Jc Dobbs

Signaling to the neighborhood kids that the Ice Cream truck is on the way!

I KNOW what she's gonna do in Norman. She's gonna enjoy the nightlife because it's a big deal after the social scene in Lubbock. She's also going to count her NIL dollars one at a time. Finally, she's going to hire a Freshman student at OU to take all of her tampering communications coming out of Lubbock because there will be so many phone calls, electronic messages and snail mail letters she won't have enough time to answer them all.

Rumor circulating around recruiting circles that OU has instructed Nagy to remove the currency from the Schooner and replace it with NIL IOUs. That should work, right?!

For my benefit as an Old Guy... assume that means it's likely that Tua gets his bell rung.

Wow! People ask about "Culture" on a college football team. This is just one part of team culture. Hard work and dedication are noted and rewarded. From the 5-star players to the walk-ons...all for the Team. This makes my old alum self proud. Hook 'Em!

It doesn't seem very long ago when we were pushing for OTF to hit 30k. I get excited about the thought of hitting 103k because it's easy to visualize a big sell-out at DKR like the Bama game... and having the thought that each seat will be filled with an OTF Texas fan. Hook 'Em!

Burnt Orange Horn -- It's easy to forget what a powerhouse FSU was. For a few seasons Bobby Bowden had the Seminoles rollin'! During that period of time Florida State was one of the "It" schools and was really popular with the young people. I was in Tallahassee several times in the early 1980s and I drove by the football stadium. The FSU football facilities weren't particularly impressive back then. For many years my job required lots of domestic travel. I always tried to look around college campuses and football stadiums when I was in prominent college and university towns. College football has grown a lot since about 1980. The advent of ESPN brought CBS and Fox into the business of televising games and that pulled in the big revenue. Hook 'Em!

I really disagree with #4 Clemson. Not that special. And, the Longhorns had LSU on the ropes at DKR...third down and three miles to go. How did the Texas D let that happen? Regardless of Joe Burrow's talent. Admittedly I'm biased. But I have worked with CFB fans who didn't go to Texas. Several of those CFB fans know I am a Texas alum and they have told me they consider the Longhorns win over USC to be the greatest CFB game they have ever watched. And VY to be the greatest CFB player ever. I remember watching the tape of the broadcast and Keith Jackson said VY was the best he had ever seen.

Jeff - For years I have heard that the HCs don't take the time to actually input to the Coaches Poll. I've heard that most HCs have a staffer follow the Poll and provide the input. Is it true? Or do you know if most HCs actually follow the Poll and provide the vote themselves? Thanks!

Agree with you on this Bobby. Makes me question if the AD and/or University President was thinking "I need an organization where the HC can be free to 'coach' and not be weighed down with having to do all the management and organizational duties that he is trying to do." If this is the case and the AD/President thought he wanted his HC to just coach...it begs the Bill Parcels question about drafting/recruiting the players ("groceries "). Because it appears to me as an outsider ( Thank goodness) that Nagy has been given a lot of influence in recruiting. The recruiting influence makes me wonder if they thought Nagy could maximize their Dollars with his NFL experience...by recruiting the best 3-Star players and use his management experience to run the whole program under budget. IDK but it's going to be interesting. Seems to me that the odds are against the structure working... largely because most college HCs have big egos. Thanks for all your work on OTF!

Jeff-- Of course I have no idea because I am just a fan with no insight into this kind of thing but I changed jobs in the corporate world a couple of times over 30+ years. I left on good terms both times and kept friendships at each place I worked. Just from casually following the NFL, Matt Patricia just comes across as the kind of boss/coach I would not want to work for at a company or play for on a football team. I really hope the Longhorns put up a bunch of points against that Buckeyes defense. It's the kind of thing that makes being a fan just a bit more interesting. I usually don't care who the Texas opponent's DC is. Just FYI... PS I noticed you sent out a compliment and said you were really enjoying covering the Longhorns for OTF. I've followed your work for years and appreciate your approach. You do excellent work!

You do have to wonder about that. It's a "Prime" example of the kind of issue that pops up and is a bit of a barrier to the athletes who say they want to play more than the one sport they are being recruited for. I noted "Prime" example because I think it just shows how exceptional #12 was at Colorado and that's just being a two-way player on a football team with a Head Coach who played professional football and baseball back in the day. Hook 'Em!

Over the summer I have re-watched the games from last season. Bond was very good early in the season and dropped off after the injury. Just as he was getting re-established he got hurt again. After that second injury (or the tweak of the original, whichever it was) he was never productive again. Like many WRs, he seemed to be psychologically fragile about his injury...or he violated the old rule of thumb about "Never let 'em see you sweat." He couldn't play through the pain, etc, and it bothered him so much it affected his performance and contribution to the team. I agree with you and when I saw the game replays it was worse than I remembered.

At one time I had been to 30 consecutive Texas -OU games. Enjoyed every moment of all the traditional things surrounding the games. Had good seats and bad seats, hot weather and really hot weather. It even rained one year (2000?). Cactus Pryor interviewed Darrell Royal on TV the week of the OU Game in Coach Royal's first year of retirement. Cactus asked DKR what it was like going to the game as a former participant -- now merely having gone to the game as a guy with a ticket. Coach Royal's response stuck with me. "You know, Cactus, you've gotta really want to go to that game in that stadium in the middle of that State Fair crowd to endure all the hassles ( a good 1976-77 word) you have to go through just to get to that game!" One year a lady was seated behind my crew and she was brought to the Cotton Bowl Stadium obviously as a friend or a spouse because she was naive about what Coach Royal had noted to Cactus. And, it seemed as though she thought she was just along for a polite college football game. It was obviously her first Texas -OU game in person. Long before kickoff, she was asking if "these people" calm down when the game starts and if she was going to have to stand up for three hours to see any of the game, etc. A young man had enough of her soft attitude. He raised his voice and said, "Ma'am, with all due respect, we are wedged in here on this hot afternoon for a really big event. We merely SUBSIST for 364 days every year waiting for this moment to arrive." His language was a little more colorful, but you get the picture. The thought struck me then that the 45,000 Longhorns fans wedged into the Cotton Bowl Stadium's legendary small-ish seats for the OU Game every year are the most serious BEVO-loving fans in all of Longhorns Nation. Because they gotta want to be there to go through all the hassles like traffic, long lines to buy "tickets" as an added extra step to purchase a Fletcher's Corny Dog ( with or without mayo) and contribute to the University, etc., just to have a shot at getting to buy a game ticket. Or purchase tickets online, etc., at a considerable premium. To me, OTF is like the serious Texas fans at the OU Game every second Saturday in October. The OTF people are the fans who really, truly care. Their enthusiasm is sprinkled with Burnt Orange class, manners, humor and respect for their fellow alumni and friends of Longhorns football. . Looking forward to a championship season on OTF, Hook 'Em!

I've been to a lot of Longhorns road games. Never been to the 'Shoe. Watched VY and crew win there on television. Under normal circumstances in '05 I would have gone to Columbus. But I was in the process of getting a divorce (and giving up the season tickets I had for many years at DKR) ... the painful part of divorce. Friends have told me the "fans" at Columbus made sure that Texas people knew they were not welcome. After hearing how our folks were treated, I was glad the Longhorns played well and won the game. The most hostile venues I have experienced were Kyle Field in the 1970s and Arkansas in the 1980s. Never been to Lubbock but a buddy had a bad experience there in '08 ( so did I watching on TV). OSU gave Texas such a small number of tickets you're fortunate to get to attend in person. Maybe the Bucks fans will be in a bit more sportsmanlike mood for the season opener. I have a better feeling about this year's game going in than I had before the game in '05. I hope you have fun and Hook 'Em!