Casey Pachall better be TCU's starting QB

Had a good laugh at the Tweet by Fort Worth Star-Telegram TCU beat writer Stefan Stevenson; he said he would cover TCU's game against LSU naked if Casey Pachall isn't the starting quarterback.

Stefan (pictured) should do it anyway, just to liven up a dull pressbox.

Simple nudity by a beat writer ain't enough - if Casey Pachall is in good standing with the team and he is not the starting quarterback for TCU against LSU on 8/31 at Cowboys Stadium the head coach should be fired and replaced by Pat Sullivan.

All of this talk about the quarterback race between Casey Pachall and Trevone Boykin being tight is laughably stupid. Either that or Casey Pachall is suddenly terrible (he isn't), or Trevone is suddenly Dan Marino (he isn't).

On a conference call with Big 12 head coaches today, TCU head coach Gary Patterson said he will likely name the starting QB during two-a-day practices. He was not laughing when he said this.

"That race with the quarterback is very close. One beats you with his arm and one beats you with his legs," Patterson said.

If Casey Pachall didn't think he was going to be the starter he should have transferred to another school where he could start 11 or 12 games. He needs to play to have any shot at a real pro career.

"He's a little rough around the edges," GP said today of Pachall. "He always had a Josh Boyce as a go-to guy and he's not there. And establishing who he is throwing to and what he is doing and getting him more familiar with the young receivers on the team."

While there is not a soul around TCU's program who is not grateful for what Boykin did last season, and believes that he will be an effective QB, no one says he is better than Pachall. The QB who can beat you with his legs averaged 3.3 yards per carry last season; of note, the stats do not include how many sacks he avoided.

Pachall can make throws to places Boykin simply never demonstrated he could. Boykin never gained the trust of his head coach to make throws into crowded areas. 

That said, there is a level of expecation surrounding Pachall's return that may not be quite warranted.

As good as he is, he has not faced the level of competition that Boykin has. The only Big 12 team Pachall faced was Kansas, which is in the conference because of its basketball program. The only teams Boykin has faced are big ones.

Pachall hasn't done it against the "big people" yet. The safe bet is that he can, and the sure money is that he will be starting against LSU. If not, Stefan is going to be naked in the Cowboys press box and the head coach should be fired.

 

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Expect a small alteration for Horned Frogs v. LSU

Not necessarily a big fan of the trend of men's college football and men's basketball teams changing uniform schemes at halftime, but this fad is not going away.

A few birdies told ME EXCLUSIVELY that we should expect TCU to be sporting some new duds for its highly anticipated men's college football game against LSU at 8 p.m. on Aug. 31 at Cowboys Stadium.

BTW - There is no better time to play LSU; if TCU wins this game, put Gary Patterson in Canton, Cooperstown, Toronto and Springfield.

This sounds about right regarding some new unis'. It will be a big game on real national TV against a monster opponent, and an ideal time for Nike to roll out some cool new schemes and patterns for TCU.

Please, for the love of God, none of this throwback Zubaz crap. 

My suggestion? Go with Crimson and White. That is a color scheme that seems to work OK against LSU.

 

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TCU v. SMU: A case study in rebuilding dead basketball programs in different ways

DALLAS, Texas – Larry Brown is dying. Or he is going to die soon. Or maybe he is just going to leave SMU tomorrow morning. Something.

The head coach of the SMU men’s basketball team knows that his age (72), and his penchant for bolting, have been used repeatedly against him in his first go around in the recruiting trail.

"Unfortunately other programs reminded the kids of that - I was on my death bed. Or this is a brief stop for me," Brown told me on Wednesday. "I had heard physically that I'm not healthy. I answered to the parents as honestly as I could. I want to be here. At my age, why would I take this job if I didn't want to be here? I told them I want this to be like John Thompson at Georgetown. I can't see myself not coaching. I'm not looking to go anywhere else."

There may not be a more fascinating (desperate?) hire in recent years than SMU’s decision to bring Larry Brown back to college for the first time since he won the national title at Kansas in 1988.

Tonight at 7 p.m. at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth, SMU will play TCU. The Horned Frogs are in the first season in the Big 12 with first-year coach Trent Johnson. 

I was on record months ago saying I loved SMU's hiring of Brown because it was such a bold move.

TCU took a more conventional route. Both could hit. Either could flop.

Both programs have been bad to merely average in recent years, and in an effort to build something each school took a very different path. SMU’s is the hope that Brown will remain engaged, and present.
TCU’s is that Trent Johnson will be able to have the type of success he had at Stanford.

They are both completely different men.

Brown has enough money, and is at an age where he doesn't care what you think, and isn't afraid of his own opinion. His practices are wide open to anybody, and he'll talk to anybody at any time.

Johnson isn't quite there yet. He is far more regimented, and appears to be a bit more controlling. His practices are closed, and he does a media thing about once a week.

The reality is very few people care enough to notice. Good or bad.

On Wednesday, each program celebrated recruiting classes that are going to make them competitive, blah blah blah. Any fan of either program, however many there actually are, should be hopeful yet highly skeptical.

Brown may be one of the best teachers of the game that ever lived, but the man can't sit still. Ever. Johnson was essentially not asked to come back from his previous job at LSU.

But both men have won. It merely comes down to whether the program can attract players. Real players.

"I do think we can compete on the national level," Brown said.

Whether Brown will remain depends on the success he has, and if SMU even cares. I can't see him staying if the team wins 16 or 18 games in each of his first two years and the home attendance is around 4,000.

And if for some unfortunate reason there is an NCAA thing or two, he's gone.

If this thing hits, maybe he stays for a while. It's clear by now he is going to coach until he is no longer able. An 82-game schedule of the NBA is perhaps too much. And the way his NBA career flamed out with the Knicks and Bobcats perhaps a return to the pro game is no longer viable.

He said in his time away from the game he visited a lot of college practices, mostly at Kansas and Villanova, but none in the NBA.

SMU is going to give him whatever he wants. The Ponies are in the Big East, which even if it's watered down is still a name. 

Meanwhile, TCU is in the Big 12 and it plans to expand and re-do its home arena.

The reality is neither job was very appealing because both programs have been losers forever.

Both programs realized they had to do something different in order to be relevant.

 

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The detail in the AP men's college hoops poll that will surprise you about the state of game in Texas

Even with Perry Jones III gone to an NBA bench, the Baylor men's basketball team is the class of the great state a Texas. 

The preseason AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll is out, and Scott Drew's Baylor Bears are the only ranked team from this entire great state - the Bears are No. 19. The Big 12 features two ranked teams: Baylor and No. 7 Kansas.

The good thing for Texas coach Rick Barnes is that nobody cares enough in Austin to complain.

The state of the game has been in better shape than it is now in Texas. Not only is there but one Top 25 team from Texas, but the rosters of the other top 24 teams are not littered with Texans; it's not as if other teams are raiding Texas of its best players. 

Looking at all 25 rosters of the Top 25 teams viw ESPN.com, below are the players who list Texas as their hometown.

1. Indiana
2. Louisville
3. Kentucky
4. Ohio State
5. Michigan
6. NC State
7. Kansas - Justin Wesley (Fort Worth); Zach Peters (Plano)
8. Duke - Rasheed Sulaimon (Houston)
9. Syracuse
10. Florida
11. North Carolina
12. Arizona
13. UCLA
14. Michigan State
15. Missouri -  Phil Pressey (Dallas)
16. Creighton -  Austin Chatman (The Colony); Nevin Johnson (Houston)
17. Memphis -  Anthony Cole (Arlington); D.J. Stephens (Killeen)
18. UNLV
19. Baylor. 8 players.
20. San Diego State -  Winston Shepard (Houston)
21. Gonzaga
23. Wisconsin
24. Cincinnati. Titus Rubles (Dallas)
25. Florida State 

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This former Aggie remembers when Johnny Manziel was just the scout team guy

IRVING, Texas - Ben Bass figured when Ryan Tannehill left as the Texas A&M quarterback he would be replaced by Jameill Showers for the 2012 season, not the scout team guy named Johnny Something OrOther.

Bass, who is now on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, was a defensive end for the Aggies last season. He scrimmaged against Johnny Manziel and played against him when he ran the scout team offense, and he said he never saw what is going in College Station right now with Johnny Ball.

"Everybody who left thought, we just thought Jameill would come up and that was it," Bass said. 

As for as Johnny Manziel? 

"He was the scout team guy. He would try his best to replicate what the other team's QB would do," Bass said. "The offense we had last year, I guess, isn't as suitable as to what he is doing now. We were a pro-style offense last year. Now it's more run and gun."

In his first six games as the Aggies QB, Manziel has rushed for 676 yards (7.4 yds per carry), 10 TDs; he has thrown for 1,680 yards with 14 TDs and 3 INTs.

At 11 a.m. on Saturday in College Station, we will see just how good Johnny Ball is when the No. 18 Aggies (5-1) host No. 6 LSU. LSU is favored by 3.5 points.

"I knew they could play. I didn't know what the offense was going to look like. I knew they were going to have a good defense," Bass said. "They have two linebackers who are going to be drafted - Sean Porter and DaMontre Moore. No one in the SEC has ever seen an offense like this. It's such a run and gun, screen here, draw there, that it takes a while to get used to."

Like a good Aggie, Bass has his alma mater defeating LSU. He is so confident he said he bet Cowboys guard and former LSU player Nate Livings 100 pushups. 

 

 

 

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How Dallas Cowboys CB Morris Claiborne thanks his fans at LSU

Not sure how much something like this costs - let's guess 'Not Cheap' - but Dallas Cowboys rookie cornerback Morris Claiborne hasn't forgotten the people who supported him at LSU.

The former LSU corner purchased some ad space on an electronic billboard to thank LSU Tiger nation. Click here.

Claiborne is reportedly returning to Baton Rouge this weekend and will serve as an honorary captain for the Tigers when they play the University of Washington.

Classy, and pricey, move.

 

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