Trip to Lubbock should be just what win-starved Texas needs

American-Statesman columnists Kirk Bohls and Cedric Golden address 10 hot-button topics about Texas, the Big 12 and national college football:

1. Will Texas break its two-game losing streak?

Bohls: Yes. The Longhorns will be at a fever pitch to get back on track. I’m sure the defense wants to atone for the last two games when it’s allowed 80 total points and more than 1,000 yards. Based on Texas Tech playing a third-string quarterback, Sam Ehlinger playing at the top of his game and a 72nd-ranked defense eager to redeem itself, I expect a 38-31 Longhorns win. After all, Tom Herman can’t save Kliff Kingsbury’s job every year.

Golden: It is with great trepidation that I answer in the affirmative. I don’t expect Tech quarterback Alan Bowman to play with his lung issue, so the beleaguered Texas defense should be able to contain backup Jett Duffey just enough to escape the South Plains with a 38-34 win.

2. Is Kliff Kingsbury college football's best quarterback whisperer?

Bohls: Without question. I’m not even sure who’s in second place. Look at the list of top quarterbacks he’s evaluated, recruited and developed. Pat Mahomes. Baker Mayfield. Davis Webb. Michael Brewer. If he doesn’t survive at Tech, he’d be without a job for maybe 2 minutes. He’d make an ideal offensive coordinator for any college or NFL team. Of course with a 35-37 record and no more wins than eight in any season, he may need to be a linebacker whisperer.

Golden: Had Baker Mayfield stayed at Texas Tech and won a Heisman, I would have said yes. But I’m going to go with Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, who has an outside chance to coach back-to-back Heisman winners in Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

3. Who are the Big 12's top All-America candidates?

Bohls: Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray is the second-best quarterback in the nation. Texas Tech receiver Antoine Wesley definitely deserves it with his 70 catches for 1,176 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s had three games of 150 yards or more, the most of any Power Five team receiver. Oklahoma State receiver Tylan Wallace and Oklahoma’s Marquise Brown are that caliber. I’d make a case for West Virginia left tackle Yodny Cajuste, who has 17 pancake blocks this year; Sooners offensive guard Ben Powers, a 6-foot-4, 313-pound senior road grader; and Kansas State tackle Dalton Risner, the highest-rated offensive lineman in the Big 12.

Golden: Two that come to mind are Murray, who is having a sensational year with 31 touchdowns and only five interceptions, and Wesley, who ranks second nationally in receiving yards with 1,176 and third in receptions per game with 7.8. He has caught seven touchdown passes.

4. Besides the size and field, what would you change about the College Football Playoff process?

Bohls: In a case for complete transparency, I would make all 13 members of the selection committee make public their final ballot. If they refuse, they don’t belong on the committee.

Golden: I would require all conferences to play nine conference games without exception. The 14-team SEC shouldn’t be allowed to schedule a fourth nonconference game while the other leagues are playing three. And don’t give me the SEC-is-tougher argument. Make it a level playing field.

5. Is seven-on-seven killing high school defenses in the state of Texas?

Bohls: It’s sure not helping. The state has become a breeding ground for sandlot football (i.e., Big 12 football). I think the emphasis on this competition fosters great quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs but curtails the development of offensive and defensive linemen and probably linebackers as well. Hardly anyone outside of Alabama, LSU, Clemson or Michigan even plays great defense any more.

Golden: Killing? It’s been dead for years. It’s already impossible to play defensive back in football, and now all the attention is going to those glorified 65-58 scrimmages in the offseason. Give me a good 28-27 game over these defensive-challenged exhibitions.

6. Do you have a problem with calling a timeout to try to ice a kicker?

Bohls: I do. Make opposing coaches call a timeout before the offense gets set. This gets very tedious.

Golden: I sure do. It’s legal, but the rule should be changed. Coaches should be required to call the timeout before the team lines up to kick. You don’t see basketball coaches calling timeouts one second before an opponent shoots a free throw at the end of a game.

7. Which current top-four team won't end up making the Final Four?

Bohls: Notre Dame. The Irish will drop a game to Syracuse or USC and open up a spot for the Big 12 champion or a second SEC team.

Golden: Michigan. Ohio State hasn’t played consistently good ball, but the Buckeyes could ruin Michigan’s season in two weeks at the Shoe.

8. Do duplicate jersey numbers bother you?

Bohls: They do. Stop the practice and give every player his own number. You can only have 85 on scholarship anyway.

Golden: Not really in college, but it would in the pros, where there are fewer players on a roster. I’m sure kids are promised jersey numbers during the recruiting process, so no real problem with it.

9. Which ranked team loses this week?

Bohls: I'll go way out on a limb and pick Colorado (5-4) to upset steamrolling Washington State, which has won five straight games. The Buffs have lost four in a row and need another win to be bowl eligible, so give me CU 27-24.

Golden: Steer your eyes toward Knoxville, where the Tennessee Vols have a great chance to take out Kentucky.

10. How bold was Dana Holgorsen's two-point try to beat Texas?

Bohls: It was gutsy, but not as much as it should be. A team has to make a play to win, whether it’s in the final 16 seconds as Holgorsen did or in overtime. He had the ball in the hands of his senior, an NFL-bound quarterback, inside the 5. That’s about as good a position as West Virginia could have hoped to have in any overtime period. I don’t understand why other coaches don’t do this more often.

Golden: Not that bold if you know Dana. He’s a riverboat gambler by nature, straight out of his mentor Mike Leach’s mode. Besides, Texas’ defense was on its heels at that point, and he had complete trust in senior quarterback Will Grier.