Football
OB

Ketch’s 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (Christmas comes early for Sarkisian)

"You know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It's 25 hits. 25 hits in 500 at-bats is 50 points, ok? There's six months in a season. That's about 25 weeks. That means if you can get just one extra flare a week, just one. A gork ... you get a ground ball ... you get a ground ball with eyes ... you get a dying quail ... just one more dying quail a week and you're in Yankees Stadium." Crash Davis in the pool hall scene in Bull Durham after Nuke gets called up to the major leagues. ***** In a sport with such incredibly fine margins that determine whether a season emerges as a smashing success or something far less optimal, it's easy in the aftermath to look for the areas where those small margins could have flipped the other way. With a 9-3 regular season and no playoffs for Steve Sarkisian's program in 2025, we've all spent time in the last few weeks trying to figure out where the Longhorns could have snuck in a few more dying quails throughout a 12-game season in the name of creating the kind of small fine margins that would have changed the entirety of the Longhorns’ season.

Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are looking to bounce back in 2026 after a disappointing 2025 season.
Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

"You know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It's 25 hits. 25 hits in 500 at-bats is 50 points, ok? There's six months in a season. That's about 25 weeks. That means if you can get just one extra flare a week, just one. A gork ... you get a ground ball ... you get a ground ball with eyes ... you get a dying quail ... just one more dying quail a week and you're in Yankees Stadium."

Crash Davis in the pool hall scene in Bull Durham after Nuke gets called up to the major leagues.

*****

In a sport with such incredibly fine margins that determine whether a season emerges as a smashing success or something far less optimal, it's easy in the aftermath to look for the areas where those small margins could have flipped the other way.

With a 9-3 regular season and no playoffs for Steve Sarkisian's program in 2025, we've all spent time in the last few weeks trying to figure out where the Longhorns could have snuck in a few more dying quails throughout a 12-game season in the name of creating the kind of small fine margins that would have changed the entirety of the Longhorns’ season.

Your Orangebloods Subscription Now Includes On3 | Rivals National Access

National recruiting, transfer portal, NIL and college insiders — included at no extra cost.

See What’s Included

Your Orangebloods subscription now includes complimentary access to On3 | Rivals National. That means you can read national college football, recruiting, transfer portal, NIL and basketball coverage from the On3 | Rivals national team, including Chris Low, Pete Nakos, Steve Wiltfong, Andy Staples, Joe Tipton and more. You also get access to key national tools and databases, including player profiles, rankings and the Transfer Portal.

There is nothing you need to do. If you are an active Orangebloods subscriber, your On3 | Rivals National access has already been granted.

Please note: this benefit includes On3 | Rivals National access only. It does not include subscriptions to On3 Fan Site Network sites or access to their message boards. Activations for the On3 | Rivals National Subscription perk could take up to 72 hours to activate.

More from Orangebloods