Posted February 4th, 2014 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting

There’s been much hubbub the last several days as Texas fans reacted to the rumors that Texas coach Mack Brown told commitments visiting during the football banquet weekend that he was forced out that they should “look around”.

Mack responded to those reports via Twitter:

Some of you have asked about my visit w/recruits & their families after I stepped down. Let me assure you it was all positive towards Texas! Our new AD Steve Patterson was there with me and I told the entire group that Texas would hire a great coach, it is a wonderful place and they absolutely should still come.

The initial reports started based on comments from Houston Lamar safety John Bonney who today backed up Brown’s version of events. Bonney said that Brown told recruits that they should come to Texas if they committed to Texas, but if they committed just to play for him that “I certainly encourage you to look elsewhere because I won’t be your coach.”

Overall it sounds like Brown was honest with the kids and did not encourage them to look around but simply stated the obvious that the situation had changed and the players should be thoughtful with their decisions. That’s exactly the kind of honesty and respect with high school recruits that got so many 4 and 5-star recruits to sign with Texas over the previous 16 years.

The first National Signing Day of the Charlie Strong era is tomorrow. He’s kept most of the class together and hopefully signing a couple defensive tackle recruits to close out the class. Stay tuned to @40acressports and the Texas FanGuide app for updates.

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Posted December 10th, 2013 by Ross
Filed under: Football

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!!

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Posted November 22nd, 2013 by Ross
Filed under: Football

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 Texas’ matchup with Oklahoma State.

Pregame WTH Fans?! Where was the crowd? There were a lot of empty seats even though the announced crowd was 99,739. I guess #TurnUpDKR did not have much effect.

2nd Quarter (11:02) WTH Daje?! It’s the second straight game where Daje Johnson has a brain freeze while trying to field a punt. The rule is DO NOT field a punt inside the 10 yard line. Love the speed, not the decision making.

Halftime WTH Band?! Shout out to all of our veterans on this special day. Great job by the UT band reenacting the flag plant at Iwo Jima.

Halftime WTH Major?! I saw Major Applewhite running from the locker room with security in tow with 5 minutes still left in the halftime. It’s amazing that our OC has only about 15 minutes to offer any halftime adjustments.

3rd Quarter (5:30) WTH Royal?! The scoreboard shows one of Darrell Royal’s favorite saying that when you throw three things happen and two of them are bad. Wish Major Applewhite would have read the screen before the start of the game.

Texas fan

The Texas team needs help from wherever it can get it.

3rd Quarter (2:30) WTH Delay?! The Godzillatron shows a taped delay view of our troops in Afghanistan showing their frustration on a previous UT play. Just two plays later Case McCoy doesn’t see the linebacker and throws another interception.

3rd Quarter (:42) WTH Horseshoe?! This has happened way too many times. The shine is officially coming off the Horseshoe. Case McCoy sky balls a throw for his third interception of the night.

4th Quarter (15:00) WTH Fan Services?! I see the signs around the stadium “Need Help?” text “TXFAN” with issue and location to 69050. I even found this kid with a sign “How may I help you.” No one could offer any assistance on getting any points on the board for the Horns in the second half. The team ends up suffering the worst home loss in the Mack Brown’s tenure.

Next up for the Longhorns are the Red Raiders from Lubbock on November 28th in Austin.

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!!

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Posted October 9th, 2013 by Ross
Filed under: Football

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 Texas’ Thursday night game against Iowa State.

1st Quarter (15:00) WTH Electric?! That is what Mack Brown called the 52,762 fans that attended the tussle in Ames. And to top it off, the game was played on a Thursday?! Are we playing in the MEAC conference?

1st Quarter (2:27) WTH Rose?! The baton twirler from the Cyclone band caught the booming kickoff instead of a Cyclone kick returner. Most of Nick Rose’s kickoffs were sailing far into the end zone for touchbacks all night.

2nd Quarter (:00) WTH Horseshoe?! If this is the first time you seen this word on one of my posts, it refers to a certain QB. Horseshoe refers to Case McCoy who has a golden horseshoe up inside of him due to his lucky ways (A&M, Kansas, etc.). How in the hell did that Hail Mary pass to the end zone end up in John Harris hands? Amazing that the TD pass to end the half was bigger than you thought at the time.

3rd Quarter (6:34) WTH Cleats?! The defense looked like it was stepping up to the challenge. Then Adrian Phillips decided to slip (get some longer cleats… dude) and let the Cyclones receiver score on a 97 yard pass play.

3rd Quarter (4:30) WTH Magic?! Mike Davis has lost his right to be called Magic. He clearly took a cheap shot by going low at the defensive back on the goal line. Amazing how Mack Brown said that his player was just battling and competing. Is really that out of touch?

4th Quarter (3:40) WTH Kill Shot?! I am disappointed with the tenacity of the ISU team to slam the door. The Cyclones were 2nd down and 1 on the Horns 4 yard line. The next two plays were miss steps that opened the door. Did anyone think the Horns were going to pull this out? Here comes Horseshoe.

4th Quarter (:51) WTH Gray?! Johnathan Gray fumbled not once but twice on the goal line. Maybe Joe Bergeron should have been the choice in a late game situation… oh wait… OSU Cowboy late game fumble. Oh well.

Next up for the Longhorns is the Red River Rivalry against the Sooners in Dallas on October 12th.

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!!

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Posted September 18th, 2013 by Ross
Filed under: Feature, Football

Mack Brown and Manny Diaz

Mack Brown fired Manny Diaz to try to fix the defense. So… now what?

This is the second time in less than a year that you will not see the normal WTH article this week. The loss to Ole Miss 44 – 23 is another step in the decline of the program. The first time I did not write a weekly WTH article was after the shellacking by OU last year. I need to explain why I am not writing my usual article, and I also want to tackle the coaching situation at UT.

The reason that I did not give a moment by moment account is because I left the game after the third quarter when Ole Miss took a punt to the house to make the score 37 – 23. I did not know what was going to happen next, but I assumed that the team had given up any hope of winning and so did I. You have every right to rip me for not staying until the end of the game to sing the “Eyes of Texas” win or lose. To let you know my track record, I have never left a game (season ticket holder) win or lose except for one other time. I left at halftime of the 66 – 3 rout by UCLA. The 1997 season was John Mackovic’s last year when the team went 4-7. I have the same feelings now as I did 16 years ago about this team and their head coach. I will continue to support the team by attending and cheering the Longhorns at the very next game. At that moment when Ole Miss went up two scores, I felt the only real message I could send to the administration, coaches and the media is to leave the game and have them see the empty seat. I hope the message that was interpreted from the empty seats was this is not the type of effort or standard to be played at DKR. I can deal with losing to a better team or the team having an off day. This team has lost its edge and confidence in the present coaching staff. The fan base has a sense of apathy towards this team and its coaching staff which is deadly for a program. I welcome your thoughts if I totally missed the mark on my exit.

In regards to the coaching situation at Texas, Coach Mack Brown has eliminated any chance of getting another good assistant coach to ever come here because of what he did by firing (excuse me… reassigning) Manny Diaz. I am not going to argue the point if he should have gone or not, but no self-respecting coach is going to be on a program that has no stability and is not a cohesive group. I have to imagine that the other coaches are getting their resume together because they know that Mack is not long for this job. I will be totally shocked if Mack Brown does not step down after this season. My biggest concern is that the Regents, President Powell, and the new Athletic Director try keep all the assistants together by hiring Major Applewhite to coach this team. We all understand that change is evident, but do not try to lessen the change in order to keep the status quo.

I hope they clean house and return an edge to the program that is lacking. Oh yeah, the edge should come from the Head Coach not the assistants or the star players.

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Posted September 12th, 2013 by Ross
Filed under: Feature, Football

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 BYU.

David Ash

QB David Ash was hounded and pounded by the BYU defense all game long

1st Quarter (15:00) WTH Lightning?! Is it me or did every college football game have a weather delay. Just wish Mother Nature would have made this game unplayable. Texas handled that part of the plan pretty well.

1st Quarter (5:04) WTH 3 & OUT?! How many of these do want to start in a game? (three consecutive 3 & out) Did anyone tell the offensive coaching staff that there were second string defensive backs in the game?

2nd Quarter (9:30) WTH Special?! Texas you are on the road. The defense just stopped the BYU offense. Texas you are ahead in the game 14-10. Why did you call for a blocked punt? Stupid is as stupid does. Three plays later after the roughing the punter penalty, BYU goes up for good.

2nd Quarter (7:26) WTH Stat Line of the game?! 6 plays (includes the punt), -5 yards of offense and 22 seconds of possession time. Welcome to the up tempo offense we were promised.

Halftime (:00) WTH Charmin?! ESPN halftime crew back in Bristol was dying to say it on television. The Longhorns are “SOFT”. I think the Big Blue Stop Sign that showed up on 3rd down affected the Longhorn offense.

3rd Quarter (9:57) WTH Manny?! I can still hear Mack Brown yelling at Coach Diaz about getting the defense to stop their quarterback. QB Taysom Hill of BYU ended up with 259 rushing yards & 3 TD’s.

3rd Quarter (:00) WTH Gashed?! The most rushing yards ever given up by a Texas defense which was 550 yards and they gave it up before the fourth quarter ever started. I predict that Lee Corso will never pick the Longhorns to win the rest of the season. Guess my prediction for the season is in grave jeopardy.

4th Quarter (15:00) WTH Luke Bryan?! ESPN chose to open the fourth quarter with a Luke Bryan country song. They should have used the song “Wasting Bullets!”

Next up for the Longhorns is a game at home against the Ole Miss Rebels on September 14th.

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!!

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Posted January 21st, 2013 by Ross
Filed under: Feature, Football

Greg Davis

We don't want Greg Davis back, but some of his ideas could help the Texas offense.

OK. I do not want Coach Davis to drive up to the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center and unpack his things. I do however want us to think of the concepts that Greg Davis learned on the job to help Texas make an impressive run to unprecedented glory on the 40 acres.

We saw how the offense sputtered around in the first half of the Valero Alamo Bowl until something clicked to help propel the Longhorns to a 31-27 win. What clicked? Something that Coach Davis learned when installing the spread offense. You need to have a threat at the quarterback position. Look at what is happening to the teams in the Big XII, A&M, Oregon, Ohio State and even the NFL. Coaches across the country are realizing that you need the quarterback to be a threat to run and throw. College kids want to know that they have a chance to go to the next level. Look at the success that the Redskins and Seahawks in the NFL are having with rookie quarterbacks that can run. You cannot have a QB that is destined to run every play, but you do want one that is mobile in the pocket and can be a “threat” to run to make defenses think.

One of Greg Davis’ faults was the thinking that Texas can out talent the opponent no matter the scheme. Bryan Harsin brought the schematic and creative advantages that the UT offense needed. Unfortunately, Coach Harsin fell in love with only certain plays for certain players where the offensive packages were more important than the talent that was out there. The SEC offenses (specifically Bama) which is what Mack Brown wants to emulate with a grind it out running game that does not rely on the quarterback to win the game is no longer viable. Look at how Louisville with its dynamic quarterback put it on Florida in the Sugar Bowl. And who single handily brought down Alabama in their own back yard, but Johnny Football. Look at what Nick Saban said about the no huddle offense before he ran into the Heisman Trophy winner which is predominantly lead by a fast break quarterback.

Greg Davis used the threat of a running quarterback with a wide open passing attack which opened up lanes for the running backs. In case you forgot, we have had individual 1,000 yard rushers while Davis was calling the plays. No Longhorn running back has yet to reach over 780 yards rushing in the past three years under the so called smash mouth running game (OL needs to share in some of the blame). My prediction is that Johnathan Gray will be the next 1,000 yard rusher to join the last back to do that Jamaal Charles. (2007 – 1,619 yds.)

Where can you find these dual threat quarterbacks? Right here in our back yard. Quarterbacks in high school have 7 on 7 tournaments to hone their skill of reading coverages and making quick decisions in the passing game. The best athletes on the field are playing quarterback in Texas. Hell, Texas is the only state in the country that has a dedicated class time assigned to a sport or PE. Dual threat quarterbacks are being used in every type of classification in the sport. Why do you want to recruit a care taker at quarterback when you need something dynamic to keep stronger and faster defenses guessing? We have dual threat quarterbacks on campus and more are coming up through recruiting. David Ash used his legs to jump start the offense in the bowl game and that running helped him open up the passing game.

Major Applewhite may hold the key to the concepts that Coach Davis used while at UT. Coach Applewhite had a great quote after the bowl win when he said that it is not about the X’s and O’s but about the culture of our program and keeping people accountable to be successful. I beg that Coach Brown will let Major carry out his plan on offense. I venture to guess that Major will use this quote from Michael Jordan to the team this offseason, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”

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Posted November 28th, 2012 by Ross
Filed under: Feature, Football

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 TCU Horned Frogs.

Pregame WTH Handshake?! Shouldn’t Texas have something more for the seniors on their final home game? A handshake or a hug from Mack Brown and then you run to a cluster of people in the end zone that you hope is your family. How about making the moment a little more memorable in front of the home crowd?

1st Quarter (15:00) WTH Tryptophan?! Texas wants to have the exclusivity of having every Thanksgiving Day game at home. The attendance was announced at 99,950, but the lack of students and exuberant fans may make our home town network ESPN look for other options.

Case McCoy is sacked by TCU

Case McCoy, David Ash, and the entire Texas offense sputtered against TCU. (AP Photo)

1st Quarter (12:39) WTH Ash Part 1?! The offense moved right down the field to open the game. David Ash did not lead Mike Davis enough which resulted in a costly red zone interception.

2nd Quarter (15:00) WTH 96?! It was the 96th anniversary of Bevo attending a Thanksgiving Day game. Are we reaching here to celebrate something? How about waiting for 100?

2nd Quarter (10:48) WTH Wedge?! Heard of the term chip shot? Well, TCU kicker Jaden Oberkrom decided to take it literally and clubbed the field goal which was clearly short.

2nd Quarter (5:34) WTH Ash Part 2?! Another trip to the red zone and another costly interception thrown by David Ash. The thinking was that Ash had turned the corner and was improving every week. Obviously this game he took a few steps back.

2nd Quarter (2:45) WTH Ash Part 3?! Third time is a charm and David provided the dubious moment of the night when the ball slipped out of his hands when he was attempting a pass. The Horns defense up to this point was playing well. TCU recovered the fumble and needed only 3 plays to go up 14-3.

Halftime WTH Purple?! Saw a lot of TCU fans on the 40 acres. One purple shirt said “We are Horny Too.” One female fan had red makeup streaming from her eyes to represent the blood that supposedly comes from that awe inspiring Horny Toad.

3rd Quarter (13:54) WTH Shoelaces?! Gary Patterson has a few idiosyncrasies. Hitching up his pants and most notably tie and retying his tennis shoes. He was frantically making adjustments when Adrian Phillips intercepted the Horned Frogs to swing the mojo back the Horns way.

3rd Quarter (8:47) WTH Forrest?! “Stupid is as stupid does.” Jesse “Gump” Palmer got ESPN hot under the collar when he did the Horns down signal. He apologized which made it even worse. Longhorn fans are not thin skinned about the Horns down except for Mack Brown.

3rd Quarter (3:35) WTH Nets?! The teams traded field goals to close out the third quarter. Just wondering? Are we the only school that does not use a net to stop the kick from going into the stands? You think we could afford one.

4th Quarter (1:20) WTH Horseshoe?! Case McCoy finally sparked the offense to bring the Horns back to within a score. Unfortunately, brain lock got the best of him when he threw into triple coverage to end the game. No Thanksgiving Day miracles this time around.

Next up for the Longhorns is a trip to Manhattan to take on Kansas State on December 1st.

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!!

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Posted November 9th, 2012 by Ross
Filed under: Feature, Football

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 Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Mike Davis was big with the big plays again versus Texas Tech.

Mike Davis was big with the big plays again versus the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (AP photo)

1st Quarter (15:00) WTH Lonestar?! The largest crowd ever (60,879) came out to see the new Under Armor uniform which was a shout out to the Lonestar State. It might be a little early to claim the state title with that type of uniform while only beating Texas State and TCU. Maybe the Red Raiders want to replace the Aggies on the State Farm Lonestar Showdown.

2nd Quarter (15:00) WTH Zoro?! It looks like Zoro is going to have to find a new horse. The Masked Rider’s horse Midnight Matador was retired before the start of the 2nd quarter. Ten years as the mascot for the Red Raiders is a pretty good run. Enjoy your time as a stud!

2nd Quarter (13:46) WTH Six Shooter?! Magic Mike Davis may need some etiquette lessons on drawing your weapons. David Ash connected with Davis for a 75 yard bomb to take control of the game. Yosemite Sam may need to give Mike a gun safety course. Hey wait, if you cannot draw your guns, can opposing teams still do the Horns down?

2nd Quarter (5:03) WTH Dagnabbit?! Coach Tommy Tuberville and Coach Duane Akina had a fit with the officials when a phantom late hit call was not enforced. Akina and Tubbs both looked like they were going to have an aneurysm on the sidelines. Tubbs gets extra points for throwing down his plastic play card sheet twice.

2nd Quarter (1:14) WTH Ice Ice Baby?! The Horns did a great job of confusing the Red Raiders on defense. It spilled over on to their head coach. Dummerville decide to use a precious commodity by calling a timeout to ice Anthony Fera who ended up making the 42 yard kick.

4th Quarter (13:37) WTH Vortech?! The Vortech is a Texas Tech creation that simulates a tornado. The tornado that got away was Johnathan Gray whose Dad once wore the black and red. Gray started the fourth quarter with an impressive set of first down runs to finish with his second straight 100 yard game.

4th Quarter (5:14) WTH Hands?! Carrington Byndom had a tremendous day using his hands by swatting a crucial 2pt try by the Raiders and knocking down a field goal attempt that would have made it a one possession game. Great game turned in by the defense.

4th Quarter (:28) WTH Bear Hug?! Coach Brown saved his biggest hug for AD DeLoss Dodds who had just seen a tremendous effort and fight by the Longhorns to record its fourth straight win over the Raiders.

Next up for the Longhorns is a home date with the Cyclones in Austin on November 10th.

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!!

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A statement from Mack Brown on the death of Texas head coach and legend Darrell Royal:


Mack Brown and Darrell Royal

Mack Brown and Darrell Royal in the Texas locker room after a game.

“Today is a very sad day. I lost a wonderful friend, a mentor, a confidant and my hero. College football lost maybe its best ever and the world lost a great man. I can hardly put in words how much Coach Royal means to me and all that he has done for me and my family. I wouldn’t even be at Texas without Coach. His council and friendship meant a lot to me before I came to Texas, but it’s been my guiding light for my 15 years here.

“Coach gave so much more to the State of Texas and college football than he took away. He forgot more football than most of us will ever know, including me. His impact on the game, the coaches and players, the community and the millions of lives he touched, is insurmountable. He will be missed in so many ways.

“I lost my Dad when I was 54, and Coach filled a real void in my life and treated me like family. Sally and I gained a lot coming to Texas and being a part of this tremendous program but no more than our relationship with Coach and Edith. They were our closest of friends. Our heart pours out to Edith and the family and our thoughts and prayers are with her and the family. We will always be there to lend any and all support that we can as she and Coach always did for us.”

Via MackBrown-TexasFootball.com

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