Steamboat Willie

Been thinking about this for a while. I think Sark’s a great head coach and fits like a glove at UT. But he gets talked about like he’s one of the best QB developers in the country, and when you go stop by stop I’m not sure the results back it up. At USC he worked with Palmer, Leinart and Sanchez, but that was Carroll’s program and Norm Chow deserves a lot of the credit for the early years. At Alabama he had Tua and Mac Jones, both first-rounders. But Bama kept producing QBs after he left. Bryce Young went No. 1, Milroe got drafted, and Ty Simpson just went 13th overall. His head coaching stops are a different story. At Washington he had Jake Locker, who went in the first round mostly on physical ability and never turned into much of a passer. At Texas he’s had five-plus years, his own staff, his own recruits and total control of the offense. Ewers came in a five-star and left a seventh-round pick. Arch is still a work in progress. Five-star QBs disappoint everywhere, I get that. Rattler at Oklahoma, Uiagalelei at Clemson, Malachi Nelson at USC. Nobody hits on all of them. But if you’re supposed to be an elite QB developer, shouldn’t you be getting more out of those guys than the average coach does? Kirby’s an interesting comparison. Five stars: Eason, Fields, Daniels and Vandagriff all came through Georgia and transferred, and he still won two titles with Stetson Bennett. Nobody calls Kirby a QB guru, and he’s got an OC running the offense anyway. Sark calls the plays, so whatever happens at QB is on him. Sark can coach quarterbacks, I’m not arguing that. Being a good QB coach and being the QB whisperer he gets sold as are two different things though. At Texas he’s had the time, the money and the control to build exactly what he wants, and the QB play hasn’t lived up to the reputation. At what point do we start judging Sark’s QB development on what he’s done at Texas instead of what he did at USC and Alabama?

More curious about why the snap wasn’t taken under center.

The 11 personnel numbers are what stand out to me. We had some success running with Mosley in motion and Cooper hitting the crease. Why does a run need to go for 20 to keep us interested? Five yards puts Arch in a much better situation on the next snap. The blocking needs work, and Arch has to quit leaving throws out there when he does have time. But Sark also has to recognize what this group is doing well and stick with it long enough to build a drive.

To add a little salt to the wound; Venables has a reputation for picking up signals, and OU has Parker Livingstone, who knows Sark’s offense. Watch Guillory on that last interception. He breaks straight to the spot like he knows what’s coming. With the blitz timed perfectly, I can’t help wondering if OU knew the play before the snap.

Sometimes I wonder if Sark’s obsession with big plays is rubbing off on Arch. Neither seems particularly interested in just moving the chains.

I think Sark values big plays more than consistently moving the chains. OU was allowing 23.1% on third down, and with two weeks to prepare, we went 3-for-13. Cooper was running well inside but barely touched it in the second half. Arch’s last pick looked predetermined, with a receiver coming open underneath. Sometimes taking five yards is better than chasing twenty.

Yes, we should score more against the defenses left on the schedule, but that doesn’t mean we’ve fixed anything. OU came in allowing 23.1% on third down. After two weeks to prepare, Texas went 3-for-13. Same 23.1%. Arch’s last pick looked predetermined to me. He threw right into the blitz while a receiver appeared to be coming open across the middle. I want to see Sark and Arch figure out how to beat a good defense, not just put up bigger numbers against weaker ones.

What’s the spread?

My biggest worry Saturday is OU's trick plays. They can't run it (131st in the country, under 3 yards a carry), they're awful on third down, and they've put the ball on the ground 10 times already. Meanwhile, our defense is holding teams under 100 rushing yards and just sacked Tennessee 10 times. Venables knows what he's up against. I'm expecting a flea flicker, a reverse pass, a fake punt near midfield, anything to steal a possession or a cheap touchdown. If one of those hits, the whole stadium changes. Their crowd wakes up, their guys start believing, and all of a sudden a team that couldn't move the ball is hanging around in the fourth quarter. We almost learned that the hard way in Knoxville. Tennessee got an extra possession off an onside kick that never should have stood, and we nearly let that game slip. Sark's right about running the ball and winning the turnover battle. But this is Texas-OU. A 2-2 team can make life miserable for No. 1 with a couple plays nobody saw coming. Stay home. Keep contain. Don't bite on every fake. And special teams better be locked in on every kick. Make them earn every point and we win going away. Hand them a couple cheap touchdowns and it's anybody's game. Hook 'em.

For those in the know; whatever happened with Traylon Shead at Texas and why didn’t it work out better?

Hasn’t he been working out with the team up to the time of this decision?

Loser of LSU v Aggy is wobbling on the ropes and waiting for the knockout shot.

Surprised they didn’t build a Jackie Sherrill statue.

For a game in late November, I like his focus!!!

Yards for Roberts?