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| Stephen F. Austin | Sat 09/04 | 6:00 PM CDT |
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| Fla. International | Sat 09/18 | 6:00 PM CDT |
| @ Oklahoma St. | Thu 09/30 | 6:30 PM CDT |
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Sat 10/09 | TBA |
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Sat 11/06 | TBA |
| @ Baylor | Sat 11/13 | TBA |
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Nebraska
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Sat 11/20 | TBA |
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Texas
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Thu 11/25 | 7:00 PM CST |
I've seen this referenced several times, on several different blogs (including here), so I decided to put it in a Fanshot. The role of Bowen Loftin is played by Stewie, and Dan Beebe is played by Brian.
2010 Dallas A&M Club Coach's Night
by Beergut on Jul 31, 2010 2:19 AM CDT
3 comments
Just some notes from the Coach's Night:
- Jackie Sherrill and Greg Hill did a live auction, with Greg Hill as the auctioneer. I will hire Greg Hill if I ever need to sell something, and want to make the most amount of money with the least amount of effort. He had the audience in stitches. He auctioned off an autographed helmet (it went for $1200), and a caricature drawing of Coaches Stallings, Sherrill, Bryant, Slocum, and Sherman (it went for $1300). "I know all of you Aggies out there, I've been to your houses. I've seen the maroon A&M room you have, with the carpet no one is allowed to walk on unless they are an Aggie, like it is the grass surrounding the MSC. I know you want this collectors edition drawing for that room." "I want all of you to notice who is NOT included in this picture, because he wasn't good enough to be in here." Hill is very effective at working the room, which is why they let him do these auctions. He and Sherrill together make quite the pair. Sherrill: "I would have loved to have had you on my team. I wouldn't have had you carrying the ball 32 times a game, no sir. I'd have given it to you 40-50 times a game." Hill: "That's why I love you, Coach." Sherrill: "You'd have been great on my team. I'd have moved you to linebacker, though." Watching the two of them go back and forth was worth the price of admission.
- Shariq "The Shark" Yosufzai '74, the chairman of the board of directors for the Association of Former Students spoke. A&M currently has 525,000 former students, and we have one of the most active alumni associations in the nation. IIRC, he said 225,000 of those former students have graduated since 1980, so the Association is growing at an explosive rate.
- Assistant athletic director and recruiting coordinator Tim Cassidy spoke. Cassidy said we haven't arrived yet as far as where we want to be with team speed, but we're getting there. Cassidy also plugged the Arkansas game in Arlington, saying we need to fill the stands with Aggies, because it helps our recruiting in the Metroplex.
Friday Random Thoughts
by Beergut on Jul 30, 2010 12:23 PM CDT
17 comments
- I will be attending the Dallas A&M Club Coach's Night tonight. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a report up later tonight on any interesting comments Coach Sherman makes.
- I really think the Nebraska media needs to let Bill Callahan go. Even two years into his tenure, they are still trying to compare Coach Sherman to Callahan. Sorry, Barfknecht, but A&M and Sherman have yet to give up 70 points in a game to Texas Tech (2004) or 73 points to Kansas (2007). As bad as our defenses have been the past two seasons, we haven't managed to match the '07 Blackshirts by giving up 455 points in a season (and that was against a Big 12 North schedule, mind you). When we match those dubious accomplishments, then you can begin making comparisons.
- If you want to get an idea of what texas' offense will look like next season, go to this link, and click on every play listing an I-formation. The author of the site, Rob Pongetti, doesn't understand everything he is watching, but he admits to just being a fan who likes watch football on television, and he does a decent job breaking down the film. The video is from the 2007 Nebraska game, where Jamaal Charles went berserk on the 'Husker defense for 290 yards rushing and 3 TDs. Something to note for texas fans is the amount of zone blocking done out of the I; the formation itself doesn't dictate the blocking scheme, and I don't see texas going away from their zone scheme. Simply moving under center won't give texas a "downhill running game", any more than running from the shotgun hurt their offense (plenty of examples of running from the gun in that game, too). If nothing else, the film should show texas fans that it isn't the formation that makes the difference, but the offensive line doing their job, and the guy carrying the ball who makes it happen. Unfortunately for texas, they don't currently have a superior talent like Charles returning at RB.
- I watched a replay of a De La Salle HS - Mater Dei HS football game on Fox College Sports earlier today. Watching De La Salle's split veer option offense makes me wish we still had some college teams running this offense. If you build the offensive line right, I actually think you could combine aspects of this offense with the original WCO passing concepts LaVell Edwards ran at BYU, and have a hell of an offense at the collegiate level.
- Walk-on tryouts for the football team are on Thursday, September 2. Given that it is two days before the home opener against SFA, I am thinking we're not looking for too many players to fill out the 12th Man Kickoff Team.
- Call it sophomoric, call it immature humor, I don't care, I'll miss Marty B television. If Tellus is focusing more on football and working to achieve his amazing potential, I have no problem with him canning his youtube channel, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. There is nothing wrong with being a character; the NFL could use more of them.
- Bowen Loftin's message to the Big 12 that A&M expects the conference to honor their promise regarding revenue is probably the first thing he has done as president that I have approved of. The Big 12 is now saying they will stand by their commitment. I still want to see us in the SEC in 2012, but getting this promise from the Big 12 in writing can't hurt anything.
A&M Telling Big 12 To Honor Their Promise
by Beergut on Jul 29, 2010 5:52 PM CDT
37 comments
Now that texas and OU have publicly come out and said they don't want to accept the Forgotten Five's portion of the exit fees from Colorado and Nebraska (in what I think is purely a PR move by both schools), media outlets are reportng that A&M isn't backing down from their expectation of $20 million a year. From Z's article:
The Big 12 promised Texas A&M $20 million annually to stay in the league. A&M expects the Big 12 to deliver. If the Big 12 doesn't, there will be consequences, starting with legal action and if that's a dead end considering right now it's a verbal pledge, a possible bolt for the Southeastern Conference.
I don't think Oklahoma or texas are really backing down from their expectation of $20 million a year in television revenue, they're just saying they don't want to take the exit fee portion from Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, and Iowa State if it needed to guarantee that $20 million. I don't think A&M has any problem taking their portion of the exit fees from the Forgotten Five, and with good reason: If we had gone to the SEC, those five schools would be looking at a non-BCS existence in the Mountain West or Conference USA, and their athletic departments would take severe financial hits. You can't afford a BCS-caliber lifestyle on a MWC budget, and the debt service hole those schools would be in after the dissolution of the Big 12 would leave them in trouble for years. Avoiding a future in the Mountain West or Conference USA is certainly worth $1-2 million a year to the Forgotten Five, so I have no problem with A&M collecting that money, because of our role in saving the Big 12.
What I really like about all of the noise coming out of this discussion right now is that we're still talking about joining the SEC. If we cannot get this verbal promise in written form to guarantee it is honored, and we are forced to take legal action, another option we have is going to the SEC. This whole scenario gives us the excuse to jump ship from the dying corpse that is this conference, and head to where we should be, in the Southeastern Conference.
Talking Sooner Football - 2010 Big 12 Media Days
by Beergut on Jul 29, 2010 4:26 AM CDT
14 comments
Looking at the transcript for Bob Stoops yesterday at Big 12 Media Days, I'm surprised he was asked only one question about conference realignment, and that was a tangential question about the perception of the texas-OU game as a top rivalry game. If a sportswriter really wanted to get a rise out of Stoops, they should ask why Oklahoma is the only football powerhouse in the nation at the mercy of its rivals when it comes to conference realignment. Because the Oklahoma state legislature is dominated by Oklahoma State alumni, Oklahoma cannot go anywhere in realignment without OSU. This fact pretty much means the OU's only option in realignment, should it happen again following the 2011 season as I predict, is a conference like the Pac-10, a conference willing to accept OSU as a member to get OU. Even though OU was offered by the SEC in the last round of realignment talks, they couldn't accept the offer, because the SEC wasn't interested in adding OSU. Politically speaking, OU is at the mercy of their in-state rival when it comes to realignment. Economically, OU is at the mercy of texas when it comes to realignment. Oklahoma makes way too much money off of the donations tied to tickets for the texas-OU game in the Cotton Bowl to risk losing that game in a conference shuffle. This is why Sooner athletic director Joe Castiglione pledged Sooner allegiance to wherever texas ended up when conference realignment was over. OU needs to stay in a conference with texas, not only to preserve the rivalry (their rivalry game was played as a non-conference game for decades when OU was in the Big 8 and texas in the SWC, after all), but also to prevent a non-conference schedule that would include a rivalry double-dip, with OU facing OSU and texas before playing a conference slate. The prospect of playing both Okie State and texas in non-conference play plus the SEC regular season schedule really made the SEC a non-starter for OU, and made the Pac-10, who was willing to accept OSU, a lot more attractive. If a sportswriter really wanted to get a reaction from Stoops, they should have asked why Sooners can't get political hegemony in their own state, and why the financial livelihood of their program is so closely tied to their out-of-state divisional arch rival.
Looking at the rest of Stoops press conference, the most interesting comments involved their tight ends. With Eric Mensik, a 6'6 290 lb senior, at the top of their depth chart, OU has something of a tell when they're going to run the ball. Unless Stoops wants teams to believe he is going to consistently throw the ball to college football's heaviest wide receiver, it is a safe bet Mensik will only be in the game to run block. Mensik played some right tackle last season, particulalry in the OSU and bowl game, but it looks like they are committed to making him a blocking tight end. Trent Ratterree, Mensik's junior backup, is more of a prototypical receiver size at 6'3, 225 lbs. Ratterree had no receptions last season, while Mensik caught two passes for 14 yards. If OU does try to use Mensik as a receiving threat, texas should pay attention, because they may have their own offensive-lineman-masquerading-as-a-tight-end situation if Austin Seferian-Jenkins ends up in Austin. Stoops also mentioned Gabe Ikard, a 6'4, 282 lb redshirt freshman from Tulsa who caught 29 passes for 542 yards and 9 TDs his senior season in high school. It will be very interesting to watch how OU uses their TEs in 2010, because a big part of their offensive success in 2008 was the ability of Jermaine Gresham to be a valid receiving threat in the slot. Gresham allowed OU to play a power offense or spread the field without changing personnel; if Ikard or Mensik are not able to be a valid receiving threat, this takes away an advantage of their no-huddle attack. Opposing defenses will be able to scheme them based on personnel substitutions.Mensik's presence alone may mean strongside linebackers can ignore their pass responsibilities, and just focus on stopping the running game. Stoops seems really high on Mensik as a blocker, but I'm disappointed no one asked how he will function as a receiver.
When A&M faces off with the Sooners on November 6, one of our defense's biggest challenges will be stopping the Sooners' power running game behind Mensik and RT Cory Brandon.
Aaron Glenn Retiring
Aaron Glenn, a former All-American safety for A&M, is retiring today after 15 years in the NFL. We wish Glenn well as he moves on into the next stage of his life.
If I was Sherman, I'd bring in players who have played in the NFL a year after they retire, two years after they retire, three years after they retire, etc, to remind our players of the importance of preparing for life after football, and to show how some of our guys have handled the transition from the NFL to LAF (Life After Football).
2010 Big 12 Media Days - Looking At Oklahoma State
by Beergut on Jul 28, 2010 4:04 AM CDT
0 comments
The Aggies play Oklahoma State in a nationally televised Thursday night game on September 30, giving us a conference game before we finish non-conference play with Arkansas on October 9. Given that we play Oklahoma State so early in the season, and because Gary Pinkel of Missouri tends to be a bore at press conferences (read his transcript here, it is a cure for insomnia), I decided to focus more on Mike Gundy's comments yesterday.
The biggest question with OSU will be their offensive line, where they replace four starters. According to Gundy, it hasn't been as much of an adjustment for them, because they're new to the system, so he doesn't see it as much of a change in scheme.
One thing that worked to our advantage was the offensive line. In most cases that's where you have the biggest change. They're all new starters. So part of the reason that we changed systems at this time was because we lost a number of offensive linemen, and we're changing the quarterback.
I wonder if they'll be utilizing the wide splits in their offensive line to stretch out the defense, and force opposing DEs and OLBs to take a more circuitous route when pass rushing the QB. If they do taker wider line splits, it should help their young line on pass protection, but it'll come at the expense of their running game. With a team used to executing in a zone scheme for their running game, the wide splits take away the ability to work the double-team blocks so crucial for a zone team. Joe Wickline has been very successful teaching that blocking scheme, so it will be interesting to see how they adjust.
Depending On Viewpoint, Mack Brown's ESPN Monday Was A Stroke Of Genius, Or An Example Of Everything That Is Wrong With The Big 12
by Beergut on Jul 28, 2010 3:19 AM CDT
3 comments
For those of you who may have missed it, Mack Brown spent all day Monday at ESPN's studios in Bristol, CT. The Nebraska blog Big Red Network and the folks over at the texas blog Barking Carnival cover the all-Mack, all-the-time exposure on ESPN on Monday. Depending on your viewpoint, this is either a brilliant move by Mack and texas, or another example of everything that is wrong with the Big 12.
As a texas fan, you have to love this move. On the opening day of Big 12 Media Days, Mack made sure texas was front and center all day on ESPN, even though texas wasn't due at the podium in Irving until Wednesday. When the WWL talked about college football during the day on Sportscenter, they didn't mention Big 12 media days, but Mack Brown and texas certainly received plenty of coverage. Consider it mission accomplished for texas.
If you're a fan of Iowa State or Baylor, you probably hate this, and if you're a Nebraska fan, you're probably nodding your head with a knowing smirk on your face right now. On a day that the Big 12 was supposed to shine as a conference, texas had to go out and make sure the attention was on them. On a day where Baylor and Iowa State should have been receiving attention, texas had to make sure they were in the news. If you're a fan of another school besides texas, you can look at this and see it as texas trying to show again that it is all about them, that they're bigger than the conference.
Of course, if you're an A&M fan like me, you're looking at this and seeing it as another example of why we should have moved to the SEC. ESPN is the de facto SEC network, and watching the SEC media days get streamed live on EPSNU last week was just more evidence that we're in the wrong conference. The Pac-10 is holding their media days in New York, making sure they get some notice from the East Coast sportswriters, thinking outside the box while they try to expand their brand. Meanwhile, the Big 12 is happy to have their few hours of time on Fox Sports SW and their stuttering streaming video online, and call it a day. While Larry Scott is taking his conference to New York, the Big 12 is......not changing anything. How refreshing. Is it any wonder other conferences chose to attack the Big 12 when realignment talks started?
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