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 Aggies. Pre-Game WTH 118 years?! I agree that egos have caused this rivalry to end. The Aggies says “It’s time for Texas A&M”… to slug it out with the SEC. The Horns have their path to blaze (LHN). Divorce is tough. Let’s reunite for the kids’ sake. 1st Quarter (7:26) WTH Tucker?! The 31 yard punt by Justin Tucker was making every Longhorn fan pull out their hair. The only good outcome was that most of his punts were never returned. He definitely made up for his punting woes at the end. 2nd Quarter (12:13) WTH Refs 1?! Keenan Robinson was called for roughing the passer when the QB Ryan Tannehill landed on him? Keenan must have pissed off the entire officiating crew because he also got called for a horse collar penalty in the third quarter when he clearly just had the jersey. 2nd Quarter (9:31) WTH Shipley?! This is not for the pass play to Irby for the first score. Before that play and the muffed punt that caused all the electricity for the Horns, Jaxon Shipley I think had the play of the game. On third down his bad knee gave way and he barely got a hand on the ball to knock it down. An Aggie defender was there ready to make the interception and take it to the house. Close call! 2nd Quarter (1:47) WTH Harsin?! Coach Harsin I am going to blame you for this interception thrown by Miles Onyegbule. Your innovative play calling gets this Horn team so fired up that they will throw into triple coverage to please you. Halftime WTH Aggies?! Every year we lose the halftime show to the Aggies, but the Longhorn band won this one. 3rd Quarter (11:06) WTH UT Defense?! Another awesome display by the defense in the second half which got kick started by Carrington Byndom 58 yard interception return for a touchdown
The rest is here:
WTH Moments – Texas vs. Texas A&M
Filed under Football, Lets Talk Texas by on Nov 30th, 2011. Comment. 
FORT WORTH, Texas — I hope TCU didn’t think its program had peaked when it beat Wisconsin to become Rose Bowl champions last season. After being exiled from the adults table when the Southwest Conference broke up in 1996, TCU is back. “We never made an excuse. We never said, ‘Why not us?’” said athletic director Chris Del Conte. “[TCU donors and fans] decided, ‘We will take care of our own. We will get to the promised land if we work hard and believe in each other.’ And you did that. “Today is living proof that dreams do come true.” How did those dreams come true? TCU grew up under the guidance of Gary Patterson, who racked up five 11-win seasons in the past six years, capped by last season’s glorious night in Pasadena. Now, it’s time to trade in the hot dogs and mac and cheese at the kids’ table for the steak and potatoes of a AQ conference schedule. The Horned Frogs are ready. “We have an opportunity. If the Big 12 believed that we could not be competitive in this league, then they wouldn’t have asked us,” Patterson said. TCU doesn’t bring the financial punch the Big 12 would have liked. It has problems filling a stadium that will seat about 50,000 and that is currently undergoing a $164 million renovation. The Horned Frogs claim 78,000 living alumni. By comparison, Texas had 51,195 students enrolled during the 2010-11 school year. Both the stadium and the school’s enrollment (9,518) will be the smallest in the Big 12. That hasn’t changed. Though it might soon with high-profile opponents like Texas and Oklahoma preparing to make trips to Fort Worth, instead of Mountain West-flavored cupcakes like UNLV and New Mexico. TCU’s school record for season tickets (14,900) was shattered when it sold 19,100 in 2010. After winning the Rose Bowl, the Horned Frogs sold 22,000 for 2011 — higher than some total attendance numbers when Gary Patterson became defensive coordinator back in 1998. Now they’re in the Big 12, where the Horned Frogs provide what more established members (looking at you, former Big 12 North) can’t. Football credibility. After the departures of Nebraska and Texas A&M, and possibly rising program Missouri, it’s something the Big 12 badly needed. TCU? Well, under Patterson, the Horned Frogs bring it. Among other accomplishments, TCU is the only program to finish the last three seasons in the top 10 of both polls. They’re about to start bringing even better players to Fort Worth, too, after landing on equal recruiting ground with the rest of the Big 12 powers that mine the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for talent. Undefeated regular seasons in 2009 and 2010 landed the Horned Frogs in the BCS twice. That’s the same number of appearances as Nebraska, and excluding Texas (3-1 in four appearances) and Oklahoma (3-5 in eight appearances), that’s more than any other team in the Big 12. “Being in the Big 12 Conference doesn’t make us successful,” Patterson said. “Winning in the Big 12 Conference is what makes you successful. Our goal is going to be to win in the Big 12 Conference, not just compete in the Big 12 Conference.” The Big 12 was reeling after losing three members in 15 months, and another looking to do the same. Money was secondary to stability, and the league still has $1.1 billion on the way from Fox Sports over the next 13 years and a negotiation for the league’s most valuable games coming up in 2014
See the article here:
TCU, Big 12 needed each other
Filed under Football by on Oct 11th, 2011. Comment.
Air Force’s name is one that’s popped up in possible Big 12 expansion candidates, and according to a report in the Denver Post , the conference explored the possibility of adding the Falcons. The reception? “We were approached by the Big 12, and I told them we’re not a good fit for that conference. In the Big 12, geography makes sense, the economics make sense, but recruiting makes no sense for us. I can’t recruit against Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State,” [Air Force athletic director Hans] Mueh said. “That’s why I turned down the Big 12. I can’t do that to my kids, because they’ll get beat up. I’d love the extra $12 million or whatever it would be per year from the TV money. And I know how I’d spend the money. I’d build a new soccer stadium, and I’d build a new baseball facility, all in one year. But I can’t do that.” Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Did I just hear an administrator consider the competitive element of sport, rather than chase money or embrace a misguided machismo of an upgrade in athletic conference? I had to read it twice to make sure. Mueh is absolutely right. Air Force may bring with it a national audience, but the admission standards and lifestyle of students in the Air Force would make life extremely difficult on any service academy in a major conference. Recruiting against Oklahoma and Texas at a level that would allow them to be consistently competitive really would be impossible. “There are terrible, terrible hard feelings in college athletics,” Mueh said. “I’m so disappointed with my fellow athletic directors. I think we have put the student-athlete in second place while chasing the dollar.” At the core, one could argue that all of the recent conference moves, Big 12 and abroad, boil down to wanting money, but they’re also more complicated than that. Regardless, we know there’s at least one major administrator left who isn’t trumpeting the idea of “student-athletes first” and immediately trampling all over the ideal. Interesting stuff from the Big 12 side, too. Unless others turned the league down, I doubt it ever would have progressed to the point of an offer, but it’s always interesting to hear any decision-maker speak frankly about how they see their institutions.
Read this article:
Big 12 advances spurned by Air Force?
Filed under Baseball, Football by on Oct 10th, 2011. Comment.
All week, ESPN.com has been breaking down the nonconference schedules of each and every team in a dozen different leagues. On Tuesday, we began with the ACC , SEC and C-USA . On Wednesday, we continued with the Big East , Atlantic 10 and Colonial . We devoted Thursday to the West, with the Pac-12 , WCC and Mountain West . Friday is all about the Midwest. We began with a look at the Missouri Valley and the Big 12 and finish up with the Big Ten … ILLINOIS Toughest : Gonzaga (Dec. 3), vs. UNLV in Chicago (Dec. 17), vs. Missouri in St. Louis (Dec. 22) Next-toughest : Cancun Challenge (Nov. 22-23), at Maryland (Nov. 29) The rest : Loyola-Chicago (Nov. 11), SIU Edwardsville (Nov. 14), Lipscomb (Nov. 17), Chicago State (Nov. 27), St. Bonaventure (Dec. 7), Coppin State (Dec. 11), Cornell (Dec. 19) Toughness scale (1-10): 7 — This is your standard Illinois schedule. The Illini have a couple of legitimate true road and home challenges, one against Gonzaga and the other in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at rebuilding Maryland, and the addition of two typical neutral-site games — the Braggin’ Rights rivalry game with Missouri in St. Louis and a quasi-home game against UNLV at the United Center — mean the schedule isn’t totally forgiving. The Cancun Challenge doesn’t offer much — Richmond is the toughest opponent in that tournament — but even so, the Illini have a handful of chances to prove themselves in challenging situations. INDIANA Toughest : at NC State (Nov. 30), Kentucky (Dec.
More here:
Nonconference schedule analysis: Big Ten
Filed under Basketball, News by on Oct 7th, 2011. Comment.
All week, ESPN.com has been breaking down the nonconference schedules of each and every team in a dozen different leagues. On Tuesday, we began with the ACC , SEC and C-USA . On Wednesday, we continued with the Big East , Atlantic 10 and Colonial . We devoted Thursday to the West, with the Pac-12 , WCC and Mountain West . Friday is all about the Midwest. We began with a look at the Missouri Valley and the Big 12 and finish up with the Big Ten … ILLINOIS Toughest : Gonzaga (Dec. 3), vs
Read this article:
Nonconference schedule analysis: Big Ten
Filed under Basketball, News by on Oct 7th, 2011. Comment.
All week, ESPN.com has been breaking down the nonconference schedules of each and every team in a dozen different leagues. On Tuesday, we began with the ACC , SEC and C-USA . On Wednesday, we continued with the Big East , Atlantic 10 and Colonial . We devoted Thursday to the West, with the Pac-12 , WCC and Mountain West . Friday is all about the Midwest. We began with a look at the Missouri Valley and the Big 12 and finish up with the Big Ten … ILLINOIS Toughest : Gonzaga (Dec. 3), vs. UNLV in Chicago (Dec. 17), vs. Missouri in St. Louis (Dec. 22) Next-toughest : Cancun Challenge (Nov. 22-23), at Maryland (Nov. 29) The rest : Loyola-Chicago (Nov. 11), SIU Edwardsville (Nov. 14), Lipscomb (Nov. 17), Chicago State (Nov. 27), St. Bonaventure (Dec. 7), Coppin State (Dec. 11), Cornell (Dec. 19) Toughness scale (1-10): 7 — This is your standard Illinois schedule. The Illini have a couple of legitimate true road and home challenges, one against Gonzaga and the other in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at rebuilding Maryland, and the addition of two typical neutral-site games — the Braggin’ Rights rivalry game with Missouri in St.
Filed under Basketball, News by on Oct 7th, 2011. Comment.
Spent some time in Austin, Texas, this week in anticipation of Saturday’s game against BYU. We’ve already written a bit and we’ll have more later this week, but here’s a few leftover notes. Brown Texas coach Mack Brown complimented BYU’s state-of-the-art status in developing the passing game in college football, and also divulged that he interviewed for a quarterbacks coach job at BYU under Lavell Edwards back in 1977. He didn’t get the job and went to Memphis instead. Before that, Brown reminisced about a landmark win for Southern Miss when he was coaching receivers for the program from 1975-77. The next season? BYU beat his team 63-21. This is a different year for Texas football. Brown readily admits it’s not going to be good enough to blow anyone out. It’s going to be tossups every week, he said. “We haven’t been that way here in a long time,” he said. “Probably were last year, but we didn’t realize it, very honestly.” That’s good to hear for Texas fans. I think you’ll see a renewed toughness out of this year’s Texas team that wasn’t there last year. Most everyone has expressed some kind of skepticism about superconferences, and Brown is among them. He doesn’t sound very excited about the program becoming a member of anything resembling the Pac-16. “I like to play regional games in a conference where high school coaches and kids’ parents can go see them play,” he said. “That’s been my take the whole time
Read more here:
More on Texas heading into BYU matchup
Filed under Football by on Sep 8th, 2011. Comment.
1. The NCAA has increased the minimum Academic Progress Rate (APR) from 925 in a given year to 930 over a rolling four-year average. More important, the penalties for not making the minimum include a postseason ban. I did the math for the six AQ conferences from 2007 through 2010 and found nine schools that failed to reach 930: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisville, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Purdue, South Florida, and Washington State. If the rule were effective immediately, they wouldn’t be bowl-eligible. That rule has teeth. 2. The Syracuse coaching staff has been a man down for 10 days after offensive line coach Greg Adkins got waylaid by an attack of pancreatitis. Adkins returned to meetings on Wednesday night, and after a medical procedure next week, will return full-time soon. While head coach Doug Marrone is glad that Adkins is returning to health, he has had a blast returning to coach the offensive line. “I don’t think the kids had fun,” Marrone said. “I had fun.” 3. When the Southwest Conference died in the mid-1990s, legend has it that Baylor got a seat in the Big 12 lifeboat because the governor at the time, Anne Richards, had a Baylor degree. I bring this up because the current governor and presidential-candidate-to-be, Rick Perry, is a Texas A&M alumnus. How much does that contribute to the emboldened talk among Aggies about bolting from Texas and the Big 12 to the SEC? Of course, it never takes much to make an Aggie swagger.
Go here to see the original:
3-point stance: New rule has teeth
Filed under Football by on Aug 12th, 2011. Comment.
The season of scandal, highlighted by controversies at Auburn, Oregon and Ohio State, all BCS participants, has given way to summer conversations about changing the way college sports operate. Maybe that’s changing the rules. Maybe it’s changing the circumstances. Should players be paid? Or at least get more assistance from the schools that profit from their efforts? The Big 12, which has remained relatively scandal-free throughout the past year, has at least one big advocate for giving players a boost. “It definitely needs to happen,” Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said. ”Something needs to be done.” Tuberville doesn’t support an outright “pay-for-play” scenario, but says changes in college athletics and the world within which it exists, necessitate something being done. “The first priority should be the athletes, because they’re the ones that do the competing and do the hard work,” Tuberville said. “I think the money is out there. I just think it’s gotta start from the top and work down.” Teams that go to the BCS cash an extra large paycheck, a portion of which goes back to the conferences. “Each school gets a cut at the end of the year of TV money and bowl money. But then the conference gets a cut of that. Why isn’t there a cut there for the players?” he said. “Say, ‘OK go split this up in the conference, all your players.’ I’m talking NCAA basketball tournament, everything. There should be some kind of cut for the players. It’s just getting too expensive to live and it’s getting to the point where we’ve got to show the athletes that we want to take care of them, and I’m all for that.” Extended summers — for all sports — means players can’t take the time off and work part-time jobs like Tuberville did as a player at Southern Arkansas in the 1970s. “They have two full-time jobs: going to school, and athletics now in any sport is full-time,” Tuberville said. “They just don’t have enough time.” Details are difficult, but if a plan could be hatched, Tuberville would have support from his coaching brethren, Big 12 and elsewhere. “I’m for anything we can do within the rules to help our kids,” Texas coach Mack Brown said.
Continue reading here:
The Big 12 and the pay-for-play debate
Filed under Basketball, Football by on Jul 18th, 2011. Comment.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen met with the media Friday and then took the time for a brief phone interview with me. We discussed his new job, expectations and a host of other topics. Stay tuned for Part II on Monday. Now that you are head coach, how are you going to prepare for all the added responsibilities that come along with the job? DH: I’ve been preparing for this for quite some time. I knew it was going to happen here quick. I’ve been here six months. I’m familiar with how things work around here. The base of what we do is not going to change. Every kid on our team, their day-to-day stuff from academics to strength coaches to how they’re treated in the training room to who their position coach is, what their schemes are, nothing is going to change from what we did in the spring. What’s going to change is being in charge of 100 percent of the kids as opposed to 50 percent. As offensive coordinator, I learned about all the kids on offense and what makes them tick. Now I’ve got to get on the defensive side and get to know who they are and what makes them tick. AA: How are you going to go about doing that? DH: When you see ‘em, talk to ‘em. If it takes until midseason to get to know a few of them the way I want to, that’s the way it works. I’m never going to miss an opportunity to be able to talk to a kid and get to know him. AA: How about your role as offensive coordinator during games. How is that going to affect you as the head coach? DH: I wanted to make sure that I was able to bring in guys that I know, that I trust, that know how I tick and know how I work and know the X’s and O’s. The offensive assistants I brought in are all on the same page that I am; I feel really good about that. If I need to leave the room to handle a phone call, leave the room to discuss something with Coach [Jeff] Casteel, the trainer, academic guys, I can leave that room and it can keep working on offense. From a game-day standpoint, from an offensive standpoint when to kick it when not to kick it, when to call a timeout when not to call a timeout, that’s easy. The challenge is going to be on defense. I’m going to have to pull myself away from the players, but I can do that with guys on the sideline who understand how I work. AA: Might you see how it works this year as offensive coordinator and then decide whether it is something you want to do long term? DH: I’ve seen it be successful both ways. I was one of the guys Mike Leach trusted and he was pretty successful at Texas Tech. I’m pretty close with [Houston coach] Kevin Sumlin. He turned it over to me and then recently [co-offensive coordinator] Kliff [Kingsbury] to the point where he was always in tune with the game. I have to evaluate where we’re at
See the article here:
Q&A with Dana Holgorsen, Part I
Filed under Football by on Jun 17th, 2011. Comment.
