Tag: 2020 college football schedule

Can Texas sustain the same level of play after defeating No. 9 Baylor?

We look at how Texas can ride positive momentum after Baylor.

There’s a glimmer of hope emanating from a surprising upset win in the Moody Center. We are unsure what to make of it.

The Texas Longhorns (13-5) defeated the No. 9 Baylor Bears (14-4) on Saturday. The win resurrects the program from the low point of Rodney Terry’s tenure as head coach in Austin.

We have not forgotten the circumstances that seemingly already put Terry on the hot seat. Terry and company followed a loss to conference cellar dweller West Virginia (7-11) with another loss to an inferior opponent in UCF (11-6). Those losses are as informative of the team as Saturday’s win over No. 9 Baylor.

At its best, Texas can compete with and beat some of the best teams in basketball. The issue is that multiple other high ceiling, low floor teams can say the same thing. It’s who the team is capable of losing against that is more noteworthy.

The margin for error is incredibly low for the Longhorns. If the team gets the performance it did from the guard-forward combo of Tyrese Hunter and Dylan Disu on Saturday, it may not lose many other games. That said, it’s a high bar for the team to ask the two to match their performance against Baylor.

Hunter and Disu combined for 40 points shooting 15-for-24 from the field and 6-for-10 from three point range. Needless to say, Texas probably isn’t going to get that efficiency every game.

What will it take from Texas to continue to win games and make it into the NCAA Tournament? It will take consistent high scoring nights from Texas’ Hunter, Disu, guard Max Abmas and forward Dillon Mitchell. And it will take more of the offense it saw from reserve post player Kadin Shedrick who scored 10 points against Baylor.

The Longhorns did themselves a huge favor in a bounce back win over No. 9 Baylor. The question is whether or not its key players will continue to produce high scoring performances to carry the team. We will have a better idea of how consistently the team can produce when it takes on the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners (15-3) on Tuesday night.

Notre Dame Football: 3 game series with South Florida announced

Notre Dame won’t be playing South Florida just once in the years to come, but 3 times.

It won’t just be a replacement for the makeshift 2020 schedule that South Florida will be a part of with Notre Dame but instead a series the Fighting Irish and Bulls will begin on September 19.

South Florida announced the news we had seen reported a week or so ago, that the Bulls football team would be coming to Notre Dame on September 19 of this season.

In addition, the announcement states that Notre Dame will be taking on South Florida in their home confines of Raymond James Stadium, also home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a future date, as well as the Bulls making a second trip in the future to Notre Dame.

That game will be Notre Dame’s first in Raymond James Stadium, and we’re all aware of how much pride the program takes in playng

Notre Dame and South Florida have played just once before as the Bulls upset then No. 16 Notre Dame to open the 2011 season in South Bend.  For what its worth, it was the maddest I’ve ever left Notre Dame Stadium as a fan.

It’s also worth throwing South Florida some props for their scheduling in the future as Florida, Alabama, Louisville, North Carolina State, Boise State and Miami (FL) are also scheduled to play at Raymond James Stadium in the next eight years.

Related:  The eight teams Notre Dame football has played but never beaten (hint – a team mentioned in this piece is on the list)

 

Texas QB Sam Ehlinger expresses initial reactions to upcoming season

During media availability on Tuesday, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger voiced his opinions on the upcoming season.

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger did not shy away from letting his opinions be heard on Tuesday. Continue reading “Texas QB Sam Ehlinger expresses initial reactions to upcoming season”

Sunday Big 12 morning rush: Headlines from around the conference

The latest morning rush headlines from around the Big 12 including a local product heading to Kansas over Texas and Baylor.

Each morning Longhorns Wire will share the top stories from around the Big 12 Conference. For this edition of the Big 12 Morning Twitter, Sports Illustrated, and 247Sports provide the headlines.

Austin native K.J. Adams chooses Kansas over staying home

Austin Westlake power forward K.J. Adams decided to stay somewhat close to home and play basketball in the Big 12 conference. However, he didn’t choose to stay in his hometown of Austin, Texas. Instead he chose Kansas over Georgetown, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and yes Texas. The 2021 power forward is the 16th ranked power forward in the country and is set to play for the Jayhawks and Bill Self.

How Bringing in BYU Solves Every Big 12 Scheduling Dilemma

It was recently reported by Matt Mosely that the Big 12 wouldn’t consider bringing in Brigham Young University. However, desperate times call for desperate measures right? AllSooners of Sports Illustrated highlighted how adding BYU even for one season would fix their scheduling woes in 2020.

Start with the numbers: 10 games spread over 15 Saturdays, from Week 0 (Aug. 29) to Week 14 (Dec. 5), although there’s been much discussion about adding yet another week and pushing the regular-season finales to Dec. 12 — 16 weeks in all.

Try to keep the Thursday and Friday matchups where they are for TV purposes, and build around that if possible. With the final games on Dec. 12 and the Big 12 championship game pushed back to Dec. 19 (essentially what the Pac-12 announced on Friday), that would give every Big 12 team seven open dates to cope with positive COVID-19 test results if they happen, and thus manage rosters.

To start, do away with all existing non-conference games. Simple as that. Let the FCS and Group of 5 opponents figure out their own schedules.

Report: Big 12 closing in on preferred scheduling model for 2020

The Big 12 Conference is the last man standing so to speak. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and the conference have yet to announce their 2020 schedule plans unlike their Power Five brothers. Jeff Howe of Horns 247 says that the announcement is coming in the next couple of days.

Texas has two Group of Five opponents left on the schedule, both of which are to be played at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium: USF on Sept. 5 and UTEP on Sept. 19. If the league is planning on beginning league play in late September and goes to a plus-one scheduling model, the likely scenario would be the Miners coming to Austin to play the Longhorns before Texas opens conference play Oct. 3 with a road trip to K-State.

In theory, there’s a way Texas could play a full 12-game schedule. The Longhorns have the option to move their season opener to Aug. 29 (Kansas and Oklahoma are both due to kick off on the last Saturday in August) and they could potentially add an in-state opponent to fill the void created by the LSU cancelation, likely from Conference USA if Texas went down that road (the Jayhawks added a game with FCS Southern Illinois while the Sooners merely moved their game with Missouri State from September to August, which allowed them to begin preseason practice Friday).

Medical experts believe a conference only schedule it the right move

Medical experts agree with the move to go with a conference only schedule. With other conferences making the call, shouldn’t the Big 12?

On the heels of the Big Ten moving to a conference only schedule, USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg writes that it is the right move. According to health experts, it may be a small move to reduce the risks of contracting COVID-19. By eliminating the non-conference games that usually involve heading across the country.

If a team is heading into a hotspot for the virus such as Texas or Florida, that risk grows. UNLV assistant professor of health believes this is a step in the direction of having football in 2020.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said UNLV assistant professor of health Brian Labus. “There aren’t many options, and this is one way to hopefully reduce the risk, yes, and still allow football to go on in the fall.”

While eliminating those few games might prevent a school from heading into a hotspot, it does not account for spread of the coronavirus in locker rooms, campus, on the field or in the classroom. However, those are more controlled environments.

“As far as staying within your geographic region, the biggest idea behind that is that there are definitely areas of the country, even within a state, where you may not be in a hot spot,” said Jason McKnight, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M University College of Medicine. “COVID prevalence may not be as significant in one area or geographic area as it is from another area.”

It remains a tricky situation all the way around and I for one am glad it isn’t my call to make. The Big 12 isn’t expecting a decision to made until later in the month. By that time it may become more clear whether or not there will be football on the Forty Acres.

Ivy League cancels fall sports, could FBS conferences follow suit?

It was reported on Wednesday that the Ivy League has decided to cancel all fall sports.

Discouraging news continues to flow in regarding fall sports this year due to the current landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the State Fair of Texas was canceled for the first time since World War II. How this may impact the classic Red River Rivalry game is yet to be seen as this is a fluid situation. However, both the Texas and Oklahoma athletic directors have voiced their optimism that the game will be played as scheduled.

On top of that, it was reported on Wednesday that the Ivy League, part of the FCS, has canceled all fall sports. CBS insider Jon Rothstein stated via Twitter that the conference will not entertain any sports until the beginning of next year.

While this isn’t necessarily an indication of what is to come for the FBS, it’s certainly worth noting. What could potentially save the Power Five conferences in terms of allowing them to play football this fall is the financial strain.

The FBS and FCS are quite different in terms of the national spotlight. The main indicator between the two is how a final winner is determined. The FBS hosts a four-team College Football Playoff while the FCS hosts a 24-team playoff for the NCAA D-1 Football Championship. FCS teams can only have 63 players on scholarship, while FBS teams can have 85.

The Ivy League has the freedom to make such a decision since they’re built on their educational superiority, while the FBS could suffer substantially. However, it’s still too early to determine what the FBS will consider.

There are several avenues to explore such as moving the college football season to the spring, shortening the schedule to conference opponents only, limiting fan attendance, etc.

Regardless of which route is ultimately taken, the public’s health and safety measures should be the ultimate priority.

Sportsline’s simulations has Texas only winning eight games in 2020

An early simulation of the Top 25 college football team’s has Texas listed with just 8.1 wins this upcoming season.

The hype surrounding the Texas football program is oftentimes confusing. Continue reading “Sportsline’s simulations has Texas only winning eight games in 2020”

Toughest four-game stretch for Texas football this season

Texas must start the season out strong if they hope to become national title contenders.

Texas head coach Tom Herman can rid the monkey off of his back in regards to consistency if he can find a way to power through a few tough stretches of games this season. Continue reading “Toughest four-game stretch for Texas football this season”

Reglance at Texas’ 2020 signees, their projections for this season

Texas had an impressive recruiting class in 2020, but will any of the signees receive significant playing time this season?

Texas head coach Tom Herman concluded the 2020 recruiting trail with another top 10 class in the nation.

Five-star running back Bijan Robinson and five-star defensive end Alfred Collins lead the No. 1 class in the Big 12. There’s still about a dozen others with four-star rankings that have the potential to make an immediate impact at Texas. Of the 21 total players among this talented group, eight of them were early enrollees.

We’ve decided to take a look at each signee from this particular class and foresee their roles for the upcoming season. While some may compete for a starting job right away, others will be expected to redshirt their freshman year.

The signees are grouped by offense and defense beginning on the next page.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Texas DB Anthony Cook deletes tweet about not playing, players react

Confusion continues to increase as Texas defensive back Anthony Cook deletes his tweet about not playing another snap.

Thursday was an eventful day for the Texas secondary. Continue reading “Texas DB Anthony Cook deletes tweet about not playing, players react”