I hate oklahoma. I hate how average Landry Jones is under pressure, and I hate that he makes the old man from Up look athletic at times. I hate that Ryan Broyles is my son’s size, yet he always seems to be open. I hate Kenny Stills and his Prince look, Tom Wort and his bad-guy-from-pro-wrestling look and every single coach on the staff. I hate their fans and the stupid song, the down horns and the fact the school is called “the university of oklahoma” and yet they call themselves “ou.” I hate losing to them, hate the Fair after losing to them and hate the drive home after losing to them. I hate losing to them more than I enjoy beating them, but what I hate the most is being completely wrong about them.
Landry Jones is far from average and while not the best athlete on the team, he gets the ball out and to his playmakers with alarming ease and consistency. Ryan Broyles is going to make a lot of money at the next level and Broyles is as good as any receiver in the country. The ou staff is outstanding and it seems they just churn out NFL-type players like Wort and Stills, and I guess if I’m one of their fans and we scored on my hated rival every eight minutes I’d want to hear my school song, too. The sooners proved to me that they are, in fact, the No.1 team in the land and did so convincingly.
Still, the sooners won in Dallas again. Yuck.
No rest for the weary as the No.7 Oklahoma State Cowboys come to town and they are not interested in the least in how Texas is dealing with the bloodbath in Dallas.
The Horns have to put it away and move on, so I suggest we do the same.
No. 10 TEXAS 17 No.1 oklahoma 55
I was talking to former Texas fullback Matt Trissell before the game and we talked about the tunnel walk. As you know, the “tunnel walk” is the entrance to the Cotton Bowl and it’s the same tunnel for both teams. There is nothing like it and the first time you do it is never forgotten. Trissell confirmed that, telling me “… the freshmen remember they’re freshmen when they walk down that tunnel.” And it was the perfect summary for that game in Dallas: The sooners came out and looked excited and confident and many of the Texas players came out and looked like the tunnel walk reminded them they were freshmen.
The moment looked too big for a lot of those young players in burnt orange while the veterans on the sooner side took advantage of the spotlight. The result was a smack down reminiscent of the early 2000’s. It isn’t the same as then, though, and I’ll explain why. First, the post-mortem. Here’s what I saw in Dallas on Saturday.
Quarterbacks: Awful. CAsh combined for 20-36 for 223 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and two fumbles. It certainly wasn’t all their fault, but the youngsters wilted. David Ash made two bad decisions with the ball and was picked off both times, the first resulting in an ou offensive touchdown and the second returned for a touchdown. Case McCoy fumbled twice, setting up an ou field goal in the first quarter and the other being returned for a touchdown in the third quarter. The fact Texas was so far behind so early completely negated their ability to run the ball from the qb position, but the staff seemed more comfortable with Ash out there in the second half and his ability to move around against the withering oklahoma pressure. Texas needed a Colt-McCoy-2008-vs-ou effort from the quarterbacks and they didn’t get one: they instead got multiple turnovers that were devastating.
I think, though, despite the mistakes, Texas did the right thing by going with Ash almost exclusively in the second half. After Ash’s head stopped spinning he was much better, evidenced by his touchdown pass to Jaxon Shipley in the fourth quarter. I’ve said this before so one more time won’t hurt: I’m OK with mistakes as long as something is learned from them. David Ash made some bad decisions with the ball, and as long as he’s learning from the film he’ll be OK. Landry Jones had a terrible day against Texas in 2009, and now he’s Landry Jones. Ash’s ability to make a play with his feet just makes him a better option than McCoy when the pass rush is that dominant and the offensive line is playing that poorly.
A terrible day, boys, but as long as things can be learned a positive can be taken from it.
Running Backs: I thought I’d see more from the backs, honestly. Malcolm Brown led the team with 54 yards on 17 carries but I didn’t see him make any big plays when the game was still a game in the first half. I think its coming and I liked that Texas didn’t try and protect him by limiting his early carries, but he couldn’t put the team on his back like I thought he would. Probably unrealistic for me to expect that, but I did expect it. Fozzy Whittaker is going to mess around and get drafted after another solid day, rushing six times for 43 yards. I thought DJ Monroe was going to be the star, but the turnovers changed the flow of the offense. I guess. Not sure why we didn’t see more of Monroe, but I’ve been asking that question for two years now, haven’t I?
The running backs were solid and I expected to see them, Brown in particular, get better as the game were on; unfortunately the quarterbacks kept turning it over and the ou offense was hitting on all cylinders and took them out of the game.
Wide Outs/Tight Ends: It was awesome to see Blaine Irby catching passes and playing football, wasn’t it? The Cali kid with the flowing locks finished with two catches for 12 yards. And how about Jaxon Shipley? The true freshman was awesome, scoring the only offensive touchdown for Texas and finishing the day with nine catches for 89 yards. He’s going to be a problem for everyone the rest of his career at Texas. You CAN NOT allow a defender to rip a ball out of your hands and then return it for a touchdown. You can’t play if that happens. Mike Davis had six catches for 70 yards, but that turnover was a nail in the lid. Again, learn from it and move forward, Mike.
WHERE IS EVERYONE ELSE? There is a lot of talent in the Texas receiving corps and all spring and summer I heard how deep and explosive it was, but now I see a two-man unit. Who wants the third receiving job? Anyone? Can DJ Monroe catch the ball? Give him a shot if he can, because it’s clear no one else can do it consistently.
Offensive Line: Eight sacks allowed, 117 yards lost on the ground, .8 yards per carry rushing, two crushing hits on the quarterback that resulted in fumbles — one returned for a score and the other setting up a field goal — and a unit-wide failure to control an ou front seven that had shown little ability to make plays in the backfield so far this year.
I don’t have the words to explain my thoughts, so I’ll not try.
Defensive Line: I’m not saying another word about the blue chip defensive ends until they give me a reason. All spring and summer the names “Alex Okafor” and “Jackson Jeffcoat” were trending in stories about the Longhorn defense and it was nearly universally believed that Texas had a pair of All Big 12 players ready to dominate. Not so far. There were no Sergio Kindle/Brian Orakpo moments on Saturday in Dallas, and Landry Jones was barely touched.
I thought the interior players did a good job. The trio of Calvin Howell, Ashton Dorsey and Kheeston Randall eliminated ou’s ability to run inside and kept Dominic Whaley more or less in check. They did a decent job of getting pressure inside on Jones as Howell got the only sack of the game for Texas, but he did get a personal foul face mask that cannot happen.
The tackles were good but they can’t do it all themselves. If the starters can’t get it done outside, it’s time for someone else to get a crack.
Linebackers: The Horns played five defensive backs to deal with the ou passing game and EAcho and Keenan Robinson played most of the game and did okay, totaling 13 tackles and one qb hurry, but there weren’t any big plays. They did a good job in defending the run and handling ou’s tight ends over the middle, but there were no game-changing sacks or forced fumbles from the talented seniors.
Secondary: Torched. Landry Jones threw on them seemingly at will and they got it rolling immediately. On the first play of the game Ryan Broyles got Quandre Diggs turned around on an out route and Diggs missed the tackle and 40 yards later, the sooners were in field goal range after one snap. The experienced sooner wide outs and Jones found holes in the coverage, like on 3rd & 25 in the second quarter, and the Texas defensive backs were on their heels the entire game. Still, as the game wore on the secondary got more comfortable and won some coverage battles. Carrington Byndom and Quandre Diggs were thrown into the deep end of the pool and it sure looked like they were going to drown, but they found a way to tread water by the end of the day. The safeties were not as fortunate and it seemed to me like they sank to the bottom of the pool. I saw help coming late, or not at all, too many times when oklahoma receivers got deep, like on that 3rd & 25 conversion and on a couple of touchdown passes. Christian Scott, considered out indefinitely with a wrist injury, played a lot in the second half and as long as that wrist holds up he should get more playing time, because he was the best safety on the team Saturday.
The Texas corners are going to be outstanding after these trials and they are learning on the job. The safeties need to play better and pick it up, however.
Special Teams: A win! Texas scored a touchdown on a kickoff return by Fozzy Whittaker, taking it back 100 yards in the second quarter, and never allowed ou to break anything or set up their offense with a big play: of course, their offense didn’t need that help, but it was a good effort nonetheless. The Horns had another kick return for a score negated by a hold, but I thought the Horns looked good, kicking and covering well and making plays.
More of that, please.
In Conclusion …
Texas’s youth showed through on Saturday, and I thought the play calling on both offense and defense was affected by that youth. I’d have liked to see more from Monroe and some serious, all-out pressure on Jones, but I don’t know if it would have mattered. Texas just seemed a step away in the first half: a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage keeping Case McCoy from hooking up with DJ Grant on a touchdown pass and a 7-6 Texas lead, David Ash getting shoestring-tackled on a zone read in the backfield with MILES of space behind the defense end, and Miles Onyegbule getting tripped up on a reverse pass in the backfield with a wide open man downfield to throw it all to come to mind. The Horns turned it over five times with three being returned for touchdowns (an ou school record) and the other two accounting for 10 points. That’s 31 of oklahoma’s 55 points coming from turnovers with 21 directly coming from those turnovers. You can’t beat anyone when that happens, much less the No.1 team in the country.
So what happens now? Now the No.7 team in the land comes to town and Texas has to move on and get ready. Let’s see what awaits them and us.
No. 7 OK. STATE (5-0/2-0) @ No. 21 TEXAS (4-1/1-1)
Saturday, October 15th
2:30 pm
ABC
Last year Texas was smacked around by Weeden & Co in Austin as they turned a close game into a second half blowout. The new league with less teams created a scheduling glitch that brings OSU back to Austin this year and Texas gets the chance to redeem themselves. The question is will they be able to? Mack Brown is as good at circling the wagons as anyone on the country after a loss — or least he was until last year. The Horns are 13-0 under Mack Brown the week after the oklahoma game, which is every year he’s been at Texas. Texas is going to have to work hard to get that to 14-0, but it can be done. Let’s see how.
COWBOYS
The fighting T-Boone’s are tearing people up offensively and doing it in their brand new Oregon-y uniforms. What in the world will they wear in Austin? Soooo exciting! This team can score from anywhere on the field at any time and aside from their first half with Texas A&M has faced little to no adversity this year. They still have some defensive question marks, but so far the offense has been so good it hasn’t been a real problem. Yet.
Offense
The names you know are Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. The senior Weeden is the new Chris Weinke, a 27-year old former minor league baseball player that has turned into a terrific quarterback. He looks the part at 6-foot-4, 218 pounds with a rocket arm and unabashed confidence. He has NFL skills and if he’s allowed the time to find receivers, he will shred defenses. So far this year he’s doing that, as he is third nationally in passing yards per game at 362.6 and second nationally in completions per game at 33.20. On the season he has 1,880 passing, completing 75% of his passes with 15 touchdowns. He reminds me a little of Landry Jones in that he isn’t going to beat you with his legs (he has 13 gross rushing yards for the entire season and is averaging -13 yards a game on the ground) and needs to throw to be successful. Like Jones, he also makes some questionable decisions with the ball when his first read isn’t open, believing a little too much in his arm at times and forcing the ball into bad places. His gunslinger mentality can get him into trouble, but so far his six interceptions haven’t really hurt. Yet.
His top target is the top target in all of college football, Justin Blackmon. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior is ready for the NFL right now. He’s polished, smart, athletic, tough, dependable … whatever adjective you so choose, he is. The reigning Biletnikoff Award winner is looking likely to repeat with 534 yards and six touchdowns on 46 catches, averaging 106 yards per game. Josh Cooper, Tracy Moore and Hubert Anyiam are solid and have combined for seven touchdowns and 150 yards receiving per game, but Blackmon is the man. He is equally as dangerous over the middle as he is going deep and they will move him around and do a little bit of everything with him, maximizing his ability and talent.
Running back Joseph Randle averages 96 yards per game on the ground and has eight touchdowns, but nobody even knows that because of the way OSU throws the ball. I’ll bet Randle knows. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound sophomore has talent and good hands, averaging 26 yards receiving per game on screens and dumps. If you remember the Mike Leach offenses of old, everyone focused so much on the passing game that the limited carries the running backs got were devastating: same premise with Randle, who averages 5.4 per carry as the defenses focus on Weeden and Blackmon.
What makes all this offensive output possible is a terrific offensive line. There isn’t a superstar, first round pick like Russell Okung on this line right now, but all five players are excellent and play together, keeping their middle-aged quarterback (I kid, I kid) clean and opening holes for the running game. They aren’t quite as good as they have been pass blocking, allowing nearly 1.4 sacks per game, but they are very, very good. There is an old adage that if your name is getting called on the o-line, it means you did something wrong. These guys don’t get their names called very often.
No reason to change anything for OSU coming to Austin this week, I’m sure. They have moved the ball well on everyone and no doubt they feel that will continue this week. Look for them to run their three-wide, no huddle attack on Texas, going just as fast as ou did, and running Randle in the middle as Texas spreads out to cover the wide outs. Look for Josh Cooper over the middle and outside and Moore/Anyiam underneath. Look for Blackmon everywhere and look for Oklahoma State to push that tempo and test Texas’ stamina and adjustments.
If their offense is half as cocky/confident as the oklahoma media, they surely think they will score 70 on Texas.
Defense
The big difference between this team and the oklahoma sooners is the defense. The numbers for ou aren’t as dominant as they have been, but they shot right up last week with their school yard bully abuse of the Texas offense. While I see some talent on this Oklahoma State defense, I don’t see them being able to replicate that sooner effort. At least on paper, right?
The Pokes rank 103rd nationally in total defense, allowing 438 yards per game. They rank 75th in rush defense with 165.8 ypg allowed, and that’s what they do well. They rank 103rd in pass defense (272.2 ypg) and 71st in scoring defense, allowing over 27 points per game. They do get after the quarterback well, averaging 2.8 sacks per game, and they are +2.0 in turnover margin on the season. Still, those numbers would make me nervous if I were them.
Up front they are solid if not spectacular. Defensive ends Richetti Jones and Jamie Blatnick are both seniors and have played a lot of football. The two have five sacks between them and 6-foot-3, 260ish pounds they are big enough to play the run and do it reasonably well. Inside at tackle they have good numbers but not a lot of size with Anthony Rogers and Nigel Nicholas. Both are in the mid 280’s and rely on their quickness as much as strength to make plays. I’m not sure they can withstand an entire game of a running game coming right at them.
Led by last year’s Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Shaun Lewis, the starting linebackers are Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in tackles on this team. The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Lewis is quick, active and talented, leading the team with six tackles for loss. I’m not sold at all on the other two, but if you’re starting for the No. 7 team in the country you are doing something right. Still, those numbers against the run tell me the tackles and mike lb have some trouble dealing with the ground game.
As I mentioned above, the Cowboys excel at forcing turnovers. So far this season they have picked off 10 passes, tied for third most in all of college football. The two starting corners, Broderick Brown and Justin Gilbert, have five interceptions between them and seven passes broken up. Gilbert is your traditional corner at 6-feet, 205 pounds while the 5-foot-8 Brown seems the likely target for opponent passing games. He’s shown that isn’t always a good idea with three picks on the season. He has track speed and tremendous leaping ability, making him play bigger than 5-foot-8. These two guys can make plays, but the numbers tell me they give up plenty as well. The top two tacklers on the team are the starting safeties, Daytawion Lowe and Markelle Martin. The senior Martin has NFL skills and, at 6-foot-1, 198 pounds, he can bring the lumber. Lowe, a little smaller at 6-feet, 195 pounds, is similar in game, leading the team with 34 tackles. The two are excellent in run support and, judging by the numbers, they have to be. They are good in coverage as well, defending eight passes between them, but I think their primary duties will be dealing with this Texas running game.
And that’s what the entire Oklahoma State defense is going to have to do in order to beat Texas. The Longhorns run the ball well and Oklahoma State doesn’t defend the run particularly well, and their inability to deal with the running game means they have to commit more bodies to it, freeing up lanes in the passing game for the opponent. Again, this hasn’t really been a problem for them as the offense has been killing it every game. Not a problem yet.
Oklahoma State is going to sell out to stop the run and leave their talented corners outside to deal with the two guys on the Texas offense that have shown the ability to catch the ball consistently outside. They want to bring heat and confuse the wounded Texas o-line and quarterbacks, forcing mistakes and turnovers. If they can do that, they win.
Special Teams
Mr. Orange Shoes is now kicking for the Dallas Cowboys and the historically strong special teams for Okie State aren’t as strong this year. They are equally bad at returning punts and kicks (although Justin Gilbert has a 96-yard kickoff return for a score) and average only 36 yards per punt on the season. They aren’t great at covering punts, allowing 11.6 yards per return and a long of 31. They are better at kick coverage and most of that is kicker Quinn Sharp, who has 27 touchbacks on 46 kickoffs. Sharp is 9-10 on field goals and has missed an extra point and while very reliable, he’s no Orange Shoes Bailey.
Texas broke out on special teams, but the turnovers negated most of the effort. Oklahoma State looks about the same in specials to me as ou, meaning they will need to work very hard to keep Texas from winning this battle. I don’t think they do and I think the Horns can make some things happen against a marginal punter, some bad coverage and worse punt returns.
TEXAS
Time to put it away, Horns. You can’t get beat by the same loss twice. A new day brings a new team and new opportunities.
Offense
A pair of 280ish-pound defensive tackles + a new middle linebacker= RUN THE BALL. This needs to be the game where the leaders of this o-line — Mason Walters and David Snow — put this team on their backs and rule the day. Together with center Dominic Espinosa the guard-center-guard trio should be able to make some plays inside with the running game. Feed The Franchise and 3-yard gains in the first quarter become 13-yard gains in the fourth quarter.
The Horns have to hang on to the ball to win this game. Just like last week, turnovers will be deadly and, just like last week, the opponent can really move the ball and score some points. Texas is going to need to make the most of every offensive opportunity and the ability to run the ball, control the clock and keep the OSU offense on the sideline is the priority.
The Texas offensive line was disastrous last week, but, again, if something is learned from it, then everything will be okay. The Horns are going to have the chance to run it against this defense and the boys up front must do their job for that happen. If Texas can establish the running game, it opens the door for the play-action pass to the tight end/h-back and some big, big gains downfield for the Texas offense. The running game is key: If Texas can establish the running game, good things will happen.
And that’s exactly what is going to happen. The staff is going to have this team mentally ready to go and they all desperately want to get the taste of last week out of their mouths. Look for a renewed attitude and a nasty disposition from the o-line and look for better decisions from the quarterbacks, throwing it away when necessary and not forcing things as much. I still expect to see both qb’s and I fully expect HarsinWhite to cut loose with more exotics. A little DJ Monroe never hurt anyone, did it?
A better effort and more production from the offense is coming.
Defense
Texas has to tackle better in space than last week. They have to get the OSU wide outs down after the catch and not allow them to break free. Guys need to get their head around and find the ball in the air and make plays, which I don’t think they did very well against ou. Brandon Weeden will throw some questionable balls and Texas needs to make OSU pay for it when he does. The coverage was better as the game wore on last week, but the Horns can’t afford a slow start in the secondary again. Get your head around and see the ball, capitalize on mistakes and make the tackle when the catch is made. These are priorities in the passing game.
And Texas simply must get pressure on Weeden. He’s immobile and like most quarterbacks he doesn’t always do the right thing under duress. Texas needs to put him under duress and make him throw it before he’s ready. The Cowboys will give up sacks, allowing about 1.5 a game, so the opportunity is there. The problem is Texas has not shown the ability to get to the qb this fall even though all the talent in the world seems to be in place to do it. If Texas is to have a chance this week, that has to change. The five-star recruits need to live up to their billing and make some plays this week, because if they can get in the backfield I think the back seven can play well enough to keep the Horns in it. If they do not, it probably won’t happen.
Come on, boys. A pass rush is going to lead to turnovers, which gets their offense off the field and Texas’ offense on the field. It has to happen Saturday.
Special Teams
The silver lining in last week’s loss was the special teams play. Texas scored a touchdown, had another called back (on a block that was behind DJ Monroe) and allowed zero big plays for ou. I think that continues this week and Texas gets another score (making it the third touchdown for special teams in three weeks) and limits the poor OSU return game (97th in punt returns, 87th in kick returns) to minimal gains and long fields. I think the td comes off a block and I think Texas sets something else up with a fake kick for more points.
The fastest way to influence a game is via special teams and I think Texas changes this game with some big plays.
IT’S ON …
Texas needed a lot to go right last week to win and none of it did: five turnovers, eight sacks, blown coverages, wide-eyed quarterbacks, etc. all added up to 55-17. The Horns were blown out by their arch rival, and while that stinks and I hate more than most things it isn’t the end of the world. It’s still only one loss, right? While the score might remind you of the early 2000’s, this team is far different than those teams. These Longhorns didn’t quit and kept playing against an ou team that never calls off the dogs (they were still playing starters and still throwing in the fourth quarter) and they were doing it with freshmen and sophomores. No one wants to get their butt whipped, but sometimes getting your butt whipped happens, and it’s how you respond to it. Is Texas going to lie down like last year? Are they going to turn on each other, or are they going to rally around each other and realize that it was one loss against a damn good team? Can they put it away in time to deal with another damn good team coming to town this week?
Yes, they can. I see a great offensive game plan against a defense that has given up big plays and I see some monster special teams play igniting the DKR crowd. The question is going to be if the Texas defense can slow down Weeden & Co enough to win.
I think Texas is going to be in a position to win this game in the fourth quarter, and that’s all you can ask for, isn’t?
LAST WEEK IN THE BIG 12
IOWA STATE 26 No. 25 BAYLOR 49
The Bears started slow, but steamrolled the Cyclones and coasted to a 49-26 win. I am very, very excited about Baylor vs. A&M this week. The Litigation Bowl! Yay!
KANSAS 28 No. 7 OKLAHOMA STATE 70
It was 56-7 at halftime. What else was interesting about this game? Nothing.
MISSOURI 17 No. 20 KANSAS STATE 24
Bill Snyder is like a witch. He doesn’t really have a quarterback, or a team full of superstars, but he somehow finds a way to do this every few years. They are No.18 in the coaches poll now. Amazing. The Missouri Tigers are 2-3 now and on the verge of being pushed off the cliff. Welcome back, Turtle. It’s been a while.
No. 25 TEXAS A&M 45 TEXAS TECH 40
Driving back from Dallas the A&M broadcast team was saying they couldn’t sell this game out even with “2-for-1” ticket deals. Is that right? Maybe the empty seats were held by the Tech fans who assaulted the Aggie team buses with used cow food. Very sweet of you, Tech fans. The upset looked firmly in place until a false start pushed a Tech field goal attempt back, which was blocked and returned for a touchdown. It ended up being the difference in the game as neither team could stop the other. Nice win, Ags, you are back on track to play in SEC Title Game in Atlanta. Wait, that’s next year. Sorry.
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12
No. 24 BAYLOR (4-1/1-1) @ No. 23 TEXAS A&M (3-2/1-1) 11 am FSN
This is going to be fun. Both defenses are going to struggle with slowing the offenses down as the Aggies will pound away with the running game while Baylor unleashes RGIII to do his thing. The Ags should win this game going away, but since I hate them I’ll pick Baylor. If I write it down it has to be true, right? Baylor wins.
IOWA STATE (3-2/0-2) @ MISSOURI (2-3/0-2) 1 pm
I thought Missouri would be better. Iowa State knows they need this game to get towards bowl eligibility and I wonder what is going on in Columbia as the SEC talk looms over everyone’s heads. Mizzou should win this game, but it isn’t sexy, it isn’t televised and I get the feeling the mood isn’t happy in Tiger Land. I think Iowa State comes in and upsets them, sending the Pinkels to 0-3 in Big 12 play.
No. 18 KANSAS STATE (5-0/2-0) @ TEXAS TECH (4-1/1-1) 6 pm FSN
It’s the Tech offense vs. the K-State defense. The Red Raiders can rebound with a win and that sets them up for quite a showdown in Norman next Saturday with ou. I just don’t know how good either team is and logic says go with the home team, but I think K-State has some mojo and wins this game on the road.
No. 1 oklahoma (5-0/2-0) @ KANSAS (2-3/0-2) 8:15 pm ESPN2
Did you know Lawrence was rated one of the top 10 college towns in America? It’s written down, so it must be true. Other fun facts about Lawrence, Kansas:
- Lawrence was founded in 1854 by the New England Emigrant Aid Society in an effort to keep the territory free from slavery. It is said that Lawrence is one of the few cities in the U.S. founded strictly for political reasons.
- Both the Oregon and Santa Fe trails run through parts of Lawrence and Douglas County, Kansas.
- Lawrence streets are named after the states in the order they came into the Union, beginning with Delaware. Massachusetts Street was designated the "main" street because Lawrence's founders were from Massachusetts.
- Boyhood home of writer and poet Langston Hughes whose novel Not Without Laughter is said to be based on his life in Lawrence.
- Home to the late beat writer and artist William S. Burroughs.
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