The SMO: Your Sunday Morning Optimist

Every Monday/Wednesday/Friday, I sit in a massive lecture hall that is filled with 500+ students. The back row is essentially reserved for a group of football players. They come late, eat loud, leave early, and wear orange. This past Monday, when they got up to leave early, it was a bit different though. Students were no longer ignoring the arrogant, entitled football players who aren't good at football, they were glaring at them. The football players are still leaving early? That's a joke. Sit back down. The volleyball players can leave early, you guys can wipe the board down.

Extremely Pessimistic- Enthusiasm

These were the best athletes in the country, and you could tell by looking at them. However, I noticed they just seemed calm and cool, but almost too calm. There wasn't any fire. One of the UT coaches was barking and getting into it with some lineman trying to fire them up, and there was some jumping around and yelling as a team at midfield for a bit, but they just looked flat emotionally. My pre-game impression was, "Man, these guys are so good, they even act cool, calm, and collected like this is just a simple business trip," and because I wasn't too confident after BYU's showing last week in Virginia, I thought UT was just going to come out and swat us aside all calm, cool, and collected. Then that same lack of fire and energy kept going through the game, and when BYU came out more fired up than I've ever seen them before, UT's energy couldn't match BYU's. I kept waiting for UT to finally wake up and say, "Enough!" and go nuts on us, but it never happened until finally, in the 4th quarter, you could just see UT wilt collectively. Really strange.

This is a quote from the BYU Fan's Take of last week's game. This week was no different. The team came out of the tunnel ready to get railed. Ole Miss was fired up and the Longhorns didn't want to be there. Most of the fans didn't want to be there. I didn't want Case McCoy to be there. Unfortunately, we were obligated under contract to "compete" against Ole Miss. It was embarrassing for the players, Mack Brown, the University, the state of Texas, and Longhorns everywhere. I don't expect this team to get fired up for any future games. They know their fate is sealed.

Extremely Pessimistic- Case McCoy

The disappointing Case McCoy we all expected to see showed up last night in the third quarter. He is inept. He is not a vertical passing threat, so opposing teams will not have to prepare for downfield passing attacks. Just call Greg Davis and ask him how to stop the horizontal passing game. Ole Miss did to Case McCoy what Texas could have done to Taysom Hill. Put either of them in passing situations and watch them self destruct.

The debate here is whether to burn Tyrone Swoopes redshirt or to keep it in tact. I'm surprised the coaches have remained so vigilant in keeping him off the field. It's not like they are going to be here when we start regretting wasting his redshirt in 2016. I'm apathetic. I don't think these coaches deserve to use him, but I don't want to watch Case McCoy play quarterback for the Texas Longhorns ever again. Ever.

Pessimistic- Major Applewhite

Applewhite put together an ignorant game-plan last night that relied on defensive stops to win the game. If there is any coaching act that let's a quarterback know you have zero faith in his ability, it's running the clock down on 3rd and 8 with one minute left in the first half at your own 30, calling a timeout, and then running a dive. Applewhite knows what we know. Case McCoy can't throw the ball down the field. But hell, just give him a few chances. Who cares anymore? The defense surely wouldn't be expecting it.

Pessimistic-Penalties

Texas is a very undisciplined football team and we saw it last night when a first down at our own two yard line turned into third down at the 18. The offensive line must have CHL permits, because they're taking turns shooting themselves in the foot all game long. (Ha, am I right?)

The targeting rule is bad for football and we saw firsthand how it can change the outcome of a game. Not a Texas game, but a game between two formidable opponents. Last night's targeting penalty on Adrian Phillips cost Texas three points. It was reversed, but because college football is run by cretins, the penalty was still enforced. Against an opponent like Kansas, these penalties could be the difference between a Texas win and a Texas loss. Let's hope these Big 12 referees have human hearts and sympathize with us enough to keep the "targeting" penalty flag in their pocket.

Optimistic- The Offseason

So the era of Mack Brown football is coming to a close, and it's time to start speculating on who will take his job. The specuated favorite appears to be Stanford's David Shaw. This TEDtalking, "The Cardinal" alum might be the solution. I don't know. What I will say is this: If Texas wants to become a relevant college program again, they need to stop trying to be Cal-Berkeley. Stop moving west and start moving southeast. I think a couple solutions for Texas football live in Nashville, Louisville, and Tuscaloosa. I don't think the answer for Texas football lives in Palo Alto.

This is good. What is happening is good. It has to burn. Let it burn all the way to the ground. Leave us with nothing and force us to rebuild. I stayed until almost the very end last night in hopes that the Rebels would score more. "Keep scoring," I said to myself, "Make sure no one forgets."  With about two minutes ago, nearly a half-hour after a mass exodus, I left. Walking outside of the stadium, I heard the final cannon shot. I laughed. It didn't signify the end of the game to me, it was like walking away from an execution.  DeLoss Dodds/Mack Brown-Texas Football is dead. That is cause for optimism.

Side Note: Do not boo Mack Brown/ Case McCoy when they come on the jumbotron. It makes us look stupid. Thanks.