The Bears

Prediction wise…I was right and wrong….for some reason I was convinced this game was in Waco.  Maybe it was wishful hoping…a drive from Waco to Dallas saves me a good 3-4 hours in the car as opposed to driving to Austin.   Regardless, we lost … as predicted.

Our defense played so well!   And according to this article, we’re not the only ones who think so. 

“He [Briles] said, 'This is the first time we've been shut down,'” Strong said. “I said, 'Well, I understand that, but I would have loved to have gotten that win.'”

(I’d like to take this time to say that everyone always talks about what a classy guy Coach Briles is.  After this game, I’m not so convinced.  I know our game play likely threw a wrench in his plans, but I didn’t care for his antics on the sidelines (or the field, rather) on Saturday.   Ironically, Gary Patterson and I might actually agree on something for the first time.

Those not at the game may not have noticed some of the strange things the Baylor coaching staff did this weekend.   For one, in what can only be described as an attempt to ice our offence, Coach Briles stepped onto the field and called a delay of game.  Which the refs totally went with…but more on that later.  In another instance, while refs discussed an on the field pass interference ruling, a Baylor Coach took the liberty of walking on the field, picking up the flag and handing it to the refs while still conferring.  What?!  Sideline warnings, and what appeared to be an amazing amount of coach to ref contact…I wasn't a fan.)

I digress.  I’m so pleased with our defense, holding Baylor to ZERO offensive touchdowns until halfway through the third quarter.  After that, the wheels popped off a little and we lost control.   And, unsurprisingly, our offense was not able to score. 

The saddest thing about that is this stat:

Total Yards:

Baylor – 389

Texas – 334

We controlled the ball six minutes longer than they did.   We drove the ball 99 yards in one drive, just to fumble and turn the ball over on the goal line.   Two interceptions.  There's clearly a lack of 

Penalties...though I wanted to shake John Harris for his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, we did well.   I think Baylor was feeling pressure like they hadn’t before, attributing to 10 penalties for 95 yards. 

The reffing was some of the most terrible I’ve ever seen.  Not bad calls, necessarily, I think those rarely change the outcome of a game.   It was mostly what I would call flat out incompetence.  

From the phantom false start they were trusting Art Briles on, to the 4^th down stand they were determined to take away from us, I heard things on the ref microphone I’d never heard before.

“Holding, on the kicking team, half the distance to the goal”… excuse me?  “Oh, we meant receiving team.”  How about “the ruling on the field stands. Texas ball.”  Then they talked about it for 8 minutes, got back on the microphone and proclaimed “correction, it was 3^rd down.”  Uh, yeah, one down ago?   I’ve asked people that watched the game on TV, and they’ve said that none of this was really discussed during the broadcast.  It’s hard to explain to people that weren’t there how TERRIBLE the officiating in that game was.

I’d like to know why Coach Strong thought our (at that time) 3-6 field goal kicker was capable of making a 32 yard field goal.   That blocked attempt lead to the only score of the quarter.  Kind of how I felt after Coach Strong made comments I didn’t agree with regarding the defense at the BYU game, I felt a little like he knew nothing about his team.  When they lined up to kick, the entire stadium sighed. 

All in all, we put up such a great defensive showing against Baylor, it’s hard to be too upset.  I am so proud of that side of the ball.  Hopefully we keep things tight and take advantage of the rain against OU.  And maybe this is the week that the offense (and special teams) get it together and come to play real ball.

By the numbers: