Bohls: Texas looking to take away more turnovers, not give up a Hail Mary
While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:
Hail Mary can take or it can give away
1. Hail, yes: Houston’s got some magic, but do the Cougars have the muscle? If you didn’t see it, Houston beat West Virginia last Thursday on a Hail Mary catch by former Oklahoma State wide receiver Stephon Johnson, one of 12 transfers on the new Big 12 team. But when I asked Steve Sarkisian about his history on such late-game heroics, the Texas head coach jokingly groused, “You got to be a spur in my side.” He added that he has been on both ends of Hail Marys, and the receiving end when he was at USC “might have cost us a national championship. Arizona State against the Trojans, 2014.“ He does recall his Trojans caught a Hail Mary at the end of the first half against Oregon State and said the Longhorns practice it every Friday. … Texas wideout Xavier Worthy said he’s never caught a Hail Mary pass in his career, and quarterback Quinn Ewers said he’s never completed one — “I did in 7-on-7 if that counts,” he says — but he came close to connecting with Jordan Whittington in the end zone on the final play of the 34-30 loss to Oklahoma. … Texas spokesman John Bianco said the Longhorns have completed just two Hail Mary plays, one Case McCoy 44-yard pass to John Harris before halftime of Texas’ 31-30 win at Iowa State and a 47-yard Garrett Gilbert connection with Malcolm Williams at the end of the first half against FAU in 2011. … Sarkisian mentioned needing more defensive takeaways and better tackling from his team if it wants to reach its potential. Nickel back Jahdae Barron said the Longhorns missed up to 23 tackles — a ghastly number — and didn’t force a turnover. That’s a big key moving forward, especially against Houston, which has had four zero-turnover games and ranks ninth nationally at plus-7. Texas has forced just one fumble in six games, is tied for dead last in the FBS with six other teams, including Georgia. Barron and linebacker Jaylan Ford played every snap of the Sooners game. One problem is if you’re trying to create turnovers, that can mean defenders go for high-contact collisions and don’t always wrap up. … Speaking of takeaways, Texas State is tied for first nationally with Notre Dame with 13 forced fumbles. ... Houston Chronicle beat writer Joe Duarte told our “On Second Thought” podcast that Cougars coach Dana Holgorsen (30-23 in Year 5) might have faced an “inferno” had he lost to West Virginia, but could still be on the hot seat if they fare no better than 4-8. Duarte doesn’t think UH (3-3) matches up well with Texas’ size in the trenches and is expecting at least 60% UT fans at Robertson Stadium on Saturday.
More: Golden: How Sarkisian created bye week energy to get rid of Oklahoma hangover
Gambling king did his team wrong
2. Faux pas: Dan Lanning, meet Brandon Staley. Both the Oregon and Los Angeles Chargers coaches are in love with big-time, risky and entirely unnecessary fourth-down gambles. Was stunned Lanning disdained the field goal on a fourth-and-3 inside the 10 at the end of the first half for a sprint-out pass that was incomplete. Take the easy points, Dan. Just because Lanning says that’s how he always does it doesn’t make it right. I feel your pain, Ducks fans. Otherwise, I think he’s a very creative coach. By the way, isn’t he a dead ringer for Tom Herman? … Loved Washington’s out-of-the-box, 2-point conversion in the first half off a version of the swinging-gate trick formation with receivers and blockers set wide to each side of the field. Sarkisian might check it out if he plays Oklahoma again. He did say he frequently watches other games and isn’t above copying certain plays. “I’m a real honest person. I do it all the time,” Sarkisian said. "I do not pretend I invented football. I watch football as a fan first. But I learn and try to get ideas. It’s not like everything comes to me in a cloud in the morning, but I do watch games like that. We’ve got a great sport, and college football is as popular as it’s been in a long, long time.” He’s absolutely right, and parity is a huge reason. …. I’m a fan of Oregon’s cool, paint-splattered, speckled uniforms last Saturday. … Alabama’s receivers are so ordinary. One drop after another. The Tide’s receiving corps and offensive line are the biggest reason Alabama hasn’t been Alabama this season.
More: Our staff's takes on where Texas football is and isn't with six games left
Jimbo in a jumbo mess
3. Hottest seat: Texas A&M fell to 4-3 and continues to fail, which only puts more heat on Jimbo Fisher. A few points. Athletic directors do not hand out contract extensions as if they’re Halloween candy. Don’t be suckered into the false premise that it’s following the marketplace when such ADs are creating that marketplace. They are under the delusion that someone else will hire away their coach and they won’t get a worthy successor. But do you really want to retain a coach who doesn’t want to be there? I also supported DeLoss Dodds’ stance that he didn’t put in school buyouts in his coaches’ contracts because he only wanted coaches who wanted to be at Texas. Smart man. When I quizzed Chris Del Conte about the idea of a Sarkisian extension before the OU loss, he said he didn’t want to go there. … Here’s an idea. Instead of offering extensions, offer incentives and bonuses for success. Aren’t many of these ADs paying big numbers in the first place because the coaches are supposed to deliver big results? … Another thing. I wouldn’t fire Fisher now if I were Ross Bjork, but the A&M AD needs to prepare as if he might with a ready list of candidates. The Aggies could probably raise the $77.5 million by passing the hat at Kyle Field. If Jimbo hasn’t got it done by Year Six, he’s not getting it done. You know what you have that far along into a coach’s tenure. … Plus, once you decide to fire a head coach, pull the trigger. Don’t delay the inevitable. Such a move allows lesser-paid assistants a jump-start in finding their next jobs to provide for their families. … I still think Duke’s Mike Elko, Fisher’s former defensive coordinator, and UTSA’s Jeff Traylor are the best coaches to consider, but I’d also look at Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, Kansas' Lance Leipold, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer and Washington’s 48-year-old Kalen DeBoer, who paid his dues with three NAIA national championships in four finals at Sioux Falls where he went 67-3 and has a 96-11 record. He’s another Chris Klieman. I’d love to see Coach Prime in College Station, but kinda think that might not be a great fit.
Brooks a clear midseason star
4. Best of the best: For the Associated Press Midseason All-America team, I voted for Texas tailback Jonathon Brooks and offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. as well as Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman and A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and all-purpose wide receiver/kick returner Ainias Smith. … Have you checked out former Longhorns linebacker Prince Dorbah. Now playing in the defensive line at Arizona State, the former four-star recruit out of Highland Park and one-time Class 5A defensive player of the year as a junior barely registered at Texas with just seven tackles in five games a year ago. But he’s had a big impact for the Sun Devils with six sacks for a loss of 56 yards, which rank him ninth in the nation. ... Texas basketball was picked by league coaches to finish in third place behind annual favorite Kansas and runner-up Houston in its final Big 12 basketball season. The Jayhawks remain the conference’s dominant team and were extremely fortunate to escape any hardcore NCAA penalties for their role in buying players. A three-year probation with no postseason ban and the vacating of a bunch of wins lack any teeth at all.
No crying in baseball, but lots of upsets
5. Just win and quit being a baby: I’ve always been a big baseball guy and love the postseason, but the whining during these playoffs has been annoying. Yes, the Braves, Dodgers and Orioles all fell last week after winning 100 games or more but failing to advance past their last round. Now some are decrying the five-day layoff for the favorites and the best-of-five system and saying those teams deserve better. No, they deserve what they got. Winning 100 games assures a team of nothing, and that’s appropriate. People, that’s the beauty of the playoffs. Do we care if a UM-Baltimore County becomes the first 16th seed to knock off a No. 1 like Virginia? Hell, no. We celebrate it. We love it when a Villanova dethrones a Georgetown, a Boise State upsets an Oklahoma, a TCU reaches the College Football Playoff final, a Mr. Irrelevant quarterback carries the 49ers to the top rung of the NFL, a Buster Douglas knocks out a Mike Tyson. Come on. That’s why they play the games. You know what, Braves and Dodgers. Get better. There are plenty of tears in baseball. But the complaining fans of the favorites should put a sock in it.
Celebrate while horizontal
6. Crafty Cowboy: Enjoyed this blurb from former Gannett colleague Jenni Carlson at Sellout Crowd network on the legacy of rugged Dallas Cowboys fullback Walt Garrison, who died last week. Garrison had a sense of humor not many were aware of, but Carlson shares a story from a few years back where Garrison had joined the late Oklahoma State super donor Boone Pickens for a Dallas Cowboys game in his suite on the Owner’s Club Level at JerryWorld. Jay Rosser, Pickens’ right-hand man and a humorous sort himself, happened to be standing next to Garrison when Ezekiel Elliott scored a touchdown and “began one of his fancy TD celebration dances,” Rosser said. “Did you ever do that?” Rosser asked Garrison. “Don’t know,” Garrison replied. “Don’t think I ever scored standing up.”
Chips off the old block
7. Runs in the family: Keep an eye out for Leyton Riviere, senior quarterback at St. Dominic Savio private school in north Austin. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound quarterback has thrown 29 touchdowns in seven games this season, six scores along with 400 yards last week in 2½ quarters. He’s got a strong track record with 79 touchdowns in 23 career starts and has started to draw recruiting attention from all the Ivy League schools as well as Stanford, Rice, TCU, Texas State and others and offers from Southwestern, Austin College and others. He’s also got a 3.8 grade point average in AP classes at the college prep high school and was an all-district pitcher and shortstop. Oh, and he’s the grandson of former Longhorns quarterback Rob Riviere, who started for Texas’ freshman team (freshmen were ineligible for the varsity then) and backed up All-SWC Alan Lowry and All-American Marty Akins as he lettered at quarterback and defensive back in the 1970s. “He’s really good,” Rob said of Leyton. “He can make every throw.” Oh, and by the way, another grandson, Nolan, backs up Leyton; grandson Colton, 11, plays quarterback, and granddaughter, Keagan, who is projected to be 6-foot tall, is the quarterback of her flag football team. Of course, they are.
Remembering the Run-and-Shoot
8. Scattershooting: While wondering whatever happened to former Houston Cougars quarterback David Klingler.
Meanwhile, from the greatest seat in the world ...
9. On the couch: Caught “Fair Play,” a chilling drama about the double standards for the two genders in the workplace of the financial industry. A very compelling subject about romance, female empowerment, accountability and jealousy, all wrapped into one very untidy package. By the time you get to the very abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying ending, you will know who definitely is the weaker sex. And hopefully Luke learned his bloody lesson. Gave it seven ducks.
Playing serious ball
Crazy prediction: The Texas Rangers will lose only one game en route to their first World Series title.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Longhorns keyed on forcing more takeaways
