I agree. Most QBs would have folded by the 2nd quarter with the pressure he was getting. He did well avoiding the rush, taking a lot of big hits while still delivering the ball reasonably well. Obviously he missed some throws but all things considered (2nd ever road start in a tough environment, no run game at all, no pass pro at all, defense not helping), that was actually a decent performance.
He is still slow to read the field but that should probably be expected for a guy making his 2nd start vs decent opponents. And the timing throws are a struggle, which certainly hasn't been helped by Wingo, Moore, and Mosely being hurt most of the offseason. Ex: that one INT was totally a timing issue between him and Mosley. Arch threw it before Mosely came out of his break like he's supposed to, but it was too soon. That could be on either guy but ultimately just timing. Not a shocker considering Mosely has practiced for 2 weeks now..
Didn't Sark try some NFL-style "OTA" approach to the spring this year with less contact because of how many games we'd played?
I get the need for rest but maybe that backfired. Especially for newer starters like the OL.
OL was worse by far. That was an all-time bad performance. Arch was playing Frogger back there
DL, and defense in general, was shocking to me though. 4 ypc actually isn't that terrible in college but it isn't great. Tackling at LB/DB was also poor which led to a lot of extra yards. The lack of pass rush or run game penetration is worrisome. All year we just haven't been seeing the negative plays we've had the last couple years. Lagway was playing on a gimpy foot and we never made him move off his spot. Any pressure at all and he probably folds. I don't understand where Simmons, Moore, Burke, Hill, etc have gone in the pass rush compared to last year.
Banks can stay for TEs but we need a new special teams coordinator. We're fine in kick/punt coverage and even returns but the amount of "turnovers" given away by our special teams every year is way more than we're getting.
Flood probably needs to go. The OTs have been fine although Banks was already good as a true freshman. The iOL has been a consistent issue and it's a major reason for the red zone woes. Yesterday was the worst yet.
Not that OC/QB were the biggest problem yesterday, but I still think a dedicated OC/QB coach is in order too.
OT yes but I don't think it'd be that hard to get an average LG or C out of the portal if we tried. And average would be a huge upgrade at those two positions
That's kinda my point though. Most billionaires have better things to do with their money so one outlier can totally tilt the playing field. It's enough money that the decently wealthy can't bankroll it themselves but small enough money that a single billionaire easily can if they want to. There isn't much rhyme or reason to figuring out who that one outlier will be or at which school. I mean who would've guessed Larry Ellison would be bankrolling Michigan because his wife went there? A whole roster's NIL is peanuts to him.
The crazy thing about college sports is that you could say this about pretty much any P4 school in the country. Look at Stanford - wealthiest alumni in P4 but they don't give a shit. Then look at Tech - one weirdo billionaire decides this is his life mission and now they're a major player.
I'm willing to bet lots of other "poor" schools have individual alums who could instantly vault them to the top of NIL without breaking a sweat if they wanted. CFB payrolls are peanuts in the grand scheme of the business world and people make insane money in a lot of random industries that don't require a Harvard education. Ex: Kentucky has a 9-billionaire from the founding family of Public Storage.
It certainly helps your odds to be someone like Texas with lots of potential big donors, but the "it only takes one" thing is true a lot of places.
What were Hutson's grades at Guard the last two years? Seems like he was at least OK at guard but bad at C. Maybe they should move him to OG and try someone else at C (yes I realize others have suggested this).
Although worth noting - Robertson's grades came against SHSU so probably need to deduct like 10 points for comparison with others
It seems like Flood has developed OTs well but iOL poorly his whole time here. Banks and Cam Williams both surpassed their recruiting rankings. Goosby seems on track to do the same. Baker TBD but should end up at least solid with more experience. Meanwhile at iOL, Campbell and Neto have underperformed and no one has really overperformed expectations (Maybe Jake Majors?).
Not gonna spend the time researching but I wonder how his track record pre-Texas lines up in terms of OT vs iOL success.
Yeah read this and then tell us who is going to stop him.
Who is Cody Campbell, billionaire Texas Tech booster in commercials?
Interesting side note, Tech recently published their plans to become an AAU university. Campbell is the Chairman of the TTU Board of Regents. Notably - the Big 10 only accepts AAU universities. My suspicion is that Campbell's end game is to get Tech into the Big 10 or SEC and get the NCAA swapped out for more of an NFL-style governance/media setup.
I don't think Simmons is a Vandy alum but both guys grew up in Nashville and Lea played for Vandy. So yeah, agree with your overall point.
Also, if I'm an AD, I'd want to see Lea do it without Pavia before I'd offer him.
Solid list. Cignetti and Fran Brown will get a lot of calls. Elko might too but he'll get a Jimbo-ish contract to stay. Fisch is in a good spot so I don't see him leaving.
Brian Kelly has a near-Jimbo level buyout, like $50mm, so I don't think that happens. Michigan, USC, TCU are probably safe too.
Solid chance Aranda is out at Baylor. He was on the bubble last year so another bad year probably gets him canned.
Auburn is an interesting one. I thought Freeze would do well there but hasn't happened.
Stanford currently has an "interim" head coach Frank Reich so I assume they look for a permanent one. He isn't exactly crushing it anyway.
On the other side - Fran Brown is going to be a popular name. He claimed he was at Syracuse for life when hired but we'll see...
Lastly - can Sark hire Pittman as an analyst to help with the OL? Please?
Right but isn't there supposed to be a clearinghouse now that decides whether NIL deals are legit? Clearly Campbell, who is extremely tight with the current administration, isn't worried about it at all.
It's a huge difference maker. Look at the best QBs in CFB the last few years - Ward, Daniels, Nix, Penix, Dart, now guys like Pavia, Beck, even Castellanos and Mendoza. The common theme is they all had multiple years of starting experience before they became studs. Experience matters a lot at QB.
So I guess it's safe to say Mr Save College Sports isn't too concerned about following the current rules? Sounds like they're blowing the revenue share pool our of the water
Makes sense to get Littleton some CB reps against SHSU but not sure about moving him there full-time during the season. Sorta depends on how they feel about Mack at nickel. You don't want to end up with two problem positions if Littleton struggles on the outside.
Hopefully Kade, Kobe and Roberson can get more reps this week. Ideally one of them steps up and Littleton keeps doing what he's been doing (which will get harder in SEC play).
I heard a rumor that fans were heckling Heid leaving the game. I assume it was drunk college kids but if it's anyone on here - be better. Or go fuck yourself. Or both.