Advertisement

Sports

Big 12 musings: The biggest threat to Oklahoma, Tom Herman's media day presser and Lincoln Riley

Tim Cowlishaw, sports columnist for SportsDayDFW.com and The Dallas Morning News, author of Drunk on Sports and panelist on ESPN's "Around the Horn,"answered questions about the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, Stars and local college sports in his weekly reader mailbag. Here are some highlights:

Question: Who has a better shot of knocking off Oklahoma in 2018? WVU, TCU or Texas?

Tim Cowlishaw: It should be West Virginia, but the Mountaineers feel like a team you can never quite trust. They're always hell to play against up there, but they stumble on the road. Maybe that changes with Will Grier, as they have the only proven quarterback in the league. After that, I would go with TCU. Shawn Robinson looks like he has a chance to be solid at QB, and I'm just not going to pick Texas over TCU until the Longhorns stop getting killed by the Frogs year after year.

Advertisement

Q: Did you watch Tom Herman's media day presser? Is it a bad thing that he can't expound upon the difference-makers on his roster?

Sports Roundup

Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis, scores and more.

Or with:

Cowlishaw: I honestly think that's more about the manner in which Herman answers questions than his doubts about the team. Now, maybe he has some uncertainty about the offense, how good this line could be, which quarterback will play and if any of the backs are elite. The defense should find its way. Texas' opening schedule is difficult the first six weeks, and the team could be playing well and find itself 3-3. But I mostly think Herman just avoids irrational coachspeak at times, and when he provides a thoughtful answer, it can sound as if he doesn't believe in his players.

Advertisement

Q: How good of a job did Lincoln Riley do deflecting NFL rumors? Do you think he'd make it in the NFL?

Cowlishaw: I have no idea about Riley in the NFL. I don't know why people even make suggestions like this. He has been a coordinator a short period of time and a head coach for one season with a team that plays nothing like a pro-style offense. What does any of that have to do with life in the NFL? I'm not sure. He had a fine first season, and now we see what he does without Baker Mayfield. I expect him to be at Oklahoma for years.