Category Archives: 2012

500 Likes on OPS!

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by Travis Normand

I know, not a big deal.  500 likes is a rather pedestrian day for a lot blogs out there, however, for me its a pretty big land mark.  I actually got the 500th-like about a month ago, but I am just now posting it.

I also got my first anniversary medal this past month.  It told me that I had registered on WP 3 years ago but I really only started blogging seriously/regularly during the spring/summer of 2012.    That is when this site (OnePointSafety.com) was finally launched.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the “likes.”  I am currently sitting at 691 and I look forward to topping the 1,000 mark in the near future.

The Longhorn’s have a culture problem

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ESPN LHN by Travis Normand

There are two great article about the current culture surrounding the University of Texas football program over at BarkingCarnival.com.  I highly recommend checking them out.

Quote from the first article: [emphasis added]

What is clear to me is that Bryan Harsin was brought to Austin to install an offense. He realized quickly that what Texas really needed was to install a different culture. And that his offense could never be optimized without it. The best way to create a football culture is to be in charge of it. So he left for the first job where he could do just that.
Read the entire article HERE

[1] BarkingCarnival.com – Bryan Harsin & Arkansas State: Rising Through The Ranks Or Fleeing a Culture?, by Scipio Tex, December 12, 2012.

[2] BarkingCarnival.com – What Does “We Are The Joneses” Actually Mean?, by Scipio Tex, November 15, 2012.

It’s time for Major Applewhite

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by Travis Normand

Major Applewhite - 11K

Major Applewhite

Major Applewhite has to be one of the most loyal and dedicated former players turned coach.  Applewhite either has a passion for the game that is amplified by coaching at the University of Texas, or he has seen the writing on the wall since his return in 2008 and is hoping for a shot at the big-job.

It has to be one or the other (or a combination of the two), right?  How else would you explain Applewhite being able to put up with the abuse he has been getting from Mack Brown since day one?

Continue reading →

Baylor makes school history

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Baylor - 12Kby Travis Normand

The 2012 Holiday Bowl is Baylor’s third straight bowl game.  While this is not something that is typically worth mentioning, in Baylor’s case it is.  Why?  Because this is the first time in school history that Baylor has made it to three consecutive bowl games.

[1] Baylor’s run of bowl success started on December 29, 2010 when the Bears faced Illinois in the Texas Bowl.  The Bears lost this game to Illinois, 14-38.  This was Baylor’s first bowl game since the 1994 Alamo Bowl.

[2] One year later on December 29, 2011, the Bears faced the Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl.  The Bears won the shoot-out by a score of 67-56.

[3] Finally, on December 27, 2012, the Bears faced UCLA in the Holiday Bowl and won by a score of 49-26.

As you can tell, the Bears are pretty stout in terms of offense as they scored 130 total points in the three bowl games listed above.  However, Baylor’s defense is still a work-in-progress as the Bears gave up a grand total of 120 points in these three games.

Click HERE to see Baylor’s bowl game history on Wikipedia

Old but still important – 2014 Playoff Details

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by Travis Normand

Okay, so these articles are pretty old, but I wanted to post them here as a quick reference to anyone who may need them.

After I created the post immediately preceding this one (titled “The Fair Ranking System“), I realized that some readers may not know the details of the 2014 Playoff.  For this reason, I am sharing a couple of links that should help explain the details of the upcoming playoff.

  1. ESPN.com – Six bowls in playoff format, by Brett McMurphy, November 13, 2012.
  2. DownTheDrive.com – College Football Playoff Format Finalized, by Matt Opper, November 12, 2012.
  3. LATimes.com – New college football playoff format may not end controversy, by Chris Dufresne, November 29, 2012.

The Fair Ranking System

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by Travis Normand

There is a great article posted over at CollegeFootballUniverseBlog.com (YardBarker.com Network of Blogs) on December 19, 2012 concerning the BCS and what is called the “Fair Ranking System” (or FRS).

I found this article interesting and think that both BCS lovers and haters will enjoy it.

If you like the BCS (as I do), this article offers some insight into some of the often overlooked problems with the BCS as well as potential problems with the upcoming playoff (2014).

[Read the article HERE: CollegeFootballUniverseBlog.com]

Here is one of the most interesting quotes from the article:

Herbstreit also said, “thank goodness we are moving towards a new system in 2014.” News flash to Herbie before he gets all riled up when the 2014 bowl selection show rolls around, Northern Illinois would still have been placed in one of the new system’s bowls. –Come on do a little research Kirk. You are an ESPN analyst.- During his pre-mentioned rant, Herbstreit never spoke of the inclusion of lower ranked Big Ten and Big East teams in this year’s BCS Bowls as well as he never talked about the top ranked team from the “group of five” non-contracted conferences to be included in the system to replace the BCS in 2014 (see details below).

I was happy to see the author of this article address this issue.  I too was watching the “Bowl Selection Show” on ESPN and heard Kirk Herbstreit make these comments.  I usually enjoy Herbstreit’s commentary but in this case I thought he was completely off-base.

I don’t believe the playoff that is coming in 2014 will solve anything, and I actually believe it may cause more harm than good.  I hope I am wrong.  However, its articles like this that  encourage us think critically about college football.

See these related posts: