Amateur Football Roundup: Week 1

Week 1 of Texas High School and Week 2 of College Football concluded this weekend. In this post I will discuss some hot topics of the weekend.

High School

Well, there were quite a few things that caught my eye in the high school scene. First and foremost is what Denison gave us. The Yellow Jackets were picked by most, including me, to grab the win over Paris…and they laid another egg. The offense lost all the firepower that it had in Zero Week and the defense dug itself a huge hole for the second straight week. With the best RB since DJ Jones, best receiver since Jimmay Mundine and Kyle Galyon, and the best QB since Jordan Taylor (all from the 2010 class), it is puzzling as to why the offense can't do anything. That OL needs to improve in a big way and quick; everyone depends on what the OL can do, even the defense. Also, what the heck is going on with the special teams? There is no reason nor excuse for PAT to turn into 2 points for the other team because of a bobbled snap. When you are trying to make a comeback, getting down by 9 points in the final minutes doesn't help matters, especially when the team still has 3 time outs left to try to make a stand. With only 1 game left before district play, the Jackets need a HOT start to gain some momentum. Luckily, Frisco Liberty is also going through a rough start, so hopefully that'll allow for the first win of the year. The coaching staff and skill guys are too talented for the OL to ruin the season.

The Anna Coyotes are another team of note. After blowing out Life School Oak Cliff, they get blown out by the underdogs of Aubrey. The RB had a good game, but I do not have much faith in Chapman at QB. With the new 3A playoff rules allowing 4 teams to the postseason and Anna being in a 5-team district, winning 1 game gets you in. I just do not see a win over Melissa, Princeton, or Bonham. Community will be the most important game, but I don't see Anna winning.

Colleges

Texas

The obvious starting point is the Texas Longhorns abysmal performance against BYU. In the preseason, I marked BYU in Week 2 and Baylor in Week 15, both on the road, as the scariest games on the schedule, to me. However, I really didn't believe that Texas would lose either game, let alone any. I have been following the program VERY closely this summer, and with 19 returning starters, continuity in the coaching staff and a favorable setup to the schedule (the byes were sprinkled in nicely), the Longhorns should have cruised to the National Championship Game. Texas has the 2nd-most talent in the nation, only behind Alabama, and each position group was ranked inside Phil Steele's top ten. This is Year 3 of the program rebuild, with a better offensive coordinator and play-caller and still great coaches at the skill positions. All the freshman and sophomores that played in 2011 and 2012 are now upperclassmen. Finally, David Ash is finally a junior, who should've only need to play decent each game to win.

But when I saw that the game was postponed, an uneasy feeling came about. When the game finally started and BYU did what it wanted on the opening drive, followed by a Texas three-and-out, the feeling only got worse. This is the squad who is supposed to be experienced enough to overcome adversity, but apparently that wasn't the case. The defense returned to the "tackling is optional" philosophy, while the front seven were performing in questionable ways. Why, if the QB kept getting huge gains by running outside, were the DEs crashing inside again and again? By staying put, the DEs will force the QB to either hand the ball off inside or run inside. By forcing the ballcarrier inside, it allows the front 7 to have a better chance of stopping the play. Also, when rushing the passer (which was a rarity), it is important to keep containment and force the QB inside. There were several notable times in which that wasn't the case, which led to a scramble for the first down.

Now, I can't only blame the defense. The officials were from the Big 12 (which makes no sense in Provo, UT), which is trying out an 8th official who is solely responsible for spotting the ball; this helps the fast-paced offenses snap the ball faster and keep the defenses from getting a breather and/or getting set. After 3 three-and-outs by the Texas offense to start the game, and multiple drives that went nowhere later, the defense didn't have much time on the sidelines to rest or get coached up. That is problematic when combined with the 8th official and the altitude.

Honestly, the biggest frustration on offense was the OL. Although there were a few too many play-calls to the crowded inside, rather than to the outside, which was much better, the OL didn't help matters any. Sure, the WRs were getting open downfield, but Ash often didn't have enough time to let those plays setup, as a pass-rush would get there first. This forces him to run or scramble to little or no gain. A stud like LB Kyle Van Noy being on the other side doesn't help matters, but there are no excuses for a 4-man rush to beat 5 offensive linemen, which did happen. While some might have been clamoring for Case McCoy to enter the game sooner, Ash had a pretty good game when you look at the circumstances. I honestly do not believe even Vince Young or Colt McCoy would've been able to win the game for Texas bc of the play of the OL and defense.

As for the coaching staff… I have already given a little bit of credit to the coaches for the lack of time to talk to the players on the sidelines, but there was a long break during the half to fix those troubles, and they didn't get fixed. Before I heard that Texas reassigned Manny Diaz and gave the DC position to current scouter and former Texas-DC Greg Robinson, I was wondering whether or not Mack regretted not rehiring 2005 Texas-DC Gene Chizik -- who was fired as Auburn's HC last offseason and is currently sitting at home -- in the offseason or if Mack would bring Gene in this week or after the season. Robinson is not the best DC, but he is the smartest hire for the interim. As a scout for Texas, he has already been helping with game plans, while being around the program long enough to not have to change too much of the terminology on that side of the ball, which could've caused major confusion. Also, with the season just starting, there is a limited market of coaches that could come in immediately, besides Chizik.

I loved the fire and intensity Mack had on the sidelines last night while chewing-out Diaz and DB-coach Akina. This is what I hope the program has seen since the rebuild in 2011, but I'm not so sure that it has. The team appears "soft," a trait that was what lead to that 5-7 season in 2010. Mack said he changed his ways, but the product on the field doesn't show it, whether he is telling the truth or not. I honestly do not want to see him get fired, which could lead to better or worse for the program, but if the team doesn't put in better effort, his seat could get awfully warm.

If the fan base continues the ever-evolving turn on Mack, leading to him being fired after the 2013 season, there could be a problem in finding a potential replacement who is what Texas is looking for. A recent trend of some of the best coaches is to stay put. Boise St's Chris Peterson, TCU's Gary Patterson, and Baylor's Art Briles are just a few guys who've turned down offers at major programs. There are a lot of guys that are currently the Head Coach of their alma mater, such as Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury and Oklahoma St's Mike Gundy; I just do not see those type of guys leaving. Another cause for concern is the number of top coaches that have recently settled in new homes at high-profile programs. Urban Meyer (Ohio St), David Shaw (Stanford), Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Al Golden (Miami), Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M), and Butch Jones (Tennessee) are recent hires at some of the more historic programs. Texas isn't the type of program that takes chances on coordinators to become the next head coach, unless he's been in the program for a while, which really narrows the field. So, a short list of current HCs I can for certain see being brought in for interviews would be: Peterson, Ole Miss's Hugh Freeze, Louisville's Charlie Strong, and North Carolina's Larry Fedora (Vanderbilt's James Franklin could be considered, also). Briles and Peterson would obviously be asked, but likely turn down the offer. A&M's Sumlin should be asked, and might actually be open to the interview, but pride might keep him from getting asked. Current Florida coach (and former Texas HC-in-waiting/DC) Will Muschamp might get a call, too, but I am not too sure the fans would want him back to run the program. Of the coordinators out there, only Clemson OC Chad Morris (former HC for Austin Lake Travis, which recently won 5 straight championships) and Alabama DC Kirby Smart would be the ones to be interviewed. If Texas did make a change, it would need to grab a coach with a hot streak; most of these guys would meet the criteria for the nation's #1 job.

The best-case scenario is that Mack gets the guys back on track, and they win at least 9 of the final (hopefully) 11 games, while Muschamp gets fired from Florida and comes back to lead the Texas defense (Chizik would be a nice runner-up here). I hope the ship gets righted, while Major Applewhite gets the offense going, so Mack can stay through his contract, before handing over the reigns to Applewhite, a former Longhorn QB, in 2021.

Stray observations from the BYU game:

-The officials spotting the ball that quick will lead to even worse defense statistics in the Big 12 this season.

-The turning point of the game, in my opinion, was the roughing the kicker penalty in the second quarter. After the refs missed the same call on the previous BYU punt, Texas roughed him again and got caught. The D was exhausted by that point, and lucky to even have made the stop on 3rd down. This penalty led to the Cougars scoring again and going up by 10 points, rather than Texas having a chance to rest the defense while trying to regain the lead.

-There was a missed Pass Interference call in the second half that really irked me. The defender had his hands on the receiver right before the ball got there and didn't get his head around. That's PI every time, except then.

-Daje Johnson and David Ash are essential pieces of the Texas offense. Hopefully, their injuries aren't serious and they can return soon. We dang sure do not need to burn Tyrone Swoopes' redshirt if Ash can't return.

-Wish we could've seen more of Malcolm Brown, Johnathan Gray, and Jalen Overstreet. These RBs didn't get to play much because the offense was either on the sideline or in a deep hole.

-Tayson Hill is not a good QB. It really is sad that he was able to beat Texas with a subpar completion percentage and so many rushing yards.

Around the Nation

The Big 12 has flat-out embarrassed itself. It has been the best conference from top to bottom since the 2010 football season, and it was slated to continue that throughout the 2013 season. However, it is now looking like it is falling off a bit. In the preseason, I thought that losing 6 starting QBs wouldn't be a big deal and that the teams would actually be better without the old guys. That only appears to be true with Baylor, which looks like a team on a mission. OU's Knight and Bell can't throw the ball (which I figured they'd do decent at, helping OU finish with 4-5 losses). OSU's

Walsh could throw against Mississippi St's depleted defense (SEC or not, it wasn't that great), but finished with OSU's best completion percentage ever against UTSA.; not sure if that'll hold true in big games. TCU's Pachall was struggling before being injured, but Boykin appears to have a bright future if he can make a few better down-field decisions; he has a nice arm, though. KSU was supposed to have a good offense after returning pretty much everyone but QB Klein; apparently the defense is terrible and the 2 new QBs aren't doing great. I originally had KSU at 4-5 wins, but had changed it to 6; now I don't see that happening. ISU should've improved on offense by returning its QB; apparently not. I had ISU at 3-9, but a strong team that had a tough schedule; now, they'll be lucky to reach that number. Kansas is a team I originally had 6-6, but dropped them after buying into KSU's offensive ability. Though they've only played 1 game, they look able to get at least 4 wins, with Rice and WVU being the swing games to reach 6. WVU I had going 4-8, with no defense and limited offense. Well, they sure can run the ball and the defense has stepped up. Still, I don't see this team winning more than 5 games, if that. Texas Tech is a team I had going 8-4, while most had finishing 7th in the league. Well, it looks like they'll be closer to my prediction. I won't be surprised if Baylor runs the table, defeating OU, OSU, Tech, TCU, and Texas in its final 5 games. The Bears should be the Big 12 favorites at this point.

I correctly picked the Miami upset of Florida, but whiffed on Georgia beating South Carolina. Now, the SEC East has only 2 teams without a loss in Tennessee and Missouri; that should change soon, though. I think South Carolina will win the East and challenge the West champion. LSU looks like the best team in the entire conference, which is a huge surprise. Ole Miss has a chance to make some noise this week, which could keep the momentum rolling into the season. A&M has some major holes on the defense, but Bama has a weakened OL; those will even out this weekend, providing us with an even matchup. I also whiffed on my projected upsets of Tennessee and Kentucky by WKU and Miami (OH), respectively; oh well.

The Big Ten bottom-feeder, Illinois, is crawling out of its whole. It might make a bowl, but it will at least come close. Michigan looked pretty good in beating Notre Dame, but I'm still not sold on that team. Michigan has looked better than Ohio St, thus far, though, who should be on upset alert this week against Cal. Wisconsin looks good, while Nebraska looks vulnerable. I whiffed on Indiana's offense carrying the team to a win over Navy.

In the Pac-12, Washington St upset USC, which I correctly picked. This conference has improved so much and it should be a fun year to see how everything unfolds. The rest of the games were against overmatched opponents.

The ACC is improving, too. I still think Miami can win the Coastal, and Saturday made that look more probable. There weren't any other good games of note.

The American has Louisville, which is rolling and looking sharp. Should be favored in every game, but UCF might be gaining steam. UCF has looked great in its first two games, and a win at Penn St could put this team in the polls. Cincy lost its QB and got dominated by Illinois.

Of the Non-AQs, Boise St's run as a national program may have ended, just as I projected. Fresno St looks like the class of the MWC.

Be sure to check out my rankings and bowl projections, as they are being completely rebuilt this week.