(1) Greetings and salutations from Jacksonville, Arkansas. I was
unable to attend the game this weekend due to work obligations but I've
talked to our staff and others in the know about it. From what I was
told, despite the hype from Saturday, neither Shaun Rutherford nor Tyler
Arndt knows who is going to be the starter against UCA. There is going
to be more plays in Arndt's packages that are more suited to his
abilities from this point forward. Don't be surprised if there's some
missing assignments, bad routes, or miscommunication in Conway if
Arndt's playing under center.
Even if Arndt becomes a monster and
forces his way into becoming the starter somehow, Shaun Rutherford is
not expected to see time at wideout or in the return game the next two
contests. For this season he is a quarterback.
Despite Sam
Houston's ranking and undefeated record, as well as UCA's winning season
so far this year, these games are both considered winnable and the team
is being challenged to close out the season on a three game win streak.
These aren't games to test out Arndt's abilities, Rutherford's
development, or see how the team faces adversity. It's been determined
that the Bobcats need to focus and play a complete sixty minutes,
something they haven't accomplished yet this season. If and when they
do, the feeling is that they can beat both the Bears and the Bearkats to
close out FCS play in style.
(2) Missouri is gone to the
SEC and if you haven't noticed, the proposed merger of CUSA and MWC for
football hasn't gone through. I was told early this morning that perhaps
it wasn't going to happen, as the MWC has received around twenty
applications for membership and CUSA is in the process of identifying
potential new schools. I was told that both Texas State and UTSA have
applied to each by three separate sources. The Sun Belt remains a
possibility if they are hit hard by a CUSA/MWC raid but I was told Texas
State would prefer a depleted WAC over the Sun Belt.
Speaking
of the WAC, Air Force hasn't made their mind up about leaving the MWC
with Boise. The commissioners of the MWC and CUSA will meet in Colorado
Springs today and tomorrow. SDSU has spoken up about being a Western
partner for the Big East with the Broncos but the league isn't very
interested. If Boise winds up being the only MWC team to leave, it's
looking like Memphis will be asked to join the Big East along with
Houston, SMU, and UCF. This will drop CUSA to 8 football teams - the
MWC will have nine. The WAC will have seven and is already in the
regional footprint of the MWC. Could the band get back together, ie the
16-team WAC from the late nineties? It's doubtful, but it's being
discussed.
Finally, something I was told about a week ago and
just now got permission to share as it may out someone that doesn't
want to be identified. UTSA's Hickey and Romo get a lot of praise for
being proactive and media-friendly toward their aggression promoting the
university, especially in the matter of realignment. Texas State is
perceived as weaker and not as hardcore about finding a potential home.
That's not the case at all. Texas State is happy with the 7/10 WAC and
supports Karl Benson in his quest to find two more football schools,
and if the Sun Belt is fleeced by CUSA, Texas State believes he can
bring Louisiana-Lafayette and North Texas into the fold. If the WAC
gets raided, it's believed that Franchione is an advocate of playing in a
depleted conference to build his program off of and the administration
will use having a solid bowl-eligible team as reasoning behind deserving
a future invite or to serve as a Texas-centric league. In the
meantime, their advocate is working behind the scenes to make sure Texas
State has a chair if the WAC's music does indeed stop playing. They
don't believe this will happen.
(3) Around the Top 25:
Stanford 42, Oregon 37
Georgia Tech 31, Virginia Tech 27
Nebraska 25, Penn State 21
Georgia 38, Auburn 28
Around the state:
Texas 35, Mizzou 27
Oklahoma State 51, Texas Tech 31
Baylor 49, Kansas 12
Kansas State 38, Texas A&M 35
Houston 63, Tulane 14
Northwestern 27, Rice 19
SMU 45, Navy 42
East Carolina 48, UTEP 24
Boise State 48, TCU 31
Troy 21, North Texas 13
Around the WAC:
Utah State 34, San Jose State 24
LA Tech 28, Ole Miss 25
Fresno State 34, New Mexico State 27
BYU 28, Idaho 24
Hawaii 38, Nevada 28
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Three and Out - Week Nine
(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
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
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
Monday, September 19, 2011
Three and Out - Week Four
(1) I decided on Friday night to make it down for the Texas State
home opener against Tarleton State. If you weren't there or in the
area, I doubt you can understand the shock most of us had when a 90
minute thunderstorm caused over half of the tailgaters to leave and
still have 15,800 in attendance. It didn't break the record of 16,000
set in 1982 versus Angelo State (edit: game in 1981 versus Texas A&M
- Kingsville also had higher attendance, then known as Texas A&I)
but it was very impressive to see an almost full stadium in person.
The game? Well, after seeing two games streamed over the internet it was just nice to be able to watch them play in person. There were a couple spectacular plays and a lot of mistakes. I can see the progress being made and I wish I could answer the quarterback question for everyone. I was very, very surprised to see Tyler Arndt not take even a single snap. Shaun Rutherford's stats passing were 11-22 for 106 yards. Over half of that was on two receptions to TE Kyle Doll. In person, I think I understand why Rutherford is starting. The way this spread option is run the QB has to carry the ball at least 10 times a game. There will be times that number pops up to 20 if the defense starts keying in on the tailback.
Texas State's going to be one dimensional on offense and people are going to have to learn to live with that. There are times where this can be incredibly effective but it will look terrible against big, athletic front sevens until Texas State gets the size to counter that. I think a lot of games with 100 yards of passing are in the future.
I was scared of what the defense was going to look like in person after they gave up over 1100 yards their first two games. Tarleton couldn't run to save their lives against the front seven. On the other hand, the secondary looks vulnerable and that's not good with SFA up next. The Jacks got torched by Baylor in a lightning shortened game in Waco last week but Brady Attaway will probably throw 50 times this week. He's not Jeremy Moses but he's capable and deadly accurate if he gets time behind the line. I think Texas State can get pressure on him but don't be surprised if this game we see 350 yards passing out of SFA.
We live-tweeted and ran a game thread this week sitting in the press box. This might have to be a necessity in the future as we were given stat updates and drive summaries. I hope you guys followed @bobcatreport this Saturday if you weren't there. We were almost able to do play by play tweeting. I found it to be a nice little feature and I'd like to think it was well received.
(2) Information is loosening up regarding some of the intentions of the WAC over the next year and I'm surprised at what's going on. It looks for right now that the conference plans to only invite Cal State Bakersfield (CSUB) and Dallas Baptist (DBU) as baseball-only affiliates for the 2013 year. They will go forward as associate members, much like Sacramento State (Sac State) is currently in baseball.
It's interesting to view what the three schools have to offer. Dallas Baptist has a school record 5500 enrollees this fall but the rest of their sports outside of baseball draw very few fans and struggle at the Division II level. Sacramento State would be a home run as a full member of the WAC, as the Hornets play football in a 22,000 seat stadium in proximity to current member San Jose State. They for now have chosen to keep their gridiron team in the FCS-playing Big Sky. CSUB would love to have a full-time home in the WAC, but lack of football and other considerations prevented their membership.
I think CSUB will work toward full membership in the future and DBU will enjoy being a powerhouse in baseball with a permanent home in the WAC. I don't see them enjoying full membership with the prior addition of UT Arlington less than 25 miles away. Both teams are outstanding additions to the WAC and lead me to believe we might see some other affiliate members in the future for other sports.
The question was asked in the War Room about Texas State talking to other conferences. I know first hand how happy the school is with full WAC membership and all of their plans point toward that. However, I've been told by a media member here in DFW that pretty much every school in the country at the FBS non-AQ level has talked things over with other conferences gauging interest. Texas State's response has been that they want to stay with the WAC long term and they support the long term goals and vision of the conference leadership. However, if that is compromised, they would be willing to have further discussions with two of the three leagues within their footprint. Those two leagues are Conference USA and the Mountain West. Let me repeat - Texas State wants to be in the WAC and for the league to be successful. They find it the best place to grow into an FBS level power if they can, and they like what the league is doing to sustain itself. The goals of the membership match their own and their long-term budgeting is for play in the Western Athletic Conference. However, if league integrity is compromised, they are not going to play as an FBS independent.
As for other matters around college football like the ACC picking up Pitt and Syracuse, no non-AQs have been poached yet. It's ludicrous to think that Texas State is a huge get for anyone as a transitional unless another non-AQ league's desperate for another school in Texas. That could happen but it's far too early to speculate much further. Rest assured that Texas State is OK if the poop hits the fan at the lowest level of FBS.
(3) Around the top 25:
Texas A&M 35, Oklahoma State 31
Alabama 27, Arkansas 17
Clemson 30, Florida State 16
LSU 21, West Virginia 20
Baylor 28, Rice 24
Around the state:
SMU 44, Memphis 6
TCU 51, Portland State 3
South Florida 41, UTEP 27
Texas Tech 44, Nevada 13
Houston 56, Georgia State 19
Around the WAC:
UTSA 31, Bacone College 10
New Mexico State 24, San Jose State 19
Fresno State 36, Idaho 21
Mississippi State 47, Louisiana Tech 17
Utah State 25, Colorado State 17
Hawaii 44, UC-Davis 13
The game? Well, after seeing two games streamed over the internet it was just nice to be able to watch them play in person. There were a couple spectacular plays and a lot of mistakes. I can see the progress being made and I wish I could answer the quarterback question for everyone. I was very, very surprised to see Tyler Arndt not take even a single snap. Shaun Rutherford's stats passing were 11-22 for 106 yards. Over half of that was on two receptions to TE Kyle Doll. In person, I think I understand why Rutherford is starting. The way this spread option is run the QB has to carry the ball at least 10 times a game. There will be times that number pops up to 20 if the defense starts keying in on the tailback.
Texas State's going to be one dimensional on offense and people are going to have to learn to live with that. There are times where this can be incredibly effective but it will look terrible against big, athletic front sevens until Texas State gets the size to counter that. I think a lot of games with 100 yards of passing are in the future.
I was scared of what the defense was going to look like in person after they gave up over 1100 yards their first two games. Tarleton couldn't run to save their lives against the front seven. On the other hand, the secondary looks vulnerable and that's not good with SFA up next. The Jacks got torched by Baylor in a lightning shortened game in Waco last week but Brady Attaway will probably throw 50 times this week. He's not Jeremy Moses but he's capable and deadly accurate if he gets time behind the line. I think Texas State can get pressure on him but don't be surprised if this game we see 350 yards passing out of SFA.
We live-tweeted and ran a game thread this week sitting in the press box. This might have to be a necessity in the future as we were given stat updates and drive summaries. I hope you guys followed @bobcatreport this Saturday if you weren't there. We were almost able to do play by play tweeting. I found it to be a nice little feature and I'd like to think it was well received.
(2) Information is loosening up regarding some of the intentions of the WAC over the next year and I'm surprised at what's going on. It looks for right now that the conference plans to only invite Cal State Bakersfield (CSUB) and Dallas Baptist (DBU) as baseball-only affiliates for the 2013 year. They will go forward as associate members, much like Sacramento State (Sac State) is currently in baseball.
It's interesting to view what the three schools have to offer. Dallas Baptist has a school record 5500 enrollees this fall but the rest of their sports outside of baseball draw very few fans and struggle at the Division II level. Sacramento State would be a home run as a full member of the WAC, as the Hornets play football in a 22,000 seat stadium in proximity to current member San Jose State. They for now have chosen to keep their gridiron team in the FCS-playing Big Sky. CSUB would love to have a full-time home in the WAC, but lack of football and other considerations prevented their membership.
I think CSUB will work toward full membership in the future and DBU will enjoy being a powerhouse in baseball with a permanent home in the WAC. I don't see them enjoying full membership with the prior addition of UT Arlington less than 25 miles away. Both teams are outstanding additions to the WAC and lead me to believe we might see some other affiliate members in the future for other sports.
The question was asked in the War Room about Texas State talking to other conferences. I know first hand how happy the school is with full WAC membership and all of their plans point toward that. However, I've been told by a media member here in DFW that pretty much every school in the country at the FBS non-AQ level has talked things over with other conferences gauging interest. Texas State's response has been that they want to stay with the WAC long term and they support the long term goals and vision of the conference leadership. However, if that is compromised, they would be willing to have further discussions with two of the three leagues within their footprint. Those two leagues are Conference USA and the Mountain West. Let me repeat - Texas State wants to be in the WAC and for the league to be successful. They find it the best place to grow into an FBS level power if they can, and they like what the league is doing to sustain itself. The goals of the membership match their own and their long-term budgeting is for play in the Western Athletic Conference. However, if league integrity is compromised, they are not going to play as an FBS independent.
As for other matters around college football like the ACC picking up Pitt and Syracuse, no non-AQs have been poached yet. It's ludicrous to think that Texas State is a huge get for anyone as a transitional unless another non-AQ league's desperate for another school in Texas. That could happen but it's far too early to speculate much further. Rest assured that Texas State is OK if the poop hits the fan at the lowest level of FBS.
(3) Around the top 25:
Texas A&M 35, Oklahoma State 31
Alabama 27, Arkansas 17
Clemson 30, Florida State 16
LSU 21, West Virginia 20
Baylor 28, Rice 24
Around the state:
SMU 44, Memphis 6
TCU 51, Portland State 3
South Florida 41, UTEP 27
Texas Tech 44, Nevada 13
Houston 56, Georgia State 19
Around the WAC:
UTSA 31, Bacone College 10
New Mexico State 24, San Jose State 19
Fresno State 36, Idaho 21
Mississippi State 47, Louisiana Tech 17
Utah State 25, Colorado State 17
Hawaii 44, UC-Davis 13
Monday, September 12, 2011
Three and Out - Week Three
(1) I'm not going to talk much about Texas State's lack of
leadership at QB or non-existent passing game. We've beaten that to
death. What we're looking at now is a team that's been outscored 95-20
with the same caliber of opponent they open up with next year. Granted,
Texas Tech will be at home, but the Bobcats return to Houston, the site
of a 68-28 flogging in 2010. I'm inclined to believe that leading Tech
at the half and only trailing the Cowboys 17-10 is a sign of things to
come for next season. As it stands however, Texas State is 0-2 as an
FCS transitional independent - the only one of the four without a win.
Is that more a showing of the Wright regime leaving a bare cupboard or
Franchione's guys not adjusting to the talent they have?
I think it's the former for one big reason - Travis Bush only took Eric Soza with him to UTSA. If there were more diamonds in the rough they would have jumped at the chance to go play in the Dome and help build a program under their offensive coordinator rather than adjust to a new set of coaches starting from scratch. Think about that. Only one kid followed one of the guys that recruited him to a program with a tremendous amount of scholarships available when there's massive upheaval in the team's future. I wouldn’t have believed the current Texas State depth chart if you showed it to me in the spring, but I don't want to call this a rebuilding season. There's a good chance the talent accumulated by Brad Wright just can't run the different schemes being taught by Dickey and Naivar. The coaches might just have to get by on wits, duct tape, and using the guys they brought in themselves earlier than they may have hoped.
I am in the camp that doesn't believe Tyler Arndt is Maroon Jesus. I think he's a fine quarterback and a good athlete. I also think there's a very specific type of signal caller needed to run this offense effectively, and he's coming in the next recruiting class. It would be very nice if Fred Nixon could enroll in the spring of 2012 because I am of the opinion that Fran knows what he has right now and is trying to make the best of it. That said, Arndt is a competitor - same as Shaun Rutherford. Maybe Rutherford's better suited for the position as an athlete, or perhaps Arndt doesn't grasp matters effortlessly yet in the scheme. I don't know. Teams have been successful platooning at QB but you don't see many. One of them was the TCU teams of 1999 and 2000, featuring Casey Printers and Patrick Batteaux. Battaeux couldn't pass and Printers was slightly mobile at best. They went 18-5 and got Fran hired at Alabama.
I'd follow recruiting closer than ever this season to see what's really more important - getting it done on the field in 2011 or loading up for big time football in 2012. There's a lot of football left this season and I'm not going to let two stink bombs that once were winnable games get in the way of being excited over the rest of the season. Every Franchione team has been better year two than year one all the way back from NAIA Southwestern. This should be no different. There's a very winnable game against 0-2 Tarleton State at Bobcat Stadium this Saturday. It's a good tonic to a group of young men that have given their all away from home the last two weeks.
Just like you, I want to see the tables turned on one of these "body bag" games. My mistake was setting up my expectations too high and way too early. UTSA lost to D3 McMurry on the Longhorn Network. Texas State lost to Wyoming on the Mtn. I'm happier than they are.
(2) Texas State's former conference mate Central Arkansas gave Louisiana Tech all they could handle, taking the Bulldogs to OT before falling 48-42. Looking at the schedule, it's the last game of the Bears regular season and the final roadie for the Bobcats. I'm not looking forward to that game, knowing it's their finale on the funky striped turf. By the way, Texas State is an FCS independent, meaning no wins or losses to the Bobcats by the SLC's membership will count in the standings.
Huge congrats to New Mexico State, who traveled to Minneapolis and knocked off the Gophers for their first win ever against a Big 10 team. Lost in the news about Jerry Kill's seizure was beleaguered NMSU head coach Dewayne Walker is a former Minnesota player. That's got to be a sobering moment.
LA Tech's got Houston at home this week, and Idaho travels to College Station to visit the Aggies. UTEP is headed to Las Cruces to take on another set of Aggies, while the Aggies from Utah State are off. Nevada took a pummeling from Oregon last week and hopes to right the ship versus San Jose State, who's been outscored 84-20 against two straight Pac-12 teams. So...
(3) Top 25:
LSU 38, Mississippi State 28
Florida State 31, Oklahoma 24
Around the state:
TCU 51, LA-Monroe 6
UCLA 17, Texas 14
Texas A&M 48, Idaho 3
Baylor 41, Stephen F. Austin 14
Houston 38, LA Tech 24
UTEP 28, New Mexico State 13
Texas Tech 41, New Mexico 27
Alabama 66, North Texas 6
Southern Utah 49, UTSA 7
Around the WAC: (many were listed already)
Nevada 27, San Jose State 14
Fresno State 45, North Dakota 10
Hawaii 27, UNLV 10
I think it's the former for one big reason - Travis Bush only took Eric Soza with him to UTSA. If there were more diamonds in the rough they would have jumped at the chance to go play in the Dome and help build a program under their offensive coordinator rather than adjust to a new set of coaches starting from scratch. Think about that. Only one kid followed one of the guys that recruited him to a program with a tremendous amount of scholarships available when there's massive upheaval in the team's future. I wouldn’t have believed the current Texas State depth chart if you showed it to me in the spring, but I don't want to call this a rebuilding season. There's a good chance the talent accumulated by Brad Wright just can't run the different schemes being taught by Dickey and Naivar. The coaches might just have to get by on wits, duct tape, and using the guys they brought in themselves earlier than they may have hoped.
I am in the camp that doesn't believe Tyler Arndt is Maroon Jesus. I think he's a fine quarterback and a good athlete. I also think there's a very specific type of signal caller needed to run this offense effectively, and he's coming in the next recruiting class. It would be very nice if Fred Nixon could enroll in the spring of 2012 because I am of the opinion that Fran knows what he has right now and is trying to make the best of it. That said, Arndt is a competitor - same as Shaun Rutherford. Maybe Rutherford's better suited for the position as an athlete, or perhaps Arndt doesn't grasp matters effortlessly yet in the scheme. I don't know. Teams have been successful platooning at QB but you don't see many. One of them was the TCU teams of 1999 and 2000, featuring Casey Printers and Patrick Batteaux. Battaeux couldn't pass and Printers was slightly mobile at best. They went 18-5 and got Fran hired at Alabama.
I'd follow recruiting closer than ever this season to see what's really more important - getting it done on the field in 2011 or loading up for big time football in 2012. There's a lot of football left this season and I'm not going to let two stink bombs that once were winnable games get in the way of being excited over the rest of the season. Every Franchione team has been better year two than year one all the way back from NAIA Southwestern. This should be no different. There's a very winnable game against 0-2 Tarleton State at Bobcat Stadium this Saturday. It's a good tonic to a group of young men that have given their all away from home the last two weeks.
Just like you, I want to see the tables turned on one of these "body bag" games. My mistake was setting up my expectations too high and way too early. UTSA lost to D3 McMurry on the Longhorn Network. Texas State lost to Wyoming on the Mtn. I'm happier than they are.
(2) Texas State's former conference mate Central Arkansas gave Louisiana Tech all they could handle, taking the Bulldogs to OT before falling 48-42. Looking at the schedule, it's the last game of the Bears regular season and the final roadie for the Bobcats. I'm not looking forward to that game, knowing it's their finale on the funky striped turf. By the way, Texas State is an FCS independent, meaning no wins or losses to the Bobcats by the SLC's membership will count in the standings.
Huge congrats to New Mexico State, who traveled to Minneapolis and knocked off the Gophers for their first win ever against a Big 10 team. Lost in the news about Jerry Kill's seizure was beleaguered NMSU head coach Dewayne Walker is a former Minnesota player. That's got to be a sobering moment.
LA Tech's got Houston at home this week, and Idaho travels to College Station to visit the Aggies. UTEP is headed to Las Cruces to take on another set of Aggies, while the Aggies from Utah State are off. Nevada took a pummeling from Oregon last week and hopes to right the ship versus San Jose State, who's been outscored 84-20 against two straight Pac-12 teams. So...
(3) Top 25:
LSU 38, Mississippi State 28
Florida State 31, Oklahoma 24
Around the state:
TCU 51, LA-Monroe 6
UCLA 17, Texas 14
Texas A&M 48, Idaho 3
Baylor 41, Stephen F. Austin 14
Houston 38, LA Tech 24
UTEP 28, New Mexico State 13
Texas Tech 41, New Mexico 27
Alabama 66, North Texas 6
Southern Utah 49, UTSA 7
Around the WAC: (many were listed already)
Nevada 27, San Jose State 14
Fresno State 45, North Dakota 10
Hawaii 27, UNLV 10
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Three and Out - Week Two
(1) Due to some weird circumstances beyond my control, I've been
in San Antonio since last Monday. That did allow me to attend the UTSA
inaugural game at the Alamodome and check out things, and I've
completely changed my tune about that program. There were more people
there than Tech drew for Texas State.
The on the field product didn't impress me too much. If I had to pick three future stars for them they'd be Sophomore QB Eric Soza, Sophomore LB Steven Kurfels, and Junior DE Marlon Smith. Freshman Nic Johnston at Safety made a lot of stops, but that was due to running plays getting to the next level and some pass completions that should have been broken up. Another guy that will get some headlines this year was Kurfels' counterpart at LB, Brandon Reeves. He had a whale of a game but isn't a great athlete.
The Runner offense is terrible. They can't run the ball and their offensive line is a glaring weakness. Soza looked good but he doesn't have a go-to guy yet. He threw for over 230 yards, but at least 150 of that were blown a result of a blown coverage or a dump-off pass that went for a big gain. I did like one of their wide-outs, a kid from Edna named Kam Jones, who has some potential. I will say that Soza could have run the Bobcat offense better than Rutherford or Arndt did in Lubbock after watching both games. More on that later.
The game day experience was incredible. I counted 38 different UTSA shirts and most of them were graphically sharp. The merchandise selection on site was excellent and every Academy in town was virtually depleted of shirts and hats over the last week. I can't tell you how many times I saw someone buy clothing and put it on as soon as they got out of line. Speaking of lines, Runner fans better get used to them. The lines for concessions were long and stayed that way the entire game. The ticket lines at kickoff outside - and they have 32 windows - were twenty deep at the minimum. This is a walkup town and the tailgating - dear God. You can put me on record that this was the best tailgating experience I have ever been to. Everyone was very, very inviting to the Rivals guy and liberally distributed food and adult beverages. I wanted to meet the UTSATailgaters.com crew but they were on the other side of the Dome from where I parked. I wandered from random tailgate to tailgate talking to people and was duly impressed.
My favorite part(s) of the game was when Soza waved for everyone to quiet down and they thought he was gesturing to make noise. He was visually frustrated and word spread quickly through the stadium that his motions meant to "shut up". Later in the game NSU was driving and the UTSA defensive backs all started jumping in the air and flailing their arms. Virtually the entire body of attendance stood up, started yelling, and proceeded to bang on the back of the chair in front of them. It was so loud the NSU QB called for a timeout. Immediately afterward everyone there started cheering, hugging, and high-fiving each other for what they'd done. They realized they can make a difference.
This is a party town so the cops will have their hands full, but it's a Fiesta every Saturday in the fall for San Antonio. The uniforms, field, band, and mascot look sharp; the fans are having fun; and I think UTSA could be a sleeping giant. I'm talking BCS level and UTSA approached this game as such. I've been to the Alamo Bowl a couple of times and one of the Saints games after Katrina; this by far was louder, rowdier, and a heck of a lot more fun. I think there were some logistical issues that need to be addressed but the town is drinking Lynn Hickey's Kool-Aid. It is extremely trendy to wear UTSA apparel in San Antonio right now and I bet 80% or more of these guys are coming back this Saturday.
The Runners have an interesting next game against the original inventor of the Air Raid passing attack. Hal Mumme, formerly of New Mexico State and Kentucky, leads Division III McMurry into the Alamodome. He turned an 0-10 team into a 6-4 2011 performer. I think UTSA will win but I wouldn't be surprised to see that young secondary of theirs get burned several times by an experienced unit marshaled by a savvy old coach that's seen big hostile stadiums before.
To end my UTSA lovefest - I can't wait for the Texas State game in 2012 at the Alamodome. It'll sell out and the partying will be epic.
(2) Texas State led Texas Tech at halftime this week. That really happened. I didn't go to the game but I dumped ten bucks on RaiderVision and viewed it online. I'll throw this out there - either Shaun Rutherford needs to learn to throw or Tyler Arndt needs to learn how to run. If I was coaching Wyoming, I would know the tendency just by which guy was on the field. The Bobcats cannot go an entire season operating with two different signal callers.
I know there's a remarkable difference between playing a BCS team and a Division 2 squad, but Soza would own this offense if he had stuck around. He's a playmaker. I now know why Travis Bush took Soza with him, and it's a shame the previous regime never utilized the young man. He's got the wheels to run the spread option properly, can make most of the throws, and has a little bit of moxie in him.
As for the game, what can you say about leading 10-0 in the first quarter and then giving up 50 unanswered points? Four turnovers, 11 penalties, and 75 yards passing on 21 attempts isn't going to beat Lamar let alone Texas Tech. I could absolutely fall in love with the ground game if the Bobcats could even throw for 150 per contest. Four fumbles looks like a lot on 50 running plays, too. There's a lot of room for improvement obviously, and Weber State hung with Wyoming on Saturday. Let's just hope the team took their lumps, learned some lessons, and can apply it toward beating an FBS team that had to come from behind with twenty seconds left to beat an inferior opponent. Weber ran the ball down Wyoming's throat but was able to throw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys gave up 541 offensive yards to the Wildcats.
(3) Other predictions for Week Two:
Top 25 matchups:
Mississippi State 51, Auburn 42
South Carolina 35, Georgia 21
Around the state:
SMU 31, UTEP 24
TCU 37, Air Force 28
Texas 24, BYU 21
Houston 40, North Texas 14
Rice (go Bailiff!) 21, Purdue 18
UTSA 45, McMurry 33
Around the WAC:
Minnesota 51, New Mexico State 24
Hawaii 27, Washington 25
Oregon 42, Nevada 31
Nebraska 38, Fresno State 17
Idaho 21, North Dakota 15
Louisiana Tech 38, Central Arkansas 13
Utah State 55, Weber State 27
UCLA 63, San Jose State 10
The on the field product didn't impress me too much. If I had to pick three future stars for them they'd be Sophomore QB Eric Soza, Sophomore LB Steven Kurfels, and Junior DE Marlon Smith. Freshman Nic Johnston at Safety made a lot of stops, but that was due to running plays getting to the next level and some pass completions that should have been broken up. Another guy that will get some headlines this year was Kurfels' counterpart at LB, Brandon Reeves. He had a whale of a game but isn't a great athlete.
The Runner offense is terrible. They can't run the ball and their offensive line is a glaring weakness. Soza looked good but he doesn't have a go-to guy yet. He threw for over 230 yards, but at least 150 of that were blown a result of a blown coverage or a dump-off pass that went for a big gain. I did like one of their wide-outs, a kid from Edna named Kam Jones, who has some potential. I will say that Soza could have run the Bobcat offense better than Rutherford or Arndt did in Lubbock after watching both games. More on that later.
The game day experience was incredible. I counted 38 different UTSA shirts and most of them were graphically sharp. The merchandise selection on site was excellent and every Academy in town was virtually depleted of shirts and hats over the last week. I can't tell you how many times I saw someone buy clothing and put it on as soon as they got out of line. Speaking of lines, Runner fans better get used to them. The lines for concessions were long and stayed that way the entire game. The ticket lines at kickoff outside - and they have 32 windows - were twenty deep at the minimum. This is a walkup town and the tailgating - dear God. You can put me on record that this was the best tailgating experience I have ever been to. Everyone was very, very inviting to the Rivals guy and liberally distributed food and adult beverages. I wanted to meet the UTSATailgaters.com crew but they were on the other side of the Dome from where I parked. I wandered from random tailgate to tailgate talking to people and was duly impressed.
My favorite part(s) of the game was when Soza waved for everyone to quiet down and they thought he was gesturing to make noise. He was visually frustrated and word spread quickly through the stadium that his motions meant to "shut up". Later in the game NSU was driving and the UTSA defensive backs all started jumping in the air and flailing their arms. Virtually the entire body of attendance stood up, started yelling, and proceeded to bang on the back of the chair in front of them. It was so loud the NSU QB called for a timeout. Immediately afterward everyone there started cheering, hugging, and high-fiving each other for what they'd done. They realized they can make a difference.
This is a party town so the cops will have their hands full, but it's a Fiesta every Saturday in the fall for San Antonio. The uniforms, field, band, and mascot look sharp; the fans are having fun; and I think UTSA could be a sleeping giant. I'm talking BCS level and UTSA approached this game as such. I've been to the Alamo Bowl a couple of times and one of the Saints games after Katrina; this by far was louder, rowdier, and a heck of a lot more fun. I think there were some logistical issues that need to be addressed but the town is drinking Lynn Hickey's Kool-Aid. It is extremely trendy to wear UTSA apparel in San Antonio right now and I bet 80% or more of these guys are coming back this Saturday.
The Runners have an interesting next game against the original inventor of the Air Raid passing attack. Hal Mumme, formerly of New Mexico State and Kentucky, leads Division III McMurry into the Alamodome. He turned an 0-10 team into a 6-4 2011 performer. I think UTSA will win but I wouldn't be surprised to see that young secondary of theirs get burned several times by an experienced unit marshaled by a savvy old coach that's seen big hostile stadiums before.
To end my UTSA lovefest - I can't wait for the Texas State game in 2012 at the Alamodome. It'll sell out and the partying will be epic.
(2) Texas State led Texas Tech at halftime this week. That really happened. I didn't go to the game but I dumped ten bucks on RaiderVision and viewed it online. I'll throw this out there - either Shaun Rutherford needs to learn to throw or Tyler Arndt needs to learn how to run. If I was coaching Wyoming, I would know the tendency just by which guy was on the field. The Bobcats cannot go an entire season operating with two different signal callers.
I know there's a remarkable difference between playing a BCS team and a Division 2 squad, but Soza would own this offense if he had stuck around. He's a playmaker. I now know why Travis Bush took Soza with him, and it's a shame the previous regime never utilized the young man. He's got the wheels to run the spread option properly, can make most of the throws, and has a little bit of moxie in him.
As for the game, what can you say about leading 10-0 in the first quarter and then giving up 50 unanswered points? Four turnovers, 11 penalties, and 75 yards passing on 21 attempts isn't going to beat Lamar let alone Texas Tech. I could absolutely fall in love with the ground game if the Bobcats could even throw for 150 per contest. Four fumbles looks like a lot on 50 running plays, too. There's a lot of room for improvement obviously, and Weber State hung with Wyoming on Saturday. Let's just hope the team took their lumps, learned some lessons, and can apply it toward beating an FBS team that had to come from behind with twenty seconds left to beat an inferior opponent. Weber ran the ball down Wyoming's throat but was able to throw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys gave up 541 offensive yards to the Wildcats.
(3) Other predictions for Week Two:
Top 25 matchups:
Mississippi State 51, Auburn 42
South Carolina 35, Georgia 21
Around the state:
SMU 31, UTEP 24
TCU 37, Air Force 28
Texas 24, BYU 21
Houston 40, North Texas 14
Rice (go Bailiff!) 21, Purdue 18
UTSA 45, McMurry 33
Around the WAC:
Minnesota 51, New Mexico State 24
Hawaii 27, Washington 25
Oregon 42, Nevada 31
Nebraska 38, Fresno State 17
Idaho 21, North Dakota 15
Louisiana Tech 38, Central Arkansas 13
Utah State 55, Weber State 27
UCLA 63, San Jose State 10
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Three and Out - Week One
(1) I have been listening to the Rivals.com radio network on
Sirius for the past couple weeks and am fired up for the season to
start. The hatred some of these FBS fanbases have for each other is
intense and never quits. I don't share the hatred for Sam or SFA that
many Bobcat fans do but I can see some long term bad juju coming for
UTSA. Texas State is very fortunate to have a rival so nearby with the
size and ambition of UTSA. I watched every episode of "Birth of a
Program" on Saturday after one of our friends to the south alerted me to
a marathon on Fox Sports Southwest.
My
thoughts are that they might have a huge hit on their hands as long as
they win, and win often. The Express News preview put them at 4-6 and I
think they have to do quite a bit better than that to keep the buzz up.
It's mentioned that no startup has ever gone to FBS in two seasons
several times. As I said earlier, the ambition is enormous for the
Roadrunner program, but I don't think a major city has ever bought into a
startup the way San Antonio is. I could see them being a major pain in
the backside for Texas State and other FBS programs in the very near
future. They have pressure on them to succeed at a level unseen outside
the BCS ranks due to the investment of the city.
(2) I spent four months in Lubbock for work about ten years ago. In fact, I went directly from the Panhandle to Chapel Hill (home of the University of North Carolina). I liked Chapel Hill much better. Lubbock's a pretty rough town for outsiders and non-Tech students. I hear it's not a dry town anymore so you don't have to endure "the Strip" - a trip to be talked about and not experienced. They don't throw tortillas anymore, and Tech fans don't dress up like pirates like they did under Leach. They do have an SEC caliber coach (Tommy Tuberville) and one of the hottest offensive coordinators in the country (30 year old Neal Brown). Tech reeled in the best recruiting class in their history in January and run an offense reminiscent of Houston's which the Bobcats were witnesses to last season, except faster paced with a greater emphasis on the running game. Less jet sweeps, more power running. They, like Texas State, are installing a 4-2-5 defense under former TCU secondary coach and new defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow.
I would be inclined to pick Tech by forty and call it a night, but I'm not going to bet against a Franchione-coached team getting run out of the stadium. In fact, I would love for this matchup to be in 2013 and not this season due to the immense difference in depth between the two teams. I like the spread option to confuse a defense that's been lining up against something different all preseason, and I am going to hope the installation by Naivar progressed faster than Glasgow's. Texas State will keep it close for almost three quarters before the fresh bodies Tech has plus just the general difficulties of being an away team in a Big 12-level hostile environment take their toll on the Bobcats.
Texas Tech 34, Texas State 17.
I'm not into moral victories, but I think both sides leave the field with their heads up and Texas State spends the 2011-12 offseason dreaming about knocking the Raiders off in their home opener. They'll put the work in to try to make that happen.
(3) Other predictions for week one:
Top 25 matchups -
Georgia 27, Boise State 24
Oregon 42, LSU 35
Around the state -
FIU 28, North Texas 17
TCU 37, Baylor 24
Houston 42, UCLA 38
Texas 24, Rice 10
UTEP 51, Stony Brook 7
A&M 31, SMU 24
Around the WAC -
Idaho 14, Bowling Green 13
Auburn 35, Utah State 10
Stanford 45, San Jose State 13
Cal 28, Fresno State 21
Ohio 16, New Mexico State 10
Southern Miss 31, Louisiana Tech 21
Hawaii 35, Colorado 24
 |  |
| |
| Coach Franchione will lead his Bobcats into hostile Texas Tech this weekend. |
(2) I spent four months in Lubbock for work about ten years ago. In fact, I went directly from the Panhandle to Chapel Hill (home of the University of North Carolina). I liked Chapel Hill much better. Lubbock's a pretty rough town for outsiders and non-Tech students. I hear it's not a dry town anymore so you don't have to endure "the Strip" - a trip to be talked about and not experienced. They don't throw tortillas anymore, and Tech fans don't dress up like pirates like they did under Leach. They do have an SEC caliber coach (Tommy Tuberville) and one of the hottest offensive coordinators in the country (30 year old Neal Brown). Tech reeled in the best recruiting class in their history in January and run an offense reminiscent of Houston's which the Bobcats were witnesses to last season, except faster paced with a greater emphasis on the running game. Less jet sweeps, more power running. They, like Texas State, are installing a 4-2-5 defense under former TCU secondary coach and new defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow.
I would be inclined to pick Tech by forty and call it a night, but I'm not going to bet against a Franchione-coached team getting run out of the stadium. In fact, I would love for this matchup to be in 2013 and not this season due to the immense difference in depth between the two teams. I like the spread option to confuse a defense that's been lining up against something different all preseason, and I am going to hope the installation by Naivar progressed faster than Glasgow's. Texas State will keep it close for almost three quarters before the fresh bodies Tech has plus just the general difficulties of being an away team in a Big 12-level hostile environment take their toll on the Bobcats.
Texas Tech 34, Texas State 17.
I'm not into moral victories, but I think both sides leave the field with their heads up and Texas State spends the 2011-12 offseason dreaming about knocking the Raiders off in their home opener. They'll put the work in to try to make that happen.
(3) Other predictions for week one:
Top 25 matchups -
Georgia 27, Boise State 24
Oregon 42, LSU 35
Around the state -
FIU 28, North Texas 17
TCU 37, Baylor 24
Houston 42, UCLA 38
Texas 24, Rice 10
UTEP 51, Stony Brook 7
A&M 31, SMU 24
Around the WAC -
Idaho 14, Bowling Green 13
Auburn 35, Utah State 10
Stanford 45, San Jose State 13
Cal 28, Fresno State 21
Ohio 16, New Mexico State 10
Southern Miss 31, Louisiana Tech 21
Hawaii 35, Colorado 24
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Three and Out - Rivals Inaugural Edition
1) Thanks for signing up and we're glad you are here. My little
weekly column is going to be different from what you're accustomed to
seeing from me. I'm going to touch a bit on pop culture, the sporting
world, stuff I love or hate, things I am looking forward to, et cetera.
There's still some Bobcat talk I'll stir up but for the most part my
role once expansion stops is going to be to support Brent and Justin.
Both of their jobs just got bigger and mine got smaller, as Rivals is
taking care of most of the day-to-day operation of the website.
Fletcher
is officially an intern for us until he graduates in December. I
filled out his paperwork on Friday. Fletcher has some work with KTSW
this semester, including every SMHS game and duties with the Bobcat
football team. He's always been a part of us but now we're going to be
able to officially help out his young career. I'm pretty proud of being
able to do this. Now go get me a breakfast taco, rook!
(I kid. Fletch could whup up on me quite easily.)
(2) Thanks to the NFL Network, I have watched a staggering amount of preseason football. I know it's not that indicative of what to expect for the regular season but I think the Detroit Lions are my sleeper team for 2011. Stafford's sharp (though as a rich kid from Highland Park I'd probably hate him in person) and their defense plays mean and nasty with the swagger you'd expect from a playoff team. I can't believe they have both Suh and Fairley - watch what that's going to grow into. Of course, their secondary is crummy, but it looks like everyone not playing Carolina is giving up Xbox passing yardage. Best is a solid chain-mover and they play a lot like Pittsburgh did the first couple of years of the Big Ben era. Megatron looks like he spent the lockout eating corners and bench pressing safeties. It'll be tough sledding sharing a division with defending champion Green Bay and 2010 playoff team Chicago though.
I can't get into MLB and doubly so for the televised Little League World Series. When did they start airing the regional games? I'll tune in when the US team plays the juggernaut from Taiwan or whatever but I don't care if 12 year olds from Montana beat Oklahoma. It's a little creepy though I am sure Coach Memphis is enjoying himself. There's not enough sports programming out there to prevent pedophiles that like boys in tight white pants from their two weeks of glory? Surely there's some bikini tennis out there waiting for a camera.
Speaking of, I have a couple of suggestions for when Yahoo! Sports launches their TV channel:
Women's Team Beach Volleyball - Each team has seven players and they play three matches with two players each with a substitute for injury. NASCAR that shizzle up and air it on Sundays all summer with a big beach party theme. I'd cheer for the Dallas Spikedolls if properly attired.
Competitive Drinking - If I watched a bunch of dudes cram tubesteak down their throats on the 4th of July, I'll damn sure watch a lineup of them tossing back 23 ounce beers for ten minutes. This could be fun to use local beers for each venue and doubly so for interviewing the guys after the buzzer sounds. If the alcohol scares the programming department away we can always substitute Slurpee's and have an instant sponsor.
It was brought to my attention that I have never seen any of the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movies, but I have seen all the Twilight ones and am looking forward to the Hunger Games. I guess my inner child wears a training bra. I'm not a Trekkie or a Star Wars guy, either. My friend Melissa went to a "con" in Philly over the weekend and met actor Sam Trammell - Sam Merlotte from True Blood, and Ernie Hudson - Winston Zeddemore from the Ghostbusters franchise. I guess I've been living under a rock the size of Gibraltar for not knowing there are nerdfests with underemployed actors out there. People dress up like they're hitting up a Halloween destination party and go mingle with their own kind. I don't believe there's enough Four Loko in existence to get me to go to one of these.
My foray into San Marcos a couple of Fridays ago was interesting. Brian, a townie, introduced me to some whacked-out techno nightmare called dubstep. Basically this screeching, beating nightmare is all the rage right now for the demographic directly beneath my own. It sounded like the noise my computer makes when I leave my cellphone next to it. Liberal doses of Jagermeister were administered to ease the swelling of my eardrums. Later that evening, I watched several people get tazed for the first time. First time for me - I don't know them. I would have liked to stay and watch what happened but I feared for my safety. I sort of felt obligated for Fletcher's too - nobody was threatening me with electrical current. Plus I didn't need to be questioned in my state by anyone in a blue uniform.(Fletcher didn't misbehave - he was closer to the ruckus than anyone else in the crowd.) There's a part two to this story I'll tell next week. "BobcatReport Behaving Badly - the Sequel!"
(3) I really wish I could tell you everything to expect from the new Texas State Rivals site. The truth of the matter is that this has come so suddenly we didn't have the time to try a few features we've kicked around. You'll see an increase in content from the staff, that's for sure. We are working out video stuff with the school, downloadable podcasts for Brent and Fletcher, and guest columns from other members of the Rivals network. I know recruiting will be better than anyone has ever dreamed of and I have interesting plans for content. Some will get rolled out this week, some once the season starts, and more as we gain capability. Look for columns from some people you know and some others you do not yet. I'm kind of excited about being a producer and director. I've never done anything remotely close to this in my career and I look forward to the challenge.
In closing, I do think I am going to have someone new to introduce everyone to in the next couple of weeks. We need to work out the details but I think you'll love what they are going to do on behalf of the website.
30-Day Free Trial: Premium access to BobcatReport.com!!
 | |
(I kid. Fletch could whup up on me quite easily.)
(2) Thanks to the NFL Network, I have watched a staggering amount of preseason football. I know it's not that indicative of what to expect for the regular season but I think the Detroit Lions are my sleeper team for 2011. Stafford's sharp (though as a rich kid from Highland Park I'd probably hate him in person) and their defense plays mean and nasty with the swagger you'd expect from a playoff team. I can't believe they have both Suh and Fairley - watch what that's going to grow into. Of course, their secondary is crummy, but it looks like everyone not playing Carolina is giving up Xbox passing yardage. Best is a solid chain-mover and they play a lot like Pittsburgh did the first couple of years of the Big Ben era. Megatron looks like he spent the lockout eating corners and bench pressing safeties. It'll be tough sledding sharing a division with defending champion Green Bay and 2010 playoff team Chicago though.
I can't get into MLB and doubly so for the televised Little League World Series. When did they start airing the regional games? I'll tune in when the US team plays the juggernaut from Taiwan or whatever but I don't care if 12 year olds from Montana beat Oklahoma. It's a little creepy though I am sure Coach Memphis is enjoying himself. There's not enough sports programming out there to prevent pedophiles that like boys in tight white pants from their two weeks of glory? Surely there's some bikini tennis out there waiting for a camera.
Speaking of, I have a couple of suggestions for when Yahoo! Sports launches their TV channel:
Women's Team Beach Volleyball - Each team has seven players and they play three matches with two players each with a substitute for injury. NASCAR that shizzle up and air it on Sundays all summer with a big beach party theme. I'd cheer for the Dallas Spikedolls if properly attired.
Competitive Drinking - If I watched a bunch of dudes cram tubesteak down their throats on the 4th of July, I'll damn sure watch a lineup of them tossing back 23 ounce beers for ten minutes. This could be fun to use local beers for each venue and doubly so for interviewing the guys after the buzzer sounds. If the alcohol scares the programming department away we can always substitute Slurpee's and have an instant sponsor.
It was brought to my attention that I have never seen any of the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movies, but I have seen all the Twilight ones and am looking forward to the Hunger Games. I guess my inner child wears a training bra. I'm not a Trekkie or a Star Wars guy, either. My friend Melissa went to a "con" in Philly over the weekend and met actor Sam Trammell - Sam Merlotte from True Blood, and Ernie Hudson - Winston Zeddemore from the Ghostbusters franchise. I guess I've been living under a rock the size of Gibraltar for not knowing there are nerdfests with underemployed actors out there. People dress up like they're hitting up a Halloween destination party and go mingle with their own kind. I don't believe there's enough Four Loko in existence to get me to go to one of these.
My foray into San Marcos a couple of Fridays ago was interesting. Brian, a townie, introduced me to some whacked-out techno nightmare called dubstep. Basically this screeching, beating nightmare is all the rage right now for the demographic directly beneath my own. It sounded like the noise my computer makes when I leave my cellphone next to it. Liberal doses of Jagermeister were administered to ease the swelling of my eardrums. Later that evening, I watched several people get tazed for the first time. First time for me - I don't know them. I would have liked to stay and watch what happened but I feared for my safety. I sort of felt obligated for Fletcher's too - nobody was threatening me with electrical current. Plus I didn't need to be questioned in my state by anyone in a blue uniform.(Fletcher didn't misbehave - he was closer to the ruckus than anyone else in the crowd.) There's a part two to this story I'll tell next week. "BobcatReport Behaving Badly - the Sequel!"
(3) I really wish I could tell you everything to expect from the new Texas State Rivals site. The truth of the matter is that this has come so suddenly we didn't have the time to try a few features we've kicked around. You'll see an increase in content from the staff, that's for sure. We are working out video stuff with the school, downloadable podcasts for Brent and Fletcher, and guest columns from other members of the Rivals network. I know recruiting will be better than anyone has ever dreamed of and I have interesting plans for content. Some will get rolled out this week, some once the season starts, and more as we gain capability. Look for columns from some people you know and some others you do not yet. I'm kind of excited about being a producer and director. I've never done anything remotely close to this in my career and I look forward to the challenge.
In closing, I do think I am going to have someone new to introduce everyone to in the next couple of weeks. We need to work out the details but I think you'll love what they are going to do on behalf of the website.
30-Day Free Trial: Premium access to BobcatReport.com!!
Friday, July 8, 2011
UTA set to join WAC (old BR)
As earlier reported in the War Room, Jack has come across a copy of the agenda for
the University of Texas Board of Regents meeting July 14th. Item 5
clearly states voting on the inclusion of the University of Texas at
Arlington to the Western Athletic Conference as invited on July 5th.
UTA does not have a football team though they do have a 15,000 seat stadium on campus. It’s possible that the sport will be added in time for the 2016 season. The Mavericks will become the tenth member of the WAC, joining Denver U, Seattle U, Texas State, and UTSA in July 2012.
UTA does not have a football team though they do have a 15,000 seat stadium on campus. It’s possible that the sport will be added in time for the 2016 season. The Mavericks will become the tenth member of the WAC, joining Denver U, Seattle U, Texas State, and UTSA in July 2012.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
WAC adds Seattle U (old BR)
Breaking – I have confirmed with
sources in Park City, UT that Seattle University will become the ninth
member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Redhawks will hold a
press conference at 4 PM, following the WAC teleconference at 3.
The WAC of 2012 will now include San Jose State, Utah State, Idaho, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech, Denver, UTSA, Texas State, and Seattle. UTSA, Texas State, Seattle and Denver will be replacing Hawaii, Fresno State, and Nevada-Reno.
Seattle and Denver do not field football teams.
The WAC of 2012 will now include San Jose State, Utah State, Idaho, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech, Denver, UTSA, Texas State, and Seattle. UTSA, Texas State, Seattle and Denver will be replacing Hawaii, Fresno State, and Nevada-Reno.
Seattle and Denver do not field football teams.
Friday, April 1, 2011
News: Opener for 2012
BobcatReport has confirmed with sources at Texas Tech
University that the home opener at the newly renovated Bobcat Stadium will be against
the Red Raiders on September 8th, 2012. This will be the first appearance by a Bowl
Championship Subdivision team in San Marcos, followed three weeks later by
Mountain West (and former WAC) school Nevada on September 29th. Texas State will also travel to play the
University of Houston and the Naval Academy in their first year of WAC
participation.
Texas Tech, a member of the Big 12, is led by former Auburn
and Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuberville. The
Red Raiders were 8-5 in 2010 and beat Northwestern in the inaugural TicketCity
Bowl January 1st, 2011. Their
legendary high powered offense is maintained by former Troy offensive
coordinator Neal Brown, who at age 30 has firmly planted himself among the
rising stars of the sport.
Led by longtime commissioner Karl Benson, the 2012 WAC will
be home to the Bobcats, longtime rival Texas-San Antonio, the University of
Denver, San Jose State, Utah State, Idaho, New Mexico State, and Louisiana
Tech. Denver does not field a football
team. The conference is still looking at
further expansion after the defection of Boise State, Nevada, and Fresno State
to the Mountain West.
Texas State’s transition starts in 2011 as a
postseason-ineligible member of the Southland Conference and will continue as a
bowl-ineligible member of the Western Athletic Conference in 2012.
Bobcat Stadium’s renovation is slated to begin at the
conclusion of the 2011 football season, adding 13,500 seats to the north end of
the complex. This will increase total
capacity to 29,500 – and eventually with additional planned construction, the
facility could hold 35,000 spectators. The
estimated cost of the project is $32 million dollars, raised by donations plus
the sales of luxury suites and club seats.
An annual game hosting current Southland Conference foes Sam
Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, or WAC expansion hopeful Lamar is likely once
Texas State transitions into the Bowl Championship Subdivision.
Friday, March 4, 2011
MBB: Five to Watch
(1) Bob Hoffman, head coach, Mercer (A-Sun)
2012 record: 22-11 (13-5 A-Sun)
Who? Hoffman is a former OU assistant, and head coach for UT-Pan Am, Oklahoma Baptist (alma mater), and the NBA D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers. His overall record as a head coach at the collegiate level is 448-220.
Why? Texas State is an upgrade from tiny Mercer, a small Baptist school in Macon, GA. Hoffman is familiar with recruiting Texas from his time at Pan Am and his stops in the state of Oklahoma. It's reported that the 53-year-old Bears coach makes around than $150,000 per season. He runs an up-tempo style that can take advantage of the players recruited into the Davalos system. He's a safe, veteran hire that can even boast multiple NCAA appearances as a head coach.
(2) Doug Novsek, associate head coach, Nevada (WAC)
2012 record: 25-5 (13-1 WAC)
Who? The longtime assistant coach is considered to be very well positioned to take over his first team of his own, and Novsek even worked the Southwest Texas bench from 1994-1999. He's also coached at Illinois State, Indiana State, and Nebraska.
Why? Besides the obvious tie to the university, he's spent six years in the WAC. Some mid-major will scoop him up in the offseason - perhaps even his alma mater, Southern Illinois. He's recruited Texas for the WAC regular season champion Wolf Pack as well as at Nebraska and SWT. This new conference will be tough on a first year head coach using an underachieving Southland-caliber roster. Texas State might as well hire a man that knows what he is getting in to.
(3) Alvin Brooks, assistant coach, Houston (CUSA/Big East)
2012 record: 15-15 (7-9 CUSA)
Who? He was the head coach at Houston from 1993-1998, with experience as an assistant at Houston, UNT, Lamar, Texas Tech, UTEP, Texas A&M, and Kentucky. He was one of the youngest head coaches in the nation during his stint with the Cougars. Brooks was on both Billy Gillispie and James Dickey's benches - two good guys to learn from. He's also been Dancing, which I really like as a requirement by now.
Why? This guy knows Texas prep basketball as well as any coach in the state. He has head coaching experience but would be available for a deep discount compratively speaking. It's a safe hire that could yield some unbelievable results once he gets on the recruiting trail. Brooks has a reputation for being a well rounded coach that likes to attack with his defense and cause fits for opposing ballhandlers. It's not out of the realm of possibility for Brooks to load up on JUCO kids he knows and produce immediately.
(4) Craig Neal, associate head coach, New Mexico (MWC)
2012 record: 24-6 (10-4 MWC)
Who? Steve Alford's longtime assistant (five at UNM, three at Iowa) is a former NBA assistant coach with 16 years in the pro ranks as a player, scout, and coach. The former Heat and Nuggets guard is 48 years old and is extremely well respected for his attention to details and recruiting ability.
Why? Neal is at a point where he is much like Novsek - well known, liked, and paid handsomely for the critical role he plays for a team...but when is he going to get a program to run? All signs point to him being happy in Albuquerque. However, Texas State's plan to step up to the WAC might make for an intriguing challenge. If he's ever going to leave Alford, this would be a good time to do so.
(5) John "Jack" Perri, associate head coach, Long Island (NEC)
2012 record: 25-8 (16-2 NEC)
Who? As I write this early, early Friday morning - I wonder what regional pod Long Island will be sent to. They have four Texas kids on their roster - three from San Antonio - and all are in the eight man rotation. Three start. Their head recruiter and associate head man, Perri, is considered to be the top assistant in the NEC. The 36-year-old Jersey native also was the head coach at D3 Rhode Island College and an assistant at his alma mater, Bentley College, before moving to LIU's Brooklyn campus.
Why? This is so outside of the box that it might work. Perri is in charge of scheduling for LIU so he knows someone at Texas State already. He's a complete outsider that's had success recruiting Texas kids to a commuter school in Brooklyn, of all places. He's young, hungry, and a winner. He may be ready to try something new and bigger after coaching in front of a half-empty 3,000 capacity gym at home while his Blackbirds ran to their second consecutive NEC tourney title and NCAA bid.
2012 record: 22-11 (13-5 A-Sun)
Who? Hoffman is a former OU assistant, and head coach for UT-Pan Am, Oklahoma Baptist (alma mater), and the NBA D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers. His overall record as a head coach at the collegiate level is 448-220.
Why? Texas State is an upgrade from tiny Mercer, a small Baptist school in Macon, GA. Hoffman is familiar with recruiting Texas from his time at Pan Am and his stops in the state of Oklahoma. It's reported that the 53-year-old Bears coach makes around than $150,000 per season. He runs an up-tempo style that can take advantage of the players recruited into the Davalos system. He's a safe, veteran hire that can even boast multiple NCAA appearances as a head coach.
(2) Doug Novsek, associate head coach, Nevada (WAC)
2012 record: 25-5 (13-1 WAC)
Who? The longtime assistant coach is considered to be very well positioned to take over his first team of his own, and Novsek even worked the Southwest Texas bench from 1994-1999. He's also coached at Illinois State, Indiana State, and Nebraska.
Why? Besides the obvious tie to the university, he's spent six years in the WAC. Some mid-major will scoop him up in the offseason - perhaps even his alma mater, Southern Illinois. He's recruited Texas for the WAC regular season champion Wolf Pack as well as at Nebraska and SWT. This new conference will be tough on a first year head coach using an underachieving Southland-caliber roster. Texas State might as well hire a man that knows what he is getting in to.
(3) Alvin Brooks, assistant coach, Houston (CUSA/Big East)
2012 record: 15-15 (7-9 CUSA)
Who? He was the head coach at Houston from 1993-1998, with experience as an assistant at Houston, UNT, Lamar, Texas Tech, UTEP, Texas A&M, and Kentucky. He was one of the youngest head coaches in the nation during his stint with the Cougars. Brooks was on both Billy Gillispie and James Dickey's benches - two good guys to learn from. He's also been Dancing, which I really like as a requirement by now.
Why? This guy knows Texas prep basketball as well as any coach in the state. He has head coaching experience but would be available for a deep discount compratively speaking. It's a safe hire that could yield some unbelievable results once he gets on the recruiting trail. Brooks has a reputation for being a well rounded coach that likes to attack with his defense and cause fits for opposing ballhandlers. It's not out of the realm of possibility for Brooks to load up on JUCO kids he knows and produce immediately.
(4) Craig Neal, associate head coach, New Mexico (MWC)
2012 record: 24-6 (10-4 MWC)
Who? Steve Alford's longtime assistant (five at UNM, three at Iowa) is a former NBA assistant coach with 16 years in the pro ranks as a player, scout, and coach. The former Heat and Nuggets guard is 48 years old and is extremely well respected for his attention to details and recruiting ability.
Why? Neal is at a point where he is much like Novsek - well known, liked, and paid handsomely for the critical role he plays for a team...but when is he going to get a program to run? All signs point to him being happy in Albuquerque. However, Texas State's plan to step up to the WAC might make for an intriguing challenge. If he's ever going to leave Alford, this would be a good time to do so.
(5) John "Jack" Perri, associate head coach, Long Island (NEC)
2012 record: 25-8 (16-2 NEC)
Who? As I write this early, early Friday morning - I wonder what regional pod Long Island will be sent to. They have four Texas kids on their roster - three from San Antonio - and all are in the eight man rotation. Three start. Their head recruiter and associate head man, Perri, is considered to be the top assistant in the NEC. The 36-year-old Jersey native also was the head coach at D3 Rhode Island College and an assistant at his alma mater, Bentley College, before moving to LIU's Brooklyn campus.
Why? This is so outside of the box that it might work. Perri is in charge of scheduling for LIU so he knows someone at Texas State already. He's a complete outsider that's had success recruiting Texas kids to a commuter school in Brooklyn, of all places. He's young, hungry, and a winner. He may be ready to try something new and bigger after coaching in front of a half-empty 3,000 capacity gym at home while his Blackbirds ran to their second consecutive NEC tourney title and NCAA bid.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Smiling upon the WAC/MWC aftermath (old BR)
With reports coming out that Utah State and San Jose State are
looking to be offered membership in the Mountain West Conference, let’s
look at the options for the WAC.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson stated recently that Utah Valley, Cal State Bakersfield, and Seattle are non-football candidates for membership, and the San Antonio Express-News’ Dan McCarney listed Louisiana-Lafayette, Lamar, Sam Houston, UC-Davis, Portland State and Cal Poly as possibilities. Benson is also expected to make “fresh runs” at North Texas and Montana, with Montana State a possibility for consideration as a package deal with the Griz.
That is twelve schools to team up with Idaho, New Mexico State, Texas State, UT-San Antonio, Denver, and Louisiana Tech. This new “core six” is a great deal for Texas State and UTSA. Either school can fly into El Paso and drive an hour to Las Cruces. Denver’s a plane hop as well. Louisiana Tech’s location in Ruston or Idaho’s in Moscow are not easy jaunts, but think about how hard they are for each other to get to.
What if Benson convinced Lamar and UNT to join the conference? That puts a six team division of Texas State, UT-San Antonio, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Lamar, and North Texas into realistic terms. The travel is sustainable for everyone’s fan base and creates easy rivalries.
Up north, lets say Benson gets membership agreements with Montana, Montana State, and Portland State. I’m going to throw a wild card in and say he invites Idaho State or Eastern Washington to placate Idaho. Better yet, Benson invites both and ignores the California market. It sounds weak on paper but having a division of Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Portland State, and Eastern Washington facing a Texas-centric South works. Idaho can dominate immediately in football and will always have EWU and the Montana schools nipping at their heels.
I like how the WAC can add Denver and Seattle for basketball in this scenario. We can do 12/14 easily with Denver going south and Seattle going north. I don’t think it’s the end of the world with USU and SJSU leaving – it’s more of an opportunity.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson stated recently that Utah Valley, Cal State Bakersfield, and Seattle are non-football candidates for membership, and the San Antonio Express-News’ Dan McCarney listed Louisiana-Lafayette, Lamar, Sam Houston, UC-Davis, Portland State and Cal Poly as possibilities. Benson is also expected to make “fresh runs” at North Texas and Montana, with Montana State a possibility for consideration as a package deal with the Griz.
That is twelve schools to team up with Idaho, New Mexico State, Texas State, UT-San Antonio, Denver, and Louisiana Tech. This new “core six” is a great deal for Texas State and UTSA. Either school can fly into El Paso and drive an hour to Las Cruces. Denver’s a plane hop as well. Louisiana Tech’s location in Ruston or Idaho’s in Moscow are not easy jaunts, but think about how hard they are for each other to get to.
What if Benson convinced Lamar and UNT to join the conference? That puts a six team division of Texas State, UT-San Antonio, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Lamar, and North Texas into realistic terms. The travel is sustainable for everyone’s fan base and creates easy rivalries.
Up north, lets say Benson gets membership agreements with Montana, Montana State, and Portland State. I’m going to throw a wild card in and say he invites Idaho State or Eastern Washington to placate Idaho. Better yet, Benson invites both and ignores the California market. It sounds weak on paper but having a division of Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Portland State, and Eastern Washington facing a Texas-centric South works. Idaho can dominate immediately in football and will always have EWU and the Montana schools nipping at their heels.
I like how the WAC can add Denver and Seattle for basketball in this scenario. We can do 12/14 easily with Denver going south and Seattle going north. I don’t think it’s the end of the world with USU and SJSU leaving – it’s more of an opportunity.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
the Darren Carlson interview (old BR)
BobcatReport.com interviewed Darren Carlson, editor of BigRedNetwork.com,
and he was gracious enough to give us some background on Shawn Watson.
Watson is a candidate for the open Texas State head coaching position
and has been coaching at Nebraska since 2006. In 2007, he was promoted to
offensive coordinator.
Jack: Would a Texas State hire of Watson be something to celebrate for Nebraska? Everyone hates their OC a couple of times a year, and I watched the OU and A&M games.
Jack: Would a Texas State hire of Watson be something to celebrate for Nebraska? Everyone hates their OC a couple of times a year, and I watched the OU and A&M games.
Carlson: Among fans, yes. Absolutely. At this point, his popularity
among the fan base is at an all-time low. The tail end of the season
was not pretty, particularly the Holiday Bowl.
To be fair, the guy has a pretty solid track record for offensive
performance while the OC under Pelini the last three years. In 2008,
when equipped with a good passer and receivers, the offense performed
well carried the team. In 2009, Pelini has admitted that they decided
mid-season to go into a shell of an offense for more than a few
reasons, health and depth primarily. In 2010 – when you look at the
whole season – it’s a mixed bag. The offense powered Nebraska to vital
wins over very good teams from Oklahoma State and Missouri. Yes, the
A&M and OU games were ugly. The Holiday Bowl was atrocious. People
tend to remember the last thing they saw. Some of that poor play hinges
on the quality of the defense as well as players – quarterback in
particular – executing.
The criticism with Watson hinges on the lack of an offensive
“identity”. NU has tried to be many things in recent years. West Coast,
power running, spread passing, spread running. Some of it has worked.
Some of it has flopped. Husker fans desire a change because they desire
consistency, if that makes sense.
Jack: What’s he like as a person?
Carlson: He’s sharp. He’s smart. He’s well liked, good with the
media and generally very articulate. When he talks, he sounds like a
head coach. Heck, the guy just even looks like you expect a head coach
to look.
This isn’t a situation like Mike Leach or Mark Mangino where the guy
involved is also kind of a jerk. Shawn Watson is a good person by every
account.
Jack: How is he as a recruiter?
Carlson: He’s a good recruiter. The same interpersonal warmth that
the media sees also carries over to recruits. One of the major
concerns among fans if he should leave is that uber-recruit,
quarterback Bubba Starling, has expressed such a strong affinity for
Shawn Watson.
Jack: Could he be on the hot seat in Lincoln already,
with the consecutive Big 12 title game losses and a move coming to the
Big Ten?
Carlson: It’s not that he’s on the hot seat. It’s the desire for
consistency. That’s pretty well founded. Also, this is Nebraska – people
expect results. The other big, big hangup with Watson is that he is a
carryover from the Bill Callahan staff. Anything related to Callahan
can be blasphemous among die-hard Huskers.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Nadine Babu interview (old BR)
Nadine (@nadinebabu) was kind enough to answer some of our questions about Tim
Brewster and what happened at Minnesota. She is a manager and editor
for GopherHole.com and writes for the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s blog.
GopherHole.com is the leading fan site for the University of
Minnesota’s athletic programs and has been around since 1996.
Jack: I don’t know if you are aware of this or not, but
our field at Texas State is named after former Gopher coach Jim Wacker.
He left Minnesota with a similar record to Tim Brewster’s, a top
candidate for our vacant head coaching position. Why is it so hard to
win in football at Minnesota? You have a beautiful new stadium and one
of the highest university enrollments in the country. The Twin Cities
are certainly more appealing than Iowa City, for example. Tubby Smith
is your basketball coach so it can’t be money.
Nadine: I actually
did not know that, Coach Wacker seemed like a very good man, and was
well liked and respected as a person in Minnesota. Coach Wacker had a
.291 winning percent in his 5 seasons, Brewster had .333 in his 4
seasons. You may be asking the wrong person the question regarding why
it’s so hard to win at Minnesota – as I don’t think it’s that hard…even
though history proves me wrong. We live in a fantastic city, and I
think when you have recruits visiting here and getting to see all the
city offers, vs. just a college town, they are very impressed. Top that
off with a great campus, good academics, and one of the most beautiful
stadiums I’ve ever seen (if your readers aren’t as familiar with The
Bank, here are some great photos: http://www.gopherhole.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1013)
– you’ve got a a formula for winning. I think that there does need to
be more support to make the football program be successful from both the
athletic department as well as the community, but it can happen, and
should happen. Many say that we are hindered by the fact that there are
so many other things to do in Minneapolis/St. Paul, from the Vikings to
the Wild, the Timberwolves, Twins, etc, but in an area of over 3
million, I think there are plenty of spectators to go around.
Jack: What were your personal dealings with Brewster like?
Nadine: I didn’t have much of a personal relationship or dealings with Tim Brewster.
Jack: What went so badly wrong to warrant a midseason dismissal?
Nadine: A
lot went wrong, dating back much further than this season, but I will
focus on this year. When you begin your 4th season with a 1-6 record,
after you’ve had a chance to recruit your own players, and form your
staff over the past three years, people expect more than the one win you
had during your first year. Losing to the University of South Dakota
(a 1 AA team) had everyone up in arms after the home opener at TCF
Bank…obviously the NIU loss (where our current coach Jerry Kill camed
from) was another rough one, but I think what put the nail in the coffin
was the Wisconsin game. Obviously, we all thought we’d lose to WI, but
we didn’t expect 23-41 game against our biggest rival, it was like the
players had given up on him. After that, it seemed like the decision
was made to fire Brewster before the Purdue game, as it was leaked to
the press. I think the biggest issues were losing a fan base that were
all calling for his head, booster that were calling for his head, and
the fact that in 4 years, we were not improving, but were getting
worse. We had fired Glen Mason, who brought us to medicocrity and made
us a contender in the Big 10, only to hit rock bottom. Now we all hope
Coach Kill will take us back to that Mason level, and beyond.
Jack: I watched the TCU-Wisconsin game (I live in Fort
Worth) and realized I’ve never seen Minnesota in the Rose Bowl. Google
told me your last appearance was in 1962. We have a fairly miserable
history ourselves but nothing like that. What keeps you coming back?
Nadine: Haha
– you’d be surprised at how many times I’m asked that! Some call me
crazy, I consider myself loyal to the school I attended and loved. I
guess it’s about the Journey. For example, this past season, going into
the Iowa game a 2-9 team vs. a decent Iowa team at 8-4, I doubt there
were more than a handful of Minnesota fans that thought we would win
that game. Personally, I wanted to just have a decent showing, and go
into next season with a respectable loss. I’d say about 1/2 of the
Gopher fans I knew either gave away or sold their tickets, as it was
Thanksgiving weekend, it was cold, and above everything else, they
thought there was no chance we’d win. If you only go to games as a
Gopher fan that you think we’re going to win…you will miss a lot of
games. I actually skipped going home for Thanksgiving and attended the
game, we tailgated in the cold for hours ahead of the game, and made a
day out of it (as always)…and then we won. We beat Iowa and got the
Floyd or Rosedale trophy back, this was the 1st trophy game we’d won in
the Tim Brewster era, and it was actually the Jeff Horton short, but
sweet, era. I remember thinking that the season was an absolute wash –
and I couldn’t have been more wrong. That game meant so much, for the
fans, the players, the coaches. It felt like we had won the Superbowl!
That’s why I keep coming back, the wins feel that much sweeter after
enduring the losses that we’ve had through the years.
Jack: What did Brewster do right at Minnesota, and what
does he need to improve upon to become a successful head coach?
Nadine: I really liked that he sold
Minnesota. He didn’t make excuses as to why we couldn’t win here, he
said that could recruit here, we could win here, and we could go to the
Rose Bowl. He actually even had grass from the Rose Bowl flown in to
motivate the players and see that it was attainable. Granted, he fell
short with his promises, but I do believe he thought we could do it, and
we can. He also did a good job recruiting, his 1st year, he brought in
a #17 ranked recruiting class, in 2009 that dropped to #39, and last
year we dropped out of the top 50, which were still decent classes. I
think what he needs to do to be successful is become more consistent,
and develop his own strategy and plan, vs. what his coordinators bring
in. Many of our players were recruited to run the spread, then we
switched to a NFL offensive style with Jedd Fisch, and then Jeff Horton
came him and changed up the offense again this year, and was the most
successful. Brewster had a great deal of turnover on his staff, as you
could probably expect with a 1st time head coach, hopefully he can keep a
core group of talented people around him in his next position, which
will help to develop players and the team as a whole.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)