I've had enough looking forward for now, so let's switch it up with a ridiculous hypothetical.
Arguably our two best chances of a title were Bishop's '98 season and Klein's '12 season. It's not really worth a discussion of who the best quarterback was (Bishop is just in a league by himself talent-wise) but both seasons ended with a pair of painful losses.
So here's the question; how would Klein have fared on the '98 team? How would Bishop have done on the '12 team?
'98 Squad
The '98 team was absolutely stacked on offense, with Hickson and Goolsby leading the way in the backfield and a stable of reserves in Frank Murphy, Marlon Charles and David Allen. Justin Swift was holding it down at the Tight End spot, and Aaron Lockett and Darnell McDonald were putting up great numbers at receiver. A very solid O-Line anchored the whole thing. This offense was amazing.
The defense...Kelly/Ochs/Simoneau, with Butler and Carter in the backfield and Darren Howard up front along with solid contributors in Joe Bob and McIntosh. I was young and biased, but I'm not sure I can remember a defense that passed the eye test much better, and they just crushed opponents.
2012 Squad
John Huber was solid, as was Braden Wilson. A lot less depth, but Klein took a lot more of the runs, so it mattered a bit less. At WR, a young Tyler Lockett was flashing, Tramaine Thompson showed some life, and Harper was good. The line was pretty good with BJ Finney, Cornelius Lucas and some others.
The defense was led by an absolute beast in Arthurt Brown, with Meshak Williams, Nigel Malone and Ty Zimmeran and company helping to lead the league in points allowed per game. Stingy defense against some pretty talented offenses.
All that said, despite the similar records I can't help feel that the '98 team was SIGNICANTLY more stacked than the '12 team, basically up and down the roster, almost position by position (BJ Finney probably being the glaring exception).
So if you put Klein on that '98 team, do they still make it to A&M? Does his lack of arm talent still allow Swift and Darnell to work their magic? Does the stable of running backs, combined with a different coaching style and a beast at fullback help keep Klein healthy? And if a healthy Klein DOES make it to A&M, does he manage that last quarter differently?
Alternatively, if you put Bishop on the '12 team, does anything change? Does Tyler come to life sooner with a rocket arm throwing to him? Is there ANY way to avoid the curb-stomping at Baylor? Assuming we do lose to Baylor, is Bishop good enough to keep us in the game against Oregon? Or was the defense so depleted it didn't matter at that point?
I'm tired of talking about OU and Texas. Let's fight about time-traveling quarterbacks in ridiculous scenarios. What say you?
Arguably our two best chances of a title were Bishop's '98 season and Klein's '12 season. It's not really worth a discussion of who the best quarterback was (Bishop is just in a league by himself talent-wise) but both seasons ended with a pair of painful losses.
So here's the question; how would Klein have fared on the '98 team? How would Bishop have done on the '12 team?
'98 Squad
The '98 team was absolutely stacked on offense, with Hickson and Goolsby leading the way in the backfield and a stable of reserves in Frank Murphy, Marlon Charles and David Allen. Justin Swift was holding it down at the Tight End spot, and Aaron Lockett and Darnell McDonald were putting up great numbers at receiver. A very solid O-Line anchored the whole thing. This offense was amazing.
The defense...Kelly/Ochs/Simoneau, with Butler and Carter in the backfield and Darren Howard up front along with solid contributors in Joe Bob and McIntosh. I was young and biased, but I'm not sure I can remember a defense that passed the eye test much better, and they just crushed opponents.
2012 Squad
John Huber was solid, as was Braden Wilson. A lot less depth, but Klein took a lot more of the runs, so it mattered a bit less. At WR, a young Tyler Lockett was flashing, Tramaine Thompson showed some life, and Harper was good. The line was pretty good with BJ Finney, Cornelius Lucas and some others.
The defense was led by an absolute beast in Arthurt Brown, with Meshak Williams, Nigel Malone and Ty Zimmeran and company helping to lead the league in points allowed per game. Stingy defense against some pretty talented offenses.
All that said, despite the similar records I can't help feel that the '98 team was SIGNICANTLY more stacked than the '12 team, basically up and down the roster, almost position by position (BJ Finney probably being the glaring exception).
So if you put Klein on that '98 team, do they still make it to A&M? Does his lack of arm talent still allow Swift and Darnell to work their magic? Does the stable of running backs, combined with a different coaching style and a beast at fullback help keep Klein healthy? And if a healthy Klein DOES make it to A&M, does he manage that last quarter differently?
Alternatively, if you put Bishop on the '12 team, does anything change? Does Tyler come to life sooner with a rocket arm throwing to him? Is there ANY way to avoid the curb-stomping at Baylor? Assuming we do lose to Baylor, is Bishop good enough to keep us in the game against Oregon? Or was the defense so depleted it didn't matter at that point?
I'm tired of talking about OU and Texas. Let's fight about time-traveling quarterbacks in ridiculous scenarios. What say you?
