Texas Tech Football Notebook: Travis in SI; We’re Not Talking About Swagger

Start Your Day With A Flex. Seriously, stand up and go ahead and flex.

And Make This Move On a Chair in Your Office.

Oh, No Big Deal, Just Travis in Sports Illustrated. Noted journalist Sports Illustrated’s Travis Hale writes that Bret Bielema is helping unite Texas football teams:

The statement was shocking on its face, but even more so coming from Kingsbury, who’s much more Bill Belichick than Mike Leach in his approach. In his third season at Texas Tech he’s rarely said anything quotable or newsworthy, preferring instead to stick to standard cliché and coach speak. The fact that Kingsbury briefly broke character is telling, and should speak volumes about the level of disdain toward Bielema in Texas.

That Travis guy has got a little something. Oh yeah, Travis was also on with Ticket 760’s Geoff Sheen to discuss this Bert guy . . . pawwwwllll.

Notebook: Haven’t Done Anything Yet. LAJ’s Don Williams reported that head coach Kliff Kingsbury said that this team hasn’t done anything yet and they have a big opportunity in front of him:

“They know this is a great opportunity and it’s going to be a sold-out crowd. We have a lot to prove, and we have to get a lot better during the week to have a chance in this game.”

Williams also notes that Jalen Barnes and Derrick Dixon have been dealing with family issues and didn’t travel to Arkansas. I’m not sure what to make of that other than they’re dealing with family problems. Also part of the notebook is trying to figure out who is left for the TCU defense. I thought that ESPN’s Max Olson tweeting the starters and how that’s changed since the bowl game last year:

Fast Starts. LAJ’s Don Williams writes that the fast start for Texas Tech has been a key to this team’s success:

“We talk about starting fast all the time,” Kingsbury said, “but to come out and execute at a high level — don’t have nerves, don’t be jittery — I think that entire group deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Coleman De-Committed. Lost in everything that happened on Saturday (at least for me) is the news that Donte Coleman de-committed. If I had to guess, Coleman is probably headed to Texas, but I don’t have a clue. Just a guess. Good luck to Coleman wherever he goes.

Turnover Tuesday.

We’re Not Using the Term “Swagger”. FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman writes about how Texas Tech and Kliff Kingsbury are getting their swagger back, but no one is talking about swagger, so I won’t talk about it. Texas Tech, quite simply, is just playing better football and I truthfully do not believe that there’s any swagger in that room, just a lot of guys wanting to prove people wrong.

“His ability to extend plays and keep his eyes downfield is as good as I’ve been around,” Kingsbury said, which is quite a statement considering he had Johnny Manziel and also Case Keenum, a guy known for his excellent pocket presence. “He’s unflappable and he picks thing up quick and can process a lot.”

Kingsbury said he’s eager to get a much better read on just how improved this Tech team is Saturday when TCU visits Lubbock. Last year, Gary Patterson’s team hung 82 on the Red Raiders. “I don’t think you forget losses like that,” Kingsbury said.

Jennie Bailey “Be Brave” Scholarship Endowment. For anyone who would like to give, here is the page for the Jennie Bailey “Be Brave” Scholarship Endowment which needs $250,000 to endow a scholarship. Jennie Bailey was a long-time employee of the Texas Tech football office.

Quarterbacks on the Loose. Scout has some recent video of Jett Duffey playing Lancaster (note the move at 1:26) and Scout also has Xavier Martin playing DeSoto (note the move at 0:24).

Patterson Defends Players. Via CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodds TCU head coach Gary Patterson talked about the two arrests this week and he defended Mike Tuaua. I don’t think I can make a judgement here. It’s easy to throw rocks at this point, but we just know enough that there’s an arrest warrant and that’s it. I think that maybe Nigel Bethel II was also arrested and we know how that turned out, so I’ll be patient here too.

Miscellaneous. ESPN’s Jake Trotter does a Big 12 rewind and looks back at Texas Tech’s win over Arkansas as well as other Big 12 things . . . SAEN’s Tim Griffin has his Big 12 rankings this week . . . Scout’s Gabe Brooks talked with Texas Tech commit Jett Duffey . . . the Big 12 Blog Bros debate if they would rather have Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph or Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes . . . ESPN’s Brandon Chatmon looks at some unsung players from week three, including S Jah’Shawn Johnson . . . you should probably go ahead and bookmark this page as Football Study Hall has individual team pages for stats, which is really terrific for checking out some advanced stats . . . our friends at Bring On The Cats have your guide to kicking butt Bielema style . . . the DMN has their Big 12 power rankings . . . LA Times’ Chris Dufresne writes about the rise of the spread offense and how it is here to stay . . . LandTheieves (an Oklahoma message board) has some photos of the Baylor assistant Jeff Lebby and his wife (Briles’ daughter) on the sideline in Tulsa wearing Tulsa hats . . . DMN’s Kevin Sherrington on the fued between Kingsbury and Bielema and Patterson and Briles . . . SAEN’s Tim Griffin profiles QB Patrick Mahomes and how he has energized the team . . .

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