Deep Dive: The Final Step to Texas Dominance This Season

Summary

Inside Texas Football – Deep Dive: The Final Step to Texas Dominance This Season

Podcast: Inside Texas Football
Date: July 30, 2026
Host: Paul
Guest: Ian

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Overview

This episode of Inside Texas Football delves into what could make or break the Texas Longhorns’ push for dominance in the coming season. Host Paul and analyst Ian answer listener questions, discuss coaching nuances, break down Texas’ strengths and vulnerabilities, and reflect on recent history and what must change for Texas to hit elite status this year. The conversation is candid, insightful, and blends X’s and O’s with the emotionally charged experience of being a Longhorns supporter.

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Key Discussion Points

1. What Could Go Wrong? (Texas going 8-4)

[04:39 – 08:39]

• Major Risks for Texas:
  • Paul and Ian assert it’s "hard to imagine" Texas going 8-4 barring major injuries, especially to starting QB Arch Manning.
  • Offensive Line Concerns: Ian:

    "The only sufficient answer is that the offensive line does not come together... and they hit a ceiling because they can't protect or can’t run block." (05:10)

  • Subtle Issues: If key players like Wingo or the running backs disappoint, it could cost close games but not enough for such a fall.
  • Defensive Stability: Both believe the defense is strong enough to avoid a disastrous season.
  • Missouri Example: Paul discusses how “easy wins” like Missouri could suddenly become losses if Texas’s offense falters.
  • Draft Picks vs. Wins: Paul highlights Florida’s past mismatch between NFL talent and win-loss record, warning the same could happen.

2. Sarkisian's Growth and Game Day Decisions

[09:28 – 11:49]

• Coaching Evolution:
  • Sark has become a better head coach than offensive coordinator, contrary to early expectations.
  • Florida Game as Turning Point:

    "The Florida game plan on both sides of the ball was horrific... That game was instrumental... for Sark making the change with PK." - Paul (10:23)

  • Defensive Issues: PK’s (Pete Kwiatkowski’s) failure to adjust cost key opportunities.
  • The Florida loss clarified both necessity and direction for staff changes.

3. The Run Game’s Impact This Season

[12:07 – 15:54]

• Listener Concern: “Is the run game the key to offensive dominance?”
  • Scheme Fit: Sark’s play action-centric offense is enhanced by a credible run threat.
  • Situational Importance:

    "The value of the run game is primarily situational... That is how you convert third and short, fourth and short and red zone." - Paul (13:21)

  • Run-Pass Balance: Sark’s reputation as a pass-first coach is misleading; he loves running the football when possible.
  • Opening up the Passing Game: Ian pushes for integrating more short passing, à la Colt McCoy, to punish teams playing soft coverage.

4. Defensive Philosophies: PK Out, Muschamp In

[17:26 – 21:17]

• PK’s Approach: Safe, conservative ("base") defense good for limiting big plays but at times too passive, especially versus creative offenses and mobile QBs.
  • PK struggled adjusting beyond his "safe contain" rules, culminating in breakdowns like vs. Oklahoma 2023.
• Will Muschamp Outlook:
  • History shows Muschamp succeeded against dynamic offenses (“ate them alive” in his earlier Texas tenure—see 2010 Nebraska).
  • Will likely bring more aggressive adjustments and varied defensive looks.
  • Quote:

    "Must Champ in this pass rush may create blowout opportunities because of pressure, three and outs, sack strips and interceptions." – Ian (34:15)

5. Objectivity vs. Fan Bias in Scouting

[22:43 – 32:11]

• Balancing Fanhood & Objectivity:
  • Paul admits, "I can be very objective to a fault..."
  • Both agree that making public predictions drives a desire for accuracy over homerism.
  • Fans are encouraged to enjoy emotional investment—> “Be Charlie Brown, run full speed at the football.”
  • Quote:

    "If it's actually finally there, I don't want to just, like, meekly tap it. I want to kick that thing out of the yard... that's what it's all about." – Ian (31:30)

6. Could Texas “Go Nuclear” This Season?

[32:10 – 34:55]

• Will Sark Run Up Scores?
  • By nature, Sark doesn’t aim to humiliate opponents, even when possible.
  • This year’s schedule is so tough, blowouts will be rare.
  • Even “easy” games like Texas State could be sneaky hard:

    "Even Texas State...they are going to score on us and a bunch of you are going to freak out." – Paul (33:31)

  • Defensive aggression under Muschamp could create more lopsided scores if the pass rush creates turnovers.

7. Offensive Ceiling if Run Blocking Remains Mediocre

[38:53 – 40:22]

• If the run blocking is only mediocre:
  • Paul:

    "The run game's value is primarily situational... We could not [convert short yardage/running situations] again. We could not." (39:46)

  • Ian:

    "If better than mediocre means being good in situational, take it." (39:50)

  • The passing game and overall skill talent can still keep the offense elite, even without a dominant run.

8. The Impact of Staff Collaboration Failures

[40:22 – 43:36]

• Staff “workarounds” for PK and back-end coordinating issues were unsustainable—Aqina’s hire only highlighted these deficiencies.
• Process Parable: “Bob from Accounting” as the metaphor for staffers who refuse to adapt, causing organizational choke points.

9. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “All rumors are false until officially denied. Paul.” – Ian [04:24]
• “I actually do wish that we would get a little more into the other solution for people dropping their safeties, which is the Colt McCoy solution...” – Ian [15:14]
• “PK, in some regards, is Bob in Accounting.” – Paul [22:13]
• “Be Charlie Brown...I want to kick that football as hard as I possibly can.” – Ian [31:30]
• "If you watch a lot of college football, it can be humbling, because you think you know and you don't really know." – Paul [28:08]

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Major Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | | --------- | ------- | | 04:39 | What could make Texas go 8-4? | | 09:28 | Sarkisian’s growth/confidence as head coach | | 12:07 | Importance and functionality of the run game | | 17:26 | Defensive philosophy: PK vs. Muschamp | | 22:43 | Balancing objectivity and being a fan | | 32:10 | Will Texas “go nuclear” on teams this year? | | 38:53 | Offensive ceiling with mediocre run blocking | | 40:22 | Coaching staff, collaboration, and accountability |

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Show Tone & Style

Paul and Ian deliver candid, insightful football analysis laced with wit, dry humor, and deep Longhorns knowledge. The tone is equal parts analytical and fan-oriented, balancing critical breakdowns with relatable fandom anecdotes.

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Takeaways for Longhorns Fans

• Texas is a strong favorite to excel barring major injuries or a collapse in O-line play.
• Sark’s maturation as head coach and defensive changes should help avoid pitfalls of past seasons.
• The 2026 schedule is brutal; blowouts rare, every win valuable.
• Staff changes (especially Muschamp replacing PK) could bring much-needed aggression and adaptability to the defense.
• Being a fan is about hope, risk, and sometimes heartbreak—but the ride is part of the reward.

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Final Word

“Hook ‘em.” – Ian [44:35]

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Transcript

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[Paul]

What's going on, everybody? Welcome to a live deep dive. I'm Paul. That gentleman is Ian. Looking rugged. Got his five o' clock shadow. Looks like a. Looks like a tough guy. You know what, he's actually an intellectual. You think Ian is just a dumb, big, strong athlete. He's actually very bright and analytical. So we're going to apply that analysis today with some of your questions. What's going on, Ian?

[Ian]

They handed out our coaching T shirts for Pop Warner last night and they, they're like sorting through them. They're like, oh, this one's Ian's.

[Paul]

So my 12 year old son wears medium adult shirts, Ian.

[Ian]

Yeah, same as me.

[Paul]

Okay, there you go. In some ways, I think of you

[Ian]

as my son, you know, in some ways, that's right.

[Paul]

No. All right, fellas and ladies, we're going to take some questions that you guys already submitted and then we're going to ask all of you as you were here live, to come up with a good history question for us to answer at the end. Because, you know, that's really why we do these shows.

[Ian]

We.

[Paul]

Longhorn football is a side quest. We're really just trying to talk history and world's greatest battles and, and, you know, counterfactuals and what if Wellington was French? Would France have conquered England? Stuff like that. All right, we ready to get after it?

[Ian]

Let's do it.

[Paul]

Before we do that, that was a trick. We have to send you to Inside Texas because you can join the best, most elite, most august place to talk Longhorn football on the planet. It's called Inside Texas. Join. For $1, you get 50% off for your first year. What a deal. And hey, folks, it's heating up. The green grass is cut. You can smell it. Pads are starting to pop at High School. 2A days football season is coming, baby. Let's join. Let's get going. Let's go. And if you really want to become elite by thinking Texas Football, the 2026 Longhorn Football Prospectus. The 14th annual. I've been doing this for 14 years, y'.

[Ian]

All.

[Paul]

It is out. It is 43,000 words of amazing goodness on the your Longhorns, the SEC, including the opponents we don't even play. That's how dedicated I am. And of course, our non con opponents like Ohio State, Texas State, utsa. I'm really proud of this year's edition. This is an amazing gift and it's also an amazing thing for you to bone up on the Longhorns. And there's a lot of little, little nuggets and things in there that I find and I unearth. And I think you'll find it worth your time. All right.

[Ian]

Too is the nuggets that you. The nuggets and angles that you find. There's always a few because it's a long off season.

[Paul]

Yeah.

[Ian]

But you always find a few that I didn't think of. And it always re kicks the mind off and thinking about the season.

[Paul]

Well, that's a high compliment because there's no one more plugged into Texas football than you. And you kind of know it all. So that's. That's great. Praise Utah Horn begins in a negative way. Rumor has it that Paul pushed Joe out from it. No, Paul did not push Joe out from it. Paul loves Joe Cook. Joe Cook is one of his favorite people on the planet. However, if I was going to push him out, I wouldn't tell him to go to law school. I'd tell him to go, like, start a business. So that's how you know. I didn't push him out. I heard of Joe because he's prettier. That's. That is true. Deeply jealous of Joe because of his beauty. But no, that's not why.

[Ian]

All rumors are false until officially denied. Paul.

[Paul]

That's right. By my denying it, I'm actually, I'm actually affirming that I played a role in pushing Joe Cook out. No, I, I love Joe Cook. He is the guy that keeps the trains running on time. At it.

[Ian]

Yep.

[Paul]

And all of you guys go by thinking Texas football because if you'd read it, you'd know the answer to every one of these questions before this show. All right. B. Pittinger asks a fine poster at Inside Texas. I know that name. I know that handle. If Texas goes 8 and 4, what went wrong? And I'm not going to even read the parenthetical. But it says, besides an arch injury. Okay,

[Ian]

Ian, I think there's a. It's. It's kind of hard to imagine Texas slipping to 8 and 4 without a major injury. But I've got an easy answer and then a little more subtle answer that's probably not sufficient. The only sufficient answer is that the offensive line does not come together. They don't fix guard with the various moves they made, and they just hit a ceiling because they can't protect or they can't run block, and they're just not consistent enough to beat the top teams. And so they drop multiple close games to get opponents.

[Paul]

You want to hit us with the subtle answer?

[Ian]

The. It's not really subtle. It's probably insufficient. It's there, like Wingo still isn't good, and the running backs aren't actually sec caliber or something.

[Paul]

If Wingo's not good, we could still go 10 and 2.

[Ian]

I. I agree. I told you it was insufficient.

[Paul]

Okay, you did preface it. I'm sorry. It's like saying you tell your wife something like, honey, don't be mad, but. And let me finish the story, she already starts getting angry. Okay. If Texas goes 8 and 4, I think a lot more than went wrong than just an arch injury, actually. I think. I think KJ Lacy might be good, y'.

[Ian]

All. Yep.

[Paul]

So if that's the case, maybe you still pull off a nine and three, but an arch injury would be the major thing. The O line not coming together. I don't even. That. I don't even know if that would be enough to completely sink us.

[Ian]

But, yeah, it feels like the defense is going to be really good, and it just makes it hard to go over a cliff.

[Paul]

Yeah.

[Ian]

Is it going to be in every game, like Oklahoma last year? Just in every game. Because that defense is so good. There could be, like, if we got first half of the year arch again for a sustained spell, like seven games. Or like. Yeah. Or like a stretch of like. Like the back half of the year, like when they have all those road games or whatever. Because the road game, a lot of the road games that we're all penciling in as wins this year could be easily as tough or tougher than at Kentucky and at Mississippi State.

[Paul]

Yeah. Suddenly at Missouri, which most people have penciled in as a win, suddenly they put up a few points and Then all of a sudden your offense isn't performing. You're not taking advantage of Missouri's weak defense, which you would know as a thinking Texas football reader. They replace all 11 starters. That's. Those games suddenly become in doubt, and then that's when you can have like an Auburn, Florida style season where you underachieve. Like Florida. I've got to research this. They had seven draft picks and four wins. When you exceed your wins by draft picks by three, that's a, that's an achievement. I think there might be a Maryland Mike Loxley team that had seven drafted and they won three or four. So I'd have to research it. But that Delta is, is pretty incredible. That's impressive.

[Ian]

I wrote about Florida on the sub stack yesterday. Americaswargame.substack.com and I made a meme I meant to show you of Chicken Little in a Longhorn jersey warning everybody about Dallas Wilson.

[Paul]

Oh, it's crazy is Dallas Wilson lit us on fire and then instantly got injured. The next day it was gone. So when you tell people Dallas Wilson's good, they're like he had eight catches for 120 yards last year. What are you babbling about?

[Ian]

Right. It was all against us. All against us.

[Paul]

All right. Hope we answered your question satisfactorily. Moving on. Okay. Hey guys, when you ask a question, can you just ask the question?

[Commercial Announcer]

The.

[Paul]

The freaking preambles. Good lord.

[Ian]

I'm gonna spare Paul's old eyes from this.

[Paul]

Thank you.

[Ian]

Sark is running a great program and I wouldn't trade him for anyone for that aspect. However, his game day calls can be a little off and game plans as well. Parentheses Florida. The defensive game plan against Florida was horrible and he didn't override his defensive coordinator. Do you feel he is growing in this aspect of his becoming a more rounded head Coach? That's from MGT Guy 1. You know, Paul, I think. I think Sark as an overall head coach has been a lot better than I anticipated when they hired him.

[Paul]

Yes.

[Ian]

And then Cirque, the offensive coordinator, has been a lot weaker than we expected.

[Paul]

Yeah, it's true. He's a. He's been a better head coach than an offensive coordinator.

[Ian]

Yeah.

[Paul]

Yeah. So to. To the point of the question, I agree. The Florida game plan on both sides of the ball was horrific. I've talked about it ad nauseam. It was the biggest game planning egg lay at Texas since Sark has been here. That said, that game was instrumental along with a couple of other games later in the year for Sark. Making the change with pk because he does want a head coach of the defense, he does want to focus more on offense, and then he does want to focus more on being a global head coach. So that ultimately was a key part and specifically PK's game plan of containment for DJ Lagway, who was hurt and couldn't run from the pocket anyway. And DJ Lagway had already thrown five interceptions in a game against lsu being pressured and blitzed every down. So PK basically just rolled out his defense and didn't game plan the game at all. And he didn't have any answers for Dallas Wilson. Early in the game. They ran the ball with Jaden Baugh. I mean just. It was one of the worst jobs of game planning I've. I've seen under the. The certainly in the Sark regime. I was going to say ever. But that's. That's not true. That's Charlie Strong coached here. But yeah, I, I think that was a big part in peak making the change with pk. And I do think Sark was already a pretty well rounded head coach.

[Ian]

Yep.

[Paul]

All right.

[Commercial Announcer 2]

Mo.

[Ian]

Through this fast. Y' all need to hit us with the historical stuff in the chat so we can extend this at the end.

[Paul]

That's right.

[Ian]

You're. Read this one again. This long one.

[Paul]

Oh, God. All right, let's go.

[Ian]

All right. I get the feeling that the run game will be good to very good this year and that will make this offense nearly unstoppable. I think that the season success will parallel success in the run game that is tied to the offensive line play too, naturally. Is that a dumb take? Of course a good run game helps every team, but I think it will help arch Shark's production dramatically. How much better should we expect the run game to be from High Flyer?

[Paul]

I like your question, although we could truncate that into like a sentence.

[Ian]

Let me speak to the first part. I do think. I do think Cir's offense is boosted by the run game because so many of his play calls are play action shots and screens and stuff that are built around showing a particular run and then hitting you with screens and play action and RPOs that are all built off that same run. So he is always been a run the ball and then throw it over their heads kind of guy. He's just a lot more clever and nuanced about it than some other people.

[Paul]

I agree. I would say the purpose and the use of the run game is not just to set up the passing game, which it is for Sark certainly the purpose of the run game is also to run the ball. Sounds a little obvious, but that is how you convert third and short, fourth and short and red zone. In the red zone, it's easier to run it in than to throw it in. If we need to throw it in, that's fine too. But that's a big part of the run game. And then also explosives in the run game, you know, Sark doesn't really count on those, but when he can get them, he's, he's happy to have a 60 yard touchdown run. So I think that's going to be the big change. I think, I'm not sure. A lot of people say sort of stick to the, the run game sets at the passing game. In some ways that's true. I think the more successful we are just throwing the ball, the more the run will open up. Because I think with our weapons, defenses are going to play off, they're going to play safeties deep. And Sark solution to a lot of that is I'm just going to keep handing the ball off stubbornly. While you're doing that, I'll hand the ball off nine plays in a row. And you know, that's actually something I like about Sark people, people have a conception of Sark as like high flying passing game guy. Sark loves the running game. He really does. And I, I, it's funny, I think I told you I watched an entire BYU season his senior year there's a game against their rival Utah where byu, this big high flying passing attack. Stark threw the ball 12 times that game for like 100 yards and they ran the ball for like 350 yards and every time Sark handed it off and they got like 8 or 12 yards, he was going crazy like fist pumping. So even as a college senior this dude is hyped by the run game. So people, people have a weird perception of Sark that doesn't match to the, to the reality. What do you think, Ian?

[Ian]

I actually do wish that we would get a little more into the other solution for people dropping their safeties, which is the Colt McCoy solution. If you're dropped two safeties back, that means we are going to throw underneath a million times at a high clip and just torture you on quick slants and stick routes and stuff. Yep, that's hard to do but Manning can do it. Manning is up for it more so than most Texas court most college quarterbacks. So I'd like to see more of that this year. But the run game is more straightforward and that's what they're going to start with.

[Paul]

Our own Evan Veith says 25 Rams vibes, and then he means the Los angeles rams. Sean McVeighs. Heavy motion, heavy packages, heavy play action. That's been the off season scoop. That's been the word. We will see. We will see. All right. Something you don't need to worry about. Something you don't need to be concerned about, and you definitely need to see is Gabe Winslow, mortgage man extraordinaire. You can reach him at 832-557-1095. Gabe is the best over 25 years in the industry. He's been on every side of the industry. He's owned a title company. Right now, he's a mortgage guy. He's got a law degree. He went to Texas. He's a former National Merit Scholar. This guy is very, very sharp. He is a cut above. Cut above your average mortgage guy. And he's a mortgage broker. Ian. What that means is he takes your deal, and he doesn't work for Big bank usa. He takes your deal and he shops it to about 55 or 60 different wholesale lenders. They all bid against each other, and then Gabe selects the best deal for you. That is a vastly better process than just going to your bank and the bank gives you the bank rate at the moment. Don't do that, guys.

[Ian]

Be smart.

[Paul]

Harness the power of capitalism and call Gabe Winslow. 832-557-1095.

[Ian]

I hope in 20 years we're doing ad reads where it's like, Joe is a law school grad, former Inside Texas editor, but now he's here to help you shop for the best robot slave. Wow. Wherever we're at, at that point, I

[Paul]

think he'll be doing estate planning. That's my guess. All right, I can read this. Even with our frustrations with pk, he was elite when he came to shutting down air raid offenses and quarterback run heavy offenses. Put a pin on that statement. Do you have any concerns that we can take a step back defending these styles of offenses under must champ from Bing Bong 2046. Bing Bong. I do agree this is. This is an old Barking Carnival reference. If those of you who were part of Barking Carnival.

[Ian]

Wait, wait, what was that?

[Paul]

We had a Laotian house slave named Bing Bong. Even with our frustrations with pk, he was elite when he came to shutting down air raid offenses. Okay, so I think he did have some very good philosophies that translated well to the air raid. Certainly just playing off coverage, saying Nothing over the top. Move down the field and we're just going to tackle you. And that's, that's very effective if you can pull it off, if you have the personnel to do it. Quarterback run heavy offenses? Yes and no. If you'll recall, go back to our most recent loss to OU in the Cotton bowl and PK was wholly unprepared for quarterback run game from the spread. So if you mean quarterback run heavy offenses like a service academy, sure. But I think Must Champ can figure that out too. But actually PK had some, some issues at times with people running the quarterback on us, especially in critical situations. What's your thought, Ian?

[Ian]

His general rule with quarterback run was just always be in safe contain with the ends, the edges. And so that worked. It was like it worked until it didn't. Like if, if he had problems with some of the veer and shoot teams that would spread everybody out so much that that wasn't enough.

[Paul]

Yep.

[Ian]

And then he had problems with Oklahoma. Like someone's noting Gabriel really took it to us in 2023. A lot of that was like draw where quarterback draw where defensive ends playing contained. That's not the issue. Yes, that's, that's hitting in a different area of the field. So he was like to re summarize what you've already said, he was really good at teaching safe based defense. And safe based defense is really good against quarterback run or air raid or whatever because your guys, you're not going to get caught all the time trying to outsmart them. You're just going to make them earn it. Must Champ though Bing Bong may not remember when Must Champ came to Texas last time the schedule was like entirely air raid and quarterback run. It was like that. Who was that? Nebraska with that, that blazing fast quarterback. They ran like all option.

[Paul]

I know you're talking, I know you're talking about. I'm blinking on his name.

[Ian]

Must Champ ate him alive in 2010. It was like a million offshoots of the air raid at Kansas in Texas

[Paul]

Tech, Sam Bradford at ou. That was an incredible passing game.

[Ian]

Oh, you had Sam. He had to face a diverse array of Missouri, Chase, Daniel and those NFL tight ends. And he stuffed a lot of them in the locker. He's fine. Taylor Martinez, I think that's right.

[Paul]

Nice. Great job. Chat. Evan. Evan. You weren't alive then. How do you know that?

[Ian]

Yeah, Evan wasn't even alive in 20.

[Paul]

Evan's 12 years old.

[Ian]

I think actually Evan literally was not alive in 2010 when that game happened.

[Paul]

This is Why I like Evan because, yes, he was alive, but we're being. This is why I like Evan. Evan is one of these younger guys who loves, like, old school stuff. So he, like, researches things and knows things he shouldn't know. He was an embryo. That's right. Yeah. Here's a little thought. If you've ever worked in the corporate world, and I had a long stint there, there's Bob in Accounting. And Bob in accounting is a nice guy and he's good under the old system. But we just went to new software and Bob in Accounting refuses to learn the new software. And so everyone has to use a spreadsheet and manually enter everything and send it to Bob in Accounting. And everything takes too long. And Bob in Accounting refuses to use the new software. At some point, Bob in Accounting needs to use the new software, or Bob in Accounting, who everyone likes needs to go. That's just the reality of an organization. Pete Kwakowski, in some regards, is Bob in Accounting.

[Commercial Announcer 2]

And.

[Paul]

And that, I think ultimately that was the cutting of the Gordian knot. That is the solution where if Sark can't get some of the new behaviors he wants out of him. How many times in the off season is Sark talked about walking up on receivers more? Yeah, every off season. So at some point, Bob and Accounting's gotta go. That's it. So onward.

[Ian]

All right.

[Paul]

How do you guys remain objective about scouting other teams and Texas? I tried to be objective in life, but chug the burn orange Kool Aid. But can also see the trap of being overly critical of UT as well. And that is from something gringo. If you guys know Spanish, you might be able to know what words to fit in there. It's like when someone pinches you and you add an E on the end. All right, Ian, I gotta ask you this because you are critical, you're very objective, but you are also simultaneously a burnt orange Kool Aid drinker. Have you ever predicted in our roundtables for Texas to lose? I don't recall this ever happening.

[Ian]

Yeah, I have.

[Paul]

Like, once.

[Ian]

No, no, more than that. A lot of times when I pick them to lose, they actually win. Yeah, ditto like a M last year.

[Paul]

Oh, you picked us to lose.

[Ian]

I'm pretty sure.

[Paul]

God, what a closet Aggie.

[Ian]

No.

[Paul]

Yeah. So actually, I have to say I can be very objective to a fault in that I know every one of our little weaknesses, and then I tend to gloss over those same weaknesses in other teams. So that can be a little bit of a trap, too. That said, there are Certain things about Texas that I've known, especially Pre Sarc, where I made a lot of money, frankly, betting against Texas in some critical moments, critical games, because I knew what our behaviors were and I knew how that other team would destroy us and exploit us. You know, Gundy going against us became an auto bet, especially when Oklahoma State was an underdog.

[Ian]

Bill Snyder versus Texas.

[Paul]

Patterson.

[Ian]

Patterson, yes. Yeah.

[Paul]

I mean, but this is all pre Sark, and I don't hold 20, 21 against Sark at all. Like, if you go back and objectively review our roster, it's tough. It's tough, man. If this Texas team played 20, 21 Texas, it's. It's 42 to nothing. Like, it's not even a competitive football game. All right, Ian, what do you think? What are your. What's your final word here?

[Ian]

One thing that helps is that when you're on the record publicly making predictions or giving opinions, then those, especially if you're competitive at all, you start to care more about those opinions than you do. Like, your normal allegiance to the team.

[Paul]

Yeah.

[Ian]

Like, because you want to be right. That's your whole job, is to try to give accurate insights. And so giving the accurate insight. You're more incentivized to give the accurate insight than you are to be, like, fanboy about the team.

[Paul]

Yeah. When I. I picked our accurate. I picked our season record in the SEC accurately last year in the thinking Texas football Preview. And I remember having in the back of my head, when we got whipped by Georgia in the fourth quarter, I remember being like, well, my pick's gonna pan out. That's not good. That's not good.

[Ian]

It causes its own problems.

[Paul]

But, yeah, someone mentions in the chat, always bet against Herman and strong. I gotta say, though, Michael, one of the keys to Tom Herman and the little rah rah culture was taking bowl games seriously. So I always bet Texas in ball games, especially when the team we were playing was big and physical and bullies people. Tom Herman teams didn't get bullied. Tom Herman teams got out, out fought, and outwitted. Right. So when we played Georgia in the Sugar bowl, everyone was expecting a loss. I was hard on Texas. I was Texas moneyline. When we played Utah. Do you remember that physical Utah team? I was like, oh, yeah, they're. Weren't they not gonna bully us? What are you like? Do you guys not even watch the games? Texas is an underdog. I took Texas, so you gotta pick your spots.

[Ian]

They also, on the flip side, Sark took over. They get Washington in the bowl Game. Yeah. And everyone was like, texas plays great in bowl games. I was like, well, no, Tom Herman's. Texas played great in bowl games.

[Paul]

That's right.

[Ian]

This is a different team. If y' all look at this Washington team, they got all these receivers that are actually kind of scary. So I. I remember being, like, one of the only people that was like, I don't like this. I think Wash two years in a row, actually. Two years in a row. I was like, I don't like this matchup. Washington could take it to us both times.

[Paul]

Yeah. Heavy credit to you on that second one because I agreed with you on the automobile, like, I was gonna be very competitive. But credit to you on the second one because a lot of people were like, texas is going to destroy Washington. We're playing for the national title. Let's go. And I was like, if we play a 3, 2, 6, I think we can beat Washington. But if we come out in our base D and we're, like, playing contain, they're going to literally destroy us on. On defense. And that's what they did.

[Ian]

They pinched us real good.

[Paul]

When you have Byron Murphy and Tavandre sweat on the line of scrimmage, maybe play a 3, 3, 2, 6 there, Pete, maybe put more DBs on the field. All right, next question.

[Ian]

Hold on. We got a. From the private chat, the producer says, talk about the actual research process that helps you not be as biased.

[Paul]

So I would say the thing that helps me. A couple of things. One, by nature, I tend to be critical and objective. Like, that's sort of my. My thing. I could be a little cold and analytical when I need to engage that part of my mind. If you've ever heard me talk about the roster, I can get very cold and analytical. And everyone's like, I love Trey Wisner. And I'm like, he's not very good. We shouldn't move him on and get someone else. And people like, are you even a fan? I'm like, well, when I'm building the roster, no, I'm not a fan. That actually. I'm actually a jerk. But when I watch the games, I'm a fan. That's one. Two is if you watch a lot of college football, it can be humbling because you think you know and you don't really know. And I'd say third, the process is so exhaustive that you just learn a lot and you. You understand. Like, there's certain. I. I'm kind of with Mark Twain. History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. And you see Certain patterns over and over and over. And you're like, yeah, I kind of know how this goes. So also, sports gambling really helps because it forces you to engage your objectivity and not be like a fanboy, because there's a punishment to being a fanboy, which is you lose. Ian, what about you?

[Ian]

Yeah, all those things. We both watch a lot of college football outside of Texas. We both try to watch things in terms and understand what's happening rather than. It's really easy. As a Texas fan, like, probably I'm most vulnerable watching Oklahoma, and I will find the things about Oklahoma that are beatable, and I'll nitpick them because I want to see those things.

[Paul]

Yeah, that's right.

[Ian]

Right. And they're there. But some, like, I. I spent a whole year insisting that once somebody forced Jalen Hurts to go left, that Oklahoma would fall apart. And it's. And eventually I was like, you know, it's hard to make him go left when he runs quarterback power for 100 yards a game.

[Paul]

Yeah.

[Ian]

And I'm just. I'm like, just willfully ignoring that. This guy is really hard to stop just doing this stuff. But I. I will say for fans, I don't know that this is. Don't necessarily take this advice. Be a fan.

[Paul]

Yeah.

[Ian]

I want the greatest things I ever read. In 2021, I wrote a weekly column for MGO Blog, and I read this. They had this, like, punt, counter punt piece that they would do with two different takes, and they had two different takes before the Ohio State game. And Michigan hadn't beat Ohio State in, like, a decade. Right. And just agony after agony, humiliation after humiliation. And two guys write about it and they're like, sure, we're good. One guy's like, sure, we're good this year. But I'm not going there. I'm just not going to believe we're going to beat this team, even if we're solid. Like, I've been here a million times. I've had the football pulled out by Lucy. I'm not doing it again. The next guy comes in and gives the greatest fan take metaphor I've ever read in my life, and he says, I want to be Charlie Brown. I'm going to run full speed into that football because the one time, if it's actually finally there, I don't want to just, like, meekly tap it. I want to kick that thing out of the yard. I want to kick that over the neighbors. I want to kick that football as hard as I possibly can. So I'm gonna Go in swinging every freaking time. And I was like, God, that is. I don't think. I don't think you or I can actually totally get there because we're just too coldly analytical by nature.

[Paul]

Yep.

[Ian]

But I think the person that can get there emotionally, that's kind of what it's all about.

[Commercial Announcer]

Foreign.

[Paul]

It's. It's Ted Lasso pointing at the believe sign.

[Ian]

Right.

[Paul]

Like it. It is so fulfilling when you just wholly commit to a team and they come through for you. It's. It's worth all the agony and. But as the counterpoint of as they say in soccer is, it's the hope that kills you.

[Ian]

Yeah.

[Paul]

Do you think, Do y' all think Sark actually tries to go nuclear on teams this year? Great question. Wonder how much of letting teams hang around too long. Was defensive ineptitude or defense. Defensive passivity, especially in the secondary. It was both. Also, Sark, by nature is an NFL coach by mindset. Also, he's kind of old school and that he doesn't believe in running the score up on people. Like, he doesn't like to humiliate teams. That's not part of his coaching code.

[Ian]

Except Joey McGuire that one year.

[Paul]

Well, but you know what?

[Commercial Announcer]

Yes.

[Paul]

He earned it, first of all. And secondly, if you go rewatch the game, Ian, that was Tech just handing us scores.

[Ian]

I mean, they let go of the rope.

[Paul]

Yeah. I mean, our friend Jet Bush got the kick six. You know that's not Sark running up the score, right. Keelan Robinson bringing back a kickoff. That's not Sark running up the score, etc.

[Ian]

Etc.

[Paul]

I think this is a great point in the chat from Josh. Do you think he goes nuclear on teams this year by proclivity? He doesn't do that. Also, we're not going to have the ability to go nuclear on many teams. To be honest, our schedule is really hard, man. Like we. When we win a game 31:17, we're just surviving and advancing. I don't like the style. Points aren't going to be particularly meaningful, although it is to the committee. But we're not playing a bunch of teams you can just blow out. Even Texas State. If we execute on offense, we should score on every possession. I'm telling you, they are going to score on us and a bunch of you are going to freak out. Oh, must champ. It's like, dude, Texas State's got some guys rethinking Texas football. I explain it all to you, you know.

[Ian]

Yeah, it's easier said than done, Josh. But I'll I'll tell you one thing that will make a difference is PK would let guys throw the ball to get back in the game and dink

[Paul]

and dunk and run clock sort of doing it as well. Right.

[Ian]

Which is. There's no. That's not a bad way to do it, but it's not going to result in blowout wins.

[Paul]

Nope.

[Ian]

It wasn't like. It wasn't that PK was wrong to like absorb, you know, sustained drives. Pat, that. That kills clock. As long as you tackle and you don't let them get past you, it's. It's fine. But must champ. Must champ in this pass rush may create blowout opportunities because of pressure, three and outs, sack strips and interceptions.

[Paul]

Yes.

[Ian]

Where teams are like, okay, we got to throw to get back in this game. And then they're still getting tight match coverage and they're still getting even. If it's not Colin Simmons, they're getting Wesley and Tyler Atkinson on the blitz.

[Paul]

Who are all hungry.

[Ian]

Who are all hungry. Yeah, that. That will probably go both ways. You'll hit the. The deep bomb over the top on John Meredith II when Atkinson takes the wrong gap and then you'll get Atkinson spearing a dude in the ball, flying into the opposite end zone.

[Paul]

Yep. I think 100% agree. Back in the days, I used to always caution people when Art Briles and Baylor at their peak would blow someone out 70 to 7. And then the. Another team that they were playing that week had beat the same team 35, 17, and people be like, wow, I mean, Baylor's going to win. Look at the. It's like Briles and the Veer and Shoot were constructed to blow out teams that have a. A weakness. Right. And the way they played on defense because they immediately get the ball back. That other team that won, 3517, they were up 20, 28, 7 at halftime and they just cruised to the win. So don't always assume that there's a symmetry in blowouts and like, what that means about the team. So just, just a thought there.

[Ian]

Great story from that. I was gonna ask the producer if we could bring this one up, but real quick, hilarious story from the Art Miles era when they had just got Phil Bennett to coach the defense and my boy Cody Alexander was his grad assistant. Cody Alexander told this story once of the airplane ride when they left Morgantown with a 70 to 63 loss against like Geno Smith and Tavon Austin. And they're on the plane and he's like, this was the Conversation on the plane flying back from Morgantown After a 70 to 63 loss, the conversation was like this. We should have scored more. How could we have scored more to win that game? Now, Bennett fixed that defense a lot, and that within a year or two of Bennett, that defense is actually pretty solid. They still. Their numbers still weren't great because of that mindset I just described. But, yeah, that was what Art. Art was. I heard once somebody described him as a savant, and I think that that may be correct.

[Paul]

All right, Michael Welch in the chat says, who can we drop 100 on with that? With the schedule, UTSA might be the most likely candidate. But tell you what, man, even Mississippi State, if Camario Taylor hits, we're not gonna, like, beat them 56 to nothing. Like, that's. That's not gonna be a thing. You're looking at 45, 21. So it is what it is. Don't worry about the style points, guys. We've got a. We've got. This is arguably the most difficult schedule in Texas football history. It really could be that way.

[Ian]

So we're not gonna drop a little. Go ahead. Sorry.

[Paul]

Go ahead.

[Ian]

Okay. We're not gonna drop a literal 100 on anybody, but, like, thank you. 50 points. I would say some other contenders would be SEC team that goes into that week with a lot of injuries. You could see Texas, like, pull away from somebody, especially at home. And then I think if Sark has the chance, they'll drop 50 on Oklahoma or A M.

[Paul]

You know, he actually likes and respects Elko, so I don't know about that.

[Ian]

He supposedly likes and respects McGuire. That didn't stop him from telling Jade A. Baron to record him saying F around and find out in the locker room afterwards.

[Paul]

Well, also, when you're the Green Knight from Monty Python, you deserve it. We're just going to keep hacking off limbs while you keep talking trash, right? All right. If we have mediocre run blocking, how much does that lower the offensive ceiling? Given that Stark's offense builds on the run game going from 10 to 10 to 7 out of 10, mediocre run blocking would be an improvement. Man,

[Ian]

that's really tough. Like, what was last year in run blocking?

[Paul]

Below. Below average by far.

[Ian]

But even last year, they would still set up runs all the time that they just couldn't take advantage of.

[Paul]

Yeah, you hyper focused on those because you saw the missed opportunities because it was so spare. Right. There were plenty of plays. Again, run game people hate when I say this. The run game's value is primarily situational it's the auto conversion of a third and two. It's the. It's. It's going in the red zone, first and goal on the nine. And you run the ball three times and get a touchdown. The. The stats of that are not good. Your running back had three carries for nine yards. That's not good. Your running back scored a touchdown after those three carries.

[Ian]

That's what.

[Paul]

That's what matters. We could not do that again. We could not.

[Ian]

So if better than mediocre means being good in situational, take it. Then I don't think they have to be that much better in situational to still be an awesome offense.

[Paul]

Y.

[Ian]

Because they're going to be so explosive and they're going to be so skilled in the passing game that I think it goes from a 10 out of 10 to, like, an 8, bordering on a 9 there. It's gonna be hard to stop them from scoring.

[Paul]

Agreed. Someone in the chat corrected me. That's the black Knight, not the green knight. Thank you. I'm sorry. How much does Dwayne Aquina get PK fired? Well, Dwayne Aquina put a spotlight on PK's deficiencies, which is he needs someone to collaborate and, quote, coordinate the back end. If you're living like that, it gets back to Bob from accounting that I was telling you about, right? You can't live that way. Where you're having this constant workaround for one person in your organization, you. You can't live that way. So Dwayne Akana, big did play a big role in that. He was an awful hire. I warned against it when it happened, and unfortunately, it all came true. Right? When Dwayne Aquino was hired, a guy who's a not insignificant contributor to Texas athletics texted me all excited, and I was like, he'll be fired by the end of the year, and I hope it doesn't make us, like, vastly underachieve our potential. And he was like. He's like, what is your problem? What is your deal? And I was like, you'll see. And unfortunately, what I thought was correct. But Dwayne Aquina only put a spotlight on the issue, and that issue was never going to go away. So maybe we do fire him at the end of this year. Maybe we do find someone who can coordinate the back end. Well, that guy's only here for two years because he's going to go get a D.C. gig somewhere, right? You can't live that way. You can't have constant workarounds for a primary person in Your organization. That's a choke point. So this isn't even just football. This is Yalls work life. That one person who's the choke point. You can't do workarounds for that person in perpetuity. You have to fire that person. That's just the reality of it.

[Ian]

Fire the people holding you back in life, says Paul. Also, I, I think another loser in that beyond PK was a big loser because he lost his job. I think Manson was a loser in that too because

[Paul]

yeah, he's like, I worked with him. Bring him in.

[Ian]

Yeah, he tried to get him to come the year prior too.

[Paul]

Yeah.

[Ian]

And now Nancy, where's Nansen now? He still has his job, but now Nansen is like fetching coffee for must champ, you know?

[Paul]

Well, and you know, talk about the little nuggets that you like from Thinking Texas football. When Dwayne Aquina was the defensive coordinator at Arizona in 2024, they had the 103rd ranked passing defense in college football. They went 4 and 8 because of it. They fired him, let him go to Texas. Sorry. And then elevated a career linebackers coach to dc. Their personnel didn't change in the secondary except they brought in a transfer from Duquesne who was a backup. He was like the sixth guy. And they had the number one passing efficiency defense in college football and went nine and four.

[Ian]

I could tell from listening to Keena when he came and did the coordinator availability that he was stuck in the 90s still.

[Paul]

Yes. Like it was 2002 in his mind.

[Ian]

Yeah. With his mindset to scheme and stuff.

[Paul]

All right. Do we have any more questions?

[Ian]

That's it.

[Paul]

That's it. Did we get a historical question?

[Ian]

No. Our readers, our listeners failed us.

[Paul]

The chat has failed us rarely. We have an elite chat.

[Ian]

So.

[Paul]

So that's fine folks, because we need to get out of here. I'm going to go do some stuff. I'm going to go like write articles and stuff at Inside Texas. That's where you need to join for $1, 50% off for the rest of the year. And then once you've joined Inside Texas, I want you to take your hard earned money and go purchase Thinking Texas football. The 2026 Longhorn football prospectus. The best damn Texas and SEC preview on the market. I challenge you to tell me one better. And this is the 14th annual. So I put a lot into this. I poured a lot into it, pulled a lot of all nighters and I think I've got a. I produced a good product. I hope you guys like it. I hope you enjoy it. Go buy it and then recommend it to others. Ian, you kicked ass today. Thanks for carrying the show as usual. And do we have any final words for the people?

[Ian]

Hook them.

[Paul]

Hook em. Horns. Let's go.