Latest News Feed

Movin' on up

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:30:00 -0500

Abilene Christian prepares for the jump to Division I.

By Edward Isaacs
TexasFootball.com Special Contributor

Pre-order your
2013 Summer Edition

The 2013 Summer Edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football will hit shelves across Texas on June 21, but you can pre-order your copy of the Bible of Texas football from the TexasFootball.com store! Featuring the most comprehensive preview of football in the state of Texas for the 2013 season -- from previews of more than 1,400 high school teams to unmatched coverage of every college team in the state, to the Cowboys and Texans, plus plenty of recruiting and must-read feature stories -- they don't call us the Bible of Texas football for nothing! The 54th annual edition is a must-read for any true football fan, and you can pre-order your copy today to have it shipped directly from the printer to you! And don't forget to check out our membership packages, which feature subscriptions to all of our magazines plus plenty of extras exclusively available to members!

There has been palpable excitement and anticipation around the campus of Abilene Christian University since it announced it would be moving up to NCAA Division I affiliation and the Southland Conference on July 1.

Although the football team will play an 11-game independent schedule in 2013, because of previous commitments, the Wildcats will still be a member of the Southland. The school has not been independent since the 1962 season. Under NCAA Division I rules, the ‘Cats aren’t eligible for Southland postseason competition in any sport until 2017-18, the school’s fifth year as a Division I member.

The DI football era officially began when the Wildcats strapped on their helmets and hit the field at the Wally Bullington Practice Facility for the start of spring drills on March 19. It was the first time since the summer of 1973 that the team walked onto the field as members of a league other than the Lone Star Conference.

Head coach Ken Collums is entering just his second season at the helm of the ‘Cats. The former offensive coordinator is still adjusting to his new role and must now learn how to maneuver a DI program.

“There is a different weight on your shoulders when you move from a coordinator to head coach,” Collums said. “The second round is usually better but my second round is another new experience. Our school and athletic program have been in transition for several years now because of the move to block tuition and now we’re going to the Southland Conference.”

“There’s a different geography that you look at when you do business now. You do things a little bit earlier in recruiting at the Division I level and there is a little more drama to it. It’s very competitive. Ultimately though, we’re a better fit in the Southland than we were in the Lone Star because of the direction we’re going academically."

Collums said the biggest roadblock will be gaining depth.

“We have to get enough depth in order to play a Southland schedule and be competitive,” he said. “We’re not there yet. But once we start playing those schools and have a chance to make the playoffs, our depth should be in place.

Collums’ staff is also learning on the fly. They have to be more conscientious of how much recruiting time and recruiting funds they are spending on their players.

“My staff is very thorough,” Collums said. “They are sharp at what they’re doing and they’re recruiting the right kids.”

Director of athletics Jared Mosley and assistant director of athletics for operations John Houser had the tough job of finding all 11 opponents for ACU in 2013 instead of just two or three non-conference matchups.

The highlight of the 2013 schedule will be a trip to New Mexico State on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Aggies are currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level and have been since 2005. However, the WAC will no longer sport football beginning this year, so the Aggies will also play an independent schedule.

Although NMSU went 1-11 last season, it will be ACU’s first game against a FBS school since a 40-point shutout loss to Hawaii in 1980. Abilene Christian is 9-36-1 against traditional FBS programs.

The ‘Cats will open the season when they host Concordia College (Ala.), an NAIA program, on Aug. 31. The Hornets will be making their first trip to Abilene. The next two games are also at home and include a cross-town matchup with McMurry University on Saturday, Sept. 7.

The team then hits the road for four-straight weeks. Their first test away from home might also be their toughest game of 2013 as ACU travels to Normal, Ill., on Sept. 21 to face FCS powerhouse Illinois State University. ISU is a Missouri Valley Conference school who finished third and qualified for the FCS playoffs. The Redbirds lost to Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals.

A week later, the Wildcats will play former Lone Star Conference foe Tarleton State University at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco. The squad will close out the year against University of the Incarnate Word, also transitioning to DI and the Southland Conference, and Prairie View A&M. Both contests are road games.

“You can’t microwave or speed up this process,” Collums said. “Much like a business, you have to grow a FCS program and that can take time.”

Edward Isaacs is a special contributor Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

Season-makers, season-breakers, Part 2

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:30:00 -0500

The biggest game of 2013 for Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech and more.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

Pre-order your
2013 Summer Edition

The 2013 Summer Edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football will hit shelves across Texas on June 21 (and we'll be revealing the cover on June 14 exclusively on our Facebook page), but you can pre-order your copy of the Bible of Texas football from the TexasFootball.com store! Featuring the most comprehensive preview of football in the state of Texas for the 2013 season -- from previews of more than 1,400 high school teams to unmatched coverage of every college team in the state, to the Cowboys and Texans, plus plenty of recruiting and must-read feature stories -- they don't call us the Bible of Texas football for nothing! The 54th annual edition is a must-read for any true football fan, and you can pre-order your copy today to have it shipped directly from the printer to you! And don't forget to check out our membership packages, which feature subscriptions to all of our magazines plus plenty of extras exclusively available to members!

We’re eight days away from the release of the 2013 summer edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football – the Bible of Texas football – which marks the unofficial start of football season in the Lone Star State. And with the football fever descending on the state, it’s time to take a look at the schedules for each of the 12 FBS programs in the state. Over the next week, we’ll determine: what’s the most important game on each team’s docket?

June 11: Baylor, Houston, North Texas, SMU, Rice and TCU
Today: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas State, UTSA and UTEP

Texas: Oct. 12 vs. Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl
It couldn’t be anything else, could it? The annual Red River Rivalry is the biggest game of the season for both teams, and it feels especially big for the Longhorns this year. Texas has made strides since it bottomed out at 5-7 in 2010, but it still hasn’t figured out the riddle that is their archnemesis to the north. And it’s been especially ugly lately: three straight losses, including the last two by a combined 80 points. This figures to be another year as a step in the right direction for Texas – perhaps even a climb back to elite status – but until the Longhorns can get the proverbial crimson-and-cream monkey off of its back, it’ll hardly matter both to players and to the fans.

Texas A&M: Sept. 14 vs. Alabama
Duh. The Aggies shook the college football world to its core when it walked into Tuscaloosa and took down the reigning national champion (and undisputed No. 1) Crimson Tide. Now with another title in tow, Alabama will come calling to what will be the most raucous crowd in the history of the notoriously raucous Kyle Field. This is a gargantuan game not just for A&M’s season, not just the SEC West, not just for the SEC, but for the entire nation. It’s a game at Kyle Field that has almost unheard-of importance: aside from a 2011 tilt with Oklahoma State, you have to go all the way back to 1956 vs. TCU to find a game at Kyle Field that features two teams ranked in the AP preseason Top 10. This is, of course, assuming that A&M and Alabama will be in the preseason Top 10, but that seems like a mortal lock. Forget just A&M’s schedule; this is the biggest game in the state, bar none.

Texas Tech: Nov. 16 vs. Baylor at Cowboys Stadium
This one’s all about context. The Big 12 schedule-makers didn’t do Kliff Kingsbury any favors in his first season at the helm of the Red Raiders, and there’s one particularly brutal stretch – Oct. 26 at Oklahoma, Nov. 2 vs. Oklahoma State and Nov. 9 vs. Kansas State – that appears to be the worst of it. But then comes a neutral site game against Baylor, a squad that has taken Tech down in back-to-back years in riotously fun shootouts. And with a trip to Texas on Thanksgiving Day closing out the schedule after this game, it’s feasible that without a win here, Tech could finish on a five-game slide. What’s more: this is a team that Tech has traditionally handled. Consider this: Baylor has not won three straight vs. Texas Tech since 1985-1987. This is a really, really big one for Tech, not just for 2013, but for the future.

Texas State: Nov. 29 at Troy
DCTF managing editor Travis Stewart and I have discussed this so much, we even did a video about it. To us, there are three games that are truly “big” on the Bobcats’ schedule: Oct. 12 vs. UL-Monroe, Nov. 16 at Arkansas State and Nov. 29 at Troy. Travis is big on the UL-Monroe game for one reason: they’re the flavor of the month. Everyone’s talking about the Warhawks after their big season last year, and if the Bobs can knock them off, they’ll gain some headlines. I go with a more long-term approach with the Troy game. The Trojans look like they’re going to be a power in the new-look Sun Belt Conference – maybe not this year, but in the future. If Texas State can knock them off in their own barn, it could not only serve notice to the conference that TXST’s here to stay, but it would vault them into 2014, where they could really make some noise.

UTSA: Oct. 12 vs. Rice
It’s easy to forget that UTSA is still a really, really young program. Last season was their first as an FBS team, and this will be their first as a major conference team (with all due respect, dearly departed WAC) after joining Conference USA. And it will be understandable if the Roadrunners struggle a bit this season; this is, after all, a pretty substantial step up in competition. But you know what? In the middle of October, Larry Coker’s Runners will have a shot at taking down a big dog. This is supposed to be Rice’s big year, but in the middle of the season, they’ll have to walk into what is sure to be a rockin’ Alamodome and face an experienced and hungry UTSA squad. I’m not saying that UTSA is going to be able to knock off the Owls; I’m just saying the circumstances are right for UTSA to shout, “Here we are. Come get us.”

UTEP: Sept. 7 vs New Mexico
The first game of the Sean Kugler era could set the tone for the entire first season under the former Steelers offensive line coach. New Mexico had a relatively resurgent season in 2012, winning more games (4) than they had in their previous three seasons combined (3). But the Lobos are traveling to the notoriously tricky Sun Bowl in the season opener, and these Miners are going to be hungry to prove that this is a new dawn for the program. What’s more: UTEP has more or less owned the Lobos at the Sun Bowl, winning the last three, four of the last five and seven of the last nine meetings between the two in El Paso. This is an opportunity to jumpstart the Miners’ stagnant program; expect them to have it circled.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

Season-makers and season-breakers, Part 1

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:30:00 -0500

DCTF picks the most important game on Texas college teams' schedules.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

We’re ten days away from the release of the 2013 summer edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football – the Bible of Texas football – which marks the unofficial start of football season in the Lone Star State. And with the football fever descending on the state, it’s time to take a look at the schedules for each of the 12 FBS programs in the state. Over the next week, we’ll determine: what’s the most important game on each team’s docket?

Today: Baylor, Houston, North Texas, SMU, Rice and TCU
June 13: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas State, UTSA and UTEP

Baylor: December 7 vs. Texas
It’s the season finale for the Bears, and by now, we’ll have a lot of questions answered. We’ll have a feel for how the offense looks with RB Lache Seastrunk and QB Bryce Petty, we’ll know how much the defense has improved and, generally, what the Bears look like. They’ll get a chance to close out the regular season against the rival Longhorns, on their home turf, and the Bears are always tough at home (just ask Kansas State). What’s more, we’ll also know a lot more about the Longhorns then. Will this be a battle for the Big 12 title? It’s possible, and if so, the Bears will have the all-important home-field advantage.

Houston: September 21 vs. Rice at Reliant Stadium
Let’s be honest: the American Athletic Conference – formerly the Big East – is largely a mystery. The only thing we think we know is that Louisville will be pretty darn good (and the Coogs have to go on the road to play Teddy Bridgewater and company). But where the Coogs will fall in the AAC is largely up for debate, since there are a lot of teams that feature limited familiarity. But there’s one team that Houston’s very familiar with – crosstown rival Rice – and they’ll get a good shot at them early in the season. This is an important early test for Houston coming off of the disappointing 2012, and these two programs look like they’re trending in opposite directions. If UH can knock off Rice for the Bayou Bucket, it would inspire tons of confidence heading into their new conference surroundings.

North Texas: October 5 at Tulane
Last year was disappointing for the Mean Green. A 4-8 record – a step back from the relative progress of 2011 – and the feeling that they let a couple of key conference games get away. But the 2013 season feels like a season of redemption, and they can kick that off (after a brutal non-conference trip to Athens, Georgia to play UGA) by taking on the Green Wave. This isn’t the Tulane squad of yesteryear – this team looks like it has a pulse – but this is still a team that the Mean Green should expect to beat, even on the road. They’ll have a week off to prepare for it, and they could really get off on the right foot in conference play by taking the fight to Tulane.

SMU: November 9 at Cincinnati
This was maybe the hardest one to pick. Do you take the season opener at home against Texas Tech? What about the game at Kyle Field against Texas A&M? What about the game on the road against archrival TCU? In the end, we went with what looks like a key conference matchup against Cincinnati. Cincinnati looks like it’s going to finish in the top quarter of the AAC, and the Ponies hope to be there, too. What better way to quickly establish yourself as a threat in the conference than to go on the road and beat a team that looks like it could be a power? And with Garrett Gilbert and Traylon Shead going up against Tommy Tuberville’s new-look offense, expect some points.

Rice: November 16 vs. Louisiana Tech
We think that Rice, riding the momentum of winning its final five games – including its bowl game – could be in for a really big year. The schedule sets up really well for the Owls, but hosting Lousiana Tech, especially late in the year, could be tricky. You know the Bulldogs – even without all-everything QB Colby Cameron – will have their offense humming by the time they roll into Rice Stadium for homecoming. Will the Owls have lived up to expectations by then – and thus make this an important game in their quest for Conference USA supremacy?

TCU: October 19 at Oklahoma State
There are a lot of different directions to go with TCU, because their schedule is a minefield. At Texas Tech, where the Frogs haven’t won since 1991? At Oklahoma, a true chance at taking the alpha dog status in the Big 12? Home for Texas, always a heated rival? At Kansas State? Home for Baylor? In the end, we went with a midseason tussle on the road against an Oklahoma State team that is a sleeper pick for the Big 12 title. TCU appears to be poised to make a run at the wide-open Big 12 crown themselves; can they walk into Stillwater and get a win in a place where the home team is 40-13 under coach Mike Gundy?

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

Hot Seat Rankings

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 07:30:00 -0500

Which college coaches in Texas are on the hot seat? We rank 'em!

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

Yesterday, I read this sensational Q&A with Baylor coach Art Briles, conducted by Spencer Hall of the venerable college football blog Every Day Should Be Saturday. (A warning: there’s a little bit of salty language in there -- from Hall, of course, not Briles.) After reading it – and do read it yourself, it is well worth your time – I came away with one overwhelming thought, which I Tweeted:

I'm lucky to cover some of America's best college coaches here in TX. This Q&A w/ Art Briles from @edsbs is Ex. A.sbnation.com/college-footba…
— Greg Tepper (@Tepper) June 5, 2013

And it’s true: we are truly blessed because the 12 FBS coaches across Texas – and the sub-FBS coaches, too – are all one-of-a-kind and different. It gives us a terrific cross-section of coaching styles – from the quick-hitting spread of Art Briles at Baylor, to the grind-‘em-out bruising style of David Bailiff at Rice.

But we have to be honest: the college football world is one that is often unforgiving, especially to coaches. It’s ruthless; if you don’t perform, you’re out. The college football hot seat, fair or not, is a very real thing.

As we careen toward the 2013 football season – and the June 21 release of the 2013 summer edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football (available for pre-order here) – let’s set a baseline for each of the 12 FBS coaches in Texas. Call it the Hot Seat Rankings, seeing where the coaches are in relation to the proverbial (and always looming) cliff.

So, who’s on the hot seat? Let’s count ‘em down, from safest – farthest from losing their job – to least-safe.

12) Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Are you kidding? After guiding the Aggies to an 11-2 record in their first year in the SEC, a Cotton Bowl victory and recruiting victory after recruiting victory, coach Sumlin could run for mayor of College Station and win in a landslide (unless he ran against Johnny Manziel, in which case, it’d be a close race.)

11) Gary Patterson, TCU
Coach Patterson is the face of the Horned Frogs program, and for good reason: he’s been nothing short of spectacular in his 13 seasons – 116-36, two BCS bowl appearances, including a Rose Bowl win. Even with last year’s 7-6 season – the second-worst season of his tenure -- he’s not going anywhere.

10) Art Briles, Baylor
The record for Briles at Baylor isn’t necessarily eye-popping (33-30) when you consider what the Bears’ program had been before his arrival – 12 consecutive losing seasons, many of them pretty hard to watch – you can understand why he’s so beloved in Waco. Briles, Patterson and Sumlin all belong in the same category, considering their seats are downright frigid.

9) Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
Well, first of all, he just got here. Entering his first season as Texas Tech’s head coach – and his first season as a head coach, period – there’s palpable excitement around Kingsbury, the former record-setting QB for the Red Raiders. What’s more: because of his history with the program, you have to think that he’ll get more leeway than most. He could struggle this year and still be beloved among Raider fans.

8) Sean Kugler, UTEP
In a similar situation as Kingsbury, Kugler takes over a struggling program in need of a new direction. The former UTEP offensive lineman and Steelers OL coach, Kugler will bring a shift in philosophy and a newfound toughness to the Miners. The going could be slow, but expect both fans and the administration to give Kugler the benefit of the doubt, at least for a while.

7) Larry Coker, UTSA
The honeymoon period in San Antonio hasn’t worn off yet, and as coach Coker leads the Roadrunners into their first season in Conference USA, the 8-4 season a year ago is still fresh in everyone’s minds. Things are good in San Antonio, and you get the feeling that Coker – who turns 65 later this month – will determine when he leaves.

6) Dennis Franchione, Texas State
Fran-demonium is still in effect in San Marcos, in large part because there’s been so much change – the move to FBS, a new stadium, now a new conference (Sun Belt). Coach Franchione is with Texas State to build them into an FBS-caliber program, and his work isn’t done yet. The program is still in a period where bad results won’t cost him his job, but it’s better to win than not.

5) David Bailiff, Rice
My, how things have turned in just a couple of months. Sitting at 2-6, it looked all but certain that coach Bailiff’s tenure with the Owls was coming to a close. Now, after rattling off five straight wins – including a win in the Armed Forces Bowl, just their second bowl win in the last 60 years – and with a strong core coming back, coach Bailiff is looking mighty comfy. A true stinker of a year could change that, but for now, Bailiff looks like he’s on solid footing.

4) Dan McCarney, North Texas
We’re two years into the McCarney era at North Texas, and the results have been middling at best – 5-7 in his first year (which felt huge) and a step back to 4-8 this year. But coach McCarney is beloved among the fans for his toughness and mince-no-words attitudes, and there’s a feeling that good things are ahead for the Mean Green. The proof is in the pudding, though, and another step back this year could cost him his job. Call it possible but unlikely.

3) Mack Brown, Texas
Ah, Mack, the most polarizing coach in Texas. You can’t really argue with the results over his 15 years in Austin – a 150-43 record, a national championship, another title game appearance, a pair of conference championships. But every since that 5-7 stinkburger in 2010 and the slow climb back to prominence, there’s been growing displeasure with Brown. The common refrain you hear is “maybe it’s time for a change.” This is a big year for Brown: if his teams wins – let’s call it nine wins – he’s sitting comfortably. But if the team underachieves with anything like a 7-5 record, this seat – which is lukewarm – will only get hotter.

2) Tony Levine, Houston
“But Tepper,” you’re saying to your computer screen hoping someone around you doesn’t notice because that would look weird, “coach Levine is only in his second year!” And that’s true: most coaches get a minimum of three seasons at their job, and in a vacuum, there’s no reason to think Levine won’t get those three years. But with Houston’s plummet back to earth last year – 5-7 after a 13-1 season – there are understandable question marks. After all, coach Levine had never been a head coach before last year. And Levine was hired from his interim spot after Kevin Sumlin left, so the Coogs never really had a coaching search to find other candidates. I’m not suggesting that Levine is gone with another losing season, but the situation is right that his seat could catch fire very quickly.

1) June Jones, SMU
This is a situation where you need to know the context to fully understand. It’s not that Jones’ product on the field has been bad – four straight bowl game appearances for the first time in school history – as much as Jones appears to have alienated a lot of the fan base. A lot of it stems from last offseason when he actually took the job at Arizona State before ASU pulled its offer. If a coach will take another job, is he really committed to the program he’s currently at? What’s more, last year’s 6-6 regular season was relatively uninspiring – even disappointing – and fans are getting restless. It appears that the Ponies should be strong in 2013; if Jones doesn’t deliver, the administration could use that as a way to give Jones his wish and get him off of the Hilltop.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

Passing opportunity

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 07:30:00 -0500

Luck, skill, and turning "passes defended" into interceptions.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

We’ve talked at length here on TexasFootball.com about the role of luck in football. Sometimes, you just have to catch breaks in order to win (or, conversely: you can’t catch a break, which leads to a loss). We talked about it especially when we broke down fumble luck, finding out which teams – quite literally – had the ball bounce their way once it hit the turf.

But there’s an even more fascinating aspect of the game of football that has an even more ambiguous relationship between luck and skill: the art of the interception.

It obviously takes a great amount of skill to pick off a pass; nobody is debating that. You have to get a good break on the ball, time it right, and then actually catch the ball – and sometimes, coaches put players fast enough to play wide receiver but without the necessary hands in the secondary.

But there is an added element to the interception. Technically, every pass that a defender gets a hand on has a chance to be intercepted. Now, that’s not entirely fair – the linebacker diving, fully extended, and tipping the ball away with the last micron of his finger doesn’t have a reasonable chance of being intercepted. But once you’ve gotten to the ball, you’ve really done the hardest part.

Let’s put it this way: nationally, 20.5% of passes defended – that’s to say, a defender got his hand(s) on it – resulted in interceptions. That reflects everything from passes thrown directly to defenders to diving interceptions to passes tipped up in the air and picked off. That’s the baseline: 1-in-5.

So, it stands to reason that any team that intercepted more than 20.5% of their passes defended is either A) better than average at picking off passes, B) lucky when it comes to getting intercept-able passes or C) a combination of both. In fact, it’s almost assuredly C – after all, skill and luck tend to go hand-in-hand.

How did the 12 FBS teams in Texas fare? Before we get to that, we need to remember that not every team faced the same number of pass attempts. For example: Army and Ball State each intercepted seven passes…except that Ball State faced 173 more pass attempts than Army did.

So, which teams in Texas did the best job of getting to the ball once it became airborne?

Team	INTs	PDs	Opp PAs	PD%	Nat'l Rank
TCU	21	86	434	19.82%	1
Texas A&M	12	82	485	16.91%	13
Rice	11	59	378	15.61%	25
SMU	21	84	540	15.56%	27
Texas Tech	8	56	365	15.34%	35
Houston	19	76	510	14.90%	46
UTEP	7	54	384	14.06%	63
Texas	15	46	351	13.11%	80
Texas State	14	52	408	12.75%	84
Baylor	18	71	569	12.48%	90
UTSA	10	42	353	11.90%	99
North Texas	11	47	420	11.19%	111

-We’ve got a couple of truly elite units with regards to the secondary, as TCU and Texas A&M both ranked in the top 13 in terms of getting to the ball once it got in the air. In fact, TCU was No. 1 in the nation, getting a hand on nearly one of every five passes thrown. And A&M’s not far behind, with an almost 17% PD rate.

-Overall, it was a pretty average year for the state of Texas – Rice, SMU, Texas Tech and Houston all rank in the top half of the nation; UTEP was right around average; Texas, Texas State, Baylor and UTSA were somewhere between below-average and bad…

-And then there’s North Texas, who ranks in the bottom 12 in terms of getting to the pass. Just 47 pass defenses in 420 pass attempts? Yikes.

OK, so there’s our Pass Defense Percentage data. What about converting those pass defenses to interceptions? Who had the most skill/luck (use whatever distribution of those two things you feel appropriate) in turning PDs into INTs?

Team	INTs	PDs	PD/INT%	Nat'l Rank
Texas	15	46	32.61%	2
Texas State	14	52	26.92%	18
Baylor	18	71	25.35%	28
SMU	21	84	25.00%	29
Houston	19	76	25.00%	30
TCU	21	86	24.42%	36
UTSA	10	42	23.81%	40
North Texas	11	47	23.40%	45
Rice	11	59	18.64%	74
Texas A&M	12	82	14.63%	103
Texas Tech	8	56	14.29%	104
UTEP	7	54	12.96%	112

-Man, whatever Texas was doing in 2013, they need to keep doing. More than 32% of the passes they got a hand on, the Longhorns intercepted. That’s pretty outrageous.

-Overall, while it wasn’t a great year for teams getting to passes, it was an excellent year for them converting them to interceptions. Texas State, Baylor, SMU, Houston, TCU, UTSA and North Texas were all in the top half of making sure they came down with the passes they got to. Rice was pretty average in that regard (maybe a slightly below average).

-Call it bad luck, call it bad bounces, call it an inability to catch in the secondary, but Texas A&M, Texas Tech and UTEP simply weren’t very good at picking off passes last year. A&M had a 82 chances and only came down with 13 interceptions. Tech didn’t have a ton of chances, but were pretty darn bad at converting their chances into turnovers. And UTEP…well, seven interceptions in 54 tries? Ouch.

-In the end, if we were to award a Ballhawk Award – the secondary that got to and intercepted passes the most effectively – you’d have a number of candidates. TCU ranked first nationally in PD%, and did a pretty good job making those stand up as INTs. SMU ranks in the top 30 nationally in both measurements. Houston’s got a case as well.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

Home cookin'

Thu, 30 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

Which Texas college teams have had the best home-field advantage?

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

Texans are uniquely proud of their home. From the way we talk about it to the ubiquitous Texas flag, “home” is a very powerful concept for us Texans.

That idea bleeds over into college football. From Texas A&M’s 12^th Man to Texas Tech’s air raid sirens to Rice’s M.O.B., Texas colleges do their best to create a home-field advantage, to make it as difficult a place to play as possible for visiting opponents.

But not all home-field advantages are created equal. Some places are harder to play than others; some are better than others at defending their home turf.

The fun thing about working for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football is that we cover such a broad swath of FBS schools. No other state can boast a dozen FBS schools, which means that we can get an interesting and broad perspective on football simply by staying in the state.

Which brings us to today’s study: home-field advantage.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding, and we’ll be judging this by success on the field in terms of wins (or, more accurately, winning percentage) stretching back to the 2000 season. That gives us 13 seasons of data. Unfortunately, that means we’re going to have to leave out our friends at UTSA and Texas State; with just one season of FBS play under their belt, the sample size is too small to have meaningful results.

So, first things first: let’s look at the home-field winning percentage for the 10 FBS programs from 2000-2012, along with the national average.

	Home Record	Home Win%
TCU	66-12	0.846
Texas	66-13	0.835
Texas Tech	63-19	0.768
Texas A&M	56-31	0.644
AVERAGE	6,005-3,521	0.630
Houston	50-30	0.625
UTEP	42-34	0.553
Rice	39-32	0.549
Baylor	42-40	0.512
SMU	39-39	0.500
North Texas	30-39	0.435

This shouldn’t be too surprising. Four teams – TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M – have been better than average at home since 2000. (A side note: Texas Tech is a lot better in Lubbock than you think.) Houston’s awful close to average. In fact, only one team – North Texas – actually has a losing record over the past 13 seasons, at nine games under .500.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily give us the home-field advantage. After all: TCU hasn’t just been good at home; they’ve been good everywhere. So how do we tease out the home-field advantage?

We compare it to their overall winning percentage. Of course, that presents us with a problem: comparing home records to, essentially, road records, which are almost always going to be significantly worse. So, instead of thinking of it as purely home-field advantage, think a little simpler: how much better is a team at home than it is on the road?

Here are the results of comparing the home-field record to the overall record, and the results may surprise you.

	Home Record	Home Win%	Overall Record	Overall Win%	Home-Field Advantage
Rice	39-32	0.549	61-94	0.394	0.156
UTEP	42-34	0.553	62-94	0.397	0.155
SMU	39-39	0.500	56-102	0.354	0.146
Baylor	42-40	0.512	59-96	0.381	0.132
AVERAGE	6,005-3,521	0.630	9,526-9,526	0.500	0.130
Texas Tech	63-19	0.768	106-58	0.646	0.122
Houston	50-30	0.625	83-79	0.512	0.113
North Texas	30-39	0.435	54-101	0.348	0.086
Texas A&M	56-31	0.644	89-70	0.560	0.084
TCU	66-12	0.846	126-35	0.783	0.064
Texas	66-13	0.835	131-34	0.794	0.042

The best home-field advantage? How about Rice? The Owls have been significantly better at home than on the road, a full 15 percentage points in the win column. UTEP’s not far behind; the Sun Bowl is still a treacherous place to play (just ask Oklahoma, which got a scare last year). SMU and Baylor also have above-average home-field advantages to their names. Of the schools in the top four overall home records, it’s Texas Tech that has the best true home-field advantage.

Of course, when you look at teams like TCU and Texas, there’s not a whole lot higher they can go, which limits them a bit. What this tells us is that it didn’t really matter where teams like TCU, Texas or A&M were playing; they were who they were, ranging from pretty good to excellent.

So next time you hear about home-field advantage, remember: home-cooking helps.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

The SWC Lives!

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

The Southwest Conference lives! DCTF revives the SWC to see how it would've played out in 2012.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

Here at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, we make no bones about the fact that we miss the Southwest Conference. To us – and, perhaps more accurately, to our founder and editor-in-chief, Mr. Dave Campbell – there was simply no finer conference in the nation than the good ol’ SWC.

Not only was it full of great competition, but the rivalries couldn’t be beat, especially here in the Lone Star State. Nine teams in Texas – Baylor, Houston, Rice, SMU, Southwestern, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech – called the SWC home at one point, and it was home to some legendary games and legendary figures.

But if you can believe it, it’s been 17 years since the Southwest Conference existed, as it officially broke up after the 1996 season. And with the constant flurry of conference realignment, it seems like its memory is more of a flickering candle in the distance than the roaring torch it once was.

Those nine teams are now in five difference conferences (Baylor, TCU, Texas and Tech in the Big 12, Houston and SMU in the American Athletic Conference, Rice in Conference USA, Texas A&M in the SEC and Southwestern in Division III’s Southern College Athletic Conference). But we long for yesteryear, when these titans of the gridiron would lock it up not just for their team, but for regional supremacy.

Which got us thinking: how would the 2012 season have shaken out if the Southwest Conference were still together?

It’s a sticky situation to navigate, because when you think about applying the present circumstances to the past, there are many different things to consider. So, for this thought experiment, here’s the ground rules:

-We’re working under the 1991 alignment – that is, Arkansas, Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, SMU, TCU, Texas Tech and Houston. Aside from being one of the longest alignments in the SWC’s history (15 years), it best represents the Southwest Conference and what it was all about.

-We’re working with the 1991 conference schedules as well. So, since Baylor played at SMU in 1991, that means that Baylor’s playing at SMU in this simulation.

-We’re working under the idea that the 2012 teams are who they were. So, Texas A&M was really good, so they’ll be really good in this simulation. Any games on the 1991 schedule that actually occurred in 2012 will carry over the result of the 2012 game. Otherwise, we’ll default to FootballOutsiders’ F/+ Combined Ratings, which are a relatively comprehensive ranking of every team in the FBS.

-Home-field advantage matters. If two teams are close in the rankings, we’re going to give the home team the victory.

-We’re not dealing with non-conference schedules. Conference games only for this exercise.

OK, so, got it? Here’s how the standings would’ve shaken out.

2012 (Hypothetical) Southwest Conference Standings

Texas A&M	8-0
Texas	6-2
Baylor	5-3
TCU	6-2
Tech	5-3
Arkansas	3-5
SMU	1-7
Houston	1-7
Rice	1-7

A little surprising? Here’s how we came to each school’s hypothetical Southwest Conference record.

Texas A&M (8-0)
Wins: at Texas Tech, at Baylor, Houston, at Rice, at TCU, Arkansas, SMU, Texas
Losses: None
Thoughts: Johnny Football and the Aggies work their magic again, and they’re the clear-cut favorite in the conference. And guess what? The Aggies won the Southwest Conference in 1991 anyway. History repeats itself.

TCU (6-2)
Wins: Arkansas, at Rice, at Baylor, SMU, at Texas, Houston
Losses: at Texas Tech, Texas A&M
Thoughts: A lot of this actually happened in 2012, like the wins at Baylor, vs. SMU (Horned Frogs beat them in Dallas in 2012; they’d get them at home in the SWC schedule) and the surprise win at Texas that clinches second place for them. The biggest hiccup: a loss at Texas Tech. Tech beat the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth in 2012; it stands to reason that they’d beat them in Lubbock, too.

Texas (6-2)
Wins: Rice, at Arkansas, at SMU, Texas Tech, Houston, Baylor
Losses: TCU, at Texas A&M
Thoughts: Texas’ loss at home to TCU in 2012 carries over to the hypothetical 1991 schedule, and the Longhorns fall to their archrival in College Station. The hiccup to TCU costs them second place in the conference.

Baylor (5-3)
Wins: at SMU, at Houston, Rice, at Arkansas, Texas Tech
Losses: Texas A&M, TCU, at Texas
Thoughts: We have a number of real-life results to go off of here, with Baylor’s wins over Texas Tech and SMU and their losses to TCU and Texas. One note about the SMU win: yes, Baylor beat SMU in 2012 in Waco and would have to play them on the Hilltop in the SWC schedule, but they beat them soundly enough – 35 points – that I don’t think the result would change.

Texas Tech (5-3)
Wins: TCU, at SMU, Rice, Arkansas, at Houston
Losses: Texas A&M, at Texas, at Baylor
Thoughts: Again, thanks to the Big 12, we have a lot of these results to play off of, like the win over TCU and the losses to Texas and Baylor. The loss to Baylor’s a tough one: Tech lost to the Bears in a thriller on a neutral site in 2012, but with the 1991 schedule, they’d have to play in Waco, which would only hurt their chances. That loss drops them to fifth in conference.

Arkansas (3-5)
Wins: SMU, Houston, Rice
Losses: at TCU, Texas, Baylor, at Texas Tech, at Texas A&M
Thoughts: The lone non-Texas member of the SWC, we only have one real-life result to draw off of – their drubbing at the hands of Texas A&M. Other than that, it’s pretty well-stratified: lose to the good teams, win vs. the lesser teams. As for the game vs. SMU, their closest competitor, if the game wasn’t in Fayetteville, I’d be tempted to give the win to the Ponies. Alas, Arkansas gets the win and finishes 3-5 in conference.

Rice (2-6)
Wins: Houston, at SMU
Losses: at Texas, at Baylor, TCU, at Texas Tech, Texas A&M, at Arkansas
Thoughts: First things first: Rice actually beat SMU, so that game carries over. The rest of the games are games that the Owls wouldn’t be favored in. Now, to explain something, since this is the only game we flipped an actual result. On September 29, 2012, Houston beat Rice, 35-14 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Let me explain why I’m flipping the Houston game to a Rice win. For one: Rice would get Houston at home under the SWC scheduling. Secondly, Rice played significantly better down the stretch of the season than they did in the first half of the season. And with the SWC schedule, they wouldn’t catch Houston until mid-November. With those two factors combined, I feel comfortable saying Rice would edge Houston despite the previous result.

SMU (1-7)
Wins: at Houston
Losses: at Arkansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas, at TCU, Rice, at Texas A&M
Thoughts: SMU has actual 2012 losses to Baylor, Texas A&M, TCU and Rice, and an actual 2012 win vs. Houston; those carry over to this one. Unfortunately, the rest of the schedule just isn’t favorable for the Ponies.

Houston (0-8)
Wins: None
Losses: Baylor, at Arkansas, SMU, at Texas A&M, Texas, at Rice, at TCU, Texas Tech
Thoughts: A sub-par year plus a tougher conference schedule equals a bad run through the SWC.

So there you have it: our simulation of how the 2012 Southwest Conference would’ve shaken out, if it were still together. Maybe you agree, maybe you disagree – either way, let us know on Facebook or Twitter – but regardless of your feelings, you have to admit:

It’s nice to see the Southwest Conference back again, even if it’s just for one hypothetical moment.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

The Kat's meow

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

DCTF's Greg Tepper explains why Sam Houston State could be Texas' best hope for a national title.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

Coming off of an historic season, the excitement surrounding Texas A&M is monumental. Dynamic quarterback Johnny Manziel – the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy – returns for his sophomore year along with many other key pieces, and the Aggies appear to have a relatively favorable schedule, including catching defending national champion Alabama at home.

Yes, come autumn, all eyes will be on College Station. But drive about an hour east of Aggieland, and you might find something pretty remarkable.

You might find the state of Texas’ even-better chance to win a national championship.

As enthralled as everyone will be for the Aggies’ chase for a BCS National Championship, it’s Sam Houston State that may be the Lone Star State’s biggest title favorite.

Why? Here’s five reasons why Sam Houston State is the state’s best chance to win a championship.

1) They know what it takes
There are very, very few teams in college football history who have the kind of title game experience that the Bearkats have. Sam Houston State has reached the FCS championship game in each of the last two seasons, only to fall to North Dakota State in both title games. But that experience – making it through the FCS playoffs, playing in the biggest game on the biggest stage – should pay dividends come autumn. If anything, the lack of a championship should be a driving force for the team, not a hump they feel as if they can’t overcome.

2) The defense should be just as strong
Last season, the Bearkats allowed 21.4 points per game. That might sound a little high for a national runner-up, but consider that one of those games was at Baylor, and one of those games was at Texas A&M. Factor those two games (both losses) out, and the average tumbles to just 17.4 points allowed per game. And with five starters back from a year ago, led by DE Jarrett Brown, DT Gary Lorance and LB Jesse Beauchamp, and the return of star LB Eric Fieilo from an injury that cost him the entirety of the 2012 season, there’s reason to think that the unit can take a step forward. The secondary needs to come around, but overall, this is a strong unit that can guide the Bearkats to a title.

3) Coach Willie Fritz is really, really good
Folks who don’t pay attention to FCS football may not know coach Fritz, but there are very, very few coaches in Texas with his résumé. After turning around the football programs at both Blinn College (where he took a losing program to two national junior college titles) and Central Missouri (where he took a losing program and took them to a conference title), he came to Sam Houston State and, well, he’s been incredible. In 2011, he guided the Kats to their first unbeaten regular season in program history, and he’s led them to back-to-back Southland championships, earning FCS Coach of the Year honors in 2011 and Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors in 2012. Simply put, you could argue that Willie Fritz is the best coach in Texas that nobody’s talking about.

4) There’s plenty of weapons on offense
QB Brian Bell is back for his senior season, and he’s one of the most decorated players in Sam Houston State history. He’s already the program’s leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offensive yards, and he has his eyes set on more records after throwing for 2,715 yards and 25 touchdowns a year ago. Richard Sincere is also back – high school football fans may remember him from his days as Galveston Ball’s dynamo. These days, he’s one of the most versatile weapons the Kats have, racking up 883 all-purpose yards a year ago. Then there’s guys like WR Chance Nelson, who caught nine touchdown passes last year, and Torrance Williams, who’s coming back from a knee injury. There’s weapons upon weapons upon weapons for the Bearkats.

Oh yeah, and…

5) They have Tim Flanders, the best player in FCS
RB Tim Flanders is incredible. The Oklahoma high school star is the back-to-back Southland Conference Player of the Year, and he already holds 34 SHSU school records. Barring something unforeseen, he’ll pass Claude Mathis (yes, the DeSoto coach Claude Mathis) as the Southland’s all-time leading rusher. He’s reliable, he’s explosive, he’s bruising, he’s quick-footed, he’s everything you want in a running back. And perhaps I have my Texas flag-colored glasses on, but I don’t think there’s a better player in the FCS this season than Tim Flanders. The two-time All-American can do it all, and with him on their team, the Bearkats are a threat to do big, big things.

So while we watch the 12 FBS teams chase their dream of a national title, keep an eye on the goings-on in Huntsville. After all, if a national championship trophy is going to reside in the state of Texas after the 2013 season, there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be in the Home of Sam Houston.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

Setting the pace

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Analyzing the tempo of college football across Texas.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

“Pace” and “tempo” have been big buzzwords around college football in the state of Texas recently. Whether it’s Texas A&M’s emphasis on speed, or Texas’ reported uptick in tempo, or Kliff Kingsbury talking about how he wants to up the pace of the Red Raiders’ offense, everyone, it seems, is talking about going faster, faster, faster, fitting more plays into every precious second.

This can largely be traced back to Oregon – the Ducks had monumental success under coach Chip Kelly in a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants offense that blistered opponents with relentless pressure – but it’s truly a nationwide phenomenon. As noted Friend of DCTF Bill Connelly points out at his outstanding blog Football Study Hall, “from 2008 to 2012, 63% of FBS teams increased the number of plays they ran per minute of possession.”

Speed is the name of the game, and it’s the way that offenses are moving. More plays, fewer huddles, more action. But what does it mean here, in Texas? How do our 12 FBS teams stack up in the great pace-setting debate?

With the help of the invaluable CFBStats.com, I crunched the pace numbers on each of the 12 FBS teams in Texas for the 2012 season. First, I found out their average time of possession per game (data note: in order to get clean calculations, I had to translate the seconds into fractions of minutes; hence, the decimals). Next, I looked at how many plays per game that each team ran. Finally, I calculated the speed of their offense in a simple metric: Plays per Minute. That’s to say, how many plays did each team run in each minute of possession in 2012?

Here’s what I found:

	Games	Total TOP (Mins)	TOP/Game	Total Plays	Plays/Game	Plays/Minute
Houston	12	297.65	24.80	984	82.0	3.31
Baylor	13	355.66	27.36	1080	83.1	3.04
Texas A&M	13	365.85	28.14	1025	78.8	2.80
Texas Tech	13	392.93	30.23	993	76.4	2.53
North Texas	12	359.37	29.95	853	71.1	2.37
UTEP	12	354.66	29.56	831	69.3	2.34
Rice	13	441.98	34.00	1026	78.9	2.32
Texas	13	400.78	30.83	891	68.5	2.22
Texas State	12	359.86	29.99	774	64.5	2.15
TCU	13	425.6	32.74	914	70.3	2.15
UTSA	10	318.98	31.90	680	68.0	2.13
SMU	13	430.9	33.15	916	70.5	2.13

As you can see – and longtime readers of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football shouldn’t be surprised – there’s a ton of diversity across the state. Let’s dive into a little data breakdown.

-An important reference point: the average tempo for a team in 2012 was 2.4 plays per minute.

-Up at the top sits Houston, and this is significant for a number of reasons. First: UH wasn’t just the highest-tempo team in the state of Texas last season; the Coogs led the nation in Plays per Minute. That’s right. Faster than Oregon, Marshall, Louisiana Tech, everyone. But this isn’t new. As Connelly points out, since 2008, the Coogs have been literally the fastest team over the past five seasons. And even though they lost Kevin Sumlin and Kliff Kingsbury, the Coogs put together their fastest-paced team yet in 2012. Pretty remarkable.

-Meanwhile, down at the bottom, there’s a foursome of teams that preferred to grind it out: SMU, UTSA, TCU and Texas State. All four of them ranked in the bottom 15% of the nation in terms of pace, grinding it out at less than 2.2 plays per minute. To put it in context: Notre Dame – as traditional a grind-it-out offense as they come – averaged 2.17 plays per minute, faster than the Ponies, Roadrunners, Horned Frogs and Bobcats.

-With Kliff Kingsbury taking his talents to Lubbock from College Station, A&M’s pace provides an interesting glimpse at what Tech fans can expect. A&M and Tech ranked 3^rd and 4^th in the state, respectively, in pace, but A&M was a tick faster, cranking out 2.5 more plays per game despite having the ball for two full fewer minutes. If Kingsbury institutes the type of offense we saw at A&M, expect Tech to up the tempo a bit.

-Baylor’s such an interesting case: they ran the sixth-most plays in the nation at 1,080 and yet they ranked 112^th in time of possession. That’s what happens when you combine an extra-explosive offense with the second-worst defense in terms of yards allowed.

-Fun fact about Rice: the Owls led the nation in time of possession, holding on to the ball for nearly 34 minutes per game. How significant is that? Consider that there were only four teams that had the ball for a longer sum of time in 2012…and all four of those teams played one more game than the Owls did.

-What does it mean in terms of wins? Well, by this data, there’s no real correlation between running more plays and winning more games. The seven bowl teams from Texas ranked 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 7^th, 8^th, 10^th and 12^th in pace across the state in 2012. What it means is that pace, while important, is only valuable when it’s coupled with a quality defense.

And maybe it pays to slow down. After all, Alabama – the winner of three of the last four BCS national titles – was one of the slowest teams in the nation last year, running just 1.99 plays per minute.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

On the road again

Thu, 09 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

How will latest conference realignment affect Texas teams geographically?

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

I think I speak on behalf of the entire Dave Campbell’s Texas Football staff when I say: can we hit the pause button on the conference realignment?

In the past three seasons, we’ve had teams in the American Athletic Conference, the Big 12, the Mountain West, the SEC, the WAC, the Sun Belt and Conference USA. And we only cover twelve FBS teams!

And in 2013, we’ll undergo yet another round of conference realignment, as North Texas, Houston, SMU, Texas State and UTSA will all change conferences.

It’s been established for a while that conference realignment has nothing to do with geography. West Virginia is in the Big 12; Missouri is in the Southeastern Conference (and in the East Division, no less); and so on.

But what kinds of geographic impact will this round of conference realignment have on the teams involved? Let’s take a look by comparing the distance from their old conference rivals to their new conference bunkmates.

We’ll start with Houston, who is moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference – formerly the Big East.

CUSA		AAC
Team	Distance	Team	Distance
Central Florida	872	Cincinnati	896
East Carolina	1119	Connecticut	1532
Marshall	948	Louisville	802
Memphis	483	Memphis	483
UAB	566	Rutgers	1409
Southern Miss	377	SMU	225
Tulsa	835	South Florida	790
SMU	225	Temple	1339
Rice	0	Central Florida	872
UTEP	674
Tulane	317
AVERAGE	583.3	AVERAGE	927.6

Needless to say, Houston’s travel bill is going to increase. Losing a hometown conference rival in Rice doesn’t help things, but there’s also three 1,000+-mile road trips on the conference slate now.

What about the other team that’s moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference – the SMU Mustangs?

CUSA		AAC
Team	Distance	Team	Distance
Central Florida	961	Cincinnati	816
East Carolina	1125	Connecticut	1479
Marshall	894	Louisville	725
Memphis	419	Memphis	419
UAB	579	Rutgers	1362
Southern Miss	450	Houston	225
Tulsa	732	South Florida	916
Houston	225	Temple	1297
Rice	225	Central Florida	961
UTEP	570
Tulane	441
AVERAGE	601.9	AVERAGE	911.1

The Ponies won’t have as big of an effect to their travel – mainly because they were already traveling a touch farther than Coogs – but it’s still an increase in average distance of conference foes.

Time to focus in on North Texas, who will be moving from their longtime home in the Sun Belt to take a spot in Conference USA.

SUN BELT		CUSA
Team	Distance	Team	Distance
Arkansas State	411	East Carolina	1140
Louisiana-Lafayette	365	Florida Atlantic	1125
Louisiana-Monroe	288	Florida International	1131
Middle Tennessee	640	Marshall	899
Western Kentucky	659	Middle Tennessee	640
Troy	659	Southern Miss	478
Florida International	1131	UAB	598
Florida Atlantic	1125	Louisiana Tech	266
South Alabama	554	Rice	261
		Tulane	471
		Tulsa	214
		UTEP	554
		UTSA	272
AVERAGE	648	AVERAGE	619.1

Believe it or not, this is going to cut down on the Mean Green’s travel a little bit. Those trips to Florida are still there, but adding teams like Louisiana Tech, Tulsa and Rice gives UNT some more local foes.

Let’s stay in Conference USA and see what UTSA is going to be dealing with after their move from the WAC to C-USA.

WAC		CUSA
Team	Distance	Team	Distance
Utah State	1130	East Carolina	1301
San Jose State	1453	Florida Atlantic	1143
Louisiana Tech	407	Florida International	1138
Texas State	46	Marshall	1109
Idaho	1554	Middle Tennessee	833
New Mexico State	674	Southern Miss	564
		UAB	745
		Louisiana Tech	407
		Rice	187
		Tulane	504
		Tulsa	486
		UTEP	502
		North Texas	272
AVERAGE	877.3	AVERAGE	707

This is a big, big upgrade for the Roadrunners, ditching those long road trips to Utah State, San Jose State and Idaho for some closer rivals, like Rice and North Texas. Of course, the WAC was never a long-term solution for the Roadrunners, but this is a nice upgrade for them geographically.

Finally, let’s talk about Texas State, who will also be leaving the WAC and taking over North Texas’ spot in the Sun Belt.

WAC		SUN BELT
Team	Distance	Team	Distance
Utah State	1126	Arkansas State	588
San Jose State	1467	Georgia State	839
Louisiana Tech	362	Louisiana-Lafayette	355
UTSA	46	Louisiana-Monroe	394
Idaho	1548	South Alabama	585
New Mexico State	681	Troy	723
		Western Kentucky	823
AVERAGE	871.7	AVERAGE	615.3

Geographically, Texas State is the big winner in this round of conference realignment here in the Lone Star State. They shave an average of more than 250 miles off of each of their road trips. As with UTSA, the WAC was never a long-term solution, but this is a good home for Texas State from a geographic standpoint.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

Getting the call from the Hall?

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

The College Football Hall of Fame could get an even bigger Texas flair this year.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

It’s a good bet that if there is a museum of football, the state of Texas will have a big part in it. And the College Football Hall of Fame is no different.

The CFHOF, operated by the National Football Foundation, is transitioning from South Bend, Indiana to Atlanta, Georgia. But the bigger news will come out in just a couple of hours, when the Hall of Fame will announce its 2013 induction class.

There’s already some Texas flavor to the Hall – legendary coaches like Dana Bible and Darrell Royal, dozens of players from all across the Lone Star State – but the 2013 class could add even more of Texas to the Hall.

On the ballot – which is 77 names long – are plenty of folks with Texas ties. Who could join the list of immortals in the Hall of Fame? Here’s the Texas-tied candidates to keep an ear out for when the announcement comes down today at 11 a.m.

Brian Bosworth: Yes, The Boz is best known as the fearsome linebacker for the Oklahoma Sooners, but don’t forget that he got his start at Irving MacArthur, where he was one of the greatest Cardinals ever. He went on to be a two-time All-American and Butkus Award winner in 1985 and 1986, leading the Sooners to a national title in ’85 and three straight Orange Bowls.

Jim Carlen: It may seem like ages ago, but Jim Carlen was one of Texas Tech’s best coaches, if only for a brief time. Carlen led the Red Raiders from 1970-74, going 37-20 in that time, earning three Southwest Conference Coach of the Year awards and highlighting his brief time in Lubbock with an 11-1 season (and a Gator Bowl berth) in 1973.

Eric Dickerson: Maybe you’ve heard of him? The Sealy star turned SMU legend was one of the most electricying running backs in college football history, running for 4,450 yards and 47 touchdowns over four years on the Hilltop. He was a two-time SWC Player of the Year, a unanimous All-American and a third-place finisher in the 1982 Heisman Trophy voting.

Tony Franklin: No respect for the kickers, but Franklin is one of the all-time best. A standout at Fort Worth Arlington Heights, Franklin went on to Texas A&M where he was a two-time All-American. During his time in College Station, Franklin set seven NCAA records, including most 50-plus yard field goals and most career points by a kicker

Jerry Gray: One of the very best defensive backs in Longhorns history, the Lubbock Estacado product quickly made his mark on the Texas football program, earning the Southwest Conference Player of the Year honors in both 1983 and 1984. Why? He was a consummate ballhawk, picking off 16 throws and breaking up another 20 passes.

Zach Thomas: A legend in Lubbock, the linebacker came from tiny White Deer but soon rose to become a fan favorite, earning two All-America honors and twice earning SWC Defensive Player of the Year awards. He’s still fifth all-time at Tech with 390 tackles, and he’s still revered as one of the all-time greats

LaDainian Tomlinson: Remember him? Of course you do. TCU’s all-time leading rusher took the nation by storm in 1999 (when the Waco University grad was the WAC Offensive Player of the Year) and 2000 (when he was a unanimous All-American, won the Doak Walker Award and got Heisman votes. LT’s a Texas legend.

Don Trull: Before RG3, there was Don Trull, the original Baylor All-American quarterback. An All-American in 1963, Trull led the nation with 22 touchdowns and set a school record with 174 completions. What’s more: he was a champion in the classroom, earning Academic All-American honors twice.

Steve Wisniewski: This may be a name you don’t recognize, and that’s OK. The Spring Westfield alum took his talents north to Penn State, where he was a member of the 1986 national title team, then helped Blair Thomas run for 1,414 yards and 11 touchdown in 1987. To cap it off, he was an All-American in 1988

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

From the gridiron to the big screen

Fri, 03 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

Documentary on 1969 Texas-Arkansas Thriller Breathes Dramatic New Life Into "Game of The Century".

By Ken Capps
DCTF Special Contributor

You knew The Big Shootout was going to be a different kind of film just by listening to the conversations of total strangers crowding into the Angelika Theater in Dallas. Folks filing in were asking each other, "Where did you see The Game?".

One man was lucky enough to attend the game in the Razorback Stadium as a teenager with his sister.

"She cried all the way home from Fayetteville to Fort Smith," he said.

A graying woman described how her father, a Longhorns fan, listened to the game on the radio from his foxhole in Vietnam.

Even I had to chime in: I was a fourth-grader watching the game on a black and white TV from my daddy's lap in Austin, about three miles north of the UT campus.

The Big Shootout filmmaker Mike Looney watched it from his shanty apartment in Lubbock while attending Texas Tech. And since December 6, 1969, he has been fascinated by a game that was watched by 50 million Americans and changed individual lives forever in a four hour stretch on a cold, dreary Ozark afternoon.

"This game left such an indelible mark on my soul that I wanted future generations to see and understand what our generation was going through in 1969," says Looney. "And as we began talking to everybody associated with the game we discovered stories so heartfelt, so poignant, so gut-wrenching, it reminded me of that time in '69 when we really didn't know where our country was headed. But in the midst of it all the chaos, we still had football."

So for the past three years, Looney, executive producer Don Stokes, co-producers Fred Baker and Mike Humphrey, and editor Sam Donald have embarked on a journey that was far from sentimental -- they crisply document a time in our history that was sinister, sick and seemed to be getting worse all the time. Race riots. Body counts in Vietnam. Charles Manson. All surrounded by a dream football match created in the minds of ABC Sports genius Roone Arledge and programming whiz Beano Cook. The top two teams in the country, coached by best friends, on the last day of the season, for the national championship in the 100th year of college football.

The Big Shootout (which you can find at their website) is about the Texas-Arkansas football game, no doubt about it. But Looney and crew have done a masterful job of painting the game into the cultural context of the time, which were some of the most convoluted and confusing in our history.

Remembered through the checkered experiences of players, coaches, professors and students, The Big Shootout chronicles the huge transition the United States was making in the 1960's and exploding into a new era on multiple fronts. The screenplay is beautifully sound-tracked with familiar rock and roll tunes of the times -- from national artists to Dallas club bands like Kenny and the Kasuals.

In the spring of 1969, Arledge and Cook drew up an unprecedented plan: a made-for-TV drama pitting the #1 and #2 teams in the country for a winner-take-all match. They predicted those two teams would be Texas and Arkansas, in some order. They picked up the phone, called Longhorns coach Darrell Royal and Razorbacks coach Frank Broyles, and the two golfing buddies agreed to move their October date to December.

Looney and Stokes scored a huge coup right off the bat when Broyles agreed to talk about the excruciating loss in 2010, something he had not done since immediately after the game four decades ago. They also managed to get very candid interviews with Cook and Royal just months before their deaths. No Broyles, Cook or Royal would've meant no film. The trio tell a gripping tale far beyond X's and O's and the extreme pressure that shadowed the teams every week of the season.

But then the story takes a huge twist. Hiram McBeth arrives on the big screen, nearly unnoticed in Razorback history. Yet he was the first African-American player on the Arkansas football team. He was a walk-on and did not play in the game, but nonetheless was on the squad. By day, he practiced with his teammates; by night, he participated in Black Americans for Democracy who were bringing "black power" to the Fayetteville campus and pushing to getting the song "Dixie" silenced from the Arkansas marching band, which played immediately after a Razorbacks score.

They vow to rush the field and lay down on the brand new green turf for the ABC cameras if the song is played.

Next, Arkansas student Donald Donner appears, a Vietnam Vet-turned-anti-war protestor, who has devised a protest he wants the world to see from a nearby hilltop as the game plays on: a giant white peace sign and black crosses staked in the ground.

Throw in President Richard Nixon arriving late to the game due to lousy flying weather for Marine One, and there's more than enough drama for a gray afternoon.

Oh, and then there's a pretty good football game being played, too. The Razorbacks storm to a 14-0 lead that holds until the fourth quarter. Then, you know the rest.

Or, maybe not.

As time ticked away, Royal and his nimble quarterback James Street went on a gambling streak that would make any Las Vegas high roller sweat. Street, admittedly not a speedster, took off on a 42- yard scramble for a TD. Then, to the amazement of the Razorback faithful, the Longhorns went for two and Street snaked his way into the end zone.

Here, Looney and Stokes turn up another new nugget: Royal had told his players on the bus headed to the stadium they would be going for two when they scored their first TD.

"So they wouldn't have to think about," DKR said brilliantly.

The Hogs have plenty of time to respond, but the Texas defense finally awakens and none other than Freddie Steinmark knocks away a Bill Montgomery pass to get Texas the ball back. We learn it would be the last play Freddie would ever make.

Once again the Horns get moving, but the Hogs hold them. It's fourth down and 3 from the Texas 43. With everyone on the sidelines, in the grandstands and in living rooms expecting a run, Royal digs up Right 53 Veer Pass. Street heaves a bomb past the fingertips of Arkansas DB Jerry Moore and into the freezing palms of Texas end Randy Peschel. Two plays later, Texas scores and kicks the PAT. Somehow, it's Texas 15. Arkansas 14.

The clock numbs the minutes. Texas intercepts Arkansas, and the TV drama dreamed up by Arledge and Beano comes explicitly true. But the nightmare was just beginning for Arkansas.

The despair for the Razorbacks has lingered for decades.

Broyles refused to talk about the game and his players who gave it their all felt ignored and hurt.

Even for the Longhorns, the thrill of victory was short-lived. Players learned just five days after the game their feisty, popular teammate Freddie Steinmark has cancer that will quickly cost him his leg and his life.

"It's very clear the agony of defeat is worse than the thrill of victory, period," concluded Looney.

Stokes believes Broyles' willingness to participate in the film and for the first time speak so candidly and passionately about the game and acknowledge his players will bring healing to a team and a state that has been stung by the sound of his silence since 1969. The documentary will be shown at the Hot Springs Film Festival in October.

For many, the Big Shootout became a metaphor for life. It was the end of innocence for some, the end of a tumultuous decade for others.

Arkansas running back Bill Burnett's wife Linda summed it perfectly: "You expect your heroes to do heroic things, to do something spectacular."

In 1969, with the exception of moon walkers Armstrong and Aldrin, heroes were in extremely short supply. A disgruntled and disillusioned American public was desperately seeking good guys that December, and the polite young men wearing red and burnt orange filled the bill.

In the world of college football, it would mark the first game set up by TV between a #1 and #2 team for the national championship. Heavens know nobody ever thought of something called the BCS would come to pass. And Texas would field the last all-white team to win college football's greatest prize. African-Americans would take their place on the gridiron and change the game.

And finally, The Big Shootout shows us how 60's culture bridged the gap to today's world:

Jerry Moore and Randy Peschel are friends on Facebook.

* All images courtesy of thebigshootout.com.

Ken Capps is a special contributor to TexasFootball.com.

A Lone Star fraternity

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

Baylor WR Terrance Williams joins a select of Texas-bred players.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

Admittedly, there is a negative relationship between the number of the round of the NFL Draft and the interest in said round. That’s to say, the later the round, the less people are paying attention.

So it’s OK if you didn’t notice what happened on Friday night with the 74^th overall pick – the 12^th pick of the third round – when the Dallas Cowboys used the pick they acquired in exchange for trading down in the first round.

The selection: Baylor wide receiver Terrance Williams.

Unless you’re a Baylor fan or a Cowboys fan, that probably didn’t strike you as a particularly big deal. But here at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, it was reason to freak out.

Before we get to the reason behind that, a word on Terrance Williams: he’s really good. How good? Well, he led the nation in receiving last year, hauling in 97 catches for 1,832 yards and 12 touchdowns, becoming an All-American and a Biletnikoff Award finalist. It put the cherry on top of what was a sensational career, as he leaves Baylor as the school’s career all-purpose yards leader (4,693) and second in receiving TDs (27), receiving yards (3,334) and receptions (202).

So now, he’ll likely become the No. 2 (or No. 3, depending where you slot Miles Austin) receiver for Tony Romo and the Cowboys, and has a good chance to continue his trend of big production.

So, now that that’s out of the way, here’s what’s got the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football staff so excited.

You see, Terrance Williams played his high school football at W.T. White in Dallas, where he was an all-state selection and two-time all-district receiver. So that means that after playing both his high school and college football in Texas, Williams was drafted by a Texas NFL team.

And aside from the fact that we here at DCTF always enjoy when the homegrown talent stays home, that is much more rare than you’d think.

How rare? Terrance Williams is the 35^th player since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 to play his high school and college football in Texas, then be drafted by a Texas team.

Now, there is one caveat to this: Williams must appear for the Cowboys to actually join the list. There have been a number of players who have been drafted by Texas-based teams, but never actually suited up for them. But barring something unforeseen, Williams will join a very elite Lone Star fraternity.

It’s quite a fun fact for all of us fans of football in Texas. After all, it’s good to see Texas talent stay in Texas for as long as possible.

Here’s the list of the players since 1970 who played their high school and college football in Texas, then were drafted by and played for a Texas NFL team.

YEAR	ROUND (PICK)	POSITION	NAME	DRAFTED BY	COLLEGE	HIGH SCHOOL
1970	2(31)	DT	Lee Brooks	Oilers	Texas	Kermit
1971	15(368)	RB	Andy Hopkins	Oilers	Stephen F. Austin	Crockett Bunche*
1973	11(261)	CB	Larry Eaglin	Oilers	Stephen F. Austin	Hull-Daisetta
1975	1(15)	RB	Don Hardeman	Oilers	Texas A&M-Kingsville	Killeen
1977	4(108)	LB	Guy Brown	Cowboys	Houston	Palestine
1978	4(98)	WR	Mike Renfro	Oilers	TCU	FW Arlington Heights
1978	1(1)	RB	Earl Campbell	Oilers	Texas	Tyler John Tyler
1978	Sup. 10(1)	WR	Johnnie Dirden	Oilers	Sam Houston St.	Houston Austin
1978	7(243)	OL	Kelvin Garmon	Cowboys	Baylor	Haltom
1978	4(110)	RB	Alois Blackwell	Cowboys	Houston	Cuero
1983	7(170)	WR	Herkie Walls	Oilers	Texas	Garland
1984	6(152)	LB	Eugene Lockhart	Cowboys	Houston	Crockett
1984	1(25)	TE	Todd Fowler	Cowboys	Stephen F. Austin	Van
1985	1(3)	DL	Ray Childress	Oilers	Texas A&M	Richardson Pearce
1986	12(307)	LB	Chris Duliban	Cowboys	Texas	Houston Spring Woods
1987	3(64)	QB	Cody Carlson	Oilers	Baylor	SA Churchill
1987	12(314)	RB	Ira Valentine	Oilers	Texas A&M	Marshall
1987	2(39)	CB	Ron Francis	Cowboys	Baylor	La Marque
1987	5(124)	WR	Everett Gay	Cowboys	Texas	Houston Wheatley
1988	8(205)	WR	Eddie Foster	Oilers	Houston	Houston Kashmere
1989	12(308)	WR	Scott Ankrom	Cowboys	TCU	SA Jay
1990	1(15)	LB	Lamar Lathon	Oilers	Houston	Wharton
1990	6(153)	WR	Tony Jones	Oilers	Texas	Grapeland
1992	1(17)	CB	Kevin Smith	Cowboys	Texas A&M	West Orange-Stark
1994	6(194)	LB	Barron Wortham	Oilers	UTEP	Everman
1995	3(89)	RB	Rodney Thomas	Oilers	Texas A&M	Groveton
1999	4(118)	WR	Wane McGarity	Cowboys	Texas	SA Clark
1999	3(85)	LB	Dat Nguyen	Cowboys	Texas A&M	Rockport Fulton
2008	2(61)	TE	Martellus Bennett	Cowboys	Texas A&M	Katy Taylor
2008	5(151)	DL	Frank Okam	Texans	Texas	Lake Highlands
2009	4(101)	QB	Stephen McGee	Cowboys	Texas A&M	Burnet
2009	4(120)	LB	Brandon Williams	Cowboys	Texas Tech	FW South Hills
2009	5(152)	TE	James Casey	Texans	Rice	Azle
2012	5(161)	K	Randy Bullock	Texans	Texas A&M	Klein

*-Crockett Bunche was the all-black high school in Crockett.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

LacHeisman?

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:00:00 -0500

How realistic are Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk's Heisman hopes?

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

You have to give Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk one thing: he is most certainly confident in his abilities.

Seastrunk, the former Temple standout who transferred to Baylor after an uneventful stint at Oregon, made headlines in December by proclaiming to Steve Greenberg of The Sporting News…well, here, you read it:

“I'm going to win the Heisman. I'm going to win it in 2013. If I don't, I'm going to get very close. I'm shooting for that goal. I will gladly say it."

Bold words, to be sure. But Seastrunk’s first year playing for Baylor was a promising one – his role on the team increased as the season wore on, and he finished with 1,012 yards and 7 TDs on 131 rushes. And hype is running hot for Seastrunk entering the 2013 season, as the Baylor faithful have started a “LacHeisman” campaign.

Anyone who saw Seastrunk in high school knows the kind of talent he possesses, and we got to see a glimpse of that last season. But to me, the Lache Seastrunk Heisman campaign has one big inherent obstacle:

He’s Baylor’s running back.

Allow me to explain.

It’s no secret that Baylor coach Art Briles’ bread-and-butter is the passing game. It’s what made Robert Griffin III a Heisman Trophy winner, and it’s what helped Nick Florence lead the nation in passing last season. That’s not to say that there isn’t room for a running game – heck, Baylor actually ranked 15^th in the country in rushing attempts last season, mainly because they ranked 5^th in total plays per game last year – but the star of the show is the passing game.

What’s more, in Art Briles’ offense, the ball is spread out so much that very rarely does a single running back get an enormous bulk of the carries – or even a majority of them.

Here are the attempt numbers for the leading running back on Art Briles-coached Baylor teams (stretching back to 2008):

Season	Leading RB	Att.	Att./Gm	% of Total Carries
2012	Glasco Martin	179	13.8	30.0%
2011	Terrance Ganaway	250	19.2	43.4%
2010	Jay Finley	195	15.0	41.7%
2009	Jay Finley	79	6.6	22.8%
2008	Jay Finley	149	12.4	31.0%
	AVERAGE	170.4	13.4	33.8%

The most striking thing? Art Briles has never – never – had a running back that got more than 45% of the team’s total carries. That speaks to his ability to spread the ball out to so many different weapons. Even in the season when Baylor had its most singular running back – 2011, with Terrance Ganaway – he only logged 43.4% of the team’s carries.

And that’s the biggest challenge facing Lache Seastrunk’s self-declared Heisman campaign: getting the ball in his hands enough.

As a means of comparison, I looked up every running back who has finished in the top three of the Heisman voting over the past decade. First of all, only two running backs have won it in the last ten years – and one of them, Reggie Bush, had it vacated.

Here are their attempt numbers:

Year	Player	School	Finish	Att	A/G	% of Total Carries
2011	Trent Richardson	Alabama	3rd	283	21.8	55.7%
2010	LaMichael James	Oregon	3rd	294	22.6	46.7%
2009	Mark Ingram	Alabama	1st	271	19.4	45.1%
2009	Toby Gerhart	Stanford	2nd	343	26.4	63.9%
2007	Darren McFadden	Arkansas	2nd	325	25.0	52.0%
2006	Darren McFadden	Arkansas	2nd	284	20.3	53.3%
2005	Reggie Bush	USC	1st	200	15.4	38.6%
2004	Adrian Peterson	OU	2nd	339	26.1	60.8%
			AVERAGE	292.4	22.1	52.0%

As you can see, the Heisman voting tends to favor running backs who are the bread-and-butter, go-to guys in their respective offenses, with five of the eight finalists logging more than half of their team’s total carries. And in the case of those players who didn’t log the bulk of their team’s carries, they still averaged more carries than even the most singular Baylor running back of the Briles era (Ganaway).

The lone exception here: Reggie Bush. The now-disgraced USC running back managed to win the Heisman despite averaging just 15.4 carries per game and hauling the rock in just 38.6% of his team’s rushing attempts. Those numbers, it appears, are much more in line with what Art Briles running backs have done, and that appears to be the path – however narrow – that Seastrunk must walk in order to join these guys.

(Of course, Bush was also the most dynamic player on the undefeated Trojans, which helped his Heisman stock.)

Lache Seastrunk is a potentially dominant running back. Anyone who saw him in high school knows what he’s capable of, and he showed flashes of brilliance last season for the Bears. But his self-declared Heisman hopes appear to be a longshot through no fault of his own, simply because Baylor’s offense is not predicated on a single running back being the go-to weapon.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

Starters and finishers

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0500

15-20 word description of the story.

By Greg Tepper
DCTF Associate Editor

You hear it all the time from coaches at every level: start strong, finish strong.

It’s an axiom in all aspects of sports. Baseball teams always try to break out for the big first inning, but are always encouraged to strike late in the game as well. Basketball teams try to jump out to an early lead, knowing that the final few minutes may determine the outcome. Even in races – track and field, horse racing, motorsports – you always want to have a good start and a good finish.

But football coaches absolutely love that turn of phrase, because it gives them all of the motivational factors they need. It helps get their team fired up, and helps keep them motivated throughout the game and through the fourth quarter.

That’s not to say, however, that it’s not important to start and finish well. For all the reasons that we can think of and about 100 more, having a quality first quarter and a quality fourth quarter has a very direct correlation to a team’s chances of winning.

But which college football teams in Texas were the best at scoring in the first and fourth quarters?

In order to find this out, I went through to see which teams scored the most and the least in the first and fourth quarters. Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to just compare how many points they scored in those quarters; after all, Texas A&M (44.5 points per game) had a far more potent offense than North Texas (20.9 points per game).

Instead, we’ll compare how those first and fourth quarter numbers compare to their average points per quarter. That’s to say, we’ll see how they fared in the first and final quarter versus how they fare in an average quarter.

First, let’s take a look at who started the best, based on their first quarter performance.

Team	1Q PPG	Average PPQ	1Q Difference
UTSA	8.1	7.3	0.8
Texas A&M	11.8	11.1	0.7
UTEP	5.6	5.3	0.3
TCU	7.2	7.1	0.1
Baylor	11.2	11.1	0.1
Texas Tech	9.3	9.4	-0.1
Texas State	7	7.1	-0.1
Texas	8.4	8.9	-0.5
Houston	7.3	8.1	-0.8
North Texas	3.4	5.2	-1.8
Rice	5.9	7.9	-2
SMU	5	7.6	-2.6

Some thoughts:

-In all, teams from Texas just weren’t very good in the first quarter. Only five of them – UTSA, Texas A&M, UTEP, TCU and Baylor – were above average in the first quarter, and none of them were that much better in the first quarter.

-Larry Coker’s UTSA Roadrunners were the best in the first quarter, but it’s Texas A&M that stands out to me – the Aggies had a high-powered offense, and it usually got a jumpstart as the opening gun sounded.

-Goodness gracious, North Texas, Rice and SMU were awful in the first quarter. It’s not like their offenses were particularly explosive to begin with, but in the first quarter, they were downright drowsy.

What about in the fourth quarter? Which teams were the best in the final frame?

Team	4Q PPG	Average PPQ	4Q Difference
UTEP	7.1	5.3	1.8
Texas	10.2	8.9	1.3
Rice	9.1	7.9	1.2
Houston	8.8	8.1	0.7
SMU	8.2	7.6	0.6
UTSA	7.6	7.3	0.3
TCU	6.3	7.1	-0.8
North Texas	3.7	5.2	-1.5
Texas State	5.4	7.1	-1.7
Baylor	9	11.1	-2.1
Texas Tech	6.9	9.4	-2.5
Texas A&M	8.3	11.1	-2.8

-An interesting mix here across the state. Unlike the first quarter study – where nobody was particularly outstanding in the first quarter – there are a few teams, most notably UTEP, Texas and Rice, that excelled in the fourth quarter, while some other teams that really struggled.

-For UTEP, there may be some mitigating factors here. As you probably know, the Miners struggled through the 2012 season, and as a result may have faced some second-string defenses along the way. Perhaps that’s why their 4^th quarter numbers are a bit high. Still, the Miners were pretty good in the final quarter.

-Texas and Rice both closed well, which you can see with the naked eye if you watched their games. The Longhorns and Owls both seemed to get stronger in the fourth quarter, though it’s interesting that they were both average to bad in the first quarter.

-And then there’s the curious case of Texas Tech: average in the first quarter, pretty darn bad in the fourth quarter. Suffice to say that Tech did major damage – most of its damage, actually – in the second and third quarters.

-Texas A&M and Baylor were exceptionally similar offensively last year. Aside from scoring the exact same number of points last year, they did it in the same way: both pretty good in the first quarter, and both pretty bad (comparatively) in the fourth quarter.

Greg Tepper is the associate editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football and TexasFootball.com.

He can be reached via e-mail, via Twitter (@Tepper) and via the DCTF Facebook page.

Latest News Feed

Movin' on up

Pre-order your 2013 Summer Edition

Season-makers, season-breakers, Part 2

Pre-order your 2013 Summer Edition

Season-makers and season-breakers, Part 1

Hot Seat Rankings

Passing opportunity

Home cookin'

The SWC Lives!

The Kat's meow

Setting the pace

On the road again

Getting the call from the Hall?

From the gridiron to the big screen

A Lone Star fraternity

LacHeisman?

Starters and finishers

Pre-order your
2013 Summer Edition

Pre-order your
2013 Summer Edition