Thanks to LonghornEm for summing it all up.
Brown said that blame can't be placed on any one player or coaches shoulders: "Blame whoever you want, it doesn't matter. We're called a team for a reason, we're called a family for a reason."
Listless, leaderless, languishing.
The worst Texas football game these eyes have seen since perhaps the 1984 Freedom Bowl slaying by another team from the state of Iowa could be summed up like this:
Iowa State, a 28-21 winner, was the better team Saturday. Clearly.
"I don't think it's (a lack of) talent," Brown said. "It's attitude. We played well against Nebraska, and I'm mystified. We stunk and played bad today, and I get mystified."
The UT offense was missing. And so were the fans.
Lord knows I wouldn't pay to see the 2010 Texas Longhorns.
Sadly, there are several thousand loyal souls who have, but after watching yet another no-show by the home team, it makes sense now that the Royal-Memorial stands were half-full at kickoff. I guess some paying customers got the message after the UCLA game.
Even more bad news. Linebacker Emmanuel Acho and part-time starting defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat are injured.
There were bests? Cedric Golden has the Iowa State bests and worsts.
Texas = Florida?
We can now get back to our regularly scheduled panic.
I've never been a Texas fan, but I think speak for all of my fellow Austinites when I say: Thank god the Longhorns beat Nebraska last week. I don't care who wins. But without the upset in Lincoln, the 'Horns would be on a four-game losing streak right now with consecutive home losses to UCLA and Iowa State, they'd be below .500 for the first time in 13 years under Mack Brown, and the entire city would be engulfed in flames.
As it is, offensive coordinator Greg Davis' may be coming in for some minor property damage, and quarterback Garrett Gilbert's dorm room door for a good egging.*
* Obligatory note to Texas fans: Please do not engage in property damage and/or egging of any severity. It's bad, mmmkay?
FireBoPelini makes a very good point. If you have any bad thoughts about Mack Brown, just remember this name.
From Barking Carnival:
Well, well. Iowa State showed up for a football game this morning. It was the only team that did. I have no answers. Out of analysis, I’m forced to analogize.
The fun is in winning for me. The rest of it I don’t really like. When
you win, you have fun. We can talk about all this other stuff. But I
get nothing out of a loss. I really don’t. Fun is in winning football
games, and that is what it is all about for me – preparing these young
men each week. - Will Muschamp on the defense
We are ready for some more fun. Please.
Let's talk basketball!
Rick Barnes on the upcoming season at Big 12 Media Days.
This is just like this year's football team!
His team was the talk of college basketball last January with a 17-0 record and a No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history. Yet when Barnes stepped off the practice court each day, he was often more irritated than encouraged.
“There were things we were doing that I wasn’t pleased with,” Barnes said. “As a coach, you have a feel for your team, and sometimes you get a bad feeling even when things are going good.”
Kansas is the early conference favorite but Texas has some impressive newcomers.
Texas, as usual, has re-armed with some outstanding newcomers. The Longhorns will be working with two freshmen — 6-3 point guard Cory Joseph and 6-8 power forward Tristan Thompson — who were ranked in the top 10 or higher by just about every recruiting service.
"You ask anyone in our program, coaches or players, and the first thing they will tell you is their work ethic," said coach Rick Barnes. "They're two guys who are in the gym first and they are the last to leave every day. They've done that since they walked on campus."
The Horns are #25 in ESPN's preseason poll.
Everyone is getting better.
Topic Barnes seems to disdain: the Longhorns' collapse last season.
Topic he seems to embrace: recent improvement among his players, although he declined to single out anyone .
"Every guy is getting better," Barnes said. "I'm serious. In terms of our chemistry, I'm really pleased."
Noooooo. Big 12 Hoops has some thoughts on the season.
Last season Rick Barnes couldn't get a young, uber talented team to gel together. This season Texas has another young, uber talented team.
On the advice of his attorney? Baylor's Scott Drew isn't talking.
Have NCAA rules ever stopped them before? This won't bother Baylor at all.
SI's Andy Glockner rates the conferences.
Land Thieves lost!
Pokes, why have you forsaken me?
Aggies win!
It's like driving by an auto accident in Lawrence. You hate to look.
Tech beat Colorado.
Before Saturday, Texas Tech kicker Matt Williams was known primarily for being the student who came out of the Jones AT&T Stadium crowd in 2008, won an in-game kicking contest and wound up earning a spot on the team.
Now he’ll also be known for two fourth-quarter field goals to help win a game at Colorado, including one with 2:08 left that broke a 24-24 tie.
"Yeah, it’s one of those things; right when you hit it, I knew it was going in," he said. "I took a glance up and started celebrating with my teammates."
The Bears are for real.
The game deemed unfit for TV distribution turned into one heck of a show.
Baylor's 47-42 win against Kansas State was the equivalent of a big-budget Hollywood action flick: A little short on plot but loaded with explosions and car crashes.
"How many times they punt, like once or twice?" safety David Garrett said.
That's about all I want to say about the rest of the conference right now.
Would Mike Leach take the North Texas job?
The NY Times has a great story about a small town in SW Louisiana recovering from Hurricane Rita.
They waited five years for a new school at South Cameron High, five years for a weight room, lockers in the hallway and plates in the cafeteria instead of plastic trays.
All that waiting seemed like forever — playing football on the road for three seasons, taking classes for a semester in a bingo hall, returning from a second hurricane to find an alligator stranded in the coaches’ office.
Finally, high school was beginning to feel the way it was supposed to feel. The people showed up Oct. 14 for a ribbon cutting at the new $28 million building with two gyms and three elevators. But football season was nearly gone as six senior players walked arm in arm with their parents Thursday night before their final home game, celebration tinged with a sense of absence and departure.
And finally...some entertaining distractions.
Thanks to Barking Carnival for this.
This is for LonghornEm.
I'm spending the next few days watching a lot of HGTV and shoe shopping online. Go find your own own therapy.
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