AUSTIN – While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:
1. Slipping but returning?
Arch Manning, we know, is the most polarizing players in all of college football, and not just because of his national commercials. Regardless, some including CBS Sports are ready to rule him out as an NFL first-round draft pick next spring. And that will only lead to rumors that he could return to Texas for a fifth season, which would only result in even more speculation and whispers that he’s not NFL-ready and that Steve Sarkisian’s reputation as a quarterback whisperer is in decline, if not in question. That said, Manning is a very good college quarterback and if it makes him happy to be a Longhorn in 2027, go for it. After all, no one loves press conferences more than Arch. … Quinn Ewers, remember, was the No. 1 recruit in the nation as an Ohio State freshman but finished his career with a 27-9 record and was only a seventh-round draft choice by Miami and has already been traded to Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick. Ewers had a fantastic career at Texas and totaled 9,128 yards, the third-most by a Longhorn. He had the softest touch of any Longhorn quarterback in history but not the strongest arm and completed just 64.9% of his passes. … Count Aaron Murray as a critic who is not exactly on the Manning bandwagon. I don’t know if the former Georgia quarterback fell off it or was ever on it. But Murray said on Sirius XM, “As I look at NFL quarterbacks, especially guys get get drafted in the first round, they have some sort of elite characteristic about them. Josh Allen came out not very accurate as a quarterback in college, but the raw talent was there. And I just don’t think Arch has anything to me that screams this guy has the kind of talent that is first round. Whether it’s arm strength, whether that’s elite athleticism … He’s got a good arm. He’s a good athlete. He’s inconsistent with accuracy. But there’s nothing, to my point, that jumps off the page of like ‘we’re drafting him because he has this.’ People are going to draft him because he has the last name Manning. Not because he’s got a strong arm, not because he’s elite accuracy, not because he’s Lamar Jackson speed, because his last name’s Manning. Tell me, I’m wrong.” Murray does have a point because Arch’s 16-3 record is a pretty large sample size, which makes the rest of this season crucial to his NFL prospects. Murray, of course, should know who can and cannot play quarterback in the NFL since he was a fifth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs and never played in even one regular-season NFL game despite throwing for an SEC-record 121 touchdowns, more than Peyton or Eli Manning or Matthew Stafford. The bottom line to all this: nobody knows nothing about a quarterback’s chances of success in the NFL. I give you Ryan Leaf, Case Keenum and Mr. Irrelevant himself Brock Purdy as the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft. That’s MVP contender Brock Purdy. I rest my case. … Finally, I loved interviewing Ellen Manning about her and Arch’s tailgating commercial for Humann and found it interesting that Arch’s mom doesn’t cook.
2. A sad farewell to Dennis Franchione
Dennis Franchione, the former Texas A&M head football coach, died Tuesday after a lengthy battle with kidney cancer. I always liked the 75-year-old and thought he was a very good coach. I never really understood why he didn’t have more success with the Aggies than he did in his five-year run after transforming TCU into a credible program with a helping hand from LaDainian Tomlinson because I considered him a perfect fit for A&M. Of course, charging big pocket donors for an insider newsletter is never a good idea, especially when you’re making $2 million a year. … He’s probably the only coach who ever willingly left Alabama. He took the Aggie job, following a 10-3 season, of all times. Kind of Aggie payback for the Tide stealing Bear Bryant from them. But Fran and wife Kim found life in Tuscaloosa suffocating, and the five-year NCAA probation for sins before his arrival would cost the Tide 21 scholarships. “You can’t go pump gas. You can’t go to Walmart,” he’d say. One person who was shocked to see Coach Fran bolt Alabama for College Station was a man who was very familiar with both programs. Jackie Sherrill played for the Crimson Tide and coached at A&M. Was he stunned? “Yes, I was,” he told the Houston Chronicle. “Les Koening Jr. was with him for a long time and begged him not to take the A&M job, but Fran took it.” Sherrill eventually understood because, as he put it, “As the head coach, you can’t go anywhere in Alabama (without being deluged by fans). You never saw Nick Saban out in public.” … Fran had middling success with the Aggies and was too conservative in game decisions and didn’t always play to his personnel, forcing Reggie McNeal to play in an option attack and not using Stephen McGee in the passing game as much as he should have. Fran had two losing seasons and two more 7-5 years at Aggieland before stepping down under pressure with a 32-28 overall record, a 19-21 mark in the Big 12 and a 4-16 mark against ranked teams. He also coached Texas State twice and helping the Bobcats get closer to their goal of becoming a credible FBS program. “Fran coached for a long time and was respected,” Sherrill said. “All of us coaches have different quirks. The Aggies go through coaches like clothes through a washing machine.” … Asked about this year’s A&M team, Sherrill expressed respect for Mike Elko and said, “If you have a quarterback, you have a great chance to win. I will say Marcel (Reed) was Marcel last Saturday. He used his legs, and that’s one of his biggest assets. If (former Aggie great quarterback) Kevin Murray was in an offense today, he would be the Heisman Trophy winner.” … On the Longhorns, Sherrill said, “Texas is really talented. They have quite a few first-round draft choices. That defensive end, Colin Simmons, really is a great player.” … The Sooners have any shot against the Longhorns? “Don’t count ’em out,” he said.
3. The true takeaway from this game
Like many of the rivalry games, the Texas-OU contest will turn on turnovers. Know that the Sooners are minus-6 and ranked 136th out of the 138 teams in turnover margin. Texas is at zero, ranked 65th. … Neither team’s quarterback is playing at an elite level. OU senior quarterback John Mateer, turnover-prone during his year and a half in Norman with four picks and two fumbles this season, is completing just 66.4% of his passes. Manning has been even less accurate, connecting on only 63.5% of his throws with three picks. Mateer ranks 57th with 221 yards a game. Manning is rated 61st, averaging 215.5. … I don’t know if Brent Venables would ever bench Mateer, but it’s not likely since his backups have combined to throw two passes this season. Whitt Newbauer, a 6-foot-6, 248-pound junior from Mercer, is 1 for 1 with 6 yards, and 6-1 freshman Bowe Bentley from Celina has one incompletion. … Neither team can run the ball particularly well. The Sooners rank an appalling 131st in rushing with just two touchdowns on the ground and operating at a pace of 99 yards a game. The Longhorns aren’t much better, ranked 88th with a norm of 147 yards each week. … Got to figure Sooners receiver Parker Livingstone will play a role in Saturday’s game. The ex-Longhorn sure hasn’t yet with just six catches for 51 yards with a fumble in four games with OU. When Manning was asked about the reunion with his old roommate, he said, “It’s going to be different. Obviously, being roommates and best friends, now he’s at a different school, but I’m not going to think anything of it. We’re going to try to go beat OU and win the game, and then I’ll say what’s up to him afterward.”
4. Potty humor
Nebraska has gone No. 1, if only off the field. The Cornhuskers aren’t exactly close to the top of the rankings since they remain unranked even though they are unbeaten at 5-0. But if you’re a Big Red fan and want the latest in Nebraska memorabilia, urine good company as in you’re in good company. The school is refurbishing its Memorial Stadium after its final home game this season and is selling the urinal troughs as, uh, keepsakes. No word yet if Colin Simmons has put in a bid. But this is as creative as it gets because these urinals make great planters or game-room displays at the low, low price of $3,000 each. In addition, stainless steel water fountain troughs from the stadium are going for just $2,500. Joe DiPietro, co-founder of Rare Goods, the company helping Nebraska with the sales, told The Athletic that seven of the 30 urinals had been bought so far. The 300-pound troughs ranging from 72 to 96-inches long, are the original, uh, watering posts at the 103-year-old stadium, and yes they have been cleaned. Nebraska’s not the only sports team that is suddenly, er, flush with money. The Buffalo Bills recently sold urinal troughs from their old Highmark Stadium once the team renovated the facility. Sure, fans can buy old stadium seats for $25 and keep the actual seat they sat in. … This speaks to the wild memorabilia craze in this country. Michael Jordan’s No. 23 white mesh jersey worn during Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $12.26 million in an auction conducted by Joopiter house. It makes some sense to me because we are still fascinated by the best basketball player to ever lace up some, well, Michael Jordans, and “The Last Dance” aired in 2020 arguably may be the best sports documentary ever. One-time gubernatorial candidate and famous Texas Aggie Clayton Williams once bought the artificial turf centerpiece of Kyle Field in 1980 when the surface was being replaced and installed it around his Aggie boot-shaped swimming pool at his ranch in Alpine.
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5. Memorabilia Part II
Collecting memorabilia, to me, seems so much more desirable than an autograph, a big reason I’ve never gotten an autograph from my childhood idols Mickey Mantle or Hank Aaron. I’d much rather have Roger Maris’ bat he used to hit his 61st home run or Willie Mays’ glove where Vic Wertz’s 425-foot missile went to die in the 1954 World Series to save the game. … A dear friend, Barry Rinke, told me Tuesday when he was a vice president for marketing at Golfsmith, he heard from a golfer whose favorite piece of history was some grass. Yeah, he owned the actual divot from Ben Hogan’s miraculous 1-iron shot from the fairway at Merion to the green on the 72nd hole to set up his two-putt to force a playoff in the 1950 U.S. Open that he’d win the next day. Gibby Young scooped up the damaged turf and kept it in his freezer forever. … Barry also told me his dad Ray Rinke once befriended Gordie Howe and bought cattle together. The Rinkes invited the Detroit Red Wings hockey legend and wife Colleen to their home on Howe’s 50th birthday. Barry was forbidden to ever ask for an autograph so in his infinite wisdom jotted his own autograph on his notepad and handed it to Howe, who loved the gesture. “After I gave him my autograph on my ‘From The Desk Of Barry Rinke’ pad, he grabbed the pad and gave me his on the next sheet,” Barry said. … Got any unusual memorabilia? Feel free to share it with me at kirk.bohls@houstonchronicle.com.
6. Things I think I know
I think Matt Campbell is overrated. When Penn State hired him away from Iowa State, I wrote that it’s an optimistic hire because I always felt Campbell was great at coaching an overachieving team. … I think I was sad to see Tony Romo sacked after his OWI arrest in Wisconsin because I find him honest and fun to listen to. Hate that he was caught operating a vehicle while intoxicated and has been fired from his spot as CBS’s lead color analyst. I loved how he was accountable. … Is it just me or is backing into public parking spaces the most annoying thing ever and has it become an epidemic? I don’t get it. … I think Alabama’s Keelon Russell got away with the same bizarre celebration of a touchdown as Texas’ Raleek Brown when he pretended to smell below his crotch area and then pass out. Neither passed the, uh, smell test but seems the Crimson Tide faithful weren’t bothered at all. … I think I can’t wait to get my traditional corny dog after Saturday’s game. I’m a little queasy on the new additions to the State Fair cuisine like candy watermelon slice wrapped in Fruit by the Foot and the frozen lemonade wrapped in cotton candy syrup, but I’m all in on the Fletcher’s chocolate corny dog and maybe the deep fried bourbon banana bread.
7. Saying goodbye to Duke Carlisle
The Texas-Baylor game at Memorial Stadium in 1963 was one of the first Longhorn football games I witnessed in person and marked the first time I saw the quarterback great in person. Duke Carlisle died last week. My older brother, Kent, good friend Mickey Johnson and I would go to Texas games as Boy Scouts who helped usher patrons to their seats. After the first quarter, we were allowed to roam the stadium and sit in any vacant seats we could find. My dad Leon and I would later be there in the knothole section ($2 a ticket) when DKR unveiled the wishbone in the Houston game in 1968 when the Longhorns had to hold onto dear life for a 20-20 tie, but I have never forgotten the drama of that 1963 game in which Carlisle, the quarterback inserted at safety for the only series of the year, came out of nowhere to intercept a Don Trull pass to what looked like a wide-open Lawrence Elkins to seal the victory. I just about to jump out of my sneakers when Carlisle went up and grabbed that ball. Maybe Carlisle’s experience as a track hurdler helped. “That interception was just a terrific play,” recalled quarterback Tommy Wade, who was in the same recruiting class as Carlisle. “That play could have ruined our season. Duke played a great game in the Cotton Bowl, too, but I was really impressed with the way our defense played in the win over Navy. Pete Lammons and Tommy Nobis just tormented them.” … Wade, Carlisle and Johnny Genung all played quarterback their senior season, but Carlisle was the MVP of the Cotton Bowl win over Roger Staubach. “Duke was so easy to talk to, and i never heard him say anything derogatory about anybody. He wouldn’t pass up a good joke, though.”
8. Scattershooting
While wondering whatever happened to Caleb Bluiett, who caught a touchdown pass to help upset No. 10 OU in 2015.
9. At the box office
Took in “Primetime,” a docu-movie about the story of television host Chris Hansen of “Dateline” fame and the series “To Catch a Predator.” Comes across like a B-movie and low-budget film, very dark and slimy like the men the show exposed. Hansen did not cooperate with the film and ripped lead actor Robert Pattinson for his “detached, unhinged, and unlikeable” portrayal of him. Hansen claims about 98% of the movie is pure fiction. If this film doesn’t make you cringe, I don’t know what will. Gave it six ducks.
Crazy prediction
The Sooners will not score a touchdown for the fourth time in five years against Texas.
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This article originally published at Arch Manning’s future, a farewell to Dennis Franchione and a UT-OU prediction | Bohls’ 9 Things.
