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 (5-0, 2-0) |
Date | October 13, 2012 |
 (4-1, 1-1) |
This is your weekly round-up from around the Big 12. Wanted to address some of the things in the comments, especially any sort of quarterback controversy.
QB CONTROVERSY | There is no doubt that QB Seth Doege had an awful game. Just stunk it up on Saturday, but I don't think it serves the interest of the team to have any sort of quarterback controversy at this time. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen, it's going to happen in the course of a game and most likely not announced to be discussed and dissected for an entire week. I just don't see what the latter scenario serves. I also don't think that Doege gets replaced.
Head coach Tommy Tuberville cannot afford to base the rest of the season and his future employment at Texas Tech on a redshirt freshman quarterback that may or may not win more games for him. What I do think will happen is that Tuberville is tied to Doege and will sink or swim with Doege. If Doege is able to turn it around and win some Big 12 games, then Tuberville will keep his job. If Doege doesn't win games, then he won't keep his job. If he plays Brewer, then he's doing whoever the next head coach will be at Texas Tech a favor, but Doege offers his best chance at winning. Doege's success is tied to Tuberville's success and that's the decision he's made. That's not a bad decision to make to start the year and is actually quite reasonable. The former coach would go with whatever senior was playing almost every other than Harrell. It is the safest route. Tuberville has to be safe and that may be his downfall, but I think Tuberville can live with that.
GIVE UP | I still don't get the comments about the team or coaches giving up. I just didn't see it. Running a draw play when the defense dictates that you run the draw isn't a bad play. Punting the ball away doesn't mean you've given up. I'm on give-up alert, but I just didn't see it. Sometimes you actually have to punt the ball and sometimes it is the smart thing to do, as I mentioned in the comments, a coach that was known to not punt the ball has punted 3 times more than Texas Tech. It happens, but don't make the narrative that because of a certain play or having to punt the ball away (OU was given nice field position without going for it on 4th downs) means that the staff gave up or that's why the crowd left. The crowd left because OU kicked Texas Tech's rear, not because of give-up. That's not to say that this team won't give-up, but there's still a handful of games to figure out if that's the case. And even then, if the team does give up, then you should be openly cheering for it because it means that Tuberville won't have a job at Texas Tech.
LINKS | LAJ's Don Williams editorializes that the team has to cash in on touchdowns and not field goals, especially with West Virginia coming to town. LAJ's Williams and Kosmider have five key developments from Saturday. LAJ's Nick Kosmider writes that the Red Raiders have to handle adversity better and DC Art Kaufman says that he's not worried about it:
"I’m not concerned of us having a fragile mentality," defensive coordinator Art Kaufman said, "simply because of our leadership. We’ve got a lot of blue collar guys. We’ve got work ethic. We’ve got character and we’ve got leadership."
Our Daily Bears (Baylor Bears): BYE.
Wide Right & Natty Lite (Iowa St. Cyclones): The Cyclones rebounded incredibly well from their disappointing loss at the hands of Texas Tech, using a combination of clutch defense and big offensive plays to a 37-23 win over the #15 TCU Horned Frogs. The offense still hasn't fixed all of its problems, but the tandem of Jared Barnett and Josh Lenz hooked up for touchdowns of 51, 74, and 1 yard. Lenz also decided to don his QB cape and throw for another TD, a 15 yard hookup with tight end Ernst Brun. The defense was less impressive than last week, giving up chunks of yardage to TCU's Trevone Boykin (who I was impressed with given the circumstances), but also forced 5 turnovers out of the Horned Frogs. reserve DE David Irving had the play of the game on a pass deflection interception return for a touchdown. (Link)
Rock Chalk Talk (Kansas Jayhawks): Sorry, folks, but I'm pretty well over KU Football at this point. We’re not close to being competitive. At all. (Link)
Bring On The Cats (Kansas St. Wildcats): Overall, this was a bizarre football game. KU dominated the time of possession with almost a 14-minute edge, and ran 30 more plays than K-State. But the Wildcats gained 87 more yards and had five fewer turnovers. Despite the first-half mistakes, Klein threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, and Hubert added four touchdowns and 101 yards of his own. It wasn't a perfect game, but we'll never turn down 40-point wins over KU. We're at four wins in a row now. Sure would like to keep that rolling, but for now it's time to focus on Iowa State. (Link)
Crimson and Cream Machine (Oklahoma Sooners): Many questions surrounded this Oklahoma Sooners defense heading into this Texas Tech Red Raiders game. One thing we knew was that the secondary benefited greatly from Mike Stoops' return as the defensive coordinator. The first change was to put players in a position to succeed and the affect was seen immediately as this was a secondary that came to play. However, the rest of the lineup was a wash as it seemed fans could pick names out of a hat as to who would be the starter. For the first time in four games, the Oklahoma Defense was able to string together a couple of great quarters to seal the victory. (Link)
Cowboys Ride For Free (Oklahoma St. Cowboys): BYE.
Burn Orange Nation (Texas Longhorns): The most surprising/interesting/disappointing aspect of tonight's game was the manner in which West Virginia won by beating Texas at its own game. The Mountaineers limited Texas to just 68 offensive plays, while carving up the Longhorns defense on the ground. Excluding sacks, West Virginia racked up a ridiculous 230 yards rushing on 38 rushes, good for 6.1 yards per rush; even when we absolutely knew the Mountaineers were going to rush the ball on the game-clinching drive, we couldn't stop them, as West Virginia marched down the field on an 8-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, of which 7 plays and 73 yards came on the ground. When it was all said and done, Andrew Buie, their No. 2 running back, rolled the Longhorns defense for 207 yards on 31 carries (6.7 per rush). (Link)
Frogs O War (TCU Horned Frogs): The defense was generally fantastic-- and that's the first time I've thought that all season. (Well, Grambling doesn't count.) Yes Josh Lenz beat Kevin White a couple times early, but that problem went away by halftime. If Stansly Maponga doesn't take two stupid penalties (one of which was b-o-g-u-s) to convert an ISU third down, this game is one touchdown closer. Subtract some bad luck, some bad ball security, and TCU would have been in this game. Thanks, D-- maybe the offense will match your growth later this season. I doubt it, but stranger things have happened. I've been on the this team meme for a few weeks, and my worst fears about this team are coming true; bowl eligibility is now a long shot, which means Coach Patterson probably is not going to have 18 extra practices in December to try and grow this crew up.(Link)
The Smoking Musket (West Virginia Mountaineers): WVU survives its first Big 12 road test and beat the Longhorns at their own game, grinding the ball out on the ground at the end for a three point victory. What can we say about Andrew Buie? The sophomore churned out 207 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground on 31 carries and chipped in another 66 yards receiving. Geno Smith didn't have his best game by a long shot, but it was still a very good one in the face of a relentless defensive front from the Longhorns. The senior's stat line was marred by two lost fumbles, but more than made up for it with four touchdowns through the air. (Link)