Football Articles
Holy cow. So what am I supposed to say about this one? Let me try to think of a few things…
In its history, the Texas football program has gone up 35-0 over quite a few opponents. At least, I imagine it has – I frankly don’t have time to do the research, but you have to believe there have been more than a few such non-contests in the history of a program that has won four national championships and fielded dozens national top ten teams.
But let’s be honest here – most of those games were against crap opponents. I’m pretty sure, for example, that Texas scored the first 35 points against TCU in 1974, on its way to an 81-16 final. The 1974 Horned Frogs weren’t getting anyone’s votes for inclusion in any national Top 25 polls. So, you know, it’s not quite the same thing as we saw on the field in Austin Saturday night.
Missouri’s a good football team. Yeah, they were probably overrated during their weeks in the national Top 5, but they’re a good football team, and a very good offensive team, capable of putting up points on anyone in big chunks. Their defense is not great, but is populated with talented individuals, some of whom will be playing on Sundays soon.
And yet, there the Longhorns were, sitting on a 35-0 lead late in the second quarter of Saturday’s much-hyped clash of the supposed titans, a game prior to which at least half the ostensible “experts” across the country picked Missouri to not only play Texas closely, but actually win. How did that happen? Simple: the Longhorns played the best half of a football game ever played against a quality opponent by a University of Texas football team. Is that a hyperbolic statement? I don’t think so.
Have we scored more points in a half than we did Saturday? Sure, several, though not many, times. Can you go back in history and find better statistical defensive halves than the first half we played Saturday? You bet, but try to find one that was played against as potent an offensive team as this Missouri bunch. Go ahead, I’ll wait right here.
And while you’re at it, try to find such a defensive half that was matched by an offensive performance similar to the one we saw from the Texas offense in the first two quarters of this game.
While you’re searching in vain for such a game in Texas Longhorn history, let’s go to the Good, Bad and Ugly.
First, the UGLY:
………………………
Ok, next the BAD:
……………………… ahem, ummmm, wellll – oh yeah!
- The Fightin’ Texas Aggies. They’re bad. Really, really bad. But if you watched their game with Tech yesterday, you saw the Aggie offense move the ball pretty effectively against the Red Raiders’ vaunted new defense. The Longhorns’ trip to Lubbock still sets up as a tense night on the schedule, but Tech looks less and less menacing as the weeks and unimpressive wins over unimpressive opponents roll on.
- Oklahoma’s linebacker situation. Seriously, they lose one starter in the Texas game, and suddenly they’re stuck playing two former safeties and a freshman at their linebacker slots? What the hell? Isn’t OU supposed to be the program that has quality depth at every position? Isn’t Texas supposed to be the program that has had a shift in recruiting philosophy that has led it to take 2nd tier mystery players the last few years? Yet another indicator of how the fortunes between the Texas and Oklahoma programs have shifted since 2004, and how you have to take everything spouted by the “experts” with a big dose of salt.
But to hell with a bunch of Okies, let’s go to The GOOOOOOOD:
Lessee here…where to begin? How about….
- Isn’t it fun watching the kids grow up? Seriously, watching this year’s Longhorns has been similar in many ways to being a proud parent watching your kids take their first steps, learn to talk, and quit crapping in their pants and peeing on the furniture. The early season joy was largely focused on defensive infants like Earl Thomas, Blake Gideon, Curtis Brown, Chykie Brown and Sam Acho. Last night the focus began to shift to the offensive side of the ball, as Brandon Collins had his first big game in a Longhorn uniform, Malcolm Williams made a huge 32 yard TD grab to give Texas its early 21-0 lead and Dan Buckner and James Kirkendoll began to get more involved in the offense. You could see the future of this program out on the field last night, and it appears to be a very bright future indeed. Heck, Fozzy Whittaker even made a late-game appearance, which can only be a positive indicator for the rest of the season.
- Let the Heisman hype really begin. Colt McCoy came into last night’s game as the nominal leader in pretty much all of the Heisman polls, but you felt like the leering press was still pretty skeptical of his true standing as a candidate for this award, and a slip in his performance in this huge, nationally-televised matchup would have moved him right off that perch. No problem – Colt simply had what was arguably his best game of the season, going an almost unbelievable 29 of 32 for 337 yards and 2 touchdowns. He came into the game with a season completion percentage of 79.4, and actually raised it against a nationally-ranked opponent for the second straight week. So the mood of the leering press towards Colt will now switch from skepticism to adoration, and Colt’s challenge will be to not start believing his own press clippings. He appears well-equipped with the humility and temperament necessary to handle this latest challenge.
- Setting the tone. Just like in the game against Arkansas, the defense set the tone for this game early. On its first play from scrimmage, Missouri tried the same thing Arkansas tried – a reverse to its wide receiver, who in Missouri’s case is the stud Jeremy Maclin. When Arkansas tried this, Brian Orakpo stayed at home and stuffed the play for a four yard loss. When Maclin got the ball, it was Roy Miller who demolished the poor guard trying to block him and slammed Maclin to the turf for a loss of seven. You might as well have called the game then.
- Pressure, pressure, pressure. The Longhorns’ front seven pressured Chase Daniel throughout the first half, throwing him off his stride and completely disrupting Missouri’s passing game, including its much-vaunted screen passes, which our guys repeatedly read and stuffed. Missouri ended the game with 31 points, but not a single one of them came at a point when they would have mattered.
- Yes, Virginia, there is a Longhorn running game. If this does become another championship season, we will be able to look back at season’s end and point to the key factors that made it happen. One of those keys will without question be the emergence of Chris Ogbannaya as a reliable and difference-making every down running back. After kicking around this program virtually unnoticed for four years, Ogbannaya has suddenly become one of the most critical cogs in the machine. Last night was just another day at the office for Chris: 68 yards on the ground on 13 carries, and another 68 through the air on 6 grabs. The team as a whole cobbled together 203 rushing yards, which played a large role in enabling the offense to hold onto the ball for more than 36 of the game’s 60 minutes.
- Defensive standouts: The leading tackler on the night was – guess who? – Rod Muckelroy. This is becoming very repetitive. Blake Gideon had a studly performance, but the whole secondary was just outstanding when it mattered in the first half. Daniel, Maclin and Chase Coffman got to work on their stat lines in the final two quarters when nobody cared. Sergio Kindle made several huge stops, and continues to improve weekly. The D-line made it clear to Missouri’s offense very early that attempting to run the ball was an exercise in utter futility. It’s hard to find individuals to name here when the entire unit performs as well as the Texas D did in this game.
- Offensive standouts: The usual suspects – Colt, Quan, Shipley, Ogbannaya - all had outstanding nights. The aforementioned infants contributed mightily. But we need to also recognize the tremendous job the offensive line did in this game. Coming on the heels of another standout performance against Oklahoma, it’s time this line gets some recognition as one of the best in the country. And only one of them is a senior. Hooboy.
- Special teams. There wasn’t a whole lot of punting going on for the Longhorns in this one, but John Gold’s two efforts gave the team a 13 yard advantage over his Missouri counterpart. That’s become repetitive as well. The placekicking was perfect, the punt coverage was fine, and the kickoff coverage was poor. Nothing has changed. Overall, we continue to win this phase of the game against every team we face.
- Defensive Player of the Game – Rod Muckelroy, again. He is just so good at playing his position. A true stud.
- Offensive Player of the Game – Colt McCoy, with an honorable mention to the entire offensive line.
- Special Teams Player of the Game – John Gold, again.
So the juggernaut continues to plow through the gauntlet. Next up is Oklahoma State, another tough home game. Oklahoma State is a very similar team to Missouri: Explosive offense, a good but not great defense. QB Zac Robinson is not quite the player Chase Daniel is, but he’s good enough and has plenty of weapons at his disposal to move the ball on any defense. Dez Bryant is every bit the stud WR that Jeremy Maclin is. OSU’s defense is, if anything, probably a little tougher than Missouri’s.
Does any of this matter as far as the game’s ultimate outcome? Not if the Longhorns show up ready to play the game from the first play to the last, as they’ve done seven times in seven tries this year.
This is a tough schedule, no doubt; perhaps the toughest regular season lineup any Texas Longhorn team has ever had to face overall. But here’s reality: There is not a team remaining on this schedule that is capable of beating Texas when Texas plays well. That’s how good the Longhorns are at this point, in every phase of the game.
Taking that statement further: There is not a team in this country, with the possible exception of Southern Cal, that is capable of beating Texas when Texas plays well. Had we played Alabama yesterday, we’d have whipped them by two touchdowns. Penn State? Same outcome. Oklahoma? Been there, done that. LSU? Wouldn’t score ten points on our defense. Florida? Ok, maybe the Gators belong on the short list with Southern Cal. Maybe.
The first seven games of this season represent a tribute to the incredible focus and dedication the Longhorn players have invested, and the tremendous job of planning, preparation and in-game coaching Mack Brown and his staff have performed. This team was, by all rights, supposed to be a year away from greatness. When you asked anyone close to the program in August, they’d invariably tell you that 2009 was going to be ‘our’ year.
Well, ‘our’ year has come a year early, folks. Greatness has made an unexpected arrival. This Texas team is clicking on all cylinders and performing at every bit the level that the 2005 Longhorns achieved.
The task now before the players and coaches is to maintain the humility and laser-like focus on the opponent at hand that has brought them to this point, and will allow them to avoid the one-week letdown against a capable opponent that could result in the unexpected loss. There’s still a hell of a lot of tough football left to be played, but you have to like this team’s chances right now of at least getting to the Big 12 Championship Game and winning it. Once that is accomplished, the rest of it will likely take care of itself.
There has never been a better time to bleed burnt orange.
Hook ‘em!!!
Share This
43 Responses
Leave a Reply
Related Articles
-
21
Texas Longhorns Offense Against Missouri: Football is hard
By HenryJames on October 28th, 2009 -
14
Matchup Preview: Texas Longhorns @ Missouri Tigers
By Huckleberry on October 20th, 2009 -
77
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Texas 41, Missouri 7
By EyesOfTX on October 25th, 2009 -
9
Missouri OC Dave Christensen to become Wyoming’s head coach
By HenryJames on November 30th, 2008 -
17
Missouri owes all their success to Texas
By HenryJames on October 16th, 2008
Activity
-
Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 10 seconds ago
colorado ag, Utah State is as athletic as Nebraska. You’ll be fine as long as they don’t go 16 for 31 from three.
Siena, on the other hand, is going to beat you like you stole something. Maybe not, but the Saints should win.
-
Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 3 minutes ago
Great article Scipio. Also, thanks for the dime.
Looking at the Tournament futures market, Vegas is telling us what they think about Onuaku’s health. The Orangemen have the easiest region and road to the fianl four, yet they’re +700 to win it all, while UK and Kansas, teams with much tougher roads, are +250
-
Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction 8 minutes ago
My brackets are pretty much locked down except the South. Can’t get myself to take Baylor, and Duke doesn’t feel right. Nobody seems to be high on Nova. It’s all about the Big East and Big 12 this year.
It’s a crying shame we suck so bad. We are in a good
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
James commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 19 minutes ago
Scip, like a peaceful Indian in the 1800’s, I never trust a Mormon that can shoot. Utah State has me worried.
If we escape the first weekend, things get very interesting with a potential Sweet 16 match-up with Duke. Ugly up the game and guard like hell on the perimeter in front of a
-
Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 49 minutes ago
CJD -
Possibly. However, I’m telling you – the beauty of these intergame lines is that when you see that all-too-familiar big early game lead that you know will evaporate down the stretch as soon as the team starts regressing to their 3 point shooting mean, there’s some money to be made.
-
Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 51 minutes ago
uthookem-
I’d say you have your priorities straight.
colorado -
Anytime. How far do you think the Aggies go? A lot of people think Utah State is the most dangerous pure shooting team in the tournament.
-
uthookem commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 1 hour, 1 minute ago
Last year in Vegas, Friday morning, stumble to the line at 8:30 to make my bets, put $20 on a four-team parlay on the four 9:00 am games, nailed it! Three of the four games’ spread was determined in the final 0:30. Walked away with $220.
Yeah, so what if that is the only
-
James commented on the blog post Sending Aggies to the NFL 1 hour, 2 minutes ago
Jordan, all just wild, premature conjecture. I’d hedge that only a third of that 2013 list ever makes an NFL roster. It is picking which third that is the tough part.
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
James commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 1 hour, 5 minutes ago
Very interesting piece. These games can’t start soon enough. Thanks, Scip.
-
Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction 1 hour, 15 minutes ago
I have:
Syracuse
Kansas
West Virginia
BaylorThese will all likely change 3-4 times before tomorrow morning.
I don’t have as high an opinion of Ohio State as you do. Evan Turner is fantastic, but I don’t like their odds of taking down Georgetown and KU back-to-back.
Baylor scares me. They have no idea what
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Final Four Prediction 1 hour, 19 minutes ago
Arinze Onuaku’s injury has forced me to turn this year’s bracket prediction into a “Multiple Endings” story. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not hyper-geeks playing Dungeons and Dragons here. We may be wasting billions of dollars in worker productivity, but we’re not killing Orcs with plus 10 vorpal swords of magic.
So, in
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: The Definitive Bracket: 63 Guaranteed Winners! 1 hour, 24 minutes ago
But only if you call now! I’ve gone 85 percent against the numba for the last two decades!! So picking straight up winners is, bada-boom bada-bing, easy! Only Sammy “the nose” Pistachio and Billy “buttercups” Birmingham can approach this many winnaz! It’s ridiculoso, hermoso!!
Call now and we’ll throw in an opening round N-I-T super-dupa live dog
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Making it Official: Tighter Officiating’s Effect on the Tournament 1 hour, 25 minutes ago
Awesome write up.
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Scipio Tex wrote a new blog post: Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 1 hour, 32 minutes ago
So I’m listening to Bill Simmons’ podcast and he has on Chad Millman, Vegas Insider. Basically, Chad’s job is to interact with the guys who set the line, professional gamblers, sharps, and wise guys. He had some interesting comments about the tournament:
By the end of the year, markets are fairly efficient as
-
Bob Jones commented on the blog post Math… Everyone’s favorite subject 2 hours, 23 minutes ago
As a Baylor fan I loathe math: it’s either inexorably against us or when favorable, completely inapplicable.
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Making it Official: Tighter Officiating’s Effect on the Tournament 3 hours, 5 minutes ago
Should have that up soon, ts.
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Nate Heupel wrote a new blog post: Oklahoma Sooners – Recruiting So Far 3 hours, 5 minutes ago
I was reading a thread on OUInsider whining about how a beat writer for a UT website seemed to favoring UT recruits. Get the hell out of here with that nonsense. Next, you’re going to tell me that Oklahoma sports media coverage is slanted towards OU.
While Ketchum’s rankings seemed to be
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
J Rog commented on the blog post March Mad(nba)ess! 3 hours, 11 minutes ago
EVERYTHING would be different. Great post!
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
James commented on the blog post Two Loops & A Hooey – Herm Edwards Edition 3 hours, 13 minutes ago
ha, nice Tim burn.
I was wondering where you went Ded. I got sick of looking at the same article everyday for 2 weeks. I’ve been up to Taos a few times this season, but it’s not that far from ABQ. I am absolutely convinced that everyone in Texas has been to Angel
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Brownbear commented on the blog post Math… Everyone’s favorite subject 3 hours, 38 minutes ago
Atleast I was wearing flannel when I wrote it.
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
admin commented on the blog post Math… Everyone’s favorite subject 3 hours, 49 minutes ago
Same source or just similar facts: http://fantake.com/forums/topic.php?id=876#post-5197
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
admin commented on the blog post Bracket Analysis: The Beasts of the East 3 hours, 52 minutes ago
I think I’m riding the Huggy bear to the Final Four.
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
ursa major commented on the blog post Math… Everyone’s favorite subject 4 hours, 3 minutes ago
“in the history of baylor basketball this has never been in discussion”
except for that pesky final four appearance we made…
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Sancho commented on the blog post All Signs Point to March Madness Expanding to 96 Teams 4 hours, 7 minutes ago
I just had diarrhea in my pants thinking about how many horrible teams would allowed to play
-
Sancho commented on the blog post 2010 Football Schedule Released 4 hours, 11 minutes ago
8-4 would be pretty good, 9-3 would be stellar, in fact quite amazing. I still say we are two years away from having an impact year in college football, though.
On another note, the game against tech is gonna be on ESPN. Time for SMU to step it up on the national stage again.
-
Luke commented on the blog post Want to plant my feet on Rampart Street… 4 hours, 18 minutes ago
I won’t lie, the newly fashionable take as the Bears as a Final Four team sorta scares me. I think we do better as an underdog. maybe that’s jsut because I am so used to us being an underdog. Either way, I am f’in fired up . All of s sudden,
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Vasherized commented on the blog post Beat the Barkers NCAA Tourney Bracket 4 hours, 33 minutes ago
This is an equal opportunity bracket.
-
Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Making it Official: Tighter Officiating’s Effect on the Tournament 5 hours, 8 minutes ago
Great article, Kevin. Really interested to see if Nova is in fact reborn or if there is something more deeply seeded there.
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Brownbear wrote a new blog post: Math… Everyone’s favorite subject 5 hours, 20 minutes ago
It’s the most wonderful time of the year basketball fans. The madness of March has returned and the field of 65 is set. Whatifsports.com is excited to follow-up its NCAA basketball predictions of 2008 (Kansas) and 2009 (North Carolina) by accurately predicting the 2010 NCAA basketball champion. Their award-winning college basketball simulation engine has “played” the NCAA
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
-
Raoul Duke commented on the blog post Bush Paves the Way for Henderson? 5 hours, 24 minutes ago
All fine answers, PB. Like I said, I had no idea who they were but clearly you do.
Keep up the great stuff.
NBMisha said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:05 am
I guess today is the day we finally just pust aside the small imperfections we see here and there and just celebrate the greatness that this year is.
A great night to be at the game. My wife reminded me that our entire section rose and sat in unison, only sitting in the timeouts.
Thanks again for this weekly potion.
imaghost said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:12 am
In the preview for this game Scip listed the Maddening Crowd as an X factor. I’m surprised to see you didn’t include the Horns fans in the Good section. I’ve never seen the stadium that full and fired up BEFORE kickoff. As soon as Roy Miller buried Maclin on the reverse that game was over. The stadium shook, every player on the defense had adrenaline leaking out their ears and I’m pretty sure Chase Daniel crapped his pants. Everyone in the stadium was on their feet screaming the entire first quarter. That was Good.
EyesOfTX said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:13 am
Yeah, there are still some imperfections, and plenty of stuff to work on, but I’d have been a damn fool to focus on any of those after this win. Our coaches and players sure have a lot less to work on improving than any of our opponents or possible opponents do.
HenryJames said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:14 am
We just need to find a way to convince the alumni on the west side to come back to their seats after halftime.
Chunk Daniel Truffle Shuffle said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:23 am
That was the loudest game I have ever been to at Texas stadium. The crowd’s reaction was telling for me; we were disappointed that the D could not hold Mizzou to a shutout in the first half. Your sense of total awe, and the feeling of something special is basically shared by all.
The coaching staff has done an amazing job this season. For this year at least, I can call myself a Greg Davis fan…
Great post as always Eyes, and there certainly is no better time to bleed burnt orange. Not to get ahead of myself, but the excitement, magic, and success from this football season could easily carry over to a talented and well coached basketball team.
Tim said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Good stuff. I’d start it with the ugly but good nonetheless. Keep it up!
honkskillet said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Very nice. I would only add OU to the list of teams including USC and Florida who could beat Texas on an evening when we play a clean game. Don’t get me wrong. Texas is the better team. But if we played well and OU played perfectly then they could certainly prevail. I only mention this because not that many things have to go wrong for an OU vs UT MNC match up, as distasteful as that would be.
dedfischer said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:27 am
How overrated is Sean Weatherspoon? Dude, Texas just showed Mizzou why Daniel, Sulak, Hood, and Spoon didn’t get offers. The Spoon looked stiff in space, poor diagnostics, and just flat-out slow.
horncasting said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Great writeup as always, Eyes. I’ll add:
Good
-Davis’s aggressive playcalling carrying over from the OU game. Our offense played to win from the first snap and really only had one sub-par series – the first one in the second half.
Bad
as in Bad MF – Muschamp after Missouri’s first TD. During his tirade walking the defense back to the bench he actually took some swings in the air and scared the shit out of a girl handing out Gatorade that got in his way.
dedfischer said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:31 am
The only thing I can say on behalf of the Tech defense is that the run defense against the Aggies was the performance I’ve ever seen out of a Tech unit. Maybe it had more to do with the OL problems of A&M, and I’m sure it did. The soft zone coverage in the first half is another story. Unfortunately, this is Texas’ specialty at exploiting.
horncasting said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Also, I was glad to see the coaches acknowledge our poor kick coverage early and use the short-high kickoffs. Then when Missouri started adjusting by bringing Maclin up, we boomed it over his head.
AngeloHorn said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:37 am
All peopleon the Eastside that continually gripe about the west side attendance need to take a strol over to the west side and look back at the east. The east side upper deck was at MOST 2/3 full AT KICKOFF. And only 3/4 full by the end of the 1st quarter. After half, the entire east side had more than plenty of room to stretch out and move around. IT’s that way every game, so let’s let this one die.
53 Veer Pass said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Never a better first half, as you point out. However, I don’t particularly care to play Mizzou again. When they’re on, they can score on us, and I don’t think we run out to a 35 point lead in the Big XI championship game.
steven said:
October 19th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Half-witted opinion here: Whatever we need to do, whether it is teaching him how to block or catch, Fozzy needs to get into the game more. Sure, we could probably run the table up til the MNC game without him, but, with him, assuming the other aspects of his game aren’t utter abortions, our O will be able to take up to another gear. As far as running the ball is concerned, he seems to be ten times better than any other back we have in the rotation. Like I said before, there is a good chance that he ends up as our best back since Ricky. I haven’t seen much of the little fellow, but everytime I’ve see him run, it just screams mad talent to me.
When you consider the addition of him as well as the general youth of this team, I don’t think we have come close to peaking or playing our best game yet. As the season goes on, as a general rule, I look for this team to become noticeably better. This O, with Fozzy running the ball regularly, would just make a laughing stock out the D’s in this conference. He would turn Obannaya’s and Mcgee’s 3 or 4 yards gains into 20 or 30 yard gains with regularity, I suspect. Just imagine that. We probably would not even have to sweat to put up 50 on any D left on the schedule.
As far as Bama is concerned, I got to watch them a bit yesterday. I can’t say if we are really better than them or not or even whether they are even the best in the SEC, but I do doubt that they make it out of the SEC without a loss and especially if they are missing Cody in middle. But I still wouldn’t want to play them in the MNC if they made it out alive.
I wouldn’t put too much stock in their struggles with Ole Miss. From what I could tell, Ole Miss, this year, has a damn fine football team. I suspect that only Texas in the B12 right now has more NFL talent this Ole Miss team. Jevan, if he played in the B12 would probably be considered the 3rd best QB, if not higher. The kid has talent and probably a better arm than either Colt or Bradford.
And I don’t care about their record. If Old Miss was in the B12, they would most definitely be the 3rd best team in the entire conference, and, at this point in the season, there’s a good chance that they put a beat down on OU’s team at present. That Ole Miss win was a legit win for Bama.
And I’d rather play a USC team than a top flite SEC team. I haven’t seen much of USC other than the midget OSU linemen pushing them around on both sides of the ball. If that was no fluke (and I don’t see how it could be considering it is line play) then USC’s physicality is questionable and probably much overrated. If true, they would be a better matchup for us that one of those top flite, very physical SEC teams.
Ugly Personified said:
October 19th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I liked the extended, overly close congratulatory embrace and ear whispering after the game.
Nothing says college football more clearly than that.
hopefulhorn said:
October 19th, 2008 at 8:30 am
We really are witnessing something special here. The last time I remember a first half like that against a decent opponent was in ‘05 when ranked opponents Colorado and Tech both got embarassed early and often. Difference was that was almost expected of that team. You had the sense that they could (and probably would) go off at just about any time. Another difference is that this season’s Missouri team is a lot better than the ‘05 CU and Tech outfits.
The comparisons between that team and this one (to date–long way to go) end right there. The ‘05 did it with outrageous talent, starting (but not ending) with Vince. As Mack has said, that team could be sloppy and still win big.
This group is talented, to be sure, but no more so than a number of Mack’s other Texas teams. What sets this team apart, as you point out, is focus, chemistry and leadership. This combination produces amazingly consistent effort and execution.
This is the best coaching staff that Mack has assembled with the additions of Muschamp and Applewhite panning out better than we had hoped. Muschamp’s intensity and work ethic have transformed the entire program. His technical proficiency has utterly transformed our LB play. He took a talented but fundamentally shaky group, obviously drilled them relentlessly, and then turned them loose. The biggest laugh of delight for me last night (in an evening of giggles) was watching our linebacking. Big league pursuit speed followed by nasty hits grounded by solid positioning. Yeah!!! Good for the football-loving soul.
On a more subtle level, I think Applewhite has been a tremendously positive influence on Greg Davis and on Colt McCoy. He and Davis have always gotten along really well philosophically. The play-calling and game-planning have been much more aggressive and creative pretty much every time out this fall, playing to our strengths and exploiting whatever weaknesses we find in our opponents. I think the synergy between them is very strong.
Colt has always shown an inner Applewhite in terms of dedication, poise, toughness and competetiveness. I have wondered if Major saw in Colt a bigger, more athletic version of himself and subtly played Pygmalion with suggestions and encouragement. All three of them are clearly on the same page. The result is Colt putting up ridiculous numbers that aren’t easy against air.
So, let’s all take it game-by-game, play-by-play just like this remarkable team has been doing all season. What a ride.
zyzzybalubah said:
October 19th, 2008 at 8:31 am
“Bad
as in Bad MF – Muschamp after Missouri’s first TD. During his tirade walking the defense back to the bench he actually took some swings in the air and scared the shit out of a girl handing out Gatorade that got in his way.”
If that scared the little Gatorade chick, then she has no business on the sideline. A football sideline is a dangerous place. Gatorade chicks beware.
Vasherized said:
October 19th, 2008 at 8:34 am
“Our year has come a year early.”
That pretty much sums it up. Well said Eyes.
And I can verify that DKR was as packed and as loud as I’ve ever seen it – first time we’ve really packed in the new stadium and given it a test drive.
That first half was surreal and sublime. A video clip of it should be loaded in wikipedia’s entry for Texas Football. Complete and total domination. Nearly flawless execution in all phases of the game.
Too bad Cosby didn’t reel in that catch.
zyzzybalubah said:
October 19th, 2008 at 8:35 am
…In fact, if it takes us assigning Gatorade chicks all up and down the sideline for Muschamp to beat the hell out of every time the other team scores. Then let’s do it. Grab some of those guy cheerleaders and let him massage their tonsils with his knuckles.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Muschamp is the primary source of our success this year.
JDLooneyII said:
October 19th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Spot on assessment of the 1st half. After giving up 31 in the 2d half, though, let’s not start sucking each other’s di**s just yet.
Kafka said:
October 19th, 2008 at 9:07 am
steven:
I was a big fan of jevan when he was at UT but what struck me when I was watching him is how little he has improved from his freshman year compared to how much Colt has improved.
Jevan has the potential to turn into a great pro prospect. The problem is that Houston Nutt doesn’t have the greatest track record for developing QBs. At this instant, Jevan does not rank in the top half of Big 12 South QBs. Colt, Bradford, Harrell, the Baylor QB, and probably the OSU QB are all more productive college QBs at this instant. This is not to say that Jevan is chopped liver but he just needs more coaching and experience to develop his abudnant potential.
UT matches up well with Alabama. Alabama’s O strength is the running game and that is UT’s D strength.
alabama wuld not know whether to shit or go blind when confronted with UT’s short passing attack. I don’t care how good the alabama pass rush is, they are not going to get to Colt in time to stop a 6 yard pass. When they over commit to stop the short pass, they are going to get burnt (orange) by longer passes.
I’ve always thought that most of the SEC passing attacks were, for the most part, a bit embarrassing. they have QBs who can’t throw and receivers who can’t catch. Their offenses, for the most part, are backwards.
Did you read what Muschamp said about SEC passing attacks? You should. Will said that QBs in the Big 12 are (except for a couple of schools) superior to the SEC QBs.
Texas high school football is superior because of superior (expensive) coaching, excellent athletes, and the off season 7 on 7 programs. The Big 12 offenses benefit from all those great Texas high school QBs that have been well trained in spread offenses before they ever set foot on a college campus.
I don’t get your obsession with the SEC. If you are an SEC lurker, be up front. This is one site that isn’t that harsh with lurkers.
lowery said:
October 19th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Great write up eyes. What a pleasure it was watching that game.
As far as Bama goes, I graduated from there, and have seen every down this year. Ole Miss is decent, but Bama is not a top ten team. Kafka is right about the short passing, and it will be MUCH worse without Mt Cody. They went right into a 4-3 without him. This is all despite the fact that they can’t seem to put two halves together god dammit.
Anyways….Ive never been more proud of a Texas team in my 32 years. They all seem to just get it. It is so fun watching the youngsters grow.
lordarg said:
October 19th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Great write up, I thought that Colt did a great job at reading the blitzes and throwing to collins, it just shows how much more advanced he is at reading the coverages. I also enjoyed the Texas defense making sure that the first legal midget would not win the Heisman
Kafka said:
October 19th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Eyes:
Nice writeup.
OU has the right idea by moving safeties to LB. Speed kills and you need plenty of speed at LB in the spread era. The problem for OU in losing their MLB was primarily emotional and intellectual leadership (I think).
Brandon had a breakout game but did anyone doubt that Brandon had the ability to run routes and catch passes? GD won’t play a WR if he can’t catch the ball well. The striking thing is that colt/GD trusted Brandon enough to throw the ball his way so much. that is really going to make it tough to double Quan/Ship.
In the same vein, it was so encouraging that Colt threw 6 passes to his TB. Awesome! Dump passes work, throw them whenever you feel like running.
Can we all finally agree that as long as colt is surrounded by guys who can catch the ball, colt should:
* no longer do any planned runs
* do ad hoc runs only when absolutely necessary
* get down/out of bound as soon as possible when he does run
It is absolutely crazy to risk Colt’s health by running unnecessarily. His running should be confined to running for his life (as necessary) and rollouts and moving around in the pocket. Having colt do heavy lifting in the run game is like asking your brain surgery to do carpentry.
Malcolm Williams returned a kickoff and made one of the best catches the announcers had seen all year. If Brandon solidified his position as the number 3 WR, can Malcolm be the number 4 WR? He is an excellent blocker and at 225 pounds is the only horn WR who can be expected to chip block DEs and block LBs 1 on 1. Having an inside WR who can block the play side LB reliably could make a huge difference on outside runs (including rollouts).
Hats off to James Kirkendoll for a monster block.
Fozzy and vondrell looked scintillating. vondrell got 58 yards in only 6 carries. Now that he is healthy, I think I believe Mack’s statement that Vondrell runs a 4.3 40.
fozzy got 20 yards in 2 carries (10 YPC). Also in the 10+ YPC club was Chiles (24 yards on 2 carries for 12 YPC).
Chiles looked great. He continues to throw well and ran well, too. the hard part in running is to learn how to run a sub 4.4 40 at 215 pounds. Once you have learned how to do that, the rest is much easier to learn.
Let’s give props to Greg Davis for instituting the short pass offense. The announcers made a point of saying that of course Colt should have a high completion % because he throws so many short passes. GD pointed out that those short passes open up the longer passing game and the run game. They also restore a team’s rhythm when they get out of sync.
Mizzou’s coach was a complete jerk to not pull his starters earlier. What an asshole to risk injuries to his starters just to pile up stats. Congrats to Mack for doing the right thing.
steven said:
October 19th, 2008 at 9:50 am
I don’t get your obsession with the SEC. If you are an SEC lurker, be up front. This is one site that isn’t that harsh with lurkers.
Naa, the only lurker I am is a UT brunette, cannon girl lurker. Is there a hotter girl in chaps in the state of Texas than her. Everytime I see her, I just go wa wa. In this game, they just showed her backside, but I was still impressed at hell, moreso about her than any other thing about the game last night. I don’t think there is a hotter beotch than her with her clothes on her in the whole f*cking state (have too much respect to speculate about the nakedness part). She is just absolutely beautiful. She certainly makes me wanna go BANG.
steven said:
October 19th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Also, I don’t really consider it an obsession. I barely get a chance to watch SEC football as it is, but everytime I do sit down and watch it, I am always blown away by the sheer athleticism of the conference, from top to bottom. In my opinion, they are about two or three steps ahead of the B12 (and just about everyone else) in that regard. I doubt if UT could go undefeated in that league, even this year. If you notice, the QB’s in that league just do not get the same level of time to just sit back in the pocket undisturbed that the B12 QB’s get on a regular basis, and, at the same time, they are typically forced to make more difficult throws.
Probably part of that is due to more athletic front 7’s, but, also, I bet a large of part of this discrepancy is due to bush league B12 refereeing. The holding that is allowed in this league is just unreal and probably plays a large part in the success of all these spread O’s. This is probably, in large measure, why these O’s can get away with such large splits to begin with. Without all this unofficiated holding, probably such splits would end up being impractical if used on a regular basis.
I know one thing, Mizzou, when they went on their scoring drives, was holding like hell and it went, for the most part, uncalled, just like the OU game. Without all that holding, Daniel would have been ground meat for the entirety of the game last night and even the TX/OU game would not have even been the nailbiter that it was.
scagnetti said:
October 19th, 2008 at 10:14 am
schlabach on espn makes some infuriating points about the disparity between B12 and SEC defenses…
infuriating at first and now has got me thinking.
is the B12 full of potent offenses and Mickey Mouse D? and is the opposite true for the SEC?
my questions for the Board here, and for YOU Eyes, is this: Does this make the Horns vulnerable to a nopn-conference foe due to the ‘easy going D’ Texas has faced in the B12?
Schlabach’s column here…
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3651458
Kafka said:
October 19th, 2008 at 10:14 am
That reminds me: Mizzou was forced to abandon their wide splits during the game last night. I wonder if UT will be able to force Tech to abandon their wide splits.
steven said:
October 19th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Doubt if Leach alters his scheme under any circumstances. Leach will probably dance with what brung him, even if that means his QB gets scraped off the turf in just so many pieces. It seems as if the D’s in the league have finally caught with Leach enough to at least slow down his O. There is a good chance the Tech D is actually better this year, although it may not show, since the struggling O is placing a greater share of the burden upon them.
steven said:
October 19th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Remember what happened to Kingsbury with Humphrey or whatever nearly killing him. Good chance this year, Harrell maybe looking at more of the same with ‘Rak and Kindle.
DanielMason said:
October 19th, 2008 at 11:13 am
“Is the B12 full of potent offenses and Mickey Mouse D? and is the opposite true for the SEC?”
This seems like a classic problem of causation. Are offenses bad because the defenses are good, or are defenses good because the offenses are bad?
From a purely statistical perspective, there’s no way to distinguish. You just have to rely on what your eyes tell you. My eyes tell me that the “SEC speed” that everyone talks about isn’t the skill players, it’s the linemen and linebackers. Anyone can find defensive backs that run 4.4s at 180 pounds; even Div II is littered with them. The trick is finding 260+ pounders that move explosively. Muschamp has proven that the only reliable way to stop a well-executed is to just flat-out beat their O-line with your front seven.
So, any B12 team not named Texas or OU is going to struggle with SEC D-lines. BUT: The other thing my eyes tell me is that SEC offenses are totally unsophisticated. When SEC lines are balanced, you’re likely to end up with a baseball score. When Big 12 lines are balanced, it’s a basketball score. Texas, even with a wholly dominant D-line, has still needed to match offensive productions of 30+ points over the last two games. Can anyone honestly tell me that they would bet on anyone other than Florida to reliably put up 35+ on Missou?
That’s why Schlabach is full of shit. Texas D is as good or better than any SEC defense, and the best B12 teams still get theirs. The only way to win is to make sure you get more, and that’s where the SEC falls on its face.
steven said:
October 19th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
That’s why Schlabach is full of shit. Texas D is as good or better than any SEC defense…
Don’t necessrily think this is true. Probably be within the top 3 or 4, but I think to say the best would be an overestimation. Just from the LSU/USC game, both those teams probably have a D as good or better than Texas’. From what I could tell, both them were as athletic or moreso than UT’s.
Can anyone honestly tell me that they would bet on anyone other than Florida to reliably put up 35+ on Missou?
I’d tell you. Don’t know if I am right, but I’d try. If Texas can run all over Mizzou, something we haven’t been able to all season, even against crap competition, then why is it incomprehensible to think that the more run orientated SEC O’s would not just line up and run over that flimsy Mizzou D? Remember Nebraska and 80’s OU? You can put up a whole bunch of points running the ball, especially if the D you’re facing is swiss cheese.
Scipio Tex said:
October 19th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
At the end of the day, you rely on qualitative judgements. We have a really good defense and if we were fortunate enough to play Auburn, Arkansas and Mississippi St every week, we’d give up 130 passing yards a game.
I want nothing more than to play and destroy the Alabama Crimson Tide in a title game.
EyesOfTX said:
October 19th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Scipio: Exactly. People need to ask themselves this question when anticipating a Texas/Alabama matchup. What does Alabama do on offense that would be effective against our defense?
The answer is, nothing. Not a damn thing.
Same is true for Florida.
Same is true for Georgia.
Same is true for LSU and Auburn and any other SEC team you might want to name.
Meanwhile, we’d run up over 40 on any of those defenses, and there wouldn’t be a hell of a lot they could do about it.
p said:
October 19th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
“If Texas can run all over Mizzou, something we haven’t been able to all season, even against crap competition, then why is it incomprehensible to think that the more run orientated SEC O’s would not just line up and run over that flimsy Mizzou D?”- Steven
We saw this picture last year. It was called 38-7 over Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. They did combine for 164 yards rushing, but it wasn’t potent enough to score more than 7 points, let alone bring home a victory.
“Does this make the Horns vulnerable to a nopn-conference foe due to the ‘easy going D’ Texas has faced in the B12?”
I would have to say there is some truth in that, but only SOME. We wouldn’t score 50 points. We would score about 31 or so. There are teams out there that have the athletes to press/jam our receivers enough to get a better pass rush.
Here is how I feel about the SEC defense subject. First……Stoops and Muschamp both coached defenses in the SEC, and have said the offenses in the big12 are just better. Second….kids don’t stop being fast at the Louisiana state line. They are just as fast in Texas.
SEC offenses just don’t pass the eye test. I remember when they said a spread wouldn’t work, then along came Florida. Now they are the best offense in the SEC by far, and they are doing it with a QB who is actually holding back their passing attack. Imagine a Colt running that offense!! When I sit and watch the SEC offenses, I see offenses that were all the rage 25 years ago. A spread offense that employs 5 wide receivers is impossible to consistently defend, if you have a QB that can run it, and your talent level is the same as your opponent. That is why so many small teams run it. It allows them to at least have a chance. An easy example to use is Rice. Look at how much better they move the ball since switching to a spread from the crap they had before. I think overall the SEC has more talent on their defenses than does the big12, but not so much that I think we would go in their and score 14 against one of them.
p.s. We faced two traditional offenses this season in Colorado, and Arkansas. Their starting QBs combined for 20-46(43%) for an average of 154yards a game. We gave up 191 and 266 total yards each contest. We also gave up a combined 17 points. I think this is indicative of what our defense would be like facing SEC offenses.
beowulf said:
October 19th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
The 2nd half of the Okie Sate game in 2004 is the prefect complement to this greatest firt half ever.
Our stadium and the atmosphere it foments is a real home court advantage and growing. Just the visuals now of the mammoth connecting north end zone and the huge jumbotron, etc., is a bit unnerving for a visiting team. I think there is little doubt that Mizzou was impacted by the atmoshpere.
Okie State will get the same treatment.
Ag_in_TX said:
October 19th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
steven, kafka,
you guys are keeping too much stuff bottled up. y’all need to really let it all out…
jschooltiger said:
October 20th, 2008 at 3:14 am
Just as an FYI, that was the 10th-worst halftime deficit, of all time, for Missouri. And we had a pretty crappy couple decades in the 1980s and 90s. This comes from Dave Matter at the Columbia Daily Tribune:
1986: Oklahoma 49, Missouri 0
1999: Kansas State 42, Missouri 0
1991: Nebraska 42, Missouri 3
1993: Texas A&M 38, Missouri 0
1988: Miami 38, Missouri 0
1989: Nebraska 36, Missouri 0
1989: Colorado 35, Missouri 0
1956: Oklahoma 34, Missouri 0
1944: Ohio State 34, Missouri 0
2008: Texas 35, Missouri 3
What a game for UT … as a Tiger fan, I was pretty hopeful it would be close, and we had about a 40 percent chance to eke out a win. Boy was I wrong.
Y’all look like you’re going on to win it all. Enjoy…
Dave said:
October 20th, 2008 at 6:10 am
The 52-0 first half against Kansas in 2005 stands out to me as the best complete half of football I’ve seen at DKR. I know that the Jayhawks did not have nearly the offense of this Missouri team, and were not a good team in conference that year, but the hyped plotline going in was the potential trap game for Texas versus one of the best defenses in the nation.
That turned out to not be even close to the case, obviously, and on top of getting Kansas getting the unhappy end of the Deliverance treatment on defense, their offense managed 8 punts, 2 turnovers and all of 57 yards in the half. That was just pure, undiluted whoopass right there.
Gene Claude said:
October 20th, 2008 at 7:13 am
Sadly, I have personally attended 5 of the top 10 “worst Mizzou halftime deficit” games. It’s like Andy Dufresne intentionally rooming with the Queens at this point.
Congratulations to Texas. I made it through the first half before attempting to off myself via alcohol. I believe in total I had noventa y dos equis, or 46 Dos Equis, however you prefer. Texas fans were, for the most part, gracious winners, and Austin and the general gameday scene were top notch. That stadium is unreal, and the sheer amount of people just around the stadium was surprising. I got the feeling that you could have had a 250,000 person stadium and still not housed all the fans that wanted to attend.
I was happy to hear that the Jewel of Big 12 academics is perfectly capable of creating dunces that chant overrated when they beat a team, also. Why not just chant “we are not as impressive as you might think?”
Daniel Mason said:
October 20th, 2008 at 9:37 am
“I was happy to hear that the Jewel of Big 12 academics is perfectly capable of creating dunces that chant overrated when they beat a team, also.”
I hear that when Missouri beats a ranked team they go with the “We Would Like To Point Out That Your National Repute Does Not In Fact Correspond To Your Actual Level Of Skill” chant.
Atomic Teeth » Blog Archive » The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly said:
October 20th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
[...] thought I’d rip a page from the Barking Carnival play book by doing a GBU for the UT game. And really, can there be a better time for a Mizzou site to [...]
Phenomenal Smith said:
October 20th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
“I hear that when Missouri beats a ranked team they go with the “We Would Like To Point Out That Your National Repute Does Not In Fact Correspond To Your Actual Level Of Skill” chant.”
Actually, we chant “You Are Appropriately Rated Making Our Victory All That Much More Impressive.”
The standard “Overated” means “Our Victory Over Your Team Is Tainted Because You Are Not Nearly as Good as the Media led the Nation To Believe.”