Had to put this up...

In honor of Tech's loss to Oklahoma, I wanted to put this up. While I don't necessarily think that Billy Clyde looks like Vince Vaughan, I do enjoy some of the comparisons.

Thinking that Miner fans will love the beginning of the song... Enjoy!!!

More funny videos from the "ryanparkersongs's channel" channel at Heavy.com

Defense wins Championships...

Glad I could kick this blog off with a cliche for you (see blog title)... We begin with UTEP-Houston.

After UTEP's last minute loss to Houston Saturday night, there have been plenty of people upset with the play calling of UTEP's last 2 offensive drives. While I understand their grievances, I don't think that the play-calling should be the issue.

It's like complaining about the ant-pile in your back yard while your house is on fire.



The problem with UTEP was the 4th quarter performance of the defense. At 1 point in the 2nd half, UTEP led 28-9. In Houston. Usually, only BCS teams could pull off a feat like that. Just ask Tulsa.

The UTEP defense allowed just over 300 offensive yards in the 4th quarter. Once the defense allowed that momentum to the Houston offense, it didn't matter what the UTEP offense called. Houston's offense got the raucious crowd (on only 18,134, by the way) back into the game, and that allowed the defense to get fired up.

It's never a good thing when your top 3 tacklers are defensive backs. That means that offensive penetration is getting to your secondary. Linebackers should always be your leaders in tackles.



1 quick note for you. Not sure you saw the actual game on channelsurfing.net, but if you did, you saw Houston DE Phillip Hunt (future 1st day draft pick) decleat Trevor Vittatoe after the whistle had blown after a false start. That's not the 1st time he's done that.

Looks to me like Hunt could use a Beltone...

LOVE the BCS mess

Of course, the big national game of the week was the Tech/OU game. It's no secret that I'm an OU Homer, seeing as I went to school there, and worked for the football team for a year.



Now that I've stated my affiliation, I'd also like to state that OU's dismantling of Tech SHOULD put them above Texas in the BCS rankings, as well as Florida.

I know that's no shock to read that coming from me, but extend me a little latitude for a second. 1st off, the BCS doesn't take into account home field advantage. Scores only. Tech beat Texas by 6. Texas beat OU by 10. OU beats Tech by 44, and it wasn't even THAT close. Most important is that OU's win over Tech happened last, and on national TV. Tech's only hope is that OU goes to Stillwater next weekend, and loses. It's the Bedlam Series, and OU losing to OSU is a VERY real possibility...

For you Florida Honks, thinking that they should be ranked above OU, think again. OU lost to then 5th Ranked Texas, while Florida lost to then UNRANKED Ole Miss. I'll grant you that Florida scored 70 this week, but it was against the Citadel. Yes, the flipping Citadel. OU scored 5 less points against the #2 Ranked team in the country. Argument over.

Heisman Hype



The Tech-OU game did several things in shaking up the Heisman race. 1st, it knocked Tech's Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree out of the race. It also propelled Sam Bradford back into the race. But if the vote was held today, Colt McCoy would/should be your winner. I know he was idle this weekend, but he does so much more than the other QB's.

McCoy has improved as a passer the past 2 years more than any player in College football. Additionally, he's proving to be just as dangerous (or almost) with his feet as his predecessor, Vince Young. Bradford doesn't scramble. Harrell doesn't scramble. Florida's Tim Tebow does, but is nowhere near the passer that McCoy and the others are. The only way that McCoy loses his grasp on this one is if he implodes next week, and Bradford throws for over 400 yards in his final 2-3 games.

Blog Stew

I'll be subbing in for the Monster Saturday on Crunchtime on KROD, Saturday, 10am-1. Stop by, call in, put me on your Christmas card list. We'll talk recipies, or somesuch.

I think I dated this girl back in the day (not so much):

Into the Eye of the Golden Hurricane

This Tulsa game is going to be the toughest game of the year... for Tulsa. Now, I'm more than aware of all the accolades afforded the Golden Hurricane. Top offense in the nation. Top rated passer in the game, etc...

Today, my buddy Bret Bloomquist interviewed TU Coach Todd Graham in today's Times, and Graham thinks his quarterback Dave Johnson is the best quarterback in the state of Oklahoma. Of course, he doesn't take into consideration that the other 2 quarterbacks in the state are playing Big 12 competition, with tougher schedules. But there's nothing wrong with him sticking up for his guy...

By the way, It doesn't get easier for Tulsa opponents in the future. Yes, Johnson is a senior, but Texas transfer G. J. Kinne is next in line for the keys to Graham's offense.

But back to the point. UTEP has played tougher opponents this year. It's THAT simple. Buffalo, Texas, NMSU, UCF, S. Miss, Tulane...

Tulsa played UAB, UNT, Central Arkansas, Rice, and SMU.

Though they dominated everyone but SMU, they should have. Why are they not in the AP Top 25??? Scheduling. Plain and simple. We'll see it when the 1st BCS rankings come out on Sunday. Don't put that on Graham. That's still a Steve Kragthorpe schedule.

Give Tulsa this though. They've done what they're supposed to, and too many teams don't.

So, how do you defend the top QB in the Nation (statistically), who's most familiar with the 3-3-5 defense than any other defense (Since that's what Tulsa runs, and what they tortured against UNM)????

It's such a hybrid defense to begin with. You might be most successful taking a page from Joe Lee Dunn, the father of this defense. Make your base the 3-5-3. Sneak the safeties up, and limit the "yac" (yards after the catch). At the same time, you support the run. I'm betting that the Miners worked overtime on jamming the receivers on the line of scrimmage. If Tulsa's going to beat UTEP, Osai Lewis is going to make them do it deep, and play the percentages. It all depends on UTEP stopping the run, though.

On a seperate note. You think UTEP has cheap season tickets at $99 apiece??? I know Tulsa has 1 less home game, but...



BLOG STEW:

Looks like Tony Romo will be playing with a broken pinky. Good for him. Would have been better PR for him if he'd have decided that from the start, instead of allowing the Cowboys to say tht he'd be out for 4 weeks. Now he looks like a guy who was going to be out, until his hero, Brett Favre called him, telling him to suck it up. Speaking of Romo sucking it up...




Sorry... Um, anyways, ESPN talked to a Doctor who has nothing to do with Romo, doesn't know him, and is about 2000 miles away from Dallas. He says that Romo should play...



Finally, what Cowboys fans Super Bowl hopes and dreams hinge on, thanks to Louis DeLuca of the Dallas Morning News...

Going Home... and.... Homecoming!

Sorry for the abbreviated blog delay...

Went back to Dallas over the weekend to be in the wedding of a childhood friend. It was a blast to see everyone. Met some great folks, and saw some that I hadn't seen in eeons... What a great time.

Let's talk UTEP Homecoming. They're hosting Tulane. Tulane had their Homecoming Saturday against Army, and lost sizeably, 44 to 13. To make matters worse, they played the game at a high school stadium in New Orleans, that is also a track facility. THIS, is Tad Gormley Stadium:



In his weekly media conference, Tulane Coach Bob Toledo didn't earn a spot on the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce.



He said that his players told him that the game felt like a road game. This is what Tulane considers a road-game:



Nothing like playing on the road. Toledo also said that the grass was too high, press box was too hot and cramped, and there were divots all over the field. Toledo failed to mention that Army also played, and played well, on the same field.

In talking about his team's loss, he explained the "here we go again feeling" that we're all familiar with from the Miners end of season collapses in '05, '06, and '07. Here's the quote:

"We have a tendency, when bad things happen to us, there's a look in our eye and a feeling of `here we go again.' I see it in our fans. I see it in people who report here. It's that look of `here we go again,' instead of `hey, let's step it up, lets go.' We've got to teach the mentality and we haven't done that yet. We've got to change the mentality and learn how to compete. Just because bad things happen doesn't mean you stop competing."

Here's how UTEP wins the game, and it's twofold:

1. They do what Army did. No, they don't have a fullback to rush for 187 yards at 9.8 yards per carry. But, after 2 Tulane possessions, Army was already up 14-0, and both scores came on special teams. Army blocked a punt after the 1st possession, and then returned a fumble 81 yards for another touchdown. Get on the scoreboard quick and first. Give Tulane that "here we go again" feeling.

2. The Miner defense needs to get to quarterback Kevin Moore. The Humanities major was having a good game against Army until he took a inhumane hit. Toledo said in his press conference that Moore was never the same after that.

Toledo is familiar with the Miners 3-3-5 defense. Of course, Rocky Long taught it to Osia Lewis, and Long used to coach for Toledo at Oregon St. Lewis was also a player at Oregon when Toledo coached there. He's more than familiar with it. Can he teach it to an offense that has 4 days to learn it???

Jeremy Williams also is out. He's the offensive playmaker for Tulane. He had an operation Monday for 2 broken bones in his hand. Also, according to his player page, he's Majoring in "Media Arts". Back in the day, we called that major "Journalism."

I looked up the syllabus for the intro class, and, man. Is it just good timing or what? Now that Williams is out, he can concentrate on Friday's "Film, and Home Video" topic.... *WHEW*... Just in the nick of time...

And this is a private school??? Kids pay private school-like tuition to walk around and make home movies??? Well, before last weekend's home/road Homecoming, I hope that Williams absorbed the topic of "Recorded Music/Radio."... I'm in the wrong business. Time to start a private college, and offer classes in "Paper Airplane-Constructing Arts."

Enjoy the Win, Miners...

Re-Tread Musici.... err... Quarterback

This is for all of you that followed WAC football in the early 2000's...

Remember SMU QB Kelan Luker? One in the Art Briles Stephenville lineage of All-Star QB's??? (See Kevin Kolb, Jevan Snead, etc.)... You remember, of course, that he left SMU to play bass in a Creed wanna-be band called Submersed.



Allow your ears to bleed here:



That recently ended. At 27 years old, he's back in college football.



He's the backup quarterback now at Tarleton St. The person he's backing up???



That's former Franklin great, and 2004 El Paso City Offensive MVP Scotty Grantham. Remember, Grantham transferred there from NMSU.

It's a good read, and you can see the whole story on SI.com, where I ripped off some of the pics.

But not this one. This one's for the Cowboys fans who suffered Sunday like me:



That's All-Pro Chris Cooley. I think my gall-bladder just exploded...

Hello There My Old Friend...

3 Months??? That's all it's been? Looks like 4 times a year doth not a blog make, especially during football season!

Now that I'm getting back on the blog-scene, I'll reward the readers. No, not only with keen knowledge, not only with razor-sharp intellect, not merely with slapstick wit. I'm going to give away prizes.

That's right. You could win millions of dollars. A fleet of cars. Your own island. However, on this blog? Movie tickets, maybe a DVD every now and again. I give. That's what I do...

Onto the football season...

Of course, UTEP throttled defending CUSA Champion UCF on Saturday. I predicted that the Miners would win this game, but not 58 to 13. Nobody predicted that. Here's why it happened:

1. UCF had to start a true freshman QB in Rob Calabrese. Starting QB Michael Greco, who had been responsible for 125 yards a game (not great, but still) was out with a knee injury. He played horribly against Boston College the week before in his 1st career game, and is easy to defend.

2. Trevor Vittatoe played for the 1st time on a bum ankle.



How did that benefit UTEP? He's a VERY cerebral QB, and at times, looks like he overthinks his decisions on the field. He spent a majority of Saturday thinking of how to protect his ankle-achilles injury. How did that benefit UTEP? Vittatoe's instincts took over.

Instinctually, he might underrate himself. He won 4 of his first 6 starts as a Miner. That's early in a career, meaning it's all instinct at that point. Vittatoe has them, and on a seperate note, Calabrese doesn't. As Vittatoe's grown as a QB, as many do, he might be 2nd guessing himself in an effort to improve his game. That can sometimes backfire. It didn't have a chance to against UCF. 263 yards passing, 3 touchdowns with only 1 interception. Analyze that.

3. Defensive growth. This is the 1st game, possibly in the Mike Price Era, didn't give up a "Big Play". The "Big Play" is a thief. It steals momentum, and all of the big plays were made by UTEP. Even the Miner defense outscored UCF, 14-13. Cornelius Brown blocked a punt, and had 2 interceptions, giving him 3 for the season. That's tops in conference. He'll have a bigger test on the road next week at Southern Miss with QB Austin Davis. Though S. Miss lost to Marshall Saturday, he did throw for 308 yards.

BLOG STEW

- UTEP Kicker Jose Martinez kicks the 2nd longest FG off the ground in College Football history at 64 yards. Hard to see in that video, but he talks about it here, aud/vid taken by the GREAT Duke Keith of KLAQ fame.





- Hey fellas! Having trouble with the ladies??? Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach is here to offer assistance, so that your date doesn't end like this.



You're welcome.

BAH, BAH, BAH, IT WAS S'POSED TO BE A CURVEBALL!!!!

Mos of you know now that Rick Reilly is on ESPN, and ESPN.com. Once his contract ran out with SI, ESPN made him a flattering offer that he humbly accepted, and that brings us to date...

Currently, his article on espn.com talks about the high school pitcher/catcher combo that blatently let a fastball go by the catcher, and hit the ump in the mask. Seems they didn't like the way that he was calling the game. The kids coach thinks that they just got their signals crossed, and that the catcher was expecting a curveball instead of the fastball that the ump got.

Judge for yourself...



Pretty obvious that the catcher took a nosedive so that the ump would get hit. Reilly stated that the high school catcher involved was going to walk-on to a small college in the area... After learning of this episode, the college coach told him not to bother coming out.

Here's the kicker though...

Now the Ump involved has lawyered up. He went and got checked out at the hospital, and took an MRI. What's going to happen next? The catcher's Dad is going to have to settle with the Ump and his lawyer. The video, as you can plainly see, is too damning. The irony? The father could have to dip into the kids college fund to pay the settlement.

Maybe he can get the shortstop of the tema to cut a check for him, as he was the 15th overall pick in this year's baseball draft.

By the way, if you read the story, you see that it was the Georgia AAA State Championship game... Talk about one to remember...

I'm glad Reilly is finally at the network. It's a natural marriage, and we'll be seeing more than just a 1 page article in the back of SI.