Since this is an off-week, I thought we’d dip our toes into a Texas Tech alum, Barry Corbin, born in Lamesa, graduated from Monterrey High School and then attended Texas Tech. He mentions in the clip below that if Texas Tech had a play that he was interested in doing, then he’d go to school, otherwise he’d go work in the oil field. It would be daunting to go over Corbin’s credits, but I think I would have first seen him in War Games as General Jack Beringer. Corbin was also in Urban Cowboy, Lonesome Dove, and I think I remember him most from the times I would watch Northern Exposure as he played former astronaut Maurice Minnifield.

Off-Week Things. #It would seem that the biggest decision will be the decision about the quarterback. For some of you, the decision is simple and not so much of a decision. I honestly don’t know, I think I see a version of things where Tyler Shough gets reps and Donovan Smith gets rest until he’s healthy. I tend to think that learning Zack Kittley’s offense isn’t easy and Smith hasn’t had a ton of reps as a quarterback. Shough I think was chosen for a reason as the season started and things have changed, but Shough, if healthy, would be interesting at the least. Also, don’t take this as me trying to convince anyone. People here on this blog or Twitter aren’t going to convince coaches of anything, it’s just an opinion.

It would also seem that perhaps the offensive line gets an overhaul a bit, I’m not sure where players are moved, but McGuire mentioning last week about Ty Buchanan backing up Caleb Rogers at left tackle now might be an indication of that move. I don’t know if there are other moves that could be made, but I definitely think that this is a day for the team to get a bit healthy.

Up & Down in the Big 12. A wild weekend in the Big 12, for sure. The game of the week was TCU at Kansas and it really didn’t disappoint with TCU pulling away late, 38-31. Kansas lost their starting quarterback, but still played well and they really went toe-to-toe with TCU. Max Duggan continues to be an excellent quarterback and really driving that offense . . . Kansas State took care of business at Iowa State and apparently teams from Iowa cannot score. The Wildcats won 10-9, so yes, ISU did not put up a single touchdown. Who would have guessed that Brock Purdy was that important (don’t say anything, but Breece Hall may have been pretty good too) . . . The blowout of the week came from Texas absolutely demolishing Oklahoma, 49-0. The Sooners have no answers on offense and to be pantsed and held scoreless is quite the feat. . .

This week we have Thursday night action with Baylor in Morgantown to take on West Virginia. Baylor is a 3.5 favorite . . . Kansas is in Norman to take on Oklahoma and the Sooners, yes Sooners, are 7.0 favorites. Not sure I get that one and the line actually opened up at -9.0 for the Sooners, so it’s moving quickly . . . Iowa State travels to Austin to face Texas and considering the offensive woes that ISU is having, the Longhorns open up as 14.0 favorites . . . The final game is the best game, Oklahoma State in Ft. Worth against TCU. The Horned Frogs are 3.5 favorites. I think I like the Cowboys here, but that’s probably recency bias since Texas Tech just played them . . .

Internet Things. It’s almost Halloween and there’s a place near where Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas meet on Route 66 where numerous people have seen a glowing orb of light that dates to 1881 . . . this entire video is actual and without any special affects and might make you sick to your stomach, but that’s some damn fine drone work:

Other Observations. I’m running my trail “race” this weekend, Saturday I’m running the Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. If you’ve ever wondered why I don’t produce more content it would be a combination of things:

1. I have a 10, Youssouf, and a 12-year old, Fitsum, and they both have lots of activities, especially the 10-year old. Soccer 3 nights a week plus basketball on Sunday. I take Yo to basketball on Monday, Tuesday, and basketball on Sunday. Fits has cross-country every morning that starts at 6:00. I committed to taking him to cross-country on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I want to do my part and I think it is important that they see that their dad participates too.

2. Running takes up a bunch of time. I would typically run 6 miles 3 days a week with a long run on Saturday. Now I get up and try to start running at 4:30 a.m. and run as many miles as I can before I need to stop to get ready for work, still running on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I run on Saturday morning’s as well, but since the boys have games and meets, that time is limited by the time I have available. Sundays are my long-run days and just hope that I have not ruined my legs so I can still run on Monday.

3. On a typical week, it probably takes at least 4 hours to prepare the 7 Points Preview. I wish that it didn’t take longer, but it does. This year I’ve tried to write most of the Scattershooting on Saturday when I’m trying to watch the game and then some more on Sunday afternoon or evening, knowing that I’ll have virtually no time to write on Monday morning. Mondays after I get home from practice I do the non-transcript from the week’s presser. Tuesday I’m struggling to get anything up for Wednesday as I start working on the 7 Points Preview. Wednesday is my first free day and that’s when I get a lot of the preview written along with Thursday evening. I’m also trying to do game-day threads and make sure and get the form ready for the post-game thread. By Friday morning, it should just be finishing touches before I hit publish.

Saturdays are spent at meets and games, usually not home before noon. We go to church on Saturday afternoon because I need my Sunday mornings for the long runs. I’m usually not that particular about running on Sunday mornings, but until the last week or so, it’s still be really hot and humid, so getting out early was imperative for safety reasons. My fancy running watch does 3 things for me. It tells me the distance, my pace, and my heart rate. If my heart rate gets too high, that’s not healthy for a sustained period of time. This week I’ll try to write as much as I can for next week because I’ll likely be rushed to put together content.

4. My wife is definitely excited about me not running as much. It’s obviously a drain for me and eats up a lot of time.

5. My only goal is to finish. It is a simple goal in that all day I just have to put one foot in front of the other until I finish.

6. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, that doing hard things is good for your soul. It makes you appreciate your body, that I have the ability and time and job to do this.

And to be honest, 33 miles isn’t some sort of great accomplishment, but it is tough for me and it that’s all I really have time to do, to train for this one thing takes a lot out of me and my days. It is almost always uncomfortable and the last time that I finished one, I struggled to keep going at the end. But I did, I finished. I cried when I was done. It is emotional for me for some reason. You just have to commit to not quitting and that’s a decent lesson.