Burnt Orange Nation

Bear Bash

2009-11-15T03:37:52Z

Floyd Casey Stadium is only a 99-mile drive from Austin. The crowd of
about 44,000 was among the largest ever at Baylor for a Big 12 game and
about half wore burnt orange.- SI game recap.

The state of Bear football. Now that's just sad.

The Horns rolled and Colt McCoy tied the NCAA win record.

McCoy passed for two touchdowns to help No. 2 Texas beat Baylor 47-14 Saturday, tying him with Georgia's David Greene for the most victories by a major college quarterback.

McCoy is 42-7 in his career with two regular-season contests, a likely Big 12 championship game and a bowl still to come.

"Every time you step on the field you want to do your best to help your team win," McCoy said. "It's a tribute to great coaches, great teammates and playing well together."

The senior didn't even have to put in a full day's work in this one, leaving midway through the third quarter with a 40-0 lead.

"We're all proud of Colt," said wide receiver Jordan Shipley, who caught both TD passes Saturday. "It also says a lot about this program."

McCoy doesn't plan to celebrate.

McCoy brushed aside suggestions of a celebration after tying former Georgia standout David Greene for the most victories by a quarterback in Bowl Subdivision history.

"I don't even drink Cokes," McCoy said. "I may drink a Propel or something, maybe a Gatorade."

The ground game has returned!

"Cody is just a beast when he gets going," Texas guard Charlie Tanner said.

The Longhorns' big rushing day was part of the plan. Texas coaches shortened their playbook to about five runs they felt comfortable with. And they inserted Johnson for the first start of his career and installed speedy Tre’ Newton as the No. 2 back.

"We needed balance and we felt we could do a few things this week with Cody and Tre’," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "They both stepped up. We feel our offense can be really good if we are balanced."

Tre Newton is back to his old form.

Texas running back Tre Newton had felt like himself for a while after suffering a concussion against Colorado last month.

He finally looked like himself Saturday against Baylor.

The former Southlake Carroll standout rushed for 80 yards on seven carries in a 47-14 Texas win. His 45-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter gave Texas a 21-0 lead and was the longest Longhorn scoring run of the season.

Colt McCoy has a big circle of friends.

It has taken nine games, nine interceptions, multiple benchings and a handful of position changes to reach this point.

But Texas coach Mack Brown sounds like a man at peace with his team’s passing game as quarterback Colt McCoy and his rotating band of receivers head to Waco for today’s showdown with Baylor.

"I like the fact that ... Colt is now finally getting comfortable with our receivers for the first time all year," Brown said earlier this week. "We’re starting to see all the pieces come together."

This is a trend we would like to continue. Mack Brown likes scoring right before halftime and scoring to start the third quarter.

Mack Brown has not lost to Baylor.

Jinx? What jinx? Remember when there was something called the Waco Jinx? In the past, Texas teams suffered some strange losses on the road against Baylor. That's ended in the Mack Brown era. He hasn't lost to Baylor since he's been at Texas, and this is his 12th season.

The Horns don't really mind an easy glide into the BCS title game.

Mack Brown won't say it, but he doesn't mind an easy road to a title game. He figured out weeks ago that winning with style wasn't necessary as long as the Horns won all their games.

Now compare and contrast Texas' remaining slate with those of the other teams in the top 3 of the BCS standings and you get Florida sandwiching a non-conference beatdown of Florida International with an SEC game against South Carolina (3-4 in conference) and a finale against struggling Florida State (2-4 in the ACC).

"We want to be the best," McCoy said of the team's focus. "That's our attitude. We're
going to work for it. We're going to prepare for it."

Will Muschamp was not happy at halftime.

Will Muschamp raced into the Texas locker room as if he were late for a bus.

The high-strung, highly combustible defensive coordinator threw his clipboard to the floor and started his halftime speech by screaming at his defensive players.

His outburst was totally understandable.

After all, Texas led by only 40-0.

Muschamp has this thing about perfection, and to avoid a letdown, safety Earl Thomas said the boss kept yelling that it was 0-0. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Earl Thomas has been a little lonely.

The Longhorn safety has been lonely for the past two weeks, as opposing quarterbacks are throwing elsewhere. He's stuck at six interceptions, although he had five tackles, including one for a loss of two yards. He watched as his teammates intercepted three passes to bring the team's total to 19.

Kirk Bohls dreams of honesty in sports.

Mack Brown said, "We ought to drub Baylor. We have five times the athletes they do. I mean, they're starting a third-string quarterback who's a freshman."

Art Briles said, before Texas' 45-14 win today, "If I were at Texas, I'd never complain about anything."

Mike Sherman said, "Gosh, we're average. I don't have a clue as to what kind of team I have, but this ain't my fault. Thank God I got a seven-year contract."

Colt McCoy said, "Dang right, I want to win the Heisman. And yeah, I'm a little ticked at our defense for not getting me the ball back so I could throw for four more stinking yards."

Dan Hawkins said, "Thank God my athletic department is broke. I'm over my head."

This year will not be an SEC coronation.

No, Texas doesn't need to win convincingly: A zero in the loss column, and there will be burnt orange in Pasadena come January. But imposing their will like this makes the prospect of a championship game against Florida or Alabama seem more like a title bout and less like an SEC coronation.

No bears were harmed while creating this post.

Late Games Open Thread

2009-11-14T21:01:47Z

TV schedule here. Chatter in comments below.

Lots of good stuff today...

Postgame Celebration Thread: Texas Rolls Baylor

2009-11-14T20:24:51Z

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Browse more photos »

Another blowout win over at halftime, as Texas has now outscored its four post-OU opponents by a combined score of 113-17 in the first half alone.Texas outrushes Baylor 215-10 on the day.

10-0 and still on track. Hook 'em!

Second Half Open Thread

2009-11-14T18:53:02Z

It's all good.

Open Game Thread: Texas at Baylor

2009-11-14T16:00:33Z

GAME 10: #3 Texas Longhorns (9-0) at Baylor Bears (4-5, 1-4)

Saturday, November 14, 2009 · 11:00 a.m. CT

Floyd Casey Stadium · Waco,TX

Television: FSN / Radio: 98.1 FM, 1300 AM (Austin)

The Eyes of Texas

Texas Fight Song

Cedar Hill Tops Plano West, 31-22

2009-11-14T14:53:05Z

Cedar Hill Tops Plano West, 31-22

It looks like Jackson Jeffcoat will be able to make it down to Austin next weekend after all. Aaron Benson's Cedar Hill team took down Plano West, with the star linebacker recording 2.5 sacks. Jeffcoat had an interception and "several tackles for loss."

In other playoff games, Westlake edged San Antonio Madison, 31-27, eliminating Aaron Green's team from the playoffs. The Westlake defense held the star back to 46 yards rushing.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - Bear Edition

2009-11-14T00:35:10Z

Bears are just dumb. The fans aren't much better.

Mack Brown isn't expecting the Bear faithful to pack the stadium. An omen?

The Bears are getting their act together just for the Longhorns.

Baylor players and coaches believe becoming bowl eligible is possible, regardless of what the critics say.

"Maybe within our locker room, that’s definitely on our minds," linebacker Joe Pawelek said.

"But outside our locker room, outside of this building, a lot of people are maybe kind of writing us off. But if we take care of our business, then we can make something special happen."

More on the Bears' plans to knock off the Longhorns.

Nick Florence is growing up right before our eyes.

The Bears have a little bit to smile about with the way Nick Florence played against Missouri last week. It's not like coach Art Briles expected much from his least experienced quarterback after starter Robert Griffin — last season's Big 12 freshman of the year — went down with a knee injury in the Sept. 26 game win over Northwestern State.

"Obviously when the starting quarterback goes down, there aren't good thoughts,'' Florence said. "He was leading our team and was doing a great job. After he got hurt, he came back and led us to the win, but when we later found out he was out, I was wondering if this was really happening. From that point, it was time to step up."

Baylor's leading receiver Kendall Wright is fast. Real fast.

"He's just freakishly fast," Lake said of the Bears' inside receiver. "From start to stop, faster than anyone I've ever played against before or ever seen.

"He's a great athlete, great hands. He's a small guy, but he's fearless going over the middle. He's just got rubber legs. It's not even fair."

Wright, who celebrated his 20th birthday Thursday, also is a multi-talented athlete with a 45-inch vertical leap.

The Bears are a little shorthanded this season.

These aren’t your father’s Bears. They’re probably not your older brother’s, either.

Come to think of it, they might not even be head coach Art Briles’. There’s so little left of the Baylor team from the one that started the season with so much promise, that they’re hard to recognize.

Colt McCoy: The beginning. He will tie another record this Saturday.

Cody Johnson likes to eat.

"He eats everything," wide receiver James Kirkendoll said.

Mack Brown relies on the seniors for leadership and motivation.

Coach Mack Brown sets the agenda for his Texas players at the team meeting each Sunday.

Then he gives his seniors the final word.

More and more this season, that group has taken advantage of the opportunity. The handful or so who speak after Brown have become more vocal and assertive the closer Texas has come to a possible trip to the BCS title game.

"The senior leadership is made up of guys who are really invested in this deal, and it means a great deal to them," receiver Jordan Shipley said.

They actually tailgate in Waco?

The Big 12 is just one slippery slope of fail.

Texas fell one spot behind Alabama in this week's Bowl Championship Series standings, and the Big 12 dropped a notch in this week's conference rankings, too.

There's really no way to sugarcoat it: The Big 12 isn't that deep (or good) this season, outside of the Longhorns and possibly Oklahoma State.

SI's Stewart Mandel thinks we have it way too easy down here in Texas.

This year's national title race has been, to put it bluntly -- boring. Something feels missing, in spite of the fact six undefeated teams remain in play at such a late point in the year. That something: "big games." Florida and Alabama remain on course for an epic season-ending showdown, but to this point each has played just one conference foe (LSU) currently ranked in the BCS Top 25. The Tide, to their credit, also played Virginia Tech. However, two weeks from now, during what should be the season's "stretch run," the Gators will host Florida International, while Alabama will play Chattanooga. Yawn.

Yet those two have nothing on Texas.

We told everyone that the Big 12 played defense. They just had to wait to see the unveiling this season.

As for offense, eight Big 12 teams averaged more than 400 yards last season when league rivals feebly swatted for cloth without realizing they were playing tackle, not flag. OU and Texas Tech even averaged 500-plus yards. This season, three teams are in the 400-yard range in conference play.

Defense is stronger, no doubt. Unless Texas collapses against a weaker opponent down the stretch, the unit Muschamp commands will put the Longhorns in the national championship game as much as Colt McCoy-to-Jordan Shipley.

Resistance is trendy elsewhere, too. Nebraska proved it last week when it out-stiffened Oklahoma by the throwback count of 10-3.

Mr. Suh may sound like a character on Hawaii 5-0, or the bad guy on Green Hornet, but his household name could grow tiresome Saturday as he lines up against redshirt freshman Trevor Marrongelli of Kansas.

Sooners being Sooners.

And speaking of Sooners... Remember the name Gordon Riese? Ask a Sooner. I bet they do.

Week 11 College Football TV Schedule and Lines

2009-11-13T23:49:12Z

All times Central

TIME	GAME	TV	LINE
11:00	Michigan St. at Purdue		MSU -3
11:00	Texas at Baylor		TX -23.5
11:00	Florida St. at Wake Forest		WAKE -5
11:00	Georgia Tech at Duke		GT -13
11:00	Tennessee at Ole Miss		MISS -5
11:00	Houston at UCF		UH -4.5
11:00	Northwestern at Illinois		ILL -4.5
11:00	Michigan at Wisconsin		WISC -8.5
11:30	Missouri at Kansas St.		MU -1
2:30	Iowa at Ohio State¹		OSU -16.5
2:30	Nebraska at Kansas¹		NU -4
2:30	Miami at North Carolina¹		UNC -3
2:30	Florida at South Carolina		UF -17
2:30	Stanford at USC		USC -10.5
2:30	Idaho at Boise St.		BSU -32
6:00	Alabama at Mississippi St.		BAMA -12
6:00	Auburn at Georgia		UGA -4
6:00	Texas A&M at Oklahoma		OU -20
6:00	Arizona at Cal		CAL -3
6:30	Utah at TCU		TCU -20
7:00	Notre Dame at Pittsburgh²		PITT -7
7:00	Texas Tech at Oklahoma St.²		OSU -4.5
9:15	Arizona St. at Oregon		ORE -18
	¹Regional Coverage Map	²Regional Coverage Map

Complete Week 11 TV Line Up

High Definition TV Sports Guide

Live Vegas Lines

Top 25 Scoreboard

Big 12 Scoreboard

2010 Commits in the Playoffs

2009-11-13T18:53:11Z

2010 Commits in the Playoffs

A breakdown of the 2010 football commits who will begin play in the playoffs this week. I believe that out of the 20 commits, only John Harris won't be participating, as Naaman Forest lost an elimination game last week.

Also, keep an eye on the matchup between Plano West and Cedar Hill -- Jackson Jeffcoat plans on taking his official visit to Austin next weekend, but may not be able to make it if West manages to pull the upset on the undefeated Longhorns.

[Update]:Reggie Wilson and the Haltom Buffaloes were eliminated Thursday night by Arlington Martin, 50-6, ending Wilson's high school career. The star defensive end will enroll at Texas for the spring semester.

Taylor Bible's Denton Guyer squad beat Saginaw Boswell, 59-28. 2011 quarterback JW Walsh had a 34-yard touchdown run and finished with 12 carries for 115 yards and another rushing touchdown.

Lake Travis beat Crocket 58-7 and may face Malcolm Brown's Steele squad if they win this week.

Five Things to Watch Against Baylor

2009-11-13T17:40:23Z

by Harry Cabluck - AP

View full size photo »

How does Cody Johnson respond to his start? Last week was supposed to be Johnson's first collegiate start, but Fozzy Whittaker ended up coming out with the ones. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter which player steps out on the field first -- the more important aspect is how many carries a back receives. Mack Brown was talking about Johnson receiving 15-20 carries this weekend again to in an attempt to gain an understanding of how much he can improve or wear down the defense as the game goes on.

As mentioned earlier in the week, the problem is that Johnson doesn't really fit what Texas does offensively that well. When he's in the game, teams aren't going to be worried about him splitting out wide as a receiver or gashing them with flare passes into the flat. Teams now also load the box a bit more or at least anticipate run when the big back comes into the game. Johnson also isn't a great fit in the horizontal running scheme Texas employs, being better served getting his shoulders squared to the line of scrimmage and heading downhill, much as he does in the short-yardage situations in which he excels.

This weekend, then, will be a test run for how well Johnson does with the current scheme and an effort to determine which plays are successful with him. Much like the Colorado game, Mack Brown may be stubborn about trying to run the football, so it will be interesting to see if Texas only runs their basic plays, or if they try to incorporate some misdirection as well, which has been pretty absent the last several weeks.

Can Texas exploit the right side of the Baylor line? As kriess does an excellent job of pointing out in his Baylor offensive preview, the right side of the Baylor line -- right guard James Barnard and right tackle Phillip Blake -- are two of the weaker members of the Bear unit, with Barnard struggling in pass protection and Blake coming in undersized at 275 pounds. Barnard in particular could be in for a long day matched up against Lamarr Houston shooting gaps and generally causing mayhem. After his incredible performance against UCF indicating that he is now completely comfortable -- as he has been for a while now -- and able to dominate the interior of the line, look for Houston to have another strong game.

Blake could be in for a long day as well. While he does have good enough feet to keep Sergio Kindle, Sam Acho, et al. from beating him on the edge, watch out for the Longhorn defensive ends using their speed-to-power move, Kindle's best, or simply bull rushing Blake back towards the quarterback. Baylor will probably try to run behind the larger left side of the line, but if they try to run right, the Longhorns will almost surely stuff those plays.

Can the secondary shut down David Gettis and Kendall Wright? The enduring image of the Baylor game last season was Kendall Wright running right past Ben Wells -- that was not an easy thing to recover from for Wells, as that was pretty much his first impression he made on the Texas fanbase. Uh yeah, no do-overs on first impressions, Ben.

In fact, Gettis and Wright may be the most talented pair of receivers Texas has faced this season and the only two players who provide a significant offensive threat to the Longhorns. After a mostly disappointing career, Gettis has come on late in his senior season, racking up more than 100 yards in each of the last two games, including seven catches for 124 yards against Nebraska. Gettis has also scored his first touchdown since his freshman season.

As for Wright, he may have been one of the most underrated players in the 2008 recruiting class, though perhaps the fact that he played quarterback in high school had something to do with that. Wright isn't a big receiver at about 6-0 and 180 pounds, but he has excellent speed and is dangerous in the open field. Last week against Missouri he had 10 catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

The Baylor offense is designed around getting their playmakers the ball in the space, so the Longhorns secondary will not only have to cover well, but also tackle well and fight through blockers on the screen plays Art Briles likes to dial up. Missouri missed 18 tackles last week, resulting in an extra 200 yards or so for the Baylor offense, putting solid tackling at a premium for Texas.

Can Colt McCoy post big numbers to help his Heisman campaign? Since most of the drama is gone from the season after the victory over Oklahoma State, the Longhorns simply have to take care of business until the Big 12 championship game, while putting up some style points along the way to keep the human voters happy, as there is little Texas can do to make the computers happy except win. The big storyline, then, is whether or not McCoy can make a late run at the Heisman trophy.

Last week was a good start to re-invigorate his campaign after the poor performance against Oklahoma in front of a national audience knocked him down in the standings. Even for a successful quarterback like McCoy, 470 yards is enough to get the attention of the most skeptical of voters. To have a chance, McCoy needs to keep putting up video game numbers, while keeping his interceptions in check. A highlight reel running play or two might help as well, anything to get on SportsCenter at this point.

The other aspect that will help his candidacy is his run on the all-time wins record for quarterbacks. With a win over Baylor, McCoy will tie David Greene for most all-time wins and a win over Kansas will break the record with several games left to create even more space. It's the type of story that national media outlets will eventually pick up and will help McCoy gain notice.

Can Longhorns fans making the trip to Waco make more noise than the Baylor fans? Yes, I'm now stretching here. Really, this could have been one thing to watch against Baylor -- the Longhorns putting their usual beatdown on the Bears. But hey, I'm trying not to pack this in like John Werner did in his preview for us.

So, back to the point -- Texas fans traditionally travel well to Waco, generally making up a sizable contingent. With Robert Griffin done for the season and whatever hopes Baylor fans harbored coming into the season completely squashed, there could be a ton of Baylor fans dressed as empty seats in this game. Mack Brown specifically asked fans to take over Floyd Casey stadium, since there are few things more beautiful than hearing a heart Texas Fight in an opposing team's home stadium.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 13, 2009

2009-11-13T04:28:48Z

"I've played against Baylor for three years going on my 
fourth year," said McCoy. "It is tough to play up there. Sometimes
the stadium is windy, and I think we really have to focus on ourselves
this week, and focus on going back to work."

Guess we're not doing that again.

"That's the last time we'll be running from the I-formation from inside our 1-yard line," coach Mack Brown said. "It doesn't make any sense to hand the ball off to a guy who's seven yards back from that spot on the field."

Keenan Robinson stepped right in after Jared Norton's injury and has made a huge contribution this season.

And while Robinson is overlooked by the likes of defensive end Sergio Kindle, linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy and safety Earl Thomas, his combination of size, speed and aggressive play against the run has helped turn the linebackers from a question to a strength.

"I thought Keenan was going to be a good player for us, and he's really played well," Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said. " He's always been a guy who can run and accelerate and finish."

Colt McCoy talks about how the Horns have improved his season. ESPN podcast.

So what really happened?

Kirkendoll, a junior wide receiver from Round Rock, is back in sync with the No. 3 Longhorns now. But he had plenty of frustration built up inside of him before he took the field on Oct. 17 against Oklahoma. He was supposed to be one of the players quarterback Colt McCoy would rely on to replace star pass-catcher Quan Cosby but instead entered the OU game mired in an ugly month-long slump.

So when he was tackled after a short gain in the first half, and Sooners defensive back Quinton Carter barked at him in celebration, Kirkendoll wasn’t in the frame of mind to handle it. And then one of the smartest, most thoughtful players on the UT team did something he would later admit was nothing short of "bone-headed."

"It was just a little frustration," Kirkendoll said of his head butt to Carter, which drew a personal foul penalty and sent Kirkendoll to the bench. "I’m a real emotional player when it comes to the field."

The Aggies want to rebound this weekend. The Sooners are up next.

The Sooners also will be bringing a nation-best 28-game home winning streak for the game. But these Aggies are capable of big road performances, as evidenced by their 52-30 victory at Texas Tech on Oct. 24 after a blowout road loss at Kansas State the week before.

"You have to draw from that," Pugh said. "It’s been done before because we went to Lubbock and did it up there. It’s the same thing we’re doing now. And if we go up there and do what we need to do we’ll get that win."

Some great numbers, but very few wins.

The tall, strong-armed quarterback wearing crimson was supposed to be leading the league in total offense and touchdown passes going into Saturday night's Texas A&M at Oklahoma game.

Instead, it's the one in maroon, as junior Jerrod Johnson has swiped at least part of the injured Sam Bradford's thunder.

Johnson, who leads the league's top-ranked offense (478 yards per game), is the first to point out the high-falutin' numbers don't mean a thing if the Aggies aren't winning — although they still have some of their goals in front of them (mainly playing in a bowl game) with three regular-season games remaining.

The Buffs really like their food on road trips.

Quarterback Tyler Hansen and receiver Scotty McKnight said the team will try something different for this trip. They will leave a little later Friday than normal after practicing in Boulder.

But their main point was that the young Buffs whose eyes grow a little wider at the prospects of traveling, staying in hotels and eating out, and then visiting a new venue, have to learn how to stay focused on the task at hand.

"I think the young guys, especially the true freshmen, they’re so excited," Hansen said. "’We get to go on a plane, we get some food,’ stuff like that, and they’re not really focused on the game.

"We have to keep 100 percent focused whether we’re on the plane or eating or watching movies."

This season wasn't exactly what the Jayhawk seniors had in mind.

"It is what it is," Sharp said. "I don’t think anything in life is really as you plan it to be. This is not a fairy-tale world."

These Jayhawks are not jaded, but they have been forced to see the world differently. They never could have foreseen a four-game losing streak, even though they had seen one in 2006, the last time KU didn’t make a bowl game. They thought they were past that type of struggle, that their hard work would always pay off. After the K-State loss last weekend, the Jayhawks finally allowed their disappointment to show.

"It really hit us last week," KU fifth-year senior Angus Quigley said. "It’s tough. We’ve cried. It’s real tough when you come into the season with goals. You have worked your butt off all offseason. These past weeks that we’ve lost, we’ve had some of the best practices since I’ve been here. They’re spirited. We just haven’t figured out why it’s not transitioning over to the (games)."

Bob Stoops could learn some things from Gary Pinkel.

"Here’s the problem," Stoops said. "Don’t ask us questions then. If you want to ask me what went wrong, I’m supposed to say everything's our fault? Then I can’t answer questions if you want me to answer truthfully. There are some things players gotta handle, too. It’s always going to be both of us.

"So don’t ask the question if you don’t want the right answer. And don’t go criticizing if we give you the right answer and it is on them."

Compare that attitude with Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, whose struggling team dropped into the North Division cellar after losing four of its first five conference games after making back-to-back championship game appearances.

Pinkel took full responsibility for his team’s recent meltdown, saying that any blame about his team starts with him.

No, really. The Sooners? We're shocked. The Sooners have discipline problems.

Like many coaches, Stoops considers discipline and hard work to be the cornerstones of his program. And he hasn't seen enough of either one from his team this year to overcome the adversity.

Blame the coaches for failing to teach the players that discipline or blame the players for failing to put in the hard work.

Or, Stoops says, point fingers at both.

Kansas State is the feel good story in the Big 12.

With Oklahoma battered, Texas lacking style points and Nebraska showcasing multiple football personalities, Bill Snyder and the Miracles in Manhattan rank as the league's feel-good story. A Senior Day win Saturday against Missouri, and a triumph the next week over the Cornhuskers, will send the Wildcats to their first Big 12 championship game since 2003. Those are Darren Sproles days, folks.

Maybe this explains the Wildcats' success?

But Snyder undoubtedly saw what other coaches saw. Teams were recruiting smaller, more athletic defenders to match up against the league's wide-open offenses, creating an opportunity for someone to play the kind of hard-nosed, power football the Wildcats have played this season.

"I think what most coaches were probably sharing with you was the fact that, OK, everybody has recruited into this system defensively where you've got guys that are a little leaner and a little faster and can run around -- kind of like secondary guys playing linebacker," Snyder said. "Now all of a sudden you tighten the offense down and run right at them, you've got maybe some advantages in that respect."

The Cornhuskers are going back to business as usual this week.

Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson says he isn't sure that the low-risk, ground-oriented attack he went with in the win over Oklahoma is the right blueprint for victory from here on out.

"That was that week's plan," he said. "Every week's a little bit different. That's certainly not the deal this week."

Case Keenum deserves the Heisman.

Keenum is still more deserving because he has done things none of the others has come close to doing. He’s the most productive player on the most productive offense in college football.

"I’d say when it comes to performance among the top 15-20 teams, he’s as good a player as there is in the country," UH coach Kevin Sumlin said.

Dennis Dodd thinks Keenum deserves the Heisman, but he doesn't stand a chance.

Be very careful what you wish for.

Anyway, TCU has it all going on. A spotless record, a sold-out game in the national spotlight, fourth place in the BCS rankings and a suddenly sinister mascot.

Patterson has the perfect pulpit to make a case for his Frogs and the rest of the BCS busters out there, just as Whittingham and Utah did last season.

But Patterson isn't interested in making a stink, and I don't blame him.

He's won at least 10 games five times at TCU, and in those seasons, here are the teams that beat him: Cincinnati, East Carolina, SMU, BYU, Utah and Oklahoma.

Except for the Sooners, it's not exactly a murderer's row. Not for a team wanting a national title shot.

Cincy coach Brian Kelly isn't making a stink, either.

It's refreshing to see Kelly not yet delve into the process. Maybe he realizes that he'd be whistling into the wind.

Here's the deal, though. Heading into Friday night's game with West Virginia, Kelly's Cincinnati football team is one of six unbeatens remaining. The Bearcats are No. 4 in both polls that matter in the BCS standings (coaches and Harris) and No. 5 in the BCS standings themselves. The top three are heavyweights Florida, Alabama and Texas. The other two are TCU and Boise State.

Now, if none of those top three teams lose unexpectedly, the BCS title game will pit Texas against the Florida-Alabama SEC championship game winner. It doesn't matter what Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State do. It's a done deal. You know it. I know it.

And, apparently, Kelly knows it.

But it seems the Mountain West Conference is lobbying for the Horned Frogs. And on it goes...

More on TCU's bitterness at not being invited to join the Big 12.

Half of the Texas teams from the old SWC—Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and even Baylor, a private Christian school like TCU—were invited into the Big 12, which has grown into one of the nation’s best leagues.

The Horned Frogs, bitter about the snub, bounced from the Western Athletic Conference to Conference USA to the Mountain West over the next decade. They won or shared titles in all of them.

Are assistant college football coaches worth their salaries?

When universities defend the hideous pay packages of head football coaches they often claim that these guys are irreplaceable. That’s certainly the argument you’d hear from administrators at my alma mater, the University of Missouri, to explain why the salary guarantee of its football coach Gary Pinkel has more than quadrupled in eight years to $2.52 million. During that time, the salaries of Mizzou’s assistant coaches have doubled.

But come on. Are the assistants really irreplaceable? Do they deserve these pay bonanzas? The compensation seems especially inappropriate during a period when universities are hiking tuition, slashing classes and laying off professors.

And finally...

Only in the SEC. Robbed at gun point by three football players and this guy's only concern is winning the next game.

Baseball Inks Seven in Early Signing

2009-11-13T02:02:02Z

Baseball Inks Seven in Early Signing

Texas baseball signed seven on the first two days of early signing, picking up five yesterday and two more today. Don't have much to add beyond what's written in the TexasSports articles, and it's certainly much too soon to figure out which are most likely to jump to the pros and which will actually end up in Austin.

A Season Without Villains

2009-11-12T21:03:37Z

More photos » by J. Pat Carter - AP

Good for a joke, at least.

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There's something wrong this football season. For a while, I think maybe it is just me: I'm turning 30 next week. I'll be married within a year. I've been writing this blog for a full five years now. Maybe, I wonder, it feels like I'm just going through the motions because I'm burning out, ready to turn a corner to something new.

Wednesday evening I sit down to write a preview about Baylor, stare thoughtlessly at the Bears' team stat page for a few minutes, and realize I have nothing to say. I shut my laptop, open a beer, and fall asleep re-watching Magnolia for the twentieth time.

Driving home from class earlier today, I think again about what I might write, and again my mind feels mostly empty. What is there to say about a game that Texas likely will win by 30, and even if it wins by just 3, will matter all the same? What is there to say about any of the remaining four games, in all of which Texas will be heavily favored and need only to win? At this point, Texas can only lose, and I really don't want to write about that.

An old friend calls and I bemoan my lethargic state to him, saying only half-jokingly, "Maybe I'll just post a sign on BON's front page: Closed Until January."

"Hey," he warns, "if you'd done that last time, we never would have had Scott Ware."

Like a ton of bricks it hits, before he finishes his sentence... "Not a damned one of 'em," I mutter.

"Not any what?" he asks.

"Villains," I exclaim. "That's the problem with this season! There are no villains. No Scott Ware, no USC, no nothing."

"There's always Oklahoma..." he starts to argue, but pauses. "My God, you're right."

A Season Without Villains

At last, something to write about, but the reason it's seemed such a struggle throughout this season is because Texas is, essentially, running unopposed to the Rose Bowl. The 2005 Longhorns were also heavily favored in most of their games, but not only did we at least have the early-season showdown with Ohio State, there was the year-long battle with ESPN's Team Of Destiny -- USC.

This year... nothing. Oklahoma lost their quarterback and the game in the opener to BYU, lost another in Miami before the Shootout, and have since lost the wheels to the cheat-wagon, amounting to a season that is spiraling quickly down the toilet. Oklahoma State took care of business against Georgia, but not only are the Bulldogs nothing special, the Cowboys couldn't make it to Texas week without a loss, dropping one at home to Houston in September.

The rest of the Big 12? Pitiful. The race to the BCS? Set in stone: win and we're in. With Florida and Alabama winning without dominating, there's not even a mystical dragon who we can obsessively plan to slay.

Apparently, I'm not the only one waiting for the ball to drop, as I just noticed that Doc Saturday penned a post this morning titled, "If 2009 has any tricks up its sleeve, now is the time to break them out."

And frankly, it's beginning to feel like that kind of season. As Pete Thamel pointed out in Sunday's New York Times, every game is most definitely not a playoff down the stretch, as BCS proponents are so fond of contending. There is one "playoff' game -- Alabama-Florida in Atlanta, the winner of which is certainly bound for the BCS title game in the Rose Bowl, probably even if one of them happens to slip up in a horrifying upset in one of its last three games of the regular season -- but there is mere survival for Texas, which can also punch its ticket to Pasadena by taking care of its business against apparent non-threats Baylor, Kansas, Texas A&M and Overmatched Big 12 North Champion in the conference title game. For everyone else, it looks like playing out the string for lesser stakes.
That's fine, except that we're hitting mid-November, when the drama, turmoil and debate should be beginning to hit a fever pitch, and already the season feels like a foregone conclusion. There's nothing on the horizon like the familiar imbroglios that have made the rest of the decade so consistently entertaining.

He's right, and if the malaise is widespread, nowhere is it more numbing than for us. Cincinnati fans can carp about the unfair BCS system and obsess what an upset to one of the Big Three would mean for their title chances. Boise State fans are reeling to keep up with the school's frenzied blitz of moves aiming to elevate the program's prominence, now and in the future. This season is a wet dream for TCU fans who live for a chance to scream in the megaphone that THEY ARE RELEVANT. Fans of the SEC outside Tuscaloosa and Gainesville have the conference's officials; Florida and Alabama have each other.

Texas fans have... what? A crappy running game?

With no one to turn our guns on, it's no wonder that as a firing squad we've trained our sights on Greg Davis. There's literally no one else.

Yeah, yeah: every school should be lucky, cry-me-a-river blah blah blah. I get it. I'm happy, believe me. And if we win our next four, December and January are going to be amazing for us while for every other team but one it'll just be the end.

But I wish I had something to write about right now. I wish I had someone to hate.

Snap Shots: Abject Stupidity, aka I-Formation From the One, Redux

2009-11-12T16:25:23Z

by Harry Cabluck - AP

It's a good thing Cody Johnson wasn't an injured Chris Ogbonnaya on this play. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

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Context

The only poor kickoff coverage of the day by Texas resulted in a 27-yard return out to the UCF 46 yardline, giving the Knights excellent field position. Though they were able to pick up a rare first down on an offsides penalty by Ben Alexander following a nine-yard run by Johnathan Davis, Texas forced a punt after a Lamarr Houston sack on third down. On the first play of the fourth quarter, UCF punter Blake Clingan kicked a 50-yard punt downed by the punt coverage unit at the Texas one yardline. Texas starts their possesion after marching 87 yards on 15 plays their previous possesion, culminating in the touchdown pass to James Kirkendoll after holding the ball for over six minutes.

Snap Shots

The play is either 24 or 26 Lead, meaning that the fullback will either go fill the four hole inside the left tackle or the six hole outside of the left tackle, with Johnson following his lead blocker into the hole. The main difference in the two plays is whether or not the playside tackle, Adam Ulatoski, decides to kick out the defender to create a running lane through the four hole, or if he tries to seal the defender inside. Given that the playside defensive end is lined up over the outside shoulder of Ulatoski, the left tackle should kick the defender out, opening up the four hole for Cobb to come through and pick up the playside linebacker, with Johnson following on his hip.

There are several important things to point out on this play. One, there are eight UCF defenders in the box, as they correctly expect Texas to run out of the rarely-used I formation. Second, the tight end is on the right side of the Texas line of scrimmage, the stronger side of the Longhorn line behind which they prefer to run. Predictably, the Knights shade their defense to that side of the field, with the middle and outside linebackers taking the A and C gaps on that side of the field, respectively, with the cornerback providing outside leverage and a safety also providing run support on that side of the formation. Third, notice that UCF defensive tackle Torrell Troup, an excellent player in his own right and one of the better defensive tackles Texas will face all season, is lined up over the left shoulder of Chris Hall, while the left guard, Charlie Tanner, is uncovered, giving him no one to block at the line of scrimmage. Lastly, there is also the fact that Johnson is closer to the back of the end zone than the front, as I-formation plays leave the tailback seven yards from the line of scrimmage.

Let's play a fun game -- it's called "Watch How Far Torrell Troup Can Push Chris Hall Into the Backfield!" Okay, maybe this game isn't so fun for Texas fans, but we're going to play it anyway, dammit. The compact Troup fires off the ball with excellent leverage, getting under the pads of the Texas center, who receives no help from Tanner, headed for the Mike backer. Chris Hall is currently more than a yard behind the line of scrimmage. Notice also that if the Longhorns had run a bootleg, the safety, a converted quarterback, is giving Jordan Shipley 12 yards of cushion.

Chris Hall is now two yards behind the line of scrimmage and comes fairly close to stepping on the foot of Colt McCoy leaving center -- not an entirely uncommon occurrence when a center gets so completely blown up at the snap of the football. Notice also that Ulatoski has just engaged the defensive end and is getting no push.

Returning to our fun little game, Chris Hall is now at least three yards behind the line of scrimmage -- that's nine feet. He's not exactly on the line of scrimmage when he hikes the ball, so it's really only fair to point out that Troup has only moved him six to seven feet backwards. See, it's really not so bad is it? Well, except for the fact that Hall has been pushed almost into Johnson shortly after his receives the football, slowing the big backs momentum and disrupting what little timing still exists with the play.

Notice also that Ulatoski has his shoulders turned, which would be fine if there was still a running lane through the four hole, but since Hall got pushed so far back, there isn't. Notice as well that Cobb doesn't really have an idea of what he's trying to do to the playside linebacker -- he's sort of cutting the guy, but doesn't leave his feet, but also doesn't really block the guy, as his left arm is just kind of dangling by his side, unused for, you know, actually blocking the guy. In fairness to Cobb, his day was otherwise, most notably including his two special teams tackles and a crunching block on Johnson's touchdown run over the left side of the line from the Jumbo package.

Chaos time! The chaos has officially begun on this play, as happens on so many plays when the timing gets off because one player is beat badly at the line of scrimmage. Even though Hall fights back against Troup enough to arrest his backwards movement, it's too late. Cobb, who decided not to use his hands to block the playside linebacker, loses his block, getting shed by the linebacker -- no surprise, since the linebacker didn't even really have to disengage to do so. Ulatoski, who failed to get any push on the playside defensive end, loses his block. Tanner, being Charlie Tanner, loses his block on the middle linebacker.

At this point, it's one on three -- Johnson must fight through the three UCF defenders to pick up a litle more than a yard to get the ball out of the end zone.

Johnson fights forward, nearing the goalline, but appearing just short on his second effort.

Fortunately for Texas, Johnson keeps on fighting, barely getting the ball out of the end zone with his third, and possibly fourth, effort.

Final Verdict

Um, haven't we all seen this movie before? The Longhorns get pinned near the goalline, go I formation, obviously a running package...Chris Hall gets blown up after snapping the ball...The Texas running back receives first contact deep in the goalline...Sounds like the Tech game last year doesn't it? Same situation, almost the same result, except this time the coaches manage to brilliantly avoid putting an injured running back in the backfield, instead using the biggest back they have. Credit them for that, at least.

Greg Davis indicated after the game that the Longhorns did receive the look they wanted as well, with UCF overloading the left side of the line, leaving the Longhorns evenly matched up on the other side. The only problem is that UCF overloaded the other side of the line because the left side does a poor job of getting push on running plays, particularly Ulatoski, who remains much stronger in pass protection than actually moving defenders backwards.

The real problem here is that the coaches didn't learn from their mistakes last season and failed to understand that another I-formation running play was vritually doomed to failure. Mack Brown indicated that the coaches have, after one safety and another near safety, finally learned their lesson:

The one that was ugly coming off the goal line that Cody saved us otherwise it would have been a safety was missed assignments up front.

So we didn't block it right and Greg and I have talked about it, we're foolish from the 6-inch line to take the ball and hand it to a tailback seven yards deep. That's just foolish.

It happened to us at Tech, and we're going to change that. So that's more on us as coaches than on the kids. I thought it was just not smart and we've got some different things we can do.

Obviously, that ends up being a 99-yard touchdown drive. It ended up being effective. But if they are going to wad em all up and we're going to line up a tailback seven yards deep in the backfield, let's learn from it and move forward. That's on us as coaches, even though there was a missed assignment.

Yes, Mack -- foolish, stupid, dumb, and idiotic are all apt descriptions of the play call. Davis, however, has a slightly different perspective on whether or not there was a missed assignment on the play:

We had a missed call on the first play that Cody did such a great job. We got the look we thought we'd get.

The guard (Charlie Tanner) had an option to bang what we call Lock It, and we didn't make that call, which left Chris Hall in a one-on-one situation, and Chris did a pretty good job of maintaining.

And if we weren't on the minus-1 yard line, Cody probably would have taken it back door. But because of where we were at, he just went front side.

The missed call probably falls on Hall himself, as the center is normally responsible for making the line calls. So the responsibility falls both on the coaches were putting the players in a bad position, and on the players for not making the proper call at the line and for failing to execute, as three players essentially missed their blocks, leading to Johnson having to fight through three defenders

The play illustrates the individual breakdown(s) that have occurred all too frequently this season along the offensive line. When it's not Hall, it's Tanner. When it's not Tanner, it's Michael Huey or David Snow. When it's not Huey or Tanner, it's Ulatoski. No player has been immune from significant individual failures at different times. The play also illustrates the major problem with man blocking -- it allows one-on-one that can lead to penetration and highlight individual failures in a manner that zone blocking covers up to some extent. Of course, had the right call been made and Tanner had double teamed Troup with Hall, the play would have had a much better chance for success.

The final point worth making here is that Texas is better served by play-action passing in those situations than running out of the I. Lining up four wide isn't a good idea either, so the compromise here is probably 11 personnel, running play action, and moving the pocket, as the Longhorns did on the following two plays, resulting in a big third-down conversion on a pass to Malcolm Williams.

Boise State Broncos go public with athletic program, will sell stock shares to anyone, everyone - One Bronco Nation Under God

2009-11-11T23:54:02Z

Boise State Broncos go public with athletic program, will sell stock shares to anyone, everyone - One Bronco Nation Under God

Not satire. Boise State really selling, like, stock. In their athletics department.

Buy Buy Buy!

2010 Texas v. Tech Game Moved To Sept. 18? [Double-T Nation]

2009-11-11T23:03:50Z

2010 Texas v. Tech Game Moved To Sept. 18? [Double-T Nation]

According to Texas Tech, the game has been bumped to September 18th, once again to accommodate ESPN television interests. If this is right, when does Texas play UCLA?

Stoops Pretty Much Just Throwing Players Under the Bus Now

2009-11-11T22:24:45Z

Stoops Pretty Much Just Throwing Players Under the Bus Now

It's not Stoops' fault the team sucks this year! It's the players' fault for sucking at football! In seriousness and fairness, Stoops is technically correct in the sense that, to a certain extent, he can only do so much and the rest is on the players to execute. But should he be making that point to the media? Uh, probably not if he wants to recruit well ever again.

Put that alongside his treatment of Bradford in the past year and the fact that he has both no chin and a double chin at the same time as reasons not to trust old Stoopsie.

Seriously, it's reaching an Aggie-level meltdown in Norman (and ironically enough, an Aggie win over OU might send it over the edge). It's becoming very entertaining.

It's official! Tristan Thompson has signed!

2009-11-11T19:10:14Z

It's official! Tristan Thompson has signed!

Barnes is only building on his reputation as "Recruiter of the Decade" with more great hoops classes ahead.

Hook 'em!

The Start of Something Great

2009-11-11T16:28:43Z

The Start of Something Great

*Bumped by txtwstr7. More hoops coverage coming later this week*

Ryan with Longhorn Road Trip's season preview write up.

Tempo-Free Stats for Dummies - The Only Colors

2009-11-11T15:59:40Z

Tempo-Free Stats for Dummies - The Only Colors

If you're a college hoops fan unfamiliar with tempo-free stats, do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to walk through this helpful primer from the outstanding Michigan State bloggers at The Only Colors, who blog hoops as well as anyone out there.

As often as we analyze the Horns using tempo free stats, you'll be glad you did.