By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
This is the week when it all happens. The college football season officially gets under way on Saturday.
You will hear the roar of the crowd, the big hits, the fight songs, the cheerleaders doing their thing and athleticism that will make you say, “how did he do that?’’
The RJB saved one of the better football TV themes for last. It’s been around for parts of five decades. But it has remained true since CBS started using it for its college football broadcasts in 1987.
New Yorker Lloyd Landesman put together the theme with a synthesizer and drums. It took about eight hours. He said in a 2013 USA Today piece that he was hoping the network would use it for the Super Bowl. He’s a New York Giants fan and the Giants were in the Super Bowl 21 in 87.
However, CBS executives believed it was better suited for their college football broadcasts. Landesman gets a royalty check for a piece that has no title.
Recently, it’s been connected to the SEC since CBS has had that conference’s rights. It will transition to the Big 10 in 2023.
The RJB finds the riveting part the last 15 seconds because you can see the intro transitioning into a stadium rocking with fans in anticipation of the big game.
For a generation, this theme and college football are intertwined with each other.
If you get CBSSN, you will hear it at 11:00 a.m. when Austin Peay visits Western Kentucky.
*****
Dave Aranda’s weird works.
I hope that everybody on this site both read and then referred a friend to the great ESPN piece on Baylor head coach Dave Aranda by Dave Wilson.
Well done. Well reported. And I think it’s probably the first story I’ve read on Aranda that gives you a true sense as to who he is, his personality and why he is the way he is.
As I read this, I went to back to his introductory presser in January 2020. It was kind of a tough listen. You could tell he was an introvert. To be generous, he was kind of uncomfortable speaking in front of that crowd. He made it through, of course. But my impression was, “I hope this works.’’ I had my concerns.
Wilson’s story, though, takes you a line that you might remember the late Paul Harvey. Harvey would end his radio pieces by saying, “And now you know…the rest of the story.’’
There were three parts that had my attention.
>Coaching during LSU’s 2019 national championship season.
>His daughter fearful of him interviewing for Baylor.
>Aranda’s impact on 2023 QB commit Austin Novosad and his family.
Let’s take them one by one. We can all agree that no matter who coaches LSU, that job is always going to be one connected with chaos – good or bad. That’s always been its vibe.
The fact that during the memorable run he purposely isolated himself from the noise of that season – and to LSU’s credit they did everything possible to make him feel comfortable – showed you how much he didn’t want to be caught up in the hoopla.
He cared about his players and putting together the right gameplan each week. But based on what I/we read he wasn’t happy. And when he asked after winning the national championship, That’s it? it went beyond the wins and loss.
Now, to his daughter Jaelyn’s reaction about interviewing for Baylor. Obviously, she knows him as good anyone. But to be fearful of this interview caught me off guard.
Being the face of the program where you are pulled in so many directions off the field can be taxing. He would have to will himself to handle that part. Yet Aranda made himself do it because he needed a different challenge.
We can all agree that the 2020 was messy. I always gave Aranda the benefit of the doubt because he was given a tough hand.
He wasn’t even six weeks into the job when the pandemic shut down the offseason. No spring football. No supervised workouts. He and his staff were left to making zoom calls to players during their workouts. Once players returned to campus, that time was also limited.
Fall camp was the offseason. For a first-time first-year head coach, there’s no way to expect much. Then it was followed by a season that was ugly mixed with a couple of either/or games that didn’t go Baylor’s way, at West Virginia in overtime, Texas Tech’s field goal at the gun.
Once we got into a normal 365 football calendar in 2021, we would find out if Baylor had the right answer at head coach. I think you can answer that one for yourselves.
When it came to the Novosad situation, I found the quotes from Novosad’s father, Trey, compelling. Maybe had Novosad committed to Baylor under a different coach and then A&M started to push, we’d now be talking about the Bears trying to find a new 2023 quarterback and listing options.
Yet the weirdness – you can identify that as authentic - appealed to the Novosad family. Maroon and white suddenly found itself running a distant second to green and gold.
While Trey Novosad is right that recruits shouldn’t pick programs because of coaches and the transient component that comes with it, the reality is that recruits just about always pick a school because of the coach. After all, those are the ones who first contacted him and established the relationship.
Aranda’s approach isn’t unprecedented. It’s a reminder that any philosophy or approach to the game can succeed as long as players see it and trust it. Once that half of the battle is conquered, the other half is a matter of coordinating the X’s and O’s to be better than the other guy’s X’s and O’s.
While Baylor’s football program and fan base are in uncharted territory with what’s expected this fall and the fervor that accompanies it, weird has somehow turned out to be the elixir.
*****
Next week in this space will be the annual prediction for the 2022 season. There won’t be much drama since you know I predicted the Bears to win the Big 12 in my Big 12 media poll.
The only question is what record do I have in mind? I’m still debating that.
As for the weekly coverage during the season, you all kind of know the drill:
>Monday is the presser breakdown along with notes.
>Tuesday is the Big 12 coaches corner. But I’m bored with this piece. I’m open to suggestions. Think about it and let me know.
>Wednesday is commitment performance chart. This season should be a good one with 24 to track and lots of info to follow.
>Thursday will be the SicEmSportsCast coupled with a look at the opponent.
>Friday will always be the blitz with the power rankings, Big 12 weekend capsules along with interviews of players. Now, we don’t know for sure players will be made available on Wednesday. Once we get that, we’ll let you know.
Beyond this budget, if there is something else you’d like included I want your input.
*****
For all of us passionate football followers, we have to wait another week for the Baylor.
But it’s kind of cool that the stage this week is solely devoted to Texas High School as it opens what figures to be another epic season.
I figured this out. I started covering games for the Las Vegas Sun back in 1984. My first game was the school I covered Western (home of the Warriors) against Las Vegas High (Wildcats). BTW, the Warriors are pitiful. I think they’ve won like five games since 2010.
Anyway, I haven’t missed a season since. This will be season No. 39 for me and the high school game. The last 17 have been with Aledo radio. Been a fun ride and as my partners and I were talking, we’re probably going to do these games from our coffins…if we can make it work.
To timestamp Aledo, when I started, my Razorback Kathleen was in second grade. My Crimson Tide Kiley was in kindergarten. Of course, you know where they are in their lives now.
Time marches on.
*****
Now, a look at other Baylor sports:
>No. 16 volleyball opens the season Friday against No. 5 Minnesota in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge at Schollmaier Arena on the TCU campus. This is the third meeting between the Lady Bears and Lady Gophers. Baylor beat Minnesota in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Madison, WI last year. Minnesota ousted Baylor in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament in Madison in December.
Following that match, Baylor plays No. 3 Wisconsin on Saturday at TCU.
>Following a 1-1 draw with Minnesota to open the season this past Thursday at Betty Lou Mays Field, Baylor lost to Wisconsin, 2-0, on Sunday evening on the BU campus.
Baylor plays Florida on the University of Texas campus on Thursday.
Let’s make it a great week!
Publisher
This is the week when it all happens. The college football season officially gets under way on Saturday.
You will hear the roar of the crowd, the big hits, the fight songs, the cheerleaders doing their thing and athleticism that will make you say, “how did he do that?’’
The RJB saved one of the better football TV themes for last. It’s been around for parts of five decades. But it has remained true since CBS started using it for its college football broadcasts in 1987.
New Yorker Lloyd Landesman put together the theme with a synthesizer and drums. It took about eight hours. He said in a 2013 USA Today piece that he was hoping the network would use it for the Super Bowl. He’s a New York Giants fan and the Giants were in the Super Bowl 21 in 87.
However, CBS executives believed it was better suited for their college football broadcasts. Landesman gets a royalty check for a piece that has no title.
Recently, it’s been connected to the SEC since CBS has had that conference’s rights. It will transition to the Big 10 in 2023.
The RJB finds the riveting part the last 15 seconds because you can see the intro transitioning into a stadium rocking with fans in anticipation of the big game.
For a generation, this theme and college football are intertwined with each other.
If you get CBSSN, you will hear it at 11:00 a.m. when Austin Peay visits Western Kentucky.
*****
Dave Aranda’s weird works.
I hope that everybody on this site both read and then referred a friend to the great ESPN piece on Baylor head coach Dave Aranda by Dave Wilson.
Well done. Well reported. And I think it’s probably the first story I’ve read on Aranda that gives you a true sense as to who he is, his personality and why he is the way he is.
As I read this, I went to back to his introductory presser in January 2020. It was kind of a tough listen. You could tell he was an introvert. To be generous, he was kind of uncomfortable speaking in front of that crowd. He made it through, of course. But my impression was, “I hope this works.’’ I had my concerns.
Wilson’s story, though, takes you a line that you might remember the late Paul Harvey. Harvey would end his radio pieces by saying, “And now you know…the rest of the story.’’
There were three parts that had my attention.
>Coaching during LSU’s 2019 national championship season.
>His daughter fearful of him interviewing for Baylor.
>Aranda’s impact on 2023 QB commit Austin Novosad and his family.
Let’s take them one by one. We can all agree that no matter who coaches LSU, that job is always going to be one connected with chaos – good or bad. That’s always been its vibe.
The fact that during the memorable run he purposely isolated himself from the noise of that season – and to LSU’s credit they did everything possible to make him feel comfortable – showed you how much he didn’t want to be caught up in the hoopla.
He cared about his players and putting together the right gameplan each week. But based on what I/we read he wasn’t happy. And when he asked after winning the national championship, That’s it? it went beyond the wins and loss.
Now, to his daughter Jaelyn’s reaction about interviewing for Baylor. Obviously, she knows him as good anyone. But to be fearful of this interview caught me off guard.
Being the face of the program where you are pulled in so many directions off the field can be taxing. He would have to will himself to handle that part. Yet Aranda made himself do it because he needed a different challenge.
We can all agree that the 2020 was messy. I always gave Aranda the benefit of the doubt because he was given a tough hand.
He wasn’t even six weeks into the job when the pandemic shut down the offseason. No spring football. No supervised workouts. He and his staff were left to making zoom calls to players during their workouts. Once players returned to campus, that time was also limited.
Fall camp was the offseason. For a first-time first-year head coach, there’s no way to expect much. Then it was followed by a season that was ugly mixed with a couple of either/or games that didn’t go Baylor’s way, at West Virginia in overtime, Texas Tech’s field goal at the gun.
Once we got into a normal 365 football calendar in 2021, we would find out if Baylor had the right answer at head coach. I think you can answer that one for yourselves.
When it came to the Novosad situation, I found the quotes from Novosad’s father, Trey, compelling. Maybe had Novosad committed to Baylor under a different coach and then A&M started to push, we’d now be talking about the Bears trying to find a new 2023 quarterback and listing options.
Yet the weirdness – you can identify that as authentic - appealed to the Novosad family. Maroon and white suddenly found itself running a distant second to green and gold.
While Trey Novosad is right that recruits shouldn’t pick programs because of coaches and the transient component that comes with it, the reality is that recruits just about always pick a school because of the coach. After all, those are the ones who first contacted him and established the relationship.
Aranda’s approach isn’t unprecedented. It’s a reminder that any philosophy or approach to the game can succeed as long as players see it and trust it. Once that half of the battle is conquered, the other half is a matter of coordinating the X’s and O’s to be better than the other guy’s X’s and O’s.
While Baylor’s football program and fan base are in uncharted territory with what’s expected this fall and the fervor that accompanies it, weird has somehow turned out to be the elixir.
*****
Next week in this space will be the annual prediction for the 2022 season. There won’t be much drama since you know I predicted the Bears to win the Big 12 in my Big 12 media poll.
The only question is what record do I have in mind? I’m still debating that.
As for the weekly coverage during the season, you all kind of know the drill:
>Monday is the presser breakdown along with notes.
>Tuesday is the Big 12 coaches corner. But I’m bored with this piece. I’m open to suggestions. Think about it and let me know.
>Wednesday is commitment performance chart. This season should be a good one with 24 to track and lots of info to follow.
>Thursday will be the SicEmSportsCast coupled with a look at the opponent.
>Friday will always be the blitz with the power rankings, Big 12 weekend capsules along with interviews of players. Now, we don’t know for sure players will be made available on Wednesday. Once we get that, we’ll let you know.
Beyond this budget, if there is something else you’d like included I want your input.
*****
For all of us passionate football followers, we have to wait another week for the Baylor.
But it’s kind of cool that the stage this week is solely devoted to Texas High School as it opens what figures to be another epic season.
I figured this out. I started covering games for the Las Vegas Sun back in 1984. My first game was the school I covered Western (home of the Warriors) against Las Vegas High (Wildcats). BTW, the Warriors are pitiful. I think they’ve won like five games since 2010.
Anyway, I haven’t missed a season since. This will be season No. 39 for me and the high school game. The last 17 have been with Aledo radio. Been a fun ride and as my partners and I were talking, we’re probably going to do these games from our coffins…if we can make it work.
To timestamp Aledo, when I started, my Razorback Kathleen was in second grade. My Crimson Tide Kiley was in kindergarten. Of course, you know where they are in their lives now.
Time marches on.
*****
Now, a look at other Baylor sports:
>No. 16 volleyball opens the season Friday against No. 5 Minnesota in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge at Schollmaier Arena on the TCU campus. This is the third meeting between the Lady Bears and Lady Gophers. Baylor beat Minnesota in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Madison, WI last year. Minnesota ousted Baylor in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament in Madison in December.
Following that match, Baylor plays No. 3 Wisconsin on Saturday at TCU.
>Following a 1-1 draw with Minnesota to open the season this past Thursday at Betty Lou Mays Field, Baylor lost to Wisconsin, 2-0, on Sunday evening on the BU campus.
Baylor plays Florida on the University of Texas campus on Thursday.
Let’s make it a great week!
