40 Acres Sports

Great video feature from Longhorn Network on Texas deep snapper (and ex-Green Beret) Nate Boyer.

WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas game against BYU.

QB David Ash was hounded and pounded by the BYU defense all game long

1st Quarter (15:00) WTH Lightning?! Is it me or did every college football game have a weather delay. Just wish Mother Nature would have made this game unplayable. Texas handled that part of the plan pretty well.

1st Quarter (5:04) WTH 3 & OUT?! How many of these do want to start in a game? (three consecutive 3 & out) Did anyone tell the offensive coaching staff that there were second string defensive backs in the game?

2nd Quarter (9:30) WTH Special?! Texas you are on the road. The defense just stopped the BYU offense. Texas you are ahead in the game 14-10. Why did you call for a blocked punt? Stupid is as stupid does. Three plays later after the roughing the punter penalty, BYU goes up for good.

2nd Quarter (7:26) WTH Stat Line of the game?! 6 plays (includes the punt), -5 yards of offense and 22 seconds of possession time. Welcome to the up tempo offense we were promised.

Halftime (:00) WTH Charmin?! ESPN halftime crew back in Bristol was dying to say it on television. The Longhorns are “SOFT”. I think the Big Blue Stop Sign that showed up on 3rd down affected the Longhorn offense.

3rd Quarter (9:57) WTH Manny?! I can still hear Mack Brown yelling at Coach Diaz about getting the defense to stop their quarterback. QB Taysom Hill of BYU ended up with 259 rushing yards & 3 TD’s.

3rd Quarter (:00) WTH Gashed?! The most rushing yards ever given up by a Texas defense which was 550 yards and they gave it up before the fourth quarter ever started. I predict that Lee Corso will never pick the Longhorns to win the rest of the season. Guess my prediction for the season is in grave jeopardy.

4th Quarter (15:00) WTH Luke Bryan?! ESPN chose to open the fourth quarter with a Luke Bryan country song. They should have used the song “Wasting Bullets!”

Next up for the Longhorns is a game at home against the Ole Miss Rebels on September 14th.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at @40AcresSports or follow me at @Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas game against the New Mexico State.

Daje Johnson was electric with the ball in his hands against New Mexico St. (Photo: Getty)

1st Quarter (11:38) WTH Crash Davis?! We’ve heard about this quick strike offense. Nothing would have been better than to have Mike “Magic” Davis get the team into the red zone. He ended up fumbling the ball to end any hope of a first score. He would more than make up for it later.

1st Quarter (3:29) WTH Punter?! What a letdown when your team cannot make a first down. Well, looks like punter Anthony Fera puts a little more excitement into 4th down with a booming 68 yard punt that is downed at the 1 inch line!

2nd Quarter (15:00) WTH Godzillatron?! A lot of us are happy that LHN is on Time Warner Cable. Too bad the University forgot to pay their cable bill for the stadium’s television set which was on the blink and out for a good portion of the quarter.

2nd Quarter (8:45) WTH Head Games?! Never seen that one before. The NMSU backup quarterback signaled for the snap just as his wide receiver was coming in motion. The ball bounced off the receivers head and rolled around as a fumble. At least the receiver, Bergstrom, used his head and recovered it.

2nd Quarter (1:48 & 1:08) WTH Wonder Twin Powers?! This duo did not transform into an animal and water, but it did electrify the dormant UT crowd (99,623) before halftime. The explosive TD catch and run by John Harris (54 yards) and Daje Johnson (66 yards) made the walk into the locker room a little less uncomfortable.

3rd Quarter (15:00) WTH Gutsy?! The coaching staff for NMSU decided to try an onside kick. No risk it… no biscuit. Did not work, but you gotta give them credit for trying.

3rd Quarter (10:27) WTH Ash?! David Ash galloped 55 yards for a touchdown to pad his rushing stats for the night. (91 yds. rushing + 343 yards passing) He had a tremendous second half. Let’s hope he wakes up earlier for the next game versus BYU.

4th Quarter (15:00) WTH House of Pain?! As the kids say “Epic Fail.” The crowd did not respond when the loud speakers starting playing “Jump.” Time to kill any thoughts of making this a tradition. I been to a few Badger football games… this is not a Wisconsin type fan base.

4th Quarter (2:34) WTH Magic?! Mike Davis redeemed is nickname with a spectacular one foot in bound catch in the end zone. Too bad the refs missed it when they did not signal touchdown but decided to call pass interference. Luckily the replay booth got it right and awarded the TD to Davis.

4th Quarter (:00) WTH Major?! 715 yards! The most yards EVER recorded by a Longhorn football team. Guess the Applewhite offense is up tempo. Greg Davis must have been smiling after this one.

Next up for the Longhorns is a trip to Utah to play the Cougars of BYU on September 7th.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at @40AcresSports or follow me at @Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

Magic… Momentum… Anything?

As we get closer to the start of the 2013 Football Season, the question needs to be asked where is this team headed. An even bigger question is what is the state of the Longhorn Men’s Athletic program?

Magic is described as the appearing to perform supernatural feats using sleight of hand. Back in the day there was a term used as “Sooner Magic” where the unexpected would occur for the OU Football team. The term came from epic tussles between the Sooners and Cornhuskers. That magic and momentum carried to other games where the Sooners would do the unimaginable. Just look at their last National Championships when OU who was a 10.5 point underdog beat the Seminoles 13-2. Texas had a similar run of “magic” when Vince Young took a team that had just lost 0-12 to the Sooners in 2004 and went on to win 20 games and two Rose Bowls plus a National Championship. Now look at these two programs and tell me where the “magic” is at. The magic is with the other teams in the conference.

Kansas State: Just came off the greatest sports year ever with a Big XII Championship in football, baseball and basketball in 2012-13.

Oklahoma State: Won the Big XII Championship in 2011 and owns a better overall record over the Sooners for the past three years.

Baylor: Has a Heisman Trophy winner, a new stadium being built and a winning record over the Horns in the past three years.

Texas Tech: At least they have a new coach and an inspired fan base that has a lot of hope for the future.

TCU: Is finishing up their renovations to their stadium and has plenty of momentum with a solid coach and a win over the Horns last year.

And then there is A&M: A multi-million dollar stadium renovation that will make it the biggest football stadium in Texas, solid footing in the tough SEC, and a Heisman Trophy winner. Oh yeah, I forgot… we do not care about them anymore since they are not in the conference.

So with everyone else having momentum beginning this football season, what is in store for the Longhorns in 2013. Here is a video to get you going before we go game by game.

New Mexico State (0-0) at Texas (0-0) Aug. 31st

At least we can say we beat the Aggies this year… even though there from New Mexico. Horns WIN (big)

Texas (1-0) at BYU (1-0) Sept. 7th

This game will tell much of the story for this year’s team. Win impressively and the fan base will believe a BCS game is in the cards. The Horns squeak by this team with their altitude sickness in check, and then the fan base is in for a rollercoaster ride. Lose this game and we will wonder if Mack will make it back next year. Horns WIN (close)

Mississippi (2-0) at Texas (2-0) Sept. 14th

This game just got tougher since the Rebels posted a 7-6 record last year in the SEC. The only reason I can predict a win for the Horns is because this game is at home. Again the aftermath of Provo determines this outcome. Horns WIN (close)

Kansas State (3-0) at Texas (3-0) Sept. 21st

The sorcerer from Manhattan will have his team ready to play. I think momentum of the home crowd and the pending bye week ahead will get this team ratcheted up to take it out on the Cats. Horns WIN (big)

Texas (4-0) at Iowa State (2-1) October 3rd

A Thursday night game?! Are we in the AAC? Do we need the exposure to help our recruiting? Guess Horns want some extra time to get ready for the Sooners. Horns WIN (big)

Texas (5-0) vs OU (4-1) October 12th

The Sooners will be coming off back to back tough games (ND & TCU) before the Red River Rivalry. I cannot see the play of the Belldozer causing much harm unless Manny and the defense cannot stop the run like last year. Hope the extra time gives Applewhite something for Stoops’ defense to chew on. Horns WIN (big)

Texas (6-0) at TCU (4-3) October 26th

Trap game! TCU will have the toughest part of their schedule behind them and they will be looking to turn their season around with a win. The Horns will have another bye week to start dreaming about an undefeated season. The more desperate team will win this one. Horns LOSE (close)

Kansas (2-5) at Texas (6-1) November 2nd

Get ready for a pissed off bunch of Horns in Austin. They will take it out on the Jayhawks who will be reeling from 5 consecutive losses coming into DKR. Horns WIN (big)

Texas (7-1) at West Virginia (3-5) November 9th

I see the urgency in the Horns to not let another TCU moment come back to haunt them. Playing for the first time ever at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, sounds like the stadium was named after an impressionist painter; the fans will try to make it an intimidating venue. The Longhorns take care of business in the fourth quarter. Horns WIN (big)

Oklahoma State (9-0) at Texas (8-1) November 16th

This is the defacto Big XII Championship game in Austin. Both teams are talented and will be coming on strong for this pivotal matchup. Last year I flipped a coin and I predicted the Horns would win (Horns won a close one). Just flipped it. Horns LOSE (close)

Texas Tech (7-4) at Texas (8-2) November 28th (Thanksgiving Day)

The rock star coach will be a little less flamboyant coming into Austin. The talent on the field should show up with the Horns still smarting from last week’s lost to the Cowboys. Fans will breathe a sigh of relief after this one is over on Turkey Day. Horns WIN (close)

Texas (9-2) at Baylor (8-3) December 7th

Say so long to Floyd Casey Stadium which is the smallest stadium in the Big XII. A sloppy game played by both teams as they try too hard to impress the bowl committees. Both running games will be on display on a miserable day for offense. The Horns emerge victorious to reach Coach Brown’s bar for a successful season. Horns WIN (close)

Just so you know… close means 10 points or less and big is 14 points or more.

I am predicting a 10-2 year for the Horns. You can check my past predictions to see that I was not too far off in 2012 & 2011. I hope to see some magic and some momentum from the Horns this season because I don’t think Mack Brown has anymore tricks up his sleeve.

Texas City brothers running back D’Onta and electric inside wide receiver Armanti Foreman of Texas City have committed to Texas.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? Well, the Men’s Basketball team was clearly not up to the task this year. Suspension, stamina, resilience, and any other critical words you can come up with would fit this team. The prism that people use to look at this program is based on 14 years of Tournament visits with a few Elite Eights and one trip to the Final Four. What the fans should be looking at is a broken mirror that has the Horns in a 7 year lock of bad basketball dating back to our highest point.

That high point for the Texas program was the 2007-2008 season where the team was led by DJ Augustin, A.J. Abrams and Damion James who put up the most wins during the Rick Barnes era (31 wins). A trip to the Elite Eight plus the last time this program could claim a share of the Big 12 title were just a few of the highlights for this program. Ironically, the Kevin Durant led team a year before put up only 25 wins and lost in the second round. The Horns just finished the 5th year of this broken mirror curse. Since that high mark, Texas has gone 47-37 in conference play and the low moment for the program was missing out on the NCAA Tournament this year for the first time in the Barnes tenure.

Many fans have a looking glass that tells them a Big 12 championship and a deep run in the Tournament is coming closer with this group of talented players. Unfortunately, this is a rear view mirror approach on what it used to be around here. The biggest reflection needs to be taken by Rick Barnes to see if he has the stomach to continue fighting like another coach on the 40 acres. Barnes has created some great moments and recruited some unbelievable talent that went on to the NBA.

Now players are looking to transfer or getting fed up with Barnes’ coaching style. But just like another 15 year veteran coach at UT, the head man needs to realize that his legacy is set, and he needs to ask if himself if he has any more left in the tank.

But the biggest problem with the Texas Basketball program is who is looking at the mirror right now. The fans and I include myself in this assessment are the ones that broke the mirror. We do not demand more from our basketball coaches and players like other fan bases. We are quick to move on to spring football which allows the team to feel complacent and second class. When you start hearing coaches pleading for noise and asking for students to come make the Erwin Center a festive atmosphere, you know you have a much deeper problem than just a need for some more wins. Do you think ESPN will ever have a College Game Day visit at a UT basketball game? I know that people say that the product needs to be better in order for fans to show up. That logic works on professional teams where the athletes get paid. (Insert joke here on college athletics) Attendance at men’s home games continue to slip. Four years ago the average home attendance at the Drum was 14,629…and now the Hum Drum posted a 10,945 average attendance for the 2012-2013 season. The Frank Erwin Center (seats 16,374) with all the bells and whistles still does not configure the student section to get the most excitement generated at the games and the alumni show up late as always. The seating arrangement needs to be changed or make late arrivals have to sit up in the balcony until halftime and somehow get students charged up to attend games. I have even seen an article or two saying that this Texas job is one of the top 5 jobs in college basketball. We as fans have a long way to go to even come close to that type of ranking for the fan base. We need to be the ones to generate the change or pressure in order for the players and coaches to reflect our passions and demands.

The eerily similar path that the two head coaches on the two most high profile teams at UT are working with a lame duck athletic director makes for interesting fonder but does not help fans see any hope for change. Maybe the curse of the broken mirror will be done in less than 2 years. By that time DeLoss Dodds should be riding off into the sunset and a coaching change might be in order for us to change the culture and attitude about our program.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter @40AcresSports or follow me @Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

Looking for something else this afternoon and stumbled on this month-old Grantland article with some extremely complimentary comments from Suns’ coach Alvin Gentry on former Longhorn PJ Tucker:

P.J. Tucker has come out of nowhere this year, stolen Michael Beasley’s minutes, and played really good defense. What is his single best defensive skill?

Determination.

That sounds like some classic coach-speak.

Yeah, it’s just determination. He decides he’s going to guard his man, and that he’s not going to let him score. I do think defense is one of those things where it’s 75 percent effort and 25 percent skill.

Really?

Oh yeah. He just brings it every night, against every single person that he plays against. Even the last two games, he’s guarded Paul Pierce and Monta Ellis, and Monta Ellis went 5-of-19, and Paul Pierce went 3-of-10. That’s two pretty good efforts from a guy no one heard of last year. [Note: Gentry nailed these shooting numbers exactly, without checking.]

When did you have an idea he might help you guys this much? Did you realize by the end of camp, or were you still wary of playing a pretty unknown guy in real games?

I saw it in training camp, but really first in the summer. The toughness he brought to our Summer League team, we thought, We may have something here. Our basketball operations guys did a great job finding a guy like him over in Europe. He’s one of those guys every coach would love to coach.

Tucker’s road to NBA success has been a long, winding one so it’s great as a Texas fan to see him having a good season and getting recognized for it.

Texas needs a big 2013 from David Ash.

Big things are coming for Texas in 2013: Especially for Junior quarterback David Ash. I’m not calling for an improvement over his sophomore campaign. I’m calling for a transformative season. A season in which each and every one of us has to applaud and give credit where it is due. A season that will require Ash to be mentioned in the same conversation as (gasp!) Layne, Street, Applewhite, Young, and the McCoy (the good one, not the amateur film maker).

Yes. You’re correct — you just read that.

Colt McCoy left Texas as the winningest college quarterback of all time. His junior and senior seasons were two of the best ever by a Texas passer. Check out McCoy’s stats for a reminder of just how great he was in his career and his two Heisman finalist seasons:

Here’s where I feel Ash will be for the upcoming season. Yes, his predicted passing total of 4,014 yards surpasses McCoy’s best year of 3,859 yards (2008). The 36 touchdown prediction also surpasses McCoy’s best year of 34 (2008). This is where I get crazy, the point where if you had yet to question my sanity-you begin to. I think Ash out rushes McCoy’s best year as well. I should be on medication and a strong dose of it, correct? Ash will come away with a grand total of 780 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns. That total surpasses McCoy’s best season on the ground (561 yards in 2008), but falls short in the number of touchdowns (11, in 2008). It also surpasses the best single-season passing yardage and touchdown totals of Vince Young in 2004 (3036 yards/26 touchdowns), Chris Simms in 2002 (3357 yards/ 21 touchdowns), and Major Applewhite in 1999 (3357 yards/21 touchdowns).

Check out my predictions for each game in 2013:

This would be a monumental season for Ash and the Longhorns. An 11-1 record places them at the top of the heap come play-off time and poised to fight it out for a national championship. Quarterbacks over time have shown the most growth between their sophomore and junior seasons. It will be interesting to see how well Ash performs when he has an Offensive Coordinator that will make it imperative to get the ball to his best play makers in areas where they can maximize their abilities. No more multiple shifts and personnel groupings.

Yes, I am pumping sunshine. Bask in it. Soak it in.

I can’t wait to see the first time the Longhorns come out 4 wide with Jaxon Shipley, Mike Davis, Daje Johnson, and Cayleb Jones and either Jonathan Gray or Malcolm Brown in the backfield.

How do you cover that?

Whose the poor linebacker tasked with keeping up with Johnson or Gray/Brown?

Feel free to let me know just how crazy you think I am in the comments below. I’m sure many of you will have something witty to say. I will be more than happy to eat crow if I’m off base and rest assured I will say “I told you so!” if given the opportunity.

Here’s to hoping I get to do that a minimum of 12 times next year.

Palo Duro WR Montrel Meander gives the Longhorns a speed threat for the 2013 class.

Welcome to the 40 Acres Montrel Meander. Meander, a 6’3″, 180 pound WR/S from Palo Duro High School in Amarillo became the fifteenth 2013 commitment after a last minute official visit to Austin. Meander had long been committed to Washington State, but flipped this weekend in favor of the good guys.

Meander is an athlete. He can play either safety or wide receiver. As a spread wide receiver he shows excellent straight line speed and could be the deep threat this offense so desperately needs-especially with the departure of the drastically-under used Marquise Goodwin. His route running is raw, but he shows great separation at the line of scrimmage and a willingness to go across the middle and make a tough catch.

As a safety, Meander showed really good instincts and takes good angles when tackling. He shows the ability to cover sideline to sideline, sheds blocks well, and wraps up-all of which are sorely needed in the Texas secondary.

Meander’s number one weapon however, is his speed. The young man can fly. Track speed doesn’t always transfer to football speed, but in this case it does. He has documented track times of 21.55 seconds in the 200 meters, 10.9 in the 100 meters, as well as a 4.46 second 40 yard dash and boasts a 21’3.5″ long jump.

Check out some of Meander’s highlight video:

Will he be a tool for Major Applewhite or for Manny Diaz? He could help either side. My bet is that he ends up at wide receiver at least for the time being.

The Texas offense will be better in the next season due to the departure of offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin and his manic, almost bi-polar play selection. Major Applewhite remains Co-Offensive Coordinator, but will now share the role with wide receivers coach Darrell Wyatt. What will make 2013 better than 2012 is that Major Applewhite will be doing what he should have been doing for the last two seasons: calling plays and coaching quarterbacks.

The Alamo Bowl is a small sampling to draw conclusions from, however, it showed that Applewhite has the ability to maximize the talent on offense. He crafted roles for guys based on their unique skill sets. Absent from the Alamo Bowl was Harsin’s dogged insistence on forcing round pegs into square holes. Applewhite didn’t try to outsmart anyone; no mass substitutions, no multiple shifting at the line of scrimmage, no trickery. The game plan wasn’t perfect, but it showed one key element that seemed absent for much of the past two seasons: the ability to adjust when the original plan wasn’t working.

Simply put, Harsin wasn’t a good fit at Texas. The players didn’t respond to him. They didn’t relate to him. Harsin wasn’t a Texas guy. Major Applewhite is Texas. Every recruit in the Southwest knows the name. Their mothers and fathers remember the Big XII Championship game and the Holiday Bowl. Applewhite has the infamous “It” factor that Harsin lacked.

Please don’t get me wrong… I don’t think the 2013 season will be all sunshine and rainbows, but we will see a more cohesive team. We will see more discipline. We will see more accountability. We will see more heart. The old saying, “Attitude reflects leadership” certainly applies here. I don’t see this next iteration of Longhorn football cowering to Oklahoma or self-destructing against West Virginia.

I heard Trent Dilfer last week discussing the Harbaugh brothers and he said, “they get the most from the least and the best from the best.” This immediately made me think of Applewhite’s Alamo Bowl press conference quote when asked about the differences between his offense and Harsin’s. He replied, “…I’ve always felt like even as a player this game is about players, put [the ball] in the best guys’ hands and let them make plays. I think sometimes we over think it a little bit as coaches, so I’m excited to watch these guys go play.”

I’m excited to watch these guys go play as well.

Watch this video below and it will give you a taste of what the players think of Applewhite: