I’m out of practice because I haven’t written the aftermath this season, so forgive me if this is all redundant.

These games are always absolute nonsense. We’ve been doing this for 16 years now and they’re so stupid (we’ll review that later). And this one didn’t miss this expectation of stupidity.

But other than that, YOUR FIGHTIN TEXAS AGGIES found a way to win an ugly 21-17 game against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Let’s highlight a few things.

attack

It was frustrating to watch, wasn’t it? 134 yards rushing and 163 yards passing. Not exactly pretty. We are frustratingly predictable with runs on second downs. We all need to go back and watch the film, but I’m not sure if it’s because Klein is actually a standard player or if it’s a young quarterback who doesn’t see how things are going , or whether it is a combination of both. There are only so many “easy button” plays an OC has, and I feel like Klein did a good job calling a few of them, but man. That wasn’t fun.

BUT THEN AGAIN! Guys, let me tell you about the absolute STOCK it takes for an OC to make a shotgun passing play in the end zone with a struggling redshirt freshman QB. Just an absolute monster call (on a ride that ended frustratingly). Marcel finished the game on November 22nd. with 163 and 2 TDs, rushing for 13 yards. Not great, but he took care of the ball and made plays when necessary.

Three more highlights:

1. We had the Noah Thomas breakout game. 6 catches for 109 including a long one for 58 on a dirty Mfing post route.
2. Leveon Moss is an all-rounder and when we needed him we gave him the damn team. The final part of this game was a collection of culture-building moments.
3. After the Moss drive, the little TE leak we showed Tra Watson is something I’ll be dreaming about when I go to sleep, in a good way.

defense

Classic Elko game where we gave up 187 yards and 14 points in the first quarter alone and then 147 yards and 3 points the rest of the game. That’s how it works and we’ve seen it dozens of times.

We have some issues in the secondary – the loss of Tyreek Chappell continues to bother us a bit (though kudos to Jaydon Hill for recovering that fumble late). Secondary had some bright spots, as Will Lee got several opportunities to strap in well and Dalton Brooks scored a few damn hits (and didn’t get ejected for targeting!).

Last thing. This defensive line did what it was supposed to do today. They lived up to expectations and I say that with admiration because expectations are high considering how damn talented they are. My son Shemar Stewart, who blows up the mesh point, is responsible for 7 of our points. Incredible game. Albert Regis was disruptive everywhere. And everyone’s favorite Nic showed why he’s an All-American. Great day for her.

Special teams

Tyler White could honestly be the MVP of the game. 9 punts with an average length of 43 yards per punt. Arkansas scored an average starting at its own 18-yard line. In a dogfighting offensive game like today, things like that make the difference. Huge game.

Jerry World

The first game at Jerry World took place in 2009. I was at that game and we got our asses beat by Petrino 47-19. Then in 2010 we lost 24-19 with Jerrod’s bad shoulder. The image of Arkansas fans celebrating their second-half comeback will never be out of my mind. It feels really good to beat Petrino. Revenge is a dish best served cold and things like that (even though he’s our OC).

Since then we are 12-1 against them. Isn’t that crazy? 12-1. And every time it feels like we’re losing until the very last minute. I don’t know what it is about this game, but it’s just hell. But man, the feeling of winning it is something I’ll never take for granted because it feels like 99% of the damn game we’re going to lose for sure (BUT WE DON’T HAVE MFERS TODAY)

In total

We’re moving into October 4th-1st, which I think is solid enough. I don’t know what Mizzou will be like. I don’t know if Conner will come back. I don’t know what it will be like for us to play against a top 10 team. I don’t know if I give a shit right now. We won this weekend. Celebrate it because it feels good.

BTHO Mizzou