Chip Kelly - and Scott Frost - are still looking for wins. Harry How/Getty Images
The Red River Rivalry is nationally relevant
The Longhorns and Sooners are ranked for the first time since 2012 going into game but they’ve taken two different paths to get to this point. The Sooners are undefeated but have been kind of a afterthought this season and it has nothing to do with their play. The offense has been dominant outside of the close call against Army and Kyler Murray is a legitimate Heisman candidate. The Sooners just haven’t played a schedule so far that would draw any national interest. That finally changes this Saturday in the Cotton Bowl as they will see a Texas team that has righted the ship since a disappointing Week 1 loss to Maryland. The last two weeks the Longhorns have beaten two ranked teams at home in USC and TCU and are in the top 20 for the first time in Tom Herman’s tenure. The best thing for the rivalry would probably be a Longhorns win. A victory would let the college football world know that Texas is a legit contender in the Big 12 this season. A good defense is important to a championship team and Texas has that but the college game is one where you have to score. Can Texas score enough to keep pace with one of the best offenses in country in the Sooners? We’ll find out Saturday.
Scott Frost and Chip Kelly are a combined 0-8
That record is startling when you compare it to the energy that was created in both the Nebraska and UCLA fanbases when the Frost and Kelly hires were announced. Frost was the golden boy coming back home to reignite a program that had slipped into mediocrity. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State remain on the schedule for a Husker’s team that had a players -only meeting this week. Huskers fans are praying this season ends with mediocrity.
Frost’s former boss is having just as tough a time in Westwood. UCLA fans watched Chip Kelly run up, down and over them and others in the PAC-12 for years. That same success for Oregon continued when Kelly took a job in the NFL. You can understand why they were excited. I don’t think they expected to be the worst team in the conference through the first five weeks of the season. With no Oregon State on the schedule the Bruins have a real shot to go winless in Kelly’s first season. They’re best chance for a win might be when Arizona comes to the Rose Bowl on Oct. 20.
Hate Watch Game of Week: FSU vs Miami
This one is easy. I’ve never rooted against a team more than I have the Florida State Seminoles. Miami vs Florida State is the rivalry that molded my love for college football. I grew up in California and Canes against Noles was a big game throughout my childhood. That meant noon kickoffs on the East Coast and early 9 a.m. starts in the Los Angeles area. Back then a nationally televised at that time meant your team was a major player. National title implications plus family bragging rights meant I was locked in on those games from start to finish. I can’t stand the Noles and hope they lose every game so Saturday won’t be anything new. A loss for them on Saturday will just mean more.
Hate Watch Record 2-3
After starting off 2-0 by simply rooting against Miami’s in-state rivals, diversifying my hate has resulted in three straight losses. The latest being a heartbreaker for Penn State to Ohio State. The Nittany Lions blew a two-score lead at home to the Buckeyes in the fourth quarter. I’d like to say thank you to Penn State Head Coach James Franklin for taking the ball out of his best player’s hand with the game on the line. I know Trace McSorley was the best player on the field in the second half, but that is clearly no reason to trust him with the game’s most important play. Full sarcasm on.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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