Even with the game film from Sunday’s 50-47 double-over time loss, head coach Brian Kelly is not ready to name a starter.
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With a defense that gave up 444 yards and at times looked utterly confused, the Longhorns might not be able to overcome the offensive firepower of several of their opponents, namely Oklahoma, TCU, and Baylor.
It also makes Notre Dame-Texas the most-watched opening weekend college football game on ABC over last year’s Ohio State-Virginia Tech game on ESPN which had 10.76 million total viewers. They are both fine, Kelly said. This season was always going to be about Texas showing promising progress on the field and after last night’s victory I think they are on their way to showing just that. “Maybe we still could have (run) some, but in the end, when you’re down 16, it doesn’t lend itself to having a lot of patience”. Before the game, McConaughey paid the team a little visit, doing his best Coach Taylor as he psyched the players up for a win.
He is more emphatic about the Irish defense, saying the widespread criticism of the unit by the media and fans was “Monday morning quarterbacking” and suggested “everybody needs to tap the brakes”. “It’s a learning process”, Kelly said. “That would be a conversation I would have with either DeShone or Malik depending on who is the No. 2”. If you caught any of the game then you saw Charlie Strong swapping the two out for various plays, especially when it called for Swoopes to plow through a defensive line filled with guys smaller and slower than him.
Nevada won its opener, 30-27 in overtime against visiting Cal Poly of the Football Championship Subdivision. The Sun Devils scored 24 points in the fourth quarter. Coach Kliff Kingsbury was impressed by the junior quarterback for more than his 483 yards passing and 57 yards rushing.
The Pack is a run-first offense out of the Pistol formation. The 6-foot-4, 205 pound pass catcher caught five passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns-including a highlight reel one. It took two overtimes and a Vince Young-like run by number two quarterback Tyrone Swoopes; but, in the end, the Longhorns prevailed and look like they could once again be a contender in the Big-12.
Linebacker Nyles Morgan had a career-high 13 tackles.
Fortuna noted safety Avery Sebastian is also in the concussion protocol.
Torii Hunter Jr was knocked out of Sunday’s game on what appeared to be a clear cut case of targeting in the end-zone.
Seemed like a tale of two halves last Saturday as Nevada pulled out an overtime win against Cal Poly.
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A couple of bright spots on offense were sophomore receiver Equanimeous St. The Longhorns use their speed on the outside to take advantage when the Miners try to load the box to stop the run; they will feature Burt, who had 111 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. Gilbert, Buechele and running back D’onta Foreman all deserve game balls, in my opinion. “In my estimation it doesn’t do much for them if they’re just sitting and watching, so I wanted to get them in early, yes”. For all the talk from the hot air filled likes of Colin Cowherd, kicking Max Redfield off the team was indeed a big deal for Notre Dame as Redfield was the best safety on the Notre Dame roster this year and it showed on Sunday night. He is embracing the opportunity, saying, “Who wouldn’t want to play in front of Touchdown Jesus?”
