Burnt Orange Nation

54b's Unpredictable Prediction

2009-11-25T22:12:16Z

UT vs. A&M Week? Must be time once again for that tradition unliked by any other...

"The Thanksgiving Song" (If Adam Sandler were a Longhorn)

Love to beat Aggies.

Love to beat A-a-a-gies!!!

Love to beat Aggies cause it's good
Love to beat Aggies like a good Horn should
'Cause they're Aggies....they whoop....how rude

Aggies lost five, lost big at OU,
Their offense stinks, so does the Wrecking Crew
Love to beat those Aggies from College Station
Freshmen report to Fish camp for indoctrination

Aggies like to stand all game long
Texas is favored by 21, Vegas can't be wrong
Aggie-faggie foo and Aggie-faggie fat
A&M once had an LB whose name is Dat

Thanksgiving is a special night
If you yell TEXAS, I'll yell FIGHT
that's RIGHT

Aggies' head coach Sherman hasn't been there long
Can't believe A&M Yell Leaders sang Ding Ding Dong
Watching the game, drinking a Bud
Can't believe Old Sarge looks like Elmer Fudd

Offense, Defense, Texas just can't lose
Some Aggie cheap shotted Colt and he got a bruise
Aggies on the run from dawn to early morn'
It'll never be over 'till Gabriel blows his horn

Beat those Aggies - put 'em 6 feet deep
Poor Aggies like to fornicate with their sheep
A&M's uniforms are maroon and white
Texas will go to the BCS if they win outright

Oh, Aggies in the corps are called the noble men of Kyle
But they're about as close to real soldiers as Gomer Pyle
Gobble gobble goo and gobble gobble Gig'em
I don't like those Aggies and I hope we beat'em

Oh, Texas loves to beat Aggies on Thanksgiving

Texas - 41, Futile Farmers - 13

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

54b

Texas Uses Second-Half Surge to Top Pitt

2009-11-25T19:55:13Z

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Browse more photos »

Game Recap: After the first four games of the season, the Longhorns have clearly written a script they are bound and determined to follow -- get a lead early, give it up with poor offensive play in the last minutes of the first half and equally poor recognition closing out on shooters, then surge past the tired opponent in the second half for an easy win. It works now, but there's an expiration date on such play and that expiration date is the start of the difficult non-conference schedule that includes North Carolina, UConn, MIchigan State, and Arkansas.

Within that script, the lack of recognition of three-point shooters is most disturbing. Lamar Patterson hit two three pointers late in the half to bring Pittsburgh back in the game and it was Damion James who was lacking recognition, a major mistake for a senior who should know better.

In the second half, the Longhorns played even with the Panthers for five minutes or more before a 14-3 run put Pittsburgh away. Defense fueled the surge, as the Longhorns got out in transition and finished around the rim, with two jumpers, one a three pointer, from Jordan Hamilton helping Texas gain separation. As Pittsburgh ran out of gas, Rick Barnes' club extended the lead unti the final score resembled a blowout at 78-62, even though Texas only won about 15 minutes of the game handily.

The outcome was: Acceptable. It appears that Rick Barnes has three primary objectives at this point in the season -- wear down teams by bringing in waves of fresh players, experiment with lineup combinations to find what works, and hold players accountable for mental mistakes on the offensive or defensive end. The first objective has been extremely successful, as neither of the four teams Texas has played to this point in the season have been able to keep up with more than 30 minutes or so. Pitt tired so much at the end of the game they were missing open jumpers and committing costly turnovers, leadng to easy Texas baskets. The accountability aspect led to Jordan Hamilton playing only 11 minutes, a paltry number when compared to the 17 minutes and two points provided by Justin Mason.

Overall, the result was merely acceptable because of the offensive struggles that kept Pittsburgh in the game far longer than necessary, but until Texas can consistently feed Pittman in the post, J'Covan Brown becomes more comfortable and Jordan Hamilton can fulfill the wishes of Rick Barnes offensively and defensively, this team will probably struggle on the offensive end at times. In some ways, the fact that the team has so much room to grow is cause for considerable confidence going forward, as the win over a solid Pittsburgh team demonstrates that this is already a top-10 team nationally with more room to grow than any other team as highly ranked, with the possible exception of Kentucky.

Stat of the game: 14-24 (58.3%) from the free-throw line. In about a week or two, this is going to start sounding like a broken record -- Texas struggles at the charity stripe and will no doubt continue to do so throughout the season. The biggest concern is that Dexter Pittman and Damion James, who will likely lead the Longhorns in attempts, no not look like they will be able to hit in the 70% range. In fact, it's likely that the only two good free-throw shooters on the team will be J'Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton, with rampant inconsistency from everyone else. Ulimately, the defense will probably have to make up for the lost points by forcing more turnovers and securing defensive rebounds, as the offense will no doubt continue to suffer through stretches of ineffectiveness.

The Offensive MVP was: Damion James. For James, the key offensively is to stay within himself. During the poor stretch at the end of the first half when the Longhorns failed to score for 4:44, a large part of the problem was the lineup on the floor, but poor selection by James was a major part of the problem, as he forced several long, difficult jumpers. Even though he's one of the best offensive weapons for Texas, he must play within himself -- that means spot-up three pointers and lay ups around the rim, with a few in-rhythm jump shots sprinkled in. For most of the game, James did that, converting on 8-13 shots, including 2-4 three pointers for 20 points to lead the team, and when he does plays within himself, he provides the Longhorns with an incredible boost.

The Defensive MVP was: Dogus Balbay. I've never particularly considered myself an advocate of Balbay, but this game may have converted me. Balbay finished the game with eight rebounds, second on the team to Damion James, while picking up two steals according to the ESPN box score. Those two steals sell Balbay's effort defensively completely short, as he deflected numerous passes and played lockdown man-to-man defense for the entire 28 minutes he played. It's simply spectacular right now to see him hound opponents on the perimeter and deflect the ball so often on passes or making it difficult to even dribble the ball. The best offense for Texas this season will remain a good defense and with his rebounding ablity for a guard and elite on-ball defense, Balbay, whatever his limitations as a shooter offensively, will be a major catalyst for the offense beginning on the defensive end.

A few more thoughts:

Rick Barnes is clearly sending a message to Jordan Hamilton right now -- if you continue to lose your man on defense by ball watching and if you continue to look off Dexter Pittman, you won't play much. Hamilton has had probably five to ten opportunities to enter the post this season, and unless he did so against UC-Irvine in the game I wasn't able to watch, he hasn't yet entered the ball once. Defensively, it's a lack of focus right now that is causing the problems and frankly, Hamilton probably doesn't have much experience exerting the amount of focus now required on the defensive end. Offensively, though he does find his open teammates, he's still hunting his shots and even the two that he hit against Pittsburgh were pretty ill-advised -- a contested jumper and a three pointer he made while Dexter Pittman was posting up in front of him calling for the ball. At some point he needs to play more to gain experience because the Longhorns desperately need his scoring ability, the Rick Barnes obviously has a point to make before Hamilton gets any minutes he doesn't earn.
J'Covan Brown has been impressive defensively, but still needs to work on fighting through screens, as he often got hung up on them against Pittsburgh, forcing a poor switch or getting his big man into trouble with dribble penetration.
Justin Mason needs to get aggressive offensively or there is no reason for him to be out there. As it is, pairing him with Dogus Balbay is a recipe for disaster, as the defense can sag into the paint without worrying about Mason hitting any long jumpers. Defensively, he's allowed way too much dribble penetration and although there is more reason to play him now with Varez Ward out, he just doesn't provide anything more than Avery Bradley, Brown, or Balbay. The regression in his game is almost sad to see.
Dexter Pittman needs to keep himself out of foul trouble. Against Pittsburgh, the fouls were mostly of the body control variety where he had trouble keeping himself from knocking into people. In fairness to Big Dex, some of the fouls were pretty marginal in a game that was physical overall, but the bottom line is that he needs to adjust to how the officials are calling the game because no amount of complaining about the calls will keep him from having to head to the bench. The Longhorns may be having trouble getting him the ball in the post, but he's still the major offensive weapon and needs to stay out there.
Texas did much better against Pittsburgh avoiding turnovers with only 10 on the game, but players who lower usage rates like Alexis Wangmene and Damion James need to avoid the costly mistakes, as they combined for five turnovers on their own, half of the team total. For James, he needs to make better decisions with the ball, a problem that plagued him last season and Wangmene needs to hold onto the ball better.
If Wangmene is going to be the replacement for Pittman when the big fella gets in foul trouble, Wing Man needs to stay out of it as well, as he committed several careless fouls -- he just dosn't quite understand right now how much contact is acceptable and the foul against Gary McGhee that led to a three-point play was unacceptable. Either foul the guy hard or don't foul at all -- any effort in between leads to And 1 situations.

Varez Ward likely out for the season

2009-11-25T14:52:09Z

Varez Ward likely out for the season

Damn, I didn't mean for this to be the way to keep him and Mason from being on the floor at the same time. That really stinks for a kid who seems to have been coming on strong. At least for the teams sake we are exceptionally deep at guard, especially come December. Get well soon Varez.

If you missed it last night, Varez looked to have landed funny on his knee last night during warm-ups. No contact, no freaky jump either, just a funny landing. He left on a stretcher before the game started.

Update via Jeff Goodman (Fox): "Texas sophomore guard Varez Ward will miss six to 10 months with a torn quadriceps, according to multiple sources."

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 25, 2009

2009-11-25T09:00:14Z

One photo sums up Aggie football.

We just aren't as close as we used to be. The rivalry with the Aggies has cooled over the past few years.

In fact, the case could be made that Texas A&M has slipped to — dare we say it — the fourth-biggest rival of Texas in the Big 12 era.

Blasphemy, you say. How in the names of Reveille and Bevo could it be?

Oh, it could be for a variety of reasons. The Sooners have clearly usurped the Aggies as Public Enemy No. 1 because they're good. Or used to be good. And the Red Raiders and Cowboys have made such strides with either upsets or dramatic near-upsets of Texas that they, too, have passed the Aggies on the Whom to Hate Most list.

Is there anything as fun as picking apart the A&M secondary? McCoy could lob some bombs into the Aggie secondary and there probably isn't much they can do about it.

The deeper passes, surprisingly enough, have evolved as Texas has opted to use fewer wideouts on the field.

Offensive coordinator Greg Davis said Monday that he's used such a formation — known as an 11 grouping — about 60 percent of the snaps since the Sooners game. Pre-Oklahoma, the Longhorns used four- to five-wide sets, which required McCoy to throw quickly. Receivers didn't have time to run the longer routes.

The deep passes mostly have been set up by play-action fakes, which if done well, will freeze the defensive backs. Davis said he's called for play-action passes, in which McCoy first looks to be handing off the ball, about 25 percent of the time during the past month.

And during the past month, the receivers have settled in at more familiar positions.

Adam Ulatoski gets to face the sack specialist.

"I've got a good challenge ahead of me," Ulatoski said.

On film, he's already seen that Miller possesses a great burst off the ball, and a strong inside move as well.

"I think it will be a good matchup," Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis said. "Adam is a guy who's seen a lot and played through an unbelievable amount of injuries. He's very intelligent."

Second time a charm? McCoy has another shot at the Davey O'Brien award. But does he deserve the Heisman?

Alabama running back Mark Ingram has held down the top spot on SportsNation's ballot since the middle of October and may control his own fate with high-profile games remaining against Auburn and Florida. But as the time to turn in a ballot comes closer, will some voters start to think about rewarding Colt McCoy for both his numbers this season and those the NCAA all-time wins leader put up over his entire career?

Too many to list. Awards, awards and more awards.

Mack Brown on player communication:

"If we ever get on a kid in practice, we make sure we walk off the field with him and we talk to him in the dressing room before he leaves the field," Brown said. "We don't want him to leave unhappy, and we don't want him to leave with his head down being depressed."

Brown also spoke of how he has changed ways in dealing with athletes over the years -- even in simple communications with them.

"Some kids don't hear what you say. They hear pieces of it," Brown said. "Usually, if I said four (teaching points) that were complimentary, and one that wasn't very good, he'll only remember the one that wasn't complimentary. And usually he won't remember like I said it or like I meant it.

"So I'll say, 'No, here's what you heard and here's what I said.' And we'll go back over it again. So communication is really, really difficult."

FoxSports' Peter Schrager has a prediction for the Big 12 title game.

Well, call me Phil Ivey. Because after Saturday night's Big 12 North-clinching win over Kansas State, I'm all in. Yep, I'm putting it down in bold-faced Internet ink right this very moment: Nebraska will beat Texas in Dec. 5's Big 12 Championship Game.

I've been dipping my toes in this pool for some time now. And though even the most faithful 'Huskers fans have been e-mailing to tell me I'm crazy, I'm diving in head-first. With a win over Texas in Arlington in two weeks, Nebraska is going to shake this BCS thing up. Hell, they're our only hope at a little chaos in what has been an all too predictable 2009 college football season. Forget Lincoln, Neb., and its suburbs — if you're a fan of college football and all the excitement that goes with it, Nebraska's now America's Team.

Barking Carnival has some thoughts on Thursday's game.

Listen, the only scary things about Kyle Field are the architecture and the general ledger entries within the Athletic Department offices. ATM is a shiny 5-1 at Kyle this season. They thwarted juggernauts to get there, too. People have good reason to compare the possibilities of our game with the likes of what ATM did against Utah State, UAB, New Mexico, Iowa State, and Baylor. If we played all 5 of those teams at once, I am fairly certain we’d be putting the subs in at halftime.

Jerrod Johnson is a pretty good quarterback.

His decision-making is quicker and more decisive. He's not so quick to bail on plays and try to run out of trouble, although he's got the feet to do so. And he's not as apt to throw up the kind of wing-and-a-prayer passes that drove Sherman to distraction.

"Last year, he would throw some up that I really had trouble with. This year, those are very few and far between," Sherman said. "He's taken himself to an area that I didn't know if he could get to at this point."

Christine Michael is a breakaway threat.

Earlier in the season, Texas A&M defensive end/linebacker Von Miller had a unique description of Michael’s running style.

“He’s like a 210-pound rabbit on steroids, with the speed of a cheetah,” Miller told reporters. “He’s like a hybrid, mutant running back.”

The Aggies don't want to think about last year's game.

"We won't reference that. Don't need to, don't want to," Mike Sherman said glibly.

This might not be a good thing for A&M.

"Certainly to be on a national stage, particularly this year when we've been a little bit limited in that area, is huge for us," A&M second-year coach Mike Sherman said. "It'll show what A&M is all about. The A&M family will be on national television with no other (football) on. It really puts us in a spotlight — a spotlight A&M deserves to be in, and this game deserves to be in. It's two great universities right here in the state of Texas battling it out."

Basketball

The Horns beat Iowa.

Dexter Pittman was nearly invisible in the first half Monday, quite a trick for somebody who weighs 280 pounds.

But Pittman later asserted himself, scoring 11 of his 15 points in the second half as the third-ranked Longhorns defeated Iowa 85-60 in the semifinals of the CBE Classic at the Sprint Center.

The first half was a little sluggish.

The Longhorns entered unfamiliar territory in the beginning of the second half when Iowa took their last lead after a three-point jumper by sophomore Matt Gatens, which would also be the last time the Hawkeyes would score for six minutes, as Texas went on a 17-0 run.

Iowa tried to initiate some sort of offense in the latter part of the game, but with Pittman and fellow senior Damion James on defense, the Hawkeyes had to think twice before going inside for the bucket. James totaled 13 rebounds, which pushed him over the 1,000-rebound mark for his career. James joins James Thomas (1,077) and LaSalle Thompson (1,027) as one of three Longhorns to attain this impressive accomplishment.
Despite a little laziness in the first, the Texas offense was able to outshoot Iowa 26-2 in the second half.

Black Heart Gold Pants has a summary from a Hawkeye point of view. The headline says it all: IOWA TOTALLY UPSETS TEXAS (...If Second Half Were 60 Seconds Long).

The Pokes will be cheering for the Horns soon. OSU still has a shot at the BCS.

If Oklahoma State prevails in this week's Bedlam game at Oklahoma, and if Texas remains undefeated with a victory over Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game, the Cowboys could be rewarded with their first appearance in a Bowl Championship Series game.

Something fishy in Lawrence? The timing of the Mangino probe is strange.

The timing is one of the strangest facets of the Kansas University athletic department’s investigation into football coach Mark Mangino’s treatment of his players. Why in the world couldn’t it wait until the end of the season? Why the urgency to jump-start it with two weeks remaining in the season?

One possible explanation is that once the athletic department became aware of complaints from parents of players, past and current, the university became liable for any potential negative consequences in the event the coach repeated the complained-about behavior. If that is indeed the case, the complaints issued surely centered on behavior far more serious than a coach’s finger in a player’s chest. This theory on why the investigation couldn’t wait for the end of the season only flies if there is a smoking gun and if the complaints differed greatly in magnitude from gripes from seasons past.

Mike Leach thinks this is a witch hunt.

Speaking out about the investigation into the actions of Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino, current Texas Tech coach Mike Leach said he feels the situation is a "witch hunt" and offered his support of the Jayhawks' embattled coach.

"Heaven forbid somebody should ask a (player) to pay attention and focus in for the sake of all his teammates and coaches and everyone else," Leach said during Monday morning's Big 12 coaches teleconference. "Well, there’s different ways to ask a guy to do that, and sometimes, after you’ve asked him a number of times, you raise the bar."

Mark Mangino and KU athletic director Lew Perkins aren't communicating.

In his weekly Big 12 teleconference call Monday morning, coach Mark Mangino revealed that his communication with athletics director Lew Perkins had been "practically none" since the Athletics Department launched an internal investigation against Mangino last week.

Mangino said that he received a "social call" from Perkins last week, noting that the call lasted just a few minutes. He then repeated that he hadn’t had any communication with Perkins.

Brings back memories... Dan Hawkins' situation is similar to Bill Callahan's at Nebraska.

Job approval ratings change in a matter of days or weeks for coaches in major college and professional sports. This week`s Colorado and Nebraska football game provides a look at how much sentiment can change around programs in two years.

The Cornhuskers are making travel plans.

Hungry Husker football fans started snapping up package trips to the Big 12 championship football game even before Nebraska qualified for it. By mid-morning Tuesday, the official University of Nebraska allotment of tickets were sold out.

About 1,000 of NU's 11,909 allotment were offered to the general public Tuesday after donors had first crack at buying tickets for the Dec. 5 game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The general public tickets sold out in an hour.

Just the guy for the job. More thoughts on the BCS and the whole PR firm business.

The BCS officially ran off the rails at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Twelve years of angst, anger and awkward results finally led to an announcement that, fittingly, came at happy hour. You probably missed it at the time, as did most of the media. A few business writers were sent a release announcing the BCS had hired a PR firm.

As preposterous as that sounds, the story becomes more incredible. The flacks hired by the BCS to smooth out the system's bumps work for Ari Fleischer.

Yes, that Ari Fleischer, the man who was W's press secretary; the man who spent part of his career spinning what some folks consider the worst president ever.

Doing the least with the most talent. Some college teams have squandered their top talent.

Former Longhorn and current North Texas coach Todd Dodge does not know if he will have a job next year.

"I really don't know," Dodge said. "I will sit down with coach Villarreal when the season is over with. At this point I don't know. He will let me know."

And finally...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Beat the Aggies.

The Daily Roundup will be back on Saturday with a game wrap up.

Game Preview & Open Thread: Pittsburgh vs. Texas in CBE Classic Final

2009-11-25T02:26:51Z

Game #4: Pittsburgh Panthers (4-0) vs No. 3 Texas Longhorns (3-0)

9:25 p.m. * Sprint Center * Kansas City, MO

TV: ESPN2 / Radio: 98.1 FM

Very quick Keys to the Game:

1. Remember the Big Fella: The more Dexter Pittman touches the ball, the better. This is both on the Texas guards to play in the halfcourt through Dexter as it is on Pittman to make himself available and keep his defender on his back.

2. Limit the Turnovers: Texas is turning the ball over on 22.6% of their possessions, good for 228th in the country. That is horrible and unacceptable for a team this talented.

3. Keep the Focus: We saw last night what this team is capable of when they are focused. When focused on defense: 26-13 in the first half and 47-22 and the second half. When they lost focus, forgot about Pittman, and consistenly overran or didn't find shooters: 25-12 Iowa.

Pittsburgh is a much better team than is Iowa and I expect this to be a close game throughout. If Texas were as talented but had more experience at the guard spots, then this one wouldn't be close. But until the Longhorns gain that experience, limit the silly freshman plays, and remember that they are an inside-out team first, then these type of games will be challenges.

I expect a hard fought and physical 40 minutes. Prediction: Texas sinks enough free throws to pull away late, 74-68.

Twitter / MemphisRoar: Jerry Gray new head coach

2009-11-24T23:17:49Z

Twitter / MemphisRoar: Jerry Gray new head coach

Hope this is true. Good for the former two-time All American DB at Texas...

Hat Tip: Reader D.S.

Hicks will visit USC ($)

2009-11-24T23:12:37Z

Hicks will visit USC ($)

During his weekly conference call the last several weeks, Jordan Hicks has been unable to confirm whether he will take official visits to USC or Alabama before his final trip to Florida in December. Rivals is now reporting that Hicks will make it out to Southern California this weekend, but there is still no news on whether or not Alabama will get a visit.

"I'm 20, I'm a man! Come after me and beware the incomprehensible power of my mullet!" -- Mike...

2009-11-24T22:31:54Z

"I'm 20, I'm a man! Come after me and beware the incomprehensible power of my mullet!" -- Mike Gundy

(h/t edsbs)

Thoughts on Kansas and Texas A&M

2009-11-24T21:48:57Z

There isn't a whole lot to talk about with the Kansas game that hasn't already been said here in the last couple of days or earlier in the season, so I'll just do it bullet style:

Before the Baylor game, I said that the two best receivers Texas would face this season on one team were David Gettis and Kendall Wright. Somehow I forgot about Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe and that was just stupid. Meier didn't have a huge game, but Briscoe did, showing the combination of size and speed that should make him one of the top receivers in the draft if he decides to come out this year. Much like he did against Michael Crabtree last season, Curtis Brown really struggled against Briscoe, for a variety of reasons. Briscoe's speed was a problem, as was his size. Mostly though, Brown struggled because he kept on getting in between trying to break up passes and trying to make the tackle, often ending up doing neither. Blake Gideon didn't help him much by consistently being late getting over the top as well, though in fairness to Gideon, he was the single-high safety on several of those coverages, giving him a lot of ground to cover.

Aaron Williams actually got beat a couple of times. Astounding -- I didn't even know if that was possible. Apparently he is mortal.
It's really heartening that the Longhorns are looking down the field more often, especially when using play action. The deep post to Williams went for a long touchdown and McCoy targeted the big receiver on two other plays downfield, with Williams for some reason stopping on one route that would have been a touchdown and McCoy missing outside and long on another that would have gone for a score. The fact that they aren't quite on the same page with those throws illustrates what a crime it was not to have played Williams more early in the season. Had the coaches put him on the field, he and McCoy might have already worked through those problems. The good news is that Williams hasn't dropped any passes in the last two games and continues to block extremely well downfield. On the pass into the flat to Tre' Newton after faking the jet sweep, Wiilliams absolutely leveled a linebacker.
James Kirkendoll contines to come on as well, working harder on his blocking downfield, but more importantly, showing the precise route running Texas fans expected to see all season. McCoy is seemingly gaining more trust in him every week and it's clear that the benching after the Oklahoma game really lit a fire under him. Great to see.
The offensive line had two breakdowns in pass protection again, once by Tray Allen when he let a defensive tackle come free on McCoy's fumble early in the game when Kansas showed blitz with one linebacker on the edge, then the other, clearly confusing Allen with the protection scheme. The other came when Kyle Hix left Maxwell Onyegbule unblocked on the edge, leading to a hit on McCoy. Frustrating.
I can guarantee that since Justin Tucker fancies himself a real football player, he hated the fact that he couldn't catch Briscoe on the kickoff return. He'll probably be angry about it the rest of his life.
John Gold's punting effort was extremely poor, meaning that both the traditional and rubgy punting have struggled the last two weeks. They need to figure it out. Kickoff coverage as well, which was terrible at times.
After Jordan Shipley's fumble on a kickoff return, Marquise Goodwin should be given every chance to win the job until DJ Monroe comes back -- he didn't look quite as explosive, but Shipley's fumble was inexcusable and the second fumble he has had on special teams in the last month.
Texas struggled to get pressure on Todd Reesing during long stretches of the game -- a lot of credit should go to the Kansas offensive line, which probably played their best game of the season against Texas, doing a particularly good job picking up on the twists the Longhorns ran consistently. Part of the problem may have been that the defensive linemen were worried about staying in their lanes, but the lack of pressure helped lead to a lot of the breakdowns in the secondary.
The jet tempo package worked as well as it has all season, with the Longhorns running several bootlegs off of the play, one that resulted in a scramble for a first down by McCoy and one that resulted in the 38-yard touchdown to Shipley on a drag route. It's a good thing that Davis didn't abandon the jet tempo when it wasn't working like he did the Q package and the WildHorn, because it's giving the Longhorns an advantage right now.
The Longhorns ran power a couple of times against Kansas and it's a great addition to the playbook.

Some thoughts on the game against A&M:

The skill position players on offense are good for the Aggies, but the offensive line has struggled mightily at times this season and Jerrod Johnson often holds the ball too long in the pocket, a recipe for disaster against the Longhorns.
The key to stopping the Aggie offense may be limiting their ability to run the ball, putting them in third and long situations where Texas can put pressure on Johnson. However, the defensive linemen must stay in their lanes as they did against Kansas and Oklahoma State to limit the scrambling ability of the Aggie quarterback -- when Johnson is running the ball effectively, the Aggies are a dangerous team offensively.
Defensively, Texas A&M has virtually nothing besides Von Miller. Early in the Arkansas game, Miller was extremely disruptive until Arkansas started double teaming him and sliding their protection away from him. As long as the offensive line can keep track of him, possibly using a running back to chip him at times, Colt McCoy should have plenty of time to stand in the pocket and throw down the field against an extremely poor Aggie secondary. However, because of the need to slide the protection away from Miller or double team him, the empty set may not be the best choice this week.
The Aggies are one of the most heavily penalized teams in the country, getting flagged an average of about eight times per game -- something they cannot afford to happen against the much more talented Longhorns.
Unless several catastrophic things happen, the Aggies don't have a chance in this game. The Longhorns need to come out with focus and intensity and Colt McCoy needs another strong game to help his Heisman campaign. In other words, he needs to play better than Vince Young did against the Aggies in 2005. If you want to feel better about the game, just read this.

2010 Pomeroy Ratings: Texas #1

2009-11-24T18:07:25Z

2010 Pomeroy Ratings: Texas #1

I can't recall Texas ever being #1 in the KP ratings before, but we got there after two games, and remain there after last night's strong second half showing.

Rick Barnes talks about the victory over Iowa in the CBE Classic.

2009-11-24T17:41:44Z

Rick Barnes talks about the victory over Iowa in the CBE Classic.

Morning Coffee Updates Recruiting

2009-11-24T13:00:25Z

2010 sleeper emerges. Seemingly every season, a player emerges with a standout senior campaign -- last year, it was Stony Point's Tevin Mims, who become a Longhorn shortly after receiving his Texas offer. The sleeper who has burst onto the scene ($) this season is Eric Humphrey, a 6-4, 275-pound defensive tackle out of Dallas Parish Episcopal. After his coaches sent out his senior film, interest in the explosive senior has absolutely exploded, with teams like Oklahoma, Florida State, Nebraska, Oregon, Arkansas, and UCLA entering his recruitment, with more surely soon to follow. Currently, the standout private school player has official visits planned to Baylor, Texas Tech, and Kansas in the coming weeks and plans to take all five visits. Competition for those visits is fierce and getting fiercer.

What has college coaches salivating is his incredible explosiveness off the ball, as Humphrey possesses every bit of the quickness that studs like Ashton Dorsey and Taylor Bible show off on a regular basis underneath the Friday night lights. Despite his size, he plays a lot of defensive end for Episcopal and is an impressive edge rusher, making his projection as a defensive tackle all the more astounding. He could probably to play defensive end, especially in a 3-4 alignment, but his explosiveness is so rare for a kid his size and after spending some time in a college weight program, Humphrey appears capable of being a gap-shooting defensive tackle who can pressure the quarterback and cause havoc in offensive backfields -- watching him move, he looks like Lamarr Houston and though his reported 40 time is 4.89 (about the range of defensive ends in the 2011 class like Nathan Hughes and Cedric Reed), he comes off the ball extremely well, making him appear faster than his reported time. Even the pure numbers are spectacular ($) -- 77 tackles, 18 sacks, 27 tackles for loss, 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 3 defensive touchdowns.

So, the question becomes, why did it take so long for Humphrey to gain notice and is it a concern that he plays against a low level of competition? Addressing the latter question, it might slow his development at the collegiate level, but the burst that he shows isn't dependent on the competition and, in fact, renders it largely irrelevant because Humphrey would show the same skill set against better players. Take into account the fact that the Acho brothers came from a similar situation and both became acclimated to the college game extremely quickly, so playing at a small private school is far from the developmental kiss of death its sometimes bad out to be.

As for the first question, the lack of attention until recently stemmed from several factors: he didn't participate on the camp circuit, didn't send out his junior film, and plays at such a small school. In addition, much like Tevin Mims and Greg Daniels, a player who burst onto the scene much earlier than Humphrey, but was still a relative unknown when the Longhorns scooped him up, Humphrey put on 35 pounds in the last year and the proverbial light switch went on for him.

It looks like the Longhorns have entered the recruitment of Humphrey, who maintains that he didn't follow any particular teams growing up and is open at this point. In fact, he said this week that he is "very interested ($)" in Texas. Furthermore, he indicated that Bobby Kennedy, the recruiter for his area, invited him down for an official visit and Humphrey agreed to come down, though he has to speak with Kennedy later this week to set up the trip, so stay tuned about that.

Does Texas need to add another defensive tackle to the class? Some of that consideration may come down to where the coaches see him playing -- if they see him as a defensive end in the 3-4 and as a pass-rushing interior linemen, then it makes sense to offer him even though there are already two gap-shooting tackles in the class in Dorsey and Bible. The key here is that defensive tackles are hard to come by and the Longhorns have had bad luck in recent years, losing players like Brian Ellis, Andre Jones, Michael Wilcoxon, and Jarvis Humphrey for various reasons. Basically, it's hard to have too much depth at the position, so it makes sense to offer Humphrey and see what happens.

Thoughts on White, Jeffcoat, and the "Mystery Recruit." Both Darius White and Jackson Jeffcoat made it down for the Kansas game on Saturday night and witnessed just about everything that is positive about the Texas program right now, most importantly the heartflet and emotional honoring of the senior leaders of the team -- Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, Sergio Kindle, and Lamarr Houston, first and foremost. They saw Texas fans at their best, as well as the deep and genuine bonds that those players have formed with their coaches. In contrast to the coach across the field, it was obvious from the Senior Night festitivites that players leaving Texas will never tell stories about their coaches using their personal lives to attack them in misguided attempts to motivate them.

For Jeffcoat and White, it must have been abundantly clear that the famous "family atmosphere" at Texas clearly is that. Perhaps White also was able to clear the air with the coaches about the incident at the spring game involving his close friend Rashod Favors. The Dunbar star obviously did not commit to Texas this week and still plans on visiting Norman again this weekend, so the Sooners will likely have the last say in this one unless White makes a decision in a next several days to become a Longhorn, which is doubtful. The best case scenario here is that White remembered all the reasons he talked so much about coming to Texas early in the process, but it's impossible to say right now whether or not that happened. The main thing to remember here is that things look infinitely better with White than they did before he announced his official visit to Austin.

As for Jeffcoat, he didn't get to see the best performance by the Texas defense this season and didn't get to see anything paritcularly exotic from the Buck package. However, if he can talk with Muschamp and not want to be a part of the Texas defense, then USC or Oklahoma would probably be a better fit for him. Jeffcoat reveals so little about his recruitment, there probably won't be an update this week about him, so Texas fans will just have to feel thankful that Jeffcoat did make it down to Austin and did so an a great night to see the program cast in an extremely positive light.

Since the talk about the "Mystery Recruit" began in a War Room more than a week ago, I don't want to get into much discussion about because of the BON policy of not talking about uncomfirmed content from that feature on Orangebloods. Until the prospect visits Austin, it's pretty much all speculation and I'm sure the other boards like Hornfans and Shaggy Bevo are well into it. As I mentioned in the thread on the topic, it's not worth discussing Mike Davis in regards to being the "Mystery Recruit" because he doesn't have a Texas offer and isn't likely to receive one. If Darius White goes to Oklahoma, recruiting at the receiving position will be finished. The Longhorns already have a log jam at the position that will probably lead to some attrition this spring. Other players without offers like Evan Washington are also not worth talking about, because they don't have an offer. Texas might offer Eric Humphrey, but they won't be offering any players committed to other schools. Obviously, that's just my opinion, but I just can't see it happening.

On the 2011 radar: Austin Sefarian-Jenkins. Since the position isn't deep in talent again in 2011, the Longhorns may have to look out of state, just as they did with Blaine Irby several years ago. The name is Austin Seferian-Jenkins, from Gig Harbor, Washington and he's a mammoth target at 6-7 and 250 pounds. Like the other two, Seferian-Jenkins is an excellent basketball player, but he's more of a national recruit than the other two, having received offers ($) from Washington, Washington State, and Stanford before his junior season and now has more than 20 ($). Miami is reported to have been his childhood favorite, with Oklahoma and USC also in the mix in the early going.

It's too early in the process to gauge if his interest in Texas is significant, but he did visit during the spring -- the first necessary sign. However, the Texas visit was just one of many cross-country trips for Seferian-Jenkins, who has also visited USC and Florida, among other schools. For him to receive an offer, he would have to make it down for a Junior Day or otherwise make a trip to Austin in the spring.

Known as a good student and as someone who has began to work harder in the weight room, Seferia-Jenkins says that he takes pride in his blocking ($) and his work to become a complete tight end, evident at one point in his second highlight reel when he absolutely and viciously decleats ($) some poor opponent. At this point, he needs to work on keeping his pads low, a common problem for young players, but it's his athleticism and size ($) that truly sets him apart for a player his size. When he comes off the ball low, he can blow opponents off the ball and he has the thickness in his lower body that could eventually make him into an excellent tackle, though he's too fast to move from tight end unless he really packs on the weight. He's not as fast as a guy like Jermichael Finley, but he is a pure tight end with his huge frame and does appear to have the speed to stretch the seam. If there's a major complaint, it's that his highlights show little vareity in route running and it's hard to tell if he can make opponents miss in space or even run them over, though he clearly has a lot of experience not only blocking in space, but also lining up split wide as a receiver.

Given that he didn't grow up a Texas fan and isn't particularly high on the Longhorns at this point, he will have to make a visit to Austin to not only confirm his interest in the Longhorns, but also to grow more comfortable with the Texas program and coaches. The Longhorns would have to make a strong impression on him during any potential visit to have any chance in his recruitment. Since Seferian-Jenkins has already shown interest in Texas, it makes him a worthwhile target, even if the chances of landing him are small.

On the 2011 radar: MJ McFarland. It's no secret that tight ends have been hard to find recently in the state of Texas, leading the Longhorns to move Jordan Shipley into the flex tight end position lat year after numerous injuries and Dan Buckner into the position this year. The early name from the 2011 class at the tight end position is Chris Barnett, the younger brother of Eryon Barnett and it's already been a strange recruitment -- at first Barnett said that wanted to go out-of-state, before news surfaced later that the Longhorns are his top team, with Barnett sounding like a virtual lock ($) if Texas offers. There are two issues with Barnett, however -- the first being that he might not be a tight end at all. He plays some defensive end for his high school team and may end up there in college and the second that his film is not particularly impressive. In fairness to the younger Barnett, it's hard to tell much about his explosiveness or his route runner, which is elsewhere described as needing more polish.

Much like Everett Pleasant, who also stars on the basketball court, as well as playing tight end, El Dorado's MJ McFarland stars on both the gridiron and the hardwood ($). Standing 6-5 and weighing 220 pounds, McFarland caught 56 passes this season, picking up 987 yards in the process. He also has an offer from UTEP and is drawing interest from the Longhorns, Kasnas, Texas Tech, and Baylor. There isn't a lot of information out there on McFarland, as well as no evaluations either, so he's just another name for the radar at this point.

What in the heck does "pro-style" mean? As mentioned in the Kansas Five Things to Watch post, Aaron Green made the trip to Austin for the game, one of the few visits he has made this season. Most of the discussion on the Five Things thread focused on Green's comments about wanting to play in a "pro-style" offense. As it was pointed out, it's hard to say what a pro-style offense even is with the success of the Patriots throwing the ball around the field out of the shotgun and the Wildcat offense even spreading around the read. The Eagles run the zone read with Michael Vick when he enters the game, something Tennessee did occasionally several years ago with Vince Young.

Most likely, though, what Green means is that he wants to play in an offense that features running from under center, rather than from the shotgun, possibly with a fullback in front of him. Whether that means he prefers a drive blocking scheme or zone blocking scheme isn't clear, since many teams in the NFL run the zone blocking scheme -- Indianapolis has run the stretch play for years and Gary Kubiak has been famous for his zone blocking in Denver and Houston.

Are the Longhorns a fit, then, if Green does want to have a head start when he gets the ball and run behind a fullback? On the first count, the Longhorns will probably continue to use their jet tempo look next season, which primarily features running the ball from under center, with the possibility of moving back to a Chris Simms-style offense, which could probably best be described as pro style, although it's worth pointing out that Garrett Gilbert played in shotgun, spread offenses in high school, so he may have to work on his footwork a bit if Texas decides to go under center more often. Fortunately, the last half of this season has allayed concerns about effectively running play action out of the shotgun.

Using more I formation is probably less likely than going under center because it doesn't make much sense right now to take wide receivers off the field considering the depth at the position. Basically, even if the Longhorns go under center more often, they will still most likely focus on spreading the field with three receivers, a tight end, and a running back, whie still using the four-wide look as a change of pace and on passing downs.

Here's a question, though -- if Green doesn't want to run zone plays from the shotgun, do the Longhorns tell him that they will adjust the scheme for him, or do they simply move on and target Malcolm Brown and Herschel Sims?

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 24, 2009

2009-11-24T09:00:13Z

"I heard it," Colt McCoy said. "It was pretty loud. I've been blessed. I
never shot the cannon or banged the drum before. It was sweet."

Colt McCoy had to overcome the toughest opponent.

"You put so much pressure on yourself and expectations on yourself to be the best, to complete all your passes and throw three or four touchdowns and throw for 300 yards," McCoy said. "When you don't, and you decided to come back for your senior year and come back and have an up-and-down year and you don't do all that, it hurts you mentally. You end up not having fun. You stress out all week. You think, 'I'll do better next week.'"

This week's game has high drama potential.

Just because Texas and Texas A&M took care of business Saturday doesn't mean that this season's State Farm Lone Star Showdown will be anticlimactic. The backdrop alone Kyle Field on Thanksgiving night for an ESPN audience – guarantees great drama.

And there's more. Much more.

Texas needs a win to continue its BCS title quest. A&M, with its seniors playing their last home game, would love to finish a sweep of the Texas schools in the Big 12 at the Longhorns' expense. Can you say signature victory?

ESPN's Tim Griffin compares Colt McCoy to Jerrod Johnson.

Husker Extra thinks Mack Brown deserves awards and accolades.

Texas (11-0, 7-0 Big 12) seems to improve every week, Brown says. Again, that’s Grade-A coaching.

Excellent recruiting is part of excellent coaching. We all know about Mack’s prowess in that area. But don’t think for a minute that all those highly ranked recruiting classes (Texas’ class of 2010 is currently ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com) occur without elbow grease by Brown and his staff.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Texas now has on its recruiting radar more than 200 prep sophomores in the talent-rich Lone Star state, as well as a few freshmen. Writes American-Statesman columnist Kirk Bohls: "How does a Big Ten or Big East school come into this state and entice them away from Austin, especially in this age of early commitments before recruits’ senior seasons?"

Thayer Evans believes Nebraska is the team standing in the Horns' way to Pasadena.

Nebraska will probably be the last team with a chance to stop Texas from playing in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

Nebraska must be better offensively to have a chance to beat the Longhorns. The Cornhuskers have the eighth-best defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 281.27 yards per game, but rank 82nd in total offense (345.45 yards).

Texas’ stingy defense is third in the F.B.S. (238.7 yards per game) and first against the rush (50.1 yards).

The Aggies plan on an upset, even though they are a 22.5 point underdog.

Reminded that UT is 11-0 while the Aggies are 6-5, A&M senior safety Jordan Pugh shook his head.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "A record is just a record — it has nothing to do with how you play on that day."

A&M football is a like Forrest Gump's box of chocolate: You never know what you will get.

Every time the Aggies arrive at the stadium on game day, Sherman is not sure what he’s going to get.

Will it be the high-energy, focused Aggies who thrashed Baylor 38-3 on Saturday to become bowl-eligible? Or will it be the turnover-prone bunch that lost a week earlier to Oklahoma 65-10?

With a school-record 18 incoming freshmen playing regularly, the Aggies (6-5, 3-4 in Big 12) have been all over the map during Sherman’s second season. Which, frankly, is what he expected.

"I knew, with a bunch of freshmen, it would be a bit of an up-and-down type of team," Sherman said after knocking off Baylor in Kyle Field to improve to 5-1 in home games. "Sometimes, the freshmen will help you win a football game. Other times, they’ll bite you in the butt."

A blowout does wonders for the Aggie psyche.

For 60 minutes Saturday in Aggieland, things went according to wishes as Texas A&M dominated Baylor for a 38-3 victory.

It was a comforting afternoon for Aggie fans watching their football team becoming bowl-eligible. But those days have been more the exception than the norm when it comes to playing the rest of the Big 12.

If A&M wants to make any headway against the Horns, they need to be successful in the run game.

For our Aggies to have any chance of upending UT and pulling the biggest upset in the 2009 college football season, they must, must, must run the ball effectively. They have to keep Colt McCoy and the explosive Longhorn offense off the field. They must control the clock and time of possession. It is beyond imperative.

Where will the Red Raiders go bowling?

Tech’s most likely postseason destinations are the Holiday Bowl or the Alamo Bowl, both of whom had representatives in Lubbock Saturday. But the Red Raiders could even be a consideration for the Cotton Bowl if the Big 12 Conference were to get two teams into the BCS games.

"We’re probably looking at Texas Tech and Nebraska, depending on who finishes the year off,’’ said Larry Baber, the Holiday Bowl’s chairman of the board and a longtime team selection committee member. "I would guess those are the two teams we’ll be picking from, and I think either one of them would be a good selection for us.’’

The unthinkable might happen.

Did you ever think you’d see the day when Bob Stoops would have a losing season at Oklahoma?

In fact, with two games left to play, the only goals remaining from what was once a promising season is avoiding a losing record, spoiling Oklahoma State’s BCS bowl hopes and keeping college football’s longest home winning streak alive.

Mark Mangino is going about business as usual.

Mark Mangino taped his coaches show Sunday. He did his radio show. He had his regularly scheduled Sunday teleconference with beat writers. The team practiced. Mangino was the coach, and this week Don Fambrough, as he customarily does this time of year, will deliver an impassioned anti-Missouri speech on the KU practice field. Mangino spoke publicly every day last week except Friday .

Things are kind of normal, actually.

Dan Hawkins is rethinking recruiting his son.

Dan Hawkins, speaking at his weekly news conference Monday, said bringing in his son in his first recruiting class in 2006 was not fair to Cody.

"Here's a guy who's trying to do his best to win games and help his team and does everything right and is a good student and he's getting killed on Facebook and getting killed on his cell phone," Hawkins said.

Hawkins said Cody has taken unfair criticism for the Buffaloes' 3-8 record heading into Friday's season finale against Nebraska amid speculation the coach might be on his way out.

The Bears end their season playing Tech in Dallas.

It’s extravagant, high-tech and the complete opposite of a classic old stadium like Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.

It’s Jerry World.

There’s never been any stadium like this $1 billion ode to America’s Team. The stadium’s $40-million video screen cost about as much as it took to build the Dallas Cowboys’ old digs at Texas Stadium.

Baylor will end its football season against Texas Tech at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Saturday before a crowd that could reach 70,000. After watching their bowl chances slip out of sight in a dismal 38-3 loss to Texas A&M, the Bears are looking at the season finale as their bowl game.

Two words of advice for the Bears: Have fun.

The BCS has hired a PR firm.

How will TCU fans spend Thanksgiving evening? Cheering on the Aggies.

Thanksgiving dinner for fans of Texas Christian football will include raising turkey legs and rooting for Texas A&M to upset Texas in College Station. A Texas loss could set off a trigger that puts TCU in the BCS title game.

The Horned Frogs may not stay at No. 4 for long.

Independent BCS analyst Jerry Palm says it's entirely possible for TCU to fall below Cincinnati if both teams win out: "With TCU playing New Mexico, they have nowhere to go but down in the computers. The gap between Cincinnati and TCU figures to get bigger if anything. The polls would figure to get closer, too, even if Cincinnati does not actually pass TCU. I would expect the polls to be indecisive enough for the computer margin to push Cincinnati past."

And finally...

Aggie football talent show. Thanks to LDEakman for this gem.

NFL Video Week 11: Vince Young Highlights

2009-11-24T07:10:35Z

NFL Video Week 11: Vince Young Highlights

Looks good. Real, real good. 8-0 over his last 8 regular season starts, and fourth straight this year.

A Quick Look at Pitt

2009-11-24T06:01:36Z

Bumped. Thanks, KH. --PB--

Pitt's current team (picked to finish 9th in the Big East) is certainly not the squad most of us last saw in last year's Elite 8. Starters such as Levance Fields, Dejuan Blair, and Sam Young are all gone, taking with them sixty-something percent of last year's scoring. Factor in Jermain Dixon's absence due to a foot injury and Gilbert Brown's suspension, and Pitt is missing eighty-something percent of last year's offensive production.

What they do have is a good head coach in Jamie Dixon, who is known for fielding physical, defensive-minded teams designed to compete in the Big East. Dixon coached the USA under-19 team to a gold medal in the off-season, where Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs (So - 16.7 ppg / 1.3 rpg) played regularly and looks to have developed into a nice option at the point. He shoots well, especially from behind the arc, and seems to be doing a better job taking care of the ball.

Brad Wanamaker (Jr, 12 ppg / 1.3 rpg), a 6-4 guard, is also back. He too can hit the three (44% in BIg East play last yr), and plays good defense. 5-11 Travon Woodall (7.7 ppg / 3.7 rpg) is a redshirt freshman who is quick, can penetrate, score, and plays pretty physically for his size. Don't know much about Chase Adams (Sr, 2.7 ppg / 1.7 rpg), other than that he is a 5-10 transfer who averaged 2.7 steals/gm last season. Lamarr Patterson (Fr, 4.3 ppg / 1.7 rpg) is a 6-5 wing with good length, ball control and vision.

Donte Taylor (Fr, 8 ppg / 7 rpg) is a McDonald's All American expected to make an impact early. He's a 6-9 power forward, is a good post-up player, has some range and can run the floor. Nasir Robinson (So, 10.3 ppg / 6 rpg) is versatile at 6-5, works hard on the boards and can get to the basket. JJ Richardson (Fr) is a 6-7 high energy forward who has a nice touch and will look for blocks and rebounds when on the floor.

Gary McGhee (Jr, 6.7 ppg / 6.3 rpg) is the only player listed as a center. 6-10/250. Pretty big, strong dude who is slow and has little range. He has improved a lot the past couple years; he used to be good only for a couple minutes and some quick fouls. Not sure how he'll match up against Pittman, but he won't score much unless he has the ball right under the basket.

As previously stated, Pitt will play some tough defense, will challenge the Longhorns for rebounds, but in the long run they probably do not have the talent, experience, or depth to pull off the upset. Pitt is also subpar from the free throw line (58%). Multiple Texas turnovers and some high percentage 3-point shooting by Pitt could keep the game close for a while, but Texas will likely pull away at some point. It will be a good litmus test for both teams to see where their young players are (If I were a betting man, which I am, I would say Texas' are farther along than Pitt's).

Anatomy of Explosion: Four Plays, 76 Yards Against Kansas

2009-11-24T05:39:10Z

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

Browse more photos »

Context

After a three and out on the first possession offensively highlighted by John Chiles running onto the field late on the first play, causing an offensive linemen to false start after being set for far too long and another mistake by Chiles when he failed to run the proper route, earning himself an earful of criticism from his quarterback, the Texas defense forced a three and out by the Kansas offense, highlighted by Chykie Brown's sack on third down. Then, Clark Ford earned himself a membership in the Block Party by deflecting the subsequent punt, but Kansas was fortunate enough to get a big bounce after the block, with the ball rolling all the way down to the Texas 24 yardline.

With nearly half the first quarter already expired, the Longhorns needed to establish some offensive momentum and begin gaining separation from the Jayhawks. The first order of business -- banishing John Chiles to the bench after his poor performance on the first drive. The second order of business -- continuing to throw the football against an overmatched secondary and getting the ball in the hands of offensive playmakers. Surprisingly, James Kirkendoll should now be included in that group after solid play of late.

The Plays

1st and 10 Texas 24

The Longhorns open their second drive of the game in the empty set. For the purposes of this play, the important players are at the top of the screen -- Jordan Shipley in the slot and Marquise Goodwin split wide. Kansas is playing nickel with two deep safeties and the boundary corner at the top of the screen well off Goodwin -- the perfect time for a screen pass.

It is indeed a screen pass to Goodwin. Notice that the four Kansas down linemen all sold out on their pass rush, while three Texas offensive linemen released into the flat to block for the freshman speedster, setting up a 4-on-3 situation with the three Kansas defenders on that side of the field -- the cornerback, safety, and Will linebacker. If Charlie Tanner can block the linebacker and Chris Hall can block the safety, the play should work.

Tanner doesn't get a great block on the linebacker, but does well enough to allow Goodwin to get past him. Notice #90, Maxwell Onyegbule, the older brother of potential 2011 target Miles Onyegbule, who may well become one of the first members of the 2011 recruiting class, pursuing Goodwin with an angle on the world-class athlete. Notice, as well, the safety Justin Thornton just in front of Dan Buckner, who will also take an excellent angle on the play. However, the most important player at this point is Chris Hall, who must lay the block on the safety to spring Goodwin. Hall does, doing a good job of cutting the safety and knocking him off his feet.

There's Onyegbule, who almost catches Goodwin, with the advantage of a running start and the angle -- still, though, extremely impressive for a 250-pound defensive end. Ultimately, though Onyegbule can't bring Goodwin down, he probably slows him down just enough for the cornerback Shipley blocked earlier, Daymond Patterson, and Thornton to eventually catch up with him.

Patterson catches up Goodwin first -- and Goodwin may have picked up more yardage on the play had Shipley held his block longer, though he did his job more than adequately, but Goodwin stiff arms the defender behind him while still maintaing his forward momentum to help him pick up 34 yards by the end of the play.

The stiff arm is my favorite part of the play and it's worth saying again, even though it's just about played out now -- Marquise Goodwin is a football player, not a track guy playing football. A quick aside -- re-watching part of the Oklahoma State game the other day on the airplane, Goodwin came in on a crack-back block that probably wasn't even called by the coaches since it's something Texas rarely if ever does, and laid a lick on a linebacker to allow Cody Johnson to get the edge. Kid will mix it up.

1st and 10 Kansas 42

The Longhorns bring in Cody Johnson and EBS in their 11 personnel grouping, while Malcolm Williams also comes on the field as the split end. Notice that Kansas has a linebacker matched up against Shipley in the slot and is walking the safety on Williams' side of the field up into the box expecting a run from Johnson.

In all likelihood, there was a running play called, especially since Texas hadn't called a run on any of the first four plays from scrimmage. McCoy probably checks out of the run when he sees the safety walking up to the line of scrimmage and the cornerback well off of Williams. Notice that the Texas offensive line still run blocks on the play, which may slow down the cornerback going against Williams if the cornerback is pattern matching and reading the EMLOS (End Man on the Line Of Scrimmage), a common tactic in that coverage. In this case, though, the cornerback is watching Williams all the way and comes up to make the play, but not before Williams picks up almost three yards.

2nd and 7 Kansas 40

Texas stays with the 11 personnel group, with Cody Johnson on the left side of McCoy. Notice that Kansas has once again walked their safety up into the box with the three linebackers, giving Kansas an 8-on-6 advantage against the run.

For whatever reason, McCoy doesn't check out of the run this time and Johnson gets the hand off on the pseudo counter. Hey, let's play a fun game! It's called, "Where's Cody?" Much like "Where's Waldo," this game involves finding Johnson in the teeming mass of players at the line of scrimmage. Give up? Yeah, I don't really know where he is either, but he didn't get far, losing one yard on the play.

3rd and 9 Kansas 41

Surprisingly, the Longhorns stay in with their 11 personnel grouping, even keeping Johnson out on the field. For Kansas, it should be an indication that the Longhorns plan to throw the ball down the field, as this is basically a maximum protection look in a situation where they normally bring Dan Buckner into the game at flex tight end. Notice that Kansas is in nickel, with two deep safeties, while the cornerbacks give James Kirkendoll and Shipley big cushions.

Kansas only brings four, so both Greg Smith and Cody Johnson release on their routes, but the important player here is Kirkendoll at the bottom of the shot. It's hard to see in a picture, but Kirkendoll is chopping his feet, selling a hitch route or comeback and the cornerback comes out of his backpedal and begins breaking on the play, jumping the route. Here's another look a split second later:

That's Kirkendoll at the bottom right, accelerating past the flat-footed defender.

The defender attempts to recover, but Kirkendoll has the necessary separation and McCoy hits him in stride for a 41-yard touchdown pass and the lead, 7-0. Notice that the safety stopped backpedalling as soon as Kirkendoll began chopping his feet and took away the inside route, but didn't stay deep enough to remain over the top against the double move, leaving only fake plastic grass in front of Kirkendoll after he beat the cornerback.

Final Totals

Four plays, 76 yards, 1:34 expired. McCoy completed three passes for 77 yards, one to Goodwin for 34 yards, one to Williams for two yards, and one to Kirkendoll for 41 yards. Cody Johnson ran the ball once for a loss of a yard. Two good blocks on the screen by Charlie Tanner (less so) and Chris Hall (more so).

Final Verdict

The drive generated momentum for Texas and got the Kansas defense on their heels, setting the stage for future dominance. Long, sustained drives may tire a defense, but a drive featuring one or more explosive plays demoralizes the defense and highlights the separation in terms of talent between the teams. Though Kansas commendably didn't give up, as they could have given the circumstances surrounding their head coach, a team with less mental toughness, like, say, Texas A&M, might have started to doubt and started to give less then full effort.

The drive also highlighted some excellent playcalling by the much-maligned Greg Davis, who made an excellent call on the screen to Goodwin, then saw something on film ($) against Kansas he exploited with the pass to Kikendoll:

We called it third-and-medium. They were really down-and-distance conscious, so we wanted to call a pump-and-go the first chance we got on third-and-medium. We called a pump route for Kirkendoll. He ran a great route, and Colt really laid it in there.

From the sound of it, Davis was just waiting to call the play, knowing it was almost guaranteed to be a success. It was and the play got the Longhorn offensive juggernaut rolling on the night and it wouldn't slow down much until the late stages of the game, after the outcome had long been decided.

Back to the Goodwin play -- not only did the Longhorns have favorable match ups with the cornerback and safety on that side of the field well off the ball, but it got the ball to Goodwin in a position to make a play, something the Longhorns haven't done enough of in recent weeks. And guess what, it worked. Later in the game, McCoy took a shot downfield to Goodwin and though the pass wasn't completed, it's still the type of play Texas should run to Goodwin once or twice a game. He hasn't hooked up yet with McCoy on a long pass this season, but when he does, it will probably go for a touchdown regardless of where on the field the ball was snapped.

Since Greg Davis believes in taking what the defensive gives him, it's no surprise that Texas didn't run the ball much early in the game, as Kansas often loaded up the box, as they did on two plays on this drive. Combined with what Davis saw as a susceptible secondary and it resulted in a lot of throws early in the game. It's not clear why Kansas was so worried about the run, but if teams sit back with two safeties deep in a nickel, the Longhorns should be able to run the football enough against anyone to keep the chains moving.

Longhorns Advance to Finals of CBE Classic

2009-11-24T05:33:11Z

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Jordan Hamilton caused the Hawkeyes pain all night. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Browse more photos »

The #3 ranked Longhorns improved to 3-0 and advanced to the championship game of the CBE Classic after a 85-60 runaway victory over Iowa (1-3). Texas will take on Pittsburgh (4-0) on Tuesday evening at approx. 9 pm (ESPN2).

The 25 point victory is impressive as was the play of the 'Horns for three-quarters of the game. Texas bolted to a 26-13 lead after the first 11 minutes behind hot outside shooting by Jordan Hamilton and solid half-court defense. Unfortunately, the Longhorns lost their defensive intensity, failed to find the Iowa three-point shooters, and coughed up the ball over and over again over the final nine minutes of the first half. A running three pointer by the Hawkeyes tied the game at 38 at the break.

In the second half, Texas got back to feeding Dexter Pittman in the post, protected the ball, and rotated better defensively. The Longhorns dominated the second half, 47-22.

I don't have time for a full recap but here are a few quick points.

This defense is absolutely dirty, when it wants to be. The Texas D focused for the first part of the game and was up 13. They lost focus and allowed Iowa to claw all the way back by half. Then, after a Rick Barnes reminder or two, the focus appeared again in the second half. Iowa once again struggled to advance the ball past halfcourt, initiate their offense inside the arc, or get a clean look at the basket.
The Texas offense is at its best when it runs through Dexter Pittman on the low block. The Longhorns are blessed with a dominant big man, a rarity in college basketball, and we should use him, early and often.
Jordan Hamilton can shoot the basketball. He was 4-of-6 from behind the arc and the principal reason for the early double digit lead. Unlike AJ Abrams, Hamilton can shoot over the defense and doesn't require the full participation of his four teammates to get an open look. As teams start to recognize Jordan's ability to pour it in from deep, the lane will be that much more open for Sexy Dex. I'm sure that Barnes still has concerns about Hamilton's defense but expect to see more of Jordan soon.
Texas had five players in double figures: Hamilton (16 pts), Pittman (15), J'Covan Brown (14), Avery Bradley (11), and Damion James (10). This type of balanced scoring is exactly what this team needs. An off night for any one or two of them won't kill this team.
Congratulations to Damion James for becoming just the third Longhorn ever to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds!
The turnovers, especially the careless ones, bother me.
Pittman, Alexis Wangmene, Gary Johnson, and James did a nice job all night helping protect the rim after the Texas guards over-rotated and allowed dribble penetration.

Post your own game thoughts here.

Game #3: No. 3 Texas vs. Iowa Preview & Game Thread

2009-11-24T02:07:33Z

Game #3: Iowa Hawkeyes (1-2) vs No. 3 Texas Longhorns (2-0)

8:45 p.m. * Sprint Center * Kansas City, MO

TV: ESPN2 / Radio: 98.1 FM

While it might have slipped your minds (VINCE! HOUSTON! OILERS!), the UT Basketball team will be playing the Iowa Hawkeyes tonight in Kansas City. The game is part of the CBE Classic, and the winner will face the winner of Pittsburgh/Wichita State in the "championship game" tomorrow night.

As you know, Texas is being massive hyped as a Final Four contender. As you might not know, Iowa is expected to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten standings and has already lost to Duquesne and UTSA. Iowa is currently scoring 56 points/game and is ranked 326th out of 346 teams in Offensive Efficiency. That's bad, but it could get even worse, considering that Texas is currently ranked 1st out of the same 346 teams in Defensive Efficiency. Resistable force meeting the immovable object, if you will.

Tip-off is at 9 PM, and the game will be on ESPN2...at a bare minimum, you should flip over and watch this team during commercials of the football game. If you haven't had a chance to watch the 'Horns, this is your chance. I think you're going to like what you see.

Note: If you havent read the excellent "Gameflow" segments for the first two games from goingforthecorner, make sure you check out them out here and here.

Awiggo's Keys to the Game after the jump.

1. Play through James and Pittman: As hyped and as talented as the freshman are, seniors Dexter Pittman and Damion James provide the backbone for this year's club. When Texas is at its best, the ball will pass through at least one of them on each offensive possession. This is especially important tonight as Texas should expect Iowa to try to slow down the tempo and play solid half-court zone defense in an effort to limit overall possessions and post touches by the Texas bigs.

2. Protect the Ball: Freshman point guard J'Covan Brown has a tremendous ceiling but has been a bit sloppy in his first two college games. I'm not worried and you shouldn't be either; however, turnovers could keep Iowa in the game, at least for a little while.

3. Defend the Arc: Iowa is not a deep team nor do they have good interior size. In addition to capitalizing on Texas turnovers, the three pointer is the other way Iowa hangs with the 'Horns. So, far this season, the Hawkeyes have been abysmal from behind the arc, 29%, though.

Prediction: Texas 76, Iowa 51

Titans-Texans Open Thread

2009-11-24T01:51:44Z

Hoops open thread coming soon. MNF chatter here.

Not sure there's been a more beloved senior class.

2009-11-24T00:45:11Z

Not sure there's been a more beloved senior class.