I see BYU and Ole Miss, the two teams that throttled us, got less points in the AP poll than we did and OU, whom we throttled, is way above us. Strange world isn't it?
Doesn't surprise me. If we keep it up, we will gradually climb up into the Top 25. We have two terrible losses, why should we be rated? If we win two or three of the last three games, we will be rated.
I'm sure Mack will get us back in the rankings before his contract runs out in 2020 if everyone is patient. He's certainly on the right track and the train is gaining momentum. Just because the roster is filled with future NFL players like Joey Harrington said during the game, doesn't take away from the excellent coaching job Mack and his staff are doing.
For what it is worth, I have had the LHN since TWC picked it up few months ago, and it is fantastic. It has relevant programming to any Longhorn, is slick and well produced, and is a 24-7 promotional tool for the University. The intial negativity about it is understandable, since it got off to a slow start, but now it is very nice to have. That multimillion dollar annual revenue source is nice too. This is still a homerun for the University and it is widely available now throughout the state so the LHN haters need to adjust their attitude and recognize what a boon this is.
We don't belong in the t25 right now. We lost to a team that lost 3 consecutive games, was a hair away from losing 4 straight. We then lost in a gruesome fashion to BYU. Total embarrassment And the NMSU game, we were down or tied late in the first half when the prime time games were running. Then you have the 1 point win over lowly Iowa State, a game the national media laughed at b/c they thought the fix was in on the fumble. So we beat 0u, who struggled vs Kansas. Big win for us (rivalry) but voters are going to look at the 4 pieces of dung of game film before they begin to recognize us as anything but severely over rated had they voted us any higher And rightfully so.
TX wins have come against 1-7 NMST, 3-4 KSU, 1-6 ISU, 7-1 OU, 3-5 TCU and have 2-5 KU coming up. Why would TX be given any poll respect? 1 really good win against your hated rival. That is it, the others are all have a losing record. Respect will be EARNED after beating TT, OSU and BU as it should. Can't go lay an egg against BYU and Ole Miss and expect to be wine, speached and honored.
I have the LHN out here in San Jose, CA and I love it. It's readily available on ATT U-verse - I switched from comcast when ATT picked it up and told them why. I can understand why some people still put it down - the national media riduculed it along with our rivals who wanted it to fail. But I don't get this "nobody cares and nobody will watch" outside of Texas fans. Maybe that's true, by the same token I don't see why the whole country will rush to watch a game on the PAC-12 or Big 10 Networks just because it's a conference network, as opposed to just one school. If you're interested in a game, then you're interested and you'll watch or you won't. This was designed for our Tier 3 rights anyway. Let's just enjoy the success the team is having right now and stop bitching about a network that brings in $15M/yr to the university.
A lot about this season reminds me of the 2007 Michigan Wolverines. That Michigan team had a lot of hype: Henne, Hart, and Jake Long all returned for their senior seasons, there was talk of a title run, Lloyd Carr's seat had been getting warmer with each loss to archrival Ohio State and a string of years that failed to meet expectations. But then Michigan lost their first game to Appalachian State. It was immensely embarassing for everyone at Michigan, destroyed their title hopes, and revealed their critical flaw: their defense was slow and susceptible to spread offenses. The next week they were pasted by Oregon, and their preseason hopes were gone. They were lambasted by the national sports media, and embarrasing highlights were Game Day and Sportscenter fodder for weeks. It framed the new narrative. However, Michigan rallied to win their next 8 in a row, followed by another loss to OSU and another miss on the Big 10 title. However, they went to the Capital One bowl and beat a strong Florida team led by Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer, and Lloyd Carr retired afterwards. It's not an exact parallel, but it is a similar narrative to what is playing out at Texas right now. Michigan began to suffer in the early 00's because the rise of Ohio State, Texas, OU, and the SEC choked off most of their recruiting base. They began to lose the top athletes to other schools and began losing competitiveness, and they are still trying to recover. The Rich Rod hire certainly didn't help. Texas has had recruiting misfortunes, but it's been our own doing. Most of our issues are self-inflicted. The disappointing losses, the underperformance, the lack of player development have added up. But this was our year, until we blew it in ignominious fashion at BYU and against Ole Miss. Yes, we're winning and winning well, but our perception in the eyes of the sports media and college football fans everywhere is set for now. If we win out and win the Big 12, we'll be back and we'll be a Cinderella team. If we drop one to Tech, Okie State, or Baylor and get a second-tier bowl, even if we beat a good team, it will still be considered another disappointing season. I hope the team can keep it together and win out. I'd love to see that. But it's going to be tough. But the hype machine is a fickle *****. It helps you if you can live up to it but it's brutal if you can't.
Unques, TTU, for example, has beaten the likes of SMU, SFA, Texas State, TCU, WVU, ISU and lost to the only decent team they've played, OU, which Texas drilled in the Cotton Bowl. And yet Tech is still ranked. I understand why UT doesn't get the love, but I don't think the national media, who hates UT with a passion, applies that same logic to other teams. oh well, win out and nothing else will matter.
The negatives about the Longhorn Network come from the two same people who live in the middle of no where and can't get anything but DirectTV and or Dish. They ***** and blame everything on the LHN, just ignore them. I suppose they don't get any Pac 12 games on the Pac 12 network either and if they were fans of those schools they would ***** and complain too. All but two people are thrilled and excited to have access to the LHN, ignore them when on those rants, they normally have interesting things. When it comes to the LHN, they ***** and complain like a 3 year old. No blame goes to DirectTV or Dish, just to the school and how it is hurting the school. Lord knows the rationale anymore. If voters for the AP Top 25 are sports journalists, they get the LHN, probably paid for by their news outlets or they are traveling and only get to watch a couple games a day anyway. Then they use ESPN for their highligts. The LHN is an ESPN channel, so they all have access to it where ever they are calling the game.
87.....lets stop touting the LHN, which few people still get access to, and stop bitching about the greater masses that rightfully complain about its "still very limited availability"..ok ok ok ?
"Unques, TTU, for example, has beaten the likes of SMU, SFA, Texas State, TCU, WVU, ISU and lost to the only decent team they've played, OU, which Texas drilled in the Cotton Bowl. And yet Tech is still ranked." You make a good point, no significant wins for TT, but they were undefeated until Saturday and lost to OU in Norman. If they lose to OSU this weekend, then they will drop out too I would presume.
If I were an AP voter, I'd have Texas ranked #25. Since we have not yet earned top-20 status, much less top 15, being unranked is no great affront. Even though I do not expect an easy, blowout win versus Kansas, odds are we creep into the poll next Sunday.
Here's where my beef is. LSU has our same exact record. Yet they are #11 in the ap. Their 2 losses are to the same Ole miss that beat us. And to a 3 loss Georgia team. Further. both Texas and LSU have played TCU now. Texas beat TCU 30-7. LSU beat TCU, 37-27. Not saying we should necessarily be ranked #11.... But the disparity between us and LSU should NOT be so great!!
Not worried about it. Besides, I hope the horns can win the conference, be unranked going to a BCS bowl and win. Probably won't happen, but that would be cool...
"Here's where my beef is. LSU has our same exact record. Yet they are #11 in the ap. Their 2 losses are to the same Ole miss that beat us. And to a 3 loss Georgia team." However, LSU's wins are against 7-1 AU, 4-3 Miss St. and 4-3 FL and its 2 losses are to 5-3 Ole Miss at Ole Miss by 3 pts and at 5-3 GA by 3 points. Far cry from giving up 500 + yards rushing to a 1 legged QB in a beat down and getting handled at home by Ole Miss. Just saying.
Which few people still get access to?? The LHN is available now all over Texas thru TWC and others, and everywhere in the US that can get ATT U-verse. Maybe it doesn't have universal carriage yet but it is not fair to say that only 'a few people have access to' it.
He says that everytime even though it has been pointed out to him that over 90% of the people in the USA have the choice to choose a provider that has the LHN, if not higher than 90%. He ususally has something valuable to say but he is pissed because he is in that < 10% who can't get it because they live in the middle of no where and all he can get is Direct TV and Dish, so he lashes out at the LHN instead of the carriers.
I agree, if they want to complain, they should complain to the carriers, not the network. I also think either Dish or DTV or both will pick it up by the end of next year.
I believe one of DKR's remarks fits the situation. When he was talking about one of his 6 and 4 teams, he responded "we are not exactly a rolling ball of butcher knives"
LSU being ahead of us makes sense, but not 20-25 spots ahead of us. We both have one win against a good team, and losses to 5-3 and 5-3 vs 5-3 and 6-2 teams. Their losses were much more competitive, they ought to be higher, but #11 vs not close to ranked honestly is a bit much.
"LSU being ahead of us makes sense, but not 20-25 spots ahead of us. We both have one win against a good team, and losses to 5-3 and 5-3 vs 5-3 and 6-2 teams. Their losses were much more competitive, they ought to be higher, but #11 vs not close to ranked honestly is a bit much." This is my point exactly. I never said we should be ahead of LSU... just that we are in the same neighborhood. If they are #11, we should be at least #18 or so. As it stands now, if LSU loses to Aggy or Bama... a 3 loss LSU would STILL be ahead of Tx. That is WRONG!
The BIG 12 isn't getting respect this year. This is my perception of the perception SEC>>>>PAC 12>ACC>>BIG10>BIG12
We are the kid that pee'd his pants on the school bus. You pretty much have to be the football team captain and f#@* the prom queen to live that down. We were EMBARRASSED by BYU. We quit at half time vs ISU. Multiple teams have broken long standing records against our defense. We are getting better but I only worry about each Saturday as it comes. I haven't checked the rankings since our loss to BYU. You should stop checking, you will feel better.
