Neutral Site Game Potential: LAJ's Don Williams writes that Texas Tech is still considering a neutral site game in the future. I know that there are folks that are disappointed that Texas Tech sold only 25,000 tickets for this week's game, but keep in mind that Texas Tech only sold 30,000 last year for the game in Arlington Stadium, and I thought that the 5,000 difference was due to the shiny new toy of Jerry's World, but I'm not a sports' expert. Anyway, AD Gerald Myers had this to say:
"You get two years that you make revenue on that game," Myers said Wednesday. "On your campus, you get one. I think the maximum we could ever make on our campus might be close to 2 million dollars. Over a two-year period, we’ll make well over $3 million (by playing Baylor in the Metroplex), although we don’t have the revenue right now from the Cotton Bowl."
Also, I didn't know and/or remember this about the tax vs. bonus:
"At Cowboys Stadium, you have a 10 percent tax (on gross ticket sales) from the city of Arlington that you don’t have in Dallas," Myers said. "In Dallas, the Cotton Bowl actually gives you a bonus based on the number of tickets you sell. It averages out to about $9 a ticket, so those two (factors) kind of offset the different amenities at Cowboys Stadium that you wouldn’t have, because you do pay for those amenities."
I go back and forth on this, on one hand, I like the idea of having a game in the DFW area, and I've had a number of people email me if I'm going to the game, and right now, it's a bit up in the air. You should also check out DT's Mike Graham, who has quotes from a player's perspective.
A big reason why Texas Tech is playing at the Cotton Bowl is John Scovell, who is a Texas Tech regent as well as on the board of directors for the Cotton Bowl (I think). There's some quotes from Scovell in the article and some bits about how Texas Tech will make about $3 million for the past two years.
Notes, Notes and More Notes: LAJ's Don Williams writes very little this morning and this is all we get from head coach Tommy Tuberville:
"The offense is pretty much the same," Tuberville said Wednesday. "Defensively, we just made some mistakes. They’d played pretty well up until last week, and we just mentally made some mistakes (in a 52-38 loss at Iowa State).
"It’s really not a confidence problem. It’s an execution problem. We haven’t had any consistency. Hopefully, this week we’ll start putting together a lot more and do it at the same time the offense does."
Before anyone jumps up and down screaming and telling me that this is awful! How dare Tubs say that the offense is basically the same! Riot! Pillage! The offense is basically the same, but the production, execution and consistency is different, which is true. Other than the zone blocking scheme for run plays, which we haven't talked about since the UT game and no one has really commented if the team was still zone blocking against ISU, it looks incredibly similar (no one has commented about how the splits are essentially the same that they were in 2008). I've been writing this for two weeks and no one has wanted to burn me at the stake.
Continuing to Air it Out: FWST's Dwain Price writes that Tuberville wants to continue to air it out offensively:
"We work on our running game, but we’re a passing team," Tuberville said. "We know our strength is in passing."
Tech has ignored the running game so much that quarterback Taylor Potts attempted a whopping 62 passes last week against Iowa State. And Tuberville had absolutely no problem with that.
"That's (62 pass attempts) pretty much what we want to do," Tuberville said. "We want to throw it that much and hopefully run it 20 times or so."
This is impossible and must not be a quote from Tuberville but said by some sort of Tuberville-doppelganger.
More after the jump.
Tuberville said that the team is sick of losing:
"Our guys definitely are sick of losing," said Tuberville, whose squad is 2-2. "We've played four games and I’m obviously not pleased with the consistency.
"I’m really pleased with the attitude, though. I like the makeup of this team and I like the personality, and their attitude has been great. That's all you can ask."
Edwards vs. Edwards: RRS.com's Aaron Dickens writes that it should be interesting as LG Lonnie Edwards will be matched up against his brother, Baylor LB/DE Jared Edwards. Here's Lonnie:
"It is going to be really exciting," Lonnie said hours later. "I have always been the one to protect him while he was growing up and, being the big brother, now it's kind of time to be the big bully brother. It's going to be really good. I am really excited about this."
Heck yes!
Blackshear Named Venom Head Coach: Congrats to former Texas Tech Red Raider Rodney Blackshear for being named the head coach to the Amarillo Venom!
National and Baylor Bear Links: Football Outsiders' Brian Fremeau with his weekly look at FEI numbers . . . Good news for Texas Tech fans . . . maybe, per the AAS.com as receivers Willie Jefferson and Josh Gordon were arrested on Wednesday on possession of marijuana charges. As always, innocent until proven guilty, but I'll take any advantage at this point . . . DMN's Jeff Miller writes that Baylor head coach Art Briles wants a more balanced offense and isn't afraid to let RGIII run:
Most often, Briles' quarterback is another runner in the backfield. At Houston, Kevin Kolb once gained 400 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in a game – done only four times in major college football. Now Briles has Griffin, with speed and size, which caused him to alter the playbook.
"You have to," he said. "Coaching is adapting your philosophy to your personnel. Robert certainly affords us the ability to be pretty diverse in our schemes."
. . . FWST's Dwain Price writes that Baylor doesn't want a close game with Texas Tech:
"We certainly would like to think that we are going to be competitive and have an opportunity to win every game we step on the field," Briles said. "It’s not a goal to step on the field and be competitive.
"What’s happened prior in the last couple of years (against Tech) really has no bearing on what’s going to happen this Saturday. It’s a new day, a new year, new teams."