I think Shane being in the game played a role this week. They had to change the entire game plan and he did himself no favors going for mostly deep balls in the sun.
You're probably right but it looks like Penn St lost late yesterday as well so this is going to get really interesting.
I understand exactly what you are saying about TH. That is what worried me about his hire. Same thing happened with Charlie. As far as not scoring in the second half, some people are pretty quick to throw Buechele under the bus, but as you can see the offense has sputtered on a few occasions this year.
Shane acquitted himself well IMO for not having gotten any playing time thus far and presumably not getting much of the first team reps in practice. Particularly when the offense is not built around his style. Sam is a good quarterback and so is Shane. Neither has shown themselves to be great at this point. IMO we have a solid 1A and 1B situation. The biggest difference is that TH likes a running quarterback and Sam can do that a little better than Shane. I'm not a big fan of the running quarterback as a primary component of your offensive plan though. I think it penny wise and pound foolish. It's great to have a QB that can run, WHEN YOU NEED IT. It's not good to PLAN to run your QB 10-12 times a game. It is almost a given that you will eventually have an injured QB with that game plan.
We're winning the close games we used to lose and its not an accident. The team is not quite back yet, but this board is absolutely back to championship level again b!tching about winning. Relax people, it may be year 10 for us but its only year 2 for Tom.
Some of us are older than others. At 58, I don't have another decade to waste. I will say outside of near heart attacks, this has been a fun season. I'm actually pretty high on Sam. He's played much better this season than last and if he can stay healthy, he's going to be a very good QB by next year. I do think he needs to run some though. It seems to me it gets him going in the passing game. Like the kid needs some action to really get his juices flowing.
Viewed from another direction...which QB won the first game they appeared in this season? Would ALSO add that an argument can be made that Shane won IN SPITE of a game plan, and not BECAUSE of a game plan. With a two week period of practice with the first team, I believe that Shane will have better touch on the ball, will have a better feel for the receivers (and vice versa) AND will have a game plan more tailored for his strengths.
Distance was not the issue and does not appear to have ever been the issue with Dicker the Kicker who gave back a Helmet Sticker (possibly from too much Liquor). One of them was from an area that, for some reason, many kickers seem not to like, which is between the hashes. Seems like they always want one hash or the other... One of the long kicks he made in the game had the distance to show he can hit 50+...don't remember if that one was with the wind or not. There was discussion pre-game that the wind was swirling...
distance is an issue always. the farther out you are, the more narrow the uprights get. and the felt need to get distance can affect his motions...steps/swing/follow through and plant foot placement. an experienced kicker learns how to do the same kick all the time. but distance always matters.
If anyone wondered why I campaigned against Shane playing at all unless necessary, mb227 has validated my concerns. If Shane gets the start in Stillwater, I hope you’re right, MB. Winning is all that matters. But there’ll be no excuses for him accepted by me. There’s been so much “what if” going on by the pro-Shaners he had better deliver every time he steps on the field. You’ve built this altar, now we may see you’ve been correct all along.....or.....
Shane gets a lot of shorter passes batted down on screen passes usually. He is 6'1" and Sam is 6'3". That two inches makes a difference. Sam has improved a lot with his pocket presence and vision in 18', we did not see that upside from Shane in 17', his second year. At this point Sam seems to have passed Shane as a passer and as a runner. I hope TH can move the pocket some for Shane so he can see downfield because I seriously doubt Sam will be able to go. Unfortunate as that may be. Someone said earlier its better to lose to OSU than WVU. That is true but we should win that game with Shane regardless. They just have to gameplan for it.
And what if Sam starts and the Horns end up losing??? Will it be everyone else fault but his? He shouldn't have been playing because of his shoulder? Remember when Texas played their only true road game this year at KSU, the Horns only scored one offensive TD with him at QB. The offense better be better than that against OSU on the road. No one is expecting Sam to deliver every game, just keep the bus on the straight and narrow and we will be happy.
I hear you SAMMC, and don't want to be known as someone who doesn't want Shane to succeed because if Shane succeeds then Texas succeeds. I've been pro Sam because I think he gives us the best chance to win. Shane has had trouble with the rush in the past and we don't have the best oline in the big 12 nor the best defense for enough 3 and outs to combat Shane's 3 and outs. I do agree with Shane starting in two Saturdays just because it gives Sam's shoulder a rest, but then combat that with Sam being a streaky player (i.e., when he gets on a roll he's on a roll) and I wouldn't want to suck any wind out of that sail. If Sam is 80%, I bet Herman will still start Sam (could be wrong, but Sam is Herman's QB, we've had plenty of thread time on that subject)….Unfortunately, we have 12 days to discuss.....I don't want to be right (like anyone else on this board), and I hope if Shane starts against Okie Lite he lights them Okie's up!
Let’s not forget (as I think someone else pointed out) that Sam was not a juggernaut in “his” first game this season. A winnable game that we didn’t win because of two 4th quarter turnovers. My guess is that if Shane is needed at OSU we’ll see an improved version of # 7.
I just don't like the fact that this is going to be a night game. Kind of reminds me of a game a few years back when the Horns were on a roll, moving up in the rankings and went on the road for a night game. The results were not good. Now with this game being so close to Halloween, that is a scary thought, so I really don't want to rehash THAT game. Come to think of it, actually two games come to mind with basically the same scenario.
I worry about that too, but at the same time, we've been pretty good there at night. I'm not even sure we've ever lost there at night. The losses at OK State that I remember were all day losses.