Pop Quiz: Touchdown leaders, rule changes and terrible concession stand snacks
Welcome to Pop Quiz, a weekly test on Baylor sports taken by SicEm365 insiders. There are no wrong answers here, although some responses may leave you scratching your head. We may venture off topic at times, but hey … you may end up with a good restaurant recommendation because of it.
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Baylor’s leader in touchdowns scored this season will be:
Colt Barber: John Lovett. I believe that Ebner will get a plenty of scores from outside of the red zone and could end up being the leader, but Lovett should carry the load with the defense packed in close and will make the most of it.
Paul Catalina: Trestan Ebner. I think Larry Fedora will use him 100 different ways. I think 10-11 scores for him is not out of the question. Especially given all that we have heard from Dave Aranda throughout camp.
Grayson Grundhoefer: Trestan Ebner. The junior running back is going to have a special season in Larry Fedora’s offense. His ability to get it done in the passing game and the running game makes him a legit threat to hit double-digit touchdowns with ease.
Ashley Hodge: RJ Sneed. He’s going to get a lot of the tough red-zone balls that Denzel Mims got last year. I think we are going to spread the wealth and with two less games. It may be hard for an individual to crack 10 touchdowns but I think Sneed will do it.
Jason King: Tyquan Thornton. I’m expecting the receiver with world-class speed to have a breakout year. Whether it’s a deep heave that he catches over his shoulder, a jump ball in the corner of the end zone or a short pass that he turns into a huge gain, Thornton is going to be in the end zone a lot this fall. Count on it.
Craig Smoak: Trestan Ebner. I'm obviously a fan of Ebner's skills and the way he's been talked about so far makes this an easy choice, particularly when you expect a large number of big plays and a lot less of Charlie Brewer being your bell cow at times. I could also see John Lovett or Tyquan Thornton taking this crown. I'm very aware of the risk that comes with hyping up a guy too much, and I don't want to do that here. This is based squarely off what coaches have said, Fedora's offense, and the ability we've seen from Ebner when healthy.
David Smoak: Charlie Brewer, who only trailed Denzel Mims (12) with his 11 touchdowns a year ago. If it's not Brewer, I'll go with John Lovett for the short yardage scores instead of Trestan Ebner, even though Ebner is a dual-threat to score on the ground and in the passing game.
A college football rule that I’d like to see changed is:
Colt Barber: Celebration penalities eliminated. I understand taunting penalties should always be penalized, but letting guys have a little fun seems more than appropriate. Put in specifics of what can’t be done, but the emotion of a football game is too high to try and keep players from having fun in the moment.
Paul Catalina: Stopping the clock after first downs outside of the last two minutes of a half. Please, dear God ... it slows the game to a crawl when you have two spread teams. The clock needs to move. For TV and my own sanity. Four-hour games are the worst.
Grayson Grundhoefer: I could get into transfer rules—but those are imaginary anyway—so how about the 15-yard pass interference penalty. In the NFL you get the ball where the pass interference occurred, so a flag 50 yards down the field isn’t worth the same as one 20 yards down the field. I agree with that logic, but also because it is called far less in the NFL because of it.
Ashley Hodge: Get rid of kickoffs and just start each possession at the 25-yard line. Most of these kickers are able to boot it out of the end zone anyway. Seems like a waste of time. To compensate for a lack of onside kicks, create a new rule where inside two minutes, the clock stops after every play. Make the end of games more dramatic.
Jason King: I think the penalty for targeting is too harsh. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for cleaning up the game and protecting players. But ejecting a kid from a game—especially on a first offense—seems like too much. So many of these targeting penalties are judgment calls. Chris Miller got absolutely hosed a few times last season. It just wasn’t right. Maybe they could come up with different “levels” of targeting, much like officials do with flagrant fouls in basketball. Because some of hits that are ruled “targeting” seem accidental, like when a ball carrier lowers his head at the last second, causing a helmet-to-helmet collision that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise. There’s nothing a defender can do to avoid that.
Craig Smoak: Let's loosen up the quick flags for celebrations and let these players have some fun. Not, Ole Miss guy peeing like a dog and costing your team the Egg Bowl fun, but allowing a little rowdiness and excitement after a big play would be good. No taunting, no choreographed routines, just a little extra juice after a major moment would be allowed within reason. I realize anything comes with its own set of problems, so I already know how lame it will be when some random defensive lineman celebrates a 4th quarter sack down 48-0, but still.
David Smoak: The NCAA has done a pretty nice job of cleaning up the original cluster-blank with the targeting rule with the replay system, so there's that. But, why is it most defensive penalties are an automatic first down but the only offensive penalty where there's a loss of down is intentional grounding? I might be missing one, but defensive holding, pass interference, personal foul and roughing the passer are all yardage and an automatic first down. As far as I know the only offensive penalty that comes with yards and a loss of down is intentional grounding.
My favorite thing about attending a high school football game is:
Colt Barber: My favorite Friday nights when I was in elementary school was going to high school football games. This might not answer the question specifically, but the memories of playing football under the bleachers with friends and getting in some scrums with the older kids are some of my favorites. When the high school team was any good I’d go and watch.
Paul Catalina: I don’t know if I can answer this question. I don’t have any kids, so I don’t go to watch anyone. When I’m at a high school football game I am working 100 percent of the time. I also don’t care for the marching bands taking 28 minutes. I’ve been steadfast in my criticism of this. Yes, I realize I am a grumpy dude. But my favorite thing is watching a close game. The back and forth. I love watching someone who may not have a moment like this again in their life make a game-changing play.
Grayson Grundhoefer: The atmosphere. When you walk into a high school stadium with the band and large crowd, it is really cool. You see the concession stand, the families of players, all the smiles, and players playing hard. It is just always a great experience.
Ashley Hodge: I love how the community supports the local high school team. I don't get out to many high school football games these days but when I go, I usually see someone I know and it’s always fun to catch up. I love the pure passion at the high school level. That passion remains in college and professional football but, in high school, you know there are a lot of questionable athletes playing just for the love of the game. It brings back memories of 140-pound linebackers and 205-pound offensive linemen from my high school days, and the two I'm thinking of are the last two I would ever pick a fight with.
Jason King: Attending high school football games always makes me a little nostalgic. I love watching the players hyping each other up on the sideline and the cheerleaders gossiping nearby and the freshmen and sophomores in the stands—paying zero attention to the game—and the kids playing tackle-the-man in the end zone. It makes me think back to my high school days and how much fun I had on Friday nights. I’m also a sucker for a good concession stand. The best ones are usually found in smaller towns and almost always serve Frito Pie.
Craig Smoak: The community pride. The smaller the town, the more likely a player's siblings, parents, or grandparents played sports, marched in the band, danced, or cheered, together at the very same school. It's a community watching their young men and women grow up before their very eyes, rooting on their successes, and empathizing with their sorrows in defeat. Each town or school proudly rolling out their own unique traditions, songs, and uniforms is incredibly cool on a wholesome level. It's one thing to represent a school, or a team. It's another thing entirely to represent the place you call home.
David Smoak: The innocence is still in existence. It's real. There’s just nothing like Texas high school football and the atmosphere anywhere in the country.
A sideline reporter who does a great job is:
Colt Barber: I don’t typically pay much attention to who they are, but one that stands out recently is Molly McGrath. They rotate around so much that it’s hard to get a good feel of who is the best, but I would say the standard was Erin Andrews and it’s hard for many to rise to that standard for me.
Paul Catalina: Holly Rowe is really second-to-none in what she does. She hustles, knows how to deal with coaches in whatever mood they might be in and has great acumen in whatever sport she is covering.
Grayson Grundhoefer: Erin Andrews. I know she has moved around a lot at this point but she was absolutely terrific on College Gameday and has done an awesome job now in the NFL on FOX. Andrews asks great questions, is entertaining, and her personality makes others appear more comfortable. She is very talented.
Ashley Hodge: Roughneck will kill me if I don't say Holly Rowe, so it has to be Holly Rowe. She works hard and does her job with style and grace. I've always liked her. Except when she slammed the door on us in KC after a photo op with Fran Frascilla and her—but we definitely deserved it!
Jason King: She doesn’t work the sidelines anymore but, when she did, Samantha Ponder (formerly Samantha Steele) was one of the all-time best. I say that mainly because her questions were so good and original. “Coach, what’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home tonight to celebrate this win?” … “Johnny, what did you eat before the game to make you play so well?” … “Tyrone, tell me what you said in the huddle right before that winning touchdown pass.” It was a refreshing change from stock questions we hear from 90 percent of sideline reporters. “How excited are you to get back on the field? How impressed were you with your team’s defense? How good does this win feel?” Yuck.
Craig Smoak: Kristi Scales. She's fantastic on Cowboys radio broadcasts, giving listeners the perfect amount of insight, information, and observations, from her unique view on the Dallas sideline. She's sharp, has a good voice, and knows how to promptly deliver whatever info Brad and Babe are looking for at any given moment. If I'm listening to a Cowboys game and Kristi starts talking, I pay attention. Honorable mention, Kaylee Hartung before she left ESPN for CNN awhile back.
David Smoak: Erin Andrews remains at the head of the class, and with the top NFL broadcast team on Fox Sports NFL games with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. She does a tremendous amount of homework and has remained at the top of her game while the sideline reporter position seems to get younger every year. Holly Rowe is someone who endears herself to everyone involved in a broadcast, including the coaches, players and fans. I have so much respect for how she hustles, her public fight against cancer and she's unafraid to express her raw emotions.
A popular concession stand snack that doesn’t appeal to me is:
Colt Barber: I’m adding at the end so all of the good ones are gone. I’ll just go with a hot dog as something I’d never order because of the inconsistenies that come with them. I’d rather not risk it.
Paul Catalina: Cotton Candy. It’s gross. And if you like it you’d better be six-years-old.
Grayson Grundhoefer: The big dill pickles. People always get those at all sporting events and I just never really cared for them at all.
Ashley Hodge: Nachos. I like chips but that fake cheese they put on top of it at stadiums ... blah. Hot dogs also. I use to consume hot dogs like they were going out of style and I'll still eat a hot dog off the grill. But one of those boiled hot dogs at a stadium in a soggy white bun …no thanks. The whiter the bread, the sooner you're dead.
Jason King: Pretzels. Dry, stale, chewy bread with absolutely no flavor. You might as well gnaw on a piece of cardboard. The only time I eat pretzels at games is when I’ve had a few too many Coors Lites and I need something solid and carb-heavy to soak up the alcohol.
Craig Smoak: I've become a bit of a popcorn snob. The usually stale, slightly buttery version we get at most sporting events just doesn't cut it for me now when I can have a freshly popped Movie Theater Butter version with a little Cheddar seasoning at home on the couch. If I have it at games, it's free, and I'm just hungry or bored.
David Smoak: Cotton Candy and don't @ me. Seriously, it's like eating air that is somehow sticky with zero taste and there's literally nothing to it.