Hooked: UT Football through a UK lens.

Knee jerk time. I haven’t posted since losing the SEC Championship game or beating Clemson in the first round. But here I am. Back again. Fresh hatred and fresh questions after a narrow Peach Bowl win vs. the Arizona Sun Devils.

I really didn’t think this was going to be a negative, hater-style blog when I started it 6 months ago. Yet this is where I am. “Here’s Jack back with his bullshit negativity again”. Believe me, I don’t want to be in this headspace, there’s enough negativity in this world, but here we are.

You can’t tell me that game was a positive experience. SEC Championship game wasn’t positive. Clemson — maybe, just maybe — was a positive game. And we’re in to the Cotton Bowl, likely to get beaten seven shades of shit by Ohio State (at the time of writing they’re 34-0 up against the Ducks).

I unequivocally will not accept that should we go the distance, beat the Buckeyes, and probably Georgia 3rd time lucky, that this is a season that we can stand behind and say “we deserved it”. We don’t. We absolutely don’t.

Regular readers: I owe an explanation of where I’ve been since the pain of defeat for the second time vs. Georgia and taking down Clemson. Aside from wallowing in a pit of despair, Stephanie and I took my kids to Texas for the first time before Christmas. We spent 10 days in the US, half in Red Raider country, and half in the safety of burnt orange Austin. It was a fucking blast.

The kids got to experience watching Texas, IN Texas, at my brother-in-law’s house. There was talk of tailgates and tickets to DKR, but in the end watching from the comfort of home was the perfect way to do it. Wade is a big reason I’ve had a positive experience being a UT fan. His passion for college ball — and the Longhorns — is deep, making a watch at home knee deep in Dos Equis, ‘dogs and dissecting plays one of life’s greatest joys.

The kids adorned in their Texas jerseys, soaking in a passionate atmosphere as the elders enjoyed the game was a highlight of the trip for me. Something I hope their 4 and 6 year old brains will remember for a long time as their own passion for this game grows. They returned home back to England with new Texas mini-balls, frisbees, hats, you name it. Maybe one day they’ll get a small cut and bleed orange.

I’m not going to dwell too much on the SEC Championship game. We should have, could have, would have done better. Same old story. Texas beating themselves. Whatever. Clemson, on the other hand, I thought we looked more complete. The scoreline didn’t necessarily reflect the dominant performance we put together, everything worked as it should. Offense, defense and special teams all showing up against a spirited Clemson side that wouldn’t go away. There was a lot to stand behind post-game being announced as double-digit favourites vs. Arizona State.

That brings me to Arizona State. I’ve aged a billion years. What hair I have left after tearing it out is gray. The Silas Bolden punt return seemed a lifetime ago by the final whistle of double OT.

I posted this meme to Twitter halfway through the game, and I think it’s the epitome of our season:

Something seems to happen for us in the first quarter. Whatever pregame voodoo Sark is spitting works. Then we forget where we are and it’s like we’re the cast of Lost, dicking around on an island fighting for some semblance of unity and connection. I thought this game was going to be a breeze when we were up 14-3. We all did. Alas, we have to go the distance in double OT.

The defense spent too long on the field. I said it to Stephanie early in the 2nd quarter and apparently at halftime the analysts and commentators agreed with me (I missed it thanks to the kids bedtime routine). The third quarter proved just how damaging evelvated time on defense can be. Especially when you have someone like Cam Skattebo back on the field — had ASU won, I’d be ordering a drug test on that guy instantly. He returned to the field looking like he’d spent 15m in locker room banging 7-gram rocks with Charlie Sheen, sweating bullets and spewing on the sidelines between man-possessed plays.

I’m reading post-game that Quinn has a serious money offer to transfer at the end of the season. He should take it. A couple of big plays to Golden-boy Matthew was his saving grace. Sark let him air it out a couple of times, once being intercepted. The other not so, but close. A couple of play calls designed to inflate his draft stock over anything else is my guess. He needs to go. He needs another year at another school to get his head right and to let Texas, and Coach Sark, move on.

All eyes on Arlington and the Buckeyes. We need to stop relying on defense. We need to hit Helm, utilize Wingo and Bond with consistency, keep the Buckeyes guessing, and for the love of all things STOP BLOODY HOLDING.

“Survive and advance” isn’t going to cut it. And if it does, we need some of what we had vs. Clemson to show up in the Natty game to fully deserve it.

Winning it all is hard in any sport, and I admit it sounds ludicrous to say I’d be disappointed with scraping it, but we should be. We’re better than this. We’re the fucking University of Texas, and we bow to nobody.

Hook ’em.