Tag Archives: Oklahoma Sooners

Bob Stoops Steps In IT

Posted on by
1

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops recently stepped in it by saying the SEC really wasn’t that great of a conference even though it has produced the National Champion the last seven years. Here is what the infinitely wise coach said:

Listen, they’ve had the best team in college football, meaning they’ve won the national championship. That doesn’t mean everything else is always the best.

So they’ve had the best team in college football. They haven’t had the whole conference. Because, again, half of ‘em haven’t done much at all. I’m just asking you. You tell me.

Continue reading →

Texas Aggies Finish Dream Season, 41-13 over Oklahoma Sooners in Cotton Bowl Victory

Posted on by
Reply

CottonTrophyYes, it is the end of a dream season. As I watched Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel dance along the sidelines for the opening touchdown, I could not help but feel like I was living in a dream. The Texas A&M Aggies were finishing up their season in 77th Cotton Bowl against Number 11 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. It was a close game at the half with the Aggies leading 14-13.

The second half, the Sooners had no answer for Johnny Manziel and company. The Aggies went on to score 27 unanswered points in the second half and the defense stepped up and kept the Sooners off the score board. More than that, they kept the Sooners off the field. The Sooners first two possessions in the second half ended without first downs and punting the ball away. At one point, the Sooners only managed 17 yards in the second half.

That was when the dream-like feeling really came over me because I realized that the Aggies not only were going to win, going 11-2 for the season, that they had the Heisman Trophy winner leading the way, but that they were NOT going to blow it. The win was in the bag and there was nothing the Sooners could do to avoid the thrashing. It was sweet.

And it was fun. Watching Manziel run the ball made it a true joy. He is a fun player to watch, which is one of the reasons he won the Heisman. He doesn’t just put up the numbers, but he does it in a fun way to watch. It made the game almost surreal. Nice, but surreal.

On top of that, Manziel went on to help the Aggies with 599 yards of total offense, a Cotton Bowl record. I’m sure there are some other records that I’m missing, but it is late.

I did want to add a few of the tweets posted at ESPN. It’s quite revealing what some of the sports writers are thinking:

He beat Bama. He won the Heisman. He conquered the Cotton Bowl. Johnny Football became a legend this season. — ESPN

Johnny Football starts his 2013 heisman campaign tonight in spectacular fashion.If you didn’t know – now you know. Jonathan Coachman

The Cotton Bowl was a one-point game at the half. aTm’s halftime adjustment was to open up a can. Michael Smith

The “SEC” chants have given way to “Johnny” chants. Richard Durrett

This is one of the greatest individual bowl performances I’ve ever seen. Johnny Football is living up to his nickname and his Heisman. Skip Bayless

I hope next year is better than this one, although I’m not looking forward to it yet. I’m too busy enjoying the end results of this season. A winning program with an 11-2 record and a Heisman winner returning to play quarterback next season.  That is a dream season, especially for Aggies every where. We have had such a long draught when it comes to being successful. Hopefully it will be a long time before we taste the draught again.

Aggies Picking Cotton

Posted on by
Reply

AndyTEX011I have to admit that when the announcements were made concerning the Texas A&M Aggies Bowl for the season, I was disappointed. After all, the Texas Aggies have had plenty of trips to the Cotton Bowl. Well, perhaps not plenty, but I was hoping for something a bit more exotic. Not sure what, but I wasn’t expecting the Aggies in the Cotton Bowl.

However, as Wade pointed out to me, the Aggies going to the Ma Bell Cotton Bowl is actually better than what his LSU Tigers were getting: a trip to the Chick Fil-A Bowl against the Clemson Tigers on New Year’s Eve. That is not when you want your team playing because it is only one of four bowls for the day.

The Texas Aggies are playing on January 4th, at 8 p.m. on Fox. That is the only game of the day, in prime time, when all the minor bowls have already played out and people really start paying attention. Most people ignore the minor bowls, like the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. (I’m not making that up. It’s played on December 20th). So it is good that Aggies are picking Cotton, and even better they are playing the Oklahoma Sooners. It should be a great game to watch. Hopefully the Sooners will feel the full effects of Aggies offense led by Johnny Manziel and rejoice that we have left the Big 12 for greener pastures in the SEC.

Texas Aggies Update

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been a while since I did an Texas Aggies Update. You have to know that Texas Aggies everywhere are really excited about the inaugural season of football with the SEC and this has us really excited. But there is more to this excitement than just joining the SEC.

First, Kevin Sumlin, the new head football coach, has really begun to assemble a great recruiting class for 2013.  He has done this by promoting the reality that Texas A&M is playing in the best league in the nation, and confronting the lies put forth by those on the recruiting trails from the likes of t.u. Those in the great state of Texas have known for years that t.u. will trash talk all the other schools to recruits. It’s typical coming from that institution. Former A&M coach Mike Sherman ignored the problem, choosing to take the higher road. Sumlin has chosen to confront the attacks with the truth.

Here is what Miketag from Just Wait Til Next Season wrote:

The coaches that Sumlin brought in have a different approach. If a college negatively recruits against A&M, they will get down and dirty in the trenches with them. When Mack Brown tells a wide receiver recruit that A&M has moved out of state and all the Aggie games will be too far away for his parents to watch, the Aggie coaches simply point out Texas’ pedestrian passing game to that recruit.

There is nothing wrong with either approach. Mike Sherman is a stand-up guy and you cannot ask him to be something he is not. These new assistants are young and aggressive and they are not going to take lies from other coaches sitting down.

The response to Sumlin and his coaches so far has been nothing short of amazing. With two cornerbacks giving their verbal pledges yesterday, the Ags now have 19 commitments in the 2013 class and it is only June.

Sumlin has gained commitments from four defensive linemen and two linebackers. He has immediately addressed the glaring issues in the front seven. Aggie fans can expect to see the Ags add two more defensive linemen and two more linebackers to the class before signing day. Bringing in 12 players in the front seven is a great way to fix depth issues.

Sumlin and his staff have achieved their success not only by countering the negative recruiting from other programs, but by changing the perception of the A&M program entirely. Texas A&M has an image as a conservative university, but this football staff is young and hip. Recruits want to play for coaches who are laid back enough to play rap music during the practices like the Aggies do.

Sumlin held a “Friday Night Lights” event where he invited all of the elite recruits in the 2013 and 2014 class to come and watch a scrimmage under the lights at Kyle Field. He and his assistants went on the road and put on satellite football camps at different high schools across the state.

The other issue that should give some Aggies a cause to rejoice is that Bleacher Report did a ranking of the most loyal fans in the nation and Aggies came in at number 7. They rank higher than Arkansas, LSU, t.u., Texas Tech, Notre Dame, Florida, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The only teams that rank higher in fan loyalty are: Penn State, Auburn, Alabama, Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan, in that order. I think that is deserving of a big Aggie whooooop!

Big 12-2 On the Verge of Collapse Again???

Posted on by
Reply

Last summer I predicted that the Big 12 would completely collapse after Nebraska and Colorado left for greener pastures. I had to admit that I was wrong in my prediction. But maybe I wasn’t. If you follow college football at all you know that Texas A&M took the next step in leaving the conference to head for the SEC. They formally issued a leader to the lemmings in the head office of the Big 12-2. This means that the Big 12-2 would become the Big 12-3 if they don’t find someone to replace A&M. Given that Dan Beebe of the Big 12 is proactive in only seeking to keep his job, the conference is doomed.

Now this just in: Oklahoma is toying with the idea of leaving the Big 12-2 as well.

University of Oklahoma president David Boren says multiple conferences have shown interest in the Sooners recently and he expects to decide whether to leave the Big 12 or not within the next three weeks.

Boren said Friday that Oklahoma is seeking stability in its conference relationship with ”partners that are both outstanding athletically and academically as well because a conference that’s strong is not only stable but it’s one in which there are multiple relationships, along with sports, between the university members.”

This cannot sit well with other members of the conference. The move to leave the sinking ship all starts with a simple desire to be a part of a ship that isn’t sinking. Once the desire is uttered, the forces behind that desire surface and that ship on the horizon looks so much more appealing than the one with the hole in under your feet.

I imagine that with this utterance by Boren, there will be those alumni who like the idea of bailing on a failing conference. Let’s face it, they can always play t.u. as a non-conference game. They did it for years before the formation of the Big 12, so it is nothing new for either group of fans.

If Oklahoma leaves, you can count on OSU leaving as well, since they are the little brother of that state joined at the hip known as the state legislature. There are just too many OSU alums in the state legislature that will insist upon OSU going wherever OU goes. If that happens, so goodbye to the Big 12. The rest of the teams will scurry off that ship like rats leaving the Titanic.

The Big 12 may survive. But it will be t.u., U of Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas State, North Texas, etc. And everyone will sit back and wonder if t.u. will ever lose their conference championship again.

Mike Sherman is On Double, Secret Probation

Posted on by
Reply

Double-Secret Probation

Yes, I know the Texas Aggies have won three games in a row now. But now is not the time to get all soft when it comes to head coach Mike Sherman. He is still on double, secret probation and if he loses any of the next three as head football coach, then Bill Byrne should still have Sherman tender his resignation.

Remember, the Aggies have three streaks this season. The first one when they went 3-0. The second one when they went 0-3, and the third one in which they went 3-0, for a 6-3 record. There are three more games left of the season. If they continue this pattern, they will end up 6-6, with an invitation to the Preparation H Bowl, where they will probably lose to whoever they play. If this happens, then Sherman will have another losing season on his hands, at 6-7. That will mean four straight years of losing seasons.

Yes, Sherman managed to pull off a win against No. 8 OU. But again, this is no time to get soft on the man. He needs to win out and win a bowl. I can’t remember the last time A&M actually won a bowl game, and I certainly cannot remember the last time they won a bowl game of significance.

All this to say, he is still on probation. He needs to win the rest of the games of the season AND the bowl game, otherwise, he needs to be fired.

The Baylor Game

A&M is playing Baylor tomorrow. Normally, Baylor has been a doormat for the league, even though A&M hasn’t been able to capitalize on that fact for a number years. This year, however, the Bears have a real team. A&M should not get cocky, even though they knocked off No. 8 Oklahoma last Saturday, 33-19. Bleacher Report is picking Baylor for this game, and for them to win, would be an actual upset since A&M is ranked and Baylor is not. Here is what Tim Kinslow writes:

Just because Baylor lost to Oklahoma State last week and fell out of the Top 25, it doesn’t mean the Bears can’t get it done.

Baylor takes on Texas A&M this weekend and I think the Bears get back into the BCS with a win this weekend over the Aggies. Baylor is the type of team that will hang around and make just enough plays to win the game.

Notice that? A&M could get upset this Saturday. Now, I hope this inspires the team to play harder and more focused so that they win. My fear is that Sherman will fail to miss an opportunity to build on the three-game winning streak and the team will slip back into mediocrity where they feel really comfortable.

Sherman Not All Bad

Yes, I must admit, I’m being hard on Sherman. I tend to give my loyalty too quickly to people and once I’ve burned, it’s hard to get it back. This applies to sports figures only. Those people in my life are shown a great more deal of grace because I know that they show me a great deal more grace than I deserve.

That being said, Sherman has done some things to really improve the offense this year. I like this story by the Houston Chronicle’s Brent Zwerneman. He writes that the conditioning that the Aggies’ office has gone through has made it like basketball on grass. Sherman makes the wide receivers run back to the huddle as fast as they just sprinted down the field. This wears out the defense and really opens up the offense to make the quick strike, like A&M did against OU when Ryan Swope snagged a pass for a 64 yard touchdown.

It’s an expeditious arrangement engineered by coach Mike Sherman calling for a receiver to hustle back to the line of scrimmage about as fast as he split it.

“For a receiver running all the way down the field and then running back to the huddle — and doing it over and over again — it’s tiring,” Swope said.

And in the end, the effort is worth it.

“It’s fun, when you get that tempo going and start making big plays,” Swope said. “And when a defense gets tired, it just opens up the whole field.”

I have to give it to Sherman. He’s thinking outside the box and trying to innovate. This could lead to something great. But we have to be cautious. Remember the Run & Shoot offense that the Houston Cougars ran for years? After everyone figured out how to defend it, it was nicknamed the run & poop, or the run & hide offense. But this does remind me of that line in the movie The Miracle where the coach told the players after having them do those brutal skating drills, “You may not be the best team on the ice, but you will be the best conditioned team on the ice.” That is one of my favorite movies. Let’s hope Sherman is making one of my favorite stories as he looks to take his team from mediocrity into something great.

Texas Aggies Beat No. 8 OU 33-19

Posted on by
Reply

The Aggie Defense truly stepped up tonight at they had three goal-line stands against OU’s offense. The first came in the first half which kept the Sooners scoreless. The Aggies went to half time leading 12-0 and they would never relinquished that lead.

On the ensuing kick off after the half, the Aggies ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown giving them a 19-0 lead. The Sooners came back making it 19-17, but the Aggie Defense stepped up in the fourth quarter to shut the Sooners out, with two goal line stands. Bob Stoops even tried one of his trick plays with a faked field goal attempt, but that went for naught as the Sooner receiver dropped the perfect pass to him in the end zone.

The Aggies improved to 6-3 overall, and became bowl eligible. If they win the rest of their games, the bowl they are selected for will improve.

BTW, I was yelling with excitement so much that Elisa came in at one point and told me to save my voice, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to preach tomorrow morning. I just smiled and said it would be a short sermon. Everyone would understand.