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The Impact Of 6 Weeks Off

Posted by Scipio Tex on December 28th, 2008 under Football

When Texas plays Ohio St in La Fiesta, the Horns will have had 40 days rest since their 49-9 dismemberment of Texas A&M; Ohio St will have had 45 since administering a 42-7 mercy killing to Michigan.

Injuries and aches heal, skills and timing grow a fine coating of rust, and the prideless (see Texas ‘00 Cotton Bowl against Arkansas; Texas ‘92 Cotton Bowl against Miami, ‘06 Ohio St against Florida) will find ways to sabotage themselves at the buffet table and on the party circuit. Ohio State DE Nathan Williams looked like he may have jeopardized his participation in the game and offered a distraction for the Buckeyes with a shoplifting charge, but Tressel relented on suspending him when he found out that they were sweatervests. In Tressel’s view, Williams exhibited bad judgement, but excellent taste. And that counts for something.

So who does the football sabbatical favor?

Focus won’t be an issue for either team. Don’t confuse the ticket sales torpor of both fanbases with the relative motivation level of each team. This is a chance for Ohio State to demonstrate a new era of Buckeye football with a mobile playmaking QB at the helm and shake off their rap as an overrated product of East Coast/Midwestern media hype. Ohio State is 4-2 in BCS games. With some key personnel changes, their last two BCS losses are no more predictive of this contest than the previous four wins. Different teams, different stakes, different dynamics. The narratives in college football are fluid: Ohio State can become New Era Team Clutch with a win. Texas has demonstrated a consistent level of preparation and pride all year, one half in Lubbock excepted. We have a considerable ax to grind with the BCS cognoscenti who relegated us to a perception bowl while elevating a team we beat on the field based on the ballot process of High School Homecoming King. I’m sure we’d like to make a statement. I’m also convinced that the first time Beanie Wells hits you, you’re just playing football and all of that goes out of the window.

From a personnel standpoint, we get back C Chris Hall (who may or may not start for Snow), DE Brian Orakpo gets fully restored, and the Buckeyes get back nickel back Jermale Hines and a mediocre in DT Todd Denlinger. Beanie Wells will have healed his litany of ailments, but his NFL draft status may be the greater distraction. Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby will have recovered from their numerous nicks and scratches. On balance, this layoff might seem to favor the Buckeyes except for one thing: with six weeks rest, Colt McCoy will longer resemble Rocky Balboa near the end of Rocky 14. That means his legs – our running game – gets a serious shot of B-12. If Ohio State defends us the way I think they will, Colt’s legs will probably be the primary factor in our offensive success.


Feets don’t fail us now

There’s precedent to this: running QBs always look beaten and run a little more like Todd Boeckman near the end of the year, then magically rejuvenate themselves during bowl season. Contrast Colt McCoy’s aggression, speed, and elusiveness during the Florida Atlantic and Arkansas games and then think of the shots he took against OSU, Texas Tech, and A&M and his demeanor in those contests. We’ll see a spry Colt McCoy against Ohio State and that will mean a lot for our ability to improvise and ride him on QB draws, get movement in the pocket on bootlegs, and even run some zone read.

For a recent example of what fresh legs have meant to Texas QBs in bowl games, see VY vs. Michigan (21 for 192), VY vs. USC (19 for 200), Colt vs. Arizona State (16 for 147, but a net of 84 because of a long negative play). And given that this is the last game of the year, there’s nothing to save him for: if a our winning effort necessitates 15-20 runs from the QB position, it will happen.


Fresh legs = legitimate running game

Won’t Terrelle Pryor benefit from the same fresh legs/healthy body dynamic? Of course. Just not as much. Pryor is a 235 pound kid who is better able to take the slings and arrows of a LB shot and he also represents a much smaller percentage of Ohio State’s offensive output. He took nothing like the beating that Colt took all year.

If you’re looking for a small edge going into this game, this will be a key one.

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10 Responses

  1. Scipio Tex said:

    December 28th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    I think I really struck a nerve with this feature.

  2. Parlin Hall said:

    December 28th, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    The Hamlet reference induced a delay.

  3. Vasherized said:

    December 28th, 2008 at 5:52 pm

    I might wear a sweater vest during the Fiesta Bowl. On the right man it can exude confidence, charisma, and a guaranteed 3 yards on first down. And I have plenty to choose from out of my grandfather’s closet.

    I think the Sooner infestation scared some folks off for the time being and understandably so.

    I just don’t see Pryor orchestrating an offense that can move the ball consistently against a Muschamp defense that has had six weeks of rest and preparation. Maybe in a few years but not next week.

    A) Stop Wells
    B) Confuse Pryor
    C) Get points off turnovers
    D) Repeat A-C

    Colt did look remarkably fresh in last year’s romp through ASU’s defense. Ohio State’s D is a nice upgrade from that unit but Colt has been heady enough all year to find the seams and slowly break down the few good defenses we’ve faced, let alone obliterate the marginal ones.

    I think we’ll see a confident, pissed off Longhorn team that will score points in bunches nested around stalled drives that look like we’re shaking off some rust.

  4. Drunken Rooster said:

    December 28th, 2008 at 5:54 pm

    Muschamp factor needs to be factored in. His attitude has permeated the offense as well.

  5. Trips Right said:

    December 28th, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    Great write up. On the other side of the ball, I’d love to see your thoughts on what Muschamp does with 40 days to prepare for a squad that is the kissing cousin to the 2007 Wild Hog offense.

  6. 98 said:

    December 28th, 2008 at 6:51 pm

    Im with trips; want to know your thoughts on what wrinkles muschamp could have added.

  7. Kafka said:

    December 29th, 2008 at 10:23 am

    Good point, Colt should be healed and moving a lot better vs tOSU than he was at the end of the 2008 season. That can only help (not only on the running but also on the passing).

    On the other hand, I don’t see Colt running that effectively against tOSU. He is the kind of runner who runs really well against average defenses but runs much worse against a good D. tOSU is sure to have an excellent D.

    tOSU should focus on stopping Colt (both passing and running) as their number 1 objective on D. They should play a lot more speed guys on D so they can pressure Colt in the pocket and play more aggressive pass D. That extra speed on D will make it much tougher for Colt to run.

    tOSU should dare UT to show that UT tailbacks can run effectively against nickel and dime packages that are selling out to stop the pass. If UT can run effectively against nickel and dime laden tOSU defenses, then tOSU is in deep trouble.

    Excellent point that rust could be a big issue in this game. I think it could affect UT quite a bit because UT has a precision passing attack that works on very small tolerances. UT’s receivers tend not to get wide open and Colt has to throw very precisely into small windows. If the UT passing offense operates smoothly, hats off to Colt and the guys for a large accomplishment.

    My guess is that tOSU focuses on stopping Ship and Quan as defensive objectives #2 and #3. I would man up on Ship and Quan (with a couple of safeties providing deep support) to try to pressure UT’s short passing game.

    The UT offense fell apart when Quan got hurt in the Tech game. The UT offense recovered its mojo in the second half (thank you, Malcolm Williams) but an entire half was wasted. Greg Davis’s strength is not astute realtime adjustments so if tOSU can take away either Ship or Quan with man coverage, UT is probably in trouble.

    If tOSU plays a soft zone, they are screwed.

    tOSU should be less affected by rust because their offense is more running oriented so timing and precision are much less important. tOSU has two bona fide runners in their backfield with Beanie and Pryor, so UT will have to focus on stopping the run first. Both guys (especially Beanie) run with power so UT is going to have to play (most of the time) a 4-3 rather than nickel or dimes packages.

    It is not going to be easy to stop the tOSU running game because Beanie is a powerful runner (who will be a very high draft choice)and Pryor is a big man who can motor. Even though UT is probably only going to play 4 DBs most of the time, the UT DBs are going to have to be concerned with run support. This means that defending play action passing is going to be a challenge for the UT DBs.

    tOSU might be like Ok State offensively except that Beanie and Pryor are better than their Ok State counterparts.

    I expect a tough game but in Colt I trust.

  8. 98 said:

    December 29th, 2008 at 10:55 am

    i disagree that Pryor is better than robinson.

  9. jr.Ewing.78 said:

    January 4th, 2009 at 5:34 am

    Damn, no longer available:

    http://www.amazon.com/Vesi-Cable-Texas-Longhorn-Sweater/dp/B000W14J0O

  10. JUICE said:

    January 4th, 2009 at 8:42 am

    It was the ‘91 Cotton Bowl. Memorable day . . .

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