Jc Dobbs

To quote Hank Hill..."Yep." To quote me..."Damn." You never know all the details, but I am surprised. Hook 'Em!

Just my observation after watching CFB since 1968... the table was set for the Longhorns after the '23 and '24 seasons because Texas was "close," and the CFB media ranked them #1 in anticipation of the Ohio State matchup. Then... after playing fairly well at Ohio State, the OL and the Offense were slow to "Jell," and Arch inexplicably got the Yips. Even more inexplicably, the team was a No-Show against Florida. Texas was focused vs OU and things came together in the RRR. Then again, some focus and momentum was lost in subpar performances in SEC games, even in wins like Kentucky and Mississippi State. At that point, all the early season goodwill was gone as the media and sports pundits wrote off the Longhorns and stopped paying attention. The media meme was Texas blew it, so see you in '26. Then the Offense played better but the Defense blew some coverages and although Texas was winning, they probably needed to be blowing out opponents in order to get back into CFB playoff contention. Georgia was just a better team... and that was that for '25. A big Meh from the media and pundits. Inside of all that, Simmons was just overlooked. I think if Texas was playing well and winning handily headed for the CFP... Simmons would have been First Team AA. I'm thinking he'll use this as motivation for '26 and if the team plays well dealing with a difficult schedule he will be a First Round DC and win some CFB awards. Thanks for your excellent ongoing coverage. Hook 'Em!

"Won't Get Fooled Again" -- Pete Townshend 1971

GLUE! Every team needs "Glue Guys" who do great things on and off the field. Thanks to Ms.Rubell. As a Texas Ex and the father of a Longhorn alumna (BS '17 with High Honors) I appreciate her thoughtfulness. I also appreciate her son's accomplishments on the field and in the classroom. I played high school football in Texas and would have done anything to wear the Burnt Orange but I didn't have the physical tools needed for college football. But I know what it takes. Ms. Rubell ... thanks to you and your family. Hook 'Em!

... not to mention the awful "burnt orange" color of paint... I actually preferred the former paint color on the field... but natural grass can't come soon enough. I remember when they pulled the grass surface out after the Aggy game years ago and criticized the Greg Norman turf grass company because the grass playing surface was slippery. Indeed it was slippery on that day under those weather conditions. Nothing's perfect.

I always enjoyed the night games vs Rice at the Rice Stadium in H-Town. The MOB always made fun of aggys during halftime. Good for a recruiting presence and the Texas Exes living in the area could get tickets. For us old fossils it was a nostalgic trip to the stadium where President John F Kennedy gave his famous speech. He asked "Why does Rice play Texas?" Answer: "Because it's hard." Hook 'Em!

This season's outcome by the committee is actually worse. Unlikely to see an upset by JMU and Tulane while TV ratings favorites/Blue Bloods like Texas and ND are sitting out. Never thought I would like the former final 4 or 8 better. Hell, even the old BCS system was more interesting. It's not basketball and thus the chances for "Cinderella" upset victories amount to zero. CFB CFP is FUBAR.

At the beginning of December... I'm wondering about Coach Prime in Boulder. He's been through a very serious health situation and the Buffs seem to be stuck in neutral... better than when he joined CU but the future doesn't seem very exciting.

I've heard the same about Riley from a USC alum friend of mine. He says that SC's #1 recruiting class currently may help with those who want him to stay. I have nothing but watching body language on the sideline on TV, but DeBoer doesn't seem to be having much fun. I'd think he might prefer going back out West to Happy Valley PA.

Apologies. I knew he had an injury history dating back to high school but I thought he was also injured at Alabama. Thanks.

Yes. Thanks, perhaps I wasn't clear. I'm a Texas alum (undergraduate and graduate degrees) and a lifelong Horns fan. What I meant to say was that I have an irrational hangup about legacy recruits. Perhaps because I only wanted to attend Texas and my daughter graduated from UT in 2017. I was bugged by a great player's sons (I realize one of the sons went to Texas and is now at Miami) not signing with the Longhorns when they were recruited. The eldest chose Alabama and unfortunately suffered a serious knee injury. It was his 4+ star services that Texas wanted. On the other hand, Texas recruited Mills knowing the young man was a Washington legacy. After seriously considering the Longhorns, he signed with the Huskies. So, it just seems that often (certainly not always) Texas misses on its own legacy recruits and when it recruits players that are legacies at other schools, the Horns finish as second choice and the young man chooses his legacy school. We missed on Brockermeyer and we missed on Mills. Simply frustrating. Fingers crossed for young Mr Lott. I remember his father being a star at Texas in football and track. Hook 'Em!

Cal Berkeley?!

In the longest -winded response to a question in sports journalism history, Ole' Joe used the word "Demand" a total of FOUR times. Yikes. I suppose the home seating is looking too much like the South end of the Cotton Bowl Stadium in the fourth quarter of the Texas -OU game.

Thanks for your excellent analysis Jeff. Especially your correct use of "inexplicable." I've heard "unexplainable" so many times lately and it's jarring to the ear. Inexplicable, indeed! A$M has finally capitalized on their recent recruiting success and the back to basics approach of their coaching staff. Credit them for that. I'm hoping that the Ags will want it just too much against Texas and will be too tight to play well at DKR. Just for fun, imagine a scenario where they want to Lord over Big Brother with an act of supreme arrogance and rest most of their starters...it backfires and the Longhorns win over the Aggy backups. Oh, well...I just want to see the Horns play well with their best effort of the season. Hook 'Em!

I admit it. Just an irrational, emotional thing with me!