Patterson seemingly has an issue after every game. I read from multiple people that he lobbed the bird to the crowd during the game. He's the same guy that called Briles classless last year. Whatevs. Nice play call, jackass.
The Pac-12 continues to get more and more muddled. Early this morning, Arizona fell to USC in heartbreaking fashion. They scored a touchdown to pull within two, failed to convert going for two, but then got the onside kick and moved the ball pretty easily into field goal range only to have their kicker shank the attempt.
We've had our fun the last 5 years, but it's Mississippi's year this time. The state of Alabama will be back.
Misery Index Week 7 (Disclaimer: This isn't a ranking of worst teams, worst losses or coaches whose jobs are in the most jeopardy. This is simply a measurement of a fan base's knee-jerk reaction to what they last saw. The way in which a team won or lost, expectations vis-à-vis program trajectory and traditional inferiority complex of fan base all factor into this ranking.) (Disclaimer No. 2: By virtue of their decision to make coaching changes, SMU and Kansas are hereby excluded from this and future editions of the Misery Index, as fans can look forward to a new regime taking hold in 2015.) 3. Texas: Let's be clear about one thing. Charlie Strong is the coach at Texas because things weren't going well, and they weren't going well for a pretty long time, which left him a program in desperate need of the tough-love cultural makeover he is now applying. But still, it's not even the middle of October and the reality of Texas football is that it will take a minor miracle to get to 6-6. Strong never really got a honeymoon in the first place with Texas fans, but it's definitely over now after falling to 2-4, the Longhorns' worst start since 1956. What we're finding out this year is that even though you know a rebuild is coming, Texas fans are too soft and whiny to endure the reality of it because they've been raised on the idea that championships are a birthright and little understanding of the fact that other programs are trying to win, too. The more well-adjusted human being will look at Texas thus far and see what's really going on. The Longhorns were competitive in Saturday's 31-26 loss to Oklahoma, and the defensive identity Strong brought from Louisville is starting to take hold. There's still a long way to go, though, and the schedule has been brutal, stacked with teams that are simply more talented than Texas right now. The question is whether there will be enough patience and breathing room left by the end of the season to actually let Strong do his job. 7. Texas A&M: The trend line since Texas A&M joined the SEC is third place in the West in 2012, fourth place in 2013 and likely something worse than that in 2014 unless the Aggies pull some major upsets in the second half. Meanwhile, the trend line of Kevin Sumlin's salary has gone from $2 million to $3.1 million to $5 million a season over that same span. Sumlin might very well be worth that kind of cash, and it's undeniable that he is responsible (along with Johnny Manziel, of course) for the excitement and recruiting success that led to a $450 million renovation/expansion of Kyle Field and a makeover of Texas A&M's football image. At some point, though, you need to win big games. You can't live off the 2012 upset at Alabama forever. And the truth is, since the start of 2013, Sumlin's wins have come against Rice (x2), SMU (x2), Arkansas (x2), Lamar, Sam Houston State, UTEP, Duke, Ole Miss (last season's version), Vanderbilt and Mississippi State (last season's version) and South Carolina (this season's version). Judge for yourself if those results match the hype, but it will be a struggle to maintain the kind of momentum Sumlin has built if this season slides into 7-5 territory. Texas A&M is young, to be sure, but Saturday's 35-20 de-pantsing at home by Ole Miss was the kind of performance that should bring an end to its reign as the SEC's "it" program. 8. Texas Tech: Credit the school and Kliff Kingsbury for squeezing every bit of juice out of his story, which is truly terrific. Is there anyone who doesn't like the 35-year old Kingsbury or the idea of this cool, single, good-looking guy running a big-time college football program? But as far as that whole coaching thing…well, the jury is still out, and that's becoming more obvious each week. Since last year's 7-0 start — which, honestly, was mostly the product of fortunate scheduling — the Red Raiders are 3-9. The victories came against Arizona State in last year's Holiday Bowl, Central Arkansas and UTEP — and both of those were one-score games. The latest misstep was Saturday's 37-34 loss to West Virginia in which the Red Raiders blew a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter. That's unacceptable at home. Certainly Kingsbury wants to be a great coach, and he's as dedicated to the craft as any of his colleagues. Despite the cool guy image, he's putting in the work. But that won't stop fans from questioning whether it was maybe too early to hand him the keys to a program of this magnitude and a contract extension through 2020. If Texas Tech is willing to grow with him, maybe that investment will pay off. But the fan base in Lubbock is used to winning football, and they won't be forgiving of many more games like Saturday.
Baylor was down 21 and I was like... too much time, they're coming back. Flipped back from the MSST game and every time I did they'd be kicking an extra point. I didn't care for the Baylor kids out of pads dancing around like that... I thought maybe they were HS recruits or 8th graders or something. I'm sure recruits will like seeing that though, that's all that matters. Believe me, I get it. Ole Miss isn't that good. Neither is ND. Mississippi State is clearly the best team in the country but they need to stop playing so many pee-pee games, stupid fake punts and whatnot. Dan Mullen thinks he's playing a video game. Any guesses where he might go next year? Florida? If both Auburn and Mississippi State had Prescott at QB I think MSST still wins. Malzahn would be the x-factor though. I hope ND drops 2 games, man, they shouldn't be sniffing a good bowl game much less the playoffs.
Agree about the way Mullen coaches sometimes. Don't get me wrong; I like that he thinks outside the box at times. But some of the stuff he tries to pull off is the type of stuff you do if you're overmatched talent-wise and think you need an edge. Clearly, we've seen enough of them this season to know that they don't need one. I've heard his name associated with the Florida job quite a bit, and it's pretty clear that the job will be open after the season and I'm sure he's on their short list. But if MSU gets to the playoffs and they are willing to match any offer that Florida makes, whose to say that he goes? It's not like he is a UF alum or anything. I guess we'll see.
