I'm an Ag, but watching that game was painful. The amount of talent Texas has is ridiculous. How many 1st rounders will they have this year? Roy, Cedric, DJ, etc (if they decide to leave, which they might.) Plus, the horns have much better depth talent wise than Wazu, but Wazu had the better game plan, plain and simple. Like I've said before, if Texas were to fire Mack, they don't have to hire a crazy offense coach like Briles or Leach, they could hire a solid X's and O's guy like Jim Tressel and win all of their games except for OU. If they beat OU they would win the MNC. However, the window will start getting smaller and smaller for Mack. Think about it. The recruiting classes of 2003 and what's shaping up to be 2004 can't touch the recruiting classes of 1999, 2000, and 2002. As the talent starts slowly dropping off, Mack will find it harder and harder to win. Watched the same thing happen to RC, he won on talent alone and once recruits figured that out they headed elsewhere. Texas and OU have the most talent in the nation, will the horns get coaching to go with it before it's too late? I guess we'll find out.
watched the game with a wsu alumnus, and even he said "it's obvious you've got the more talented team, but where's the heart? Execution, etc." That UT team had at least 15 nflers and they do this. Spurrier resigned today and Mack lays a goose egg. After the OU game, UT big wigs called Spurrier, Urban Meyer and Butch Davis. If I were Mack, I would recommend that he beats OU next year. If he loses, he's gone. Won't matter if he goes 11-1.
The UT OL is a joke. Right guard is got burned repetitively within 0.5 seconds of the snap, so many times that I stopped counting.
gr8-1, Back in early 2000 I was thinking, holy ****, the college football world will not be able to survive the amount of talent Texas is putting together. In Texas recruiting: Top WRs: BJ Johnson, Roy Williams, and Sloan Thomas. UT got all. Top QB: Chance Mock. UT got him despite having landed Simms the year before. Top TE: Brock Edwards. UT got him. On defense UT got Vasher, Thornton, and others, but it was mainly the next two years when the horns picked up freaks like Wright, DJ, Harris, Dibbles, etc. that the big splash was made on defense. Basically what I'm trying to say is I am stunned that the '99 and '00 classes are done, and some horn fans are saying "Hey, I'm enjoying all of these wins." I don't think a lot of folks will realize the amount of talent the Texas teams of 2001 and 2002 and even to a lesser extent 2003 had until we are far down the road. Let's just say I'm very relieved to see the big 3 done wearing burnt orange
To just give you an idea of how recruiting is dropping off: 2002- 6 five-stars, 15 four-stars, 5 three-stars, 1 two-star 2003- 1 five-star, 11 four-stars, 6 three-stars 2004- 0 five-stars, 8 four-stars, 9 three-stars, 1 two-star I wish I had the numbers from '99-'01, they would provide for an even more stark contrast to '03 and '04. Spin it however you want, but in 2005 and beyond UT will not get 10 wins based on talent, so if a move needs to be made it should be made now.
I'm ready for any change. Greg Davis is the antichrist, and the next time I see you run a 2 yard curl route or a wr screen with a top receiver I'm going to find him, and beat him to death. Carl Reese isn't without blame, as he finds it amusing on 3rd on 10 to drop our corners 5 yards off the speedy cougar receivers, and couldn't adjust to a simple draw play. I like Mack the person, but I'm ready for new blood. This bowl game only reinforced what every UT supporter already knew: its not the players, it's the coaches. I actually turned the game off in the 3rd quarter because it was so depressing and boring. Also on the OL, UT refuses to recruit some smaller but more agile O-Lineman, so no wonder all out blitzes destroy us. And what was the purpose of playing Mock most of the game? Oh wait, let me guess. It wouldn't be UT unless the coaches tried to sabotage games with their inepitude and incompetence.
I wouldn't be surprised to see DeLoss make a run at Spurrier, but if Steve isn't interested in coaching next season (which is what he is claiming), I look for the Horns to keep Mack for one more year. If he still loses to OU, plays in the Holiday Bowl, etc, for the 2004 season, I think you will see SS resurface in the college game and it will be in Austin. If DeLoss Dodds doesn't make an attempt to do what I described above (get in touch with Spurrier) then he needs to be fired as AD.
I truly feel sorry for Roy Williams. He coulda, shoulda, woulda been Larry Fitzgerald in the right system. Every time I see a 1-yard screen, I want to puke.
You guys sure do take college football seriously. Maybe the athlete-students are spending too much time in the classroom.
Watched only the second quarter. Shook my head in disbelief every time a "deceptively fast" WSU running back ran for 10+ yards on 1st down. Turned the game off, KNOWING full well that Texas would lose (even with the lead at halftime). After the game, patted my self on the back for correctly predicting the outcome and spending the second half watching something ELSE. MEDIOCRITY > TEXAS
I would be surprised. Deloss wouldn't go behind Mack's back to ask Spurrier of his interest. The best thing for UT is for Spurrier to stay retired until Mack is fired at the end of the 2004 season. I'm sure Spurrier has been contacted by some wealthy donors and he knows he would get the UT job.
I'm as pissed off about the loss as any Horns fan/alum. Stupid decisions, stupid plays. Mock, clutch in his last performance, was anything but last night. Play calls near the goal line were brutal. Defense fell apart in the third quarter. But answer me this - where was UT when Mack Brown took over? How many top 10 finishes did they make in the 7 years before he was hired? How many wins per season? Part of the price of success is higher expectations. Horns fans take it as a given that the team's going to recruit outstanding talent and win 10+ games a season, but that hasn't always been the case. How many years did it take for Tom Osborne to win a national championship? Bobby Bowden?
This is what drives me nuts the most. They kept running that little inside hand-off draw play and getting nine yards with it every time. That's the same damn play that Oklahoma has run on us for four years. Do we even work on this play in practice?
But did UT have the talent before under Mackovick? No. Also, Nebraska and FSU consistently got top-talent, so they had time on their side. The talent at Texas, however, is starting to drop off. Once again I'll say that UT will never see talent on the field like they had in 2001 and 2002. The problem is a lot of Horn fans, like a lot of Aggie fans in the mid-90s said "how can you fire a coach whos won the third most games behind X and Y, he's won 10 games Z seasons in a row, etc." If you take a step back and look at the big picture you will see that UT has been winning on talent alone, and should make a change now if they want to win a MNC, because the talent is still there right now from the recruiting classes of '01 and '02. However, if you want to begin a slow, decaying death, then go ahead and stick with Mack...
Sam, the atmosphere in college football has changed. We're not in the 70's. Coaches are being paid millions of dollars to win championships. It is win now or get the hell out. No fan base has patience. I don't care how much UT sucked before Mack came aboard, I'm judging him by what his counterparts are doing in the 2000's. Mack is a joke.
So when you say "the fan base lacks patience," Smokey, you're speaking for yourself as well? I don't think football decisions should be made based upon whether the fans like a coach or not. I'm a fan, and I am patient. Moon, you note that the team didn't have talent under Mackovic like it does now. Why is that? You think UT suddenly became a better school? The weather got better? The chicks got hotter? No, we got a coach who's quite possibly the best in the business at selling the University to recruits. Without the players that Brown recruited, the team would be in the same spiral of mediocrity they used to be in. We haven't won a championship since the 70s - the drought didn't start with Mack Brown.
It really doesn't matter. Guys like Roy Williams are being robbed. He sacrificed plenty of $$$, because of his commitment to this university. The talent is there, and it is just not being optimized. I really don't think there is a group of receivers that is more gifted than our big three. BJ had a case of the stone hands for a while, but I don't think there is anyone in the country with as much pure talent as Roy, BJ, and Sloan. I believe Mark Fitzgerald arrived at Pittsburg with a 4.5+ 40 and a 200 pound bench press. Obviously, neither one of those numbers compares to those of the freshman Roy, BJ, or Sloan. What we lack(Besides the obvious gameday coaching) is player development. Very few of our players are really that much better than they were in their senior year of high school(Take away any added size, and some of them have probably even regressed). If we could get some real coaches, Vincent Young could dominate college football. He has Michael Vick written all over him(What he lacks in speed, he almost makes up for in pure strength). Really, forget about player development. Despite the lack of training, our players are still damn good(Evidenced by their moving on to the NFL). We lost this game, because we couldn't figure out how to block a blitz. Roy burned his man all night, and we just couldn't get the ball to him. Despite our late season run success, it is clear that our O-line is the weak link. They may have improved slightly as the season went on, but the defensive focus on Vince is what really opened up running lanes for Cedric. P. Moon, don't let the lack of stars fool you...we're still getting the players we want. Hell, even this year, we've landed pretty much everyone we wanted besides Bomar and Peterson(And there is talk of Bomar not even going to OU because of White). Bobbie Reid would be a Horn commit if Mack hadn't focused solely on Bomar, yet we still have a chance at a very good QB from Florida. We will finish with another top 5 recruiting class, so I'm not that worried about talent. I think it's here and here to stay, at least for the near future. The real question is if it will ever amount to anything besides 10/11 win seasons and NFL first rounders.
Every year under Mack Brown it's the same thing. Texas loses one game their not supposed to and ruins a great season (NC State, Stanford, Colorado, Tech, Arkansas), one game they're supposed to (OU et al) and goes to a bowl that is well below their preseason expectations and talent level (Holiday, Cotton). Mack is now 3-3 in these 2 bowls, the only 2 bowls he has ever taken Texas to. Say what you want about Mackovic but at least he has a Big 12 championship under his belt, not to mention a Fiesta bowl and a Sugar bowl appearance with much less talant. Speaking of championships, here are some coaches that have more Big 12 championships than Mack Brown, ie. more than none... John Mackovic (fired) RC Slocum (fired) Frank Solich (fired) Gary Barnett (will soon be fired) Bob Stoops (hired after Mack Brown, now has 3) Bill Snyder If you're happy winning 9 games and going to the Cotton or Holiday bowl every year (by no means a guaranteed win as it should be), fine. If you think Texas can and should do better, then Mack needs to go. 20 years coaching, 0 Conference Championships, 3-9 vs. Top 10 Opponents. I think Texas can do better.
No??? That's what they did to Mackovic. My nephew used to work in the athletic department and saw brown 6-9 months before Mackovic was moved on to special projects.
