My Late Thoughts on TCU to the Big East

First of all, let me say this is a no-brainer decision for TCU. The move to the Big East gets them to the big kids’ table of college football.


Second, Don Beebe should be fired. When the WTF Conference remained intact after the Bugeaters left for the Big 10 + 2 and Dan Hawkins Farewell Tour bolted for the Pac 10 + 2, there was some talk of inviting TCU, Air Force and/or Houston to round out the Big 12 again. Somewhere along the line, the Big 12 decided it was not in their member interests, presumably b/c with Texas and Texas A&M, you already control the DFW and Houston TV market much more so than with TCU and Houston. While the Denver market is big, CU football has rarely dominated the TV space there, unless it was the crime watch during the McCartney/ Neuheisel eras.


So, here’s the present state of the conference: 1) you have now if the flagship member of your conference struggling with a 5-7 record this year and offseason questions abound; 2) the South Division co-champion Oklahoma State Cowboys have 9,000 empty seats for an intrastate rivalry game for the South Division title in which they’re favored by 2 points; 3) you’ve just given eight other schools in the country every other year access to visit your state, weekly in season coverage by your local media of the conference, and television exposure at some level to the DFW area.


The Tulsa World did some fine work with the 2009 FBS rosters. 1,714 FBS recruits came from Texas. That’s 200 more than the next closest state, California. By being pissy, the Big 12 just invited Rutgers, Louisville, Pitt, West Virginia, Connecticut, Cincinnati, South Florida and Syracuse into the state to share the recruits. Let’s say each team nabs two recruits. It’s only sixteen, but which sixteen? Are they the top ones? Some of them will be. You’ve reduced your margin for error considerably by giving more ready access to this talent pool, and giving the talent pool visibility into those schools. Maybe the next Todd Reesing, spurned by Texas because they already had Colt McCoy and Vince Young, now goes to Syracuse. Texas made the right decision with pursuing McCoy obviously, but Reesing was one of the best QBs in Kansas history. The fact that you don’t know how the second best QB in Kansas history also means something, but that’s another column (it’s either Frank Seurer, Bobby Douglas or Nolan Cromwell). Maybe Drew Allen, spurned by Texas for Garrett Gilbert (looks good so far), is now in a Pitt jersey, suffering under the Wannstache as opposed to being a capable backup for the Sooners.


Back in the day before 85 scholarship limits, the Oklahomas of the world would stockpile players on their roster just to keep them from playing somewhere else. It was unfair to the player who’s languishing on the bench, but great for building a dynasty. See Jimmy Rogers…you never heard of him at OU, but he played five years of NFL ball. He was stuck behind Billy Sims, Kenny King, David Overstreet and Elvis Peacock, to name a few. Stockpiling TCU in the conference keeps others from those resources, and another quality football team in the mix doesn’t hurt.


Congratulations to TCU, and bring me the head of Don Beebe. Professionally speaking, of course.

BCS Busters

Much yelling going on about Boise State or Houston as a BCS buster this year. Some people mention the Horned Lizards, but not many. Here's why:

Current Win Loss records of future opponents

• Boise State (8 games remaining): 7-15. Of the 7 remaining 1-A combatants for Boise State, they have collectively won 7 games. This includes Tulsa, which is 2-1 (1-aa wins/losses are excluded). Intrastate foe Idaho (hey, that rhymes!) is 3-1 (beating juggernauts NM State, San Diego State and Northern Illinois), and is probably their second toughest remaining game. Aside from those two, BSU opponents are 1-AA UC-Davis, and 5 other teams thave have combined for two wins against 1-A teams. this is not to say that Boise is not good, but they will NOT be tested extensively the remainder of the way.
• Houston (9 games remaining): 8-19. The Cougars also have Tulsa remaining, as well as Mississippi State, a team that is 1-2 against 1-A foes, but almost beat LSU this past week. After 4 weeks, Conference USA appears pretty weak, with the exception of Houston and perhaps Tulsa, which lost by 51 to Oklahoma.
• TCU (9 games remaining): 13-16. The Horned Lizards host 3-1 Utah and travel to 3-1 BYU, so they definitely have their plate full.

John Blake Coaching Tree Thrives

Justin Fuente was promoted to co-offensive coordinator yesterday at Texas Christian. Fuente was initially concerned he would have to share play calling duties with Jarrod Reese, Patrick Fletcher and Eric Moore, but was relieved to find out he would be working with Jarrett Anderson.

The Mountain West

The Mountain West is trying to wedge their way into the BCS. First thought is, you can't win if you don't enter. The second thought is they have as much chance of getting into the BCS as you do having your boss take less of a year-end bonus so you can have a larger one. His comment would be, "But if I do that, there's more for you and less for me. Why would I do that?"


My skepticism aside, let's consider the facts:


Here are Jeff Sagarin's ratings of the conferences:

2004:
1 - ACC
2 - Pac 10
3 - Independents
4 - Big 12
5 - Big 10
6 - SEC
7 - Mountain West
8 - Big East



2005:
1 - Big 10
2 -ACC
3 - Big 12
4 - Pac 10
5 - SEC
6 - Independents
7 - Big East
8 - Mountain West


2006:
1 - SEC
2 - Big East
3 - Pac 10
4 - ACC
5 - Big 10
6 - Big 12
7 - Mountain West
8 - Independents


2007:
1 - SEC
2 - Pac 10
3 - Big 12
4 -Big East
5 - ACC
6 - Big 10
7 - Mountain West
8 - Independents


2008:
1 - SEC
2 - Big 12
3 - ACC
4 - Pac 10
5 - Big East
6 - Big 10
7 - Mountain West
8 - Independents



Here are the highest ranked teams for each conference, 2004 - 2008

ACC - 7, 5, 23, 9, 17. Average = 12.2
Big East - 5 (Louisville, who was in CUSA at the time), 6, 23, 3, 26. Average = 12.6
Big 10 - 12, 3, 4, 11, 8. Average = 7.6
Big 12 - 3, 1, 16, 2, 3. Average = 5
Independents - 31, 8, 21, 74, 51. Average = 37
Mountain West - 4, 15, 13, 17, 5. Average = 10.8
Pac 10 - 1, 2, 2, 4, 2. Average = 2.2
SEC - 2, 7, 1, 1, 1. Average = 2.4

And the lowest ranked teams for each conference, 2004-2008
ACC - 90, 133, 153, 109, 57. Average = 108.4
Big East - 94 (Temple at 115 was dropped), 114, 73, 113, 104. Average = 99.6
Big 10 - 101, 96, 108, 123, 125. Average = 110.6
Big 12 - 103, 83, 94, 117, 114. Aveage = 102.2
Independents - 33, 86, 122 (165 ranked Temple now in MAC), 131, 161. Average = 106.6
Mountain West - 110, 128, 128, 120, 136. Average = 124.4
Pac 10 - 108, 81,124, 70, 138. Aveage = 104.2
SEC - 125, 107, 78, 80, 93. Average = 96.6

So, if you look at these facts with a slant toward rationalizing the MWC into the BCS, you have the following: in 4 of the past 5 years, the highest ranked Mountain West team has been higher ranked than at least one of the present BCS eligible conferences. The average ranking for the highest team in the MWC is considerably higher than the average ranking of the ACC or Big East representative, however Utah is the only MWC team to ever get a BCS bid.

On the low end of the totem pole is more of what plagues the MWC. The average lowest ranking is 124.4, and is significantly lower than the peer group that they seek.

Conversely, the BCS was designed to identify and reward top teams, not penalize crappy teams. Being that the Mountain West has consistently had a competitive top team in the rankings, you can't ignore the fact they deserve an automatic BCS bid just as much as Notre Dame, the ACC or Big East.

TCU-BYU Report

The Frogs dominated the Cougars last night, winning 32-7. The environment was electric. This was easily the hottest ticket in Fort Worth since the Miley Cyrus concert last November.

Some comments from my observations:

Andy Dalton has about two good throws / quarter in him. The coaches need to incorporate that into the play calling...if hits a receiver on the money for a gain - and it's not so hard it hits them in the facemask - you should go ahead and run the ball several times and let him cool off again.

Jeremy Curley was unstoppable in the first half from the WildFrog formation.

The D was amazing. That defensive performance against the Sooners was not a fluke. They got consistent pressure on Cougar QB Max Hall, and eliminated the cougar running game.

The Frogs now have allowed 87 points in 8 games - 35 against OU and 52 in the other 7 contests. Stanford was the only other team to hit double digits in the point column.

The Frogs now have the inside track on the Mountain West champsionship, assuming they can beat the Utes in Utah on Thurs, Nov 6. The powers that be managed to schedule TCU against the two best teams in the conference on Thursday after a road game.

We'll get back to the Sooner coverage very shortly.

BYU by the Numbers

Much ado about BYU in various places, with them being undefeated and all. Let's take a quick look at the Cougars, since I'm going to the Frogs-Fightin' Mormons tilt on Thursday:

Record - 6-0
Record of opponents, excluding BYU - 12-19
Other teams who've played teams with fewer wins than BYUs' foes: Tulsa, Tulane, Florida State, Boston College, Fresno State, Boise State.
Margin of Victory over Washington: 1.
MOV of other teams playing the Huskies: 29
BYU MOV over New Mexico: 18 (at BYU)
TCU MOV over New Mexico: 23 (at wherever the heck New Mexico is located)
BYU Defense Rank: 31
TCU Defense Rank: 1

Here's looking at a Horned Lizard upset

OU - TCU - 5 plays

A random thing I noted while thinking back over the game yesterday. The Sooners forced 4 TCU turnovers. The last one was inconsequential, with less than a minute to go in the game. The Sooners converted those three turnovers earlier in the game into 0 points. In fact, in each instance, the Frogs held OU to a three and out, with the Sooners netting 18 yards on the nine plays in those three possessions.

1. 1st qtr, 1st and 10 from the Sooner 24. An out and up by Iglesias results in the first Sooner score. Nice move by Iglesias and pump fake by Bradford.
2. On the ensuing kickoff, Lendy Holmes chases down Aaron Brown at the Sooner 15. The Sooner D stiffens, and holds TCU to a field goal.
3. 2nd Quarter TCU fumble on the Sooner 35. The turnover stopped an 11 play, 64 yard drive.
4. 2nd Qtr TCU goes on 4th down on 4th and 4 from the Sooner 42. Jeremy Kerley is sacked on a little trickeration that goes awry.
5. 4th and 4 from the Sooner 14, TCU goes for it. An Andy Dalton pass falls incomplete, and another TCU drive yields zero points.

Overall, TCU got the ball into OU territory 9 times, and came up with 10 points. The drives were field goal, punt, fumble, interception, turnover on downs, TD, turnover on downs, punt, interception.

Lizards vs LandThieves - Q4

TCU ball at the Sooner 48 after a short punt, trailing 35-3. Brian Jackson deflects a pass for Jimmy Young at the Sooner 10. Two completions take it to the Sooner 16. Dalton is now keeping it on the zone read, after giving it to the back for the first two and a half quarters. First and goal at the one for the Frogs. TD Lizards. Sooners lead 35-10.

Demarco Murray returns the ball to the 30. Sooners still can’t run the ball. But keep trying. Dave Lapham just referred to Oklahoma State as a “poor man’s Texas Tech”. Boone State leads Troy 42-10. another 3 and out for the Sooners. Jermaine Gresham only has one catch tonight. A couple of series ago, Gresham was hit hard by a teammate and struggled off the field. TCU touches the punt and a scramble ensues, but TCU gets back on it.

Lizards ball on their 42. Dalton completes two passes and suddenly the Frogs are at the Sooner 29. The Sooners stuff two runs, and it’s 4th and 4 from the 32. Dalton scrambles, throws and it’s incomplete. The receiver got a foot in, but the ball came out when he landed. It’s under review, and Joel Meyers and Dave Lapham keep talking about the completion, how he came down with a foot inbounds. They don’t notice the ball came out when he hit the ground. The Fox announcers finally realized what I told my wife two minutes ago, and agree with the officials, who affirm the call on the field.

Sooners ball on the 32, leading 35-10 with 8:23 to go. Another failed running attempt, and the Sooners throw to Irving native Pooh Tonnell for a first down at midfield. A pass to the 38, then another negative running play. The lack of success AT ALL worries me. There will be a time somewhere along the way we’ll have to run the ball. On the other hand, TCU may be the best defense we see all year. Bradford has not thrown for 400+ yards. 4th and 7 and the Sooners are going for it. Time out Sooners. For the third time in a row, flipping over to ESPN to check out the Bama-Georgia game yields more commercials. There should be a law against this. Bama now leads 34-17. Back to the OU game, Bradford throws it way out of bounds.

Frog ball on their own 35, with 4:44 left, trailing 35-10. Two completions into Sooner territory. A sack by Adrian Taylor, and Dalton is down. It’s never a good sign when the player takes the helmet off. Hopefully he’s ok. Dalton ends up walking off the field, thankfully. Now playing for the Lizards, Marcus Jackson. 4th and 12 for TCU, and they line up to punt.

Sooner ball at the 18, leading 35-10 with 2:30 left. Halzle now at QB. Moses Madu runs for 5 yards, one of the longer runs for the Sooners tonight. Halzle takes a shot, and it’s punting time for the Sooners again. The punt return is taken to the Sooner 28.

TCU ball, with 48 seconds left on the Sooner 28. Marcus Jackson throws towards the middle of the field, across his body, and it’s intercepted by Travis Lewis.

One play should do it. Sooners win, 35-10/

TCU turned the ball over 4 times, but hung in there, particularly after the first quarter onslaught. The Sooners beat by far their toughest foe to date tonight.

Lizards vs LandThieves - Q3

Lizards ball at their 27, trailing 28-3. The Sooners spend too much effort trying to strip the ball, and Turner rushes for a first down on 2nd and 10. The Fox cameraman can’t figure out who has the ball. They apparently don’t have an alternate camera to show you what happened. I think Dalton ran for a yard. TCU runs a pick and trips themselves up, and it’s time to punt.

LandThieves ball at their own 16, leading 28-3. TV timeout. At the start of the night, I thought the Sooners would win, and probably end up ranked second if Georgia beat Bama. I figured a Dawg victory over Bama, which followed a road W over Arizona State, would vault Georgia back over the Sooners. Barring an epic recovery, that’s not happening. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Alabama picked up some votes. Back to the game. A pass to Johnson yields a first down, followed by a 2 yarder. Bradford rolls into a blitz, and it’s punting time again.

Lizards ball at their 45, trailing 28-3. Aside from Sanders slipping late in the first half, TCU has shut down the Sooners since they scored to take a 21-3 lead. Dalton slips throwing the ball. On 2nd and 10, Jimmy Young catches it, breaks a tackle, is out in the open, and trips over the 35 yard line. TCU ball at the Sooner 30, 1st and 10. Dalton actually gains yardage on the zone read, and its 1st and 10 on the 19. After a 6 yard run and a false start, Brian Jackson nearly picks off a Dalton effort into the right corner of the end zone. Dalton keeps it and TCU has 4th and 4 at the Sooners 13. A weakside blitz forces Dalton to throw a desperation pass, and it’s Sooner ball.

LandThieves ball at their own 13, leading 28-3. The Sooners still can’t run, but they finally convert a 3rd down. First one of those in awhile. 3rd and 3 for the Sooners, and a slip screen is a perfect counter to the all out Frog blitz. Manuel Johnson goes the distance for 63 yards, and the score’s 35-3 Sooners. Johnson has 203 yards and 3 TDs so far this evening. He’s been the only offensive weapon the Frogs haven’t contained.

Lizards are held on the return and only get to the 20.A completion for 13 gets TCU to the 33. The Frogs pick up another first down and now they’re near midfield. After two negative plays, Moore (who?) gets up and blocks Dalton’s pass. Punting time for the Lizards. Downed at the 13.

Sooners ball at the 13, leading 35-3. Two miserable attempts at running, courtesy of the quick Frog D, leads to a pass interference call that gets a first down at the 23. An odd 3rd and 11 running call gets 1 yard, and it’s punting time again. TCU is giving a clinic on how to stop the Sooner run game. The highly touted Sooner o-line just can’t open any holes against the Frogs, who are clearly selling out to stop the run. End of the 3rd quarter. Sooners 35, Frogs 3.

Lizards vs Landthieves - Q2

Start of 2nd quarter - A tipped ball - I mean thrown into Henderson’s helmet - is nearly intercepted on the deflection, and the Sooners are forced to punt. A great kick by Mike Knall goes out on the one.

TCU ball on their 1 – Dalton goes deep and its out of bounds. Shotgun snaps into the end zone seem risky. Another 3 and out for the Sooners. On their last three possessions, TCU has run eight plays for 13 yards and one turnover. Check that, the Lizards get a second chance, apparently a last second time out averted the third incompletion, and Dalton completes a pass to convert the 3rd and 10. TCU converts another 3rd down, converting a 3rd and 1 to maintain the ball. Getting their D a rest here is probably huge here. TCU continues to drive downfield. Turner’s 20 yard run is stopped by a forced fumble by the Sooners, and Lendy Holmes recovers his second fumble of the half.

OU ball on their own 35 – The Lizard lineman continue to run circles around the Sooner o-line on running plays…there’s just no room to run the ball. Pass blocking is working much better, but the Sooners are unable to recover from a holding penalty. Time to punt again. The Sooners have 15 carries for 28 yards at this point in the game. Even if you toss out the 12 yard sack on Bradford, 14 carries for 40 yards is not going to impress anyone either. A dribbled punt snap adds some excitement, but the punter gets it away.

Lizard ball on their own 37 – Dalton completes a nice pass to Jimmy Brown for 19 yards to convert the 3rd and 14. 1st and 10 from the Sooner 38. An incompletion and two yard run get to 3rd and 8 from the 36. Dalton throws under pressure, and Brian Jackson intercepts the floater; Sooner ball on their own 5.

Sooners ball at the OU 5. Two Murray rushes make it to the 13. Showing tremendous confidence in the running game, an incomplete pass on 3rd and 2 leads to another Sooner punt. The TCU defense is tightening up. 3 possessions in the second quarter for the Sooners and they have three and outs on each one. Bradford is 2-5 for 27 yards in the second quarter, and 3 rushes have yielded 13 yards.

Lizard ball at their 48 – Dalton runs for his life and averts the sack. 4th and 2 from the Sooners 44. Halfback pass is ont going well, the Sooners stop it for a 12 yard loss.

Sooner ball at TCU’s 42. Another holding call for the Sooners. After a run for Brown, a sack on Bradford, adding injury to insult, Bradford is tackled into Trent Williams and rolls over Williams ankle. This could be serious. Diverting to the Tide-Bulldog game for a moment, Bama is up 17-0 on Georgia. Williams is walking off under his own power, sort of. 4th time in a row, the Sooners go 3 and out.

TCU ball on their 6. 3rd and 10 for the Lizards. A blitz forces Dalton to bring the ball down and is sacked for a 2 yard loss. On the punt return, a STUPID block in the back takes the ball back from midfield into Sooner territory.

Sooner ball on their 41, with 1:20 left. After a 4 yard run and an incompletion, we’ve got 3rd and 6. The Frog defender (Sanders, I think) fell down, and Bradford completes another pass to Johnson at the TCU 38, who scampers the rest of the way in for the score.

TCU ball on the 20 – two runs up the middle and time expires.

Time to sneak in some Georgia - Alabama - except its not a contest. JP Wilson completes a bomb to Julio Jones as I flip over, and Alabama takes a 31-0 lead. The blackout was apparently in fact for the funeral for Georgia's title hopes.

Lizards vs Landthieves - Q1

The HeadThief stayed home this weekend from the game. I decided to forego the family counseling that would have arisen from me bailing out on the Coppell 8U softball contest and heading north. My daughter took ill yesterday, and I coulda went to the game anyway. That’s what I get for not being enthusiastic about staying to watch my daughter play.

Nonetheless, there are my thoughts while watching the Sooners – Horned Lizards game.

Sooners ball at their 26 - TCU’s defense is not a fluke. The d-line is really quick. Bradford just teamed up with Iglesias on a double move for a score. The TCU corners are playing very aggressive, and the eagerness to jump the route cost them a score.

Lizards ball on the OU 11- What can Brown do for you? Well he can run back kicks. Aaron Brown returns the Sooner kick back to the OU 11. Lendy Holmes, displayed his serious wheels by running Brown down from behind. The Sooner D held, and the Frogs kick a FG. Holmes efforts saves 4 points.

Sooners ball on their 20, leading 7-3 – I’m having Fiesta Bowl flashbacks watching the TCU linemen run around the Sooner o-line. The Frog D is really loading the box up to stop the run/pressure Bradford. The Fox coverage early has been awful. They’ve already missed one play courtesy of a replay, and the TCU misdirection completely fooled the Fox Sports cameraman, and they had no replay footage to show what happened on the play. Demarco Murray is special. He just has remarkable balance. Holy cow, how can you leave Murray that wide open. He goes about 30 yards to the 8 on a dump off. Looks like the Sooners got a break on the pass interference call. The TCU line is going to make it tough on the Sooner running game. Brown breaks through f or a TD for the Sooners.

Lizards ball on their 36, trailing 14-3– The kick coverage was able to hold TCU to the Lizard 36. Frogs get a couple of 1st downs then down the punt at the 4.

OU ball on their 4 - The Sooners were able to catch the Frogs a couple of times with 12 men on the field, which was the most effective play on the drive. A 3rd and 1 pass results in Bradford taking a shot, a tipped ball and the Sooners first punt.

Lizards ball on their 41 – The Sooners D asserted themselves on this series, forcing a 3 and out on three Dalton imcompletions. Twice the Sooners were able to get pressure on Dalton, forcing incomplete passes. Ouch! TCU gets called for kick catch interference. The Lizard defender got his money’s worth on Dominque Franks.

Sooners ball on their 29 – the Frogs continue to stuff the run. On 2nd and 10, the Sooners go long to Manuel Johnson, taking a 21-3 lead. With a minute left in the first quarter, Bradford is 8-13 for 199 yards and 2 TDs.

Lizards ball on their 29, trailing 21-3 – ouch. Nic Harris jars the ball loose from Jeremy Kerley, and Lendy Holmes recovers the ball at the TCU 44.

Sooners usually go deep here. They were trying to, but Phillips blitzes and sacks Bradford for a 12 yard loss. End of quarter.

More Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth

After a nice six hour cold medicine induced sleep, I'm more concerned about the TCU game. For example, the wiz of odds links to this gentleman's predictions for the upcoming week. After devoting some column space of how the 08 Sooners are not the 05 Sooners, he proceeds to pick USC over Oregon State.

TCU beat Stanford. Who beat Oregon State. Who beat USC. I know the whole transitive logic thing can be ludicrous. You have to acknowledge that USC has demonstrated a weakness for losing to double digit underdogs. The Sooners have demonstrated the same weakness: see Colorado 07, TT 07, several bowl games, and 01 Boone State.

Many folks are spending a lot of time telling us how it's going to be different this year. And there are some differences: Sam Bradford as a sophomore is better than an unproven Paul Thompson / Rhett Bomar. The O-line wasn't as good (by the end of 05, many of the seniors playing today were playing). However, the Sooner D is relatively untested. Sure Jake Locker's a good player, but he had nothing complimenting him. Chattanooga is not even a good FCS team. Cincy moved the ball in the first half. The back seven is still green, and now Granger is injured. You could say it's performing better than expected, but did you really expect the defense to look bad against the three teams we played? I didn't think so.

I'll leave it up to the Head Visor to continue to defuse the spying talk...which is just ludicrous - Patterson has "admitted" to taping the televised spring game. He watched something that was essentially public domain. If TCU - or anyone else for that matter - sent a scout to watch a scrimmage or practice that is open to the public, is that spying? I thought spying involved something sneaky, and perhaps an infringement of rights or broken laws of some sort. The story as it was discussed (only by conspiracy theorists in mainstream media as well as bloggers) was that maybe TCU had people watch a practice that was open to the public. Oh my goodness! That's absolutely devious.

Anyway, I've now posted a "hey, we could lose this thing" post. So if it happens, I can link to this and say, "I told you so." All in all, I'd rather be wrong.

Boomer!

OU vs TCU

I thought I'd posted this last week, but apparently didn't.

Earlier this year, I'd observed that the Frogs have won the last two contests of this storied series played in Norman. It got me to thinking, what other teams have left their last two contests at Owen Field as victors?


The answer is...Notre Dame and Southern Cal. OU is 2-6-1 against Southern Cal (0-5-1 since 1973) and 1-8 against Notre Dame. The Fish Eaters also were the last team to beat the Sooners before the 47 game win streak, as well as the team to break it.


Anyway, back to the Frogs. The Sooners are 6-4 all-time vs the Frogs, but the last time OU beat TCU in Norman was 1954, when Othol Martian was patrolling the sidelines for the Horned Lizards. The Sooners have never lost in Fort Worth (4-0), are 1-0 playing in OKC, and 1-4 in Norman.


It's not too late to move the location.

TCU - OU Preview; the Mascots

Due to overwhelming popular request, I submit to you a breakdown of the mascots:

First of all, in Texas the Horned Frog is actually a lizard. Horned frogs do exist, however (link NSFW). The Texas Horned Lizard is being monitored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife commission as the THL population has been dwindling over the past 30 yards. Apparently one of the theories surrounding the demise of the Horned Frog has been red ants. TP&W even has a program to "watch" the THL. If you want to read way too much information about the THL, click here.For those of you with young 'uns at home, you can even make your own.

Sooners, on the other hand, are thriving. Cheating continues to thrive in our society 120 years after the first Sooner. See Enron, Martha Stewart, Worldcom, New England Patriots, Notre Dame laptop scandals, Lehman Brothers, any election in Chicago ever.

As it relates to college football, while the Sooners may have been a pioneer in cheating and illegal acts for the student-athlete, the proliferation of domestic abuse, drug trafficking, kidnapping and your basic DUI has taken on a life of its own. In 1989, Charles Thompson made the cover of Sports Illustrated sporting an orange jumpsuit. Fast forward 18 years, and practically every member of the Texas Longhorns was wearing an orange jumpsuit, and not just because it was school colors. Today, for good or bad, an athlete with legal troubles is almost commonplace. In spite of this man's valiant efforts, Jimmy John's is still better known for fabulous sandwiches and not for on campus cocaine distribution. Ellis T Jones III is lesser known as well.

Clearly the Sooner is a superior mascot, as their ilk has thrived in the past 30 years, defying police and the NC2A, while the Texas Horned Lizard is requiring bleeding heart liberal tree huggers to protect their mere existence. Advantage: Sooners

TCU Motivational Poster

The Frogs last lost in Norman in the 50s.

The Iron Skillet Series

Serious, what the **** is a battle for an iron skillet? Who thought that idea up?
My five minutes of research on the web did not indicate the reason for an iron skillet. So, I came up with my own theories.

a) My wife will hit me up side of the head with an iron skillet if I watch this football game.
b) Justin Willis' throwing motion looks as if he's flipping pancakes from an Iron Skillet.
c) You'd have to be as dumb as an iron skillet to watch this game if you weren't friends/family of the players.

Purdue - Indiana plays for an Oak Bucket, Minnesota - Wisconsin is for Paul Bunyan's axe. Washington - Washington State is for the Apple cup (pretty rotten apples this year).

I guess an Iron Skillet isn't so bad.

Carnac the Magnificent

The answers are:

a) TCU Football Coverage

b) John McCain endorsement

c) Letters to the editor complaining about Kevin Blackistone's departure

The question was:

Name three things you won't read in the Dallas Morning News.

Heyyyooooo! Be sure and tip your wait staff. I'll be here all week.

Versus Coverage of the TCU Game

Pardon me while I digress for a moment. I watched part of the TCU-BYU game last night. Boy, the Versus network pulls out all the stops for the telecast. The graphics were mediocre, the replays were minimal, and the gents doing the play by play and color commentary were either off of Provo local access channels or were the backup guys on the BYU network.

Finally, I've watched two Frog games now. I haven't figured out Andy Dillard. He looks all world in a hurry up offense if the game is not on the line. Other times, he's maddening to watch.