Tag: Big 12 media days

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian aces media days

Steve Sarkisian inspired confidence with his media days showing.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian did his job at Big 12 media sdys. He exuded the confidence that would indicate this Longhorns team has the potential to win the conference championship in 2023.

The head coach’s job over media days, in my estimation, is simply to inspire his team and fan base to bring its best on a weekly basis. Sarkisian couldn’t have done a better job accomplishing that goal.

The more difficult task lies ahead for the Texas coaching staff. Now it must prepare the team for bitter and fiercely competitive battles in the Big 12 slate. In doing so, it will have to ignore the inevitable rat poison that comes with being the league’s projected top team.

Sarkisian said all the right things. He wrote the check. Now he has cash that check and live up to the expectations he has laid out this offseason.

Texas can no longer appease its fan base with moral victories. It can no longer lose close battles with Alabama early in nonconference play. The Longhorns can no longer slip by with single-digit wins seasons or almost make the Big 12 title game. It’s time for Texas to win.

Sarkisian looks to back up his media outing with his first 10-win season in the fall.

Could Texas face an improved Texas Tech defense in 2023?

Joey McGuire continued to share his delusions of grandeur to Big 12 media.

Texas Tech believes it is a forced to be reckoned with this season. Tech head coach Joey McGuire shared why he believes his team is among the best groups in the country.

We have not yet addressed the recent claims made by Texas Tech players and coaches to the Dallas Morning News. Among them, Red Raider safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson compared the McGuire movement in Lubbock to Alabama. His coach felt emboldened enough to state that Tech would win the Big 12 before Texas left. He meant, of course, that his team would win the conference this season.

On Thursday he continued his bold pattern of statements sharing that despite losing top ten NFL draft pick Tyree Wilson, the defensive line could be even better this season. It’s going to have to be better if Tech plans to win a conference title.

Last season the Texas Tech defense was among the worst in college football. The Raiders finished 108 in total defense, surrendering over 5,500 yards with opponents scoring 41 offensive touchdowns and racking up 5.88 yards per play.

The Texas Tech game will be perhaps the most difficult home battle for Texas in 2023. How much the Raiders have improved on defense will have significant bearing on this year’s head-to-head battle in Austin.

Texas QB Quinn Ewers reveals what he learned from 2022 struggles

The Texas quarterback let outside forces impact his performance in 2022.

When Quinn Ewers transferred to Texas, the expectations from fans were through the roof. The expectations from the quarterback himself may have been even higher. Continue reading “Texas QB Quinn Ewers reveals what he learned from 2022 struggles”

Big 12 commissioners take parting shots at Texas at media days

Big 12 commissioners weren’t exactly professional when talking about Oklahoma and Texas.

The Texas portion of Big 12 media days is complete after Wednesday’s interviews.

Coaches from across the league offered their best snide remarks. That much was to be expected. Nevertheless, one would have expected more emotionally detached commentary from leadership than it offered on the first day of media sessions.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark started the day with a bang. After being asked a question about recruiting, he veered off topic to discuss the absence of Oklahoma and Texas from the last two Big 12 title games. It was an interesting move, but one a defensive commissioner would make.

Deputy commissioner Tim Weiser continued the defensive behavior in discussing why he believes Texas left the SEC. He had the following quote about Texas’ departure.

“I think their (decision) was more about affiliating with a group of schools. … They would rather get beat by Alabama than Kansas State. Or Florida than Iowa State.”

It makes sense to get jabs in on Texas before the season. The Longhorns will not be losing very often this year according to Big 12 media. Albeit, sophomoric parting shots from league officials would seem below the professionalism one would expect from league commissioners.

Texas will look to rebut the conference’s media day insecurity when it takes the field on Sept. 2.

LOOK: Steve Sarkisian, Texas players at Big 12 media days

Quinn Ewers, Jaylan Ford, Jahdae Barron, Jordan Whittington, and Xavier Worthy represented Texas on Wednesday.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and five players were present at Big 12 media days on Wednesday. Continue reading “LOOK: Steve Sarkisian, Texas players at Big 12 media days”

‘They chose to end Bedlam’: Mike Gundy doesn’t mince words when asked about rivalry’s future

Speaking to the media at Big 12 Media Days, Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy didn’t hold back when talking about the future of Bedlam.

The move to the SEC for Oklahoma and Texas had one big unintended consequence for the Sooners. The end, at least in the short term, of an important regional rivalry: Bedlam.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys have met on the gridiron 117 times in the history of the two programs. To hear Mike Gundy talk, 2023 will be the last time the two sides meet when Oklahoma travels to Stillwater.

“When Oklahoma decided to leave the Big 12, they chose to end Bedlam,” Gundy said at Big 12 media days on Wednesday. “It’s a one-sided deal. People were trying to decide what happened, and what needs to happen to make it go on. They kept pushing Oklahoma State into it. We didn’t have jack to do with that. They left the conference; Bedlam goes with it.

“The SEC eventually will go to a 9-game schedule; I’m sure Oklahoma has a Power Five team they’re playing every year. We would have a difficult time matching up with them in nonconference. We’re scheduled out through (2037). We’re not responsible to change what we do because they left the conference. It’s real simple. They chose to get into the SEC. That’s the choice they made.”

Oklahoma’s move to the SEC certainly complicated the future of the game. At the same time, schedules change all the time. If it were important to Oklahoma State, it would find a way to make it happen.

Gundy has maintained his stance that the biggest game in the state of Oklahoma doesn’t have a future beyond 2023. For the last two years, the head coach has been unequivocal in laying blame at the feet of the Oklahoma Sooners for ending the rivalry.

In a way, Gundy is right, the Sooners made the decision to leave, and it’s not up to Oklahoma State to make changes in order to accommodate Bedlam. But it should.

Even though Oklahoma has dominated the series, Bedlam matters to both schools, both fan bases and both local economies. Norman is going to get a boost when Alabama comes to town in 2024, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a loss from the local buzz generated between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State every November.

While it’s a loss for the state, this is an opportunity for Oklahoma State and Gundy to create their own football identity apart from their counterparts in Norman.

The new Big 12 is going to be wide open for a team to come in and fill the void left with Oklahoma’s departure. Could that be Oklahoma State? Without the Sooners on the schedule, it will have a chance to create a new narrative apart from Oklahoma’s dominance in the all-time series.

Oklahoma State hasn’t had a lot of success in this series with the Sooners having the edge, 91-19-7. Still, it is difficult to see that long-standing history go up in a puff of smoke. The final meeting will take place in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Nov. 4. – Patrick Conn, College Sports Wire

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Steve Sarkisian exudes confidence ahead of Big 12 media days

Ahead of Big 12 Media Days, Steve Sarkisian has said all the right things.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is confident in his team ahead of Big 12 media days. It’s more than a brave face. Sarkisian has built his team his way, and he knows it.

The maligned head coach will take the mic on Wednesday before a crowd that, for the most part, believes his team is the class of the conference. Sarkisian has developed and acquired a complete roster. While it’s not on par with what Alabama was from 2012 to 2020, that dynasty is the roster construction blueprint on which this roster was built.

Texas is a complete team. Sarkisian certainly believes it. His words have consistently indicated the Longhorns have the most complete team he has been afforded at Texas. Now, it’s only a matter of whether or not he can execute the head coaching job at a high enough level. Sarkisian’s confidence in Wednesday’s session will indicate whether or not he believes he’s up to the task.

Media Day Preview: Will we learn anything about Texas vs Alabama?

We want to learn more about Texas’ approach to Alabama over the offseason.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian takes the mic in Arlington to speak to Big 12 media on Wednesday. It is perhaps his most anticipated interview since taking over the head coaching position in Austin.

Sarkisian believes this group looks like his team. The motivation is there for Longhorns players with the development to capitalize on that motivation. The question Texas faithful want answered is whether or not this team can beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the regular season game of the century for the Longhorns, and I’m not sure it’s close.

Texas needs to turn the corner as a program. Nothing would build momentum more than beating the team and coach that sent the Longhorns into the wilderness for more than a decade.

It’s unclear what we will learn from the media session. Albeit, if Big 12 media does its job, we’ll learn something about Sarkisian’s approach to the Alabama game. We believe Texas can beat Alabama. The real question is, can Texas beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa at night? Wednesday’s press conference should continue to build intrigue for the pivotal matchup.

Bold potential Big 12 upset picks for every week of the 2023 season

We look at 14 potential earth shattering upsets that could wreck the Big 12 football season.

The last two seasons have come with significant surprises in college football. The Big 12 has been no stranger to such surprises. TCU went from 5-7 to a national title game in 2022. A year earlier the Baylor Bears went from 2-7 during covid season to 12-win Big 12 champions.

Individual upsets are more common in college football. Last season saw Appalachian State upset preseason top-10 Texas A&M in Aggieland. The game upended whatever recruiting momentum the Aggies secured from an upset victory over Alabama a year prior.

More upsets are on the horizon. The Big 12 could be in the center of several of those upsets. The Texas Longhorns will be favored in nearly every game, so essentially any of their losses would be deemed an upset. Nevertheless the other teams in the conference are not immune to surprise losses.

Here’s a look at a potential Big 12 upset loss for every week of the 2023 season.