TEXAS-KSU Game Thread 2023

[mchammer]

On the last play, it appears the QB was down before throwing the ball (hip was down). Was that the call on the field, or the battered down pass?

 

[cnb]

So many things had to line up for this game to be close:
- 2 bad INT’s and some poor throws to open receivers by MM
- OL motion penalties
- blocked punt
- Brooke’s fumble
- Sark not going for 3
- missed PI

Yet the team won, but literally nearly everything had to go south to make it so close. Rather remarkable in my opinion.

How many games in the last 10 years have we lost that we should have won ? In the past we would have lost the last 3 weeks.
I'll enjoy the feeling that we won a game that in the past we would have lost.

 

[Horn2RunAgain]

How many games in the last 10 years have we lost that we should have won ? In the past we would have lost the last 3 weeks.
I'll enjoy the feeling that we won a game that in the past we would have lost.

Another way to look at is, how many times , esp in the Akers years & Mack pre 2005, were we concerned about glaring issues with what we saw on the field yet most had the same outlook as yours above? It's whistling passed the graveyard. A win isn't a win if you're seeking a natty or being a serious challenger

Winning beats losing but what we're seeing, esp at qb and sark's in game decisions, are concerning.

 

[moondog_LFZ]

I do like Sark, and his pressers are excellent. He likes to say that we haven’t played our best game yet. To these eyes, we have not improved since the game in Tuscaloosa. In fact, we may have gone in the other direction.

That can happen when you lose your starting QB and half your defensive starters to injury. Yet we still won.

If we lose to any of the team’s remaining on our schedule we don’t deserve to be in the ccg.

Okay Captain Obvious.

 

[moondog_LFZ]

We've been complaining for two years about losing all those tight one score games.
Everyone complained that the team needed to learn how to win.
Well, it seems to me we have crossed that bridge.
Starting QB down.
Most of our starters in the secondary down.
Freshman propping up the o-line.
Yet we find ways to win.
Sometimes the ball just has to bounce right.
The refs sure aren't helping.
We have equaled our win total of last season and I can't see us ending up with less than ten wins.
I hope for more than that.
The line for last nights game was Texas by 3.5.
Maybe those Vegas guys know what they're doing.

 

[Run Pincher]

Do other teams have players out with an injury, or is it just Texas?? Asking for a friend.

 

[Detective Shilala]

So many games in Fark’s tenure where we

• dominate in many stats. Players shine and units thrive. Looks like we should roll. But still cones down the last possession to decide the game? Against inferior teams?
• Build a big lead early and lose the 2nd half.

This is a problem. I mean we can blame injuries or the QB or the refs but this has been a theme regardless.

I don’t think this guy is a good game day coach. Just my opinion. Lots of data to support.

 

[Detective Shilala]

Not to mention, we leave a ton of points on the field. Almost everts game. Feast in between the 20s and then step in our own dick in the red zone. It’s just our m.o.

 

[Detective Shilala]

Do other teams have players out with an injury, or is it just Texas?? Asking for a friend.

just Texas! It happens to us by November every year but not to our opponents.

Someone ought to look into it!

 

[old65horn]

For those who dont think we need a dual threat QB,watch the USC-Wash game

The last 2 NC teams have been won by teams WITHOUT a dual threat QB. the only team recently that won with a dual threat QB was Clemson with T. Lawrence. The current No. one team does not have a dual threat.

 

[Dionysus]

 

[moondog_LFZ]

So many games in Fark’s tenure where we

• dominate in many stats. Players shine and units thrive. Looks like we should roll. But still cones down the last possession to decide the game? Against inferior teams?
• Build a big lead early and lose the 2nd half.

This is a problem. I mean we can blame injuries or the QB or the refs but this has been a theme regardless.

I don’t think this guy is a good game day coach. Just my opinion. Lots of data to support.

So what if this trend continues but we continue to win.
We win the conference championship.
We went to playoff game.
Win the national championship.
All by building leads that we lose in the second half yet somehow pull out the win.
Will you still be complaining?

 

[NRHorn]

Please dont ban me.
If Tex stops them on this possession, ball control.
We only lose if Maalik turns it iver now.

Sark, play it safe, no hurry up. Safe passes only.

This was when UT had the ball with a huge lead and 4 minutes to play in the 2nd quarter.
I ain’t that bright… but the one thing i wished Sark would understand is seeing the bigger picture.
Run the ball , milk the clock and go into halftime happy. KSU gets it in the 3rd.
Just dont give the other teams time to run a hurry up like you tend to do, Sark.
And take 3 points every single time

And i am a huge Sark guy. That's his one blind spot.

 

[Run Pincher]

Suppose you manage a food processing plant that makes TV dinners. Multiple times your Quality department get's positive results for E. Coli. The USDA inspector checks the books and finds the positive tests. Your reply is no customer yet has contracted E. Coli poisoning. Just how long do you think the doors of that plant stay open?

I can tell you, there will be about 10 USDA inspectors shutting the place down in a NY minute. Sark has been playing Russian Roulette and eventually it fires. It's only a matter of time.

 

[MeatHeadHorn]

Some of y’all don’t remember the ride of being in a good season. I can pick and critique with the best of them and I have made them known, but it’s clear a lot of us don’t remember 05 or 08-09 as well as you think you do.

 

[MeatHeadHorn]

This team hasn’t played its best ball yet, it has at least 4 games to do so. Just keep winning and we get more chances to see. Hopefully rumors are true and Ewers is back next week. Also read the room and look around. This is a season of parody. There’s no one truly dominant team, more due to ability spread out I think then anything. I can’t remember a season where in the beginning of November, anyone in top 15-10 could make the NC game if they win out, but that is in the cards.

 

[NRHorn]

Some of y’all don’t remember the ride of being in a good season. I can pick and critique with the best of them and I have made them known, but it’s clear a lot of us don’t remember 05 or 08-09 as well as you think you do.

I argued with people here wanting to pull VY as he “should be the TE”
Then I've had to argue with people here that I really argued with people back then.
I agree on the criticism,
How many times have I screamed at the TV to NOT pass or go for it only to be wrong ? ..a zillion.
Baxter’s TD run yesterday was one. I would have never pitched a sweep, yet it worked. I was yelling no as the pitch happened..my tears turned into great joy.
Those i tend to forget being critical about.

 

[crizistre]

Another way to look at is, how many times , esp in the Akers years & Mack pre 2005, were we concerned about glaring issues with what we saw on the field yet most had the same outlook as yours above? It's whistling passed the graveyard. A win isn't a win if you're seeking a natty or being a serious challenger

Winning beats losing but what we're seeing, esp at qb and sark's in game decisions, are concerning.

Mack’s woes continued post-2005 with clock management (ie 2008 Tech) and no viable backup QB (2009 Bama), both of which likely cost Texas 2 MNC’s.

Some Bama fans still want Saban to retire.

And injuries.Akers teams were always plagued with those.

Yeah. I’ll take 8-1

 

[Texadelphia]

Missed the game yesterday but just watched the replay. The team starts like gang busters, but then several mistakes and an always feisty KSU team back in it. Good breaks. Bad breaks. Good calls. Bad calls. Momentum’s swings. In the end, we win a game that we’d have lost the past 2-3 years. Every season, every championship team has games like this. But - we got the W. We’re 8-1. And it’s on to TCU.

Happy for the W. KSU is a solid team. OU lost. aggy lost. Glad we’re not with them kickin’ the dog this morning.

 

[dukesteer]

Suppose you manage a food processing plant that makes TV dinners. Multiple times your Quality department get's positive results for E. Coli. The USDA inspector checks the books and finds the positive tests. Your reply is no customer yet has contracted E. Coli poisoning. Just how long do you think the doors of that plant stay open?

I can tell you, there will be about 10 USDA inspectors shutting the place down in a NY minute. Sark has been playing Russian Roulette and eventually it fires. It's only a matter of time.

This, and DS’s post above is the point for me.

I don’t think we can simply say, “hey, we won these games this year and we didn’t last year, so what’s the issue?”

Expectations and analysis are based on many things, including the caliber of your team and its players, the caliber of the competition, the ebb and flow of the game, the decisions being made within the game, etc.

Wyoming was a red flag. Oklahoma was a loss. Then another red flag in Houston, and after a bye. And yesterday. The Houston and KSU games in particular are disconcerting. This team, with its talent, can’t go from complete domination at the 20 minute mark, to scrambling for a win — and hoping for a miracle— late in the game.

Of course, if we win the Big 12 and make the CFP, we will all be thrilled. But to suggest that everything is pretty much OK because a win is a win would be to ignore the glaring warning signs that Run alluded to in his analogy above.

 

[dukesteer]

By the way, just a thought. I am convinced that Maalik was at least lightly concussed after a sack in the BYU game when his head bounced off the turf. You may recall that the referee looked into his facemask very closely as he walked back to the huddle.

Based on a few of his throws yesterday, I just have to wonder if indeed he was concussed, and that there was a slight lingering effect. I saw the same thing with Sam a few times during his career. I’m not sure the medical science is it a point today where that can be completely ruled out.

 

[theiioftx]

So many games in Fark’s tenure where we

• dominate in many stats. Players shine and units thrive. Looks like we should roll. But still cones down the last possession to decide the game? Against inferior teams?
• Build a big lead early and lose the 2nd half.

This is a problem. I mean we can blame injuries or the QB or the refs but this has been a theme regardless.

I don’t think this guy is a good game day coach. Just my opinion. Lots of data to support.

If I was a farking sponsor, I could correct my thread.

 

[cnb]

Another way to look at is, how many times , esp in the Akers years & Mack pre 2005, were we concerned about glaring issues with what we saw on the field yet most had the same outlook as yours above? It's whistling passed the graveyard. A win isn't a win if you're seeking a natty or being a serious challenger

Winning beats losing but what we're seeing, esp at qb and sark's in game decisions, are concerning.

Whistling past the graveyard ? I think not. Was simply pointing out that yesterday we won a game that in the past we would have lost.

Do they still have warts? Absolutely. Does the coach still try to outsmart others, including himself? Absolutely. Texas could easily be 6-3 right now or they could easily be 9-0. I'm stoked to have them at 8-1 with control of their destiny. I'm enjoying this.
Yesterday we beat a red hot ranked defending conference champion with a banged up inexperienced red shirt QB.

 

[Run Pincher]

This, and DS’s post above is the point for me.

I don’t think we can simply say, “hey, we won these games this year and we didn’t last year, so what’s the issue?”

Expectations and analysis are based on many things, including the caliber of your team and its players, the caliber of the competition, the ebb and flow of the game, the decisions being made within the game, etc.

Wyoming was a red flag. Oklahoma was a loss. Then another red flag in Houston, and after a bye. And yesterday. The Houston and KSU games in particular are disconcerting. This team, with its talent, can’t go from complete domination at the 20 minute mark, to scrambling for a win — and hoping for a miracle— late in the game.

Of course, if we win the Big 12 and make the CFP, we will all be thrilled. But to suggest that everything is pretty much OK because a win is a win would be to ignore the glaring warning signs that Run alluded to in his analogy above.

Good points!

 

[bystander]

Damn... I was at the game. It was an incredible feeling of collective manic depressive emotions. That last play was unbelievable. It reminded of the time I witnessed Brandy Perriman intercepting the inbound pass that clinched the Runnin' Horns victory over the Dean Smith/Antawn Jamison/Half-man half amazing Vince Carter. The Drum blew up. It's all pure hysteria. We want to win so badly.

As for our play, I'd say we have a very young inexperienced quarterback. Sark acknowledged that Malik needs to understand every play can't be salvaged and you just have to know when to fold 'em (paraphrased). But the pre-snap penalties really hurt us. They killed drives that could have put the game away early. Blocked punt? WTF? It was a total melt-down by the line. Sark said one of the blockers thought it was a play call (the blocking scheme?) that they don't even have. The pass rush was frustratingly stymied. We missed on a couple of sure sack opportunities that would have been huge.

YET... the defense bowed up it's back on their OT possession. HUGE.

I don't know what to think except to say either Tom Herman is correct ("Winning is hard") or the injuries (QB is HUGE. I like that word) or both. The facts are the KSU has played us very tough over the years AND we're 8 - 1. The only reason for the negativity is the the feeling I have that we were very lucky. But...

I'll take the win.

 

[KillerHorn]

This team frustrates me so badly I can’t watch the games but listen on radio.
Random thoughts
- talent has improved, we have depth to deal with most injuries, except Safety
- recruiting is good
- we give up leads but team fights back to win, resilience
- we are 8-1. Would not be 8-1 last year
- we don’t stay mentally focused, too many stupid penalties, illegal motion etc
- lack killer instinct to bury opponents when we get up early
- red zone, }%^^}}%%
- rest of season take the damn FGs
- sometimes Sark play calling reminds me of Mackovic, Not as smart as you think you are
- in off-season we should fix red zone issue, learn to stay focused and disciplined, develop killer instinct
- is Sark like Dabo Sweeney and needs to grow into the job???
- trend is up, fix mental issues and future is bright

 

[mb227]

So what if this trend continues but we continue to win.
We win the conference championship.
We went to playoff game.
Win the national championship.
All by building leads that we lose in the second half yet somehow pull out the win.
Will you still be complaining?

In a word...yes. we expect more. Mucher more!

 

[KBBAKER]

sometimes Sark play calling reminds me of Mackovic, Not as smart as you think you are

The plays aren't that bad. The execution is horrific! The QB (Murphy) play is as bad or worse than T. Swoopes. Accuracy is a lost art. Receivers were open all day long. Massive "yards after the catch" were left on the field due to the fact that the QB can't hit the side of a barn! I look for Murphy to transfer out at the end of the season. I assume a blindfolded Arch Manning has more accuracy than Murphy.

 

[LonghornCatholic]

 

[bishophorn]

My only concern about our defense this year is even before the injuries hit Catalon and others, we were rotating several players at each DB position. I wonder if they would gain more consistency and better tight coverage if the coaches decided to play the best 2 cb’s and the best 3 safeties most of the game?
I have noticed too much loose coverage from some of the guys and without pointing them out, some are better at run support but get burned in pass coverage.
Other than that, the defense has been above expectations and surely Maalik is just inexperienced, but that should be better next year.
Just hoping Quinn gets back for the roaches game, didn’t realize how much we missed the experience factor.