(1) Note - I had ridiculous problems with the streaming video.
Regarding
the game on Saturday, what can I say that hasn't been repeated already?
I wanted an undefeated streak at the end of this run through the
Southland teams, and I thought this team had it in them. Sadly, we
remain fully reminded that the Bobcats are a work in progress. Say
goodbye to Hammond. The next time Texas State is scheduled to play in
the state of Louisiana is their first trip to Ruston for a WAC game
against Louisiana Tech in 2013.
Before I get too critical, it
seemed like that was Southeastern's best game of the year. I know they
gave up over 500 yards but their quarterback looked pretty good and
Simmie Yarborough is now their all-time leading receiver. Former
Longhorn (and all around felonious guy) Brandon Collins had a nice
little game as well as senior Kory Theodore.
I don't see how a
team can win many games on the road putting the ball on the rug twice
while the defense allows at least a touchdown in each quarter and causes
no turnovers of their own. 4-14 on third down and 1-4 on fourth down,
too? I get that much of that comes from trying to come back in the
fourth quarter, but still. This was against a team whose only previous
victory was against a 1-6 MEAC school. What about the two turnovers by
Rutherford and Lopez? One fumble in 45 running plays toward the end of
the game is borderline acceptable. The kickoff return fumble was more
aggravating. It was a ten point swing in less than a minute.
Congratulations
go out to Terrance Franks for his monstrous 234 yards on only 24
carries. That's 9.8 yards a carry with two touchdowns.
In
other news, Texas State led Texas Tech in Lubbock 10-9 at the half.
Tech led Oklahoma, ranked 3rd on Saturday, 24-7 at the half en route to a
41-38 victory in Norman. Tech is Texas State's home opener in 2012 and
the Bobcats just lost to Southeastern Louisiana. Just a little food
for thought.
(2) I guess until Realignment Madness ends, this is
where I talk about what I hear is going on. Yesterday I heard that the
Big East was presented a proposal that had a 32 team national
mega-conference. The Big East would take their schools plus Navy,
Louisiana Tech, San Jose State, and Temple and merge them with the new
Conference-USA/MWC football conference. West Virginia was not included
as the CUSA/MWC representatives that put it together believe they are
going to the Big 12.
This is a very bad development for Texas
State, but then I heard there was also a 28 team version that removed
the four teams I listed earlier. I didn't know how much to read into
this until I heard the Boston Globe published a story on this exact same
new dilemma. I guess it's not just a wild rumor but I am still
checking with my people to figure out what is going on.
I still
think they'll make a go of taking Boise, Air Force, SMU, Houston, UCF
and Navy and the plan I just mentioned is a non-BCS pipe dream.
(3) Around the top 25:
Kansas State 35, Oklahoma 32
Georgia Tech 27, Clemson 21
Michigan State 24, Nebraska 17
Penn State 20, Illinois 19
Around the state:
Houston 45, Rice 17 (This is the televised Thursday game on ESPN - FYI)
Texas A&M 41, Missouri 37
Oklahoma State 55, Baylor 35
Texas 50, Kansas 10
Texas Tech 49, Iowa State 27
SMU 38, Tulsa 30
Southern Miss 28, UTEP 17
TCU 24, BYU 21 (Televised Friday game on ESPN)
Arkansas State 38, North Texas 21
Around the WAC:
Louisiana Tech 31, San Jose State 25
Hawaii 45, Idaho 14
Nevada 38, New Mexico State 21
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Three and Out - Week Eight
(1) Sorry that I missed last week, but I did go down to San
Marcos to catch the Lamar game. We made the decision to do a live game
thread rather than a Twitter play-by-play since they only had one seat
in the press box for us. I'd like to hear what your thoughts were on
that.
As far as the game went, I was loving it at 35-0 but not completely satisfied with 46-21. Fran has raised my expectations that much. Lamar is what UTSA hopes they can be next year and once they put in West Virginia transfer Jeremy Johnson at QB they became what I anticipate Texas State will see in the WAC in 2012. I spent Friday night watching San Jose State eek out one of the ugliest wins I have ever seen, but after watching Saturday's game either team would have beaten the Bobcats by 28. These boys have a long way to go still but everyone should be happy with 5-2. They have a very winnable roadie against Southeastern Louisiana and then home dates against Northwestern State and Prairie View A&M following that. I don't think it's unreasonable to believe the Cats will be 8-2 when they head to Conway to battle Central Arkansas.
(2) Expansion and realignment nonsense? Here ya go. We have it straight from Karl Benson's mouth that North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette are his targets, and he's really not interested in adding AFA or Boise if they don't bring football. He likes where the WAC currently is, as much as he can frankly. Benson is looking for that eighth football school and believes the CUSA/MWC merger will bring fruit to his search. He loved the enthusiasm shown in Bobcat Alley and other tailgating sections. When I caught him in the press box at halftime and asked him what he thought of Texas State football gameday, he said it was one of the best stops of his career.
Line of the day: I ask him if he was happy to see San Jose State beat Hawaii Friday night. "Well, it's a conference game so I am impartial but I usually don't stay up until 11:30 watching football games." Then we all started laughing.
While he would like a team like Montana or Montana State to break loose, it was made very, very clear to us that UNT and LaLa are who he is after, and he has a plan to get them during "realignment madness".
Let me tell you what else I am hearing about. The Big East is trying to get Temple in. A move Villanova is adamantly against. It's looking like Boise State, Air Force, Navy, Central Florida, Houston and SMU are going to get invites there. East Carolina and Temple are backup plans if Boise and AF decline (as expected). Navy is still on the fence but the other three will join in a heartbeat.
Conference USA's old TV deal required a championship game, but it's rather unclear how TV and the merger will affect that yet. If Boise and Air Force stay while Houston, SMU, UCF, and East Carolina go then that's an eighteen team league. If there's two nine team divisions in the league, they can basically play eight or nine (with a crossover game) conference games a year and have a championship game. I believe that is the direction Banowsky and Thompson are headed. Banowsky will take over the Big 12 after Neinas while the merged conference will stay under Thompson's leadership and eventually will be for all sports.
Oh yeah, this saved the WAC if you didn't notice. There are way too many teams to worry about now for some of these leagues. This also ensures an undefeated WAC team will get extremely favorable pub as a BCS buster if the situation ever arises. They'll be the ultimate underdog. At least we can stop worrying about if the conference is going to exist in 2012. I now think it's possible to get North Texas or La-La after reading all this crap and talking with Mr. Benson, and I am no sunshine pumper. The WAC is still a regional brand while the Sun Belt is about to be completely overshadowed by this new league. It's a good thing to join the weakest league in the country in 2012. I think Texas State might be able to win the Potato Bowl in 2013 and get some serious momentum for the future.
(3) Around the Top 25:
LSU 27, Auburn 10
Wisconsin 24, Michigan State 21
Stanford 35, Washington 28
Around the state:
Texas A&M 42, Iowa State 19
Oklahoma 55, Texas Tech 45
Houston 49, Marshall 24
Rice 26, Tulsa 24
SMU 34, Southern Miss 31
UTEP 29, Colorado State 27
TCU 41, New Mexico 7
LA-Monroe 33, North Texas 21
Around the WAC:
Utah State 31, LA Tech 20
Nevada 35, Fresno State 28
Hawaii 28, NM State 17
As far as the game went, I was loving it at 35-0 but not completely satisfied with 46-21. Fran has raised my expectations that much. Lamar is what UTSA hopes they can be next year and once they put in West Virginia transfer Jeremy Johnson at QB they became what I anticipate Texas State will see in the WAC in 2012. I spent Friday night watching San Jose State eek out one of the ugliest wins I have ever seen, but after watching Saturday's game either team would have beaten the Bobcats by 28. These boys have a long way to go still but everyone should be happy with 5-2. They have a very winnable roadie against Southeastern Louisiana and then home dates against Northwestern State and Prairie View A&M following that. I don't think it's unreasonable to believe the Cats will be 8-2 when they head to Conway to battle Central Arkansas.
(2) Expansion and realignment nonsense? Here ya go. We have it straight from Karl Benson's mouth that North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette are his targets, and he's really not interested in adding AFA or Boise if they don't bring football. He likes where the WAC currently is, as much as he can frankly. Benson is looking for that eighth football school and believes the CUSA/MWC merger will bring fruit to his search. He loved the enthusiasm shown in Bobcat Alley and other tailgating sections. When I caught him in the press box at halftime and asked him what he thought of Texas State football gameday, he said it was one of the best stops of his career.
Line of the day: I ask him if he was happy to see San Jose State beat Hawaii Friday night. "Well, it's a conference game so I am impartial but I usually don't stay up until 11:30 watching football games." Then we all started laughing.
While he would like a team like Montana or Montana State to break loose, it was made very, very clear to us that UNT and LaLa are who he is after, and he has a plan to get them during "realignment madness".
Let me tell you what else I am hearing about. The Big East is trying to get Temple in. A move Villanova is adamantly against. It's looking like Boise State, Air Force, Navy, Central Florida, Houston and SMU are going to get invites there. East Carolina and Temple are backup plans if Boise and AF decline (as expected). Navy is still on the fence but the other three will join in a heartbeat.
Conference USA's old TV deal required a championship game, but it's rather unclear how TV and the merger will affect that yet. If Boise and Air Force stay while Houston, SMU, UCF, and East Carolina go then that's an eighteen team league. If there's two nine team divisions in the league, they can basically play eight or nine (with a crossover game) conference games a year and have a championship game. I believe that is the direction Banowsky and Thompson are headed. Banowsky will take over the Big 12 after Neinas while the merged conference will stay under Thompson's leadership and eventually will be for all sports.
Oh yeah, this saved the WAC if you didn't notice. There are way too many teams to worry about now for some of these leagues. This also ensures an undefeated WAC team will get extremely favorable pub as a BCS buster if the situation ever arises. They'll be the ultimate underdog. At least we can stop worrying about if the conference is going to exist in 2012. I now think it's possible to get North Texas or La-La after reading all this crap and talking with Mr. Benson, and I am no sunshine pumper. The WAC is still a regional brand while the Sun Belt is about to be completely overshadowed by this new league. It's a good thing to join the weakest league in the country in 2012. I think Texas State might be able to win the Potato Bowl in 2013 and get some serious momentum for the future.
(3) Around the Top 25:
LSU 27, Auburn 10
Wisconsin 24, Michigan State 21
Stanford 35, Washington 28
Around the state:
Texas A&M 42, Iowa State 19
Oklahoma 55, Texas Tech 45
Houston 49, Marshall 24
Rice 26, Tulsa 24
SMU 34, Southern Miss 31
UTEP 29, Colorado State 27
TCU 41, New Mexico 7
LA-Monroe 33, North Texas 21
Around the WAC:
Utah State 31, LA Tech 20
Nevada 35, Fresno State 28
Hawaii 28, NM State 17
Monday, October 3, 2011
Three and Out - Week Six
(1) It looked like the mess we tried to stir up over Twitter with
Nicholls not packing the paddle might have worked. I can't take
complete credit but every little bit helps and I like to think we
contributed to the uproar. About 15,000 fans on Saturday asked, "Where's
our paddle?" as the final seconds bled off the game clock. The
specific oar in question was left in the Louisiana backwoods on
questionable grounds by the Colonel's athletic director. The Loud Crowd
packed a spare and several fans brought their own to the drubbing.
As far as the game went, I think Shaun Rutherford is getting the hang of this spread option, I was pleasantly surprised by the seven sacks by the Bobcat defense, and I really love blocked punts and extra points. The fake FG was completely unexpected, as Will Johnson has been so money on field goals this year. Shaun had four incompletions, three TD's, and one interception in twelve passing attempts.
In the past two games he's a combined 18-28 for an even 350 yards with seven touchdown and two interceptions. I don't share the warm fuzzies with the Bobcats' offense that I have for their defense, but I am done arguing about who the quarterback should be.
I wonder if Mike Sherman knew Michael Ebbitt was even on the roster at Texas A&M. Ebbitt had four of Texas State's seven sacks on Saturday and accounts for a third of the Bobcats season total to date. Fran (and new football Operations Director Mike Groce) recruited him once out of California and now a second time when they brought him over from College Station. He's been an unexpected bonus for Naivar's defense.
McNeese State, Texas State's next opponent, broke up a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to preserve a win at Northwestern, their seventh in a row against the Demons. Riley Dodge did not play for the Cowboys and he is questionable for this week's game versus the Bobcats. Dodge, the hard luck QB transfer from North Texas and former Southlake Carroll star, has seen way more than his share of injuries in his collegiate career. He's been sharing snaps with sophomore Cody Stroud and took a monster hit from a Southeastern defender the week before.
(2) I'm not much of a Cowboys fan, or an Aggie fan either. Either way, I saw two of the biggest second half collapses I can remember over the weekend. I haven't seen a pro team choke a lead away since I was a teenager and Frank Reich led the Bills back over the Oilers. At 27-3, I was ready to leave the bar and go home.
I had the canine side of my family in town to go watch the game versus Arkansas at Jerryworld, so I went to wait for them at a nearby bar and thought it was over at 35-17. Well, the bar had the official Razorback watching party going on and not even 628 yards of offense by the Ags shut them up or held their team down. I thought it would be funny to have the contingent that went to the game meet me there. They were not amused when the red-clad Hog fans started chanting "S-E-C! S-E-C!" at them upon their entrance. I'll remember that for next time.
Speaking of Aggies and conference realignment, this is what I've been hearing lately. Texas wants to go to ten, the Oklahoma schools want to go to 12, and Big 12 interim commish Chuck Neinas is pushing to expand and solidify now. He'll probably win. The candidates look to be BYU, Louisville, and in a major surprise, the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University. My source was at their loss to SMU Saturday. Missouri is not expected to bolt by many people. Their blood feud with Kansas (the "Border War") as a conference rivalry is too important to leave behind and they are satisfied with the new deal to equally share first and second tier TV money in the Big 12.
What does this mean for Texas State? I'll try to be brief in breaking this down.
The Big East needs more teams than just throwing in Temple. Look for them to raid C-USA and possibly the MAC to replenish their ranks. The resulting chaos will cause C-USA to come after the Sunbelt, the WAC, or possibly the MWC. All cards are on the table at this point as the MWC will probably try for 12 and a title game in an arms match with C-USA. C-USA will almost certainly win, by the way, because they'll have Neinas' support and their commissioner will be next in line for the Big 12 job. Keep in mind the Sun Belt will probably be hit to replace Temple by a school like Western Kentucky by the MAC. There's going to be holes to fill everywhere and it looks like matters are going to be driven by market size. One last thing to keep in mind is that Texas State needs the WAC more than it needs them; which is an incredible fact considering the circumstances. I don't think the conference is going to get nailed as hard as some other people do.
I have it on pretty good authority that they're all in this together for now, but the Bobcats' neighbors to the south are much more aggressive regarding their future home. Both schools have applied informally to C-USA, the MWC, and the Sun Belt. I found out this morning that UTSA was one of the 20 that applied to the Big 12. In the meantime, let's just hope everyone at the non-AQ level doesn't get crazy and start building mega-leagues. I don't care what you read, C-USA isn't going to disappear and I doubt the Big East will either. Texas State needs the WAC to be operational for June 2012 or the Bobcats have no guarantees of joining an FBS league.
(3)Around the Top 25:
Oklahoma 31, Texas 21
LSU 24, Florida 7
Arkansas 44, Auburn 34
Around the state:
Rice 34, Memphis 0
Texas Tech 45, Texas A&M 42
Baylor 31, Iowa State 10
San Diego State 28, TCU 24
Florida Atlantic 16, North Texas 10
Houston 37, East Carolina 33
Around the WAC:
Boise State 48, Fresno State 20
UNLV 24, Nevada 13
LA Tech 21, Idaho 17
Utah State 25, Wyoming 24
BYU 44, San Jose State 15
As far as the game went, I think Shaun Rutherford is getting the hang of this spread option, I was pleasantly surprised by the seven sacks by the Bobcat defense, and I really love blocked punts and extra points. The fake FG was completely unexpected, as Will Johnson has been so money on field goals this year. Shaun had four incompletions, three TD's, and one interception in twelve passing attempts.
In the past two games he's a combined 18-28 for an even 350 yards with seven touchdown and two interceptions. I don't share the warm fuzzies with the Bobcats' offense that I have for their defense, but I am done arguing about who the quarterback should be.
I wonder if Mike Sherman knew Michael Ebbitt was even on the roster at Texas A&M. Ebbitt had four of Texas State's seven sacks on Saturday and accounts for a third of the Bobcats season total to date. Fran (and new football Operations Director Mike Groce) recruited him once out of California and now a second time when they brought him over from College Station. He's been an unexpected bonus for Naivar's defense.
McNeese State, Texas State's next opponent, broke up a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to preserve a win at Northwestern, their seventh in a row against the Demons. Riley Dodge did not play for the Cowboys and he is questionable for this week's game versus the Bobcats. Dodge, the hard luck QB transfer from North Texas and former Southlake Carroll star, has seen way more than his share of injuries in his collegiate career. He's been sharing snaps with sophomore Cody Stroud and took a monster hit from a Southeastern defender the week before.
(2) I'm not much of a Cowboys fan, or an Aggie fan either. Either way, I saw two of the biggest second half collapses I can remember over the weekend. I haven't seen a pro team choke a lead away since I was a teenager and Frank Reich led the Bills back over the Oilers. At 27-3, I was ready to leave the bar and go home.
I had the canine side of my family in town to go watch the game versus Arkansas at Jerryworld, so I went to wait for them at a nearby bar and thought it was over at 35-17. Well, the bar had the official Razorback watching party going on and not even 628 yards of offense by the Ags shut them up or held their team down. I thought it would be funny to have the contingent that went to the game meet me there. They were not amused when the red-clad Hog fans started chanting "S-E-C! S-E-C!" at them upon their entrance. I'll remember that for next time.
Speaking of Aggies and conference realignment, this is what I've been hearing lately. Texas wants to go to ten, the Oklahoma schools want to go to 12, and Big 12 interim commish Chuck Neinas is pushing to expand and solidify now. He'll probably win. The candidates look to be BYU, Louisville, and in a major surprise, the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University. My source was at their loss to SMU Saturday. Missouri is not expected to bolt by many people. Their blood feud with Kansas (the "Border War") as a conference rivalry is too important to leave behind and they are satisfied with the new deal to equally share first and second tier TV money in the Big 12.
What does this mean for Texas State? I'll try to be brief in breaking this down.
The Big East needs more teams than just throwing in Temple. Look for them to raid C-USA and possibly the MAC to replenish their ranks. The resulting chaos will cause C-USA to come after the Sunbelt, the WAC, or possibly the MWC. All cards are on the table at this point as the MWC will probably try for 12 and a title game in an arms match with C-USA. C-USA will almost certainly win, by the way, because they'll have Neinas' support and their commissioner will be next in line for the Big 12 job. Keep in mind the Sun Belt will probably be hit to replace Temple by a school like Western Kentucky by the MAC. There's going to be holes to fill everywhere and it looks like matters are going to be driven by market size. One last thing to keep in mind is that Texas State needs the WAC more than it needs them; which is an incredible fact considering the circumstances. I don't think the conference is going to get nailed as hard as some other people do.
I have it on pretty good authority that they're all in this together for now, but the Bobcats' neighbors to the south are much more aggressive regarding their future home. Both schools have applied informally to C-USA, the MWC, and the Sun Belt. I found out this morning that UTSA was one of the 20 that applied to the Big 12. In the meantime, let's just hope everyone at the non-AQ level doesn't get crazy and start building mega-leagues. I don't care what you read, C-USA isn't going to disappear and I doubt the Big East will either. Texas State needs the WAC to be operational for June 2012 or the Bobcats have no guarantees of joining an FBS league.
(3)Around the Top 25:
Oklahoma 31, Texas 21
LSU 24, Florida 7
Arkansas 44, Auburn 34
Around the state:
Rice 34, Memphis 0
Texas Tech 45, Texas A&M 42
Baylor 31, Iowa State 10
San Diego State 28, TCU 24
Florida Atlantic 16, North Texas 10
Houston 37, East Carolina 33
Around the WAC:
Boise State 48, Fresno State 20
UNLV 24, Nevada 13
LA Tech 21, Idaho 17
Utah State 25, Wyoming 24
BYU 44, San Jose State 15
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