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True, and what we aren’t sure about is how patient Russell may be. Supposedly Texas Tech threw an obscene amount of money at him in the offseason and he stayed put. We’ve got two really good ones behind him in Thomalla and Kawaa, and a couple more really good ones committed. I do think there’s...

For sure it’s happened in the past, and I don’t think we can completely rule it out - but CKD has been pretty adamant that he wants a starter established at least 7-10 days before the opener, I suspect so the practice reps can be allocated appropriately. CNS, for whatever reason, was often...

I think a starter will be named at least a week prior to the opener, and I don’t expect the competition to spill over into the opener or the UK game unless whoever is selected as starter just plays really poorly out of the gate. This staff wants to be able to dedicate the necessary practice reps...

Agreed. It was striking to me in the Rose Bowl how much stronger Mack’s arm looked compared to Ty. Granted, Ty had been beat up the back half of the season and was no where near 100% - but I recall a sideline rope that Mack threw to Bernard in that game and thinking to myself at the time that Ty...

Yep, agreed. I mainly lean towards Mack because of his scheme familiarity. One of our WRs, can’t remember which one, referred to him as the human playbook. I think that (a) if our defense is as stout as expected, and (b) the run game really is revamped, Mack is the logical choice, assuming his...

I’m likely in the minority here, and I’ll eat crow if so, but I really think Mack starts, plays really well, starts the whole season, is one-and-done à la Ty Simpson, and Russell starts in 2027. If Mack has a good season, he’ll be a first rounder. NFL scouts will salivate over his size and raw...

Wholeheartedly agreed. UCLA fired Foster in like Week 3 last season IIRC. Oklahoma State may have been sooner than that with Gundy, can’t recall. If I had to place a bet on who might be susceptible to an early firing this season, I’d go with Norvell.

I’d argue we will have a better idea as soon as the UK game in Week 2, considering that we couldn’t run the ball consistently against basically any conference opponent last season. If not UK, then definitely Week 3 against FSU, who I think will have a decent defensive line this season.

I like these predictions. I will say though - and this may mean nothing - that I work with a guy who played at UT and knows some folks who know Heupel. He thinks Heupel may leave one day but he says that there’s zero chance he’d take the OU job. Says he absolutely detests them because Bob Stoops...

Honestly I’d take 9-3 if that includes wins over LSU, UT and AU, and no losses to clearly inferior teams.

I think the staff 100% intended for Buchner to be the starter in 2023 and it just didn’t materialize for whatever reason. He had started 3 games at Notre Dame the prior season and had more or less followed Tommy Rees to Tuscaloosa. He looked awful that day against USF but I remember hearing that...

Not exactly answering the OP’s question, but I remember hearing that when Franchione was hired and was meeting with individual players, he told Zow that he was a turnover liability and that he wouldn’t play in his offense. Ironically, Watts got hurt in 2001 and Zow had to start the last 3-4...

The ‘94 loss to Florida really hurt because we were headed to the national title game if we won, and if I’m not mistaken we lost by one point.

Through two seasons, the DeBoer era reminds me a lot of the Stallings era, in terms of net cumulative results. Very different coaches with very different styles obviously, but the parallels are also there. Lots of close wins, some occasional head-scratching losses, some games where we look like...

None, lol. I’ll reserve the remainder of my SpaceX commentary for the non-sports board 😏

I still don’t think that we, collectively as a fan base, truly grasp how spoiled we were under CNS. CKD has lost 8 games in his first two seasons. His average record in two seasons is 10-4. CNS lost 8 games total in a five-season stretch from 2008-2012 and won 3 national titles in that same...

After seeing Petrino as OC (and then interim HC) at Arkansas last season, I don’t think anything like this will surprise me anymore. Next up will be Jeremy Pruitt as DC at Tennessee, or Will Muschamp as DC at Florida, or Kevin Sumlin as OC at aTm.

I personally think white helmets would be really cool from time to time, but I also think it’s unlikely to happen. The last time he was directly questioned about it, CKD basically shot it down. My senior year at Alabama (2006), we had one game where the home jerseys had a thin houndstooth...

I agree with this. One of the more redeeming qualities of CKD thus far is that he seems adept at identifying and correcting (or at least trying to correct) problem spots. Turnovers and penalties were a major issue in 2024, and hugely improved in 2025. I think he knows the run game and OL were a...

For whatever it’s worth, I saw multiple reels of post-game footage this past season where Smith was repeatedly jawing with opposing players, saying things that cannot be published on this board, and nearly starting some altercations. Take that, plus some dumb penalties I recall against him on a...