FORT WORTH, Texas – Oh, its’ time for the blame game. Whenever a football season hits it’s critical mass, the point where a goal is achieved or the goal or goals are history, then here comes the blame game. Before going very deep into the blame game, which is somewhat of a meaningless experience that is primarily for fans and doesn’t go very far into solving the reasons a season goes up in flames or the reason for glory and happiness, it is worth mentioning the most critical solution to the Cowboys problem of not closing out and winning games they aren’t far off from doing.
This upcoming 2021 recruiting class that will sign in a little over a week on Dec. 16 is critical for solving the issues of 2020. A team that discovers through injuries and attrition, such as the loss of Bryce Bray and Jacob Farrell when they were excused from the team in preseason, they don’t have enough depth faces the task of getting it through recruiting.
When the offense changes so dramatically when Tylan Wallace is out of the game, then you need some additional big play receiving threats. Those look to be coming in the next class with Bryson and Blaine Green from Allen, Texas. They combined for 14 receptions, 288-yards, and four touchdowns in front of our Marshall Levenson the other night in a big win over Braswell.
When you lose corner Rodarius Williams and safety Tre Sterling, while still playing, but ailing safety Kolby Harvell-Peel battles then you need more reserve players and depth. It is coming with a bundle of stout secondary prospects in the class including the likes of Ty Williams, Makale Smith, Cam Smith, Ray Guy, and the latest pledge from Friday in Lyrik Rawls. There is also a top flight defensive tackle in Thomas’ Aden Kelley and another member of the Santa Fe connection in edge defender Collin Oliver.
That is how you fix problems. You recruit and finger pointing doesn’t get it done. However, fans can’t recruit and all they have is the blame game.
There was a good share of it going around after the game on Saturday with plenty of players and coaches pointing the finger at themselves.
Head coach Mike Gundy started off praising his players’ efforts. He was right. I watched the video back again on Sunday and there was no lack of effort in any area. The kickers (Ben Freehill on extra point and Brady Pohl on two field goals) didn’t miss on purpose. If anything Pohl was trying to hard when he snap hooked the second miss. The offensive line was blocking as best they could even when facing a loaded box in the second half. The receivers were trying to make plays. The defense got beat by some of TCU’s speed, but the effort to force turnovers and to try to make plays was there.
The best example was quarterback Spencer Sanders. You may not like his skill set or all of his decisions, but his teammates will fight to the end for him. How could you not when he goes flying and giving up his body to try to make plays and extra yards.
Ultimately, the blame in college football goes back to the coaching staff and the head coach. They are the ones that recruit the players, develop the players, devise the game plans and make the in-game decisions that you have to feel are the major influence for the decisions that player’s make on the field.
You would like to think they make all the right ones. For teams that win the majority of their games, they do. It is easy for all of us to second guess. I had been wondering how long it would take to see Brennan Presley return kicks. Saturday at TCU he did and averaged 32.5-yards a return on a pair of opportunities.
The tough ones are how do you attack a stout defense with an offensive line that is still young, in some cases beat up, and looking for confidence. Not easy. How do you stop a hot quarterback with speedy receivers in the second half without a shut-down corner and one of your best safeties. Again, not easy.
Mike Gundy was honest after the 29-22 loss that dropped the Cowboys to 6-3 on the season, a season that before it all started and the attrition mounted was thought to be a potential Big 12 championship season. That is gone.
“It was a pretty rare game when you score on defense and you get that many turnovers to not be able to find a way to win,” Gundy said of the loss to the Horned Frogs. “We just couldn’t muster up much offensively. We couldn’t get much stability.”
The running game was good the first half, but tough sledding the second after TCU loaded the box with purple defenders.
“I thought he got downhill, I thought he made some cuts,” Gundy said of Dezmon Jackson. “I know he competed so I felt good about him. We averaged over four yards a carry. We would like to be 4.5 (yards per carry) but I’m pleased with what he’s bringing to the table.”
Dezmon Jackson, who has been the best thing for this team the past two weeks was accountable.
Sharon Ellman
Dezmon Jackson had to work hard for what he got against TCU.
“I give credit to TCU’s defense as they adjusted and loaded the box and made it difficult for us to run it,” Jackson explained. “Those guys, I give them credit because they have a really nice defense.”
“We didn’t run the ball efficiently in the second half,” said offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn. “We have a lot of things that we create off the run game, and we just weren’t able to do it. When Tylan’s not out there, the safeties can load the box then. At the end of the day, the shots down the field we’re the big thing. We hit ours and we win, they hit theirs we win. Turnovers aside, we didn’t hit enough chuck plays and they did.”
Dunn has been open about the struggle to call plays and find the right combinations for an offense that has lots of offensive line challenges.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, a fan favorite because of defensive success early in the season, a target in recent weeks because of big plays allowed, took his sword and fell on it saying he felt bad for his players because they played so hard and he didn’t call the right defensive plays.
Gundy lamented on the defensive side that while his defense was fighting and striping the ball and getting turnovers, they were allowing again, way too many big plays. Most of those big plays coming in the second half.
“You’ve gotta stop the big plays,” defensive end Brock Martin said. “Texas Tech made them last week, but we won the game. At the end of the day, you have to stop the big plays. They made them. Ahh, that’s it man.”
Yes, that’s it. The Blame Game is a terrible game to get into that doesn’t help much and can hurt much more and make things worse. The better use of time is for coaches to recruit. For fans it might be to study up on the recruiting class. It should make you feel better than heaping up more blame.
