A New Role

R.C. Slocum will help decide our National Championship

R.C. Slocum will help decide our National Championship
R.C. Slocum. Wikipedia

Yesterday it was announced that former Texas A&M Head Football Coach R.C. Slocum will be on the College Football Playoff committee for the next three years. He hasn't coached since 2002 but he hasn't been away from the game. He's been voting in the NFF college football poll and just last year resigned as chair of the American Football Coaches Foundation. He'd been the only president they had ever had. But he decided he needed a new challenge and a few months ago Bill Hancock, the executive director of the CFP committee called. It didn't take long for R.C. to agree to be on board.

"It's a great honor in terms of the committee affecting college football. It's one of the most prestigious committees out there. It's a way to give back. I've spent my whole life in college football. I was wondering which way it would take me. To be at the forefront is exciting."

It'll cut into his golf game but it won't cut into watching his Aggies. The committee meets during the week in Dallas which is a short drive for him from College Station. It's made up of a very impressive group of Athletic Directors, former coaches, a professor and now a four star general.

He's going to watch as many games as possible and do his best to put the best teams in the playoff.

"There's no right or wrong. I want to be able to be able to defend why I voted that way. I expect in those meetings I'll be able to say why I think this team is better than that team. I've always said, 'Look at it like it's a horse race. Which one would you put your money on?' I'll just try to be fair."

As far as changing the system, maybe an eight team playoff? The old ball coach didn't want anything to do with that.

"It wouldn't be very corporate of me to speculate on that. I'm just waiting to see what we do and how we do it. Every argument sounds pretty good while they're making them. This is what we have. We'll just go with that for now."

"I see a game that's as popular as ever. There are more and more games on TV but there's still 100,000 people in the stands and you can't get a ticket. Back when I coached there was a lot more defense. People were running the wishbone. Last week we had two Texas quarterbacks in an NFL playoff game. We didn't have any quarterbacks in the NFL back in the day. 7 on 7 has changed everything. And everyone talks about the quarterbacks but do you see the catches that these guys are making? It's an exciting time."

r.c. slocum texas a&m college football playoff

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

The Texans will look to get back on track this Sunday against the Colts. Composite Getty Image.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”

The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.

They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.

Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.

Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.

“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”

Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.

What's working

The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.

Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.

What needs help

The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.

Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.

Stock up

RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.

Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.

“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”

Stock down

Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.

Injuries

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.

Key number

3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.

Next steps

The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.

cj stroud demeco ryans houston texans joe mixon nfl texans

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome