Football Friday: The Strange Obsession with Texas

It is more than fair to say that the Texas Longhorn Football program is far from where it was under coaching titan Mack Brown. It is also fair to say, that sometime in the near future (not too near), the Longhorns will be great again. Unfortunately for those fans less patient, that time is not now. Tom Herman is one hell of a coach, and has proven he can turn a team into a successful program. That will not happen immediately at his new gig, Texas. The program is still dealing with whatever illness they have that caused them to lose to Kansas for the first time in nearly 80 years. That illness still persists today.

Charlie Strong has a great reputation for attracting players of intelligence and high moral character. While they're not untalented, they're certainly not competing for a Big 12 title, so they can forget about a national title. Herman has been brought in to help cure this rash of sub-par play. Anybody who expects this to happen overnight must believe in miracles, because last time I checked, Herman will still be coaching Strong's recruits. In 2 or maybe 3 years, I will not be shocked if we see Texas looking for back to back titles.

Texas is coming off of a horrible 5-7 season, and by the way, lost an absolute monster at Running Back. D'Onta Foreman was the life blood of this team. In my latest predictions, I do have them doing better this season (not by much) than they did last season, with a record of 6-6. One thing helping Texas is that they play Kansas at home next season, and the Baylor program seems to be in shambles after their scandal, that I don't expect very much from them. To their detriment, they dont have a very easy out of conference schedule. They have to play Maryland who may not be very good, but they are a scrappy bunch. After that, they play San Jose State, which should be no problem for them, but then they have to go on the road to play USC.

With the Big 12 being what it is (lack of defense), this is the conference for an offensive mind like Herman. Like I stated above, there is no reason Texas wont be the best team in the conference, and possibly in the country. However, that won't be until 2020-2021 (when his recruits become Juniors).

I absolutely love football, and am excited for the Longhorns' future. I am not a fan, but I am willing to wait patiently to watch Texas develop into something we havent seen in college football since the days of Reggie Bush. That would be an exciting, fun to watch, dominant team. Alabama may be great, but as a spectator, they're not that much fun to watch. In my opinion, Cam was the only fun part of that Auburn team, and Jameis was the only fun part of the Seminoles. Don't mistake my word fun. Im not saying they weren't great, I am saying they weren't that exciting week after week like USC and Texas were back in 2004.

Hope you enjoyed the read!

Daniel Snyder

Football Friday - Why Oklahoma State Will Win the National Championship

This is the fourth week of our four week series on the National Championship! This week we close the series on Oklahoma State. Thats right, the Cowboys! They play in the Big 12, which almost everybody would agree is the weakest of the Power 5 conferences. That is why Oklahoma State will win the National Championship!

Despite the fact Oklahoma State plays in a weak conference, they are actually very good. They will be highly ranked when the first AP poll comes out. That will work to their advantage. The other thing that will help is the level of talent they play against. Oklahoma is a very good team, but they lost a lot. West Virginia is good as well, but not where they used to be. Other than those two teams, who is the real challenge? Who is the real threat? I will answer that for you. There isn't one.

By the way, the Cowboys have this Quarterback who is nothing short of incredible. If you don't know him yet, you will know Mason Rudolph before you see him in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. Yes, he is THAT good. He completed 63% of his passes, for over 4000 yards. He threw for 28 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions. He also rushed for 6 touchdowns. He is not the only weapon on the team.

They are also returning an 1100 yard rusher as a freshman named Justice Hill. In his first year, he tallied only 6 touchdowns, but he was only one of the 6 players who had double digit carries on the season. The best part is, he is only a sophomore, and avoiding a Christian Hackenberg-esque arc, he will improve, and be a complete monster.

Rudolph also has a 1400 yard receiver returning for his senior season. James Washington finished with 1380 yards and 10 touchdowns on 79 catches. Thats an average of almost 20 yards per catch. While the defense is not very good, its definitely not anything different from the rest of the conference.

Oklahoma State should win the conference, especially with the turmoil going on in Waco, and the fact that Oklahoma has lost 3 absolute studs to the NFL. Baker Mayfield is special, but he is not that special. While many people disagree with me, I see the Oklahoma State Cowboys going undefeated through the regular season. After that, it's just 2 more wins until the CFP rings in the Oklahoma State as its next National Champion.

Thank you for reading,

Dan Snyder

DanDanTony Sports - Episode 17: First Live Episode - MLB & College Football

Hey everybody!

Looking for our latest episode on Soundcloud? Well, we have switched to Spreaker! You can now hear us live on Tuesdays at 7:15 PM. Missed us on Tuesday? Not a problem, because you can access our entire library of episodes! Don't fret, simply click HERE to find our latest (and every) episode!

We are also available on Youtube! Check out one (or all) of our videos! Our page can be found by following this link.

As always, our This week in Sports History information can be found here!

Thanks for listening and hopefully we catch you live on Tuesdays!

DanDanTony

Listen to "Episode 17: First Live Episode - MLB & College Football" on Spreaker.

Football Friday - Why Penn State Will Win the National Championship

This is the third installment of the four part series on the College Football Playoff, and the National Championship. This week, we focus on my FAVORITE TEAM, the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Last season, Penn State had a rocky start losing to Pitt and getting absolutely demolished by Michigan. But the season found a turning point after the upset of Ohio State in Happy Valley. Penn State wouldn't lose again until the Rose Bowl against USC. This was in large part due to the confidence that one major win gave, but it was more than just that.

Penn State really hit a stride after that Ohio State game, winning most games in convincing fashion. Saquon Barkley looked like a man among children, even when playing through soreness and injury. Chris Godwin was almost sure to catch anything that was thrown his way, and was highly intelligent. Couple this with an explosive talent like Trace McSorely at Quarterback, and you have a recipe for success. Unfortunately, Chris Godwin is no longer a Nittany Lion. This is where Penn State will have to work the most. Saeed Blacknall has shown that in big games, he can come up big. This was evident in the Big Ten Championship game, where he recorded 2 touchdowns on 6 catches, totaling 155 yards. He has the potential to be McSorely's top guy, and possibly even a First Team All-Big Ten receiver. That is if he can stay on the field. Blacknall was suspended for the Rose Bowl for "violating team rules". Should this not happen again, look out for him.

McSorely also has some help on the defense. Penn State is returning two absolute studs from last season's team in Cabinda and Allen. Losing Garrett Sickles to the NFL Draft (though he didn't get drafted) is tough for Penn State. However, it's not something they can overcome. In fact, experience is one of their strong suits. Unlike Michigan who has lost 17 starters, and Ohio State who said goodbye to 75% of their starting secondary, and lost an absolute weapon out of the backfield, Penn State is returning almost everybody.

This season will be Penn State's chance with Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin all losing key pieces of their team, to really step in and prove that they not only belong in the CFP debate, but that they are a legitimate threat to Alabama, or whoever else they may see in the CFP.

Penn State will be a fun team to watch this season. Look for Saquon Barkley to put up Heisman-like numbers this season. If Penn State can get by Ohio State, they should finish the season 12-0 heading into the College Football Playoff.

Next week, we will discuss the fourth and final team in the series, the Oklahoma State Cowboys!

Thank you for reading,

Dan Snyder

DanDanTony Sports - Episode 16: Favorite American Olympians

Hello everybody!

Here is our latest episode of DanDanTony Sports. This week, we discuss our favorite American Olympians, as this was our 4th of July episode! You can listen to the episode on iTunes, on SoundCloud, or on the embedded player at the bottom of this page!

We are excited to announce that after today, we will be doing our show LIVE on Tuesday evenings, and will be doing so from now on. We will be on a new platform! Once we switch over, we will post our links on Facebook and Twitter. Doing the show live will allow us to talk more currently than we have in the past, so that we don't give breaking updates, and you hear them 5 days after they happen! We will also be able to interact with an audience by receiving messages live! Stay tuned for more details!

Our This Week in Sports History info can be found here!

We hope you enjoy!

Football Friday - Why USC Will Win the National Championship

We are currently in the second week of our four week series on the National Championship in college football. Last week, we discussed the Alabama Crimson Tide. This week, I will be discussing the USC Trojans.

Entering the last week of the season, the USC Trojans were the hottest team in college football. This was in large part due to the strong quarterback play by Sam Darnold. This season, Sam Darnold will be back, and will be looking for his National Championship. He came up short last season with the Trojans failing to make the College Football Playoff. However, most "experts" don't anticipate this happening this year, myself included.

USC suffered two losses in its first three games including an embarrassing 52-6 dismantling at the hands of Alabama. The biggest difference between that game and the Trojans this season is that Sam Darnold is the Quarterback, no debate, no question. Last season, he was in the back seat as Max Browne was the starting Quarterback for the game against Alabama. 

In addition to Darnold, the Trojans are returning Running Back Ronald Jones, who led the team in rushing in 2016. He is a junior, so he will be a returning leader for the team as an upperclassman. 

Receiver is a position that the Trojans will have a bit of trouble with, as they have so many young players, and have lost quite a few starters. However, they have depth, and at the slot position they are returning their starter Deontay Burnett, and the guy that he took the starting spot from, Steven Mitchell. Wide Receiver does also seem to be a position in college football that if you have a good Quarterback, he can make the receivers around him better.

The offensive line has been solid, for the most part, and appears to be the same this year, with three of the five starters from last year returning.

When it comes to defense, unless you play in the SEC, you really don't have one. USC will have a similar defense to the one they had last year with one big exception. Anybody who knows me knows I LOVED Adoree Jackson. He is now a Tennessee Titan. That loss will be difficult to overcome, but in an offense driven sport, I think Sam Darnold will be up to the challenge. They are returning a lot of starts and experience on the defensive side of the ball, and should continue to maintain the level of competitiveness that you saw from week 4 on last season.

All in all, the USC Trojans will be one of the odds on favorites to win the NCAA championship this upcoming season. The only team that really stands in their way, is themselves. If they don't make the foolish mistakes of last season, they should be hoisting the trophy at the end of the season, and collecting their National Championship rings.

Tune in next week as we continue the series with "Why Penn State Will Win the National Championship."

Until next time,

Dan Snyder

DanDanTony Sports - Episode 15: Most Annoying Fans

Here is our latest episode! In this episode, we discuss the MOST ANNOYING fan bases in all of sports! Listen as Dan Snyder, Dan O'Shea and Dan Beebie discuss this topic, and insult 15 different groups!

As always, you can listen on iTunes, on SoundCloud, or here on the embedded player!


This Week In Sports History information can be found here!


Thank you for listening!