Football Articles
Scattershooting the 2009 Season
Posted by TaylorTRoom on January 11th, 2010 under Football
With deepest, deepest apologies to Blackie Sherrod, mostly all hither, but a few yon…
1. One of the stupidest (but not the stupidest…that’s coming later) comments after the game was that the key play was the errant shovel pass. No, the key play was the one where McCoy was hurt. No excuses, injuries are part of the game, but he was the single most important player on the field. Yes, Bama had the Heisman winner, but they had other options for when Ingram was out. Texas is a pass-first offense (Texas’ choice), and when the guy who runs it is out, the offense is hobbled.
Now, Texas’ limitations on offense are a post for another day. Let’s look at other games where teams with title aspirations lose their QB early on, and an unprepared backup is thrown into the fire (i.e. OU/BYU 2009 counts, but UT/OU 2009 doesn’t, as Landry Jones had already played a few games by then). In 2007, Oregon was ranked #2, on track for the MNC game (they had already beaten USC), and playing at unranked Arizona as a 10 point favorite near season’s end. Star spread QB Dennis Dixon tears his ACL with Oregon leading 8 – 7 in the 1st quarter. After the injury, Oregon kicked a field goal to go up 11 – 7, and lost the game 24 – 34.
In 2009, #3 OU was a 17 point favorite vs. #20 BYU, and star QB Sam Bradford was hurt just before the half, with the game tied at 7. OU kicked a FG right after the injury to go up by 3, but was outscored 3 – 7 in the 2nd half.
In the 2010 MNC game, #2 Texas was tied at 0 in the early going, when McCoy was hurt. Texas kicked the field goal, but lost the game 21 – 37. In the prior two games mentioned, nobody is pointing to other plays than the QB-injury plays as the “key” moments, and it’s stupid to point to any others in the 2010 MNC game as well.
2. The stupidest thing I heard? Mike Vasic, on KTCK 1310, opined that Texas gained an advantage in McCoy’s injury, in that Alabama was not ready for the changeup offered by Gilbert. Now, that is obviously idiotic. Think for a minute. If such a strategy worked, wouldn’t underdogs always bench their key players for big games, replacing them with unscouted inexperienced backups?
Why would somebody think this? They would think this is they believed Alabama was significantly superior to Texas going into the game, that Texas had no chance, and they were trying to explain why Texas was only down three points with four minutes to go. Rather than challenge their preconceptions (”Maybe Texas has a chance?”), they try to conjure a rational that Texas’ greatest stroke of bad luck was actually good fortune. In other words, this type of thinking is being willfully dumb.
3. Yes, the SEC is the best conference. Why is it the best conference? It has great coaches, but that is an advantage can be copied by any school with a checkbook, and a willingness to overspend. It has great fan support, but Notre Dame, TAMU, and the service academies can all tell you that fan support is difficult to translate to on-field results. They have a great talent base, and…that is the reason why they are the best conference. All of the SEC schools have great access to nearby elite talent, and combined with their desire to succeed at football, this gives them the best, most competitive collection of teams. Other conferences may have a couple of teams with elite talent, but they also have teams with slower, less athletic players. Their conference champions are not as battle-tested as the SEC teams.
Does this mean that nobody can compete with SEC teams? No. It means that a challenger must have elite talent and be battle tested from a competitive conference of like schools. I would argue that the Big 12 South is very similar to either of the SEC divisions, falling short only in that the teams have to play three games against B12 North schools.
I think Texas did a service for the Big 12 in this game. Did anybody see anything that convinced them that Texas didn’t belong on the field, that we didn’t have the speed to keep up with Julio Jones, or to get open against their secondary? Did anybody think the game was too fast for any Longhorns except Gilbert? I didn’t think so. This can only help future Big 12 teams in polling.
4. The 2009 Longhorns finished #2, as high as a team can finish and still fall short of the MNC. Prior to the game, a lot of observers thought that a losing Texas team could be ranked behind Florida, or Boise State. It is a tribute to how they performed that they were rated second best. Only one other Texas team ever ranked #2 before- the 1981 team that beat Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.
Am I alone in thinking that this team was not one of the most talented that Mack has had? It seems to me that the 2001, 2004, and even 2008 teams had edges in pure talent, across the board. The 2009 team was a collection of great parts (defensive units), great players (Shipley, McCoy), and gaping holes of mediocrity (other receivers, OL, RBs). Yet, they won every game they were favored in, and were poised to win a game they weren’t favored in. I know I wasn’t the only one thinking, as Texas narrowed the gap to three points, “Damn, they’re going to do it again!” To borrow a baseball analogy, the 2008 – 2009 Longhorns are the toughest out in college football. They may have gotten more out of their potential than any other Longhorn team ever, passing the prior gold standard for moxie, the 1982 Longhorns.
5. Let’s talk about why Gilbert wasn’t better prepared. It’s because Mack Brown is a football coach, and no modern football coaches give their backup QB snaps with the first team in games or practice, unless they have doubts about their starter. John Chiles had more such snaps early last year than Gilbert did this year, and that is because Mack didn’t quite know what he had in Colt at the beginning of 2008. Simms had such snaps in 1999, and Young had them in 2003, because Mack suspected they were better than the starters. He didn’t think that about McCoy. It’s not about gaining stats for awards. It’s about not wasting precious practice and game time. Remember, the QB position is not the only position the coaches have to prepare.
NFL coaches, with no limits on practice, don’t even give backups serious practice snaps with the first team, let alone in games. This issue is a non-starter. There are no coaches actively preparing to play without key personnel.
6. How much of a classic was the 2006 Rose Bowl? The game had more elite talent than the 2010 MNC games, up and down both rosters, and had far fewer players coming up small. Texas receivers dropped passes, Texas OL committed stupid penalties, and several Alabama stars (Cody, Jones) seemingly disappeared. Malcolm Williams couldn’t make a catch in 2010 that Michael Griffin made in 2006. Those two games are just miles apart. We certainly weren’t talking after that game about players choking or screwing up, like we are after this game.
7. Some stats on the current competitiveness of the Big 12’s premiere programs and their coaches:
Record: Mack 208-96-1 (68.4%), Bob 117 – 29 (80.1%, whew, a loss to Stanford would have taken him under 80%)
In years at current Big 12 schools: Mack 128 – 27 (82.6%), Bob 117 – 29 (80.1%) (Note- Mack is 148 – 30 over the last 14 years, 83.1%, and isn’t it interesting that Stoops has lost more games in 11 years in the Big 12 than Mack has in 12?)
Big 12 record: Mack 82 – 18, Bob 78 – 17
Big 12 South outright titles (no ties count, only the team that gets to play for the CG): Mack 4, Bob 7
Big 12 titles: Mack 2, Bob 6
MNC: Mack 1, Bob 1
MNCs played for: Mack 2, Bob 4
Times ranked #1 (AP) with current team: Mack 1, Bob 1
Times ranked #2: Mack 1, Bob 0
Times ranked #3: Mack 0, Bob 2
Times ranked #4: Mack 1, Bob 0
Times ranked #5: Mack 2, Bob 2
Times in Top 5: Mack 5, Bob 5
Times in Top 10: Mack 7, Bob 7
Times in Top 25: Mack 12, Bob 9
BCS Bowl Record: Mack 3 – 1, Bob 2 – 5
Head to head: Bob leads, 6 – 5
Now, for the last 5 years:
Record: Mack: 58 – 8, Bob 50 – 17
Big 12 record: Mack 36 – 6, Bob 34 – 9 (Mack has lost more games to the Aggies over the last five years than to the Sooners)
Big 12 south titles: Mack 2, Bob, 3
Big 12 titles: Mack 2, Bob 3
MNC’s: Mack 1, Bob 0
Played for MNC: Mack 2, Bob 1
Top 5 finishes (AP poll): Mack 3, Bob 1
Top 10 finishes: Mack 4, Bob 2
Top 25 finishes: Mack 5, Bob 4
BCS Bowl record: Mack 2 – 1, Bob 0 – 3
Head to head: Mack leads, 4 – 1
A win last Thursday would have established Mack as definitely superior to Stoops. With a loss, we can’t say that, but Stoops has definitely lost momentum.
8. Issues for next year’s team- How is the OL fixed? Do the coaches even realize it’s broken? With a less mobile QB, is our run game back to (wretched) 2002 standards, when we didn’t have a spread option or zone read component? Are we really going to be a “pass-first” team again, with no proven receivers?
The most important decision a coach makes is which offense to run. What will the 2010 offense be? Do the coaches expect to run the same scheme, or do they plan to tailor it to the reality of our talent?
9. Mack has 12 years with his current team. Of BCS conference coaches, who has more now? Paterno, Beamer, and…? Wow. Coaching turnover is a reality of life. Do you realize that fully half of the Big 12’s coaches have less than three years with their current teams?
10. Why do I believe the Big 12 will fail? Because I don’t see any team that truly supports the conference. Texas believes the other schools are trying to hold it down. TAMU wishes the legislature had allowed them to go to the SEC 15 years ago. NU believes that Texas screwed up a nice thing they had in the Big 8. Missouri would jump to the Big 10 if invited. The smaller schools want the bigger schools to share more revenue. The conference itself seems incapable of strategic planning, with nothing in work to address the issues weakening it. Who is willing to stick up for the Big 12?
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour 13 minutes ago
Outstanding “around the horn” type article. Can’t believe it’s almost 6 months until college football. The “U” from ESPN, while fun was nothing more than a 90 minute commercial for the greatness of Miami football. It would have been better if someone, other than a fan, took a critical look at that
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Black Scholes commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 18 minutes ago
Hearing nothing that leads me to believe Cory Joseph is on his way to save Barnes’ ‘offense’. Hope this staff is making some contingency plans.
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 22 minutes ago
Nickel,
Yea, I think AB may move if he can get assurances he won’t slide past the teens. Going 25 or so is a much different story. I think he should probably come back if he’s in the mid-20’s but not having a clear vision of what the rookie salary scale might look like
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GoHornsGo90 commented on the blog post Bradley or Hamilton? 29 minutes ago
The great thing about Joseph is he is a hard worker and great defender, just like Avery. This means he won’t be in the dog house like JH and JBC were all season fro their terrible defense and effort. He is also a perfect pick and roll/pick and pop PG who is smart and always
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GoHornsGo90 commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 35 minutes ago
Don’t see Bradley as a kind of guy that goes through that kind of disappointment, sees how unprepared for the NBA he is, and goes to “get his” in the draft. Maybe Hamilton, but not AB.
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dick commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
we will be better than an 8 seed if all 3 of those come back. i’ll be adjusting my expectations accordingly which will make season much better
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Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 1 hour, 22 minutes ago
Hmm, great article, more or less of the same subject I wrote on for today.
I think we are in exact agreement that Bradley should probably go if his draft grade holds steady in the 15-25 range because he’ll probably not get a better contract if he waits but simply demonstrate his ceiling as a player. -
uthookem commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 1 hour, 49 minutes ago
…but by conference play, we will HAVE to start Thompson if we want to optimize our potential.
Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!
Pains me to hear that, as we all pined for Hamilton to start all season long (except ipowers, that is). What makes you think it will be different with a
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Nickel Rover wrote a new blog post: Bradley or Hamilton? 1 hour, 50 minutes ago
Basketball:
Bradley or Hamilton? In an ideal world they are both back next season. Withought knowing how well they are responding to Barnes’ style or what kind of draft grade they are looking for it’s hard to project what they will do.
Bradley has been listed as a mid-first round guy but I have trouble seeing it.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Second Round Bets 2 hours, 29 minutes ago
What a horseshit bank, but Mary’s the right side
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Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day Two 2 hours, 45 minutes ago
Was pretty disappointed with OSU’s shitburger last night though. I’ve never seen Anderson so bad…almost looked hurt. 5-2 first round isn’t bad though.
We really ought to get 4 team into the Sweet 16 though, with only Missouri having much of an excuse to not advance.
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Hiphopopotamus wrote a new blog post: Bid Dance: Day Three 2 hours, 47 minutes ago
A little late getting this up today, as our first game is already in the second stanza, but we’ve got plenty more to keep us all fat and giggly.
Lunch
2) Villanova v. 10) St. Mary’s – I like this to be a highly entertaining, competitive game from beginning to end. St Mary’s will likely jump out
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NorthDallasSooner commented on the blog post Rumor Alert–TMG 2 hours, 54 minutes ago
Cameron Clark, #5 3-position player in country (Scout) from Sherman, Committed. T.J Taylor, 3 star two guard from Denison, committed. We seem to have Texoma bottled up. Lots of others “interested.”
This is a rumor at this point and not confirmed, so we’ll see.
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 3 hours, 8 minutes ago
Texoz,
As much as we need to find an identity on offense, we also need to address our defensive schemes. If JCB and JH are two big contributors and we play a 6′6″ guy at 4 and a foul prone freshman in the middle then we need to re-examine our principles on defense. We
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dick commented on the blog post Second Round Bets 3 hours, 22 minutes ago
I ended up going the other way and taking St Mary’s. Unfortunately, we’ve all become experts at basketball team collapses this year and Villanova’s collapse looks too familiar.
I really like Washington today for the reasons you mentioned. I have them in my Calcutta too so I have a lot riding on them.
I am
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Recapping the West 3 hours, 25 minutes ago
Yea, Mack was very good. He got really hot in the right game. Aubrey Coleman was pretty good too. And your definitely right Jordan Crawford. He’s fun to watch….
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Jorgrama commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 3 hours, 46 minutes ago
Barnes has lost two longtime assistants and gained Paulino and Ogden–two guys who really only know what he’s taught them. Seems like he should look to the outside for some methodology.
Two, got to recruit fewer projects. Fewer spindly white guys that need to gain 30 pounds of muscle. Fewer all-purpose guards who you
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Recapping the West 3 hours, 47 minutes ago
Thanks Patrick. UTEP played dumb and Butler was en fuego. Be nice to have a Shelvyn Mack on this Texas team, huh?
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Recapping the Midwest 3 hours, 48 minutes ago
There were lots of fireworks and exciting games in this region. Let’s start at the top.
Kansas vs. Lehigh
Lehigh never had a realistic shot, but I’m sure they gained Kansas’ respect as a sixteen seed. They’re pretty athletic, especially inside. Again, I ask the tournament selection committee; this was the worst team in
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Recapping the West 4 hours, 9 minutes ago
Great recaps, Trips, er Kev. Keep pumping out the great content. Sorry about UTEP…..
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Rumor Alert–TMG 4 hours, 15 minutes ago
NDS,
What will your team look like w/o those two guys? Who do you have coming in???
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Nike U in Turmoil 4 hours, 26 minutes ago
Getting off a sinking ship. Bellotti is supposedly very much like Mack in his affinity for the media. I’ve always wondered about the assumption that Mack would be happy as the Texas AD when he could just go get a cushy analyst job. Mack clapping in studio would be great TV, no??
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Recapping the West 4 hours, 27 minutes ago
The Wild West was anything but considering all games played according to seed except for Vanderbilt and Murray State. Let’s start with the big dog.
Syracuse vs. Vermont
The Orange took an early first half lead and never looked back. Using five players with double figure scoring, and a new-look zone missing interior presence Arinze
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 4 hours, 28 minutes ago
AAS wrote a dumbed down version of this subject today. Barnes says he’s bringing in another guard. Good, because I feel very confident in our depth in the front court. Alexei, white stiff #1, and white stiff #2 make me ooze with confidence especially behind a true freshman and undersized 4…….
Barnes, asked
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Farmer Ted wrote a new blog post: Suh Meets with Lions 4 hours, 47 minutes ago
Not too long ago we laughed at the idea that a team would consider taking anyone ahead of Ndamukong Suh in the NFL draft. Now it appears very possible — even likely — that the Rams will take QB Sam Bradford with the #1 pick, which would give the Lions the next shot at Suh
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Black Scholes commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page 4 hours, 50 minutes ago
Hamilton needs 1-2 years to seriously work on the deficiencies in his game. He goes now, and in a couple of years he’s “whatever happened to …?”. The risk is while he might get drafted now on potential, if he can’t/won’t develop as a player he won’t even have that to offer in
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NorthDallasSooner commented on the blog post The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour 5 hours, 16 minutes ago
“Coincidentally I maintain a subscription to Texas Monthly magazine in an effort to keep up with my roots in some way, shape or form. The April issue showed up at my house this afternoon and features a fairly in depth article about the ongoing drama between Texas Tech and the Dread Pirate Leach. The more
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Recapping the East 5 hours, 20 minutes ago
Again, no news is good news when you’re one of the top seeds in the region. That motto holds true in the East as the top four seeds advanced.
Kentucky vs. East Tennessee State
This was a blood bath from the tip. Anyone that thinks this young Wildcat club may have one eye on the
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NorthDallasSooner wrote a new blog post: Rumor Alert–TMG 5 hours, 28 minutes ago
It’s certainly unconfirmed, but I got this email this morning from a friend who follows the hoops program very closely. Stay tuned……
“A very reliable source close to the OU BB program told me yesterday TMG is gone. He packed his bags and unless Capel can talk him out of it our PG for the future has left
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Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour 5 hours, 46 minutes ago
Great survey, whiskey. I miss football a lot.
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California Horn said:
January 11th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Great stuff, Taylor.
As to points #1 and #2, I would note that USC had to play a game last season with their starting QB injured, and a full week’s notice to get their backup ready, the backup being a third-year player who was the #44 ranked player in the nation per Rivals.
USC lost 13-10 to a Washington team that had won one game in its last 16 to that point. Aaron Corp went 13-22 for 110 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT.
Mysterious Package said:
January 11th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Good points. The last one sticks home to me. Big 12 coaches don’t stick up for each other like in the SEC. We have our coaches voting Texas behind teams from others conferences (Briles, Stoops, Leach, ect). We screw each other over like 12 year old kids. There is no unity, only jealousy. Heck both OU and Nebraska went to Alabama to help them game plan for us. Do you honestly think anyone from the SEC would come to Austin and assist us(maybe Kiffen)? Even fans from other Big 12 school openly root against each other, where as everyfan base in the SEC cheers for the SEC team regardless. Maybe it takes time to develope natural rivalries and respect, but our conference is already fighting up hill and this does not help.
Pinched Nerve, Frayed Nerves said:
January 11th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Mike Bacsik (not Vasic) is a producer and normally not an on-air personality for The Ticket. His claim to fame was giving up #756 to Barry Bonds before he washed out of the Bigs. I too was listening to the dumbass when he “enlightened” us as to how UT gained an advantage by Colt being injured. I threw up a little in my mouth and swore that my children would be free to join a street gang or a cult rather than ever attend Bacsik’s Duncanville ISD.
PatronSaint said:
January 11th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
I’m glad to see you state emphatically that the lack of prep that Gilbert got isn’t some huge flaw on behalf of Mack et al. It is just the nature of football. I see people argue this on shaggybevo and it annoys me.
No one gets that extra snaps for any one person means less for other people. Colt wouldn’t have been Colt if Gilbert had taken his snaps away.
Dunstan Pearl said:
January 11th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Bascik is pretty much an idiot, but isn’t that effectively what Saban said in his postgame comments? That they were worried because they had a gameplan to stop Colt and not one to stop Gilbert?
BamaPride said:
January 11th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
As I posted during y’all’s Heisman ceremony blog:
“When this season is all over, no one is going to remember anything about McCoy or Texas.”
The subsequent incessant whining here being one of the few exceptions………
Topo Gigio said:
January 11th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Hey Bama Pride,
Don’t ruin what was generally a good showing by your fan base by popping onto a UT board and acting like an ass. Colt will be remembered for a quite while given the NCAA records he has set.
Colby said:
January 11th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
BamaPride said:
January 11th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
As I posted during y’all’s Heisman ceremony blog:
“When this season is all over, no one is going to remember anything about McCoy or Texas.”
The subsequent incessant whining here being one of the few exceptions………
BamaPride, why are you here? I would understand if you were trolling on a Florida or Auburn blog, or even a Tennessee blog, but your team just took home it’s eight national title and you’re trolling here? That’s just pathetic, kid.
scally said:
January 11th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Great info, but your posts are always so demanding. “Think about it….” “Remember…” I’m already taking time out to read this here, why are you making me work more? I DON’T LIKE MY BLOG POSTS TELLING ME WHAT TO DO.
derryl said:
January 11th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Bama Pride: Something tells me you will always remember because it is the only way you got your ticket punched for the MNC. Pussy….
SpiralOut said:
January 12th, 2010 at 4:58 am
Saban argued the same thing in the post-game presser because he was desperately searching for something to use as an excuse for his team’s shitty performance and almost getting beaten by a freshman.
Anyone with half a brain realizes that with Colt in there we put up 35+ points on that uninspired, lazy, and overrated Bama defense. For Christ sake, Garrett went what, 1 for 10 for -4 yards a two picks or some shit before he finally got it figured out and started torching the Bama D? Colt would have raped that shit until the clock read triple zeroes.
Bama lucked out. They know it. We know it. All of America except for ESPin/SEC shills who are willfully being retarded know it.
When we’re back in a year or two and pushing some overrated SEC team’s shit in because we don’t lose our badass, All-World QB then the SEC! SEC! SEC! crowd can talk all they want.
Boddicker Is Clutch said:
January 12th, 2010 at 6:45 am
Point 5
Hallelujah. Copy and paste that from here to kingdom come. Im sick of the second guessing of our preparation of Gilbert as a mode of failure in the MNC. For better or worse, Colt was our team, its amazing we did as well with our head cut off as we did.
Bob in Houston said:
January 12th, 2010 at 7:19 am
Difference between the two teams in this game is that “Garrett Gilbert” had been playing all season for Alabama. If Texas had had a real running game, they probably would have won with Gilbert.
One thing overlooked is how hard Mack’s teams play. They don’t quit. They’ve overcome significant deficits on a regular basis over the years. Yes, Texas usually has a talent edge, but these guys appear to be willing to spill their guts for him. This game was just one more example of that.
UT_BKC said:
January 12th, 2010 at 7:42 am
Re Point # 10: When I got to work Friday, two co-workers (UF and Ark grad) were chanting “SEC SEC SEC.” I reminded them that they had not actually played in or won the NC themselves and that they had gotten their asses kicked by the team they were cheering for. I also pointed out to Arkansas that they played in and barely won against a CUSA team in the nobodygivesafuck.com bowl, and his team hadn’t been relevant in 30 years.
panchoclaus said:
January 12th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Good stuff. I am always shocked folks like Dennis Dodd and Pat Forde get paid to do this when the free stuff is so much better.
bigdukesix said:
January 12th, 2010 at 7:53 am
5. Let’s talk about why Gilbert wasn’t better prepared. It’s because Mack Brown is a football coach, and no modern football coaches give their backup QB snaps with the first team in games or practice, unless they have doubts about their starter.
At the same time, there are no coaches blowing redshirt years on quarterbacks in order to not play them. The conventional wisdom cuts both ways.
Cody Green said:
January 12th, 2010 at 8:03 am
there are no coaches blowing redshirt years on quarterbacks in order to not play them
Hi!
Travis said:
January 12th, 2010 at 8:13 am
I think everyone is in agreement that no matter what we did with gilbert this year.. We are only going to get 2 full years of GG running the show, so why not let him get in on some playing time early… as awful as it was Gilbert getting to play in the championship will be the best thing that happened to us come october next season.
BEHorn said:
January 12th, 2010 at 8:19 am
The Hansen kid at Colorado also had a pretty lightly-used freshman year (lost his ’shirt in our game).
Roach said:
January 12th, 2010 at 8:33 am
Blowing a redshirt year = playing most of the national championship game, uh OK.
If you want to know how we would have fared had Colt played, all you have to do is look at the performance of the O-line. They gave up one sack on a blitz that if colt is in he probably recognizes easily.
Also, the one advantage Gilbert has over Colt at this point is arm strength. My contention is that the receivers were having a hard time adjusting to the difference in velocity on the ball resulting in more drops than usual.
Sure Saban had to “change his game plan” that just means:
1.) he didn’t have to throw the ball at all.
2.) They blitzed Gilbert more than they would have blitzed Colt.
Making this sound like an advantage for Texas is just plain stupid. That might be the case if we were playing Colt and Vince Young came into the game, but really, we replaced a very experienced pocket passing somewhat mobile QB for a true freshman pocket QB with no mobility.
SydneyCarton said:
January 12th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Couldn’t disagree more on the notion of Gilbert not being prepared being the nature of the game. I think that suggestion is patently absurd.
Not getting practice reps, and things of that nature, sure, I completely understand. But there were a number of games where we idled offensively in typical Greg Davis bullshit that negated the ability to get Colt out of the game and get Gilbert in there and get some snaps. Colorado comes to mind immediately. Gilbert is your surefire started going into next year, and we got him what, 35 snaps this year in Garbage Time? Was that the stat they threw up there before the national championship game? I find this unacceptable. This is the guy going into next year, and I firmly believe we left 2-3 extra quarters in their entirety on the field that Gilbert could have been piloting. What does this do? Using them properly as a teaching tool could have been huge. Would Gilbert still have struggled? Certainly. But perhaps not as long, and perhaps it wouldn’t have taken a quarter and a half for Greg to pull his head out and would have been more comfortable trying to run an actual facsimile of our offense with Gilbert in there for almost 2 entire quarters instead of running the ball up the middle and waiting/praying that Colt is going to walk out of that tunnel at halftime.
Even if Colt doesn’t get injured and we fuckstomp Alabama into oblivion, only getting Gilbert 35 snaps going into next year is a huge failure as a coaching staff, which stems from offensive woes that shouldn’t have existed in minor games. The only difference is that no one would have given a fuck because we’d be basking in a glow of a national title.
Would it have made a difference in us beating ‘Bama? Maybe not. Shit, probably not. But I can tell you I’d have loved to not wasted 2 quarters running up the middle and seeing what Gilbert could have done.
ballrific said:
January 12th, 2010 at 8:49 am
“pocket QB with no mobility.”
which scares the fuck out of me since we saw how greg wouldn’t adjust and tried to shove Colt into VY’s offense. Yeah, yeah, i know, it’s not the same zone read, what the fuck ever. I’m not worried, we had a great few years under Davis with the last slow, pocket passer we had here before VY….oh wait. double fuck.
TaylorTRoom said:
January 12th, 2010 at 8:56 am
Sydney Carton, name a backup QB, on a team with no QB controversy, and no QB injury, that got game reps with the first team, with the game in reach, running the regular offense. You have 119 teams to choose from. Name one.
Magnificent Bastard said:
January 12th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Hey BamaPride, left or right?
SydneyCarton said:
January 12th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Taylor, you clearly need to go back and re-read my post and see if you can divine the proper intent. Or, let me just save you some time. The point of it was that we had multiple opportunities against inferior teams where we could have stepped on their necks, and did not. This prevented games with enough of a scoring gap to allow Gilbert into the game, and hopefully (a big if considering our offensive thinking), RUN the fucking offense instead of just handing off. Other coaches let their backups run the offense in blowouts assuming they can get the guy in there before the last 3 minutes of the 4th quarter.
TaylorTRoom said:
January 12th, 2010 at 9:42 am
SydneyCarton, tell me more. Tell me which games we throttled back on offense. I know we didn’t beat CU by as much as usual. I had assumed that was because we had only scored 3 points on offense in the first half. Was it the TT game when we let off the gas? We beat Mizzou, OSU and BU pretty handily, and I see those are the games where Gilbert played the most, and even (uncharacteristically for a Mack Brown team) threw the ball. So, you say that Gilbert should have been able to run the offense in games that were out of hand? He did!
Should he have played more with the first team? Should he have played more when the game was up in the air (think Mack Brown catches heat? Think of what they would say if a pick 6 happened with McCoy resting and a game still contested)? Please tell me more about how many resources a coach should commit to preparing players that (hopefully) might never have to play.
There are a lot of smart coaches. There is a reason that none of them do what you propose.
BicBenedict said:
January 12th, 2010 at 10:04 am
I love the “meaningful” minutes argument. As Taylor asked, where were the minutes that GG was to get this valuable experience? Maybe a few instances but nothing that would have prepared him for what happened last Thursday.
Roach said:
January 12th, 2010 at 10:08 am
The zone read is probably gone from the offense for the next 3 years. At least the read part of it is gone. I think we’re going to be more airraid than tech. Davis likes to throw the ball too much to go back to the I formation “west coast” offense Simms ran, and we don’t seem to have the backs or tight ends to run that offense anyway.
Unless we were to get Alex Gibbs, I don’t really see much of a deference in hiring a new o-line coach–the scheme will be more pass happy than ever.
It would be nice if we would adopt more power, iso, counter, trap, out numbering at the point of attack but I doubt that happens.
OU fan said:
January 12th, 2010 at 10:55 am
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out next year with both teams trying to replace some big names on both sides of the ball. Could Texas have the MNC? Sure. But Colt wasnt the one allowing 200 yds on the ground by Bama’s RB. Saban went conservative because he knew he had the game. Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda you can speculate all you want but we all know that defense wins championships.
Levander Williams said:
January 12th, 2010 at 11:21 am
“The zone read is probably gone from the offense for the next 3 years.”
For all intents and purposes, it’s been gone since 2005.
TaylorTRoom said:
January 12th, 2010 at 11:26 am
I’m trying to avoid the alternate universe where not only is Colt not hurt by Alabama, but he is incapable of being hurt during the rest of the game by Alabama, due to celestial fiat. Still, I don’t know what to do with the comments about Saban “going conservative, because he could”. Is it possible that he went conservative because he called 8 pass plays in the 1st half, and saw two completed for 34 yards, 2 incomplete, and 4 sacks for 38 yards lost?
“Defense wins championships”. Did you see anything that convinced you that Alabama’s defense was measurably better than Texas’? Can you not see, that in an alternate reality where Colt stays in the game, with Texas up a couple of scores, that Alabama would be taken out of their offensive comfort zone? In such a scenario, we would be talking about the dominant Texas defense.
EggNog said:
January 12th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Interesting tidbit from the TMQ article on ESPN:
“Colt McCoy was injured early and freshman Garrett Gilbert entered, never having played in a pressure situation in college. Instantly it was obvious the game would turn on whether Gilbert could perform cold. My seat was low behind the Texas sideline, with a clear view of the Longhorns coaches and players. To my amazement, when the Texas offense wasn’t on the field in the first half, Gilbert simply stood alone. He wasn’t throwing to his receivers. Senior leaders were not coming by to urge him on. And no coaches were talking to him! Texas not only has $5 million-a-year coach Mack Brown, it has a bloated coaching staff, yet none of these gentlemen came over to help Gilbert prepare, calm down or adjust. Greg Davis, the Longhorns offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, was nowhere to be seen as Gilbert stood alone. Just what exactly was Davis doing that was more important, at that moment, than helping a freshman get ready to go back in at quarterback in the national championship? Only when McCoy returned from the trainer’s room in the third quarter, donned headphones and started assisting Gilbert, did the Texas comeback begin. McCoy, a student, was the one “coaching up” Gilbert. Where was the Texas coaching staff?”
SydneyCarton said:
January 12th, 2010 at 11:40 am
The point is that there should have been more games where the score wasn’t contested late, where we didn’t need to throw a score or two in the 4th quarter to cement the game, or make it appear a decent margin for pollsters (although, agreeably, something Mack doesn’t do too often). THAT is my fucking point. It’s not that the coach necessarily did anything wrong with the circumstances that did present themselves, as opposed to inept and slow starting Greg Davis offenses and a complete inability to construct an effective running game
Lets start with Central Florida, a game where we go into Halftime ahead 14-3. Was there anyone watching that game not groaning at halftime that we should be ahead 28-3? Hell, we had to throw a 14 spot in the 4th quarter to make the game look like a victory befitting a top 5 team over an unranked and mediocre one. Colt plays the whole game, obviously chasing school records along with Jordan Shipley. Does chasing the records make for mitigating circumstances? Maybe, I’ll at least entertain the discussion.
Wyoming, perhaps? Texas is up 13-10 at halftime. We explode in the 2nd half, but the whole point I’m trying to make is that by not blowing out vastly inferior teams early, and being a 2nd half team almost every time, we’re forced to play our starters later and miss the opportunity (fuck, we might not even TAKE the opportunity, but at least we’ll have it) to play backups more. Gilbert goes 2-3 in the game, for 16 yards.
UTEP. A foot up their ass from start to finish. UT is up 47-7 at halftime. Now, I’d had a few to drink, so I don’t remember exactly when Gilbert entered the game, but I think it plausibly could have been done AT the half. I don’t think that’s exactly how things went down. He obviously got more time than usual, finishing 5-6 for 49 yards, and he had a couple rushes too. Maybe he did play the entire 2nd half and I’m wrong, but I’m thinking more like 4th quarter? Ill leave it to someone else to correct me. But my guy says he could have played a lot more. Final score was 64-7. Again, I suppose I can entertain someone taking the point that we were using that time to get our running game on track. I guess that makes this scenario a no win situation, but either way a coaching head-scratcher (not getting true frosh backup QB playing time, state of our Oline and rushing attack in general).
Colorado I don’t think we need to examine. We know how many defensive plays it took for us in that game. How about we just leave it as simply saying it was a fucking squandered opportunity against a horrid opponent where Gilbert feasibly could have had well over an entire quarter of play if we’d hammered an inferior opponent in the manner expected.
Missouri, we’re up 35-7 at halftime. Again, I’m not sure when Gilbert went in during the 2nd half to play, but he threw 3 pass attempts. Seems like there could have been a little bit more there in terms of pass attempts to develop that part of his game, as opposed to handing off. One might dare say he could have played the entire 2nd half.
Or what’s more, how about an Oklahoma State blowout where we had 41 by the end of the 3rd quarter, and Gilbert goes a fantastic 1-2. I could be wrong, but IF memory serves, Colt was playing in that game well into the 4th quarter.
Baylor, a huge blowout where Texas is up 40-0 at halftime. Gilbert goes 2-5. Yes our rushing game ruled the day, however, seems like Gilbert could have played the entire 2nd half. My memory agrees with you in that I THINK Gilbert played more in this game than usual, but I can’t recall for certain. Either way, there’s 2 quarters of work where he could have gotten the lions share.
Kansas. A beatdown of a game, but it took all 4 quarters to get there. We were only up 34-14 going into the 4th. Gilbert makes 1 pass attempt in the game.
Now, I get that Mack is respectful, and doesn’t like running scores up as much as other coaches, but these games ended up that way anyway, and I think if he courteously shook hands with opposing head coaches and said “I’m sorry, but I’ve got a true freshman and I have to get him real reps running the offense.” Something tells me that’s more than other winning coaches would give in explanation or apology.
Now, is it feasible that a true freshman QB is going to play the ENTIRE 2nd half of games? Maybe not, as that might be a fast way to let opponents back into the game, but considering all the time that I’ve listed up there as available, don’t even try to tell me that there wasn’t huge sections of game time that Gilbert could have been playing meaningful snaps (and by meaningful, I mean running our offense completely, not with the score being close). In fact, I’d be shocked that if almost every reader here didn’t at some point in several of our games scratch our heads and say “Hmm, I would have thought we would have run Gilbert out on this series, why is Colt coming back?” I know it happened to me at least a handful of different times, as well as the people I regularly watch college football with.
alma said:
January 12th, 2010 at 11:44 am
The only thing that will be remebered about Alabama’s national championship are the pictures from Walmart.
I agree with the thoughts above that no minutes Gilbert could have reaosnably obtained during the season would have exposed him to what was needed to get ready to come into the national championship game and lead us to a productive first several drives.
Defense doesn’t win championships, but rather puts you in position to win every game. Without our defense playing at an elite level, Alabama would have blown us out in the second half. But at some point, top teams will score against top defenses. You can’t win a championship without an offense that can at least flip the field and score when given the chance.
Alabama’s offense did just that; Texas’s offense didn’t until the fourth quarter.
TaylorTRoom said:
January 12th, 2010 at 11:58 am
Sydney, seriously…drop it. Now you’re saying that the problem was that the Texas offense wasn’t productive enough. That’s true, and nobody will say otherwise, but it doesn’t have much to do with playing Gilbert.
Think of how poorly Colt started the CU and TT games. In the real world, do you really think it would be a good idea to take snaps and series away from him as he tries to find a rhythm? It’s not about padding stats; it’s about prepping our most valuable player to be at his best as we get ready for bigger and biger games.
Roach said:
January 12th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Leavander
Well there’s gone and then there’s really gone.
ballrific said:
January 12th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
So I’ve simmered down some and got all the woulda couldas out of my system and came back to reality. I’m not so sure i’m in the boat anymore of we “blow” them out if mccoy doesn’t get hurt. I’ve seen Colts teams choke away big games too many times these last 4 yrs late in the season. The kid has poor luck in that he either gets hurt or comes up short. Who knows if colt would have had a couple of pick 6’s against bama or other turnovers. Nebraska shut us down as well (that was more about shoving their fists into the O lines vaginas but still).
Instead of using 5 plays in the game last thurs as proof we would have “easily won”, I just looked back at late season “big” games and the history isn’t there other than this years a&m game (he had some huge throws against ohio st last year as well but didn’t manage the clock very well in the tech game that cost us everything).
2006? gets hurt against kstate and then we go on to lost to an AWFUL a&m team with Fran headed out the door. Our backup qb should have been able to beat the ags that day but they played mccoy. You can say he was hurt but he played the majority of the game. We lose both games/chances to get to big 12 champ. game.Go on to barely squeak by freaking iowa in alamo bowl.
2007 Lose once again in a late season “big” game to another shitty a&m team. Blow our chance at a bcs berth.
2008 Just shitty luck all around but the tech game could have been managed better. Colt finished strong this season and we stomped everyone through the rest of the regular season (this was the best team under colt and his best year individually)
2009 Look like dogshit down the stretch, colt has a tough day in every big game this year. We barely get by an ou team that gave us 5 turnovers! Colt’s best play of the day was the tackle of the would be ou’s pick 6. Nebraska shuts us down late in the year and we know what happened in pasadena.
Just some shitty luck for the kid but we seemed to run into problems when it counted, late in the year. Amazing accomplishments in becoming the all time winningest qb and a 3-1 record against ou. Those a&m games were kick in the nuts and don’t make any sense. But I’m just not convinced we “roll” the tide with him playing the whole game.
The Bobs said:
January 12th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
I’ve seen Colts teams choke away big games too many times these last 4 yrs late in the season.
Yikes!
You must have been really travelling the last few days, because there’s about a million miles of difference between “we blow them out if Colt doesn’t get hurt” and this.
As to your examples, I’m not sure what ‘06 has to do with it. Are you implying that because Colt got hurt as a freshman and also in his very last game that he’s injury-prone or something? Or that it somehow means that if he’d NOT been hurt, as in basically every game since that year, it wouldn’t have made a significant difference between a true freshman thrown in without warning?
We lost a bad on to the aggies in ‘07, but wouldn’t you put that one a little more on the defense? Which, btw, hardly bears a passing resemblance to this year’s unit… plus, when they did play their one bad game this year – against the aggies, Colt just shouldered the load and carried the team.
Complaining about clock management in the Tech game last year also seem worlds removed from Colt’s teams choking. Basically, after a horrendous first half, when Colt gets the chance, he leads his team down the field to score. Blame McGee for going all 14 or so yards instead of sitting at the one and running more clock, but it’s hard to blame Colt there. And the only thing remotely close to choking there would be a dropped INT from a freshman, which again, bears little in the way of relevance to missing Colt in last Thursday’s game. Besides, it’s like blaming Testaverde for Flutie’s Hail Mary…
Bottom line – how many times has Colt in his career been in a similar situation to: down by 3, deep in his own end of the field and just over 3 minutes to go? How’d those work out for us? Is there anything, anything at all, which would lead you to believe that he would not somehow come through? In fact, that moment is when I felt the worst for Colt. It could have been his moment, and what a way to cap off a truly great career…
assuming he didn’t have us comfortably ahead at that point anyway…………….
Saltshaker said:
January 12th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Here’s why the Bama win can’t be so sweet:
1. Six points. The first two field goals should have been touchdowns. One was and was called back. Colt in the red zone makes that stick and jams in the second one. Bama down by 14 leaves them having to pass while we stack the box. Single coverage was still getting the Bama QB sacked.
The Bama offense was only Ingram. without 5 turnovers, they get nothing done but one, maybe two TD’s in the first half with zip in the second.
2. Texas offensive handicapping still scored 21 points on the vaunted Bama D. Texas played with an out of shape untested freshman.
3. Texas diminished their play book and scrapped the month long prepped game plan. Bama did too, no biggie for them, it wasn’t working anyway.
4. Texas has a mediocre O-line. Hall leaving the game was an upgrade, he personally has cost the offense 45 yards in the last two big games in personal foul chop blocks and leg whips. He does this because he spends most of his time on his gut face down in the ground.
On the sack/fumble in the last 3 minutes, it WAS NOT A BLITZ. People keep saying that and it was NOT. It was a 4 man rush only. Ulatoski inexplicably blocked down on the tackle NOT THE END. Leaving the end on an open sprint from the blind side. There was no blitz. Tanner…..blocked no one because Ulatoski took his man. Our best most experience blind side tackle flat blew it. He was our best.
5. Penalties. Texas didn’t help Gilbert with mental errors, and the refs didn’t help Gilbert on missed back to back interference calls that would have put Texas back in striking range. Hall killed a drive with his leg whip.
6. Lack of a stand out running back/running game. The Big 12 needs to embrace the running game like the SEC does. It takes pressure off quarterback dependence to run a spread. The era of the spread has almost run its course anyway. McCoy won without a running game or star back.
7. No Tight End. Not until Shipley gave Gilbert some confidence running tight end routes to calm the blitz, did he open up in the slot. McCoy has won all year without a tight end, which would have been welcomed in the OK and NE games.
8. Lack of receivers. This receiving core McCoy has had to work with is mediocre save for Shipley. Kirkendoll, Williams, Collins, and Chiles have all been disappointments. Buckner and Goodwin have been above average, but Colt made the passing game what it was, not the receivers. All dropped balls on a regular basis, and Collins was the best, but he likes jail too much.
Despite all this, Texas in the final 3 minutes dropped the Bama lead to only 3 and was prepping for a comeback drive. The fatal flaw from the whole equation-The O-Line summed up the weakness with poor judgement by Ulatoski, resulting in the sack, fumble, and loss.
They say you can’t win championships without Defense. D we had, but we played with deficiencies the whole year on offense, save one…..the outstanding McCoy. You surely can’t win Championships with all the weaknesses we had on offense, but it was McCoy that overcame them all and put us in the big game. He is incredible.
His true grit and greatness was never realized had he had a few of the tools at his disposal that Vince Young had.
Yet, still he has a semi truck full of awards, records, and got us all the way there.
If a few of those tools were in place, even a stone cold true freshman playing on Fridays at Lake Travis a year ago could have easily beaten #1 Alabama…..he almost did anyway.
So much for the SEC.
McCoy should not just get awards, he should have an award named after him.
OU fan said:
January 12th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Is it possible that he went conservative because he called 8 pass plays in the 1st half, and saw two completed for 34 yards, 2 incomplete, and 4 sacks for 38 yards lost?
-when you rush 51 times averaging 4 yds/rush..you dont need to pass.
“Defense wins championships”. Did you see anything that convinced you that Alabama’s defense was measurably better than Texas’?
-Yes…texas had 2 passes that accounted for 40% of their total passing yards..so yes Bama was holding you guys pretty well.
Can you not see, that in an alternate reality where Colt stays in the game, with Texas up a couple of scores, that Alabama would be taken out of their offensive comfort zone? In such a scenario, we would be talking about the dominant Texas defense.
-Again back to the “Shoulda, Coulda Woulda game”..ok can I play? Should Bradford had not been hurt or perhaps Jermaine Gresham then is Texas even in the MNC game anyway? Wait..how about if colt throws the ball at a 5 degree angle higher out of bounds in the Big XII Champ game is Texas even in the BCS champ game? I can go on all day. Suck it up..give bama some props and act classy…
ballrific said:
January 12th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
bobs, I think you took it the wrong way but yeah,I know our d sucked against a&m those 2 losses…
Homesick Alien said:
January 12th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
The irony of your point, BamaPride, is that in six years, the only things anyone will remember about Thursday night are Colt and Garrett.
coolhorn said:
January 12th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Some thoughts on the last point…I’ve been raked over the coals by some on another site because I’ve maintained that the Big XII has only slightly longer shelf life than milk. Matter of fact, I figure the league is dead in the water within five years because at least one, and possibly two teams are gonna jump to other conferences, taking one or two of the major Big XII tv markets with them. (Hint: Denver and/or St. Louis)
I’d like to think that the braintrust at Belmont Hall is smart enough to realize that for the time being, and only for the time being, UT is in the best position of all Big XII teams to move to a more stable, and much more profitable conference. The only way we hurt ourselves is by waiting too long to pursue one or the other opportunities…to maintain the status quo.
UT has virtually nothing in common with most of the Big XII schools, and as mentioned, nobody supports anybody else in this conference. For sure, some schools actively work against the best interests of UT, and there seems to be the attitude that the Big XII could do quite nicely without us. I’m in favor of giving them the chance.
UT basically has had an open invitation from the PAC 10 since back before the formation of the Big XII…but for Bob Bullock, we were headed out west. Now, the Big 10 is showing us some love as well. Both of those conferences are stable, and certainly, the Big 10 is a lot more profitable. If UT shows any inclination to listen, we will have both conferences whispering sweet nothings in our ear.
The two big arguments against changing conferences are specious, to say the list. I hear distance…it’s easier and just about as cost efficient to book flights to PAC 10 and Big 10 cities as to the Big XII outposts. The other argument is loss of rivalries. Come on…the only two significant Big XII rivalries UT has are with okie and aggy, and both can be maintained even if we move. I have heard that for us to move, we would need to provide for our agriculturally-inclined bumpkins over in collie station. Not true…we’re not joined at the hip with them, and besides, if they open the door a little bit, the SEC will probably come calling again just to get the chance to pick up some Texas tv markets.
If Mizzou and/or Colorado leave the Big XII, there are no teams we can replace them with that would allow us to replace the tv markets they take with them. That’s the key….you have to follow the tv money. Sure we could maybe bring in BYU or Utah (but not both), but Salt Lake City is not an adequate replacement for Denver or St. Louis. Neither is Albuquerque, and we gain nothing by adding a TCU, Arkansas, etc. Bottom line…in a short time, the Big XII is gonna be in about the same shape as the old SWC with the networks. I don’t think, after enduring the death throes of the SWC, that UT wants to be put into the position of being a big dog in a dying Big XII. This conference has always felt like a shotgun wedding anyway, and to quote Kenny Rogers, “You have to know when to hold ‘em, and when to fold ‘em.” I think it’s time for Dodds, et. al. to seriously see what else is out there for us, and whether we want to move west or toward the upper midwest.
TaylorTRoom said:
January 12th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
So, OUfan, can I put you down in the “injury to Colt was not the biggest factor in UT’s loss” category?
TaylorTRoom said:
January 12th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Coolhorn, I agree. The Big 12 is a house of cards, and you only have to remove one to collapse the whole thing.
Mysterious Package said:
January 12th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
THIS
4. Texas has a mediocre O-line. Hall leaving the game was an upgrade, he personally has cost the offense 45 yards in the last two big games in personal foul chop blocks and leg whips. He does this because he spends most of his time on his gut face down in the ground.
On the sack/fumble in the last 3 minutes, it WAS NOT A BLITZ. People keep saying that and it was NOT. It was a 4 man rush only. Ulatoski inexplicably blocked down on the tackle NOT THE END. Leaving the end on an open sprint from the blind side. There was no blitz. Tanner…..blocked no one because Ulatoski took his man. Our best most experience blind side tackle flat blew it. He was our best.
Saltshaker is spot on. They only rushed 3 or 4 that play and Ulatoski blocks down leaving the defener a clear path to Gilbert. I remember seeing this thinking game over right when the ball was snapped. WTF was he thinking? We are a better team without him, Tanner, and Hall.
ballrific said:
January 12th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
“There was no blitz. Tanner…..blocked no one because Ulatoski took his man. Our best most experience blind side tackle flat blew it. He was our best.”
seriously? I’ll have to go back and rewatch. Anyone have a link? If that happened, we deserved to lose even more. wtf? Did Ulatoski think we had someone in the backfield to take on that uncovered guy on the end? Now granted, we all know Davis should have had a back next to Gilbert to help the kid out on that last drive but that’s another rant…
OU fan said:
January 12th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
@TaylorTRoom I think Colt is a fantastic player and person and one of the larger reasons for the offensive downfall was that he got hurt..yes…put me in that list. But, to not point any fingers at Muschamp or the fact that the WR were dropping open passes is something that shouldnt be overlooked.
Reality Check said:
January 12th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Do you really think UT wants to play outdoors in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc. in the depths of November? That would be a cold, hard, reality check, pun intended.
As it stands now, when has UT played North of Lawrence, KS past October? Think of Ames, IA as a mild Big 10 climate.
UT currently has a gravy train rolling and it would be incredibly ignorant to try and change that. Not to mention, beat OU and UT is in the driver’s seat for the BCS Championship every year.
Imo, the realistic thing that needs to happen is a Big 12/Pac 10 TV network. Capitalize the entire TV market West of the Mississippi. Due to time zones, FB game starts could roll from 11am CT all the way through 10pm CT.
TaylorTRoom said:
January 12th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Reality Check, who is going to make that happen? Beebe? Who is going to suggest that? Will they propose that TV revenue be shared equally, like the SEC and Big-10 do? Or that revenue be shared based on appearances, as the Big 12 currently does?
I’m telling you, this is a disfunctional conference.
alma said:
January 12th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
It was only a 4 man rush.
Here is a video from youtube. the best video is around the :51 mark.
alma said:
January 12th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLC-uPjCZic&feature=related
Mysterious Package said:
January 12th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Article written on Jan. 3rd, he sure sounds like he knows what to do:
“You have the quarterback’s blind side, so he never sees anything coming,” Ulatoski said. “That’s a little nerve-wracking.”
On the blind side, Ulatoski can’t just tee off on the defender in front of him. He has to recognize what’s coming and keep it from getting to his quarterback.
http://www.statesman.com/sports/longhorns/blind-side-tackle-vital-160799.html
coolhorn said:
January 12th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
The Big XII doing a joint tv deal with the PAC 10 is NOT gonna happen. I actually see a move to the PAC 10 as more likely than a move to the Big 10, but we need to be of a mind to listen to both conferences. A lot of the legwork for UT to move out west, along with Colorado, was done just before the formation of the Big XII and could easily be back on the table. The Big 10 is playing catch up right now in pursuing UT, but make no mistake, the interest is there on the part of the Big 10, and has been for at least two or three years. Mizzou to the Big 10 is a fallback option for them if us and Notre Dame aren’t interested. If Mizzou does get the invite, they’re gone. The PAC 10 would take Colorado and perhaps Utah if UT wasn’t interested. The ball’s in our court right now, and the only way we blow it is by doing nothing. I HOPE Dodds and company are prepared to listen.
bighornfan32 said:
January 13th, 2010 at 10:14 am
OU Fan:
How can you blame the defense when the Offense either turned the ball over (4 INTs) or went 3 and out deep in their own territory? Sooner or later, a competent team is going to get points out of those situations. That’s not to mention the pick 6, which had nothing to do with the defense. You’re blaming the defense by looking at the box score and nothing else.
kafka said:
January 13th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
” Let’s talk about why Gilbert wasn’t better prepared. It’s because Mack Brown is a football coach, and no modern football coaches give their backup QB snaps with the first team in games or practice, unless they have doubts about their starter. John Chiles had more such snaps early last year than Gilbert did this year, and that is because Mack didn’t quite know what he had in Colt at the beginning of 2008. Simms had such snaps in 1999, and Young had them in 2003, because Mack suspected they were better than the starters. He didn’t think that about McCoy. It’s not about gaining stats for awards. It’s about not wasting precious practice and game time. Remember, the QB position is not the only position the coaches have to prepare.
NFL coaches, with no limits on practice, don’t even give backups serious practice snaps with the first team, let alone in games. This issue is a non-starter. There are no coaches actively preparing to play without key personnel.”
If you think coaches don’t want/need to get their backup QB prepared to play, you are completely mistaken. Mack has repeatedly stressed the need to develop depth at each position. Leach normally has his bacup QB prepared (as Mackhas stated ruefully in comparison with UT). When Cincy’s QB went down, their backup performed great (he was prepared). When UConn’s QB went down last season, the backup was prepared.
Mack stated this season that he wanted to be fair to Colt in his quest for the Heisman by leaving in him sometimes when games were clinched. Many time when GG came in, it was just to hand off.
GG could have gotten just as many snaps as Colt in practise, just with the second team. It would have been more work for the coaches but it would have been great for GG. GG would have benefitted from playing more in the real game, even if with the second team.
Backups are played when possible not just to develop them but to reduce the probability of injury and to improve morale.
burntorangehorn said:
January 15th, 2010 at 10:28 am
“8. Issues for next year’s team- How is the OL fixed? Do the coaches even realize it’s broken? With a less mobile QB, is our run game back to (wretched) 2002 standards, when we didn’t have a spread option or zone read component? Are we really going to be a “pass-first” team again, with no proven receivers?”
Wretched? Cedric Benson had over 1300yds., while Selvin Young added over 400yds. I didn’t think it was that
burntorangehorn said:
January 15th, 2010 at 10:29 am
“8. Issues for next year’s team- How is the OL fixed? Do the coaches even realize it’s broken? With a less mobile QB, is our run game back to (wretched) 2002 standards, when we didn’t have a spread option or zone read component? Are we really going to be a “pass-first” team again, with no proven receivers?”
Wretched? Cedric Benson had over 1300yds., while Selvin Young added over 400yds. I didn’t think it was that bad.
TaylorTRoom said:
January 15th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
http://www.texassports.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/tex/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/stats-02
Check out page 8. In 8 Big 12 games in 2002, Texas gained over 4 or more ypc twice (against Baylor, it was exactly 4 ypc). Texas had les than 2 ypc twice as well. This was a bad rushing offense.
h34tx said:
January 18th, 2010 at 12:31 am
I’ve always thought that Ulatoski wasn’t too smart, something which flies in the face of MacWhorter’s recruiting philosophy (and explains the lack of black OL).
anyway, UT did not deserve to win the game due to a few things IMHO. The penalties killed drives and scores. The MW dropped TD. Too many other dropped passes. Poor tackling on the edge. Terrible defense on the first TD (bad alignment by Boom). Stupid mistake on shovel pass. Lots and lots of UT errors; had to play a near perfect game after Colt’s injury and we could not.