Can Steve Sarkisian bring back Texas football?

After the failed Tom Herman era, Steve Sarkisian has been given the Texas job with the challenge of elevating the languishing program. Sarkisian had an amazing run with the Alabama offense for the past two seasons, and he’s always been a great offensive mind.

But Tom Herman had similar qualifications, coming off a National Championship at Ohio State in 2014. Yet he had real issues on both sides of the ball.

Paul Finebaum rips the program in the video above, basically saying that Texas isn’t relevant these days. He explains how the billionaire booster program is a real problem at Texas, so much so that Nick Saban didn’t want to go there.

Texas has a tough schedule this year, so Sark may have a rough start with his new gig, and then the pressure will mount.

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Three top-ten teams fall this weekend

The ranks of the undefeated are starting to thin out.

First, the Big 12 showed again how pathetic college defenses can look as Texas defeated rival Oklahoma 48-45 to hand the Sooners their first loss of the season. Texas almost squandered a huge lead but then let the Sooners tie it up late. They sealed with win with a 40-yard field goal from freshman Cameron Dicker.

Meanwhile, Ohio State transfer Joe Burrow had LSU ranked in the top ten without a loss heading into Florida, but the Gators sealed the win with a late pick 6.

Finally, Auburn was handled on the road against Mississippi State, 23-9.

Who will be the new Texas Longhorns coach?

Now that Mack Brown has faced reality and resigned, there’s plenty of speculation as to who will be targeted by the Texas Longhorns. Here are the currrent odds:

Who will be the next Head Coach of the Texas Longhorns?

Charlie Strong 2/1
Art Briles 9/2
James Franklin 5/1
Mike Gundy 7/1
Bill O’Brien 15/2
Chip Kelly 10/1
David Shaw 10/1
Jim Mora 10/1
Jimbo Fisher 15/1
Jim Harbaugh 20/1
Mike Tomlin 20/1

Click here if you think you know who is going to win and want to cash in on your knowledge.

Texas loses running back Jonathan Gray for rest of season

I interviewed Jonathan Gray last year as he accepted the award for the Gatorade High School Player of the Year. He was a great kid and based on his high school career Texas fans had every reason to be excited. He exploded this year in his sophomore season with 790 yards and a 4.9 YPC average. His running helped Mack Brown and Texas salvage a season that looked like a potential disaster.

Unfortunately, Gray suffered a right Achilles injury that will require surgery and he is lost for the season. Texas also lost defensive tackle Chris Whaley for the season as well. Hopefully both players will recover fully for next season.

Top 25 roundup: Oklahoma, LSU make statements

Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones (12) passes in the 1st half of their NCAA football game in Tallahassee, Florida Sept 17, 2011. The Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Florida State Sminoles 23-13. UPI/Mark Wallheiser

Yes, Texas is young. Yes, the Longhorns were overrated at No. 11 in the country. But the beating Oklahoma put on Texas today was one normally reserved for early-season patsies and not top-15 rivalry opponents.

I figured the Texas offense would struggle, and it did, managing just 10 points (one score came on a kick return) and turning the ball over five times. Freshman quarterback Case McCoy and David Ash combined to go 20-of-36 for 223 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. They had zero help from the run game, as it gained just 36 yards.

I did expect a bit more from the Texas defense, however, which was used and abused to the tune of 453 yards, most of it coming on the arm of Landry Jones (367 yards). All of these yards, and this game was well in hand at halftime.

As impressive as Oklahoma was, the one worry could be the run game, which gained just 86 yards. Texas’ run defense is certainly not as good as what the Sooners will see in a possible national title game against LSU or Alabama. They only had 19 carries, however, and averaged 4.5 yards per carry. Starting running back Dominique Whaley had 83 of those yards on 13 carries (6.4 ypc), so maybe I’m just looking for negatives in a game filled with positives.

This win, combined with the Florida State victory and a preseason No. 1 ranking, is normally good enough to be the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Not this year, however. Read the rest of this entry »

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