40 Acres Sports

There are pros and cons to every potential next head coach. Yes even the great Nick Saban.

Not enough experience. Too old. No big wins. Doesn’t know Texas. Can’t recruit.

Coach Art Briles has won big at Baylor. Can he put the Longhorns back on top?

My concern about Art Briles is more complicated than that. He certainly has experience. He’s taken Baylor to unimaginable heights both on the field and in recruiting. He’s respected by Texas high school coaches.

The big question is, how good is Baylor really?

Their resurgence has coincided with a time when both Texas and Oklahoma are as bad as they’ve been in 15 years. Texas Tech is just ok. The Husker and Aggies are gone. The Big 12 was incredibly strong just 5 years ago, but now the conference is just a shell of it’s former self. How high would people be on Briles if he has 2-3 more losses each of the last 3 seasons?

Yes Baylor is leaps and bounds better than they’ve ever been before and Briles deserves all the credit for that but I’m not sure that’s any more impressive than what Charlie Strong has done at Louisville or James Franklin at Vanderbilt. And Strong and Franklin are probably last on the Texas fan base’s wishlist. I’m high on Briles and would be excited if he was hired by Texas, but he’s 58 and his defenses have ranged from ok to awful. He’s not the slam dunk that many Texas fans think he is.

But hey, Briles might not work out at Texas but at least the offense should be fun to watch.

What a difference 30 minutes make in one’s life. How many times have we heard the comment “Give me 30 Minutes and…”?

In 30 minutes you could get a pizza back in the day. Sitcoms were supposed to make you laugh in that amount of time. Your girlfriend or wife has said at least once in their life, give me 30 minutes and I will be ready to go. It takes at least that much time to go from Cowboy Stadium to the American Airlines Center in Dallas (minus traffic). There are countless workout videos that promise a fitter you in that amount of time.

30 minutes in a football game is one half of the game. Stop with the analysis that a half of football usually takes an hour and half to complete. Work with me here. Two 15 minute quarters offered the fate of the 2013 Longhorn football season. The start of the football season with a 1-2 record saw the fan base throw up their hands and say enough is enough. Mediocrity is not something that the fans like served season after season after posting a 30-20 record over the past 4 seasons. Something changed the dynamic of the 2013 season when the Horns went to Dallas and whipped up on OU. The season looked salvageable with a Big XII title in the mix. Another slip up at home (12-10 record at home during the same four year stretch) against Oklahoma State caused fans to reflect on the season while Coach Brown focused on one game at a time. Fans look at every loss and over analyzed while coaches and players need to be focused on the task at hand. Horns fans even had to reassess their loyalty after cheering for the hated Sooners to come through earlier in the day. That is why even on the final day of the regular season the Longhorns had a chance to claim the Big XII outright with 30 minutes left.

Tied 3-3 at halftime in Waco with all the “Case Closed” shirts donned by Baylor fans hoping for their own Brazos Miracle. The Horns were hoping to win the game while the Bears expected to win the game. Amazingly those 30 minutes could have resulted in a birth in the Fiesta Bowl, a Big XII Championship and surely a 10 win season. Thirty minutes would have erased a roller coaster season and solidified Mack’s determination to right the ship. Heck 30 minutes would have yielded a sign shop order to put ’13 on the upper deck of DKR. Thirty minutes would have earned Mack another $5 million dollars for the 2014 season, because no one is going to fire a BCS bound coach.

The regular season has ended and Coach Brown has decided to give way to another regime since it has been four years trying to get the momentum back. Mack will be remembered for many positive things including a family atmosphere, a strong relationship with Texas High School kids and coaches plus a winning program that included a national championship. It will be very difficult to replace such a dynamic and classy coach as Mack Brown. I will miss him on the 40 acres but in his own words “I hope with some new energy, we can get this thing rolling again.”

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter @40AcresSports or follow me @Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

[Update: Hammad did in fact commit to Texas. See ESPN’s story. – Brian]

The Longhorns are looking to continue stockpiling big bodies after Monday’s commitment by Desmond Harrison. Coach Stacy Searels is believed to be closing in on yet another top notch offensive line prospect: Irving High School Tackle, Rami Hammad. Hammad’s measurable are impressive: 6’5″ and 320 pounds. Hammad is ranked by Rivals as the 172nd prospect nationally, 28th at his position, and 78th overall in the state of Texas. Hammad took an official visit to the 40 Acres this past weekend that lead to him to end his his nearly three month commitment to Baylor.

Hammad now lists a top four of Texas, TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma and is set to announce at 5:00 PM today. It is believed that Texas is clearly the team to beat for Hammad due to how quickly he backed out of his verbal commitment to Baylor after the weekend visit to Austin.

A quick film study of shows Hammad to be an aggressive and nasty blocker. He will sustain blocks 10-15 yards downfield on running plays and has a strong base in passing sets. He’s not nearly the physical specimen that Desmond Harrison is, but it’s easy to see that he has a mean streak and isn’t afraid to mix it up.

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WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas game against the Baylor Bears.

QB David Ash had a solid performance for the Longhorns against Baylor.

1st Quarter (14:43) WTH Lighting?! Mack Brown needed a quick start to avoid most of the 101,353 fans turning on him and the team. Well, Daje Johnson took care of that with an electrifying 84 yard touchdown run on the FIRST play of the game.

1st Quarter (2:42) WTH Williams?! The Big XII leading receiver took the defense to task especially on a simple stop and go for an 80 yard touchdown to give the Bears their first lead of the game. Manny Diaz does this count as an explosive play?

1st Quarter (0:00) WTH Students?! Well, if you ever wondered where the student section is at DKR, you found out before the 2nd quarter. All the students broke out black Livestrong shirts to support the 15th anniversary of the organization. It’s interesting the salute with all that is swirling around Lance.

2nd Quarter (6:18) WTH 50 Shades?! Could not pass up the chance to report on the first touchdown of the season for one Johnathan Gray. He put a move on safety Sam Hall that left the defenders clothes on the ground. At this point in the game, BU Coach Phil Bennett and Manny Diaz were getting ready to work on their resume at halftime.

3rd Quarter (12:55) WTH Okafor?! Alex Okafor called out the defense to play tougher after last week’s game. He needed to be called out for a crucial offside on fourth down that would have ended the Baylor touchdown drive.

3rd Quarter (6:31) WTH Black Swan?! The highlight of the night on the Godzillatron and the television broadcast was a shot of Natalie Portman. Wonder why she was there… who cares!

3rd Quarter (5:56) WTH Sooners?! OU fans in the stands wearing a Beat Texas shirt. Looks like these two guys forgot that the Red River Rivalry was last week in Dallas. Longhorn fans are still trying to forget.

3rd Quarter (2:17) WTH Mad Hatter?! Art Briles threw his ball cap so high in the air in disgust over the late Texas timeout on fourth down that WR Tevin Reese had plenty of time to make the fair catch signal when he caught his hat.

4th Quarter (2:34) WTH Mulligan?! The head referee announced to the crowd that Texas would get a “Do Over” to match up with the substitutions that Baylor was implementing. Mack Brown hopes next time a “King’s X” will be called when he needs to surrender.

Next up for the Longhorns is a trip to Kansas to play the Jayhawks on October 27th.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at @40AcresSports or follow me at @Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

When I first heard that the team motto was going to be RISE, I was wondering if they were using this to mean rising up from the ashes or even the dead. Next I thought of a boxing analogy about rising up from the canvas where many of your opponents knocked you out. This year’s motto means: Relentless, Intensity, Sacrifice, Emotion (Check out the 2012 Longhorn Football RISE 2012)

It has been a wild roller coaster ride when just a little over two years ago the Longhorns were playing for a National Championship. The Longhorns are a few years away from even been mentioned as title contenders. So, I am going to set the record straight and tell you what the Horns record is going to be game by game. I am even going to give you the record of the opponent when they play Texas. Here goes… nothing.

Wyoming (0-0) at Texas (0-0) Sept. 1st

This will be the easiest prediction of the season. I got both teams record correct going into this game. Texas is at home so the Horns have to win this one. Or the rest of this article is bunk. Horns WIN

New Mexico (1-0) at Texas (1-0) Sept. 8th

I have friends that went to New Mexico. They are just looking to come into Austin to have a good time. Not even the Lobos expect to win this one. Horns WIN

Texas (2-0) at Mississippi (2-0) Sept. 15th

Yes it’s a team from the big bad SEC. You know that they were the worst team in the SEC last year. They have a head coach that sounds like a character from a Spiderman movie, Hugh Freeze. New coach and wild expectations by the fan base will make this a tight game, but eventually the Horns wear down Ole Miss with their running game. Horns WIN

Texas (3-0) at Oklahoma State (3-0) Sept. 29th

Both teams have bye weeks before they face off which is a plus for the offensive sides of the ball. The Cowboys have a new quarterback, but OSU has a ton of confidence as well as playing this game at home. Will the Texas quarterback shuffle be settled by the fourth game of the season? This one is a toss-up. Let me get out a quarter. Tails Texas – Heads Cowboys. Horns WIN

West Virginia (4-0) at Texas (4-0) October 6th

The Mountaineers have four straight home games to start the season before their first road test in Austin. It’s still hot in October…right?! The West Virginia defense is horrible which should allow for a lot of UT running yards. The UT defense, lead by coach Manny Diaz, needs to keep the explosive Geno Smith in check. I hope everyone realizes that Manny will be a head coach next year somewhere else if Mack does not step down. Horns WIN

Texas (5-0) at OU (4-0) October 13th

I would like to think that sweet revenge will be the elixir that every Longhorn will enjoy after this game. But the better quarterback play and the team that doesn’t turn the ball over wins this game. Texas will come up short again. Horns LOSE

Baylor (3-2) at Texas (5-1) October 20th

Baylor will be coming off two straight losses to WVU and TCU. There is going to be a hangover effect after losing arguably the greatest Baylor athlete of all time. OK…I will give you Michael Johnson. Baylor fans will day dream of last year’s trouncing of the Horns while Texas fans will want to lay the hammer down with defense and a strong running game. Horns WIN

Texas (6-1) at Kansas (2-5) October 27th

I do not see a lot of waving the wheat at this game. The Jayhawk fans will be looking forward to the start of the basketball season when they will face Emporia State just three days after having to host Texas at a football game. Horns WIN

Texas (7-1) at Texas Tech (4-4) November 3rd

Yes. You guessed it. Here is my trap game. It will be at night. TBS loves the Red Raiders and Craig Sager will be wearing an electric red blazer. You know this team beat the Sooners last year. In the Mack Brown era, the Horns have lost only three times to Tech. All three losses were on the road and in November. Horns LOSE

Iowa State (3-6) at Texas (7-2) November 10th

Texas will want to get the bad taste out of their mouths from losing on the Plains. Perfect timing since the Cyclones will be reeling when they come off a major loss to the Sooners the week before. Look for the Horns defense to have a fumble, interception and punt return for touchdowns. This one will get ugly. Horns WIN

TCU (9-1) at Texas (8-2) November 22nd (Thanksgiving Day)

This will be the battle for second place in the Big 12. WVU will have lost to OU the week before this game. This will not equal the hype of an A&M rivalry, but it sure will be close. Both teams should be clicking offensively and the magnitude of the night may be similar to an OU game, best quarterback and no turnovers. Texas will win with a last minute field goal by the PSU transfer to give the ESPN network a ratings bump. Horns WIN

Texas (9-2) at Kansas State (7-4) December 1st

Kryptonite. Bill Snyder. The Little Apple. Take your pick. We do not beat this team. Why? I don’t know. Last time the Horns won was when Steve Jobs came out with ITunes (2003). Horns LOSE

I am predicting a 9-3 year for the Horns. I was way off with my predictions in 2010 with 10 wins (5-7) but I nailed it in 2011 with 7 regular season wins. Anybody can predict the future; just make sure you do not write it down ahead of time.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter @40AcresSports or follow me @Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ game against the Bears.

Pre-Game WTH Baylor?! This is the Big 12! This is the big boy league. I understand showing school pride to the 46,453 fans that attended the game. But having a tarp that says “This is Bear Country” in the end zone to cover up seats that should be watching RG3 versus the Horns. Come on Man!

1st Quarter (14:38) WTH RG3?! C’mon Bears give the opposing team a chance to get their head in the game. The Horns defense which includes Blake Gideon watched a perfect throw by Robert Griffin to a streaking Kendall Wright for a 59 yard touchdown on the SECOND play of the game.

1st Quarter (:33) WTH Irby?! Who does not love Blaine Irby? He made a helluva catch in the back of the end zone for the first touchdown of the night for the Horns. Do you think he might have any eligibility left?

2nd Quarter (10:53) WTH Fat Man?! I do not know what Coach Harsin called this play but this razzle dazzle play had two offensive linemen split out on either side of the formation. One lineman faked a catch on one side while Case McCoy threw a fade to Luke Poehlmann in the end zone. Love Luke’s touchdown celebration by grabbing his gut to identify him as the fat man scoring.

2nd Quarter (7:40) WTH Goodwin?! Longest touchdown pass play of the season saw Marquise Goodwin dash 80 yards for the touchdown. He added a signature triple jump step in the end zone. This was the last highlight of the regular season for the Horns.

2nd Quarter WTH McCoy?! I know everyone loves the “it” factor that Case McCoy has in his game. The read and throw he made was awful. He looked at his primary receiver the entire time and he does not have the arm strength to get it there. The interception took the Baylor to the Horns 2 where RG3 strolled in to the end zone to lead at halftime. Why were we not running the ball to secure the lead at the half?!

3rd Quarter (4:15) WTH Gilbert?! This third interception by Case McCoy was clearly a throw for Mike Davis to go after which neither one were on the same page. Case had a night in Waco like Garrett had in Manhattan. Case had 4 interceptions which Baylor turned into 17 points.

4th Quarter (7:43) WTH RG3?! The UT defense said that Robert Griffin was not going to have a Heisman type night on them. Well UT defense, RG3 is headed to New York. RG3 threw his second touchdown of the night to finish with 320 yards of passing and he ran in two scores. Looks like THE hardware is coming to Waco!

Next up for the Longhorns are the Cal Bears on December 28th in the Holiday Bowl.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at 40AcresSports or follow me at Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ game against the Bears.

Special Shout Out to Colt McCoy for having his number retired. Thanks #12 for 45 great wins!

1st Quarter (12:11) WTH Karate Kid?! Let’s not worry about the karate kick that Sam Acho delivered on QB Robert Griffin. The sack, fumble recovery and all out effort all game long proved to the 100,452 in attendance who is the defensive leader.

1st Quarter (9:23) WTH Matthews?! This play sums up the entire season for the Horns receivers. The right play was called but the concentration was not there. TE Barrett Matthews stone hands had a sure touchdown bounce off of them. On a positive note Garrett Gilbert played his best game of the year!

2nd Quarter (14:06) WTH Brown RD1?! The punt returners have been dismal. Thank God for the officials bailing out Curtis Brown trying to catch a punt inside his 10 yard line. Still cannot believe that the officials gave the Horns the ball on the twenty after all of that mess. Please make a change…

2nd Quarter (8:51) WTH Williams?! I hope the Longhorn receivers watched the excellent catch by Baylor’s Terrance Williams. The officials had to review it because they did not believe it. Now that is how you catch a bad pass! Great effort!

2nd Quarter (8:04) WTH Butter Fingers?! Both Alex Okafor and Keenan Robinson failed to recover a crucial fumble by Baylor. Both were trying hard to make a play but this team needs positive results.

2nd Quarter (:43) WTH Coach Blood?! Coach Muschamp calling a blitz on 3rd & 10 against the Bears when you have held them in check for most of the game? The play exposed Blake Gideon’s lack of tackling and the Bears had the first TD of the game which covered 59 yards.

3rd Quarter (10:05) WTH Defense?! Great job by Christian Scott for intercepting the ball and returning it to the Baylor 40 yard line. Too bad your defensive teammates were too eager to add two huge penalties to put the Horns back at their own 15 yard line.

3rd Quarter (1:18) WTH Briles?! I love the cool customer that is Baylor Coach Art Briles when he called two timeouts in a row to make sure he had the right 4th down call. Bears started the 4th quarter with the go ahead touchdown and all the momentum on their side.

4th Quarter (2:34) WTH Brown RD2?! Curtis Brown needs to be relieved of his punt return duties not because of his lack of skill. He was trying to make something happen when there was nothing to be had. His fumbled was recovered by Jordan Hicks but the subsequent unsportsmanlike penalty by Curtis put the Horns in a huge hole.

Next up for the Longhorn’s are the Wildcats of Kansas State in the “Little Apple” on November 6th.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at 40AcresSports or follow me at Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas game versus [tag]Baylor[/tag] on the Big 12 Network. We’ll be live right around tip so join us to discuss the game at 3:00pm Saturday.

Feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. Hook ’em!

(continue to read full live blog …)

WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ game against the Baylor Bears.

A family tradition: Sam Acho forced the 5th Acho fumble of the season. (Image: MB-TF)

Pregame WTH Floyd Casey?! Our game should be called the Battle of the Brazos (nod to the Red River Rivalry) since the fans were split right down the middle at the 50 yard line with UT fans taking up half the stadium. Should Baylor football still get their cut of the Big XII money pot with their contribution to stadium attendances?

1st Half WTH Fox Sports?! Please talk to the Texas coaches before you broadcast another game. The television truck kept asking for replays or studio updates that caused us to miss many of the Longhorns up tempo offensive plays. Heck, they even missed on (1st Qt. 9:30) Tre’ Newton’s 45 yard touchdown run for a game update. I guess replays are more important than live plays.

1st Quarter (7:38) WTH McCoy?! [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] please leave the Baylor fans alone. You made a good decision to throw away the football on broken play. But your pass ear holed a young Baylor band girl. I am surprised Colt you even hit a fan with the attendance that was announced (44,372).

1st Quarter (7:34 & 6:46) WTH Novak?! Referee Scott Novak and his crew screwed up on back to back unsportsmanlike penalties for taunting on the Baylor defense. Both calls were horrible since Baylor was trying to stay motivated against the second ranked team in the country down by 21 points. Thanks Scott for legislating out enthusiasm at a college football game.

2nd Quarter (1:28) WTH Chykie?! A great forced fumble by [tag]Sam Acho[/tag] which caused the ball to roll around in the end zone. [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag] had the ball in his hands but could not come up with the touchdown recovery. Oh well, Chykie had a great game by leading the team in tackles with 8 and had a bone jarring sack. WTH Shout Out to [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] who had 2 sacks and was constantly in the Baylor backfield.

3rd Quarter WTH Beebe?! Big XII Commissioner Dan Beebe was brought in for filler time in the booth during the 2nd half of the game. Dan thought the current BCS system needed a little tweaking with adding the strength of schedule, but shot down the idea of a playoff or a plus 1 system to determine the championship. Maybe we need to add the conference commissioners with the university presidents who do not get it when nearly everyone wants some sort of playoff.

Next Day WTH Monroe?! I know that we have all done some stupid stuff. I hope that D.J. Monroe’s lack of poor judgment (DWI arrest) does not end a great start to a college career. I’m all for second chances to those who deserve it.

WTH Shout Out?! Thanks to the fans at Bucky’s Big Red Tailgate Company who hosted this Longhorn at the Wisconsin Badger game against Michigan. You guys truly know how to throw a tailgate party and take care of a Texas fan in Madison.

Next up for the Longhorn’s is the final home game of the season against the Jayhawks at 7pm Nov. 21st.

No slow start this week for the Texas Longhorns. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and company took it to the Baylor Bears early and often Saturday afternoon. They ran the ball well, threw the ball with ease, and the defense dominated and had a shutout until late scores against the backups. Check out highlights from the game below: