Here and There
 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-4, 2-2) |
 |
BYU Cougars (4-2, 1-2) |
 |
October 21st @ 6:00 p.m. |
 |
LaVell Edwards Stadium | Provo, Utah |
 |
Texas Tech -4.5 |
 |
FS1 | FOX Sports Live |
 |
68, Sunny |
Some Hither, Others Yon
While wondering whatever happened to Bam Morris. Morris won the Doak Walker Award in 1993 while at Texas Tech and drafted by Pittsburgh and played for the Steelers, while amassing 3,809 yards and 35 touchdowns. Morris had off-the-field issues pleading guilty to marijuana charges in Rockwall County with the intent to distribute more than 220 pounds of marijuana, sentenced to 10 years in prison and serving 3. Morris spoke to Chris Bradford at The Times in 2016 about how his life was going:
These days, Morris says he’s still dealing with many of the same issues, including the depression, that affected him when he played. But he adds that he’s far more knowledgeable and better equipped to handle it now. For the record, Morris has had no legal trouble since his release from jail in 2004.
A divorcee, with no children, Morris considers himself a “homebody” and an occasional golfer, despite his achy body. He’s 30 pounds heavier since his playing days but adds that he’s working on that. His diet consists of organic foods and he tries to abstain from meat.
And, yes, he still takes advice from Marie.
“She told me, ‘Babe, if you went pro as a junior, you said you would come back and finish your degree before I die and I’m almost 80,'” Bam Morris says. “I said, ‘you know, you’re right. I need to go back to school and finish.'”
Twenty-three years after he left Texas Tech, Morris is back in Lubbock and is just 38 hours away from receiving his degree in kinesiology, a subject which strikes close to home.
Prologue
The thing that I didn’t miss last year was the questioning, which is part of running a blog. If it’s not one thing, it is another, especially when the team is losing and it’s also when teams are winning. It’s sometimes never enough. Just watching the press conference you get to see the comments roll through Joey McGuire talking through the questions and answers. McGuire was asked questions about the run vs. pass situation (which I don’t think is a real situation, but that’s me). I am fascinated by the people that find the time to sit on a press conference and comment, comments about how the questions were softball questions and I actually thought the questions and answers were good. Media members are never going to be jackasses when they ask questions because these people work together, but I thought there were tough-ish questions. And it’s always weird on this side of the keyboard when I zig and the rest of you have zagged. It’s certainly not intentional and I don’t do it for clicks (if I did, maybe I’d post it on X/Twitter for engagement, but that’s the opposite of fun for me as I really have very little interest engaging on X/Twitter) I really am giving my honest and personal assessment.
For those of you that need to be reminded, Tim DeRuyter and Zach Kittley are signed through 2025, they signed new contracts right after the Texas Bowl and think that the idea of being upset is fine, but I don’t think it will necessarily change anything for the next 3 years. This is the vision.
At the end, McGuire said that he’s a fan as well, a Dallas Cowboys fan, he understands how frustrated the fans are. Wants to thank the student section, who was unreal and great environment. McGuire said thank you to the fans and that this team has not given up, have had kids there to do extra on an off-day and watching film tonight. McGuire said that as frustrated as you are, he can appreciate it, these players haven’t given up, they aren’t giving up and they are proud Red Raiders and he thanks you for everything that’s being done for those players.
The Bakay Index
Nick Bakay is an actor, writer and TV personality who made regular appearances on ESPN and wrote on ESPN’s Page 2. Bakay did a segment on ESPN called “Tale of the Tape” where he would give an advantage to one side or the other, or if it was close, then it was a “push”. Bakay was also the voice of the cat Salem on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Fans Arguing About Running The Ball vs. Who Should Play Quarterback. This is tough, on one hand, we haven’t had to discuss whether or not it is important to run the ball in a long time, but it seems as if the quarterback controversy is a neverending topic for fans. But the running conversation has a newness to it and is more open for debate. Advantage? Fans arguing about unning the ball.
The Over vs. The Under. This Saturday at Kinnick Stadium Iowa will host Minnesota and the over/under is 32.5. For the entire game, not just for one team. Both teams are inept offensively, but Iowa tends to make teams play to their level. Do you dare take the under when each team just has to have a couple of touchdowns each? Advantage? Under.
Oregon vs. Washington. Obviously this game was decided on the football field with the Huskies winning in the last minute of a back-and-forth affair. It was maybe the best game in college football this year, at least in my estimation. Tremendous quarterback play and coaches who coached to win the game. Advantage? Push.
Quickie Previews & Recaps
All games are on Saturday, October 21st.
This Week: UCF @ Oklahoma (11:00 am on ABC)
Last Week: UCF – Off :: Oklahoma – Off
Kinda expecting an undefeated Oklahoma team to roll on over a winless UCF team. Maybe the only interesting thing here is the sprad, which is Oklahoma by 19.5 and I think I take Oklahoma given how they are rolling.
This Week: Baylor @ Cincinnati (11:00 am on ESPN+)
Last Week: Baylor – Off :: Iowa State 30, Cincinnati 10
Baylor maybe gets a week to get a bit more healthy, maybe get Shapen bak and going, while Cincinnati is recoving from a winless Big 12 slate thus far. Cincinnati is favored by 2.5 at home and given that Cincy was blown out at home by Iowa State, I think I like Baylor here.
This Week: Oklahoma State @ West Virginia (2:30 pm on ESPN)
Last Week: Houston 41, West Virginia 39 :: Oklahoma State 39, Kansas 32
This Week: Texas @ Houston (3:00 pm on FOX)
Last Week: Texas – Off :: Houston 41, West Virginia 39
Houston has no chance, right? After a terrific and last-second Dogovan Smith heroic heave for a Hail Mary, you wonder if they have enough emotional fortitude to play Texas. Texas is favored by 23, so it would be another Smith-miracle.
This Week: Texas Tech @ BYU (6:00 pm on FS1)
Last Week: Kansas State 38, Texas Tech 21 :: TCU 44, BYU 11
There’s no reason why Texas Tech is favored by 4.5, but here we are. Both BYU and Texas Tech were blown out the previous week and maybe Texas Tech wasn’t “blown out” but it wasn’t close in the 2nd half and BYU is tagged by TCU and their brand new quarterback. It simply doesn’t make sense that Texas Tech is favored on the road against a team with a winning program.
This Week: TCU @ Kansas State (6:00 pm on ESPN2)
Last Week: Kansas State 38, Texas Tech 21 :: TCU 44, BYU 11
I thought last week that I really didn’t want to play a hacked off Kansas State team and that’s exactly what they were after under-performing against Oklahoma State. TCU was much better last week, but if the choice is to take an up-and-down TCU team or Kansas State who is favored by 6? I’ll take the Cats.