Texas to freeze Patterson’s ticket price increase
Interim AD could have undone Patterson’s damaging policies.
While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction: 1. Texas missed the boat when it announced Tuesday it will not roll back or at least somewhat lower prices for football season tickets in 2016. Nor did interim Athletic Director Mike Perrin say whether the school will change its punitive policy on resale of one’s own tickets. Sorry, Mike, you can brag on a home schedule with Notre Dame, TCU and Baylor, but 2015 games against those first two didn’t go all that well. Perrin will keep prices the same for two years but missed a chance to undo more Steve Patterson damage. ... Texas has already cleared $1.5 million from beer and wine sales in general seating areas at Royal-Memorial Stadium this year, with a high of $400,000 from the Cal game. 2. Bob Bowlsby nailed it when he said on a Dallas Morning News podcast Notre Dame shouldn’t top the Big 12 winner in the College Football Playoff rankings because the Big 12 team can claim a championship. The Big 12 commissioner said: “One of the criteria is championships won, and Notre Dame hasn’t won a championship even if they
beat Stanford and win out. Of course, because we had co-champions last year, it was generally believed — and I think it’s accurate — that we were probably marked down for it.” Bowlsby also sees no SEC superiority over his league, saying: “I think our balance from top to bottom is better than the SEC, and I think it’s better than any other league. That’s why it’s so difficult for programs like Iowa State and Kansas to get their legs under them.” 3. It’s the height of arrogance that LSU is considering parting ways with the winningest coach in school history (yes, Les Miles has a higher percentage than Nick Saban there) whose 40 players in the NFL rank No. 1. Miles is not Saban. No one is. Get over it. Oh, and Miles’ 2016 recruiting class is ranked No. 1 by ESPN and No. 2 to Ohio State by Rivals. Of his 18 commitments, 10 are four-star players, including four Texans: Manor linebacker Eric Fowler, DeSoto wideout Dee Anderson, Galena Park North Shore defensive back Eric Monroe and Killeen Shoemaker linebacker Rahssan Thornton. Texas offered all four scholarships, and it’ll be interesting to see whether all 18 stick with the Tigers if Miles is fired. Texas could benefit. 4. Can officiating get any worse? Was stunned to see the errors in the Pats-Bills game. The NFL needs to go to full-time refs. The stakes are too high. On the college level, one Big 12 coach told me recently he doesn’t even bother turning in reports to the league office because “they’re so bad.” Have other league coaches lost faith in the officiating? 5. Iowa State should look hard at Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley and Toledo coach Matt Campbell, a native Ohioan who has nine wins in three of his four seasons. Whoever gets the job should hang on to star running backs coach Louis Ayeni, whom Charlie Strong should consider as well. The fired Paul Rhoads didn’t get a raw deal, but I’m not sure the Cyclones will ever do any better. 6. Did you see the stat on “Monday Night Football” that the New England Patriots didn’t have a single offensive player who was a first-round draft pick? That’s what I call coaching ’em up. It should also thoroughly embarrass teams like the Cleveland Browns, who have squandered more high picks than anyone else and still need a quarterback. 7. Congrats to a pair of Central Texans. Texas Lutheran senior running back A.J. Saucedo, a three-time All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference first-teamer for the 8-2 Bulldogs, was recently honored for his community service for helping with construction projects and volunteer cleanup projects and working with neighborhood kids. “It’s always fun being with the kids,” Saucedo said. “It’s neat that we can be role models for them.” The 5-foot-8 Saucedo, who finished his career with TLU’s fourth-best 1,803 yards and 22 touchdowns, averaged 4.7 yards per carry over his career. He’ll graduate next month and hopes to enter Navy officer training school and eventually become a Navy SEAL. His replacement next year is current teammate Marquis Barrolle, who’s only 5-2 but led all of Division III in rushing with 1,792 yards and had a school-record 297 carries in one season and 50 in one game. 8. Keep your eye out for Stephen Johnson because he could make some noise in major league baseball soon. The St. Edward’s pitcher, whose fastball has been clocked at 100 mph, has been assigned to the Cincinnati Reds’ 40-man roster. He’s the first Hilltopper to be on a major league roster since shortstop Roger Metzger played for the Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants in the 1970s. Johnson was traded in August from the Giants to the Reds. He led Division II with 18 saves his last year at St. Edward’s under Rob Penders, and some are suggesting he might be the second-best arm in the Reds’ system behind Aroldis Chapman. 9. No time for a movie. My favorite for best actor remains Johnny Depp in “Black Mass.” Can’t wait to see “Spotlight.” C razy prediction: Les Miles will be hired by Missouri.