Half a season and everyone comes out of the woodwork talking smack? SEC overrated? Have you all forgotten how many twists and turns happen every year? These past few weeks are proof not to make absolute statements. I also nominate the cat for 'whiniest poster of the year' based on this thread alone.
First of all, don't be silly. Every team is going to have a game or two during the season where they just come out flat. Texas is bound to have one, and if people are smart, they'll still realize how good of a team Texas is despite that. In the Kentucky game, Alabama's offense sputtered despite still rushing for 282 yards on a highly-ranked Kentucky defensive unit. They have potentially the best O-line in the NCAA, a a good RB tandem, and QB and defensive play that are good enough to never be a liability during a game. That combined with their schedule makes me legitimately scared that they will be undefeated at the end of the year. And also, style points don't matter, especially in the modern day NCAA where almost every program is now getting quality enough athletes to be able to have a chance to beat any other program. I can easily see 'Bama losing if another teams sells out on stopping the run while having the DBs and offense to keep them in the game. But I can easily see every other team in the top-10 losing too.
Nice to be number 1 at this point in the season. But, the polls are just hype right now. Every year, Texas has a game where it falls behind big in the first half, (and I mean they will be down 17 to 21 points big) and it will be interesting to see how they respond when this happens and to what team this happens against. Hopefully the Horns will not be like the Notre Dame team of 1993, where they were so excited to be Number 1 after they beat Florida St, only to lose to Boston College the next week.
Aren't you an Aggie fan? I'd rather watch the Sun Belt than see the Aggies get pummeled again and again.
I'd just like to run a little random smack against the people that acted like Arkansas fans were dumb for wanting to get rid of Houston Nutt. A lot of those same people were quick to jump up and say "SEE! HA! Dumb Arkansas fans!" when Petrino got off to a rough start losing to three elite teams in a row. 2007: Arkansas has Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis in the backfield. All three are in their first season as NFL running backs. Additionally, the team had three other NFL draft picks. Record through six games? 3-3 with wins over North Texas, UT-Chattanooga, and Troy. Losses to a 6-6 Alabama, 7-5 Kentucky, and a good Auburn team. 2008: Record through six games? 3-3 with a road win over Auburn in the SEC. Losses to the #1, #2, and #5 teams in the nation. The best skill player on the team is a 5'7 170 lbs. RB. In the mean time, Arkansas' recruiting rankings are higher than they've ever been. Additionally, top 2007 QB recruit Ryan Mallett has transferred to Arkansas.
Believe it or not before I started going to Texas Tech last year I had been a Texas Longhorn fan for a good 12-15 years. So I will root for them everytime they play except vs Tech. Tech is at a total different level than Texas. Here we expect to lose 3-4 games a season. Expectations outside this season has been generally low, this year it is possible for them to only lose 1 game. Tech has a huge disadvantage when it comes to the big names schools like Texas, Oklahoma, even Texas A&M. But Mike Leach works with what he has and does a pretty damn good job at it. Texas Tech should not be considered to be a major threat until we beat Texas and OU on a pretty consistent basis. All I am saying it is very possible that Texas Tech beats Texas this year. Will it happened, I don't know. All I know it will be a high scoring close game, in a defensive struggle.
If Tech & Texas can get through the next two weeks, you're looking at a #1 vs. #3-4 or so game in Tech. It would probably be a primetime ABC night game and the atmosphere will be electric. Add a little wind, and crazy stuff can happen in Lubbock. Out of our next three games (Mizzou and OkieState at Home, Tech on the road), I'd be most concerned about Tech. Even if they aren't a better team than the others - it's hard to say at this point because the non-conf wins didn't tell us anything - their style of play means they have a bigger chance of pulling an upset (and also being upset, which is why they tend to lose to a nobody every year).
Look. I've been a Tech guy here for, well, as long as I've been here. As much as has been touting for us this year, we suck, at least so far. Other than the K State game, we've done nothing to deserve our ranking, and I've been pissed. That said, perhaps Leach has an angle on us defeating the teams that matter. We shall see in the next 3 weeks.
You've already been beaten up quite enough for this bad post, but I should add that NOT passing a lot and not taking advantage of the critical Reynolds injury would've been idiotic for UT. We used a punishing passing game instead. Worked, didn't it?
Only at Tech............. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- October 21, 2008 Aaron Dickens RedRaiderSports.com Managing Editor Texas Tech's situation at place-kicker has evolved from a concern to a source of frustration. Now, it seems as if it has taken an unexpected, crazy twist. Having already gone through two kickers - who have combined to miss six PATs and half of their field-goal attempts - the sixth-ranked Red Raiders are now seriously considering giving Matt Williams a shot against No. 18 Kansas this weekend. Coach Mike Leach was noticeably frustrated about the kicking game at his weekly news conference. Williams is a Tarleton State transfer student who won a month of free rent at the Tech/UMass game several weeks ago by kicking a 30-yard field goal. After his successful try, Williams was walking back to his seat when he was flagged down. "They relayed a message to me saying that Coach [Mike] Leach wanted to talk to me," Williams told RedRaiderSports.com the next day. "He told me to come into his office on Tuesday and talk to him, and then Coach [Clay] McGuire told me to come and speak with him on Monday." Initially, it was thought that Williams was ineligible this season due to transfer rules. However, according to McGuire - who heads up the Red Raiders' special teams unit, Williams has been cleared to play. "That is the way I understand it, yeah," confirmed McGuire on Tuesday. "He's got a real good shot. Only Mike Leach could bring a guy out of the stands and make it work." This wouldn't be the first time that Tech has relied on a non-scholarship kicker, although not quite under such unconventional circumstances. "We have a tradition of walk-on kickers rising to the top," commented Leach after the UMass game. "[Robert] Treece and [Alex] Trlica both were walk-on kickers that eventually ended up getting to play significantly. We're always looking for guys. We're excited to see what [Williams]'s got to offer if he's interested." What Williams offers, compared to Donnie Carona and Cory Fowler, is something that is absolutely necessary for PATs: trajectory. "I've seen that guy try one kick," added Leach. "But the difference between his and the others is that they barely got off the ground. His got up right away."
LOL. Yeah, I saw that on Yahoo today. Who cares! Both of our previous kickers have missed PAT's. You can't get any worse!
