Who’s still stuffed?
Not from the Thanksgiving feast, though, yeah, there’s certainly some Tryptophan tripping going on here. But we definitely overserved ourselves on football. Remember at the start of the year, when college football was dead due to NIL, the transfer portal and conference realignment? Ha, that was funny. Maybe the best season we’ve had in some time and we are just now reaching the conference championships (with heavy Texas participation, too).
Here at Hot List headquarters, we hosted our biggest Thanksgiving group ever, which wasn’t that big by Texas standards, but we’ve never met an event for which we could not buy too much food or create food-based emergencies. This year: Turkey drippings spilled out of the roasting pan, sizzled in the oven, smoked up the house and caused a brief panic. Also, we bought one whole extra Greenberg smoked turkey. Yeah, we bought one turkey too many. Gonna be sandwiches for a week.
Meanwhile, while we’re figuring out more ways to utilize poultry, here’s this week’s Hot List:
Hot for the season
Family reunions: Texas just got together with its long-lost step siblings for the first time in 13 years and it was kinda what you would expect. A lot of tension, drama and infighting. But, in the end, wasn’t it glorious that everybody got together? And now, a more versatile Texas team gets another go at Georgia in Atlanta. When it’s all said and done, it feels like the Longhorns and Bulldogs might just play a best-of-three series this year.
Shopping: Such a hassle finding things at the right prices. But it’s time for the Rangers to make a decision. Are they going to be getting anything meaningful this holiday season or merely make a faux donation to the Human Fund (always good to work in a timeless Seinfeld reference)? It’s December. MLB’s winter meetings begin in Dallas next week. The pitching market has begun to percolate with Blake Snell signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Yusei Kikuchi with the Angels. Kikuchi’s deal, three years and $63 million, looks especially like something that might fit for Nathan Eovaldi, the Rangers’ professed top priority. Are they gonna let somebody else grab the last Tickle Me Evo in the bin?
Holiday surprises: Who had Quentin Grimes on their bingo card stepping up in Luka Dončić’s absence to go 11-for-26 (42.3%) from behind the three-point arc as the Mavs won three of four? Well, sure maybe anybody who saw him score 33 for the Knicks against the Mavs during Christmas week in 2022. But not us. And we’re the ones writing the Hot List.
Hot trends
Running gags: Thought this was a QB state. On Thanksgiving, Rico Dowdle goes for 112 yards and a touchdown against the Giants, the best effort by a Cowboys running back this season. Two days later, DeSoto’s Tre Wisner puts up his second consecutive game with at least 150 yards on the ground in Texas’ win vs. Texas A&M. Wisner’s 158 yards vs. Kentucky and 186 yards against A&M rank as the seventh- and third-best individual rushing days in SEC games this season. Good timing with the SEC Championship game this week. Georgia has allowed 135 yards a game on the ground this season. The Bulldogs’ run defense has been its biggest weakness. Texas did not exploit it earlier in the year.
Hot messes
Flag planting: Maybe NIL won’t kill college football, but this trend might get someone seriously hurt. It’s like boorish behavior has become the viral Tik Tok challenge that everybody must attempt. First, fans throwing junk on the field over unhappiness with a call (Thanks, Longhorns), then rushing the field early (see, clock management is hard). And now this. Beat rival. Plant a flag at midfield. Start a fracas. Turns out Baker Mayfield was just ahead of his time seven years ago.
Seriously, though: Ohio State’s Ryan Day didn’t know what was going on while his players brawled with Michigan and Florida State’s Mike Norvell thought it very important to make sure Florida didn’t plant it’s Gator flag in ‘Nole territory. Which might also explain why Day is 1-4 against Ohio State and Norvell’s Seminoles are the biggest joke in college football this year. But, fear not: Gus Malzahn is signed on to fix the offense. At least Steve Sarkisian stopped the Longhorns before they stomped on the logo at midfield in College Station.
Hot and bothered
Poll trolls: Not terribly surprising, but disappointing nonetheless that AP voters didn’t penalize Ohio State a little more for its home loss to an unranked Michigan team, which potentially makes SMU the loser. The Buckeyes are currently seventh in the poll and SMU eighth. Our hot take: SMU’s win on Saturday combined with all the mayhem of the last two weeks should guarantee the Ponies make the College Football Playoff regardless of what happens in Charlotte next week. If SMU beats Clemson, it’s going to wind up with the No. 3 seed, but it certainly seems reasonable to think that an idle Ohio State team won’t fall any further next week, which means if SMU loses in the championship game, it could fall out of the playoff entirely. Would be a shame. Outside of Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, SMU’s Kevin Jennings (and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers) might be the best QBs going right now.
For more sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News, click here.
To view subscription options for The News and SportsDay, click here.