Chip Brown reports on Orangebloods.com that the ACC option for Texas may be "decreasing," and that the conference may have "moved on without Texas." Brown also reports that the best remaining option for Texas will be to join the Pac 12. Texas was supposedly caught completely off-guard by the Syracuse-Pitt move to the ACC, and how that has played in this "end-game" is unclear.
Analysis: Rumors spun earlier today that suggested Texas was told by the ACC they wanted two teams from Texas, but when Texas Tech was asked by UT to join the ACC, Texas Tech declined. When Baylor was proposed as an alternate, the ACC declined. Shortly after this negotiation broke down, supposedly, the Syracuse/Pitt move happened with startling speed.
There are huge ramifications if this report holds true. Reports held that short of remaining in the Big 12, the ACC was Texas' last, best hope for retaining the Longhorn Network in its current form. If the door to the ACC has closed, and the Longhorns are unwilling to go independent (as they've repeatedly stated), it looks very much like the stage would be set for Texas and Texas Tech to follow the Sooners and the OSU Cowboys to the Pac 12+
Obviously, all of this is very fluid, and at times Orangebloods.com has been a bit dicey in credibility, but the fact that this current report matches earlier rumors gives this curernt info a bit more credibility.
More as it develops!
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Saturday, September 17, 2011
We interrupt realignment to bring you some actual football
It's been a wild day of college football, so lets take a break from the dizzying rumors of realignment to talk actual games:
Clemson 38, Auburn 24 - We all knew that Auburn was probably the worst 2-0 team in the country, with last-gasp wins against marginal foes staking them to an unbeaten early start and a top 25 ranking. Clemson, however, exposed all that is wrong with Auburn, especially on defense. After falling into a 21-7 hole, Clemson reeled off a 38-3 rally that carved up the Tiger secondary like so much Thanksgiving turkey. Throw in a bushel-basket full of bad and broken arm tackles, and you have all you need to know about Clemson's win. Of course, Clemson being what it is, they'll try to make this win into something akin to an upset of the '74 Steelers, with Dabo Sweeney bellowing like a madman to the ESPN cameras in a post-game interview. C'mon, Dabo.
Iowa 31, Pittsburgh 27 - After staking the Panthers to a 24-3 lead early, the Hawkeyes pounded Pitt just as the ink dried on their application to the ACC. You know, since their national title in 1976 with Tony Dorsett, has Pitt really done anything of significance?
Texas 49, UCLA 20 - Okay, with Garrett Gilbert permanently on the sidelines and a guy named McCoy at the helm, Texas looks like a legitimate football team again. Then again, I think Paul Rhoads' Iowa State juggernaut could probaubly hang 30+ on UCLA. As Texas rolls, the one thing for Horn fans to worry about is that the Bruins' best weapon was - get this - running right at the Horns. Which was eerily like UT's biggest defensive liability last year, too. UT fans should be cautiously optimistic - they've got a QB, a RB, and they're already clearly better than last year. But temper that with the reality that UCLA will struggle to find a winning record this year. I can't believe a program like UCLA has allowed itself to get this bad.
Ugly Stat: In four years under Rick Neuheisel, UCLA is a dreadful 2-19 against teams that go on to finish at or above .500.
Seems to me a long year is ahead for the Bruins, and a new job is in Neuheisel's future. Despite his baggage, I still think Mike Leach would be a perfect fit for that job, football-smart to get the job done, wacky enough to fit into LA culture like a glove. Question is whether the support is there for UCLA football to get it back to its former level....who knows..
More commentary and updates as the mood hits...
Clemson 38, Auburn 24 - We all knew that Auburn was probably the worst 2-0 team in the country, with last-gasp wins against marginal foes staking them to an unbeaten early start and a top 25 ranking. Clemson, however, exposed all that is wrong with Auburn, especially on defense. After falling into a 21-7 hole, Clemson reeled off a 38-3 rally that carved up the Tiger secondary like so much Thanksgiving turkey. Throw in a bushel-basket full of bad and broken arm tackles, and you have all you need to know about Clemson's win. Of course, Clemson being what it is, they'll try to make this win into something akin to an upset of the '74 Steelers, with Dabo Sweeney bellowing like a madman to the ESPN cameras in a post-game interview. C'mon, Dabo.
Iowa 31, Pittsburgh 27 - After staking the Panthers to a 24-3 lead early, the Hawkeyes pounded Pitt just as the ink dried on their application to the ACC. You know, since their national title in 1976 with Tony Dorsett, has Pitt really done anything of significance?
Texas 49, UCLA 20 - Okay, with Garrett Gilbert permanently on the sidelines and a guy named McCoy at the helm, Texas looks like a legitimate football team again. Then again, I think Paul Rhoads' Iowa State juggernaut could probaubly hang 30+ on UCLA. As Texas rolls, the one thing for Horn fans to worry about is that the Bruins' best weapon was - get this - running right at the Horns. Which was eerily like UT's biggest defensive liability last year, too. UT fans should be cautiously optimistic - they've got a QB, a RB, and they're already clearly better than last year. But temper that with the reality that UCLA will struggle to find a winning record this year. I can't believe a program like UCLA has allowed itself to get this bad.
Ugly Stat: In four years under Rick Neuheisel, UCLA is a dreadful 2-19 against teams that go on to finish at or above .500.
Seems to me a long year is ahead for the Bruins, and a new job is in Neuheisel's future. Despite his baggage, I still think Mike Leach would be a perfect fit for that job, football-smart to get the job done, wacky enough to fit into LA culture like a glove. Question is whether the support is there for UCLA football to get it back to its former level....who knows..
More commentary and updates as the mood hits...
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Is OU heading to the Big 12 exit?
If Texas A&M's recent departure from the Big 12 put the conference on life support, word came yesterday that might just move it to the terminal list. Oklahoma president David Boren announced yesterday that the Sooners are "exploring" their conference options, and have received interest from "several" conferences.
Oklahoma has been conspicuously quiet throughout the conference realignment talk over the last year, seemingly willing to go along with the Longhorns as a tandem into whatever conference they align. Now, with A&M's departure, and OU's stated announcement, it seems to me the Big 12 has reached a crossroads - more accurately, a dead end.
OU AD Joe Castiglione served this week on a board to assess expansion to get the Big 12 back to at least ten, if not twelve, teams. Rumors circulating throughout the media indicated that BYU was prime among the expansion targets, but Oklahoma sports station WWLS reported late last week that the Cougars said "thanks, but no thanks." That Boren made his announcement about OU's future conference alignment shortly thereafter speaks volumes - with BYU saying no, and OU a member of the expansion team, there's an implicit admission that there aren't any teams of high enough caliber interested in joining the flailing and failing Big 12.
Talk radio speculation swirled that other schools such as Pitt, Lousiville, SMU, and Houston were either interested in or likely candidates for Big 12 expansion. It says here that the Big 12 realized that adding teams merely for the sake of numbers doesn't add value - it dilutes the league with second-tier programs, thereby diluting its value. And the previously silent Sooners finally decided it was time for them to play their own cards. That Boren mentioned OU's desire to ally itself with prestigious academic universities telegraphs the Sooners' preferred choices as either the Big Ten, which is unlikely, or the Pac 12, which was interested just last year.
There exists at least the chance that Boren's self-imposed "three-week" deadline to resolve OU's conference membership was really a clock for a prospective member such as BYU to change its mind. In reality, I think BYU is happy now as an independent, and OU's likely exit from the Big 12 will spell the end for a troubled, top-heavy conference, with too much power focused south of the Red River.
Stay tuned.
Oklahoma has been conspicuously quiet throughout the conference realignment talk over the last year, seemingly willing to go along with the Longhorns as a tandem into whatever conference they align. Now, with A&M's departure, and OU's stated announcement, it seems to me the Big 12 has reached a crossroads - more accurately, a dead end.
OU AD Joe Castiglione served this week on a board to assess expansion to get the Big 12 back to at least ten, if not twelve, teams. Rumors circulating throughout the media indicated that BYU was prime among the expansion targets, but Oklahoma sports station WWLS reported late last week that the Cougars said "thanks, but no thanks." That Boren made his announcement about OU's future conference alignment shortly thereafter speaks volumes - with BYU saying no, and OU a member of the expansion team, there's an implicit admission that there aren't any teams of high enough caliber interested in joining the flailing and failing Big 12.
Talk radio speculation swirled that other schools such as Pitt, Lousiville, SMU, and Houston were either interested in or likely candidates for Big 12 expansion. It says here that the Big 12 realized that adding teams merely for the sake of numbers doesn't add value - it dilutes the league with second-tier programs, thereby diluting its value. And the previously silent Sooners finally decided it was time for them to play their own cards. That Boren mentioned OU's desire to ally itself with prestigious academic universities telegraphs the Sooners' preferred choices as either the Big Ten, which is unlikely, or the Pac 12, which was interested just last year.
There exists at least the chance that Boren's self-imposed "three-week" deadline to resolve OU's conference membership was really a clock for a prospective member such as BYU to change its mind. In reality, I think BYU is happy now as an independent, and OU's likely exit from the Big 12 will spell the end for a troubled, top-heavy conference, with too much power focused south of the Red River.
Stay tuned.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
A&M to the SEC: Round Two
With all the surprise of a blue light special at K-Mart, Texas A&M confirmed two weeks of speculation today by sending its formal notification to the Big 12 of its intent to explore other avenues of conference membership. While the unofficial, behind-the-scenes wheels continue to churn, this is the first official, legal step that makes the move that much closer to reality.
This is going to play out in myriad ugly ways. Chip Brown at Orangebloods reports that Texas has made it clear they'll make no special effort to schedule A&M as a non-conference opponent should he Ags bolt, possibly pursuing Notre Dame as a Thanksgiving replacement. That Texas would so broadly reach for the Irish tells me that independence is on the Horns mind, or perhaps even grander things - an entirely new conference anchored by Texas and Notre Dame, which could take startling new directions.
No matter how the details shake out, there will be hurt feelings that will last across generations, and fans of 2011 will be the ones to see how realignment, power consolidation, and money have cost the game of college football yet another great rivalry. Just as the Big 12 ended Oklahoma Nebraska, the death of the Big 12 will likely end Texas-Texas A&M. The only question now, sadly, is what's next?
This is going to play out in myriad ugly ways. Chip Brown at Orangebloods reports that Texas has made it clear they'll make no special effort to schedule A&M as a non-conference opponent should he Ags bolt, possibly pursuing Notre Dame as a Thanksgiving replacement. That Texas would so broadly reach for the Irish tells me that independence is on the Horns mind, or perhaps even grander things - an entirely new conference anchored by Texas and Notre Dame, which could take startling new directions.
No matter how the details shake out, there will be hurt feelings that will last across generations, and fans of 2011 will be the ones to see how realignment, power consolidation, and money have cost the game of college football yet another great rivalry. Just as the Big 12 ended Oklahoma Nebraska, the death of the Big 12 will likely end Texas-Texas A&M. The only question now, sadly, is what's next?
Friday, August 12, 2011
Conference Shuffling 2011 - More Talk...
Update Saturday, 7:10 PM CDT: Orangebloods.com is now reporting that the remaining Big 12 AD's (minus A&M) have vowed solidarity to the conference. OU has supposedly said it is not interested in the SEC. If A&M leaves, the Big 12 would look to fill the vacancy, with a current short list of BYU, Air Force, Houston, or TCU. Now, how TCU would fit in the picture given their new alignment with the Big East is unexplained.
It looks like the crippled, castrated Big 12 is going to try and limp along as an embarrassing, 9-member remnant of college football that seems to be shifting around its members without touching them. Even if they pick-up a leftover from a middling conference as a 10th member, its a pitiful shadow of what it was just one season ago. It's amazing to me that programs the stature of Oklahoma or even Texas aren't making overtures to conferences that have something more credible than Dan Beebe as their leader.
Update Saturday, 5:03 PM CDT: CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel reports that Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and two other "unnamed" Big 12 schools inquired of the Big 10 about joining their conference. They were declined due to their academic standing.
This continues to reflect the ongoing scramble for conference realignment with virtually all major sources concurring that A&M will leave the Big 12 for the SEC, and the SEC apparently soliciting several other schools as well.
Update Saturday, 9:30 AM CDT: BIG NEWS: ESPN's Doug Gottlieb is now reporting from his own sources that A&M will, in fact, join the SEC. That's not necessarily new news; however, the other element he is reporting IS big news: Reportedly, three NEW teams are planning the SEC jump, and they are Clemson, Florida State, and Missouri. With A&M and now Missouri departing, the Big 12 is a dead duck. The only question now, where will Oklahoma, Texas, and the rest of the Castrated 12 go? All bets look like the Pac 12 will be the winner. More as it happens!
Update 11:03 CDT....One fairly significant event to note - A&M has apparently scheduled a regents' meeting for Monday to discuss "all matters....relating to conference alignment." Florida State still officially denies they are being courted.
I still think the NCAA is going to have a finger in this, and try its darndest to stop any potential expansion. The threat superconferences pose to the NCAA is very real, but exactly how they can prevent them without some sort of leverage is hard to contemplate.
Rather than continually update yesterday's post about A&M, it seemed ripe to start fresh and evaluate where we are in the whirlwind of new conference realignment talks.
What do we know now? For concrete facts, very little. We have strong indications that Texas A&M will formally announce its intent to join the SEC on or about August 22, although there have been "non-denial denials" all over the place. I think this aspect, with details pending, is going to happen.
The next question I asked here is simple: Given that the SEC wouldn't be taking just one team, they'd take at least two, and maybe four, who was the next school on the SEC's list? Current reports and rumors strongly indicate that other school is Florida State. Supposedly, one insider at the athletic department of one current SEC school claims the conference is "confident" they will announce A&M and FSU as new members within the next two weeks.
That same source also indicates that the SEC might be emboldened to jump to superconference status by ramping up to 16 teams, possibly seeking Oklahoma and possibly Clemson.
If the SEC plans a chess move to a superconference, one has to wonder if the same anonymous "interested parties" thatblocked the formation of the Pac 16 prserved what was left of the "Big" 12 would step in to prevent an "SEC 16?"
The NCAA wants no part of superconferences, for they fear the organization of an entity that jeopardizes their existence. It would not surprise me to find they were part of the "interested parties" that helped put the kibosh on the Big 12's split last year. If ESPN doesn't want to renegotiate its SEC deal and find its newly inked agreements with the BCS to be worth slightly less than the king's ransom they paid for it, it would seem logical they might use backdoor channels into the NCAA to solicit their assitance in stopping this iteration as well.
How? Stopping all the movement would presumably be simple - figure out a way to shut down the Longhorn Network, presumably the proverbial straw that broke A&M's back and led them to pursue the SEC. If the NCAA could apply pressure sufficient to force the Horns into shutting down their network before it started, A&M would have won the battle and the war. If the NCAA couldn't stop them, it would demonstrate just how serious a superconference threat would be to the NCAA's power and influence over college athletics.
How will it all shake out? At this point, who knows. COnventional wisdom holds that OU and Oklahoma State are tied at the hip, and would first want to head west to the Pac 12. OU wants no part of the SEC recruiting quagmire. Missouri has to be attractive to someone with its proximity to the St. Louis TV market, making a prospective Big 10 jump a very real possibility. Either way, it seems all-but impossible for what's left of the Big 12 to survive as a credible conference if A&M bolts.
Watch this space for updates as they come in!
It looks like the crippled, castrated Big 12 is going to try and limp along as an embarrassing, 9-member remnant of college football that seems to be shifting around its members without touching them. Even if they pick-up a leftover from a middling conference as a 10th member, its a pitiful shadow of what it was just one season ago. It's amazing to me that programs the stature of Oklahoma or even Texas aren't making overtures to conferences that have something more credible than Dan Beebe as their leader.
Update Saturday, 5:03 PM CDT: CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel reports that Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and two other "unnamed" Big 12 schools inquired of the Big 10 about joining their conference. They were declined due to their academic standing.
This continues to reflect the ongoing scramble for conference realignment with virtually all major sources concurring that A&M will leave the Big 12 for the SEC, and the SEC apparently soliciting several other schools as well.
Update Saturday, 9:30 AM CDT: BIG NEWS: ESPN's Doug Gottlieb is now reporting from his own sources that A&M will, in fact, join the SEC. That's not necessarily new news; however, the other element he is reporting IS big news: Reportedly, three NEW teams are planning the SEC jump, and they are Clemson, Florida State, and Missouri. With A&M and now Missouri departing, the Big 12 is a dead duck. The only question now, where will Oklahoma, Texas, and the rest of the Castrated 12 go? All bets look like the Pac 12 will be the winner. More as it happens!
Update 11:03 CDT....One fairly significant event to note - A&M has apparently scheduled a regents' meeting for Monday to discuss "all matters....relating to conference alignment." Florida State still officially denies they are being courted.
I still think the NCAA is going to have a finger in this, and try its darndest to stop any potential expansion. The threat superconferences pose to the NCAA is very real, but exactly how they can prevent them without some sort of leverage is hard to contemplate.
Rather than continually update yesterday's post about A&M, it seemed ripe to start fresh and evaluate where we are in the whirlwind of new conference realignment talks.
What do we know now? For concrete facts, very little. We have strong indications that Texas A&M will formally announce its intent to join the SEC on or about August 22, although there have been "non-denial denials" all over the place. I think this aspect, with details pending, is going to happen.
The next question I asked here is simple: Given that the SEC wouldn't be taking just one team, they'd take at least two, and maybe four, who was the next school on the SEC's list? Current reports and rumors strongly indicate that other school is Florida State. Supposedly, one insider at the athletic department of one current SEC school claims the conference is "confident" they will announce A&M and FSU as new members within the next two weeks.
That same source also indicates that the SEC might be emboldened to jump to superconference status by ramping up to 16 teams, possibly seeking Oklahoma and possibly Clemson.
If the SEC plans a chess move to a superconference, one has to wonder if the same anonymous "interested parties" that
The NCAA wants no part of superconferences, for they fear the organization of an entity that jeopardizes their existence. It would not surprise me to find they were part of the "interested parties" that helped put the kibosh on the Big 12's split last year. If ESPN doesn't want to renegotiate its SEC deal and find its newly inked agreements with the BCS to be worth slightly less than the king's ransom they paid for it, it would seem logical they might use backdoor channels into the NCAA to solicit their assitance in stopping this iteration as well.
How? Stopping all the movement would presumably be simple - figure out a way to shut down the Longhorn Network, presumably the proverbial straw that broke A&M's back and led them to pursue the SEC. If the NCAA could apply pressure sufficient to force the Horns into shutting down their network before it started, A&M would have won the battle and the war. If the NCAA couldn't stop them, it would demonstrate just how serious a superconference threat would be to the NCAA's power and influence over college athletics.
How will it all shake out? At this point, who knows. COnventional wisdom holds that OU and Oklahoma State are tied at the hip, and would first want to head west to the Pac 12. OU wants no part of the SEC recruiting quagmire. Missouri has to be attractive to someone with its proximity to the St. Louis TV market, making a prospective Big 10 jump a very real possibility. Either way, it seems all-but impossible for what's left of the Big 12 to survive as a credible conference if A&M bolts.
Watch this space for updates as they come in!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Texas A&M to the SEC - Update
Update @ 9:13 PM CST: Sporting News is reporting that stories of A&M joining the SEC are "just not true." However, considering the other stories that have come out tonight, this "high ranking SEC" statement is consistent with what we've known - that there cannot be a formal announcement until August 22.
Moreover, the SN story quoted their source as saying that various other leaders within the conference must be contacted before a formal invitation could be extended, which makes perfect sense given the 11 days between now and the reported August 22 announcement date.
It's all still fluid, and could still go by the boards, but right now I still stand on the side of A&M leaving. I keep wondering if we're going to hear rumors about contingency plans for OU, Texas, and the rest of the "Not Even Close to 12" should the A&M defection happen. Stay tuned.
Update @ 8:03 PM CST: Lots of media rumors and stories, hard to separate original reporting from reports-on-other reports. Newest source of fairly reliable information is coming from Orangebloods.com, link here, which says that A&M regents will vote on an SEC membership issue on August 22, and nothing official can be discussed before then.
Now, obviously, all of this is very fluid, and tons of hype is flowing everywhere, so all of this is subject to change, but the rumbling continue to suggest that A&M really is going to the SEC.
Update @ 7:47 PM CST: According to the Texas A&M Rivals site, A&M is going to the SEC!!! I must admit that I'm stunned. Read their story here. If this proves true, it almost certainly spells the end of what's left of the Big 12, and who knows where the dominoes will fall. Only time will tell!!!
Rumors on the Internet are like flies around the tail of a Texas horse - frequent, annoying, and generally swatted away.
Yet one such rumor - that of Texas A&M moving to the SEC - was promoted to full-fledged credible gossip when A&M president R. Bowen Loftin issued a curious statement pledging that he will always "look after" the best interests of the University.
You can read the entirety of the quote here.
Rumors of A&M to the SEC started last year as talks of a mass migration of teams from the Big 12 to the Pac 10 gained steam. Just as the move seemed an inevitability, an eleventh-hour deal among "interested parties" funneled more revenue to the conference and putting the kibosh on the move. Now the talks are, supposedly, starting up again.
There's only one problem. The SEC isn't going to accept just one team. If the SEC is serious about inviting A&M, it makes sense they're just as serious about inviting another, as yet unnamed school to compliment the Aggies.
The question is simple: What other school is in the SEC's gunsites? The only two high-profile programs that would seem likely candidates from the remnants of the erstwhile Big 12 would be Texas and Oklahoma; yet Texas with its new Longhorn Network hardly seems a fit for the SEC and its new ESPN contract. Oklahoma could be a legitimate second candidate, but chances are the Sooners would not move without a package deal including Oklahoma State.
The bigger fish is out there. Common sense says it has to be, with A&M serving only as the lure. That means that, as the Aggies deal with the SEC, they would do well to tread very, very cautiously. Why? If the second team on the SEC's agenda falls through, prospective talks with the Aggies could end abruptly, leaving A&M nowhere to go but back to league it, apparently, desperately wants to leave.
Let the rumors fly.
Update: Some media outlets have pointed out that the ONLY place from which the A&M-to-the-SEC rumors seem to be originating is College Station. There's been no vibe or rumor from any SEC outlets or sources, which means this may all be nothing more than disgruntled saber rattling by the Aggies....and, as of 5:30pm CST Thursday, College Station continues to be the only place other than the media talking this issue...
Moreover, the SN story quoted their source as saying that various other leaders within the conference must be contacted before a formal invitation could be extended, which makes perfect sense given the 11 days between now and the reported August 22 announcement date.
It's all still fluid, and could still go by the boards, but right now I still stand on the side of A&M leaving. I keep wondering if we're going to hear rumors about contingency plans for OU, Texas, and the rest of the "Not Even Close to 12" should the A&M defection happen. Stay tuned.
Update @ 8:03 PM CST: Lots of media rumors and stories, hard to separate original reporting from reports-on-other reports. Newest source of fairly reliable information is coming from Orangebloods.com, link here, which says that A&M regents will vote on an SEC membership issue on August 22, and nothing official can be discussed before then.
Now, obviously, all of this is very fluid, and tons of hype is flowing everywhere, so all of this is subject to change, but the rumbling continue to suggest that A&M really is going to the SEC.
Update @ 7:47 PM CST: According to the Texas A&M Rivals site, A&M is going to the SEC!!! I must admit that I'm stunned. Read their story here. If this proves true, it almost certainly spells the end of what's left of the Big 12, and who knows where the dominoes will fall. Only time will tell!!!
Rumors on the Internet are like flies around the tail of a Texas horse - frequent, annoying, and generally swatted away.
Yet one such rumor - that of Texas A&M moving to the SEC - was promoted to full-fledged credible gossip when A&M president R. Bowen Loftin issued a curious statement pledging that he will always "look after" the best interests of the University.
You can read the entirety of the quote here.
Rumors of A&M to the SEC started last year as talks of a mass migration of teams from the Big 12 to the Pac 10 gained steam. Just as the move seemed an inevitability, an eleventh-hour deal among "interested parties" funneled more revenue to the conference and putting the kibosh on the move. Now the talks are, supposedly, starting up again.
There's only one problem. The SEC isn't going to accept just one team. If the SEC is serious about inviting A&M, it makes sense they're just as serious about inviting another, as yet unnamed school to compliment the Aggies.
The question is simple: What other school is in the SEC's gunsites? The only two high-profile programs that would seem likely candidates from the remnants of the erstwhile Big 12 would be Texas and Oklahoma; yet Texas with its new Longhorn Network hardly seems a fit for the SEC and its new ESPN contract. Oklahoma could be a legitimate second candidate, but chances are the Sooners would not move without a package deal including Oklahoma State.
The bigger fish is out there. Common sense says it has to be, with A&M serving only as the lure. That means that, as the Aggies deal with the SEC, they would do well to tread very, very cautiously. Why? If the second team on the SEC's agenda falls through, prospective talks with the Aggies could end abruptly, leaving A&M nowhere to go but back to league it, apparently, desperately wants to leave.
Let the rumors fly.
Update: Some media outlets have pointed out that the ONLY place from which the A&M-to-the-SEC rumors seem to be originating is College Station. There's been no vibe or rumor from any SEC outlets or sources, which means this may all be nothing more than disgruntled saber rattling by the Aggies....and, as of 5:30pm CST Thursday, College Station continues to be the only place other than the media talking this issue...
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Can the Horns escape uncharted territory?
The picture cast an image that resonated across the Big 12 in general, and the city of Austin in particular - that of Texas coach Mack Brown walking dejectedly off the field, arm-in-arm with his wife Sally, each with an expression conveying their mutual struggle to absorb yet another Longhorn loss in a disastrous 2010 season. Sally's expression was arguably even more telling, if for no other reason than to convey the frustration in her own inability to help, except to share the pain.
The question for Longhorn faithful going into 2011 is whether that painful picture stands to be repeated. Brown, who enters his 14th season as Texas' head coach, embraced the failure of 2010 with an overhaul of his coaching staff. Brown lost defensive mastermind Will Muschamp to Florida, and released nearly everyone else on staff not waving pompoms. Texas will enter 2011 with new co-offensive coordinators, a new defensive coordinator, a new wide receivers coach, a new defensive tackle coach, and a new strength and conditioning coach.
Texas' biggest problem, however, is that this new staff will be working with largely the same team. Despite what most termed a lackluster spring, Garrett Gilbert is still on tap to return as the Longhorns' starting quarterback in their revamped offense. Colt McCoy's brother Chase stands waiting in the wings, with his family legacy making him the automatic fan favorite. Rumors also hold, however, that this latter-day McCoy doesn't hold the same skills as his famed older brother, leaving Gilbert as the de-facto starter.
The next-biggest problem is an area that has proven a sore spot for Texas in the Brown era - the lack of a star running back. While several high-profile names have gone through Austin with varying degrees of success, none has been a legitimate mention among the nation's elite. Not surprisingly, neither has the Texas running game. As a result, huge hopes are being pinned on incoming freshman tailback Malcolm Brown - but whether it is fair or even reasonable to pin the hopes of an overhauled offense on the back of a kid just out of high school may be unrealistic.
Defense arguably minimized the bleeding for the Horns last year, finishing 7th in the nation in total defense. Contrast that against the 57th-place finish for Big 12 champ Oklahoma in the same category, and it makes Texas' offensive woes all the more painful. That makes the departure of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp just that much more painful, and leaving new DC Manny Diaz with big shoes to fill and bigger expectations to master.
Turning around the fortunes of a 5-7 program in a single season with one of the most extensive staff overhauls not involving the departure of a head coach is almost certainly asking too much. New systems, new people, new personalities, and new attitudes with the change of even one or two staff members can take a season to resolve - let alone those covering a half-dozen major staff positions. Combine that with the thinly veiled expectations that Malcolm Brown will revive the nascent Texas running game speaks volumes about just how bereft of offensive answers Texas was last year, and, to a degree, still is going into 2011.
Brown, to be sure, was caught off guard by last year's failure, and put in a position of having to do something to appear involved and concerned - particularly with the constant strength of Big 12 rivals Oklahoma, resurgence of Texas A&M, and emergence of Oklahoma State. In contrast, a coaching staff overhaul in response to a single seven-loss season could be seen as reactionary. In that vein, with new philosophies on both sides of the ball, but many of the same faces on the field - especially at quarterback - it's hard to see drastic improvement ahead for the Longhorns in 2011.
The question for Longhorn faithful going into 2011 is whether that painful picture stands to be repeated. Brown, who enters his 14th season as Texas' head coach, embraced the failure of 2010 with an overhaul of his coaching staff. Brown lost defensive mastermind Will Muschamp to Florida, and released nearly everyone else on staff not waving pompoms. Texas will enter 2011 with new co-offensive coordinators, a new defensive coordinator, a new wide receivers coach, a new defensive tackle coach, and a new strength and conditioning coach.
Texas' biggest problem, however, is that this new staff will be working with largely the same team. Despite what most termed a lackluster spring, Garrett Gilbert is still on tap to return as the Longhorns' starting quarterback in their revamped offense. Colt McCoy's brother Chase stands waiting in the wings, with his family legacy making him the automatic fan favorite. Rumors also hold, however, that this latter-day McCoy doesn't hold the same skills as his famed older brother, leaving Gilbert as the de-facto starter.
The next-biggest problem is an area that has proven a sore spot for Texas in the Brown era - the lack of a star running back. While several high-profile names have gone through Austin with varying degrees of success, none has been a legitimate mention among the nation's elite. Not surprisingly, neither has the Texas running game. As a result, huge hopes are being pinned on incoming freshman tailback Malcolm Brown - but whether it is fair or even reasonable to pin the hopes of an overhauled offense on the back of a kid just out of high school may be unrealistic.
Defense arguably minimized the bleeding for the Horns last year, finishing 7th in the nation in total defense. Contrast that against the 57th-place finish for Big 12 champ Oklahoma in the same category, and it makes Texas' offensive woes all the more painful. That makes the departure of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp just that much more painful, and leaving new DC Manny Diaz with big shoes to fill and bigger expectations to master.
Turning around the fortunes of a 5-7 program in a single season with one of the most extensive staff overhauls not involving the departure of a head coach is almost certainly asking too much. New systems, new people, new personalities, and new attitudes with the change of even one or two staff members can take a season to resolve - let alone those covering a half-dozen major staff positions. Combine that with the thinly veiled expectations that Malcolm Brown will revive the nascent Texas running game speaks volumes about just how bereft of offensive answers Texas was last year, and, to a degree, still is going into 2011.
Brown, to be sure, was caught off guard by last year's failure, and put in a position of having to do something to appear involved and concerned - particularly with the constant strength of Big 12 rivals Oklahoma, resurgence of Texas A&M, and emergence of Oklahoma State. In contrast, a coaching staff overhaul in response to a single seven-loss season could be seen as reactionary. In that vein, with new philosophies on both sides of the ball, but many of the same faces on the field - especially at quarterback - it's hard to see drastic improvement ahead for the Longhorns in 2011.
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