(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
Monday, September 19, 2011
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
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