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View from the Cheap Seats-Texas @ El Paso Miners come to town What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on in Austin? This game featured the #1 and #2 QBs from the 2023 recruiting class. One might have expected an aerial circus; one would have been disappointed. Sark/TEXAS only threw the ball 25 times against 53 rushes. That stat is somewhat skewed due to Arch pulling the ball down and running. Still, in a game that should have created the opportunity for Arch to get his passing on track and boost his confidence, he had the worst day for a Longhorn QB in some time. We hate to bag on the kid, as by all accounts, he is a great young man. It is what it is, though. Arch is struggling and cannot seem to find a comfortable rhythm, while his play caller is not helping at all. One example of a play that is a staple of Sark’s offense has been the WR screen. A play designed around a quick pass outside with the idea that if a WR can get one block and/or make one defender miss, he’s off for a big gain. We did not see that play called until late in the third or early fourth quarter, despite UTEP playing off coverage. Clearly, the game plan was to force-feed the ball to Ryan Wingo, an uber-talented WR. The problem is that Ryan and Arch cannot seem to get on the same page. Sark’s offense is also predicated on numerous shifts and motions, which serve two purposes. First, it forces a defense to show its coverage, as well as work to create mismatches in the scheme, which can be exploited through play calling. When it’s going well, it is a beauty to behold. This week, Sark seemed content to line up and run base offense with little misdirection. One play that worked exceptionally well in the first two weeks, a staple of the Sark offense, is the TE screen, often called as the QB rolls right and then throws back left. That play and others like it were nonexistent this weekend. A Cheap Seats pet peeve, late in the 3rd quarter, early in the 4th, we saw Arch on a called QB run. WHY????? For the 3rd season in a row, TEXAS is leaning hard on Coach Pete Kwiakowski’s outstanding defense to carry the day. And once again, they delivered. The defense was suffocating, forcing five punts, three turnovers on downs, and recording 2 Interceptions. This, while limiting UTEP to an FG through 57 minutes of the game, only allowing a late TD with backups on the field. This season, the team's success will be determined by its defense, and they are a pleasure to watch. Glass half empty Arch is clearly struggling, misfiring on even easy passes. In 2 of 3 games this season, Arch has not been the best QB on the field. Keep in mind, we are talking about the pre-season Heisman favorite. The offensive line remains a work in progress. Red Zone TD scoring a paltry 3 TDs on 6 attempts, 2 Arch rushing TDs, and a pass to Ryan Wingo with 2 FG & an INT. Texas' offense was handed the ball twice on turnovers, but only managed to create 3 points. The team must capitalize on such opportunities. While the number of penalties has been reduced from last week, they came at the worst possible times, including negating the best punt return of the day. 1st play of the game saw our RB2 (RB1 being held out due to a lingering injury) go down and not return. We would finish the day with RB5, who had a very nice game. Not only was Arch still in the game late in the 3rd, early in the 4th, but Sark called a QB run. What was he thinking? On the subject of highly questionable play calling, you are not going to get Arch on track by handing the ball off. Yes, still early in the season, but in three weeks, we’ll open conference play. There is reason to be concerned as starting in October, the caliber of play is going to be significantly better. Per ESPN, today we do not project as a playoff team, we would agree with that. We miss the Longhorn Network. Glass half full Defense, Defense, Defense. Coach PK and crew are doing the job at championship levels. Our Aussie punter and Ryan Niblett on punt returns are a pleasure to watch. On two of the three turnovers on downs the defense forced, the Texas offense turned them into touchdowns. A short list this week. Stats that matter 11-25 Arch’s passing line, which included a 10 straight incompletion stretch, putrid. 3 of 6, Red Zone TD scoring. Continues to be an issue 5 of 16, Offense on 3rd down attempts. TEXAS simply cannot sustain drives 2 of 5, Offense on 4th down attempts. 4 of 15, Defense, this is how you win 0 of 3, Defense stuffed UTEPs 4th down tries 7 for 78, Penalties which seemed to come at critical times, compounding the problem. 2 for 3 Two turnovers/INTs is good but TEXAS only turned that into 3 points, not good 2 for 3 Two of the three times TEXAS’ D held Offensive Player of the Game James Simon, RB 5. Came into the 2nd half of the game, carried 17 times for a net of 67 yards. Co-Defensive Players of the Game Leona Lefu led the team in tackles, including a tackle for loss, and Jelani McDonald, who was 2nd in tackles, recorded an interception. Special Teams Player of the Game Ryan Niblett had 3 punt returns for 72 yards, a 24-yard average, and his best return was called back from a dumb penalty. On Deck-Sam Houston State The Bearkats come to town riding a 3-game losing streak this season, and are projected to finish at or near the bottom of Conference USA. The game will be on the SEC network again. We hope to see Arch with 30-35 passing attempts in 3 quarters, then take a seat. In fact we hope no starter plays in the 4th quarter. 3 weeks to get ready to travel to the Swamp to play the Gators. Game Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJemykVh7EA

View from the Cheap Seats Sputtering vs Sparty The San Jose State Spartans came to town and surprised most TEXAS fans and players with their very disciplined brand of football. They proved to be a better test than many expected, which might have been precisely what this team needed. It wasn’t always pretty all the time, it was a win, and it was much-needed reps for this young offense. At times, the Horns looked impressive, while at times, they showed why they have not been able to reach the next level of college football. This three-game stretch at home will be invaluable for the development of our young offense and players. Doesn’t mean it will always be pretty. Sark takes the ball for the kickoff to get Arch on the field, four plays, and a punt. Defense shows it hasn’t had enough coffee and gives up a 10-play drive ending in a missed FG. Offense responds with five plays and a punt. Oops, this isn’t the script. Defense forces a punt only to rough the kicker. No problem, the Defense forces another punt. We take the ball, run two plays; it’s 3rd and 6 from our end of the field. Sark lines’em up to spread Sparty’s D, Wingo runs a post from the wide side while Parker Livingstone runs a wheel route deep behind him, Arch with his best pass of the day so far, hits Parker in stride up the sideline, Sparty’s DB falls down, and 83 yards later, TEXAS on the board. Both sides of the Horns stand up strong to close out the 1st quarter and the opening 3 minutes of the 2nd, turning an interception and three forced fumbles into 21 points and a 28-7 lead going into halftime. Glass half empty It was not a complete football game. Texas would punt six times in the game. Give up an interception in the red zone and the fumble ending a really nice fourth quarter drive by the 2nd teamers. Arch continued to have problems with his mechanics. Those showed significant improvement from the Ohio State game. Arch was pressured in the red zone, his arm was hit as he tried to force a ball to his WRs, leading to his 2nd interception in 2 games. And there were some dropped passes. Perhaps the two most significant negatives in the game were the offensive line's blocking breakdowns and 12 penalties for over 100 yards. 2 of 12 on 3rd down ain’t getten’ the job done. Against better competition, this team must sustain drives. This team is still a work in progress. Glass Half Full The defense continues to be the strength of this team, setting up the offense with 4 short-field chances following turnovers. The offense capitalized on 3 of those turnovers, scoring touchdowns. Arch and Parker Livingstone’s work last year together is clearly paying dividends like most young quarterbacks. Arch continues to struggle with mechanics. He showed clear improvement from last week—some of his throws reminded fans why he is so hyped when he brings his A game. Transfer TE Jack Endries has made an early case for the Newcomer of the Year award. Excellent hands and route running. With Tre Wisner being held out, thought CJ Baxter flashed why we were so excited about him. Sark read the cheap seats and called ZERO QB rushes. Arch had a couple of excellent scrambles. We hope for the best with DeAndre Moore, otherwise no injuries. Plenty of “teaching moments in the game to “coach up” the team. Offensive Player of the Game Arch Manning- In a span of about 8 minutes, Arch threw four touchdown passes, each an excellent throw. In the 3rd quarter he would add a 20 yard scramble for a TD, capping his best day as a Horn. Honorable Mention The receiving duo of Parker Livingstone and transfer Jack Endries. Each would record two touchdowns; they are sure-handed and outstanding route runners. Clearly, Arch has a pair of new favorites as they finished #1 and #2 in pass catching for the 2nd week in a row. Defensive Player of the Game Anthony “Ant” Hill- He would force two of the D’s turnovers, one of which the O turned into 7 points while finishing 2nd on the team in tackles on the day. Stats that Matter 2 of 3 Red Zone TDs vs Red Zone chances. An improvement 12-115 12 penalties for 115 yards would be crippling against a better team 4/3/5 4 turnovers, 3 turnovers on downs, and 5 punts forced. The D was overall A- 2 of 12 3rd down inefficiency. #1 concern coming out of the game 2 of 2 4th down conversions and we thought the play calls were better too. On Deck The Mighty Miners of UTEP. They are led by former 5 Star QB Malichi Nelson, who transferred from USC. He is also coming off a 4-touchdown day vs U of Tennessee at Martin, a good FCS level program. We look for the Horns to show steady improvement, week over week, and see this as a 48-7 type game. Game Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkpAH2ccIhM

The View from the Cheap Seats-tOSU The Stage was Too Big Same story, different season for Sark and the Horns. When matched against similar talent and coaching staffs, Sark reverted to form and turtled up. The hype and the pressure was clearly too much for Sark, Arch, and the offense. The same things we saw against Georgia twice last year and Ohio State in the playoffs: dumb penalties, turnovers (well, just 1), the same abandoning of creative play calling. On the positive side of the ledger, the D came to play. This team will go as far as the D carries us in 2025, which isn’t a bad thing. Now in his 5th season at TEXAS, Sark has one win over an equally manned, equally coached team, and that was Bama on the road 2 years ago. Don’t worry, the hype machine will crank back up as TEXAS now faces 3 tomato cans in a row, then a bye week before a road trip to play the Gators. Gators are a good team but not in the Buckeye’s league. All 3 games at home where the stats can be padded and for everyone to forget letting victory escape in Ohio. Props to tOSU, they were the better team and outcoached the Horns. Glass half empty Let us open the Cheap Seats with our frustrations. And we’ll start with Sark’s largely inept play calling. Where was the motion? Against a top-flight D, where was the misdirection? Why did we not use scheme and formation to put them off balance? Or down in the Red Zone, where we failed to score a point on 2 drives? Not scoring Red Zone TDs cost us the SEC and National titles last year and clearly still an issue. Our lone TD pass came from outside the Red Zone, FYI. We do NOT fault Sark for going for it on either 4th down. Honestly, did anyone know we were not going to QB sneak the ball from the 1-foot line? We do fault all eight of our play calls, each of which played into the strength of their D. Sark did run the TE screen and it worked great. Worked so well he never used the play again. No way to spin it, Sark continues to come up short on the biggest of stages. We expect he takes a 1-loss team between the hedges with another crack at Georgia. The good news is that this team will be more battle-tested. Sark’s grade for the offensive game plan is a D. Not unlike the last game with tOSU, we had the chance to win, but we failed to execute/play our best. Bombs away on 1st down is back, putting the Horns behind the chains. Our offensive line remains a bit of a work in progress. Not unexpected. The defensive grade is a A-, the minus due to the lack of pass rush we put on their 1st time starting QB. For the first time since 2014, the #1 team in the nation was shut out in the first half, an ignominious distinction the Horns now own. We have always told it like it is in the Cheap Seats; we saw why Arch was not the starter last year. We felt sorry for the kid; he didn't have a good game by any stretch. He will learn from this, he will grow from this. And last on the list were the mistakes. It seemed that every time we did something right, we would get penalized by TOSU. We had two false starts (more problems from last year) and gifted the Bucks their TD drive. We were lining up to take the punt when a personal foul occurred, giving them a 1st down on the 1st TD drive. Kinda hard to miss when you rip the defender's helmet off. Buckeyes countered with a clean game. Glass half full Coach K and the defense. We’d have bet the house had you told us we’d hold them to 14 points. This team goes as deep into the playoffs as Coach K and crew will carry us. How good was the TEXAS D you ask? tOSU only crossed the 50 twice in the game. The two shining stars of the D were the transfer defensive tackles who had a great game and true freshman Graceson Littleton. Where did he come from? No wonder Coach Akina wanted to come back to add to DB-U’s . Smith was the best player in the nation? Coach K and company said “we’ll play him every week”. Shut down again by Coach K. The leading returning rusher in the SEC picked up where he left off from last season. Tre Wisner racked up 80 yards against a tough tOSU front and ran HARD. Speaking of running backs, Cedric Baxter showed us why he has been hyped. Welcome back after losing back-to-back seasons to brutal knee injuries. And we should mention, a key block on a blitzing LB that appeared to have a straight shot to Arch until Ced stonewalled him. The block led to one of the best completions of the day for Arch-to-Livingstone, a combo we think we hear often the next two seasons. TE Jack Endries, our transfer from Cal, with 50 yards to lead all pass catchers, and True Sophomore WR Paker Livingstone flashed with a great TD grab. Not surprising given the reports on the two of them coming out of Fall drills. Hello punting game. We love Aussie punters. Arch was intercepted. Why is that good? Get it out of the way. Arch’s early Heisman hype is done. Why is that good? It’s about winning, not awards. Team #1 ranking is gone. Why is that good? From #1, no place to go but down. Now they can focus on climbing back up. Make no mistake, this team was always going to be better in November than September. Not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, all the makings of a great season are ahead of the Horns. Net Net Largely, a speed bump on the way to the playoffs. TEXAS will lose its #1 ranking, so what? Not a conference game, so it does not impact a shot at automatically qualifying for the playoffs. It does cut the margin of error pretty dramatically as the Horns now have a “game to give” if the playoffs are the goal. Short of winning the conference, 3-loss teams don’t make the playoffs. Miss the playoffs, and it would be hard not to describe the season as anything but a failure given the hype. Offensive Player of the Game: Tre Wisner had an excellent game against a tough defense. TEXAS now knows it can run the ball. 80 yards on 16 carries with a 5 ypc average. Against a good D, we’ll take it. Defensive Player of the Game Graceson Littleton announced his presence with authority. Special teams player of the Game Punter Jack Bouwmeester pinned the Buckeyes inside their 10 twice and made sure TEXAS won the field position battle. Stats that Matter 5-14 on 3rd down-not our standard on offense 1-5 on 4th down-with these stats, not shocked we lost 3-12 on 3rd down-OUTSTANDING by the D stuffing tOSU drives, Championship football 6-50 Penalties, the worst part, many of them bailed tOSU out and kept their drives alive On Deck Texas has a home date against the San Jose State Spartans to release some of their frustrations. We hope we do not see Arch on a called rush in the game; that we work on the run game, and we work on getting Arch in a rhythm early. With 2 more tomato cans on deck after the Spartans, we’d love to see Arch give way in the middle of the 3rd, but hope he doesn't take a 4th-quarter snap in the month of September. These next three games should be games we get a great deal of reps for 2nd and 3rd level players, we will need as the season continues. If you look at the season in thirds, we face Florida on the road after the bye, then the RRW before road trips to Kentucky and Mississippi State, before facing Vanderbilt at DKR, the middle of the season. It will be a tough road stretch against teams we should beat, but none of them are tomato cans. Then a bye week before Georgia on the road, and the close of the season. Game Highlights (low lights) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcGN5jyC2yM

Dec 6th, 1969, 1st football game I ever watched. I was a 7th grader and AF brat, football was something you played at that age. Dad had been assigned a year unaccompanied (no dependents) to Korea. I suspect my Cousin Ronnie, who was a film and journalism major at TEXAS, had something to do with it, I'm not sure. But I knew I was hooked (not sorry for the pun). Watched the game on an old black and white TV, we were living in an apartment out the gate of Randolph. BTW, Randolph Field was 1-0-1 vs the Longhorns during the WWII war years. Dad was from Pandora, Texas, a south Texas town that has been absorbed into Nixon, Texas, which isn't much bigger. Most of the family were Aggies as they were mostly farmers, many still are. Dad served in the Pacific, while Uncle Ferd was a B-26 crewman, flew 2 missions on D-Day, and came home with a Silver Star. Uncle Milton (Uncle by marriage) ran one of the peanut farms in Dilley, Texas, and was a Marine at Iwo Jima. 2 years later when I was trying to play HS football, we were visited by on again, off again starting LB for the Horns Bruce Cannon, who had been a star at Randolph. Bruce passed away recently after returning to Randolph to run the school. I graduated the same year as Earl Campbell and we were proud, we were the last San Antonio team still standing in that chilly Decemeber Good morning my friend. And yes Gerry and Jeff Howe do GREAT work but F Frienswood. Really enjoying the site. Gerry's Dad's team (Friendswood) would rather unceremoniously end our playoff dreams one step from the title, F Friendswood. It was an unlikely run that year but I got to play against such Longhorn legends as Brad Shearer from Westlake (his coach, Ken Dabbs would be hired by TEXAS with the sole purpose of recruiting Ricky) and Steve McMichael from Freer.

I met Fozzy's mom in 2009 at the BigXII title game tailgate, was sending Fozzy's brother game DVDs of the season. Their mom is hilarious.

Do we know where in Dallas?

16 is the correct number as it eliminates the bye week games which failed miserably last year. 1st round home games for the Top 8 seeds The way the season falls, EVERYBODY in the playoffs gets a bye week (effectively) anyway. This isn't the NFL. Well, 8 would have been best, but that ship has sailed.

An absolutely GREAT Longhorn and a colorful character who came out of small town Freer HS to be an All American at TEXAS and a Super Bowl Winner/Hall of Fame NFL player RIP Bam Bam. And one of the rare Longhorns/NFL players I played against. Needless to say, he was always a favorite. He made the world more interesting.