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Jackoff Thread
My Weekend
Texas A&M vs. Texas
DKR November 24th 2006
On a day when Stephen McGee made every right decision, refused to give up and refused to let A&M lose…he did not just lead Texas A&M to victory, he along with his teammates, took out 6 years of frustration on the longhorns. A&M did not just beat Texas in Austin on Friday, a feat last performed in 1994, they punished them. Punished Texas to the tune of 244 yards on the ground, for while Texas has been susceptible to the pass, A&M’s strength is the run.
While some Texas fans will look to a pass interference call and a banged up McCoy as reasons for the loss, the truth is A&M dominated the trenches….where the game is always won. And it was evident at DKR as the stadium seemed to sit in shock as A&M converted 3rd down after 3rd down. Yet, who could blame them? Texas has been dominating A&M up front for the last 6 years, and not coincidently every one of those games won by the Longhorns. But this was A&M’s day and they were not to be denied.
Fans (All) will look to Franchione’s years with Reggie McNeal and wonder how it ever got from last year and the year before to beating Texas on their own turf. When, really, the signs were there all along. You see there isn’t as much of a talent gap between A&M and Texas as all the Longhorn fans would have you believe. In fact, national rankings would even suggest so, as A&M was ranked #23 in 2002, #10 in 2003, #13 in 2004, #8 in 2005, & #27 in 2006 per rivals CFB recruiting class rankings. There are teams that have done far more than A&M has in this time span whose rankings were no where near as good as the Aggies…West Virginia, Louisville, Wisconsin and Boise State anyone? You see its not only getting the talent its what you do with it. And for Texas A&M to be ranked in the top 25 in recruiting from 2002 to 2005 with two of those years in top 10, and to have records of 6-6, 4-8, 7-5, 5-6, respectively….folks the talent is there…the coaching is not.
Think about it…did the Franchione offense run at TCU and Alabama even remotely resemble A&M’s offense with McNeal at the helm? The answer is no, and the why is simple. Reggie McNeal was too good a talent when Fran showed up not to run the offense around him, never mind A&M did not have the type of athletes or coaching staff to use McNeal to his fullest. And its hard to blame Fran…inheriting a QB with a rocket for an arm and 4.2 speed. That’s why Fran overlooked McNeal’s poor leadership, something that he desperately needed for his offense to run smoothly. And precisely why, forget the numbers, Stephen McGee is so darn good. McGee will literally run through walls for his teammates…and when faced with the impossible, never gives up. There were hints of his abilities of course…but you had to be watching garbage time last year to see them. Against Colorado in the fourth quarter McGee came off the bench and led A&M to back2back scoring drives in the fourth. Again, at Oklahoma McGee came in for an injured McNeal and almost brought A&M back for the win after the Aggs had been badly outplayed. And finally, against Texas last year in College Station…when McGee had one of the gutsiest performances I have seen from an Aggie QB in along time.
So while I am not ready to anoint Franchione one of the next great Aggie coaches, and nobody should be, I can definitely see where he plans on taking this program now that he has the players and QB for his system. I actually saw this direction that I am referring to last year when I was with my Dad in Boulder watching the Buffs destroy the Aggs. My Dad was ready to go watch the Astros play St. Louis (in a bar) in the MLB playoffs in the beginning of the fourth quarter…I told my Dad to wait as McGee was warming up on the sideline. Reluctantly, he agreed. And then…It was almost like a different team when McGee took the field, the players responded, all of a sudden the coaches plays worked, and A&M was moving the football at will. During McGee’s play I started talking to a Colorado fan I had befriended earlier. He and I discussed A&M’s program and the direction it might take next year; it was this point that I convinced myself we had not seen a true Franchione A&M team. Jumping forward to this year, it has pretty much gone how I thought it would. I predicted A&M to win 10 games, because of the soft schedule and because of what I discussed above. Though, we are currently standing at 9-3, its hard to be disappointed with Fran this year as he did just pull off a feat not performed since 1994.
Finally, Am I ready to forget the last 4 years under Fran? No, of course not. Do I think Fran is the right coach for A&M in the future? I am not sold on that either. But of this I am certain…the days of .500 ball at A&M are over for a long time and Fran does have this program headed in the right direction. But will Fran get us over the hump and back to Big 12 le games and…dare I say a perennial top 10 power…? I don’t know…time will tell. Though, in the meantime, it does appear Fran has learned from his mistakes. So to all you Aggie fans out there…be excited about the future and that Texas has to come to Kyle Field next year. For while Texas may be a better football team next year, A&M will undoubtedly be. A&M loses 1 real starter on offense and 3 on defense, plus the trio of McGee, Goodson, Lane, and Bennett…none of which is older than a sop re, are going to be around for a while. Though, don’t expect Texas fan to be shaking in their boots any time soon…they have become fat and greedy over the years with football success. How else do you explain comments from Mack Brown like, “It’s been a great run.” And, “I’ve gotten spoiled like everyone else.” Ending with, “We didn't score like we usually do. I never thought we'd lose. I thought we still might make a play.” It’s these comments, human nature, why it is so darn hard to stay at the top…
Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal
Coliseum November 25th 2006
What can you say about USC and Pete Carroll? They are on the verge of playing for the national le for the 4th straight year. Pete Carroll still has not lost in November…ever. And his overall record is now 64-11 with 5 straight Pac-10 les. What is in store for USC next year? Well they lose 1 starter on offense and 3 on defense…maybe 2 starters on offense if Dwayne Jarrett leaves; they should be just fine. Not to mention it appears they will have another #1 recruiting class coming in. I don’t think enough can be said about the amazing job Carroll has done after becoming the head coach at USC (he started off 2-5). Echoes of what happened to Miami after their nice run? Not a chance…not to mention the Trojans run has already been far more impressive.
If USC can beat UCLA, which is by no means a given, can they challenge Ohio State? I don’t see why not. They have the speed on offense and defense to give the Buckeyes fits. And while many on this board will write off the Trojans in that game, I can’t help but laugh. USC has never lost by more than 7 points from 2002 till now, the Trojans have superior speed on offense and defense compared to Michigan, and they seem about as healthy as they have been all year. So go ahead, write them off….I like our chances to win a 3rd le in 4 years…IF, we can get past UCLA.
To the Haters
I am sure some of you won’t give USC or A&M any credit…or at the very least will downplay their accomplishments this weekend. To that I say, “Bring it on…I could care less…your opinions mean absolutely nothing to me.” This has been a wonderful weekend and one that I shall never forget as USC and A&M overcame tremendous odds. A&M by winning IN Austin and USC almost finishing off Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame and UCLA (?) in order.
Jackoff Thread
i'd rather quote Faith No More - WE CARE A LOT.
Congrats John, Varsity's horns got sawed off and the twelfth man rejoiced.
A big win for Fran that probably saved his job. And it's extra sweet for you knowing that you left thousands of Texas fans with non-refundable plane tickets to Kansas City next week.
its more than sweet, especially with SC winning tonight. and thank you! good luck against OU, i don't know who i want to win, but i do think it will be a close game, for sure.
Dude, mcgee is not that ing good. Anyone can be a beast in a rivalry game. I'd take Colt over McGee any day.
Your running backs on the other hand, are bad news bears. But mcgee is a joke.
I'm as big of a Colt fan as anybody, but taking McGee over him any day?? I'd have taken McGee on Friday over Colt if I could have.
Colt did get rattled for the first time in his career, so it shows a weakness there. But he was capable of playing much better than he did. Mcgee on the other hand showed the nation one of the best games if not THE best of his career. And it only put up 12 points on the board.
Well, it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it...congrats on your big weekend and the Aggie's first win in Austin in a dozen years.
Hopefully I can go another twelve-plus without seeing it again.
With this win, does that make A&M the #3 or the #4 team from the Big 12 - leapfrogging Texas? There's a big difference between the Alamo Bowl and the Holiday Bowl.
Didn't he (McGee) put up similar stats to his game last year in College Station?
I have not looked at the numbers but his actions on the field against us last year were very simliar to this year, only difference is this year his actions led a&m to a win. So i'd say this was a better game for the guy than last year.
I would guess that Texas will likely go to the Gator bowl in Jacksonville. They are contractually obligated to take a Big12 team for 2 of the next 4 years, and have the 1-time option of leapfrogging all the other bowls in the Big12 pecking order.
OU/NEB winner goes to Fiesta. The Cotton has said they want Neb (big travelling fanbase), but my guess is they would take OU if Neb wins the CCG - OU is pretty close to Dallas and hasn't been to the Cotton as recently as A&M or UT.
Holiday probably wants A&M. SD is a big military town, and A&M is a "military" school and hasn't been to the Holiday since 1990. Besides, Texas has been there 3 times in the past few years, and has spent the last 2 bowls in SoCal already - the UT fans are very unlikely to go out there again for a lesser bowl than the Rose.
All that being said, I think the Gator Bowl could do a lot worse than picking Texas this year. Despite stumbling to closeout the season, UT would likely bring a lot of fans to J-ville. It's a part of the country we don't play in too often, and all the alums in the South who don't get to see games too often would make their way down to Fla for a New Year's bowl.
Just my guess. No UT to the Alamo this year.
good analysis. neither A&M nor t.u. will be in the alamo bowl. A&M is almost guaranteed the Holiday at this point, with an outside shot at the cotton bowl. while t.u. appears to be going to the gator bowl, who had wanted oklahoma, if OU wins the big 12 le game. leaving OU in the bcs against boise state, nebraska in the cotton, t.u. in the gator, and A&M in the Holiday.
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