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Texas/OSU Football Post-Mortem

Posted by Scipio Tex on October 26th, 2008 under Football

Grateful for the win.

And for the McCoy/Shipley/Cosby One Brain.

Make no mistake, we brought our A game. The notion that we did not implies that we’d look different if we played them again or that effort was lacking. We wouldn’t. It wasn’t. They’d expose us in the same exact ways; just as we’d expose them. A team that converts 11 of 14 on third down isn’t in B game mode. OSU is a very good team with top flight skill personnel and a physical mindset. They are the team you’d design in a lab to give us fits. They’re just two vials of badass short on defense. This is who we are against that team. Period. There’s a difference between playing badly and being made to look bad.

We have limitations in our back seven that we can hide against a pass-happy spread offense with packages and narrow assignments. Chykie’s absence magnified them. OSU isn’t the team where you line a guy up and say,”Go Get QB Now!” or “Just don’t let anyone deeper than you!” They’re way too versatile for that. A football team that can run and throw with equal facility demands complete football players at your hinge positions (S, LB) to shut them down.

Defense


Packages

Defensively, this game was about the limitations of specialization. We’re a team of packages. It’s a shrewd way to deal with our deficiencies. Muschamp’s ability to recognize strengths and play to them is why he’s one of the best around. However, packages, by their nature, are specific. They don’t work against versatile offenses. Sergio Kindle is a pass rushing LB and first rate hero blitzer who operates at a major deficit in a game where he must honor containment on Robinson, play a dangerous running game, look for screens, worry about the option, diagnose in space, and generally operate like a complete and totally well-rounded OLB.

Rashad Bobino and Jared Norton can be hidden – even useful – on a blitz against a Jurassic Missouri OL, but we were reminded that 4.9 40s are not ideal when paired with bad habits like running behind blocks and run blitzing the wrong gap. Blake Gideon learned that doubling Dez Bryant while also watching for shovels, slip screens, Pettigrew, and run support is slightly more difficult than watching a repetitious spread offense unfold in front of him from 15 yards deep. Oklahoma State’s gameplan robbed Muschamp of the ability to simplify. He took our crib sheet.


Why can’t I just chase a QB?

We gave up 6.5 yards per play – identical to their D’s performance against our O. Ouch. The difference in total yardage was because we ran 13 more plays. To add insult to injury, Kendall Hunter went 18-161 – a 8.9 yard per carry clip. His longest run was only 24 yards. That’s being consistently and methodically worked over in the running game.

Curtis Brown and Henry Melton played very well. I’ve long held that Curtis is a gamer and that the only way he’d improve was to get him into the mix. He’s a unique athlete. I fully appreciate that guys need to show it in practice every day, but some need the light turned on in a game so that they can have the confidence and incentive to show it in practice from there on. Now that we’ve busted his cherry at corner, let’s get him returning some kicks. Or am I getting ahead of myself? Melton did a nice job of contain on Robinson and was solid against the run. He had a career high 2 sacks.

The OSU OL was good. We had to play honest fronts because of the necessity of doubling Dez Bryant and Pettigrew and they took advantange of us. They showed our linebackers absolute disrespect, doubling our playside linemen to get a push and then counting on our MLB or Kindle to be incapable of making a play in space – Kindle paralyzed by assignment uncertainty, both MLBs by terrible instincts and limited athletic ability.

Okung played Orakpo as well as any LT to date. No guy as quick and strong as Brian minds attacking 350 pounders wearing concrete galoshes who sweat Pizza Hut. What he doesn’t like are 295 pound guys with a motor and good technique backed by a running game that must be respected. Brian made a number of excellent plays, but never dominated. Fortunately, OSU’s other OT was weak and that thwarted their offense on some key downs.

The good news is that even though Tech has its best run blocking OL in the Leach era and some very dangerous RB personnel, we’ll be playing a much simpler game in Lubbock. Specialization will return in force and we will be made better for it.

Offense

McCoy was beyond superlatives again. We only ask him to be perfect to have any chance of winning. Fan fretting over his throwing a pick and losing a fumble has me shaking my head. No one in the country is being asked to make the throws in the windows that we ask. He was our entire offense against a hard-hitting defense and was responsible for 57 plays from scrimmage. Colt was 38 of 45 for 391 yards and 2 TDs with another 2 TDs running. He’s likely to throw/run for 30+/10+ TDs his year while completing >80% of his passes. Amazing.


It takes a nation of millions to hold Shipley back

Shipley has now officially humiliated more African American males than Flavor Flav at the Source Awards. His fluidity isn’t just attributable to the predictable honky core competency of good route running and sleeping in a bunk bed with Colt – the guy has elite NFL level quickness. Jordan Shipley is a pasty Torry Holt. The Quan is still ol’ reliable and I love his heart and his mini-me Hines Ward tool kit. Dude does nothing for me (or the Longhorns) in the return game, but no one is perfect. The Quan will still graduate as one of my favorite Longhorn players of all time.

Ulatoski is playing at an All-Big 12 level.

The young WRs took two steps forward last week…..and one step back this one. We need them to take another two steps in Lubbock. Some team is going to wise up and demand that other players beat them and they’ll even place them in favorable matchups to do so.

Vondrell McGee played a nice ballgame in limited action and Ogbonnaya was good out of the backfield though he made some uncharacteristic errors in blitz pick up. Seeing he and Ogbonnaya try to make lemonade out of running game lemons was difficult. We basically have two running plays now: the counter that is not one and a simple zone play. Oh, and a QB draw that Colt gets drilled on. Teams watch film. Time to add another wrinkle. No better time to diversify a running than Texas Tech.

Special Teams

No improvement on kick coverage or kick returns from last year. Our goal here is clearly to hold serve and it’s failing. We have at least two guys on the kickoff coverage squad that are contact shy and I have no idea how they’re surviving the scrutiny of the eye in the sky. I hope Mack gives this some special attention because Akina isn’t getting it done and it could have easily cost us the football game. Teams are also preferentially kicking to Cosby. There’s a reason for that. I have a bright idea – move Shipley there before the kick. Or try Fozzy, Curtis, Vondrell. I’m not sure why Quan needs the pounding.

Parting Thoughts

Expectations are odd. They rise with the tide of success; then we pretend that the water was that depth all along. We’re 8-0 and overachieving. OSU was damn good and designed to give us fits. Be happy for the win. Lubbock will be another hard test. This is the most important football game in Texas Tech’s history. There will be a mania surrounding it like nothing West Texas has ever seen. It will be our fourth game in a murderer’s row and Oklahoma State was the most physical test of the season: we’re banged up, tired, and the fuel tank is running a little low.

And there’s no team in the country I’d rather send in there than this one. Should be fun.

Do your part by performing a Santeria ritual to heal Chykie Brown’s ankle…

Be sure to also read Eyes’ G, B & U and BON’s Post Game React.

And yes! HenryJames has EVEN more great thoughts on the big win.

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63 Responses

  1. ArmTackler said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 10:26 am

    Thank you for addressing the ridiculous headlines I’ve been reading on Yahoo, such as, “#1 Longhorns Win Despite McCoy’s Mistakes.” Please. I might could understand that kind of negligent, sophomore journalism if the game wasn’t worth watching. But we’re #1. Everyone watches our game, all the way through. Even Stacy Dales. Who is outstanding by the way. Speaking of worth watching.

    Bring on the Desert Aggies.

  2. Redfoot said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Great write up.

  3. Wulaw Horn said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 10:52 am

    This website is brilliant, inciteful and hysterical. Thank you so much for all your insightful posts Scipio, Eyes, CA, Dedfischer etc.

    I’ve been lurking for a year or so and will not post again due to the fact that I have absolutely nothing to add but my thanks.

    One and only one minor nit to pick: is there anyway that steven can be stopped from posting? He is an ignorant troll that adds nothing and makes us as a fan base look retarded. Obviously this site is not a homer website as the team gets lambasted when they deserve it. They just haven’t deserved it at all this year. Weaknesses are definately honestly dealt with here but on balance this has been a great ride. I hope we have enough in the tank to take down the pirate, but I’m honestly nervous. I’m hopeful to force 3 TO’s or punts or turnover on downs in lubbuck, but that means we’ll have to be almost perfect on offense (again) and not settle for 3’s instead of 7’s. This team has been phenominal at that and hopefully the ride can continue.

  4. kevwun said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 10:53 am

    Make that a fist covered in burning fireants.

  5. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 11:04 am

    ArmTackler:

    I saw the same stuff. I’m not sure there’s a lazier group on the planet than sports journalists. That’s why the good ones are so refreshing to read.

    Wulaw:

    Thanks for the nice words. Agreed on our little friend. We’ve begun an orgy of steven deletions and it’s fairly enjoyable.

  6. Phil said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 11:11 am

    Wait, are the fireants on fire? Wouldn’t that discount the use of fireants, as their not going to be able to do anything if their on fire?

  7. 8straight said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 11:13 am

    I understand our back seven deficiencies but when you consider the youth in DBs and the limitations of the LBs it is amazing that we did what we did against the best trio at RB, WR and TE in the Big 12.

  8. kevwun said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 11:14 am

    No, their special fireants that can still bite while on fire.

  9. Orangechipper said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

    I’m also worried that we may too banged up after this track meet.

    Let me ask you guru’s this. With us so consistently throwing the 5-10 yd passes to Quan & Shipley, why can’t it be stopped? Why can’t that be outschemed? Isn’t that basically what we’ll be trying to stop Tech from doing??

  10. doog said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 12:47 pm

    If you noticed, OSU was blowing huge holes on the left side. A TE would block Orakpo, and the LT would go to the 2nd level and wall off our LBs. Kendall Hunter was running untouched for 5 yards every time he got around ‘Rak on the edge.

  11. Horn_of_Plenty said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 12:56 pm

    Scipio: Another great write up. And we do have to focus on the issues here, as every game is huge now.

    It was just scary watching our MLB play yesterday. Is there a way to fix it? I have never understood our inability to recruit a bunch of linebackers. Think about our defense without Muckelroy, its frightening.

    I am stunned by the kick coverage, and I am happy that its just 2 guys. Presumably, the coaches know it too now. It was annoying before, now it could be deadly. Interestingly, we seem to be incapable of kicking it out of the endzone, which we could do earlier in the season. are the kickers tired or hurt?

    I thank you Scipio for reminding everyone that we have not played like shit yet this year. We were made to look human (not bad) by OSU. Alabama has played poorly this year a couple of times, LSU has played like total dog shit a couple of times. USC has coasted and it cost them 1 game. We are 8-0, arguably going through one of the toughest runs in CFB history, and we have brought our A game in every game.

    I hate to say it, but if we don’t score early, the Tech game could turn into their version of the 1990 UH game, which I still have down as my second favorite game of my lifetime (2nd to MNC of course).

  12. AustinYankee said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    “Expectations … rise with the tide of success; then we pretend that the water was that depth all along.”

    Couldn’t agree more. It’s hard not to lose perspective with how well our team has done.

    The importance of our upcoming game is off the charts now – if we lose to Tech, we’ll need them to lose two of final three (though OU and OSU should be tough) in order for Texas to go to Big 12 championship game.

  13. p said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    “Shipley has now officially humiliated more African American males than Flavor Flav at the Source Awards.”

    As an African American, I can tell you that you don’t know how funny that is!!!

    “Let me ask you guru’s this. With us so consistently throwing the 5-10 yd passes to Quan & Shipley, why can’t it be stopped? Why can’t that be outschemed? Isn’t that basically what we’ll be trying to stop Tech from doing??”

    I have asked myself the same question. We appear to have a unique combination of receivers who do not drop passes, effectively keeping us ahead the sticks, and QB/receiver mind meld that prevents teams from jumping the routes. The Quan, Ship, and Colt look like they have been playing together since they were about 7. I don’t think I have seen it’s equal. Too much cushion, and they break off the route. Squat on the route, and they run by you. Zone, and they settle in the gaps. All it takes is one drop or missed throw, and we are in long yardage situations……but we just don’t do that. It is how a spread was designed to be executed.

  14. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 1:32 pm

    p:

    I think you nailed it in your response. Theoretically, you could totally shut us down if you had two elite corners and a really good pass rush, but I’m not sure if that team exists.

  15. Groundhog Day said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    Great write up as usual, Scipio….absolutely brilliant. A few thoughts/questions.

    Keenan Robinson should play a lot more while trying to move Muckleroy back to MLB. The guy has star written all over him.

    Blake Gideon can hit but is very limited athletically. What is up with Ben Wells?

    Why isn’t Aaron Williams playing more? I thought he played great against OU.

    Major props to Curtis Brown.

    I love Quan as much as the next guy but he should not be returning kicks. We actually have holes in the return game that he can’t accelerate through. Why we don’t have Curtis Brown, Fozzy, Hales, or Monroe returning kickoffs is beyond me. I have no problem with Quan returning punts as I want someone extremely sure handed, but he should not be returning kickoffs. And we have yet to cover kickoffs well this season. I wonder who our special teams coach is…hmmmm.

  16. Shadow said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 1:47 pm

    One complaint about our last offensive series is the play call on fourth down. We have the ball on the one inch line. A QB sneak or another give to Cody puts the game out of reach. Instead we roll out to the right…wide side of the field where a DE, LBer and a Safety and lined up waiting. Colt has to throw the ball in the dirt and they take over with a chance to win.

  17. p said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 1:56 pm

    Scipio:

    I have been watching the other good Teams, and the only one I see that I think could do it is Bama. Saban has them in man coverage a lot, and they might be able to handle it to an extent. The problem is Quan, and Ship are so small and shifty, it’s hard to get your hands on them to jam them. Once they get off the line cleanly you are hard pressed to jump any routes, because they run them so crisply. To jump routes you need either to be quicker than the receiver, or them to “round off” the route, which they don’t do. Even if you are on their hip Colt is accurate enough to fit it in there anyway, as shown on the trillion slant passes we have thrown.

  18. lawdog13 said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    I wrote in another thread last night that I thought we won with our B game. I probably should have said our B+ game. We were not flat, but nor did we play with the intensity of the second half against OU (what I view as our A game) or of the first half against Missou (our A+ game). Our tackling was not very good last night, we dropped some passes, and our run game clearly took a big step backwards. Some of those obviously have to do with the opposition – I totally concur that OSU is damn good – and some have to do with not playing to our own very high standard; hence my very minor quibble with your premise.

  19. p said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

    Guys I am looking forward to seeing next year…..

    Keenan Robinson…… He has shown he can make plays.

    Aaron Williams…. Athletic as hell, and not afraid to get his jersey dirty. He plays with a little attitude.

    Chykie and Curtis…. obvious reasons.

    Desean Hales…… wanna see the kid return kicks. We haven’t had a guy that scared anyone there since 31 left the 40 acres.

    Hardy, Buckner, Williams, and Fozzy. I hope these kids learn as much as they can from Ship, and Quan!!

  20. dedfischer said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 2:21 pm

    I’ve got my Kansas post mortem up with a couple of tidbits regarding our game this week:

    http://www.tortillaretort.com/?p=19

  21. Phenomenal Smith said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 2:38 pm

    Your steven deletions have caused him to rant over at Atomic Teeth. A couple weeks ago steven had never even heard of Mizzou and now he’s holed up at a Mizzou site with a sniper rifle, pack of smokes, and a list of names. Doesn’t UT have a decent bell tower for guys like steven?

  22. Stuck in MN said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    old days at BC- read article, read comment one, read comment two, continuing in order, ocassionally glancing left to discern the author of the comment if it strikes my funny bone or makes a particularly salient point.

    present day at BC- read article, use peripheral vision to determine size of 1st comment, is it shorter than 2 paragraphs? If yes, go ahead and read as it is not a total waste of time to read, if no look left to determine author. Is it by steven? If yes, skip, if no read it.

    I miss the old days.

  23. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    GroundHog Day:

    - I’m totally with you on moving Muck to MLB and Robinson to WLB
    - I don’t think Wells has the X’s and O’s savvy that Blake does

    Shadow:

    Call me a GD apologist, but I really didn’t have a problem with the play call per se. It would have worked but apparently someone ran the wrong direction.

    p:

    Agreed with every word you wrote. The problem is that Alabama has a pretty poor pass rush and they have to blitz for pressure. Not a good thing against Colt.

  24. Sasha_Is_A_Longhorn_Dog said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    I was in the stands, so I couldn’t tell everytime from my vantage point, but it seemed to me that our guys couldn’t tackle anything at some points. They did a good job of getting a hand on a player, but just couldn’t finish it out at times.

    Definitely not the best football the guys have played this year, but now people can stop saying they haven’t “faced adversity,” whatever that is supposed to mean.

    Oh. And time management/play calling at the ends of halfs. Going into half time, I couldn’t figure out what in the world they were trying to do. And how how how how how do you not make a TD at 4th and 1? Wasn’t it even 3rd and really short?

  25. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

    lawdog:

    I don’t think we’re that far apart. I guess my broader point is: we haven’t played a bad game all year and the problems that we manifested are at the very least explicable with many of them addressable against the remainder of our schedule. Oklahoma St is just a bad matchup.

    ded:

    We’ll be talking and cross-linking a lot this week.

    Phenom:

    We gift him to you in an act of Big 12 Brotherhood. You may return him when you win the Big 12 Title Game.

    StuckinMN:

    We’re already sell-outs. It used to be about the music, man. The music.

  26. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    Sasha, nice point about time management at the end of the first half. I meant to mention it in my write up. Had we run the play with fifteen seconds on the clock and assuming CO would have still been sprung on the shovel, we would have had a cheap field goal. That would have come in handy later in the game.

  27. Cimarrones said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    Great recap, Scip. You’re worrying me a bit though with the “The Quan” references. My concern is that you’re going to slip into full TO Ag mode here. Incidentally, we should tell Steven about Texags or one of those other aggies sites so that he’ll leave the Mizzou-ites alone.

    You knew this kind of game was going to happen – at some point. I seriously underestimated OSU this season. I now think they’ll beat OU this year. And, Tech still has to play them.

    Great site and really enjoy what you guys have done over here.

  28. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Cim:

    You’ll know I’ve gone fully TO Ag when I start referring to players as “Aggie man-flesh” or QBs as “gridiron field generals” who “throw laser lances of pigskin” to “supple hands.”

    I just want to beat Tech and win this thing. Really badly.

  29. RansomStoddard said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    I think Monroe is redshirting. As much as I like this team, I think we are one badass LB and one shifty Ramonce-ish guy away from an MNC.

  30. horncasting said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 4:57 pm

    Great writeup as usual. My only issue is with:

    “There’s a difference between playing badly and being made to look bad. ”

    I give tons of credit to OSU, but the kickoff coverage and poor tackling was more us playing badly than them making us look bad.

    I still think Cu. Brown will struggle to cover real receivers running real routes. Bryant was a matchup made for him and his freakish athletic abilities.

  31. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 5:08 pm

    horncasting:

    That’s fair comment on special teams.

    I actually think Curtis is potentially pretty special and I think you’ll be surprised with how well he holds up in a tough environment.

  32. horncasting said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    Scipio – agree on Curtis, I just don’t think he is there yet. Using Akina vernacular, he still seems to be thinking too much, and I don’t think they can give him a big set of responsibilities right now. Maybe I’m way off. Either way it was a thing of beauty watching him run stride for stride and actually jump with Bryant.

    Sure would have been nice if he’d redshirted last year.

  33. Groundhog Day said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 5:56 pm

    Ransom,

    I think the badass LB you refer to is Keenan Robinson. I agree we lack the homerun threat on O which would make life a little easier. There are a couple of freshman who fit that description but might not be mature enough to handle the responsibilities.

  34. Phenomenal Smith said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    Scip, you just gave us the extra motivation we need.

  35. hopefulhorn said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 6:12 pm

    Very nice review. Agree completely on being grateful for the win.

    I didn’t like the feel of this game all last week. Thought OSU would be better than Mizzou and they exceeded my expectations, particularly on offense. Now, their games with Tech and OU take on some real interest. At this point, I like them in both if Gundy can avoid late-game brain-lock.

  36. HornBorn55 said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    I don’t think that TTU is registering this OSU game outcome correctly, other than we may be tired and bruised. Their 63-points has made them feel very powerful and ready for us. Yes – we could get embarrassed in Lubbock and it has happened in the past. If we are talking “packages” here, if TTU’s OL is all-powerful, them Muschamp better keep the same plan. I saw no blitzing of any import against OSU, and TTU doesn’t have a Hunter. Could it be that the same approach would work against Mr. Conceded? [Harrell.]
    We’ll see. They smell blood, but it is the result of our downing three giants. We may be bloodied, but we are unbowed.
    Hook’em!

  37. Crown & Coke said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 6:33 pm

    Scipio,

    Excellent write-up as always. I am interested in hearing your thoughts/analysis on Deon Beasley’s efforts the past two games.

    In my opinion, he hasn’t shown a lick of development this year and is becoming an increasingly large liability against strong, physical WRs like we saw with Okie Lite and Miz.

    In addition to his height being exploited in jump-ball scenarios, he has proven to be equally atrocious as a tackler.

    When you consider the fact that Aaron Williams has played like an absolute man possessed whenever he’s seen this field this year, I can’t help but think it’s time for a shakeup.

    Please correct me if I am off-base here.

  38. p said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

    You know it is funny when you are feeling a little “unsure” going into a game how some stats can be quite comforting. Here are some I think you all will like!! Here is how our defense has done against the teams’ average.

    …….run…..yds pr rush…total yds…pts
    FAU….-90……. -2.5 …….. -68 …. -8.1
    UTEP…+15……. +.5 …….. +37 …. -18.1
    RICE…-119…… -3.3 …….. -127…. -30
    ARK….-117…… -3.6 …….. -170…. -9.1
    CU…..-73 …… -1.4 …….. -35 …. -4.6
    OU…..-107…… -2.3 …….. -107…. -13.3
    MIZZ…-126…… -3.7 …….. -169…. -16.4
    OSU…. -8 …… +.3 ……… -74 …. -19.6

    The negatives are how far we held them under their average. As you can see no one scored more than their average, and only 1 team got more yards than their average. So we are holding teams below what their offenses are usually capable of.

  39. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 7:24 pm

    C&C:

    I’ve talked about Deon in a number of post-mortems and I’m not interested in beating on a college kid who plays for the good guys, but he needs to resolve himself to being more physical.
    Before the year, I thought he was going to be major factor for us. I’ve been very disappointed. We’ll need all five of our corners against Tech – maybe we can lock him on Eric Morris. He should have no trouble roughing him up.

    p –

    That’s an interesting stat line. Thanks for that.

  40. Callkevin said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 7:25 pm

    p, did you remove the numbers from the Texas game before looking at those averages? We’ll look even better at that point.

  41. Huckleberry said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 7:31 pm

    Kevin -

    You will be ecstatic to learn that my new ratings are based on what p did above. Basically the power ratings start with how a team fares compared to the opponent’s average performance. It goes through the entire schedule and then assigns a new value to each team’s offense and defense. Thankfully, because computers are quick these days, it then iterates enough times until the ratings stabilize.

    I’m working on getting the formatting for the output files legible at this point. Should be good to go by tomorrow. Some interesting results. Based on how you fare compared to your opponents’ normal abilities, and of course accounting for your opponents’ opponents ad infinitum, Texas is the #3 defensive unit in the nation.

  42. Scipio Tex said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 7:50 pm

    Damn.

  43. p said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 7:51 pm

    “p, did you remove the numbers from the Texas game before looking at those averages? We’ll look even better at that point.” -Callkevin

    Those are after the Texas games. Which bodes well for us. The point was to let everyone know we are accomplishing something on that side of the ball. I hope we can get another season out of coach Champ. We could be down right nasty next year. The kids coming through the ranks have some freakish athletic ability. Even little DJ ran a 10.33 100 meters.

  44. p said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 7:53 pm

    Well, Huckleberry………… at least I did mine by hand!!

    Showoff!!!!

    :)

  45. Huckleberry said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

    Ha. No, I’ve been interested in that kind of analysis since the late, great PhxHorn analyzed our 1998 team’s performance in the same manner.

    I’m not messing with yards, though. You can have that one all to yourself.

  46. p said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    “Ha. No, I’ve been interested in that kind of analysis since the late, great PhxHorn analyzed our 1998 team’s performance in the same manner.

    I’m not messing with yards, though. You can have that one all to yourself.”-Huckleberry

    Your analysis does not go unnoticed, thank you!

    I too enjoy crunching the numbers, and watching the tape. It helps to pass the time until next Saturday comes around. For a long time I thought I was alone. I am glad I found this site. It’s good to be around others who take their football seriously!! Thanks Huck!!

  47. goosehorn said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 8:58 pm

    Dude, nice work.

    A poster on Hornfans mentioned that after the half in the Mizzou game, the Tiger staff made adjustments involving modifying their spread by shortnening the gaps between linemen. I thought this was a great observation and it requires, IMHO, some consideration from a guru. One question I do have regarding this adjustment though is this… did Mizzou do better because of these adjustments or was it because we had started playing more 2nd teamers?

    So, with this point being brought to your attention Scip… do you think Tech will modify their spread as it translated to a positive effect against our defense? Does this occurring also put Harrell in a position where he must perform in a modified system that is out of his comfort zone?

  48. Jason Rogers said:

    October 26th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    What the f*** has happened to Jared Norton? He looks so much slower this year. Less instinctive, too.

  49. TaylorTRoom said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 3:34 am

    I’ve always thought OU’s 2000 Red October was the gold standard for a team surviving a gauntlet. They beat highly rated UT, NU and KSU teams in a row. I remember that they really struggled to keep top performances all three weeks, and were kind of running out of gas at the end.

    Well, we have now made it three weeks, and need a fourth. I hope that we can hit our stride one more time in Lubbock.

  50. Colin1497 said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 3:46 am

    OSU fan here. Nice writeup. McCoy is playing at an amazing level. Shipley is the man. Your offense keeps clicking like that an you’re unstoppable, but as you said, you are looking for perfection. Hope you can keep it up this weekend. You guys should beat Tech soundly.

    As for A game/B game, we think we had our B game, too, but as you said, it has a lot to do with what the other guys do. Our offense hasn’t been clicking for a few weeks, unfortunately, but there was no way you guys were going to let us get going. That was one hell of a game.

  51. jonestopten said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 6:09 am

    “Blake Gideon learned that doubling Dez Bryant while also watching for shovels, slip screens, Pettigrew, and run support is slightly more difficult than watching a repetitious spread offense unfold in front of him from 15 yards deep. Oklahoma State’s gameplan robbed Muschamp of the ability to simplify. He took our crib sheet.”

    Scipio: fantastic work, one of my favorites.

    Kudos aside, you didn’t intend to do this, but you have, in the above quote, explained exactly why Michael Huff deserved the Thorpe Award and will go down in history as one of the most underrated players ever to play at Texas.

  52. Laz said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 6:31 am

    Thanks for the great analysis, useful as always.

    Perhaps, no line rocked more than this one:

    Shipley has now officially humiliated more African American males than Flavor Flav at the Source Awards.

  53. Colt McCoy is Mortal « Last Row said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 6:32 am

    [...] for expert analysis go to Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Colt McCoy has Tebow’s BackRoses and Plants [...]

  54. BatesHorn said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 6:35 am

    Our clock management in the second half was shaky as well. In looking at the fourth quarter drive charts and from my own recollection we routinely left 9-10 seconds on the clock (assuming you snap at the 2 second mark on the play clock) and sometimes as much 20 seconds. Compounded over the course of the quarter, we probably left at least a minute and probably more like 90 seconds on the game clock.

    This is not unique to us. Teams with leads do not, in my opinion, start running clock soon enough in the second half.

  55. Art Vandelay said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 6:38 am

    First of all much thanks to whoever is taking the time to delete the steven posts. Is there somewhere we can contribute to the cause? Someone should develop steven pop-up blocking technology and sell it to MSFT. They could include it in the next release of IE.

    Regarding the game – if OSU was a little smarter they could have won that game. I do think the post game perception would have been a little different if the refs hadn’t totally botched the 3rd and goal play at the end of the game. Replayed it numerous times on my DVR and OSU lined up offside, then jumped offsides before the ball was snapped. At a minimum offsides should have been called, and we could have taken a knee and run out the clock at the goaline. The penalty was not called, but Cody then scored and the ref spots him down at the one. Should have been a booth review, and at least mentioned by the announcers. I guess the argument from the refs would have been that his forward momentum was stopped…. But when was the last time a runner was ruled down on the goal line when he is clearly not down… and still struggling for yardage? Roy Miller pulls him into the end zone for what should have been a TD. Play reminded me of USC against ND a few years ago with Reggie Bush pushing Leinart across the goal.

    Finishing the game in the Victory formation, or winning 35-24 would have felt a lot better.

  56. Blazerhorn said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 7:03 am

    P and Huck –

    You likely have already seen this, and it’s been a while since I looked at it, but you both might be interested in the methodology the guys at http://www.footballoutsiders.com/ use for their DVOA (NFL only). Methodology likely has far too many permutations to be employed by college analysts, and relies on play-by-play data that may be tough to consolidate. Interesting approach nonetheless.

  57. Fake Steven said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 7:27 am

    Steven – you add little to any conversation

  58. Scipio Tex said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 9:36 am

    goose:

    I noticed Mizzou playing with their line splits as early as the third play of the first quarter. So I’m not sure a halftime adjustment was the decisive factor. I think much of their second half success was attributable to a mental letdown and their ability to exploit Coffman against our safeties and LBs. Any team with a great TE will always murder us when they have quality receiving threats outside.

    As for Tech, Leach plays with his splits too and if you allow him to widen them with impunity he’ll keep pushing them out. They’ll also bring them in if you’re giving them more middle pressure than they can handle.

    jones:

    No debate there. If VY is the reason #1 we won the MNC, Huff is reason #2.

    Bates:

    I hear ya, but we don’t need to go all Jim Tressel either. I think you stay in your natural rhythm and play football rather than overthinking clock manipulation. When a defense sees what you’re doing, they can play off of that predictability.

  59. R. Jayakrshnan said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 6:33 pm

    Am I the only one who is impressed with the astute observation on our being a team of packages? I think this was basially THE key issue in the last game. A versatile offense which did not give much for Muschamp to exploit with packages. Thanks for pointing it out and articulating it beautifully.

    R.J.

  60. Scipio Tex said:

    October 27th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    Thanks, man. Honestly, I thought that was my most meaningful contribution to collective Longhorn knowledge for the week. I’m glad you agree.

  61. Dickey said:

    October 28th, 2008 at 6:39 am

    Excellent site and analysis…first timer here but I’ve enjoyed your analysis for a long time Scip.

    Agree on the Quan on all fronts but I do like him on punts. The guy is tremendous at fielding punts and while we likely give something up on the return side, I believe the security factor is what the coaches want. Turnovers is one of the only things I could see derailing this team.

  62. ChrisApplewhite said:

    October 28th, 2008 at 6:42 am

    I would take a fumbled punt on occasion if it meant we netted more than 3 yards a return.

  63. Pokelahoma — Blog — said:

    February 10th, 2010 at 4:58 pm

    [...] be competitive in nearly all the sports we cover, and bitch about the success of Barking Carnivals closing paragraphs. Yeah, like you [...]

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  • Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Place Your Bets, Gentlemens   31 minutes ago

    explain…

  • Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team   47 minutes ago

    He played for New Mexico State.

    We recruited him briefly, along with Louisville, Pitt and a host of others. Everyone ran when they realized he was a lunatic.

  • Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team   47 minutes ago

    He played for New Mexico State.

  • Jorgrama commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips   49 minutes ago

    Had some harsh words about Barnes in that podcast, that’s for sure. . . .

  • dick commented on the blog post Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team   52 minutes ago

    Didn’t we think we target him at one point?

    He’s a good player, imagine UNM with him on their #3 seed roster.

  • dick wrote a new blog post: FLV March Madness First Round Bets   54 minutes ago

    Here we are, my favorite weekend of the year.  I’ve taken sick days on the first two days of the tourney every year except my first and this year is no different (i’m feverish, which is true).  My one goal for the gambling season (August thru first weekend of April) is to have enough money to bet on every

  • Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team   1 hour, 24 minutes ago

    Pope was a real head case recruit, if I recall correctly.

    Shot four times in high school too.

    Transferred to the Hall from New Mexico St after all of the Big Schools gave him the cold shoulder for his recruiting antics.

  • Scipio Tex wrote a new blog post: Place Your Bets, Gentlemens   1 hour, 31 minutes ago

    First, if you’re not reading Fading Las Vegas or March to March, you’re missing out on the best college basketball prognostication available in the free market. The vast bulk of Kevin Berger’s basketball writing is going to be found there, so click accordingly.

    The key delineation to make is that Fading Las Vegas

  • admin commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction   2 hours, 23 minutes ago

    Baylor scares me. They have no idea what the bright lights feel like.

    Huggins also has a horrible history with high seeds from his days at Cincy.

    Bingo.

    Bingo.

    Yet Gary Williams has a ring. Maybe this is Huggy’s year and maybe Scott Drew can get laid in a morgue. Love to see what Huggy could have

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • admin commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction   2 hours, 23 minutes ago

    Baylor scares me. They have no idea what the bright lights feel like.

    Huggins also has a horrible history with high seeds from his days at Cincy.

    Bingo.

    Bingo.

    Yet Gary Williams has a ring. Maybe this is Huggy’s year and maybe Scott Drew can get laid in a morgue.

    I have these guys in my bracket. DEEP.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • dick commented on the blog post Early NCAA Tournament Bets   2 hours, 34 minutes ago

    Travis,

    63-58 on KenPom for 121. That’s still a really low scoring game

  • Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips   3 hours, 14 minutes ago

    Thanks, dick. Interesting perspective.

  • dick commented on the blog post The Definitive Bracket: 63 Guaranteed Winners!   3 hours, 37 minutes ago

    KB,

    You are going to be too smart for your own good. A common fault amongst Bracket makers. There’s a reason why the 55 year old admins win 80% of these things every year.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • dick commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips   3 hours, 41 minutes ago

    “which impresses me since I know he didn’t hear the podcast.”

    You shouldn’t be, after reading both guys over the past year, KB knows more about basketball and gambling than Millman does and it’s not even close.

    A little warning about Chad Millman. I was pretty excited when I heard that ESPN hired a

  • Luke wrote a new blog post: Some perspective for a generation of Wildcats   3 hours, 42 minutes ago

    Kansas State is beginning the NCAA tournament as a #2 seed with legitimate final four hopes (just ask the president) in less than 24 hours.

    I’m going to need a moment to admire that sentence…….

    OK, I’m good.

    As the anticipation has built over the last few days, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has taken

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • whiskey wrote a new blog post: Chalk Talk: The ND 3-4 Transition Part I- Expectations   4 hours, 7 minutes ago

    Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many installments of “Chalk Talk” with LB Coach. I am excited to introduce LB Coach as a new contributor to One Foot Down. LB Coach has a significant amount of experience playing football at Notre Dame and on the professional level. He also has a

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  • dick commented on the blog post Early NCAA Tournament Bets   4 hours, 23 minutes ago

    I’ll post all of my first day games tonight.

  • srr50 wrote a new blog post: Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team   6 hours, 43 minutes ago

    Aggie Corp with “Squeeze Army?”

    POSERS

    Texas Tech forward Darko Cohadarevic doesn’t just talk the talk — he walks the walk.

    Tuesday night Tech faced Seton Hall in a first round NIT contest. With the game tied at 10, Seton Hall forward Herb Pope delivered two below-the-belt blows to Cohadarevic.

    After Pope was ejected, Tech went on

  • Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips   8 hours, 26 minutes ago

    Louisville has a great chance if Jerry Smith is healthy.

  • Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction   8 hours, 28 minutes ago

    Good team that took number 1 seeded Louisville to the wire in last year’s tournament. Start 3 seniors and two juniors, very athletic. Solid pass first point guard. Their leading scorer was player of the year in the conference.

    Good club that plays multiple defenses.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips   8 hours, 52 minutes ago

    I just took Baylor going to the Elite 8. It’s a crazy mixed up world we live in.

    Is it just me, or does it pain anyone else to not be able to determine who is going to beat Duke early? It’s bound to happen, but who will it be?

  • Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction   8 hours, 55 minutes ago

    By “we” I meant the Horns. Kevin, why should I take Siena over A&M?

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips   9 hours, 9 minutes 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   9 hours, 13 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   9 hours, 18 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   9 hours, 28 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   9 hours, 58 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   10 hours 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   10 hours, 11 minutes 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   10 hours, 12 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.

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