foxbat

2 Point Games Benton Central @ Twin Lakes Hamilton Heights @ Western 3 Point Games Lewis Cass @ Northwestern Rensselaer @ West Lafayette 5 Point Games Covington @ Seeger Tipton @ Central Catholic Winamac @ North Judson Carroll @ Eastern

While it sounds like it has some merit, there wouldn't be a "lock" on the Houston area for several reasons. I was a student in the SWC back in the day when U of H was part of the SWC. While U of H had its share of good teams, including a run with Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware, PLENTY of Houston area kids left the Houston area to play ball elsewhere in the state when Houston was part of the SWC. I recall my senior class had about 25% go to tu, 25% go to A&M, about 25% split between SFA and SamHouston, and the remaining 25% split between everyone else including other in-state schools like Baylor, NTSU which is now UNT, SMU, Rice, UTSA,TCU, and U of H, as well as out-of-state schools like Columbia and Yale, as well as the community colleges and armed services. As for the athlete thought process, my opinion on this is, if I'm qualified to attend and play at both A&M or U of H as a football starter, I'd rather play in the SEC for A&M and coming up short as opposed to playing for U of H ... all things equal. U of H is just under .500 for the past 6-7 years under the last couple coaches and less than .400 the last couple of seasons. I don't see U of H jumping in and dominating the Big 12 anytime soon. The departure of Texas and Oklahoma will severely lower the clout of the Big 12. I would suspect that it might be just a matter of time before Iowa State leaves, possibly with a bid to try to join the Big 10, and possibly a smart move for the SEC would be to grab OSU for the sweep of Oklahoma's more prominent teams. If that happens, then as an athlete, I'd definitely take my chances at A&M compared to U of H. By the way, the U of H metro thing is kind of over-rated. Texans tend to think of anything within four hours as "being close by" if you are from the big city. As such, Houston and Dallas are close by" and A&M is just an hour and a half from downtown Houston. For comparison, when I lived in Houston, it used to take me a half hour on weekends to get to downtown and over an hour when I went to work during the week. For kids in Houston, A&M is pretty much considered "local."

I was a student at A&M back in the old SWC days, so seeing Arkansas on a yearly basis was par for the course. It's not quite the same feel nowadays with A&M in the SEC with Arkansas. The A&M-Texas rivalry was a big deal when part of the SWC and Big 12, but I don't seem to miss it as much as I thought I would when A&M bolted for the SEC. In part, I think it's because Texas has been, as @Irishman stated, "average at best." A&M leaving for the SEC has hurt Texas in the recruiting wars. I recall when I moved to Indiana back in 2001, it was almost impossible to see an A&M game unless they were playing someone like Notre Dame or unless they were playing Oklahoma/Texas when those guys were ranked. Now, with A&M in the SEC, I can pretty much catch A&M weekly ... the more recent higher ranking of course doesn't hurt. Texas used to, by default, get so many of the "out of staters" being the "state school" even though A&M is also a state school too. The SEC exposure for A&M, plus their own self-imposed moratorium on playing Texas, help set the tone that A&M was really the visible state presence for Texas. With that said, make no mistake about the Texas branding. It is one of the richest brands, if not the richest brands in the NCAA. The SEC play will be much less about wins, although they would like to have them, as it is about making sure that brand isn't gained on or eroded by A&M. Perhaps that rivalry never really went away ... to an extent I'm being facetious ... the A&M/tu rival will never really go away ... be sure to catch the Longhorn/Aggie tiddlywinks game on The Ocho later on this semester.

This ends up making a lot of sense. You don't see too many of the issues of bodily abuse with shorter yardage situations because of the probability of first down. The other big one is "bomb molestation" where you give up 15 to avoid 6. Offensive holding is traditionally a 10-yard penalty from the spot of the foul. I'd like to see a DPI penalty addendum like the holding penalty rule in the endzone. Maybe this "technicality rule" ends up being enforced when DPI occurs in the endszone.

Texas taking it on the chin from Arkansas tonight. They've announced that they'll play Big 12 until 2025 to join the SEC ... may need those extra seasons to get up to speed with the lower half of the SEC?

Harrison picks of desperation pass. 56-41 with 32 seconds left. Victory formation for a 56-41 win for Harrison. I suspect this won't be the end of the bad news for Jeff this weekend. Last year Harrison's freshman squad beat up on Jeff 35-14. Tomorrow they are hoping to make a bigger statement when the JV squads meet.

Harrison forcefully explains to Jeff that there's a new sheriff in town. 70+ yard drive just killing the clock. Capped with a TD. Harrison leads 56-41 with 2:29 left in game. Jeff has no timeouts left. Harrison scored on every possession this half.

Jeff not quite ready to cede the game to Harrison. Harrison still leads 49-41.

Jeff just shooting themselves in the foot. At least 2 unsportsmanlike penalties, a couple 15-yatd facemasks, a late hit, and at least four holding calls. Harrison capitalizes and scores again. Harrison leads 49-34 with 8 mins left in game.

Jeff runs kickoff back. Harrison still leads 42-34.

Harrison starts the quarter with a TD run. 2-point conversion is no good. Harrison leads 42-27.

Jeff turns the ball over to Harrison. Jeff also with several penalties. End of 3Q. Harrison on the move at Jeff 46.

Harrison forces a Jeff punt and drives roughly 70 yards for another score. Gets 2-point conversion. Now leafs Jeff 36-27.

WL up 43-7 over LCC in 3Q.

Harrison goes 61 yards on opening drive of second half. Leads Jeff 28-27.

Jeff leads Harrison at the half 27-21. Harrison gets the ball to start second half. Difference in the game has been that muffed kickoff in 1Q.

On the other side of the river WL in control 35-7 over LCC.

Jeff scores and Harrison responds with a lightning strike 67 yard run. 3 mins left in 1st half. 27-21.

Nice sustained drive for Harrison on the ground and switching QBs back and forth. Harrison cuts lead 20-14 with 6mins left in half.

Harrison jumps on 3rd and long, Jeff makes them pay on the next play with a fake handoff and QB keeper for a score. PAT is blocked. 20-7 Jeff. About 5 mins left in 1Q.

Jeff scores on second possession. Harrison flibs the kick return and Jeff recovers.

Jeff scores on first possession. Harrison responds with a score of it's own ... 67 yard run up the gut. Tied at 7.

The Lafayette area will be a happenin' place tonight with LCC and WL duking it out and Jeff and Harrison likely fighting for the NCC title.

2 Point Games Northwestern @ Hamilton Heights Tipton @ Cass Twin Lakes @ Rensselaer West Lafayette @ Lafayette Central Catholic Western @ New Castle Clinton Central @ Frontier 4 Point Games Lafayette Jeff @ Harrison Bloomington North @ Bloomington South

Oklahoma will be fine. In comparison, they will match up fine with the likes of Mississippi, Vandy, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Miss State. Solid games will be against Auburn, Georgia, LSU, A&M, South Carolina, Florida, and Texas, ... only because of the rivalry aspect ... and like everyone else, will take their lumps against Alabama 5 out of every 6 years or more. Texas is going to look more like Mississippi State and maybe South Carolina early on.