Tag: houston cougars football

Texas DT target Ja’Maree Caldwell chooses Oregon

Texas suffered a tough loss on the recruiting trail in the transfer portal.

Texas will not be bringing in the impact tackle it hoped for through the transfer portal. Houston defensive tackle transfer Ja’Maree Caldwell is headed to Oregon.

The Texas defensive tackle room has been a major topic of discussion since the Longhorns’ season ended on Jan. 1. The team lost two elite tackles in T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy both of which could see their name called early in the NFL draft. Replacing them is easier said than done.

The team is set to return the highest graded returning defensive tackle among SEC players in Alfred Collins. He put up an impressive 80.6 grade according to Pro Football Focus. Who will play alongside Collins is up for question after the presumed first option is headed to Oregon.

It’s hard to fault Caldwell for choosing the Ducks. Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi has a background in defensive line coaching at the NFL level. Texas doesn’t yet have a defensive line coach of its own following the departure of Bo Davis to LSU. The Tigers’ poaching of the Longhorns’ top defensive position coach came at just the right time to send Caldwell to Oregon.

Coaching changes make the portal difficult to navigate. It could be the reason Caldwell won’t be a Longhorn. Even so, another coaching change could help Texas address a different need in the portal with an impact player. The team will look to inch closer to a more complete squad than it is presently before the 2024 season.

Oklahoma Sooners 2024 football schedule

A look at the Oklahoma Sooners full schedule for 2024, their first in the SEC.

The SEC unveiled its schedule for the 2024 season, so now we know when the Sooners will play their new conference foes next season.

The schedule was always going to be daunting. You don’t move to the SEC without an understanding that you’re playing the best of the best nearly every week. But there are some positives in the Sooners’ schedule, such as the bye week before the Red River Showdown and another before the closing two-game stretch against Alabama and LSU.

The Sooners start with four consecutive games at home before going on the road to Auburn, Alabama, for their first SEC road game in their new conference.

Here’s a look at the Oklahoma Sooners’ full 2024 football schedule.

Houston WR Matthew Golden worth watching for Texas in transfer portal

Golden adds another potential transfer receiver option for Texas after entering the portal.

Houston Cougars wide receiver Matthew Golden plans to enter the transfer portal. He should have plenty of suitors.

Golden had a massive season for the Cougars in 2023. The once highly rated recruit caught 76 passes for 988 yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons at Houston. He adds another dimension in the return game as well.

It’s well documented that the Longhorns are in on elite receiver help in the transfer portal. The team is already in the running for Purdue speedster Deion Burks and South Carolina receiver Juice Wells. Yet given the impact that a likely departing receiver Xavier Worthy has made in the return game, Golden could be worth consideration for the team.

Texas will likely find a top receiver in the portal for 2024 regardless of which players it is. In 2021, Xavier Worthy transferred from Michigan after signing with Michigan in December of 2020. The following offseason, the Longhorns brought over Wyoming receiver Isaiah Neyor. Then they secured a commitment from Georgia transfer Adonai Mitchell for 2023.

The portal has treated Texas well at the receiver position. The next few months will reveal if Golden or another receiver become the next elite portal wideout to join the team.

How did Big 12 teams finish relative to preseason expectations in USA TODAY Sports 1-133 re-rank?

With the regular season over, how did the Big 12 land in USA TODAY Sports latest 1-133 re-rank of every college football team in the nation?

It’s championship week in college football. But for some teams, it’s the beginning of the offseason, while others wait on their bowl destinations.

It was a unique season in the Big 12. A number of teams met or exceeded expectations in 2023. And several were incredibly disappointing based on preseason expectations.

Let’s take a look at how each of the Big 12 teams ranked in the USA TODAY Sports 1-133 rankings in the preseason compared to how they now rank after the regular season.

Texas secures top spot in Big 12 Power Rankings after final week of the regular season

How does the Big 12 stack up after the final week of the regular season? Here are this week’s power rankings.

The 2023 college football season has been a thrill ride from start to finish. In its lone season as a 14-team conference, the Big 12 did not disappoint. There were fantastic games throughout the conference schedule that brought us to a dramatic final weekend of the regular season.

The Sooners will look back on this season, knowing they missed an opportunity to reach the Big 12 title game. Their performances against Kansas and Oklahoma State were the difference. And although there was some officiating negligence in the loss to the Cowboys, the Sooners also gave the ball away three times in the loss in Bedlam. Combined, the Sooners turned the ball over six times in their two losses and just seven times total in their other 10 games.

Take care of the football and the Sooners are playing for the Big 12 title this weekend.

Week 13 provided a thrilling overtime game between Oklahoma State and BYU. Iowa State and Kansas State played down to the wire in a wintery Farmageddon. Texas beat Texas Tech by 50 with Brett Yormark in attendance, and West Virginia made good on their promise to the preseason media poll look foolish.

After the final week of the regular season, let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Top of the conference survive scares in week 12

With just one week remaining in the regular season, how doe the Big 12 power rankings look after Week 12 action?

The Big 12 will come down to the final week of the regular season to determine who will represent the conference in their title game in Arlington, Texas.

Texas was challenged by Iowa State and Oklahoma State survived a terrible start in Houston. The Kansas State Wildcats trailed in the fourth quarter against Kansas before pulling out a win and the Oklahoma Sooners survived in Provo despite the loss of Dillon Gabriel.

Here’s a look at the Big 12 Power Rankings ahead of the final week of the regular season.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Cowboys dropped by Knights, Sooners make a statement in week 11

Oklahoma’s win over West Virginia and Oklahoma State’s loss to UCF shook up this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

There are just two weeks left in the regular season, and there’s still a lot to sort out. Texas and Oklahoma State currently hold the top two spots in the Big 12 standings, but Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Iowa State are lurking.

There’s no time for anyone to slip up like Oklahoma State did this past weekend in Orlando.

The UCF Knights’ dominating 45-3 win over the Cowboys was shocking after Oklahoma State knocked off Oklahoma in Bedlam.

As for the Sooners, they responded to their two-game losing streak with authority, putting together arguably their best game of the season in their 59-20 win over West Virginia.

In the win, the Sooners looked like one of the best teams in the Big 12. That combined with the Cowboys’ loss, there’s been a shakeup in this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Cowboys emerge from Bedlam title contenders

Updated Big 12 power rankings. Conference starting to sort itself out with just a few weeks remaining in the regular season.

In the wake of Week 10’s results, the Big 12 has found its favorites for the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas.

Though there are still several weeks to go in conference play, the Oklahoma State Cowboys walked out of Bedlam in control of their path to the game. Their win over Oklahoma put them in a tie for first place with the Longhorns at 5-1, and they have a very favorable remaining schedule.

Oklahoma State finishes the season at UCF, at Houston, and at home vs. BYU in their regular season finale. Those three teams have a combined conference record of 5-13.

The Cowboys are a far different team than the one that was blown out at home by South Alabama.

With their controversial win over Oklahoma and Texas’ win over Kansas State, the front-runners for the conference title game have emerged. It’s not impossible for Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma or Iowa State to find their way to Arlington, but they’ll need help along the way to make the trip to the DFW Metroplex.

Here’s a look at this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Sooners loss to Jayhawks shakes up the top of the conference

Big 12 power rankings are a mess after the Kansas Jayhawks knock off the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Kansas Jayhawks upset win over the Oklahoma Sooners was their first since 1997 after an 18-game losing streak against OU. It showed off the strong direction their program is heading under Lance Leipold and added another team to the Big 12 title race mix.

While the Sooners are still in first place in the Big 12 due to tiebreakers, there are currently five teams with a 4-1 record in Big 12 play and two more teams (West Virginia and Kansas) that are one game back of first place at 3-2.

The depth of the Big 12 is starting to reveal itself as teams begin to beat up on each other. Week 9 provides a semifinals of sorts for the Big 12 title game with Kansas State traveling to Austin to take on Texas and Oklahoma State hosting the Sooners in Stillwater for Bedlam. The teams that come out of this weekend with a win will have the best shot to make the Big 12 title game.

Texas’ offensive line had a very productive game against Houston

As we gather our thoughts after Texas’ 31-24 victory over Houston, it’s time we give the offensive line their flowers.

As we gather our thoughts after the Texas 31-24 victory over Houston, it’s time we give the offensive line their flowers.

The Longhorns have an elite offensive line, and on Saturday they further proved that theory. In 69 snaps, the five starters allowed just two sacks, one hurry, and four quarterback pressures.

Left tackle Kelvin Banks had the best day by far, not allowing any pressures, sacks, or hurries. Pro Football Focus gave Banks an 87.5 pass block grade, one of his best games this season so far.

Hayden Conner, DJ Campbell, and Jake Majors also had impressive games. The only lineman that didn’t have a decent game against Houston was right tackle Christian Jones. The senior tackle allowed one sack, one hurry, and two quarterback pressures. PFF gave Jones a 64.9 pass bock grade.

Though it might not seem like it after watching the game, the o-line had a very productive game and will need to continue their impressive play if quarterback Quinn Ewers is ruled out for multiple weeks.