play D-team? I guess not much has changed with good ole Mack.

Seems like you all in Austin are changing up your image. Spending $10,000 a piece on football lockers seems like a better investment than a coach who lost to UConn, Memphis and Navy.

The Longhorns’ “boy wonder” coach immediately fulfilled his potential by losing to Maryland, a team which no conference wants to claim.

The Fayetteville, Arkansas police officer did a better job of tackling Baker Mayfield than your Division III defense did last season, and we even spotted you 40 points.

Once again, you told us “Texas is BACK!” but then again you failed miserably, losing at home in your season opener to a Maryland team that got beat by 50 by Ohio State — whom, let me remind you, we beat.

Kansas… Never mind. We’ll let you read to the end.

Also, on that note, did you know that Charlie Strong is undefeated? Seriously, the only place that man couldn’t succeed was in Austin. Maybe that “it’s not you, it’s me” breakup of yours actually was Texas’ fault.

Nice job with your moral victory against USC. Just put it in your trophy case next to the national championship trophy you would have won if Colt McCoy didn’t get injured.



Sorry, too soon?

Anyway, we’re looking forward to another game at the Cotton Bowl. It’s always our favorite trip of the year. Just promise us you won’t make Baker apologize for planting the flag at midfield, OK? We don’t know why it’d be a problem — we’ve done it 11 times in the past 17 years.

Sincerely, the University of Oklahoma.

P.S. Now that you’ve gotten this far read the first letter of each paragraph.




The yearly editorials are one of the best parts of the tradition.
 

Kremlin Watcher

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Those are always amusing to the fifth-grade journalism students in Norman. Until we beat them. Then the taste of sweet Sooner tears gets better and better.

We will be in section 114.

 

Bosoxen

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That word vomit was right about one thing: Charlie Strong got an unfair shake at Texas. And yet, he still managed to produce this little gem:



See you fuckers on the field Saturday.

 

canderson

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That column is hilarious, but not for the intended purposes methinks.

I don't think Texas wins but I don't think they get blown out. I'm going 24-16 land burglars.
 

RingoOSU

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Opinion: New and old coaches agree: OU still sucks
The Daily Texan Editorial Board


Then-senior wide receiver Sterling Shepard walks the line as he is pursued by Longhorn defenders at the Red River rivalry Oct. 10, 2015.

Tyler Woodward/The Daily
2016 was a banner year for bad predictions, and we were no exception here at The Daily Texan Editorial Board. In last year’s editorial exchange, we mistakenly predicted that Bob Stoops would stick around to help the next generation of Sooners remember all 14 distinct words of your fight song. Unfortunately for y’all, it seems that Stoops preferred retiring and watching reruns of Judge Judy in his underwear over another year stuck in America’s WonderBread basket.

His replacement, Lincoln Riley, has brought an innovative edge to the program. As he finds ways to lose the little games instead of just the big ones, you could watch Stoops lose for free on your antenna. Now, not only are you falling flat at home to the Trinidad and Tobago of the Big 12, you couldn’t even saddle Baylor with the karmic beatdown they deserve. It’s a shame — that was the one game we could have actually considered rooting for you.

So maybe this season hasn’t quite gotten off to the start y’all expected. But hey, weird things happen. Good teams slip up against mediocre teams at home early on. At least Urban Meyer and J.T. Barrett look like they’ve righted the ship.



Meanwhile, the more things change, the more they stay the same on the 40 Acres. A freshman quarterback, a hotshot new coach with a history of beating y’all, and a moral victory snatched from the jaws of actual victory against an overrated opponent. We’re Schrodinger’s Texas — both back and not back simultaneously, and just dead enough inside to be dangerous.

Standing in our way is your human D.A.R.E. advertisement of a quarterback, Baker Mayfield. His tape displays an above-average elusiveness, but not enough of a final burst to evade the SEC speed of the Fayetteville Police Department — or that wall. And Fayetteville? A rookie mistake from the veteran: Even Johnny Manziel had the sense to at least get arrested in Austin.

But there is a crucial difference for us this year: Unlike its previous iterations, we know the 112th Red River rivalry will be a win-win for the Longhorns. Even if we don’t beat y’all, those who lose to Lincoln still get immortalized for generations at the University of Texas.

We also welcome both of our new field generals to the rivalry at a tumultuous time for college sports — well, maybe just in Oklahoma. If your mulleted cousins in Stillwater are willing to bribe recruits for their basketball team, their third-most important sport after spring football practice, then we should assume they’re not alone. Maybe that’s why your secondary is playing like it’s on strike for better pay. At least we know we aren’t paying our kicker.

Still, the special hate we’ve crafted over the last 111 meetings doesn’t need to be tainted like this. While others know you as people who just got Netflix this week because “Talladega Nights” starts streaming on Friday, we also know you as the people who cut us off in your pre-owned Dodge Rams in order to get the McRib slightly faster. That constant reminder that y’all still haven’t culturally made it to 2009 inspires so much disdain towards you that our fans actually tune in to watch our basketball teams play twice a season.



So while we both begin exciting new chapters in our programs’ storied histories, some things will never change. Instead of playing half-full arenas in Jacksonville, your famed almost-alumnus Toby Keith proceeded to party with a president who, like your fans, seems to think it’s a good idea to challenge our alumni to IQ contests you both are certain to lose. Who knew that Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” actually referred to the Russian flag?

Probably not the Kremlin itself, given that their horses prefer vodka. But there is one message no language barrier could confuse — OU still sucks.
 

Bosoxen

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My office building is swimming in burnt orange today. In an odd bit of curiosity, I have yet to see any dirt burglars and I've had two coworkers say the same thing.

http://www.ousucks.com/
 

Bosoxen

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Eh. I'm downtown right now and it's crawling with land thieves. We are badly outnumbered.
 

Bosoxen

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Land thieves. I'm laughing. You Texas guys are the BEST. Texas University that is. Dallas Cowboys fans are the worst. :)
Whoa whoa whoa. That's University of Texas to you, pal. You really don't want to say it aggy style around these parts.
 

canderson

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Can’t tackle, cant get any pressure on Mayfiekd, can’t cover WRs. No running game at all. Blowout on national TV.

Texas might be the new Nebraska: irrelevent forever more.
 

johnmd20

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Whoa whoa whoa. That's University of Texas to you, pal. You really don't want to say it aggy style around these parts.
UT. NEVER TU unless you are a wannabe military guy wth a shitty haircut and poor taste in life.
Gentleman, I am sorry for using the incorrect nomenclature. And I am also sorry they are down. UT really can't get it done.
 

Bosoxen

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Can’t tackle, cant get any pressure on Mayfiekd, can’t cover WRs. No running game at all. Blowout on national TV.

Texas might be the new Nebraska: irrelevent forever more.
And now they get a miracle punt downed at the 1. If you ever needed a sign it's not our day, that's it.
 

WestMassExpat

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Can’t tackle, cant get any pressure on Mayfiekd, can’t cover WRs. No running game at all. Blowout on national TV.

Texas might be the new Nebraska: irrelevent forever more.
Jesus, I'm increasingly alarmed in the fatalism of your UT posts. I haven't seen anything this year that is out of line for a team with a true frosh qb and 1st year coach taking over a program infamous for it's recent lack of getting the small things right.
 

canderson

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Jesus, I'm increasingly alarmed in the fatalism of your UT posts. I haven't seen anything this year that is out of line for a team with a true frosh qb and 1st year coach taking over a program infamous for it's recent lack of getting the small things right.
I don’t take being owned by land burglars well.
 

Kremlin Watcher

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Back home in Houston after watching the game at the Cotton Bowl. Some of my observations and comments:

  • Offensive line is a patchwork and the weakest visible part of the team (except PK). The combination of Warren, Porter, and Carter should be gashing defenses. But the line is just too beaten up and missing its two best players to be the difference-maker it needs to be. You could see the OU line beating them up consistently. We were in the end zone so it was pretty visible. When Ehlinger is your leading rusher, you have a problem up front.
  • Ehlinger was so tough. But he has one big weakness: he’s like Derek Zoolander - he can’t go left. On numerous occasions in both run and pass sets, there were opportunities to his left that he appeared to miss. On at least four occasions he was on a called QB run over the right tackle and Vahe opened up a huge hole on the left that a more seasoned runner would have spotted and darted into for at least ten yards. But Sam just plowed into the pile, making small or no gains. He also threw only one meaningful attempt to the left that I remember, despite OU being weak there due to injury. My sense is that he is still so green that Herman and Beck are playing to his strengths and not giving him too much to do. He appears to be sufficiently talented, but simply doesn’t have enough first-team game reps to give him a complicated playbook. The way Herman coaches, you don’t get to experiment in games with plays you haven’t run enough times in practive. So I think (I hope) it is a matter of time before Ehlinger is able to use the whole field. I think his ceiling is Colt McCoy. I think he has that much talent. I wish we didn’t have to burn his shirt this year because I think a year behind a healthy Buechele would have been absolutely invaluable.
  • The RBs and WRs have all the tools. Strong, fast, good hands - they have it all. Charlie wasn’t kidding when he said the cake is baked with this crew. As well as Hemphill-Mapps played, I think Lil’Jordan Humphrey is probably the most talented one on the field. And that fucking WAS a catch.
  • DL has a chance to be dominant. Malcolm Roach is a beast. Ominihu makes that one bad missed tackle of Mayfield after that penetration and we have a different ball game. Barring injury this squad should be fearsome by year’s end.
  • LBs are still a work in progress. Wheeler plays the best games. DeShon (I know) is all over the place but still misses assignments. And Malik is a mystery to me. I believe they are playing him in the wrong spot. The middle is totally the wrong position, because he has no gap discipline and continually runs into the back of his linemen instead of sticking to his gap. He runs himself out of plays. He needs to be on the edge where his speed is useful. And Breckyn Hager may never be invited back to the family home for another Thanksgiving. Britt is not pleased.
  • The DBs, abset that game-losing assignment, played well enough. Good not great. But playing DB in the Big XII is kind of a fool’s errand so I just hope they keep improving.
  • Dicko is one of the best punters in CFB. I hope he sticks around for his senior year.
  • We still don’t have a kicker.
  • Play calling was ... ok I guess. Not crazy about the fourth and eight play, but given our kicking options I understand it.
  • We lost. That always sucks, especially to the fucken gooners. There are no moral victories. We are getting better.
  • The energy in the Cotton Bowl was as bad as I had ever seen it at a Texas game up until the INT. At the end of the first half we did the longest and loudest Texas/Fight cheer I have ever heard. Must have gone on five minutes and it was deafening. I have been watching and attending Texas games since I was six and this dwarfed any yell session I have ever heard. The energy in our end of the stadium was ridiculous in the second half. Pretty much all of us stayed to the end and sang The Eyes. It got pretty dusty in section 114 I can tell you.
  • Finally, the Cotton Bowl experience was pretty bad. They seem to have created a ton of standing room areas and the place was so packed you couldn’t move. Concessions were Fenway-priced expensive and they were constantly running out of everything. Leaving the stadium took over an hour. It is a terrible venue for everything except for actually watching the game. Will have second thoughts about attending again unless it’s a top-ten matchup. For numerous personal reasons it was worth it, but outside of watching the game it was a shitty day.
 

Bosoxen

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The DBs, abset that game-losing assignment, played well enough. Good not great. But playing DB in the Big XII is kind of a fool’s errand so I just hope they keep improving.
Man, I don't know. I thought Kris Boyd was garbage. He was trailing the play so badly on the first TD he wasn't able to recover even though the ball was badly underthrown. He was so bad in the first half, I sort of expected to hear about him tweeting at halftime again.

I also think calling Jones' mistake on the last TD an assignment error is extremely charitable. He flat out blew it. He was the deep help and he let two receivers get behind him. It's one thing to get caught between two deep receivers and just getting beat. But he was caught flat-footed from the get-go. Even if Mayfield throws the post route, he was still badly beat - though he would have at least had some help on that route.

Finally, I'm ready to see the Hemphill-Mapps experiment end. Dude may be super talented and all that but he is just a walking poor decision. This team is already bad enough on special teams without that knucklehead doing stupid shit like snagging the ball as it crosses the goal line and fielding punts at the 4 at the end of tight games. Feed him jet sweeps all day if you must, but I don't want to see him returning punts anymore.
 

canderson

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I'm not quite as on the ledge as I was after the first quarter, but this team still sucks.

Kris Boyd might be the worst DB to ever start for Texas. I saw no less than 6 times a guy he was on was open by no less than 15 yards. Texas got bailed out by a shitty OU gameplan and poor execution after the first quarter or it would've been 62-13 all over again.

The offensive line is non-existent. If they had a line I think they'd be substantially better offensively and have a run game. But that won't happen this year so it's all a wing and a prayer.

I don't think they win six games. I think they beat Kansas and Baylor but lose to Texas Tech to the end the season.

All that negativity said, Sam is the shit and the Colt comparison is pretty spot-on. I'm not so sure he didn't get concussed Saturday though so I am not sure if he'll even play against pokie. It won't matter anyway.
 

Bosoxen

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It's time we have a little talk about Sam Ehlinger. He has now finished the past two games after having had his head banged onto the turf, with the first occurrence in Dallas resulting in him undergoing concussion tests. He's now in concussion protocol, which raises the question: what the fuck is this coaching staff doing?

Not only is there noise about whether or not concussion protocol was properly followed in the Oklahoma game, but the first link also goes on to mention that Ehlinger exhibited concussion symptoms following Saturday's game:
However, Herman said that he didn’t know whether that hit impacted Ehlinger’s subsequent concussion symptoms, which began to emerge on Saturday evening after he met with the media.
Unless my memory fails me, he wasn't even evaluated after taking the hit. So now we can safely say he finished the last two games either concussed or damn near it and, frankly, it showed. The offense is bad enough without having to deal with a QB who isn't even close to 100%. And now we have to worry about another potential David Ash situation, which would set the program back yet another recruiting cycle.

This has all the makings of an already shit-tastic season getting even worse.
 

Bosoxen

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That might be the least surprising thing I've ever heard. Why would any highly-rated TE recruit sign up to play on this team? All he would ever do is block and maybe get one catch per game. That's not exactly a recipe for attracting top talent at that position.