Burnt Orange Nation

Postgame Celebration Thread: Texas Rolls Kansas, Wins Big 12 South

2009-11-22T04:35:33Z

More photos » by Erich Schlegel - AP

One of the best in school history, and now the winningest in NCAA history.

Congratulations to Texas's 22 seniors, who won their 15th consecutive game and 23rd of their last 24. And special congratulations to Colt McCoy, who won his 42nd career start, the most in NCAA history. Neither his, nor the 2009 team's, legacies are yet finished, but with tonight's 51-20 win over Kansas, the Longhorns improve to 11-0 on the season, clinch the Big 12 South, and step within 2 wins of a national title berth.

This is as good as I've felt about the team all year. Hook 'em!

The Eyes of Texas

Second Half Open Thread

2009-11-22T02:50:18Z

It's all good.

Open Game Thread: Kansas at Texas

2009-11-22T00:00:17Z

GAME 11: Kansas Jayhawks (5-5, 1-5) at #3 Texas Longhorns (10-0, 6-0)

Saturday, November 21, 2009 · 7:00 p.m. CT

DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium · Austin,TX

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

The Eyes of Texas

Texas Fight Song

College Football Week 12 TV Guide and Lines

2009-11-21T13:45:57Z

All times Central

TIME	GAME	TV	LINE
11:00	Minnesota at Iowa		IA -13
11:00	Ohio St. at Michigan		OSU -13
11:00	Duke at Miami		UM -19
11:00	Harvard at Yale		N/A
11:00	UNC at Boston College		BC -3
1:30	Oklahoma at Texas Tech		OU -6.5
1:30	Connecticut at Notre Dame		ND -6.5
2:30	LSU at Ole Miss		MISS -4
2:30	Penn St. at Michigan St.¹		PSU -3
2:30	Virginia at Clemson¹		CLEM -21
2:30	NC State at Virgina Tech		VT -21
2:30	Duke at North Carolina		UNC -10
2:30	Air Force at BYU		BYU -10
2:30	Wisconsin at Northwestern		WISC -7
3:00	Arizona St. at UCLA		CAL -7.5
3:00	San Diego St. at Utah		UTAH -20
6:00	Vanderbilt at Tennessee		TN -21
6:30	Cal at Stanford		STAN -7
6:45	Kansas St. at Nebraska		NU -16
6:45	Kentucky at Georgia		UGA -10
7:00	Kansas at Texas²		TX -27
7:00	Oregon at Arizona²		ORE -6
	¹Regional Coverage Map	²Regional Coverage Map

Complete Week 12 TV Line Up

High Definition TV Sports Guide

Live Vegas Lines

Top 25 Scoreboard

Big 12 Scoreboard

Credit to poster ToY on shaggybevo.com Bumped. If anyone has problems with the flash being on...

2009-11-21T05:24:44Z

Credit to poster ToY on shaggybevo.com

Bumped. If anyone has problems with the flash being on the front page, drop a note in the comments. Otherwise, love yourself some Avery Bradley. I love myself some Avery Bradley. --GoBR--

Murphy Out At Arizona State

2009-11-21T03:03:39Z

Murphy Out At Arizona State

The last time we saw Pat Murphy he was reeling from Cameron Rupp's prodigious clout and pissing off GoBR . Now he's gone and so too could be Arizona State's hopes of returning to Omaha.

Texas vs Western Carolina Gameflow

2009-11-20T23:27:54Z

Click here for the Texas vs Western Carolina gameflow

via i45.tinypic.com

Here are the game leaders (by +/- per minute)

Johnson +1.16, +22
Wangmene +1.00, +11
Mason +0.96, +22
Brown +0.86, +18
Ward +0.84, +21
James +0.79, +23
Hamilton +0.79, +11
Bradley +0.65, +11
Balbay +0.55, +11
Williams +0.50, +2
Pittman +0.47, +8

My observations after the jump:

The top performing players for the most part were the hustle players, glue guys, defensive role players. This should tell us that our defense had a bigger impact on the game than our offense, and that doesn't come as a surprise given Barnes' comments of specifically focusing on defense in recent practices. In addition, this should also explain the amount of minutes Ward and Mason earned, along with the lack of minutes of Bradley, Hamilton, and Pittman. Specifically with Mason, while his box score looks rather empty, I think Barnes likes what he sees on the defensive end.
I really want to give props to Johnson and Wangmene. Johnson was the only player to not be a part of a 5-man unit that did not accumulate a negative +/- in the entire game. It's clear based on recent articles about him that he knows his role. Don't expect him to throw up a bunch of mid-range jumpers like we saw last year. He's going to focus on his defense, rebounding, and intangibles to help the team. I'm happy to have him for two more years. Wangmene is becoming a significant defensive force in the paint with his long arms. Had a block shot in 11 minutes and altered other shots. With these two guys and Pittman, our front court defense is probably top 10 in the nation at least. The ability to limit easy baskets in the paint alone will win us a ton of games this season.
My question is how long will this minute distribution continue? Will the younger, more offensive talent players get more playing time as the season continues even if their defense fails to improve dramatically? If the offense struggles against better competition, will Barnes be willing to go to the younger guys, or be loyal to his veteran players (reminiscent to Mack Brown's decision-making a few years ago)? You would think an influx of talent would make the game easier for Barnes, but the expectations for this season and his decision-making on minute distribution and units will be a huge challenge to deal with throughout the year.
Like PB said, we did not do a good job in utilizing Pittman (only played 17 minutes), and these numbers show he was actually the most unproductive as far as +/- per minute goes. This is personally disappointing to me considering he didn't get into foul trouble, and only had 1 turnover. Before the game I looked at Western Carolina's roster and noticed a huge size advantage for Dexter, and yet we did a poor job taking advantage of it. How much of this is on Pittman (his defense, lack of confidence from other players in getting him the ball)? How much of this is on the players around him getting the ball? Does Barnes even want to revolve the offense around Pittman? Some could argue it is not a good idea because Dexy clogging the paint could take away the skill-set of some of our other players.
I liked that we didn't have a single rotation accumulate a negative +/- in the entire second half despite the game being in blowout mode the entire half. Are you watching this, UT football?

Five Things to Watch Against Kansas

2009-11-20T23:14:09Z

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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How will this weekend the recruiting efforts of the Longhorns? Though the big news of the week is Darius White's unexpected and resurgent interest in Texas and official visit on Saturday, Jackson Jeffcoat's visit is no less important. Seen throwing up a Hook ‘Em sign in his playoff game last week, Jeffcoat has kept his feelings under wraps throughout the entire process, leaving few hints about his leader board or potential plans. Unfortunately, his father won't be able to make the trip with him, as was planned for the Texas Tech game, but Jeffcoat will have a chance to see the Legion of Boom up close and personal and Muschamp will surely provide him an idea of how the Longhorns would use him as an edge pass rusher in the Buck package.

Prospects like Jeffcoat aren't generally concerned about the depth chart - he is rated as one of the best players in the country regardless of position, after all, but USC and Oklahoma, the other two schools likely in his top three, both offer less competition at his position. At Texas, Jeffcoat would be competing with Eddie Jones, Sam Acho, Alex Okafor, and Reggie Wilson for playing time next season, not to mention Dravannti Johnson, Russell Carter, and Dominique Jones. Given his pedigree and the coaching advice he has received from his father, the latter group is probably not particularly imposing for him, but the former group represents a significant number of talented, experienced players competing for two positions.

Jeffcoat will probably remain relatively silent after his visit, so it will likely be difficult to tell just how much of an impact his visit will make until he elects to make a decision and it's impossible to know when that might come. Right now, however, things look good for the Longhorns and the visit this weekend will be a great opportunity for the Legion of Boom to show just how dominating they can be and how appealing it is to be a part of that group.

As for White, the prospects for an official visit seemed unlikely just days ago, particularly after the commitment of DeMarco Cobbs -- it seemed likely only a matter of time until White would become a Sooner. The depth chart is still a critical factor in his recruitment and may eventually help land him in Norman, as might the commitment of long-time friend Rashod Favors to Oklahoma. There's also speculation that his stepdad, who just recently married his mother, favors Oklahoma as well, though that is of course speculation.

The key is that White contacted the Texas coaching staff to express his renewed interest, much like Cobbs did a little more than a month ago -- his contacting the coaching staff makes his feelings for Texas seem as strong and genuine as they have in months. In other words, the official visit moves White's recruitment in a much more positive direction for Texas than it has since his visit for a summer camp in June. Oklahoma may still be a slightly favorite, but it appears that the Longhorns are back in the mix with White.

Another important visitor is San Antiono Madison running back Aaron Green, a top target for 2011 and a player who has taken few visits this season. Madison lost last week in the playoffs to Lake Travis, providing an opportunity for Green to take in the final Texas home game of the season. The Longhorns have been mentioned more often in recent weeks by Green, who says he has a srong relationship with Major Applewhite, but it's probably the Texas scheme that Green will be most interested in this weekend.

In nearly every interview, Green mentions that he wants to attend a school that runs a "pro style" offense, certainly a vague statement, but whatever that really means, it's apparently extremely important for Green. Most likely it means that Green doesn't want to play in a shotgun, zone blocking scheme, but it's difficult to say. The Longhorns will probably run some from under center, as they did last week against Baylor, though it won't be a big part of the offense -- if Green is looking for a school that runs from under center, the game against Kansas probably won't help much in that regard. The good news is that Texas will probably tweak the offense next season with Garrett Gilbert and may return to an offense more closely resembling the one that Texas ran with Chris Simms than the zone read-based offense under Vince Young and that may appeal to Green.

Will Kansas rally around their embattled coach? The story of the week in college football in the increasingly hot seat upon which Kansas head coach Mark Mangino sits, as more and more stories emerge about systematic verbal abuse -- basically, Magino is not a nice person. At all. Though Mangino has tried to shift the blame to the parents of players and Mack Brown believes the current internal investigation by the Jayhawk athletic department will unite the team, that may not be the case. It's impossible to tell how the players on the team feel about the situation, but if the feelings of former players is any indication, things could be deteriorating radiply in the KU locker room. The current five-game losing streak only adds to that perception and increases the potential that the Kansas team could quit on Mangino.

If Texas gets out to a quick lead, will the Jayhawks fight back to help try to save their coach's job or will they hasten his increasingly-inevitable departure by quitting on the field? If the Jayhawks do give up on the game, their coach, and their season, things could turn ugly extremely quickly at DKR on Saturday night in front of a national television audience.

Will the 2009 version of the "Midget Revenge Tour" end any more successfully than the 2008 version? Regardless of how Todd Reesing feels about his head coach, and he might not be on the best of terms with Mangino given his benching several weeks ago, the former Lake Travis star is one player on the Kansas roster who will surely give his best effort on Saturday night. Passed over by the hometown Longhorns, Reesing has surely circled this game on his calendar ever since he got to Kansas and this will be his opportunity to prove his doubters wrong, both on the Texas coaching staff and amongst the general populace. Reesing faces the same problem that Chase Daniel faced last year in his efforts for revenge -- he's just too short and not good enough to succeed against the superior athletes of Texas. Rather than proving that the Longhorns erred in passing him up, the game will more likely prove that Mack Brown and his staff made the right decision by choosing not to offer the pint-sized quarterback.

Can Texas continue to build on the rushing success achieved against Baylor? Baylor wasn't exactly an elite or even average run-stuffing team, but the success of Cody Johnson and Tre' Newton against the Bears was a step forward, most notably for the play of the offensive line. Greg Davis simplified the number of running plays, repping the weakside zone, counter, and power repeatedly in practice against the different fronts and strategies they were likely to face against the Bears. It worked, as the offensive line missed fewer assignment than they had all season and the results were readily apparent.

Will Davis expand the rushing playbook against another poor run-stopping team in Kansas, or will the Longhorns continue to keep it simple? Can the offensive line perform well for a second straight week? One factor in the improvement may be the increased emphasis on drive blocking at times with the power play, which seemed to energize the offensive line, particularly the more physical players in the group like Michael Huey and Kyle Hix. Another week of successfully running the football could help allay continued concerns about Texas being unable to pick up critical yardage on the ground in a possible national championship game appearance.

Can the defense continue to force turnovers and sack the quarterback? An enduring image from last season was Reesing stepping in the bucket and releasing a duck into the frigid Kansas air faced with the intimidating rush of...Blake Gideon, perhaps the least physically intidimating player on the team. At barely 5-10, Reesing is susceptible to pressure in his face and may face a great deal of it against the Longhorns - standing behind an inexperienced and underperforming offensive line isn't exactly the safest place when going against the Legion of Boom. If Texas even approaches the level of pressure they put on Reesing last year, it will be a long and frustrating game for the diminutive senior, much like it was for Chase Daniel in his lone appearance at DKR.

A point of emphasis this week will remain stripping the football and, just as importantly, recovering the football afterwards. The Longhorns defense has missed out on two touchdowns -- one against Oklahoma and one against Baylor -- by failing to recover the football in or near the end zone after a forced fumble. Forcing and recovering more fumbles is really the last step towards the Texas defense fulfilling its potential as the best all-around unit in the country.

Battle for the Basement: Baylor at A&M

2009-11-20T21:44:25Z

More photos » by Rod Aydelotte - AP

The only reason this is even a question...

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On Saturday night, Texas will try to win the South with a victory over Kansas. But before the Longhorns even kickoff, the Baylor Bears and Texas A&M Aggies will be battling for the right to be the worst in the conference. A month ago, Scipio Tex and I bet a bottle of whisky on who would emerge as the worse of the two, and for all intents and purposes, it comes down to this game.

My bottle of whisky is on the Bears. Who ya got?

Poll

Who wins in College Station on Saturday afternoon?

Jayhawk Preview

2009-11-20T17:48:39Z

Thanks to Tully Corcoran, Topeka Capital-Journal, for the Jayhawk preview.

1. Pre-season talk had Todd Reesing in the Heisman mix, but he has struggled the past few games. Was that because of an injury or something else? What intangibles does Reesing bring to the position and the team?

Reesing has been playing with a groin injury which has affected his lateral mobility a little. For a guy like him, who likes to make those winding, bouncing scrambles in the pocket, it has taken away an element of his game.

But the groin injury isn't the whole problem. He's made some just plain bad decisions, which I think are, to some degree, the result of a guy who had an awful lot of pressure on him, especially when the defense was playing poorly early in the year.

That said, he's KU's spark plug. He's a great leader and his confidence permeates everyone around him.

2. Who are Reesing's favorite targets? How has Dezmon Briscoe performed this season?

It's been a down year for Briscoe, who along with Kerry Meier, is Reesing's favorite target. Briscoe has had a few more drops than he should. It hasn't helped that some of them would have been touchdown passes and one of them would have won a game at Colorado (it was a tough play, but one he would make most of the time).

I think his draft stock has taken a hit.

3. The offensive line really stepped in the Nebraska game and did a good job against Suh and Crick. What adjustments, if any, were made for that game?

There has been a lot of personnel shuffling along the offensive line, but it appears they found something with Jeff Spikes, a former tackle, at guard and Brad Thorson, a former center, at right tackle.

4. Talk about Jake Sharp and Toben Opurum. Are these two the core of the runing game?

Those are the two guys, but it's hard to tell if Sharp is healthy or not. He has a leg injury that took away some of his 4.3 speed and at this point it seems Opurum is the better back. He gets yards after contact and has enough speed. If it tells you anything, Opurum was offered scholarships by Notre Dame and Florida, although he was offered those under the assumption he would play fullback.

5. What are the overall strengths of the offensive unit as a whole? What are the weaknesses?
The strengths are that Kansas has an excellent quarterback and the classic combination of a big-play receiver and a possession receiver on the outside. The Jayhawks don't run it well and are only passable in pass protection, but Reesing, Briscoe and Meier are good enough to overcome that most of the time.

6. What have been the Jawhawks defensive struggles this season?

Stopping the run, especially late in games, has been a killer. And it seems like if you need an easy 15 yards, just run a go route on whoever KU's ~~right~~ left cornerback happens to be that week (there are three possibilities). He'll get flagged for interference half the time.

The defense is much better than it was early in the year, and has actually played well enough to win each of the last five games.

7. How are they at defending the run? The pass? Can the Jayhawks successfully pressure McCoy? Do they need to blitz, or will the typical two deep safety look with an eye on underneath routes do? How much success do you think they can have in any sort of man coverage?

First of all, I think man coverage would be a quick way for Jordan Shipley to go all Adarius Bowman on KU (you may recall a 300-yard receiving game by Bowman against KU in 2006) Kansas doesn't have the athletes to compete with Texas' receivers one-on-one, and KU has never played much man defense anyway.

While I don't expect McCoy to be pressured a ton, the Jayhawks have to decent pass rushers in Maxwell Onyegbule and Jake Laptad, so three or four sacks isn't out of the question. I think KU should blitz a lot, because it's obvious that lining up Texas' guys against Kansas' guys is not a fair matchup. Maybe blitzes can be a bit of an equalizer. I don't know.

8. What are the strengths of the defensive unit as a whole? What are the weaknesses?
The strengths are the ends I mentioned above, Onyegbule and Laptad, and safety Darrell Stuckey, who's an excellent player having a down year.

The weaknesses are the linebackers. I could give you a dozen different theories as to why they're the weakness, but suffice it to say they virtually never make any kind of play.

9. What are the key matchups?

I think implying there are pivotal matchups implies Texas should be concerned with anything other than Texas, which I'm not sure is the case.

Briscoe is the most talented player on KU's roster. He'd be a starter anywhere in the league, I think, including Texas. He's a first-day NFL draft pick, most likely. And he had 269 yards at Oklahoma last season. So he's the most dangerous guy from a UT perspective.

10. What do the Jayhawks need to do to beat the Horns?

Win the turnover battle by at least two, maybe three, while also not having anything disastrous happen on special teams.

In most games, you'd say Kansas would fare better if the score got into the 30s, but in this case I don't think KU wants any part of a shootout with Texas. The best case scenario for KU is that it gets a pick six or whatever early, maybe gets another turnover in the first half and goes into the fourth quarter with a 10-7 lead or something.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 20, 2009

2009-11-20T09:00:13Z

Colt McCoy is just one win away from history.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy does not recall every detail from his initial conversation with coach Mack Brown about McCoy’s opportunity to become the winningest quarterback in NCAA history.

But he does remember one name that surfaced during the discussion.

"When coach Brown told me I was close to passing Peyton Manning, that’s what caught my attention," said McCoy, who has won 42 games as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback, three more than Manning managed in his career at Tennessee (1994-97).

It looks like the Heisman race is coming down to three players.

Colt McCoy, in third place, continues to trail the Southeastern Conference duo of Mark Ingram and Tim Tebow. The Alabama running back nabbed five first place votes, the burly Florida quarterback two.

The challengers to the Big Three continue to get picked off, one by one. Last week, it was Houston's Case Keenum, who went the way of Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen and Miami's Jacory Harris.

The Acho brothers: Impressive, talented and hard to tell them apart.

If you squint a bit from the stands of Royal-Memorial Stadium, Sam Acho and his kid brother, Emmanuel, look almost like the same player.

After all, Sam, the Texas defensive end, is wearing No. 81. Emmanuel, the versatile linebacker, is 18.

"I almost get confused when watching us on film," Emmanuel said earlier this week as the third-ranked Longhorns prepared for Kansas.

The Horns secondary is very stingy.

"[We’ve gone] from getting picked on to nobody looking your way," Curtis Brown said. "It’s a good feeling but a boring feeling at the same time. It’s getting to the point where it’s a hard decision which side you want to throw to."

It’s becoming more difficult for opposing quarterbacks. The Longhorns are giving up just 181.9 passing yards per game (22nd in the nation), down from 259 a year ago. They’ve also intercepted 19 passes, compared to just six in 2008.

The Austin American-Statesman picks their top five Longhorns of all time.

The graduation rates for men's athletics are lagging once again.

The NCAA released its annual Graduation Success Rate report Wednesday, and the University of Texas' football, baseball and men's basketball programs did not get high marks.

For the four classes that entered from 1999-2002 — and in each case were given six years to graduate under NCAA guidelines — only 49 percent of Longhorns football players earned their degrees. None of the 25 schools listed in this week's BCS rankings, where Texas sits at No. 3, had a lower rate.

This should make you feel better.

Oklahoma's football team had the worst graduation rates in the Big 12 under the most recent data released by the NCAA.

According to figures released Wednesday by the NCAA, only 45 percent of the football players who enrolled at Oklahoma between 1999 and 2002 earned their degrees within six years. That period coincides with coach Bob Stoops' first four years as the Sooners' head coach.

Looking for gifts for that special Longhorn?

Basketball

The Horns beat Western Carolina.

"They really get after you defensively," Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. "They don't make it easy on you."

At the other end, though, Texas (2-0) committed an unsightly 21 turnovers and missed 13 of 31 free throws.

Coach Rick Barnes said the Longhorns emphasized defense in practice earlier in the week.

"That's all we talked about," he said. "Obviously, we didn't talk about offense enough. We made it a whole lot harder than it needed to be."

Storming The Floor had a saucy game rap up:

Texas 73 - Western Carolina 41

Rick Barnes got to go deep into his bench for this one. We learn by making mistakes, and this game had plenty of those: freshman guard J'Covan Brown got laid out on a hard screen at one point, and had six turnovers to go with his 10 points. Stud newbie Avery Bradley shot an airball on his first try and finished with 4 points on the night. But where better to screw up and live to tell the tale than a blowout? Damion James was his usual assertive self, with 18 points, 7 boards, and a 2-3 evening behind the arc. Harouna Mutombo was the leading scorer for the WCU Catamounts, with ten. He also had one blocked shot; no word on whether he wagged his finger in the no-no gesture.

Where Dexter goes, so go the Horns.

Barnes mentioned high expectations he has for Pittman. Things he’s not prepared to go public with right now. Should Big Dex live up to them, Texas’ already decent chance of being in the Final Four this season will soar.

Pittman literally has worked his rear off to get where he is today. But it has become evident through UT’s first two games that he’s also worked on his inside game.

J'Covan Brown is a work in progress.

Brown is one of the hardest workers on the squad, according to his teammates. Prior to Sunday’s game, he showed up three hours early to practice his shot. On Wednesday, Texas was scheduled to begin its pregame shootaround at 3:30 p.m., but Brown was there an hour beforehand and had a sweat going by the time Barnes walked down to the floor.

"The kid loves the game. He loves to play," Barnes said.

Perhaps all of that extra work is paying off for Brown. His turnovers are up, but so are his points and his minutes. For now, he is the team’s starting point guard — a role that is his to lose.

When I searched YouTube for Texas A&M OU 2009, this is all I got for A&M highlights. Well, at least the band played well that day.

Lots of frustration in College Station. Mike Sherman has to curtail the blowouts.

Mike Sherman's final game as a Texas A&M assistant was memorable — for all of the wrong reasons.

Texas 51, A&M 15 in 1996 offered a fan base accustomed to winning a jolt — and the Aggies' worst loss of the R.C. Slocum era to that point. Slocum vowed his program, 6-6 in the first year of the Big 12, would improve. It did, winning the South Division the next season and its lone Big 12 title the year after.

As this decade winds down, however, the rarity of the '96 UT debacle has become more of the norm, as A&M fans have endured a slew of blowouts the past seven seasons.

The Cornhuskers and Wildcats are getting giddy. The excitement is building for Saturday's North showdown.

Sometime before Saturday night's Nebraska game, Kansas State kicker Josh Cherry might need a chill pill.

Emotions already are high over a matchup that will decide the Big 12 North champion and K-State's bowl eligibility.

Now, add in that Cherry is from McCook, Neb., and grew up as a rabid Husker fan with his room decorated in wall-to-wall red.

"This game has so much riding on it,'' he said. "And then going back home and playing in front of so many friends and family, it's going to be unreal. I don't know if I can get enough tickets."

There is no way you cannot like Bill Snyder.

During each road game, he encourages players to leave thank-you notes for the hotel housekeeping staff.

"Treating people with respect," Gregory said. "It goes a really long way."

That’s what Snyder wants his team to project.

"He takes pride in us being men of character," Gregory said.

The Mangino death watch continues. Former players are coming out of the woodwork to talk about their experiences playing for Mark Mangino.

For Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino, the hits just keep on coming.

Among the allegations made by players interviewed by the Journal-World included:

Near-daily verbal attacks on players, in some instances involving personal matters that athletes felt went well beyond the boundaries of a player-coach relationship.

• Verbal abuse of assistant coaches, including a 2008 incident in which Mangino threatened the job of defensive coordinator Clint Bowen.

• Failing to disclose player injuries to the detriment of the team’s athletes.

• Players who left the program at least in part because of the negative environment they were subjected to.

• An incident during the 2006 season in which, according to former linebacker Joe Mortensen, Mangino put his hands on then-running backs coach Earle Mosley after one of the team’s running backs had failed to pick up a blitz during a game. Mosley later left the program and now coaches running backs for the New York Sentinels of the United Football League.

You know this isn't good. The player's parents are organizing.

KMBC's Karen Kornacki has learned that there are at least 20 families of current and former players who have been compiling information and will turn it over to the school during this investigation.
Some of the parents said that they have been documenting evidence of Mangino's temper over the years. They claimed that he has shown himself to be mean-spirited, vindictive and angry.

Mangino is sure the probe will clear him.

"I run this program with a lot of integrity," Mangino told the Kansas City Star without confirming the nature of the probe. "I have been in this conference for nearly 20 years, and what I can tell you is that our coaching intensity is not largely different from the rest of the Big Eight and Big 12 teams I've observed."

Rumors, rumors, rumors. No one really knows Dan Hawkins' fate.

Stoops vs. Stoops. Bob could meet Mike in a bowl game.

An Oklahoma-Arizona bowl game, matching the Brothers Stoops, is not out of the question. If both teams finish strong, they could meet in the Holiday Bowl. If both stumble, they could meet in the Sun Bowl.

Bob Stoops was saying the other day that he preferred not to play Mike’s Wildcats but it wouldn’t be a big deal.

The Big 12 just proposed a power grab.

One thing you have to like about the new bowl eligibility proposal introduced earlier this month by the Big 12: There's no ambiguity about it at all. Just raw, naked power being exercised for the good of the exercisers.

In other words, let's just call it the Baylor Bill and get it over with.

Dan Beebe, the Big 12 commissioner who introduced the idea to a shocking lack of national reaction, thinks it would be a grand idea if the bowl requirements for BCS teams would be lowered so that a 6-6 BCS team could take a bowl game spot from a seven-, eight- or even nine-win non-BCS team. Why? So that Baylor could go to the Motor City Bowl, I guess.

Sports Illustrated polled Big 12 fans. Here are the results.

History remembers only the brilliant failures and the brilliant successes. -Randolph S. Bourne.

Franchione would be one of those brilliant failures. Dennis Franchione to UNLV?

Franchione's name has emerged as a leading candidate for the vacant job at UNLV, according to the Rebel Nation blog published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

According to the blog, sources indicated that Franchione has already inquired to school officials about the vacancy, created when Mike Sanford was fired earlier this week.

I got an annoying Twitter account just to follow these morons. The BCS is on Twitter.

"The SEC is revered to the point of being ridiculous," Jerry Palm said.

SI's Andy Staples doesn't have anything else to write about? He has mapped out TCU's BCS title chances.

And finally...

Condolences to Georgia fans. Uga VII died of heart-related causes.

Nebraska Previews Kansas State

2009-11-20T03:55:58Z

Thanks to The Elusive Shadow for the questions and the guys at Corn Nation for the Nebraska analysis.

1. Kansas State has had trouble stopping the pass this year. Can Nebraska take advantage of this, or do you think the Huskers are better off concentrating on the run?

Mike: Nebraska's had problems passing this season, mostly against BCS competition. Some blame goes to Zac Lee, but most of it goes to the wide receivers, who weren't trying to get open, weren't running good routes, and then dropping the ball if they managed to do the first two things right. Two receivers got busted down to the scout team, and have been replaced by tight ends, a JUCO transfer (Brandon Kinnie), and a redshirt freshman who plays center field for the baseball team (Khiry Cooper). So while this week might be an opportunity to work out some kinks in the passing game, Nebraska should concentrate on the run primarily.

JLew: I think the Huskers will do what they did against KU, use the run to set up the pass. Get Lee going early up the confidence, then go play action as needed. I think that against the Cat D-backs even NU's receivers should be able to get open. Niles Paul had a really good game against KU, showing some of the potential that we thought the had, look to him to continue to develop.

Corn Blight/Jon J: The Husker offense finally clicked against Kansas, so what we’ll be watching for is consistency in running the ball, and Niles Paul on the play action. Look for Roy Helu to have 150 yards rushing and a couple touchdowns.

2. Daniel Thomas is one of the leading rushers in the nation. How worried are you that he can have a big day against Nebraska's defense?

Mike: Slightly, as I think the Blackshirts have been burned at times by running backs. Problem is that most of that is because teams like Arkansas State and Texas Tech tried to run out of the spread and were able to exploit large gaps. Thomas concerns me more if he operates out of the Wildcat formation as a passing threat.

JLew: I think NU will be ready. KSU keeps it simple. I think they are going to try and run right at NU. Without a passing attack NU can key on the run.

CB: Nebraska has one of the best run defenses in the nation, so they should handle KSU’s run game. Kansas caused problems with misdirection, and Todd Reesing did his best impersonation of his old self running quarterback draws and extending pass plays scrambling. KSU doesn’t have Reesing, and only one threat at receiver, so our defense shouldn’t have much problems with the Wildcat offense regardless of what they do.

3. What do you think Nebraska should do about return man Brandon Banks?

Mike: Make sure he's returning kickoffs only.

JLew: Have a safety plant him coming across the middle.

CB: Tackle him deep in his own territory? One guy that hasn’t been mentioned here is Husker kicker Adi Kunalic, who’s third in the nation in both touchbacks and touchback percentage. Banks can be neutralized by not allowing him to have the ball (Captain Obvious!).

4. Any other area of concern against Kansas State?

Mike: I'm more concerned about Nebraska playing well. This is a team that should have beaten Virginia Tech on the road and did beat Oklahoma at home. Kansas State is second in the conference in turnover margin, and they can make the Huskers pay for any mistakes.

JLew: Like Mike says take care of the ball, don't get too excited for Senior Night and let the game come to them.

CB: That Bill Snyder uses his Jedi mind powers to convince Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson into running all spread plays with three or four receivers, resulting in way too much passing, dropped balls, turnovers and a short field for Kansas.

That and I’ve heard rumors that KSU geneticists are working hard on a solution to keep Snyder alive forever.

5. If Nebraska wins, what do you think their chances are against Texas?

Mike: If you look just at the record, you'd have to say not good. But the Big XII Championship Game has not been good to national title contenders. James Brown and the flu ended Nebraska's dreams of a third straight national title in 1996. In 1998, Texas A&M took out Kansas State. In 2001, Colorado knocked out Texas to clear a spot for Nebraska in the Rose Bowel. In 2003, Kansas State shocked the college football world by dominating consensus #1 Oklahoma. Add in how strong Nebraska has been defensively this season, you never know what might happen.

JLew: A punchers shot. The great thing about having a D like NU's is that you have a chance in every game. Pelini's teams improve throughout the season, and peak at the right time. Last year NU ended the year with a great win in the Gator Bowl. Let's just say that payback for 1996 has been mentioned a time or two among Husker fans.

CB: Ask me after the Kansas State game. Right now I don’t care what we may or may not do against Texas. It’s that chickens and hatch thing.

Kansas State Previews Nebraska

2009-11-20T03:38:22Z

Thanks to The Elusive Shadow for the questions and Bring On The Cats' Tye Burger for the Kansas State analysis.

1. How worried are you about Nebraska's defense?
Nebraska's defense is highly concerning, to say the least. They're good against the run, which is the only thing we do moderately well on offense. On the flip side of that, it's not like we were planning on beating Nebraska by getting into a 42-35 shootout, either. Against Nebraska's defense Saturday, it's much more important to me that we not turn the ball over and at least pick up a few first downs to get our defense some rest. We won't win this game with long, sustained drives; we will win if we get some turnovers or big special teams plays that flip the field for us. For our offense, it's more about not losing the game rather than going out and winning it.

2. Kansas State has had success stopping the run but not so much stopping the pass. Does this give you confidence that you match up well against Nebraska's offense?
Certainly more confidence than if our strengths and weaknesses were reversed. Nebraska is pretty solid on the ground when Roy Helu is healthy, but Zac Lee and his receivers haven't exactly been a blowtorch burning opposing defenses this season. We need to be able to slow Helu down without committing eight defenders to the box, so we can drop back and try to get Lee to force some throws. If we can force some turnovers, we have a chance in this one.

3. Besides Roy Helu Jr., what offensive player should K-State be most worried about?
I'll go with Niles Paul. When he's catching the ball, he's a big threat (see, e.g., 4th quarter against Missouri). He's a pretty good receiver who hasn't had a great season due to some inconsistencies. If he's on, we'll have some trouble with him. The other threat is tight end Mike McNeil. We haven't faced a lot of offenses that rely on their tight ends, so it's something we'll have to prepare for, and I'm not ultra-confident in our linebackers.

4. Any other area of concern against Nebraska?
In a word, Suh. He's the kind of player that could single-handedly shut down our offense or force backbreaking turnovers. The other concern is playing on the road, where we haven't won this season, unless you count when we played Iowa State in Kansas City.

5. If Kansas State wins, what do you think their chances are against Texas?
I'd say they're about as good as they were in 2006 and 2007.

Thursday Night Open Thread: Buffs at Pokes

2009-11-20T00:23:54Z

Zac Robinson is a game time decision. For obvious reasons:

More Thoughts on Texas' Win Over WCU

2009-11-19T19:47:03Z

More photos » by Erich Schlegel - AP

Browse more photos »

Continuing with thoughts on Texas' 73-41 win over Western Carolina.

REVIEWING THE KEYS

Foul control. [Grade: A] Texas went inside to Pittman on its first two possessions, one resulting in a made basket, the other in a foul by Richie Gordon. By halftime, Gordon had picked up two more fouls, while Big Sexy had drawn just a single foul. Of course, by halftime it was also apparent it wouldn't have mattered much if it had been otherwise, but hey, it's good seeing Dexy play with good body control.
Guard composure. [Grade: C] Texas' guards seemed to maintain a roughly 1:1 ratio of good to bad offensive possessions, finishing the night with 20 turnovers, struggling at times with the length of WCU's guards.
Don't settle. [Grade: B-] Post entry remains an issue for most of the guards, although Rick said in the post-game that the team focused exclusively on defense after the UC-Irvine game, prompting him to say he wasn't surprised by the sloppy offensive showing.

PLAYER NOTES

Damion James [29 mins, 4-9 FG / 2-3 3P / 8-10 FT, 18 PT, 7 REB (2 OR), 2 AST, 3 TO, 1 STL, 1 BLK]

Another very solid night for James, who is back where he should be -- near the rim for most of the game. He's playing strong on the interior and, outside a couple missed lay ups, giving Texas exactly what we need from him. I absolutely love the way we're looking for him on alley-oops. His hands and dribble still present some limitations, but those have greater implications for his future at the next level. If he's hitting 20-foot jumpers as he has been so far early on, he becomes an even more valuable asset than he already is.

Dexter Pittman [17 mins, 4-6 FG / 0-0 3P / 1-4 FT, 9 PT, 6 REB (2 OR), 0 AST, 1 TO, 0 STL, 0 BLK]

This was a tough game for Pittman, through no fault of his own. As mentioned above, the team apparently spent little to no time working on offense leading up to the game, and it showed. Once Texas got a comfortable lead and it became clear the frenetic style wasn't going to provide much for Pittman, Barnes mostly rested him. Fine by me.

J'Covan Brown [21 mins, 3-3 FG / 2-2 3P / 2-2 FT, 10 PT, 3 REB (0 OR), 3 AST, 6 TO, 0 STL, 0 BLK]

My oh my does he have a smooth scorer's stroke. Playing much more calmly last night, he was mostly solid, with two beautiful post feeds that suggest he can be more than a scorer only point. The turnover rate will probably remain high throughout the year, but Texas will live with them if he's adding 3-4 dimes a game to go with the 10-15 points he looks capable of contributing. We're so deep he may not get the chance, but he's capable of filling it up for 25 on a hot night.

Justin Mason [23 mins, 0-1 FG / 0-0 3P / 0-0 FT, 0 PT, 4 REB (0 OR), 1 AST, 2 TO, 0 STL, 0 BLK]

No, that stat line is not pulled from a box score from last year. Mason's defense remains solid, but it's not special. As Hamilton and Bradley bring their games along, it's just going to be impossible to justify 20-25 minutes a game for Mason. He's a great kid and a terrific warrior, but the mostly empty stat lines are more the norm than exception.

Varez Ward [25 mins, 4-6 FG / 0-1 3P / 2-6 FT, 10 PT, 2 REB (1 OR), 0 AST, 1 TO, 3 STL, 0 BLK]

It's nice seeing Ward come into his own on the offensive end of the floor, where he's learning to put his superior toughness and athleticism to use in getting to the rim as a scorer. He can score 10 points a game all year if he starts to hit his free throws. That said, he's still raw and at times seems uncertain running the halfcourt offense. I like what he adds, though, and think he'll continue to progress throughout the year. He's a big asset against some of the longer, athletic teams we'll have to beat to achieve our goals.

Gary Johnson [19 mins, 4-4 FG / 0-0 3P / 2-3 FT, 10 PT, 7 REB (2 OR), 0 AST, 1 TO, 0 STL, 1 BLK]

It was Gary's best game in a while, turning in exactly the kind of performance we need from him -- some aggressive offensive play in the block, strong rebounding, and quality, physical defense. Without any creators last year, Gary struggled trying to get it on his own; it'll come to him this year, and if he stays within himself and ready, he'll get his.

Jordan Hamilton [14 mins, 2-7 FG / 1-5 3P / 0-0 FT, 5 PT, 6 REB (1 OR), 0 AST, 1 TO, 0 STL, 1 BLK]

He's settling offensively right now, but I've seen enough of him with the ball in his hands to see whats ahead for him. Now having seen him for two full games, he's got better handles than I anticipated and while he needs to add upper body strength for his game to get where it's eventually going to go, he can pick up points near the rim right now. He's quick, fluid, and lonnnnnng. I'd love to see him start working his offensive game inside-out, and when he's mismatched against a shorter guard, we can iso for him. Defensively, he's trying, which is good, but you can see he's having to concentrate -- this is more than he's used to.

Dogus Balbay [20 mins 0-3-6 FG / 0-0 3P / 1-2 FT, 1 PT, 4 REB (0 OR), 3 AST, 3 TO, 0 STL, 1 BLK]

The Dogus has sort of become for me what Chris Ogbonnaya once was: an important contributor who most underrate and I love a little too much. I'm fine with that, and his game will prove us both right, at varying times. If he were just a little bit better with being decisive as a creator on offense, he'd be a true force, but as is, he's our best on-ball defender, and an uncanny blur with the ball in his hands. His limitations with being decisive and translating his skills into buckets will keep him from being a guy that demands 30+ minutes a game, but I don't see him getting any less than 20, and he's a critical player for us, especially in the early going while the freshmen get up to speed.

Alexis Wangmene [11 mins, 1-2 FG / 0-0 3P / 2-2 FT, 4 PT, 4 REB (1 OR), 0 AST, 0 TO, 0 STL, 1 BLK]

The theme continues: he's got so much room to improve within this season. The strength and length are exceptional, but he's choppy and uncertain out there right now. He's just getting back into the flow of full-speed, full-contact basketball, and once he fully acclimates, he'll be a terrific 15 minute per game complement to Big Sexy.

Avery Bradley [17 mins, 2-4 FG / 0-1 3P / 0-2 FT, 4 PT, 0 REB (0 OR), 1 AST, 1 TO, 2 STL, 0 BLK]

From the pre-season roundtable: "I've developed quite a habit of scavenging rabidly for online videos of AB and the three things that stood out that elevated my excitement from enthusiastic to out-of-control were: (1) the quality, but even more than that the intensity, of his defense; (2) what Jay Bilas might call Rise-a-bility or Hop-tuitive-ness - an explosiveness in his leaping that allows him to finish 50% more buckets than any mortal his size would; and (3) his competitiveness and eagerness to seek out, and conquer, challenges."

As is true for this team for a whole... we haven't seen anything yet...

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 19, 2009

2009-11-19T07:00:13Z

Colt McCoy has a lot of people who thought he couldn't hack it at UT. And those were his friends.

Colt McCoy left the tiny town of Tuscola with dreams of being Texas' next great quarterback. Lingering below the self-confidence were words that stung his heart.

Too small. Too slow. Weak arm.

Those were his friends saying that.

Great small-town player, they said, but Texas and the Big 12 were places for the big boys, not a player from the lower divisions of high school.

"I had people in my town, friends of mine, people real close to me saying that I would never be able to play here," McCoy said. "They see a guy like Vince Young or Ryan Perrilloux. Everybody thought I was awesome in high school but that's just from our town.

"I definitely used that as motivation," McCoy said. "I still do to this day."

ESPN's Richard Durrett profiles Chris Hall. Did you know he is an ordained minister?

Mark Mangino on the Longhorns:

"Texas is an outstanding team, an excellent football team. No weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball. They feature a great quarterback in Colt McCoy. He can beat you throwing and he can beat you with his feet. Their defense gives you looks, moves around, they have a really impressive defensive line, outstanding linebackers that run sideline to sideline and really an excellent secondary that plays the ball well and also tackles well. It’s a challenge to go down to Austin, but we’re looking forward to going down there and playing very well."

Basketball

Rick likes the smart ones. Of all the freshmen that played against UC-Irvine, Shawn Williams was the most impressive.

Shawn Williams didn't have a star-in-the-making moment like other Longhorns freshmen did in their debuts Sunday.

He didn't swoop in for a blocked shot or make a slashing drive for a basket like Jordan Hamilton. He didn't convert two steals into fast-break dunks like Avery Bradley. He didn't make three three-point baskets like J'Covan Brown.

But the 6-foot-6-inch Williams impressed Texas coach Rick Barnes nevertheless in the season-opener against UC Irvine.

"I thought Shawn Williams did the best job of taking care of the details out of all the young guys," Barnes said. "He's a very cerebral player."

One of the challenges this season is managing the depth of talent.

"We talk about flow. How do we maintain the flow?" Barnes said. "We’ve got a group of guys who understand what we need to do, and when we go to the bench, it’s up to the guys who come into the game to maintain that flow."

Does Mike Sherman think his defense has improved?

His answer: sometimes.

"There were times in that [Oklahoma] game, watching it and then watching the tape, where we're wrapping guys up, we're more physical, we're reacting quicker," Sherman said. "We'll have two good plays and then we'll give up a big play.

"So do I see at times us playing great defense? Yeah, there are times I do see that. There's also times I see us not. The consistency is more what is lacking."

What to do? The Aggies have quite a dilemma. Do they wear pink to the Baylor game and support breast cancer research or not? Opinion is running rampant on Texags.

When asked if Oklahoma was his last coaching stop, Stoops replied:

“Oh, who knows? I’m not that old, I guess. I haven’t reached 50 yet. So, who knows what’s in store, you know?”

A certain Oklahoma City sports writer is worried about the Aggies.

Only one top-shelf school seems prone to losing its coach to another school. Alabama lost Bill Curry to Kentucky in 1989, though Bama was trying to kick him out the door, and then lost Dennis Franchione to Texas A&M in 2003, when it most certainly didn’t want to lose Fran.

A&M can be sneaky. The Aggies got Franchione from Alabama, Jackie Sherrill from Pitt in 1982 and Bear Bryant from Kentucky in 1953.

A&M, that’s who schools like Oklahoma ought to worry about. Not Notre Dame.

Mike Leach to Louisville? Dennis Dodd is thinking the same thing.

The latest from the coaching rumor mill is that there is a mutual interest between Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and Louisville.

It is almost a certainty that Cardinals’ coach Steve Kragthorpe will be relieved of his duties after this, his third season. Louisville is 4-6 with games left against South Florida and Rutgers. It needs to win those to have a chance to go bowling for the first time since 2006. Kragthorpe is 15-19 at Louisville.

Tim Griffin thinks Mark Mangino's old-school ways have gotten him in trouble.

Mangino is a good coach. But his story is a cautionary tale for all in his profession.

In today’s world, coaches can’t berate players like they used to. Physical contact is an absolute no-no.

Mangino appears to have trouble adapting to those societal changes. His career is in serious jeopardy because of it.

Another sports writer thinks it is all about the record.

If Kansas fires football coach Mark Mangino, it will be about one thing: he’s losing. The stuff you’re hearing about Mangino now — he has a foul temper, he bullies his players, he has a history of throwing tantrums after receiving parking tickets on the campus — were all true when he led KU to a 12-1 record two years ago. It was the best season in Kansas history, and I don’t recall any talk about Mangino’s hot-headed manners, or how shabbily he treated others. But Mangino has lost 5 games in a row, and and the Jayhawks are at the bottom (1-5) of the Big 12 North standings, and they play at Texas on Saturday, which means another massacre is coming.

The Sooners are leaders in sickle-cell testing.

One of the biggest issues in dealing with players who have sickle cell is that a sickling episode may look like it’s heat-related, especially since intense and prolonged physical activity can cause them. Knowing that a player has the sickle cell trait is the best way to avoid a problem.

Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State test for sickle cell.

Earlier this year, the NCAA recommended schools test for sickle cell, but it stopped short of making the testing mandatory.

Ndamukong Suh doesn't like that cutesy stuff.

It’s certain Suh is excited to take on a Kansas State offense that likes to play smash-mouth football.

“They definitely want to come downhill on you, which is great for me,” Suh said. “That’s my type of football, not the cutesy stuff that we see the majority (of the time) in our conference with the spread offenses.”

Gary Patterson lives in a fantasy world.

Upon further review, even after TCU's demolition of Utah barely registered on the BCS' Richter scale, Gary Patterson remains resolute.

With no more chances left to impress, he's still content just to be in the conversation.

Still happy with the system.

Still buying the fantasy.

"If we can win two more," he said Tuesday, "and somebody were to slip up ..."

Hey, Gary. Wake up, pal. It's not just one "somebody" you need help with. It's two.

Either Florida or Alabama will slip up, but not both.

And that still leaves Texas, which isn't likely to lose to Kansas, Texas A&M or whatever the Big 12 North offers as a sacrifice.

The BCS does not do refunds. Ivan Maisel wants his money back.

I want my money back.

It is the third week in November -- the traditional beginning of rivalry season -- and the best game is No. 11 Oregon at unranked Arizona.

The National Championship Issue looks at the relationship between the BCS and money.

The reality is that there are some teams that have more fans and bring in money no matter what they're doing on the field, and some teams that could win big every year but still not see many fans (respectively). Two good examples are South Carolina and Boise State. Between 2002-2008, the Gamecocks were 44-41, going 8-5 in their best season; the Broncos were 70-8, going 9-4 in their worst season. But in terms of attendance, South Carolina averaged 80,000 per game while Boise State averaged just 30,000 per game. Quite the difference.

So who you think bowl executives would rather have playing in their game?

Texas Overwhelms Western Carolina 73-41

2009-11-19T06:20:22Z

More photos » by Erich Schlegel - AP

Browse more photos »

I have extensive player notes to post tomorrow, but non-sports life got in the way this evening and it's too late for me to get 'em all up now. For now: Another convincing win in which Texas just overwhelmed a vastly outmatched opponent -- tonight, Western Carolina, 73-41. A Cliff's Notes preview of tomorrow's discussion:

We're really damn good right now, but what's most exciting is that this team is just scratching the surface. I'd take Texas -2 over Kansas right now, but given my impression of the two teams' ceilings, give me Texas -6 in March.*
J'Covan Brown was calm, cool, and collected... And very, very impressive.
We're going to see Brown's high-impact on this team before we see, in order, Bradley and Hamilton's. Avery will get there soon, Hamilton by year's end. When all three are no longer freshmen in February -- you won't want to play Texas.
The halfcourt offense has a ways to go still. We utilized Big Sexy terribly tonight.
You are seeing why I said in the preseason that, amidst all this talent, Dogus will surprise and will demand minutes. Especially as freshmen take some time to get going, he's an important player for us. He'll be a bit less so by March, but he's hugely valuable to us in several critical components of the game.
The way we can just run swarms of subs, and mix-and-match lineups -- without dropping off in quality -- is going to allow us to just overwhelm every team but the top 20 or so in the country. Among the best, we'll win if we're on the right side of average, and even some nights when we're not.

More tomorrow. Hook 'em

* And yes, I hope Kansas fans see this, and react to this. Not because I want a chest-thumping war, but because I think this is our rival in basketball. Rick Barnes and Bill Self see it the same way, and I'm all for it. The Texas-Kansas back-and-forth over the last 6 years has been the best kept secret in college hoops, and I absolutely love that we have a powerhouse like Kansas to constantly measure ourselves against. They're smart fans: I think they see it, too. This should be the most fun season to date.

Game Preview & Open Thread: Western Carolina at Texas

2009-11-18T23:56:16Z

Game #2: Western Carolina Catamounts (1-0) at No. 3 Texas Longhorns (1-0)

8:00 p.m. * Frank Erwin Center * Austin, TX

TV: ESPNU / Radio: 98.1 FM, 1300 AM

Opponent Preview

The Catamounts visit the Drum four days after opening their season with a 65-41 victory over St. Catharine College and on the heels of a 16-win season in 2008-09, good for the North Division crown in the Southern Conference. The Catamounts are entering their fourth season under head coach Larry Hunter, returning their entire starting lineup and a deep, experienced roster overall--five seniors and four juniors, all recruited by Hunter during 2005-06.

Seniors Brandon Giles, Brigham Waginger and Jake Robinson compose the core of the experienced returnees, but the team's leading scorer a year ago was freshman Harouna Mutombo (14.5 points, 4.6 boards per game), last year's Freshman of the Year in the Southern Conference. And yes: that Mutombo (nephew), although he's a 6-4 guard with a smooth set jumper and an emerging ability to pop it off his own dribble.

The Catamounts are far more capable of matching up with Texas' imposing physical strength than was UC-Irvine, though their top frontcourt players -- Jake Robinson (6-8, 205), Richie Gordon (6-8, 240), Kendall Russell (6-6, 205), and Blake Gallagher (6-8, 245) -- still lack a true center who can deal with someone Dexter Pittman's size. What they lack in brute strength they make up for in athleticism and excellent length among their guards, which enabled Western Carolina to pull down offensive rebounds on 37% of their own misses a year ago (37th best, nationally).

Which brings us to the other thing the Catamounts do well with their athleticism and length on the perimeter: create turnovers. Last year's squad forced opponents into turnovers almost one out of every four possessions (23.1%, 29th nationally), and in this year's opener versus St. Catharine's they forced 25 (8 steals). Starting at guard alongside the 6-4 Mutombo are Brandon Giles (6-6, 200) and Brigham Waginer (6-2, 175), making for a long, athletic backcourt that does a great job getting into passing lanes and forcing bad angles and tough passes.

Keys to the Game

Foul control. As a freshman Dexter Pittman fouled 10.3 times per 40 minutes. As a sophomore he cut that down to 6.3; last year it held steady at 6.5, even as his minutes shot up. If tonight's game is going to be a competitive contest, the Catamounts absolutely must have Richie Gordon out there for 25-30 minutes, but last year the sophomore hacked a troubling 7.6 times per 40 minutes, and racked up 4 fouls in 12 minutes in the opener versus St. Catharine's. If Big Sexy can keep up his excellent work of late with fouls, while getting Gordon into trouble, Texas is going to present overwhelming frontcourt problems for WCU. If, however, it's Pittman who hits the bench with foul trouble while Gordon stays on the floor, things could stay interesting.
Guard compsure. Tonight's game presents a great little test for Texas' young guards, as they'll face a long, athletic perimeter that will test their ability to play smart, composed basketball, using timing and spacing -- rather than dribbling -- to create a nice flow in the offense.
Don't settle. Texas has a decided edge in frontcourt strength and overall talent, but WCU is an experienced team with a backcourt comfortable playing a sloppy, up-and-down game. It'll be interesting to see how Texas' guards react to a team that wants to run-n-gun and whether they'll have the patience and discipline to stay within what's there, willing to slow things down and make the extra passes to ensure Texas gets a good look in each halfcourt possession. If Texas is throwing up long jumpers early in the shot clock, we'll be playing WCU's game, rather than them ours.

Prediction: Texas 76 WCU 55

Blog Poll Submission Week 11: Sleeping Through the Alarm Edition

2009-11-18T16:04:16Z

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Florida
2	Alabama
3	Texas
4	TCU
5	Cincinnati
6	Georgia Tech
7	Boise State
8	Pittsburgh
9	Ohio State	6
10	Iowa	1
11	Oregon
12	Oklahoma State	4
13	LSU
14	Penn State	3
15	Stanford
16	Rutgers
17	Virginia Tech	5
18	Miami (Florida)	8
19	Southern Cal	5
20	Wisconsin	1
21	Houston	9
22	Nebraska	3
23	Arizona	5
24	Brigham Young	1
25	Oregon State	1
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Utah (#19), South Florida (#20).

Cry about it.

(I moved Arizona down, but I actually forgot to submit this until about 1 minute before the deadline, so I didn't have time to do anything else. Can't think of what I would have done, actually.)

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 18, 2009

2009-11-18T04:08:14Z

Colt McCoy is back in the spotlight again.

Colt McCoy, ever the team-first kind of player, finally has discovered a record he can set that totally involves his Longhorns.

"I want to win. That's a goal of every quarterback," McCoy said Monday.

And if he's victorious Saturday at home against Kansas — Texas is a prohibitive 28-point favorite — he'll break the career victories record for Division I-A quarterbacks.

If we lose one game, are we still going to Pasadena?

If Texas loses, it's out. No, a one-loss Longhorn team doesn't get the benefit of the doubt in a bad year for the Big 12. If Cincinnati runs the table, it's at the top of the pecking order with wins at Oregon State, Rutgers, and Pitt. When all is said and done, if UC runs the table, it'll likely have beaten seven bowl bound teams and two teams in Rutgers and Putt that will likely end up 10-2.

D.J. Monroe broke curfew. And then there is that sticky issue of a DWI.

What idiot asked this question?

Texas coach Mack Brown was asked Monday about the possibility of playing TCU and declined to deal in hypotheticals, saying his team was focused on Kansas. But he did have high praise for TCU coach Gary Patterson.

"Gary Patterson has done as good a job of coaching as anybody in the country," Brown said. "They do a tremendous job recruiting and they coach and they've been as consistent as anybody in America."

One more story about friendship and roommates.

McCoy and Shipley, who both use a Remington 270 rifle, use hunting as their respite from the rigors of class, practice, travel, games, etc. They'll take up positions in separate stands and hours will pass without a word spoken or a shot fired.

Kansas Jayhawks

Well, it won't happen this Saturday. One more win and the Jayhawks are bowl eligible.

What about the first three? Kansas is focusing on the fourth quarter.

On the heels of a four-game stretch in which his team has reserved some of its worst play for the fourth quarter, Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino said Monday that the focus going forward will be making sure the Jayhawks figure out a way to buck their recent trend.

“One of the things that we need to focus on is being able to make stops in the fourth quarter and being able to score some more points in the fourth quarter,” Mangino said during the Big 12 coaches teleconference. “Because that’s been an issue.”

In the past four weeks, the Jayhawks have given up 53 points in the fourth quarter — while scoring just 17 — and wasted a number of promising opportunities in the process.

Things just keep getting worse in Lawrence.

Mangino insisted he has not lost the support of his players but suggested that may not be true of others on campus.

"I haven't lost the team, not one bit. I may have lost some people around here but it's not players," he said at his weekly news conference.

Asked if Mangino had lost the support of his team, or at least parts of it, Reesing said emphatically, "No. Not at all."

The Kansas City paper is reporting that the problem started with an altercation with a player.

Kansas football coach Mark Mangino poked senior linebacker Arist Wright in the chest during a practice before a game at Colorado, triggering an athletic department investigation of Mangino. sources told The Star on Tuesday evening.

Rock Chalk Talk has a Texas-Kansas Matchup Breakdown.

The Battle for the Bottom is on this Saturday. The Aggies play the Bears in College Station. The pressure is on because there are bowl implications for both teams. Art Briles:

"Yes it does take on more importance and thankfully so. I welcome the challenge of these bowl implications that are involved because that's why you play. I think if you asked me that and I said no, I wouldn't be honest, but it certainly does. It's always going to be a big game because it's in your state, a rivalry and they're 80 miles down the road. But you add a bowl game to it and it makes it even better."

The game has turned into a heated rivalry.

The two schools are separated by only 84 miles as the crow flies along Texas State Highway 6.

Baylor and Texas A&M have been longtime rivals, playing a 99-game series that predated their memberships in the Southwest Conference. Both joined the Big 12 together in the continuation of a bitter rivalry that has been played yearly since 1945.

It may not seem as heated now as in the past when Grant Teaff squared off with Jackie Sherrill or later, R.C. Slocum. Even the Guy Morriss-Dennis Franchione rivalry developed into a good one with some barbs thrown from both sides on both sides.

Tech is still a little upset about that loss to OU last season.

"The thing I remember the most about that game is when the Kris Kross song 'Jump' came on, there were 80-year-old women getting out of their wheelchairs and jumping up and down," Tech offensive tackle Marlon Winn said. "The whole stadium was jumping up and down, and it was just demoralizing. ... That just always sticks with me, so in practice this week I'm working to get that taste out of my mouth."

I'm not sure you ever get that vision out of your head.

Mike Gundy and Dan Hawkins are on completely different paths.

Mike Gundy is a coach of the year candidate, and Dan Hawkins could be a dead coach walking.

Raise your hand if you saw that scenario coming in December 2005.

Bob is staying in Norman.

Mid-November. Leaves fall. Weather cools. Pumpkins bust. Bob Stoops rumors fly.

Here we go again. It happens every autumn. Stoops is going to Notre Dame. Or Michigan. Or Florida. Or the Denver Broncos.

Some day, a rumor will turn true. But not this one. Not Notre Dame.

"There’s not even a job (open) at Notre Dame," Stoops said Monday night. "That’s ridiculous. Some guy makes stuff up."

Barry Tramel suggests Notre Dame talk to Barry Switzer.

In real life, Switzer had little chance of drawing Notre Dame’s interest. The Irish are not in the habit of hiring rogues. But he would always listen.

"Tell them to call me," said Switzer, 72 years old and 12 years out of football. "Tell them I can beat Navy."

One of Bob's finest recruits. Language NSFW.

Remember Josh Jarboe? The Sooners could have used him this year.

That DWI doesn't look so bad now?

A fourth Tennessee football player has been charged with breaking the law in the last two weeks.

Nyshier Oliver is facing a charge of shoplifting. The 18-year-old freshman defensive back was cited at 1:45 p.m. on Nov. 7, a few hours before the Volunteers hosted Memphis. He is scheduled to make a court appearance on Nov. 23.

TCU's Gary Patterson is not going to lobby for votes.

TCU coach Gary Patterson has no plans to lobby for votes and a spot in the national championship game if his team ends the regular season undefeated.

Patterson believes that all the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West) can do to prove themselves is play well. If that’s not enough, he figures campaigning won’t really change anything.

"Do you think it would do me good to politick to play for a national championship?" Patterson said Tuesday. "All I can do to change people’s minds is the play on the field."

Shocking. There is very little diversity in the leadership positions in Football Bowl Subdivision schools and conferences.

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida released the report Tuesday. It found that for the 362 campus leadership positions studied, more than 91 percent of the officials were white.

The report examined positions such as conference commissioners, school presidents, athletic directors, faculty athletics representatives and head football coaches. It found that white men made up 77.5 percent of presidents and 82.5 percent of athletic directors.

Are congratulations in order? The BCS has a new executive director.

Defending the Bowl Championship Series and trying to convince critics that it is the best way to determine a college football champion has to qualify as one of the toughest jobs in America.

Bill Hancock now has that job.

Hancock, the former director of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, was selected Tuesday to become the first executive director of the BCS.

And finally...

Today is the tenth anniversary of the Aggie Bonfire collapse. Our thoughts go out to Texas A&M and the families of those that lost their lives.