So what if Halloween was last week? Tell that to the ghosts roaming around Texas Tech’s Jones AT&T Stadium these days. Back in 2007, there was a woozy Sam Bradford of Oklahoma sidelined with a concussion on the game’s opening drive. National title hopes? Gone. A year later? An easy interception inexplicably slid through the hands of Texas’ Blake Gideon. A play later, an ill-advised, unnecessary throw by Graham Harrell somehow became one of the most famous plays in college football history . Beware the winds of West Texas, Oklahoma State. The Cowboys travel there on Saturday, to the place where two Big 12 national title runs have been buried. The Cowboys will go there with the intention of preventing a third. Gundy’s players watch the weekly BCS rankings get unveiled, and this week, they saw themselves at No. 2, higher than any team in Oklahoma State history and firmly in control of their postseason destination. “They’re being told that they’re having a great year and everywhere you go, it’s ‘Make sure you keep it going’ and this and that,” said coach Mike Gundy. The odds say Oklahoma State will. The Cowboys enter as 17-point favorites over this particular band of Red Raiders that haven’t wrecked much in recent weeks. “There’s examples every Saturday, and just speaking for our staff, we’re able to use examples of teams that, on paper or people thought may have had a better team, but for whatever reason, they didn’t play as well that Saturday and didn’t win,” Gundy said. “Because of that, you have to stay focused and understand the importance of preparation going into each game.” The Cowboys won’t have to look far for inspiration. Texas Tech is just 1-4 in its past five games, and its past two losses have come by 32 and 34 points. Its one win? Tech made it count. The Red Raiders raced to a 31-7 lead and beat Oklahoma, who entered the game as 28-point favorites. Oh, and they hadn’t lost at home since 2005 or in a home conference game since 2001, concurrent streaks of 39 and 32 games. Oklahoma State should – should — win on Saturday. Last year’s win in Lubbock was Oklahoma State’s first since 1944. Whether it does or doesn’t do it again is likely up to the superior team. “We just have to stay focused, absorb information in meetings and have good practices on Wednesday and Thursday,” Gundy said. So how does that happen? “There’s not really anything other than trying to keep them in the moment and in the right frame of mind so they can stay focused on what’s important here and not get caught up in all the hype outside the program,” Gundy said. We’ll find out on Saturday if the Cowboys did it. Iowa State awaits a week later, and win that one? Bedlam.
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Scary trip ahead for Oklahoma State
Filed under Football by on Nov 9th, 2011. Comment. 
WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ game against the Jayhawks. So dominating was the performance of the Longhorns over the Jayhawks (43-0) that I focused on some of the more interesting things not involved on the playing field. Pre-Game (15:00) WTH Gill?! I can see the ploy of not putting names on the back of the uniforms to suggest that you are all one team. But having a microscopic Jayhawk (fictitious bird) on the back of the jerseys is a little silly, Coach Gill. 1st Quarter (9:59) WTH Halloween?! Not too many Halloween costumes in the stands this night where 99,211 were in attendance. The best I saw was a large sombrero made completely out of beer pull tabs. The man wearing it looked like he drank every beer that night to make that hat. 2nd Quarter (15:00) WTH Jet Blue?! Looks like the airline had bigger issues with stranding people on a plane in Hartford. You could at least get a fan that knows how to kick a field goal. Who is responsible for picking out these people? You may want to get a little good publicity after last week’s snowstorms and find someone that can make it through the uprights. Halftime WTH Twirler?! The biggest cheer of the night was for the baton twirler as the Longhorn Alumni Band performed for the UT faithful. A special shout out to that older gentleman, Don Hart, who thrilled the crowd with one last heave of the baton that he caught at the end of the program. 3rd Quarter (3:13) WTH Smokey?! Since the Horns were dominating the Jayhawks on the field, it looks like the Cowboys spirit organization decided to have some fun. The cannon fire after one score produced a giant smoke ring for the crowd to see. Wonder if that technique is performed at campus dorms with another apparatus? 4th Quarter (15:00) WTH Camera Shot?! The UT stadium camera crew was trying to keep the Longhorn fans entertained while the game was already decided. The crowd shots of all the women were nice, especially the view of one coed that had a shirt that said “Horn Star.” Next up for the Longhorns are the Red Raiders as they host to Texas Tech on November 5th. Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on Twitter at 40AcresSports or follow me at Horns1991 . HOOK EM!!
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WTH Moments – Texas vs Kansas
Filed under Football, Lets Talk Texas by on Nov 4th, 2011. Comment.
Don’t get too spooked. It’s just Halloween. Time for a little black-and-orange on the blog. Scary movie — Worst loss of the season: Oklahoma State 70, Kansas 28. Kansas’ historically bad offense met one of the best offenses in the nation. The result? A 35-7 deficit after the first quarter and a 56-7 halftime score. How bad could this one have gotten?
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Celebrating Halloween across the Big 12
Filed under Football by on Oct 31st, 2011. Comment.
Oh yes, it’s a holiday weekend, and it’s football season. That means a theme post. Don’t fight it, it’s already here. Just give in. Here are a few Halloween honors heading into this weekend’s games.
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Halloween in the Big 12
Filed under Football by on Oct 29th, 2010. Comment.
Halloween time means we get to take a look at some of the tricks and treats the non-AQs have delivered so far this season. Have fun with this, and come up with some of your own in the comments section. Scary movie: The worst loss of the season has to go to New Mexico, falling 72-0 to Oregon. The Lobos had eight first downs, 108 yards of total offense and trailed 59-0 at halftime. Did we mention that Oregon racked up 720 yards of total offense? The 72-point win for Oregon stands as the largest in school history over an FBS school. Not even FCS Portland State gave up that many points or yards to Oregon this year (though it did come close in the 69-0 loss). Nightmare in Bronco Stadium: Yes, Boise State never loses at home, but watch out for Hawaii next week as a game that poses a threat to a contender. The Warriors are playing lights out football, and the Broncos have been less than impressive in the secondary this season. This one could impact the race for the national championship. On the other hand, the last time Boise State lost at home was to Washington State 42-20 on Sept. 8, 2001. Boo (Boo): San Jose State and North Texas have been hit with major injuries, each losing at least 10 significant contributors for the season. But there is no bigger injury than the one Houston has had to overcome. Heisman Trophy candidate Case Keenum tore his ACL in the third game of the season and is out for the year. Backup Cotton Turner went out for the season in the same game. Houston has gone 2-2 without them and still stands atop the West Division of Conference USA. But it has been trying to deal with the huge loss of Keenum, who was poised to break the NCAA career passing record. Night of the living dead: BYU is so not playing like BYU this season. The Cougars are 3-5 and are on the brink of failing to make a bowl game for the first time since 2004. The offense has looked like the living dead, ranking No. 106 in the nation. Spooky stuff in Provo. Jigsaw team: San Diego State has put the pieces of the puzzle together in the second season under coach Brady Hoke and is one win away from being bowl eligible for the first time since 1998. The running game is working with Ronnie Hillman , and that has allowed the play-action to work with Ryan Lindley , DeMarco Sampson and Vincent Brown . The defense has played well, too. The Aztecs (5-2) have matched their best start in the past 14 seasons. To think they are two blown calls from being undefeated. Enough to make you scream, right Aztecs fans? Halloween costumes: Time to play dress up. What would some of these guys go dressed up as on Halloween? TCU coach Gary Patterson as Oregon coach Chip Kelly. Because seriously, those guys look so much alike with their visors on, they could have been switched at birth. Boise State coach Chris Petersen as a scarecrow. You know, because he scares off teams from power conferences. Utah punt returner Shaky Smithson as Zorro. You have to love the way he slices and dices through punt return units. Temple coach Al Golden as a zombie. Nothing like bringing a program back from the dead. FAU coach Howard Schenllenberger as Colonel Sanders. Anybody else see the resemblance? Eastern Michigan coach Ron English and Western Kentucky coach Willie Taggart as conquering heroes. Hey, they both ended long losing streaks this year. Twilight Zone: You know Bowling Green would love a do-over. A year after going bowling, the Falcons are 1-7. Three of their losses are by three points or less. Quarterback Matt Schilz has been banged up, and the young team has not been able to come together. Of course, Akron (0-8) and New Mexico (0-7) probably wish this nightmare of a season would end. Now.
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Non-AQ Tricks and Treats
Filed under Football by on Oct 29th, 2010. Comment.
