I must say.....

[txlonghorn47]

This is about as excited for a football season as I can remember myself being in about 7 years. I'm fired up this year.

I know I'm a Herman disciple and all, but I think we finally get this train back on the tracks this year.

[tamut98]

I am definitely drinking all of the Kool-Aid right now. I mean we have gone as low as we can possibly go, right?
I just want to get past the USC game and feel like, no matter the outcome, this team is on the right track.

[HornMafia]

Everything certainly appears to be headed in the right direction.

But Tim Beck hasn't called his first bubble screen on third and ten yet and we haven't given up 350 yards to some noodle armed QB yet, either.

Mark me as cautiously optimistic.

We've seen the big things. Now we get to pay attention to the little things.

[UTwiz]

I think Tom Herman is going to ball out this year.

[Drew Corleone]

I look at this season as a few bars I'd like us to clear:

Bar 1: Beat Kansas. For the love of all that is holy. Beat Kansas' ass.
Bar 2: Don't fuck up the coin flip against USC. Or anyone else.
Bar 3. Don't get three kicks blocked by Ok State. Or anyone else.
Bar 4: Don't let a noodle-armed QB throw for 350 yards (as Matt said).
Bar 5: Don't get blown out in Dallas.
Bar 6: Win the T+1 game. I don't even remember what that was like.
Bar 7: Try to avoid the Thursday night upset special in Ames.
Bar 8: Don't get blown out by TCU. I don't even remember what it was like playing a competitive game against them (in my defense, it involved a long ass weather delay where I imbibed copious amounts of beer)
Bar 9: Finish in the Top 25
Bar 10: Win a bowl game. Even if it's a shitty bowl game.
Bar 11: Finish with a better record than A&M.
Bar 12: Get to the Big 12 CCG.

Bars 1-3: Better than Charlie Strong.
Bars 4-8: Better than Mack's Complacency Era, and on the road back to respectability.
Bars 9-11: A real step forward.
Bar 12: Holy shit, it's Texas Football!

[LMQueen]

I love that breakdown!


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[txlonghorn47]

Dude...what coach would F up 1-3?

Ohhhh yes, yes, yes, uhh huh.

[Mr. Peabody]

This is about as excited for a football season as I can remember myself being in about 7 years. I'm fired up this year.

I know I'm a Herman disciple and all, but I think we finally get this train back on the tracks this year.

Same for me. Most excited in about 7 years. Very excited for Lincoln Riley. We will see how it plays out.

[12ozLongneck]

Bar 3. Don't get three kicks blocked by Ok State. Or anyone else.

Well now we're at a net - 1 for the day so there's that.

[Makaveli]

This is more surreal than our typical debacles. To this point.

[LMQueen]

Sigh.


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[McKinneyHorn]

So much for discipline. 100 plus in penalties? Holy shit.

Hope that gets cleaned up before a potential mud stomping by SC.

[Makaveli]

Who gives a fuck about SC really

We need Jeremy to weigh in on this game. Can't wait.

[U2-Horn]

5-7

[Makaveli]

That 11am kick made for the shortest football season ever.

So how's recruiting, and what's the rumors on who will be next year's coordinators ?

[Makaveli]

One thing I do find interesting...

The players that have weighed in aren't that worried about it. To me they seem pretty comfortable and familiar with the loser role.

[McKinneyHorn]

So, the cupboard was bare? Or the new staff has to get everything implemented, new plays to learn by players, etc. and coaches have to get their own players to get it done? Curious which excuse will be given first.

Venting here. Hate to lose of course. I do have faith.

[HornMafia]

That 11am kick made for the shortest football season ever.

Isn't that the truth.

What a disaster. That was all that we were told was over. Because even a man in a dunce cap could fix the problems Charlie brought.

Another year of being irrelevant. Yay.

[Makaveli]

Tom Herman is 4-5 in last 9 games as a head coach with losses to SMU, Navy, Memphis, San Diego St, and Maryland.

Would somebody please convince me he's not just a more arrogant version of a poor man's, stupider, version of Charlie Strong ?

Calling UTWiz .... belp !

[txlonghorn47]

I don't have any explanation for yesterday at all. It felt like we played the underdog role going for it on multiple 4th downs, going for 2, trick plays. It was like we played the role of......well Houston.

The game plan, and I use that term losely because Im no positive there was one, was very confusing. We tried to roll Boo out seemingly every play. He's not a mobile QB and rolling him out gave Maryland a free pass to not cover 1/3 of the field. Where were Chris Warrens carries? Why does Garret Gray have a role on this team? And why is he being split out wide? We have the stable of WRs that we do and you want to split Gray out wide? Why did we go away from the Heard/LJH package? Especially on 3rd and 2 and 4th and 2 late with the game on the line? Why when you've cut it to 3, you have an AA punter, and Maryland had a freshman backup QB in do we not pin them deep? Instead we go for it and render any momentum we might have had dead and bail Maryland out.

I have no fucking clue what that 3rd and 19 conversion was. We sent a blitz and left everybody in man coverage? Why not drop 7 with most of them dropping to the sticks and keeping everything in front of them? Kris Boyd's coverage there was atrocious.

I know several people here like him, and he seems like a great kid and all, but Malik Jefferson is the worst player on the field everytime he's out there. He's a freak athlete and still makes some plays with just his speed, but he's not a linebacker. He has no business playing in the box where he has to read and react and take on blocks. Maybe you can find some type of role for him where he is a 3rd down pass rush specialist where you could use his speed and quickness.

I think a lot of it gets ironed out. Say what you will about Herman but I think he's still a great offensive mind and I think he will watch that tape and see how bad of a game plan that really was and make some changes.

[LMQueen]

This morning I am trying to stay positive that it was a butt kicking that will lead to significant improvements in the next few weeks. It is just too depressing to think that some things can't be fixed and face another losing season.

Running back and play calling situation is concerning.

To me, Shane looked a bit off, don't know if he's hurt or was just scrambling trying to make things happen.

The very vocal guys behind us were calling out Boyd a lot too.

Poppa also said it looked like Jefferson never knows what to do.

Let's hope the biggest difference between Strong and Herman is that Herman can adjust accordingly.


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[txlonghorn47]

And I feel like it's really easy to be very pissed and negative and his performance will get lost in the fact everybody is pissed, but Reggie Hemphill Mapps played his ever loving ass off yesterday and deserves some credit for being one of the few who actually showed up yesterday.

[HornMafia]

And I feel like it's really easy to be very pissed and negative and his performance will get lost in the fact everybody is pissed, but Reggie Hemphill Mapps played his ever loving ass off yesterday and deserves some credit for being one of the few who actually showed up yesterday.

Indeed. Holton Hill, too.

[UTwiz]

What worries me the most (more than poor execution or poor game planning) is that this was the most difficult off-season of the players' lives, and none of it seemed to translate on the field. I think this staff can fix some of the schematic and personnel issues, but if the culture hasn't been fundamentally changed yet, a lot of the other stuff won't matter.

[txlonghorn47]

What worries me the most (more than poor execution or poor game planning) is that this was the most difficult off-season of the players' lives, and none of it seemed to translate on the field.

This is something I've thought about over the rest of the weekend and this is the last of the Maryland game I care to talk about, but do we just have a team full of dumbasses? Like do our players lack the basic ability to comprehend and learn what coaches are trying to teach? I think this is a legit question after seeing this continually happen under Strong and now to see it again under the first game of Herman. We have a bunch of guys, especially on defense, who just seem to lack a basic football IQ. I mean all of last year we kept hearing that we had to simplify the scheme and dumb it down for these guys, now we're hearing it again. Now it's early and there is plenty of time to make changes and see if they can adjust, but it's an alarming trend to me at this point.

Having said that it's just one game and it's under a new regime. Time to put it behind and make sure you don't let it linger. I think, hope, you'll see a much better effort this week but I don't think you'll learn much about if they improved against SJSU. The real test comes in two weeks, while I don't think we have the horses to win in LA I want to see a competitive effort.