MAILBAG: Complacency, Lubbock After Dark, and more

Doesn’t it just feel like a mailbag day?

We’re grinding through our Tuesday here at CRFF and I took some time out of my lunch break to chat with some of y’all. I was about to go stir-crazy, and some chatter about Cowboy football subsided that.

We had some great questions roll in. Here we go:

Cade: It was a total team effort here at CRFF. Couldn’t have done it without these folks.

Cade: I’m of the minority opinion that the all-orange look rocks. I loved it back in 2012 when we wore it in homecoming, but it seemed to be a flop in the minds of most Cowboy fans.

I think an all-orange look with the new threads would be infinitely better than it was with the old threads. Put the chrome orange helmet on top and I think we’ve got something to work with. I’d love to see it.

Cade: That’s probably a question for Glenn Spencer and his warrior poems. I mean, seriously, how could you be complacent after reading that?

But in all seriousness, I don’t think Mason Rudolph will allow this team to get complacent. Have you seen the way he’s leading his team? It’s clear that his sights are set, not only on a Big 12 Championship, but a berth in the College Football Playoff. When you’ve got a leader like him, it rubs off on those around him. I don’t worry about complacency, especially with what’s potentially in front of them. I worry about looking ahead in the schedule and overlooking an opponent.

Cade: Woof. Great question. So good, that I’m going to give you no answer.

The starters at every position have been lights-out. It would be unfair to say the running backs or receivers have underperformed, because neither group has. They’ve all looked phenomenal. I think it would be pretty unfair to slap that label on a position group just for the sake of saying it.

Cade: I don’t want to say no and end up on Freezing Cold Takes, but I’m not that concerned about Texas Tech.

That game last year was much closer than it should have been, and they had one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Patrick Mahomes. Nic Shimonek has been sharp, and their receivers look solid, but the defense is still a major liability.

After seeing what OSU’s passing attack did against Pitt, I don’t know how Tech slows this offense down. That being said, I think this is a shootout. That crowd and team will be fired up to knock off a big-time opponent. That’s what makes me nervous.

Cade: Jelani is definitely redshirting. He didn’t look great in the spring game. Taylor Cornelius and Keondre Wudtee are more viable options at the backup QB position. Let him develop and gear up for a QB competition next season.

Cade: I could go on and on about this, but this tells the whole story:

Mizzou was really solid their first two seasons in the Big 12 because they had Big 12 players. Once those guys graduated, the program tanked. Texas A&M is perpetually overrated and Kevin Sumlin is going to lose his job this season. Colorado is in the best shape, having just made the title game last season in the Pac-12. On the whole, three four programs who left (Mizzou, TAMU, Nebraska, Colorado) are in worse shape than they were in the Big 12. Take that how you will.