蜜柚直播

Rather than sit in a food-is-served and drinks-are-cold press box suite Saturday, 蜜柚直播 president Robert C. Robbins put on a red 蜜柚直播 shirt, a blue 蜜柚直播 cap and a pair of golf shorts.

Sure it was going to be hot and humid. Robbins knows how it goes; two years ago, he worked 3陆 miles from TDECU Stadium as the president/CEO of the Texas Medical Center.

He loved the Cougars then the way he loves the Wildcats now. Even after an ESPN producer mentioned that the kickoff-time temperature on the artificial turf was about 120 degrees, Robbins proceeded to the field.

Bring it on. New era, right?

But even a steadfast UA fan like Robbins knows when the hellish conditions 鈥� and I鈥檓 not talking about the weather 鈥� are too much. As Houston scored to lead 31-0 just before half, the man who supported the hiring of Kevin Sumlin yielded to the elements.

Robbins walked alone up a tunnel next to a 鈥淕O COOGS鈥� sign and didn鈥檛 return for the second half.

By then, thousands of UA fans had surely clicked off the ESPN telecast in search of more enjoyable programming. It so happens that HGTV network was airing the Texas-based 鈥淔ixer Upper,鈥� which until further notice should serve as the 2018 catchphrase for 蜜柚直播 football.

After two grim performances, we can now see that Kevin Sumlin inherited a fixer upper of his own.

Dig in, ladies and gentlemen: This is going to require all sorts of work, from the foundation to the paint job. How did we miss all of the signs? The UA was pushed around by BYU and couldn鈥檛 keep up with Houston, a pair of mid-majors with no preseason hubbub.

Sophomore linebacker Colin Schooler, who is probably the UA鈥檚 lone all-Pac-12 type player, seemed to be unaware of the tough climb ahead.

鈥淚 had confidence we鈥檇 dominate this game,鈥� he said a few minutes after the 45-18 kick in the pants. 鈥淓verybody expects to be 2-0.鈥�

In the game鈥檚 final 1:48, an irresistible juxtaposition occurred in Section 121, Row 4. That鈥檚 where former 蜜柚直播 coach Rich Rodriguez sat, animated, as his son, quarterback Rhett Rodriguez, played the final seven plays of mop-up time.

Here is something you must know about the suddenly lamentable state of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 football program: When the game was decided in the first half, every player deployed on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 No. 1 offense and defense except cornerback Tim Hough had been recruited and signed by RichRod.

If you throw in Sumlin-signed punter Dylan Klumph, it means 21 of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 first 23 players used to be RichRod鈥檚 guys.

Kevin Sumlin isn鈥檛 about to get rich on this football inheritance. This fixer upper won鈥檛 be finished until a new brigade of Sumlin recruits are wearing UA jerseys.

You鈥檙e not likely to hear about this from Sumlin. He appears to be a poker-face with few peers. His post-game media session betrayed neither a look of despair or resignation, but instead the look of a man in a high-stakes card game who was holding a pair of 2s and didn鈥檛 fold.

He didn鈥檛 embellish the calamity of a first quarter ankle injury to quarterback Khalil Tate, a tweak that scuttled the UA鈥檚 game plan. About all Sumlin would say is 鈥測ou have to draw a line through鈥� a lot of the plays 蜜柚直播 prepared for Houston.

Nor did Sumlin go out of his way to praise Houston, his former school, or the efficiency with which the Cougars bolted to a 31-0 lead by establishing a tempo that seemed to disorient 蜜柚直播鈥檚 defense.

I mean, the Cougars snapped 10 plays in the game鈥檚 first 2 minutes and 47 seconds. Touchdown. It would be a very long and hot afternoon.

Sumlin said it wasn鈥檛 Houston鈥檚 tempo that dictated terms. 鈥淲e practice good-on-good all the time,鈥� he said.

That means 蜜柚直播 uses its No. 1 defense against its No. 1 offense in practice. Moreover, Sumlin is a coach known for his up-tempo offenses. He can write a book on playing as fast as the Cougars do.

But does 蜜柚直播 really have 鈥済ood-on-good鈥� units on either side of the ball? Judging from the way BYU and Houston beat the Wildcats, that may require some editing. 蜜柚直播 has struggled just to be 鈥渇airly good鈥� at times.

The 鈥済ood-on-good鈥� practices might not commence in 蜜柚直播 until 2019 or later.

More dispiriting is that Cougars I and Cougars II, BYU and Houston, both appeared to be bigger, faster and stronger than 蜜柚直播.

Tate was thought to be a difference-maker but most of that difference-making was supposed to come from his remarkable ability to run real fast and avoid opposing tacklers.

Through two games, Tate has rushed 15 times for 22 yards. And now there鈥檚 Tate鈥檚 鈥渁nkle thing鈥� about which to worry.

Tate is fiercely proud of his athletic ability. His confidence gushes forth in his brief interview sessions. On Saturday, he said that the UA鈥檚 offense has been held back by 鈥渙ne play.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e one catch away,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ne breakaway touchdown away.鈥�

Perhaps it will be that simple when the Wildcats return home Saturday night to play the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, and it may be that elementary a week later at Oregon State, the Pac-12鈥檚 least-feared team.

But then come the Big Boys: USC, Utah and Oregon.

It might be more likely that defenses have learned how to pitch to Tate, sort of like a hotshot major-league rookie who hits a bunch of home runs his first time through the league. The second time through, when opposing coaches establish a specific plan to stop you, it鈥檚 a different game.

We do know this: In two games, Tate hasn鈥檛 turned it upfield and put the pedal to the metal.

After losing to BYU a week ago, it was almost intriguing to do some football forensics and figure out how the Cougars stopped Tate and beat the Wildcats. How did this happen? What went wrong? Did BYU outsmart the UA coaches?

But on Saturday, there was nothing intriguing at all. It was a not-so-subtle warning that the heat is on, and we鈥檙e not talking about the weather forecast.