The texas longhorns got the victory but looked very average doing it. As a matter of fact a blown no-call on a helmet to helmet by Sergio Kindle on Taylor Potts may have cost Texas Tech the game. On that play Potts fumbled and UT recovered and went on to score. Even the announcers said it was definitely a blown no-call and Sports Center reiterated it later in the night.
You must also take into consideration that Texas Tech was not even close to being at full strength. Sophomore walk-on Brett Dewhurst started at safety instead of Franklin Mitchem who is injured, and true freshman D.J. Johnson went in at cornerback when starter LaRon Moore had to come out in the second half. That wasn't all missing from the defense either. Starting defensive end Ra'jon Henley missed the game due to an injury and the other defensive end, Brandon Sharpe, was suspended for the game. In addition Texas Tech's best receiver, Detron Lewis, only played a few plays in the first series. Apparently he aggravated a hamstring injury that kept him out of most of the Rice game as well.
When you look at the stats Tech went to Austin and outplayed the horns. Tech had 25 first downs on 81 plays while the horns had 24 on 76 plays. The Red Raiders out gained ut by 115 yards (447-332). Texas Tech averaged 5.5 yards per play to ut’s 4.4.
Also worthy of mention is that Heisman candidate colt mccoy was absolutely out played by Taylor Potts. Potts threw three times as many TD’s, half as many interceptions and over twice as many yards. Potts had 447 passing yards with three TD’s and only one INT to mccoy’s 200 passing yards with only one TD and two INT’s. If you knew nothing of either QB except that one was a Heisman Candidate and one was not you would have thought Potts was the one in the running for the Heisman.
The difference in the game really came down to the special teams TD by shipley on a punt return and the no call mentioned earlier. After watching this game I came to two conclusions. First the texas longhorns are not the #2 team in the country. Second the Red Raiders are much better than I would have ever expected.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Why Your Coach Votes Republican
The following comes from The Wall Street Journal
In Politics, Football's Bosses Usually Run Right; Mr. Friedgen Picks on 'Socialists'
By STEVE KORNACKI
American politics are rich with characters and stereotypes—Joe the Plumber, Harry and Louise, Nascar dads and hockey moms, to name a few. But one persistent type hasn't gotten much attention: the Republican football coach.
During the 2008 campaign cycle, college and NFL head coaches (and their wives) contributed a total of $13,286 to John McCain and the Republican National Committee. From that same group, Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee received just $4,600—half of it from Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and the other half from San Jose State's Dick Tomey.
In all, 20 coaches active in the 2008 season gave to Republican candidates seeking federal office. Three donated to Democrats. This disparity is even more striking given that, among the individual donors in the '08 campaign cycle, Mr. Obama outraised Mr. McCain by more than a 5-to-1 margin.
Pep Talk From Holtz
Some coaches display their largely conservative instincts in non-financial ways. Jack Del Rio of the NFL's Jaguars led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance at a Sarah Palin rally in Jacksonville last fall. Longtime Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs addressed last summer's Republican National Convention. Lou Holtz fired up congressional Republicans with a pep talk in 2007 and recently flirted with running for Congress in Florida. Ralph Friedgen, the portly University of Maryland coach, good-naturedly called one of his Canadian players a socialist last fall.
There's no evidence that coaches with a conservative bent are better coaches or more likely to get jobs. Football coaches aren't the most diverse group, which may help explain their political similarities.
Still, could it be that football coaches, just by the nature of the job, are more comfortable on the right end of the political spectrum?
"I'd say that sounds likely—very likely," said Bobby Bowden, the longtime Florida State coach and an outspoken Republican.
Mr. Bowden, a 79-year-old native Alabaman, describes himself as a lifelong conservative who—like many white Southerners of his generation—migrated from the Democratic Party to the GOP a few decades ago. There is, he says, a natural connection between his political and coaching philosophies.
"In coaching, you've got to have more discipline and you've got to be more strict and just conservative, I think. It fits with the Republicans," he said.
Mr. Holtz, who coached Notre Dame to its last national championship in 1988, draws a parallel between the standards and rules that most coaches set for their players and the Republican vision of how American society ought to operate.
"You aren't entitled to anything. You don't inherit anything. You get what you earn—your position on the team," Mr. Holtz said. "You're treated like everybody else. You're held accountable for your actions. You understand that your decisions affect other people on that team…There's winners, there's losers, and there's competitiveness."
Tom Osborne, who coached the Nebraska Cornhuskers for 25 seasons before serving three terms in Congress as a Republican, suggested that football coaches probably look at their own lives and careers as testaments to the conservative principle of self-reliance.
"There's an awful lot of people who want to be in coaching for the number of jobs," he said. "It's highly competitive. And many of them have had to spend a fair amount of time as graduate assistants, interns—as much as four, five, six, seven, eight years—making very, very little money to get into the profession. And they will work 70, 80, 90 hours a week during the season.
"I think that background—adherence to discipline, sometimes sacrifice, loyalty to core values—those things tend to have people move in that direction."
Some cite geography—the fact that so many coaches have roots in the South, a staunchly Republican region. Others point out that Republicans tend to revere strong, singular executive leaders—a pretty good description of a coach.
'Not a Dictatorship ...'
"That definitely does fit the football coaches' mold," said Mr. Bowden. "It's not a dictatorship, but it's on the verge."
Mr. Osborne even noted that most coaches are ex-players, joking that "I'm sure many who are more liberal would say it's because they got hit in the head too much."
There are, of course, exceptions. Mr. Tomey, the only college head coach to donate to Mr. Obama last year, said he's never really paid attention to the political leanings of his fellow coaches and that he was "shocked" to learn how many of them seem to favor the GOP.
With successful runs at Hawaii, Arizona and, since 2005, San Jose State to his name, he's clearly no less committed to hard work, discipline, and accountability than his GOP colleagues.
But Mr. Tomey estimates that he's only voted Republican "about three times" in his life (for Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger this decade, and maybe one other time).
When Mr. Tomey was at Arizona in 1990, state voters rejected a proposed Martin Luther King holiday. "Our players were really upset with that, and I remember asking them how many of them had voted and, like, two of them had," he recalled. "So we decided as a staff that from that time forward we were going to get our guys registered to vote," an effort he has maintained since then, although he stressed that it's non-partisan in nature.
Some Democrats, Too
There are some other Democratic coaches, too. Southern California's Pete Carroll, for instance, openly proclaimed his support for Mr. Obama last year, and George Perles, who coached Michigan State from 1983 to 1994 (before helping launch the Motor City Bowl), is waging a long-shot bid for the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Michigan.
And when Mr. Obama was running last year, several African-American coaches—including Ty Willingham (then at the University of Washington), Herm Edwards (then with the Kansas City Chiefs), and Mr. Smith of the Chicago Bears—expressed their support.
Some coaches keep quiet about politics to avoid alienating boosters and other higher-ups.
This is what led Jim Tressel, Ohio State's head coach, to declare last fall that, "When it comes to political endorsements about candidates, it's out of bounds."
But while he was publicly mum about the '08 election, Mr. Tressel did do some talking with his bank account—cutting a $1,000 check to the Republican National Committee a month before Election Day.
In Politics, Football's Bosses Usually Run Right; Mr. Friedgen Picks on 'Socialists'
By STEVE KORNACKI
American politics are rich with characters and stereotypes—Joe the Plumber, Harry and Louise, Nascar dads and hockey moms, to name a few. But one persistent type hasn't gotten much attention: the Republican football coach.
During the 2008 campaign cycle, college and NFL head coaches (and their wives) contributed a total of $13,286 to John McCain and the Republican National Committee. From that same group, Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee received just $4,600—half of it from Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and the other half from San Jose State's Dick Tomey.
In all, 20 coaches active in the 2008 season gave to Republican candidates seeking federal office. Three donated to Democrats. This disparity is even more striking given that, among the individual donors in the '08 campaign cycle, Mr. Obama outraised Mr. McCain by more than a 5-to-1 margin.
Pep Talk From Holtz
Some coaches display their largely conservative instincts in non-financial ways. Jack Del Rio of the NFL's Jaguars led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance at a Sarah Palin rally in Jacksonville last fall. Longtime Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs addressed last summer's Republican National Convention. Lou Holtz fired up congressional Republicans with a pep talk in 2007 and recently flirted with running for Congress in Florida. Ralph Friedgen, the portly University of Maryland coach, good-naturedly called one of his Canadian players a socialist last fall.
There's no evidence that coaches with a conservative bent are better coaches or more likely to get jobs. Football coaches aren't the most diverse group, which may help explain their political similarities.
Still, could it be that football coaches, just by the nature of the job, are more comfortable on the right end of the political spectrum?
"I'd say that sounds likely—very likely," said Bobby Bowden, the longtime Florida State coach and an outspoken Republican.
Mr. Bowden, a 79-year-old native Alabaman, describes himself as a lifelong conservative who—like many white Southerners of his generation—migrated from the Democratic Party to the GOP a few decades ago. There is, he says, a natural connection between his political and coaching philosophies.
"In coaching, you've got to have more discipline and you've got to be more strict and just conservative, I think. It fits with the Republicans," he said.
Mr. Holtz, who coached Notre Dame to its last national championship in 1988, draws a parallel between the standards and rules that most coaches set for their players and the Republican vision of how American society ought to operate.
"You aren't entitled to anything. You don't inherit anything. You get what you earn—your position on the team," Mr. Holtz said. "You're treated like everybody else. You're held accountable for your actions. You understand that your decisions affect other people on that team…There's winners, there's losers, and there's competitiveness."
Tom Osborne, who coached the Nebraska Cornhuskers for 25 seasons before serving three terms in Congress as a Republican, suggested that football coaches probably look at their own lives and careers as testaments to the conservative principle of self-reliance.
"There's an awful lot of people who want to be in coaching for the number of jobs," he said. "It's highly competitive. And many of them have had to spend a fair amount of time as graduate assistants, interns—as much as four, five, six, seven, eight years—making very, very little money to get into the profession. And they will work 70, 80, 90 hours a week during the season.
"I think that background—adherence to discipline, sometimes sacrifice, loyalty to core values—those things tend to have people move in that direction."
Some cite geography—the fact that so many coaches have roots in the South, a staunchly Republican region. Others point out that Republicans tend to revere strong, singular executive leaders—a pretty good description of a coach.
'Not a Dictatorship ...'
"That definitely does fit the football coaches' mold," said Mr. Bowden. "It's not a dictatorship, but it's on the verge."
Mr. Osborne even noted that most coaches are ex-players, joking that "I'm sure many who are more liberal would say it's because they got hit in the head too much."
There are, of course, exceptions. Mr. Tomey, the only college head coach to donate to Mr. Obama last year, said he's never really paid attention to the political leanings of his fellow coaches and that he was "shocked" to learn how many of them seem to favor the GOP.
With successful runs at Hawaii, Arizona and, since 2005, San Jose State to his name, he's clearly no less committed to hard work, discipline, and accountability than his GOP colleagues.
But Mr. Tomey estimates that he's only voted Republican "about three times" in his life (for Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger this decade, and maybe one other time).
When Mr. Tomey was at Arizona in 1990, state voters rejected a proposed Martin Luther King holiday. "Our players were really upset with that, and I remember asking them how many of them had voted and, like, two of them had," he recalled. "So we decided as a staff that from that time forward we were going to get our guys registered to vote," an effort he has maintained since then, although he stressed that it's non-partisan in nature.
Some Democrats, Too
There are some other Democratic coaches, too. Southern California's Pete Carroll, for instance, openly proclaimed his support for Mr. Obama last year, and George Perles, who coached Michigan State from 1983 to 1994 (before helping launch the Motor City Bowl), is waging a long-shot bid for the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Michigan.
And when Mr. Obama was running last year, several African-American coaches—including Ty Willingham (then at the University of Washington), Herm Edwards (then with the Kansas City Chiefs), and Mr. Smith of the Chicago Bears—expressed their support.
Some coaches keep quiet about politics to avoid alienating boosters and other higher-ups.
This is what led Jim Tressel, Ohio State's head coach, to declare last fall that, "When it comes to political endorsements about candidates, it's out of bounds."
But while he was publicly mum about the '08 election, Mr. Tressel did do some talking with his bank account—cutting a $1,000 check to the Republican National Committee a month before Election Day.
Monday, September 14, 2009
USC and Their Fresham QB
I would imagine that anyone with ANY interest in college football was tuned in Saturday night when the Ohio State Buckeyes and USC Trojans squared off. I was particularly interested because I wanted to see how the USC freshman QB, Matt Barkley, would fair. It’s always interesting to see how someone so young will handle the added pressure of a big road game.
Early on I couldn’t tell how he would react late in the game if it were still close. But I have to say that based on his last drive this guy is the real deal. It also made me wonder how many of the top tier QB’s that are not freshman would have led their teams to victory, given that they were in the exact same position on the road at Ohio State.
Jevan Snead of Ole Miss is one heck of a QB. He has proven that he can handle pressure but I don’t think he would have led his team down the field in those circumstances. I realize he plays in the SEC and the road crowds are insane but the crowd in the Horse Shoe was possibly louder than it has ever been. All 107,000 fans were screaming at the top of their lungs creating the ultimate home field advantage. The crowd was even more insane than usual because it wasn’t just a big game for Ohio State but also for the Big 10. For Snead I would predict two first downs before turning it over on downs and losing the game.
Colt McCoy of the Longhorns, poster child for the red neck nation, is the next QB I thought of. While McCoy certainly has his fair share of big game experience I don’t think he has faced a crowd that compares to what Matt Barkley dealt with at Ohio State. Last year at Texas Tech, a game McCoy lost, the crowd was crazy but nothing compared to the Horse Shoe Saturday night. If you were to measure noise level on a 1 to 10 scale the Texas Tech vs. UT game last year would probably have been a 7.5. The noise that Ohio State fans generated against USC would measure a 15…completely off the chart! Also let’s not forget that last year, at a neutral site against a weaker Ohio State team, McCoy was lucky at best to leave with a win. If you put McCoy in the same situation as Barkley I predict he would get one first down but end the drive throwing a pick six. The final score would have been Ohio State 22, Texas 10.
Now let us consider the Geico Caveman himself, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. My prediction is that he would injure his shoulder and leave the game…ha-ha! But seriously, he is perhaps the most talented QB in the nation this year and no doubt has much more pro potential than the red neck from Austin. However that doesn’t necessarily mean he would have led the Sooners down the field the way Barkley did the Trojans. As a matter of fact I believe that he would have gone three and out. The reason I say this is Bradford and the Sooners only play to their full potential in meaningful games IF they are CLEARLY more talented than their opponent. When Captain Caveman and company played UT and Florida last year they lost both. Those two teams were the only teams they faced all year that matched them talent wise and they were soundly defeated by both. So I truly believe that if Bradford was at the Horse Shoe with one drive left to win the game that OU would move the ball less than ten yards.
Finally we have to look at Superman himself…Tim Tebow. There is absolutely no doubt that Tebow would have led the Gators straight down the field for the game winning touchdown. Simply look at his past and the guy is a natural born leader. Where he goes others undeniably want to follow. While Bradford may be the most talented quarterback Tebow is the most dominant football player. When you compare Tebow to Snead it is a joke because Snead doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence. When you compare Tebow to Hillbilly McCoy it is another no contest. Tebow is better than McCoy even if Tebow played the entire game on one leg. The biggest challenge for Tebow in that situation would be not to score too quickly and allow Ohio State time to answer.
So as you can see, based on what happened Saturday night I feel Barkley is well on his way. By the end of this season I wouldn’t be surprised if he is getting Heisman hype for next season. USC could have an all time great for all we know. But only time will tell because it’s a long season and anything can happen.
Early on I couldn’t tell how he would react late in the game if it were still close. But I have to say that based on his last drive this guy is the real deal. It also made me wonder how many of the top tier QB’s that are not freshman would have led their teams to victory, given that they were in the exact same position on the road at Ohio State.
Jevan Snead of Ole Miss is one heck of a QB. He has proven that he can handle pressure but I don’t think he would have led his team down the field in those circumstances. I realize he plays in the SEC and the road crowds are insane but the crowd in the Horse Shoe was possibly louder than it has ever been. All 107,000 fans were screaming at the top of their lungs creating the ultimate home field advantage. The crowd was even more insane than usual because it wasn’t just a big game for Ohio State but also for the Big 10. For Snead I would predict two first downs before turning it over on downs and losing the game.
Colt McCoy of the Longhorns, poster child for the red neck nation, is the next QB I thought of. While McCoy certainly has his fair share of big game experience I don’t think he has faced a crowd that compares to what Matt Barkley dealt with at Ohio State. Last year at Texas Tech, a game McCoy lost, the crowd was crazy but nothing compared to the Horse Shoe Saturday night. If you were to measure noise level on a 1 to 10 scale the Texas Tech vs. UT game last year would probably have been a 7.5. The noise that Ohio State fans generated against USC would measure a 15…completely off the chart! Also let’s not forget that last year, at a neutral site against a weaker Ohio State team, McCoy was lucky at best to leave with a win. If you put McCoy in the same situation as Barkley I predict he would get one first down but end the drive throwing a pick six. The final score would have been Ohio State 22, Texas 10.
Now let us consider the Geico Caveman himself, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. My prediction is that he would injure his shoulder and leave the game…ha-ha! But seriously, he is perhaps the most talented QB in the nation this year and no doubt has much more pro potential than the red neck from Austin. However that doesn’t necessarily mean he would have led the Sooners down the field the way Barkley did the Trojans. As a matter of fact I believe that he would have gone three and out. The reason I say this is Bradford and the Sooners only play to their full potential in meaningful games IF they are CLEARLY more talented than their opponent. When Captain Caveman and company played UT and Florida last year they lost both. Those two teams were the only teams they faced all year that matched them talent wise and they were soundly defeated by both. So I truly believe that if Bradford was at the Horse Shoe with one drive left to win the game that OU would move the ball less than ten yards.
Finally we have to look at Superman himself…Tim Tebow. There is absolutely no doubt that Tebow would have led the Gators straight down the field for the game winning touchdown. Simply look at his past and the guy is a natural born leader. Where he goes others undeniably want to follow. While Bradford may be the most talented quarterback Tebow is the most dominant football player. When you compare Tebow to Snead it is a joke because Snead doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence. When you compare Tebow to Hillbilly McCoy it is another no contest. Tebow is better than McCoy even if Tebow played the entire game on one leg. The biggest challenge for Tebow in that situation would be not to score too quickly and allow Ohio State time to answer.
So as you can see, based on what happened Saturday night I feel Barkley is well on his way. By the end of this season I wouldn’t be surprised if he is getting Heisman hype for next season. USC could have an all time great for all we know. But only time will tell because it’s a long season and anything can happen.
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