Hey, Ed. Del needs you to lose again this week. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Has Texas finally found an identity on offense?
Questions about the Longhorn’s return to the elite of college football seem to be never ending and really miss the point. The only time Texas was great in my lifetime they had a clear identity. It was a somewhat fortunate and not likely to be sustainable identity, but it worked. Build your program around two legends at QB and watch the program flourish. That is somewhat tongue in cheek as Texas had great players everywhere when Mack Brown had it going. It really is remarkable though that Vince Young and Colt McCoy both were the starting quarterbacks at Texas in such a short amount of time. Texas has been looking for their next quarterback heir ever since. The inability to find the next great one got Mack Brown fired and is partly why Charlie Strong got fired too. Beating Oklahoma doesn’t mean Sam Ehlinger is the next in line. His play in a single game against a bad defense shouldn’t be the focus. How Texas won that game should be.
Texas was the bully in that game. They beat up Oklahoma for three-plus quarters on both sides of the ball. The Longhorn defense under Todd Orlando has that reputation. The Longhorns offense does not. That beat up another blue blood program when they dominated USC earlier in the year as well. It isn’t just the Texas offensive line that are bullies on offense. They have big strong wide receivers that outmuscled and ran through smaller Sooner defensive backs on the perimeter all game long. If Texas is actually “back” it will be about establishing a consistent identity on both sides of the ball that permeates throughout the program. This past Saturday against the Sooners was a great start.
Hate Watch Record 3-3: Miami beats FSU 28-27
The game was ugly for almost three quarters if you were a Miami fan. Losing to your hated rivals is one thing. Losing to them at home when you’re a two touchdown favorite could ruin a season. Florida State’s season-long issues along the offensive line bore themselves out in the second half as the Seminoles were shut out and amassed a total of 45 yards of total offense in after halftime. Two turnovers by Florida State inside their own 30-yard line gave the crowd in Miami and the team life. After being down 27-7 late in the third Miami stormed back to win 28-27. The victory is Miami’s second straight in the series after losing seven in a row to their in-state rivals.
Hate Watch Game of the Week: Georgia vs LSU
I can’t even pretend like this is based on anything other than a LSU loss helps my team’s chances. If Miami’s slim hopes of making the college football playoff are to get better, LSU losing more than one game this season has to happen. The Tigers lost to Florida on the road last week but their resounding win over Miami in Week 1 would make them an obvious choice if it came down to picking between the Tigers and the Canes for a playoff spot. LSU also has a schedule the rest of the way where winning out would assuredly put them in the playoffs. Rooting for Georgia is simply pragmatic.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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