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!

I'm hoping Aggy will want it SO BADLY that they lock up and play poorly. When I was a UT freshman I had an old Maroon Buick that my Grandmother gave me when she got her last new car. A buddy of mine and I went to the game in Collie Station in my Maroon Buick... with the Texas Longhorns stickers on the back window and bumper. When we walked back to the car, the front and back driver's side tires were slashed. Nice. Aggy love those Maroon cars, but not with Longhorns stickers on them! I swore I would never go back to a game there... and I have not returned. That was 1973. Hook 'Em!

You are correct. Not like their Father on the field. I know A'shawn Robinson wasn't a legacy, but I remember his Mother really wanting him to play for Texas. He's another recruit I hated to lose and if I'm not mistaken, he's still earning game checks in the NFL. Fingers crossed for Lott.

Shows OTF evaluation skills again!

Well, you have a point. I was not a Herman fan after he divided the squad and ordered burnt toast and running eggs for the "losers."

I thought the young Longhorns DBs were an obvious improvement due to their length and athletic abilities. If they develop a bit, the Defensive Backfield will be better next season. Texas may wish they had played the young guys earlier in this '25 season. Regarding Jaylen Green... don't know what he thought he saw on the INT he shot-putted to the Horns, but Petrino seemed seriously irritated with him on the sideline. Green started stretching his hammies after Petrino left the bench area... looked kinda suspicious to me. Once again, Texas made a backup QB look good. Something we've done for years.... like knocking Carson Beck out last season. Once the Arky QB2 from Montgomery AL got going, he played pretty well. Hook 'Em!

I know it's a sore spot with me, but Texas seems to have more problems with Legacy recruits than one would expect. I haven't done the research, so I really don't know. But it's an impression I have developed over the years. The failure to secure Brockermeyer (not the one of the brothers we DID get...at Miami now?) still bugs me and I always have the irrational thought that he wouldn't have gotten injured at Texas and would have had a career like Banks had recently. Fingers crossed for young Mr Lott, but he's the kind of kid I would think should be a slam dunk for the Longhorns. I understand from Gerry that the times have changed. Hook 'Em!

The post-Mack Brown decade of doom was painful but last night was downright awful because it showed just how far away from the top the Longhorns now find themselves as they look up from being laid out flat on the canvas. I played high school football long ago in the Wishbone era and one season my team went 1-9. I was a captain on a really bad team. It was 2A football in Texas and mismatches happened, but we lost to the defending state championship team 103-0. You read that correctly. The Referee came to our locker room at halftime and told our coaches he wasn't stopping the clock for any reason in the second half. The defending champs' HC voted for me on the All-District ballot and told my HC it was because I didn't quit or fold. I still have my letter jacket from 1971 with the "Honorable Mention All-District" patch.

Well, get ready. The Dominos could start falling over and this could get ugly. In fact, I fear it's likely to get ugly in Austin. Regarding the game in Athens last night I was struck by recalling something Gerry Hamilton said recently. In evaluating recruits, you have to ask if the young man "Likes" football or "Loves" football or "LIVES" football. Very true, Gerry. The NIL money these days smoothes things over a little for college football players after a disastrous performance like last night, but a team needs as many players as it can get who are in the category of "LIVES IT." Hook 'Em!

I looked up "Disaster" and "Bust" in my Old School Dictionary and the 2025 Texas Longhorns team photo appeared twice. No copy, just the team picture cited under each word. Hook 'Em!

Yes. The Longhorns were SO CLOSE for two seasons under Sark. A made field goal from the right hashmark might've been the difference. Just a bit more of the pride and winning spirit Texas was known for with DKR at the Helm was needed, and it wasn't far away. 2005-06 and VY now seems further away than it really was. I started following the Longhorns as a schoolboy in 1968 and I have loved the Horns ever since. Watched the James Street team, "the Worster Bunch," beat Arky in 1969 for the Natty. Told my father that day "I'm going to college in Austin," and I did. Texas Exes Life Member. Season ticket holder until I retired. You are correct in your observation about the Horns right now. It feels like they need a teardown and a rebuild because, with the exception of Arch, Colin Simmons and about three other players (who are leaving for the Draft) a return to championship play in '26 is unlikely. It's been fun... especially the victory over Bama. I generally don't whine about officiating, but if the Zebras had called the safety correctly in the North end zone of DKR in the first Alabama game or if the corner blitz had been executed properly by the Horns D late against the slippery Bama QB...it would have been TWO wins vs Saban. It was just that close. Or if Quinn hadn't been injured in the first matchup... Quinn was off to a great start and he was never the same physically or mentally after that injury. Now... Texas isn't close. Lack of focus and motivation are showing up too frequently, and the OL play has fallen off a cliff. The Offense lacks explosive playmakers to help its' QB, who has gotten over a bad case of the Yips. The Defense is losing two of the best players to the NFL and the front seven isn't connected and coordinated with the Defensive Backfield. Special Teams have blown hot and cold. Game changing punt and kickoff return units have started committing Bonehead penalties and being asleep at the wheel on an onside kick they thought they were prepared to handle is a prime example. Far too often this season, the Longhorns appeared unfocused and flat and a bit soft. They needed a transfusion of "Don't Tread On Me" blood. "It's A Long Way To The Top If You Want To Rock And Roll," and right now I can no longer see the Top after being so close. I know it isn't easy and I take pride in being a reasonable fan, but this season has been especially painful after all the pre-season optimism. I think the pre-season #1 ranking was Saban's "Rat Poison." Rant concluded. Thanks. Longhorns fans need to give CDC and Sark some space and support because the task in front of them is going to be difficult. It feels like some dramatic things happening in the program is very possible. Hook 'Em!