Local Rags pre Halloween edition

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Tuesday story. We'll find out today. I don't care. Block, run your routes and either can complete a pass.

COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill may be headed for the bench.
Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said Tuesday that Hill and freshman Kyle Allen have been taking snaps with the first team this week and a starter for Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe will be decided by Thursday.
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</center>“We opened it back up and we’ve had some good experiences throughout last week in live scrimmage situations,” Spavital said. “We’ve put them in different scenarios … and are still challenging them in different ways. It’s still wide open.”
Hill, a Southlake Carroll graduate and the son of former Rangers pitcher Ken Hill, won the job over Allen in fall camp and got off to a great start, throwing for a school-record 511 yards in his debut and leading the Aggies to a 5-0 start. He also embraced the “Kenny Trill” nickname after two years of Johnny Football at Texas A&M for Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.
Texas A&M has since dropped three straight, including a 59-0 loss to Alabama on Oct. 18 — the Aggies’ first shutout defeat since 2003.
Allen, one of the nation’s top recruits as a prep player in Arizona, has thrown for 264 yards and three touchdowns in four games.
“I’m pleased with how he’s handled the whole situation from fall camp through those eight games leading up to this point,” Spavital said of Allen. “He shows up every day, he gets extra work in, and you can tell he’s really trying to exert himself to try to go out there and try to win this job.”
Spavital said Allen was stunned when he called him into his office to deliver the news.
“[He] asked me if this was for real and I said: ‘Yeah, it is,’ ” Spavital said. “And he was like: ‘Good, because I’m going to try to go get it.’ ”
The conversation with Hill, who is a sophomore, was much more difficult.
“That is tough, especially when you’ve started for eight games and then you’re thrown in that situation where your job is on the line,” Spavital said. “I think he’s handled it pretty well. He’s out there competing. He’s motivating those younger guys when he’s going with the No. 2 offense, and I see that as leadership.”
Hill leads the Southeastern Conference and is sixth in the nation with 2,649 yards passing but has struggled with turnovers lately and has seven in the last three games combined. Senior receiver Malcome Kennedy said the team is confident in both quarterbacks and that he thinks the renewed competition has made each of them better.
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Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/28/6239071/texas-am-quarterback-hill-could.html#storylink=cpy​

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The second half of the season has arrived, and Gary Patterson knows what comes with it.
“Finally, we get some Kansas weather.”
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</center>It will be waiting in Morgantown, W.Va., on Saturday when Patterson, a Kansas native, and the TCU Horned Frogs start another stage of the season — a championship drive, perhaps — with two road games in three weeks.
It is the latest test for the Horned Frogs (6-1, 3-1), who have gone from the lower half of the preseason Big 12 poll to No. 10 in the country with an offense that leads the nation in points per game and a quarterback who has inserted himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation.
All of it happened in Texas.
In November, the Frogs will have to play their first two games out of state. The first is Saturday in Morgantown, where the high is expected to be 42 and the low 28 for the 2:30 p.m. kickoff. In two weeks, a game awaits in Lawrence, Kan., where Patterson knows the weather in his home state.
So long, friendly confines and familiar heat of home.
“Over the last two years, we’ve played very well on the road,” Patterson said. “This group is mentally tough enough to be able to go play on the road.”
But Saturday’s road game is no ordinary trip.
The winner of the TCU-West Virginia game keeps its shot at the conference championship and plays on national television in prime time next weekend. The loser not only loses a second conference game, but it drops out of the running for the College Football Playoff, the only road to a national championship today.
The Horned Frogs were seventh in the first CFP rankings released Tuesday night.
Not that many of them watched.
“I kid you not,” defensive tackle Chucky Hunter said. “That stuff does not mean anything. Because it changes every week. It matters what happens in December. I might watch it at the beginning of December.”
By December, when the Frogs have finished with the two out-of-state games and the Kansas State game at home and the Thanksgiving night trip to Texas, they will know where they stand. They will either be Big 12 title contenders or not. They will be CFP contenders or not. Boykin will be a Heisman contender or not.
“I don’t know if any of the road games we’ve played so far, except for the Baylor game, would be of more magnitude than this game,” Patterson said of the trip to West Virginia (6-2, 4-1). “But we’re going to take it as the next game and go about our business. And if we do that, then you’ve got a better chance of playing well. Just keep doing what we’ve been doing. Keeping our nose down.”
Hunter has been to Morgantown before. A lot of the players have been to Morgantown before. The crowd, the weather, the ESPN College GameDayatmosphere will not be new to them.
“Our team is more mature than two years ago,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, because we know what to expect.”
Everybody does.
Kansas weather.
Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7407 Twitter: @calexmendez

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/28/6239179/bundle-up-frogs-get-ready-to-head.html#storylink=cpy

 

[wizardofodd]

wasnt this guy who was going to give him self a nick name after the 1st game of the season? Crash and burn..

 

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Injured receiver Josh Doctson practiced “a little bit” on Wednesday, TCU coach Gary Patterson said, but he added that freshman Emanuel Porter could start in his place Saturday when the Horned Frogs visit West Virginia.
“Emanuel keeps getting better,” Patterson said. “We thought in the middle of the season he’d start coming on, and he’s started to come on.”
Porter caught two passes for 22 yards filling in for Doctson (ankle injury) last week, including a 12-yard touchdown pass in the back corner. The four-star recruit out of Dallas Lincoln came in with four catches for 30 yards.
“He had a good game last week,” Patterson said. “Ran really great routes. A tenacious blocker. 6-4 wideout. It’ll be him or Josh, one of the two.”
Porter’s backup on Saturday would normally be junior Jordan Moore, but Patterson said he also has an ankle injury and might not make the trip.
Doctson is the Frogs’ leader in catches, yards and receiving touchdowns. He had two scores against both Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
Rain and cold
TCU is preparing for cold weather and rain in Morgantown on Saturday. The forecast calls for a high of 44 and a 90 percent chance of rain.
Patterson was light-hearted about it.
“We’re fired up because we won’t sweat,” he said. “No humidity.”
He said the team will keep the footballs dry for quarterback Trevone Boykin.
“If it’s really raining, the team that runs the ball best probably has the advantage,” he said.
TCU is second in the conference in rushing at 212.9 yards per game. West Virginia is fourth at 180.9.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/1...ll-notes-doctson-practices.html#storylink=cpy

 

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wasnt this guy who was going to give him self a nick name after the 1st game of the season? Crash and burn..

He just didn't want to be called "Kenny Football". He got caught up in it. Stupid for sure.

 

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UNIVERSITY PARK — June Jones’ hiring signaled SMU’s commitment to upgrading football. The school unveiled its “Circle of Champions,” a group of donors who ponied up big bucks to land a big-time coach.
Seven years later, the school has embarked on a search to find a replacement for Jones, who bolted after the second game this season.
Timing complications threaten to make for an epic search. Troy, Kansas and Buffalo have joined SMU in a marketplace that will populate dramatically by season’s end.
SMU athletic director Rick Hart’s most significant decision in three years on the Hilltop has been aided by the progress Jones made. The school had one winning season from 1987 until Jones’ 2009 team went 8-5. The Mustangs followed with records of 7-7, 8-5, 7-6 and 5-7.
Armed with the knowledge that winning seasons are possible at SMU, more qualified candidates are interested in the opportunity to return the program to prominence. And basketball’s quick ascension under Larry Brown seems to have galvanized the school’s football commitment.
Thus, it’s not shocking that SMU officials have already had preliminary discussions with former Texas coach Mack Brown, floating $4 million annually over eight years, sources say. Brown, 63, fits the Larry Brown model — a national championship winner who can land star prospects on name alone.

 

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COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M might have a new starting quarterback when the Aggies host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.
Kenny Hill, who started the first eight games, could be benched in favor of freshman Kyle Allen after struggling with turnovers in a three-game skid.
ESPN.com, citing sources, reported Friday that the switch has been made, and that Allen will start. Allen reportedly took snaps with the first-team offense Thursday. Other media sites also reported the switch.
“They’ve both gotten reps over the last week and will both continue to get reps,” coach Kevin Sumlin said. “After what’s happened, there’s really nothing off the table at that point.”
What happened was an embarrassing 59-0 loss to Alabama to extend A&M’s skid to three games after a 5-0 start. The Aggies need a win on Saturday to avoid losing four games in a row for the first time since 2005.
Hill beat out Allen in fall camp and got off to a great start, throwing for a school-record 511 yards in the season opener and helping the Aggies to their perfect start. The sophomore’s 2,649 yards passing lead the Southeastern Conference and are sixth in the nation, but he has seven turnovers in the last three games combined.
Allen was one of the top quarterback prospects in the country after throwing for more than 8,000 yards and 86 touchdowns in his career at Desert Mountain high school in Scottsdale, Ariz. He has 264 yards passing and three touchdowns in four games this season.
Louisiana-Monroe coach Todd Berry knows this will be a tough game for his team regardless of who starts at quarterback, and he also brushed off A&M’s recent trouble.
“We’ve got a huge challenge this week against a very good Texas A&M football team,” Berry said. “I think this is a team that’s a top-10 team. They had the unfortunate task of playing Alabama, Ole Miss and Mississippi State in back to back weeks. I would challenge anybody in college football to play those three games in a row and see how they fare.”
Some things to know about the Louisiana-Monroe-Texas A&M game:
THROWBACKS: Texas A&M will wear throwback uniforms to honor its 1939 national championship team on Saturday. The special helmets have a leather-like texture made using photos of helmets worn by the 1939 team. The helmets will have “AMC” stenciled on the back of them referring to the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, which A&M was known as in 1939. The jerseys will feature a patch inspired by the 1939 uniforms and will have rips and tears to mimic wear. Dark brown shoes with metal eyelets will complete the look.
LONG DAY: Louisiana-Monroe’s day will start at about 7 a.m. on Saturday because the team couldn’t get rooms in College Station.
“All of the hotels in College Station are full,” Berry said. “So we are staying about an hour and 15 minutes away, so we will have an early bus ride with the 11 a.m. kickoff.”
They’re not letting their lodging situation dampen the day though.
“This is one of the great venues in college football and one of the great atmospheres in college football, so our players, our staff are excited about going down there and trying to get better this week,” Berry said.
CHASING CLOWNEY: Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, from Arlington Martin, has already set the school record for sacks as a freshman with 7 1/2. He’s just one sack away from breaking the SEC freshman sack record of eight set by Jadeveon Clowney in 2011 at South Carolina. Clowney was taken by the Houston Texans with the top overall pick in this year’s draft. Louisiana-Monroe has allowed 21 sacks this season.
ALL HEALED UP: Sumlin said his team really benefited from its bye last week after playing eight straight games. He said he didn’t realize just how tough that stretch was on his team — both physically and mentally — until they had a chance to rest during their off week.
“I probably underestimated the eight-game stretch and how we handled it. We didn’t handle it the right way,” Sumlin said. “We had a substantial amount of guys banged up or beat up, and I would say mentally tired. That’s something we tried to address last week. I think the bye week came at a great time for us.”
GOING BOWLING?: With a win on Saturday, the Aggies will become eligible for a bowl game for a school-record sixth straight season. The Aggies have won their last three bowl games, capped by 52-48 victory over Duke in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl last season.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/1...reportedly-makes-qb-switch.html#storylink=cpy

 

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Not long ago, the University of Houston's football season was in free-fall mode.
The star young quarterback was struggling. The running game was nonexistent. And as open houses go, the debut of TDECU Stadium amounted to a party that all the guests left by 9 p.m.
Flip the calendar to November, and it's a different scene for the Cougars.
Another young quarterback is at the controls. The running game averaged 178.5 yards the last two games. And, well, the defense continues to be one of the stingiest in the nation despite key injuries.
At least for now, the doom-and-gloom forecast that hovered over the Cougars for the first month has been put on hold.
Entering Saturday's game against South Florida (3-5, 2-2 American Athletic) at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., UH has won two in a row and three of the last four games. The Cougars (4-3, 2-1) need two wins to become bowl-eligible for the second consecutive year.
"It's been a learning process," junior running back Kenneth Farrow said. "It was a disappointing start to the season. We kind of picked it up and got on a roll lately."
Season's turning point
The Cougars enter a final stretch that includes only one team - Cincinnati in the final game of the regular season - with a winning record. The next four opponents - South Florida, Tulane, Tulsa and SMU - are a combined 6-23.
"Heading into the second half, November and December, you want to be playing your best," Farrow said. "We're on a roll. We have some momentum."
UH comes off what coach Tony Levine describes as the team's "best offensive performance of the season" in a 31-10 win over Temple. The Cougars controlled the clock for more than 42 minutes, the running game churned out 171 yards and Greg Ward Jr., in his second start since replacing John O'Korn at quarterback, completed 29 of 33 passes for 268 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
As for the defense, the Cougars are third nationally with 23 takeaways, 10th in scoring defense (17.9) and 11th in passing defense (177.9).
Is Levine satisfied?
"Coming off the last couple games, I think we've seen some improvement, cleaned some things up and we're moving the football better offensively," he said. "As a coach, you're never satisfied, and that holds true for all of the young men in our program. It's kind of not 'what have you done lately?' but 'how have you played lately?' way to look at it."
Resurgence on offense
The offense continues to evolve with Ward, but one thing remains certain - the running game remains an important part.
South Florida presents a challenge to continue that trend. The Bulls are eighth in run defense in the 11-team American Athletic Conference, allowing almost 200 yards per game.
"We've got to be balanced - we've got to be able to throw it or run it," Levine said.
Farrow said an improved offensive line has fueled the resurgence in the running game.
"They've gotten so much better from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3," he said. "The offensive line has made it easier on us."
The open date also allowed the Cougars to get healthy, most notably free safety Trevon Stewart (shoulder), and get more repetitions for others after season-ending injuries to middle linebacker Derrick Mathews and defensive back Lee Hightower.
"Our health is much improved," Levine said.
And so is the Cougars' postseason forecast.