#HookEm: Defense Gets It Done

"To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily."
Colossians 1:29

ON a day when the Blue politics team seemed to secure a victory over the Red politics team, the Burnt Orange football team did what they needed to do.

The Longhorn defense only gave up one touchdown, while holding West Virgina to 43 yards rushing. T'Vondre Sweat and D'Marion Overshown are studs. Also, the defense came up with two stops on fourth down deep in their own territory during the fourth quarter.

For the record, had West Virgina kicked both of those times, they would have had 19 points.

Which could have been problematic, considering that Texas only scored 17 points themselves.

Offense is a mess. Ehligher's hurt. Playcalling is inexplicable. Likewise personnel rotation.

Our best 3 players on offense are Jake Smith, Bijan and Wiley.

They're rarely on the field together.

This is just fucking stupidity.

— Hook'em (@thelonghorns12) November 7, 2020

To which we will add: We were sitting in the upper deck during the first half. We didn't notice and start paying attention until the second quarter, but Jake Smith was wide open every single play. Not coincidentally, Smith caught the only touchdown of the second half.

Jake Smith vs. West Virginia's secondary is a **VERY** good matchup for @TexasFootball.

Gonna pay dividends by the end of the game.#HookEm

— cahnman (@cahnman) November 7, 2020

Might want to do that more, Mensa boy.  Rather than keep him on the sideline.  From the fourth quarter, with Texas on offense, with about five minutes remaining:

Bottom Line: Every win makes $19 million in buyouts to hire Aaron Hernandez's enabler less likely.

#HookEm: 2020 Stuff

 

"I will cry out to God Most High,
To God who performs all things for me.
Psalm 57:2

Let's not kid ourselves: If Texas had lost that game, Tom Herman probably wouldn't be coach right now.

But in this goofy-ass 2020 season, something crazy happened: The Longhorns won.

So Herman's safe for another week.

Texas looked wretched for 90% of this game. Obviously, the defense (four turnovers) and special teams (D'Shaun Jamison kickoff return TD) kept them in the game. But the overall effort was overall putrid.

But Texas stayed close. And in this world of sloppy, no spring practice, football it ended up being good enough. Only in 2020.

Crazy part is that Texas still has a very legit shot at a conference title, with games remaining against every team in front of us.

Bottom Line: Operation "$19 million in buyouts to hire Aaron Hernandez's enabler" might just have to wait a week.

#HookEm: Today's Victory Illustrates Just How Far Texas Has Come (and thank you Sam)!!!

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:9

Let's state the first obvious point up front: Texas should have NEVER been in this position in the first place.

Let's state the second obvious point: Sports, and especially College Football, have been goofy in this COVID era. Weirder stuff has happened. No matter how you got there, What really matters what what happened once you were down.

With those two points made, let's state the third obvious point: Once they were in that hole, Texas figured out a way to come back and won.

For those who might not have been watching, the Longhorns were down by fifteen points with 3:45 remaining in the fourth quarter. That's when Sam Ehlinger picked this team up, put it on his shoulders, and willed them to victory. Somehow, someway, Sam Ehlinger found a way to lead the Longhorns to three touchdowns. In so doing, he turned what was looking like an UGLY 41-56 loss into an improbable 63-56 victory.

Wow.

But here's the thing: This game had all the markings of the stinkers to which Longhorn with which Longhorn Nation has become infuriatingly familiar over the past decade.

You know the list: Oklahoma State in '13, '15, and '17. OU in '14 and '17. Baylor in '13 and '19. Iowa State in '15 and '19. Tech in '15 and '17. Notre Dame in '15. West Virginia in '16. TCU in '14, '15, '16, and '19. Kansas in '16 (Shudder). And, of course, let's not forget Maryland.

Beacuse what happened in those games was well on its way to happening in this one.

But it didn't.

And that, in and of itself, is a testimony to how far this team has come.

Kudos to Coach Herman, for shutting all the idiots on Twitter up for a week.

Kudos to Sam, who has to be considered the early season Heisman frontrunner.

Defense obviously needs work. But that'll happen. What matters for today is that they got the stops they needed in overtime.

1 and 0 every week, starting with this one.

Wow.

#HookEm

Bottom Line: Considering where they were with 3:45 to go, getting out of Lubbock with and kind of "W" tells you a LOT about the makeup of this team. Today's win, combined with OU's loss, puts Texas in a strong position. Now go 1 and 0 against TCU.

Longhorns do everything you can reasonably expect

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:9

Dude, it was awesome.

There really aren't enough superlatives to decribe what the Longhorns did tonight. It was the most dominant all-around team perfomance since before the late Mack Brown era. The only game we can kinda, sorta, compare it to is the Kansas game in 2015. But, even in that game, Kansas scored two touchdowns.

Obvously, it was just UTEP. Still, given some of the scrubs that beat other teams in the Big-12, it's noteworthy. Yeah, the spread was 44. But the Longhorns won by 56.

Thoughts:

• Given the level of the competition, the most important takeaway was that the Longhorns played a crisp, mentally sharp, game.  With this level talent disparity, there's always a temptation to coast.  Longhorns didn't do that.  They executed (which, let's not kid ourselves, has been an issue in recent years).

• Five first half touchdowns for Sam Ehlinger speaks for itself.

• The receiving corps is insanely loaded, if they get remotely decent offensive line play, they're going to score a lot of points.

• Bijan Robinson is the real deal.

• Keontay Ingram and Roschon Johnson ain't too shabby either.

• Basically, the offense is loaded.

• Casey Thompson looked solid, and had a couple touchdowns, in relief of Sam.\

• Hudson Card even made it in during the fourth quarter.  His drives kinda stalled out.  But he had spunk.

• On defense, Caden Sterns was all over the place.

• So far, so good for the new coordinators.

• Defense looked a lot more disciplined than we've seen in previous seasons.

#atxcouncil: Casar goes full CoronaBro over today's UT Football Game

"His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity."
Psalm 10:7

LOL:


Not much to say.

Not really surpising either.

Still.

(Don't you dare suggest it's about control).

Bottom Line: Homeless encampments are totally cool and pose no COVID risk...but heaven forbid you have an event in a large outdoor venue with abundant protocols.

Longhorn Band's 9/11 Tribute

"Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,"
Isaiah 46:9

From 2011:

Lying Liar Ross Bjork LIES about Texas and Rivalry Restoration

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,

But those who deal truthfully are His delight."
Proverbs 12:22

Soo...this happened:

Howdy Josh! Sorry my friend, ain’t going to happen this year nor is this being discussed anywhere at A&M. I’ve been here over a year & no one from there has asked me to play them. Let’s get this season going & keep moving forward 👊👍

— Ross Bjork (@RossBjorkAD) July 29, 2020

[Note: For those of you who aren't aware, Ross Bjork is the Aggy athletic director.]

Which begged the obvious response:

Considering that I was in the room when @_delconte threw down and very publicly challenged you at last year's @TexasTribune fest...you're a liar. https://t.co/cbGZhCnQRJ

— cahnman (@cahnman) July 29, 2020

Furthermore:

This isn't difficult:https://t.co/8lpNM22Knl

— cahnman (@cahnman) July 29, 2020

You can read the full article here, but the TL,DR version is that Chris del Conte pretty much called Ross Bjork a coward to his face. Del Conte also told Bjork that A&M was hurting college football by refusing to play. Bjork responded with a bunch of political non-answers.

This was less than a year ago.

What's remarkable about this isn't so much the substance of what Bjork said. It's not a secret that A&M are a bunch of puss...panzies who are afraid to play Texas. That's not new.

What is new is the chutzpah of Ross Bjork trying to claim that Texas has ever been anything other than crystal clear on this topic.

And that Ross Bjork did so in a way that was so easily Googleable.

Apparently, in addition to being a coward, Ross Bjork is also a liar.

Real winner you've got there A&M.

Bottom Line:  To make such a flagrantly false, yet easily verifiable, claim is dumb even by A&M's standards.

The Completely Obvious Issue Nobody's Talking About

"each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is."
1 Corinthians 3:13

Before we get too far into the offseason, one piece of leftover business from 2019 that we're shocked hasn't gotten more discussion: The Longhorns' home/road split.

In 2019, the Longhorns were:

• 6-1 in home games and glorified home games (ie. The Alamo Bowl).

• 2-4 in road and neutral site games.

If you want to know where things went wrong this past season...there you go.

For as much ink has been spilled on any number of topics, that's the main problem.  The Longhorns just came out flat for three road games (TCU, Iowa State, and Baylor).  That's not good.  But misdiagnosing the problem doesn't help anybody.

Bottom Line: Sometimes it's the simple things....

Thoughts from the Upper Deck

"You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great."
Psalm 18:35

I wasn't the prettiest win, but it was the win we needed.

Tonight's victory over Oklahoma State at DKR was the first for the Longhorns since 2008.  As a matter of perspective, that's Colt McCoy's junior year.  Similarly, it was this author's first year in Texas.

Similar to last year's victory against K-State in Manhattan, this was a game the Longhorns HAD to win if the program had truly turned a corner.  They found that way.  That's the biggest takeaway.

Otherwise, some thoughts:

• Sam Ehlinger is a danged stud.  His scramble for a first down to seal the victory blew this author's mind.  That's on top of his 4 TD's.

• Keontay Ingram can chew yardage.

• Jake Smith is one of the first Tom Herman recruits to come into his own.  There are going to be a lot more.  Soon.

• The defense got better as the game went on and only gave up one touchdown in the second half.

• That being said, bad punt coverage left the Longhorns unnecessarily vulnerable.

• Oklahoma state's playcalling was atrociously bad in the fourth quarter.

• Injuries starting to pile up on defense is cause for concern.  Still a year away from having that level of depth.  Bye week comes at a good time.

A trip to Yankee Stadium, and a renewed appreciation for Chris Del Conte

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

For anyone who follows this author on social media, it's not exactly a secret where we were or what we were doing during our week not publishing.

During our NYC trip, attending five separate games at Yankee stadium, we were repeatedly struck by a thought: How much the Yankee Stadium gameday experience reminds of Texas...2 to 3 years ago.

They didn't do anything "wrong," per se, but it still left us feeling nickeled, dimed, and underappreciated.

Of course, it wasn't that long ago you could say the same thing about Texas.  Then Chris Del Conte arrived, with a renewed commitment to fans and the gameday experience.  The results were instant.  A year and a half later, the fan base is more stoked than they've been in ages!!!

In 2005/2006, before we moved, the Yankees were the hottest ticket in town.  Today, despite having a better team, people are kinda "meh."  The difference is the attitude of the people in charge.

However, with an attitude adjustment and the right personnel, fan perception can change very quickly.

Bottom Line: Fans actually spend more money when they're not being nickled and dimed.  Texas eventually realized that.  Will the Yankees?!?

Some Takeaways from the Longhorn Spring Game

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,"
Colossians 3:23

Just got back from Spring Game, thoughts:

• Sam Ehlinger needs to learn how to chill.  Following a first half pick (Note: whatever), Sam put a hard hit on the returner at the two yard line.  Stupid, unnecessary, risk.
  
  You don't need to risk your body in Spring Game.

• Speaking of Sam taking unnecessary risks with his body, Casey Thompson looked solid as backup.  Dude can fly.   Some early jitters, but worked through them.

• The offensive line needs to stay healthy, the backups look really green.

CDC and the Governor

 [Note: The picture above doesn't show it, but the Governor was wearing mom jeans.]

• Jordan Whittington didn't get much action until the second half; once he got going, look out!!!

Bru McCoy

• On defense, nobody stood out by name.  But the unit looked solid.  The low score speaks for itself (and the weather).

Breckyn Hegar does not look like Breckyn Hegar with short hair

• Speaking of weather, dadgum it got cold. 

Props to Chris del Conte for the atmosphere.  But, especially, props to Chris Del Conte for the on-field autograph session after the game.  We didn't wait in line for autographs, but getting to walk around the field was really cool.

Finally, props to Tom Herman; without him, nothing CDC does matters.

Bottom Line: Great evening (except for the weather), and a lot for which to look forward....

"Texas isn't a basketball school" is a Bullshit-Ass Excuse

"But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’"
Luke 14:18

The Shaka Smart situation is a mess.  Personally, we're over him.  But we understand the numbers.  There are times when reality constrains you.

Nevertheless, there's one part of this discussion that bothers us: This notion that "Texas isn't a Basketball school" because "Texas is a Football/Baseball school."

Horse manure.

The reason why, historically, Texas' fan base has paid more attention to Baseball and Football is because, historically, Baseball and Football has been more interesting.

There's nothing wrong with the Basketball program that a decade of winning wouldn't fix.

Especially with a new arena.

We're not advocating any specific course right now.  As we said above, we understand the constraints reality is currently imposing.  But it is to say that those constraints are temporary.

It can be done.

Even with the challenges, Kevin Durant, Myles Turner, Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, and Jaxson Hayes sure seemed to think Texas was a Basketball school.  That's a sure-fire Hall of Famer and a whole bunch of All-Stars.  Imagine what could happen if the entire program were moving in the right direction.

Bottom Line: It's a matter of will....