Level and Dickens mentioned it again on the post-game Matador Report, and the impact of the lack of a true open date hopefully will continue to gain momentum. Tech BOR needs to either relax the rule, eliminate the Saturday test date during finals, or move finals back.
A quick perusal of a few finals schedules shows Tech from Dec. 4-9, Baylor from Dec. 10-15 and Texas from Dec. 9-14. Why not move Tech's back a week and adjust the academic calendar? Some can say you can't let athletics be the tail that wags the dog, but I hardly think academics is taking a back seat at Baylor and UT (just two examples of finals a week later).
I don't want to sound like a whiner or excuse-maker, but it's a fact this team gets worn down as you get into late October and early November. Any team would. By the end of October, three Big 12 teams will have had TWO open dates, and the other six will have had one week off. Guess which one will have played 9 straight weeks on their way to 11 weeks in a row?
Throw out the also-rans of KU and Iowa State, and besides Tech's 11 weeks in a row, OU plays 9 in a row, but no one else plays more than 7 in a row.
Teams clamor for an open date, sometimes two. It's a time to recallibrate, rest, heal, catch your breath, just a week off from the grind. Imagine a bye week this week -- maybe a full week off gives Pat's knee a chance to completely reheal, and I imagine Clark would be at full strength and likely Sadler back and it's a chance to gather yourself for the stretch run. Hell, the only "bye" week we have isn't really when you consider the game is on Thanksgiving, and Tech has to travel to Austin that Wednesday.
It's just nuts to try to continue this grind year after year because of the early finals schedule and the no-game rule on that Saturday. Surely, rational minds can come up with a compromise.
A quick perusal of a few finals schedules shows Tech from Dec. 4-9, Baylor from Dec. 10-15 and Texas from Dec. 9-14. Why not move Tech's back a week and adjust the academic calendar? Some can say you can't let athletics be the tail that wags the dog, but I hardly think academics is taking a back seat at Baylor and UT (just two examples of finals a week later).
I don't want to sound like a whiner or excuse-maker, but it's a fact this team gets worn down as you get into late October and early November. Any team would. By the end of October, three Big 12 teams will have had TWO open dates, and the other six will have had one week off. Guess which one will have played 9 straight weeks on their way to 11 weeks in a row?
Throw out the also-rans of KU and Iowa State, and besides Tech's 11 weeks in a row, OU plays 9 in a row, but no one else plays more than 7 in a row.
Teams clamor for an open date, sometimes two. It's a time to recallibrate, rest, heal, catch your breath, just a week off from the grind. Imagine a bye week this week -- maybe a full week off gives Pat's knee a chance to completely reheal, and I imagine Clark would be at full strength and likely Sadler back and it's a chance to gather yourself for the stretch run. Hell, the only "bye" week we have isn't really when you consider the game is on Thanksgiving, and Tech has to travel to Austin that Wednesday.
It's just nuts to try to continue this grind year after year because of the early finals schedule and the no-game rule on that Saturday. Surely, rational minds can come up with a compromise.
