It's never as bad as we think it is. It's never as good as we think it is.
But I feel good about Del Conte. And he will make it right. In time.
I'm an inch away from wanting Fatterson running the Horns out of the tunnel, towel boy and all. Herman will improve on 4-5 win Strong, and Texas will become a 7-8 win squad, although hard to conceive right now. But Herman has no gladhanding skills, is hardly likeable, and this shortcoming won't offset his coaching being 3-wins better than Strong's. Nor should it anyway - Texas is not looking for 8-win seasons.
Texas seemed to fall asleep once they fired out of the gate and put a few points on the board. I'm not sure what this is all about, they looked ready for halftime barely into the 2nd Qtr. The defense uncharacteristically seemed gassed on several occasions as well. And this was Tulsa. OU will run these tired boys ragged.
There's plenty of cockmanship but no fight. I don't want cockmanship. I want fight. Cockmanship is "me" based and comes and goes whenever one feels he made a good play. Fight is team based and lasts the entirety of the game.
Sam is ball happy. He wants the ball. And I can't fully blame him, he does pull off a nice scamper on occasion. But he cost us a TD with his delayed keep/give handoffs. We had two ball carriers on one play. Herman had to settle him down at halftime, but not that it did much good. Texas RBs seem like a nice stable of horses, but play calling is predictable, which only works when you have a dominant OL. Oh, and we don't.
Nevertheless, we could very well beat USC. USC is another helmet contender. A Texas win wouldn't mean a lot, but it would buy some morale, which is much needed in the stands and on the field. Oh, and I said we "could" beat USC, not we would.
Malik Jefferson would have been nice to have around this year. He kept our defense salty and awake. Without him, this bunch seems lost at times, if not gassed. They show nice pursuit and good speed, but there's still no jet sweep answer and our secondary is still prone to providing barren pastures up the middle.
For all his fire and vinegar, Herman can't seem to keep this team lit up for all 60 minutes. Maybe he's a douche? Idk, I'm not in the locker room.
Iowa State lost, but I'm still a Matt Campbell fan. Just sayin.