– The Atlanta Falcon’s made the playoffs behind a great running game and solid quarterback play. The unsung unit on the team was the offensive line. Blalock has cemented himself as a starter on an upcoming team by starting all 16 games after playing in 14 last season. At Texas, Blalock played tackle, but in the NFL he has been able to slide back to his natural position of tackle. Blalock was even able to score a touchdown on a fumble recovery.

– The forgotten member of the 2005 secondary has become a solid nickel corner in the NFL for the 49ers. Brown played in 15 games and started in one. He recorded 30 tackles and two interceptions.

– The beginning of the season didn’t appear good for Benson. After being cut by the Bears it appeared no one would request his services. The Cincinnati Bengals fell apart and came calling four games into the season. Benson started 10 games, gained over 700 yards, and scored two touchdowns on the ground. He also added 20 receptions. “EL Ced” finished with two huge games; making the chance he is offered a longer deal by the Bengals a real possibility.

– Crowder struggled with injuries and the depth chart all season. He played in six games, starting zero, and recording one tackle on the whole year.

– Charles had a rookie season that has to be seen as a success. Charles sits behind Larry Johnson on the depth chart, but made plays when given the opportunity. The speedster averaged 5.3 yards per carry and added 27 receptions. His only touchdown of the season came on a reception. If Johnson isn’t retained by the Chiefs, Charles may get a look as an every down back.

– The offensive line for the Cowboys underachieved this season. Davis will go to another Pro Bowl but o-line selections are based on reputation more times than not. It was not all Davis’ fault but he did not perform at the level he did the previous year.

– Dawson was once again a lone bright spot for the Cleveland Browns franchise. He went 30/36 with a long of 56. He was perfect on extra point, but the 18 attempts magnify the struggles of the Browns offense.

– Dockery is one of the higher paid linemen in the league, but is never as dominant as his salary would warrant.

– Finley had a hard time getting started this season. He ended up playing in 14 games while starting one of them. The rookie finished with 6 receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown on the season.

– Griffin has turned into a solid starting cornerback for the Vikings. He gets a lot of action playing opposite of Pro-Bowler Antoine Winfield but holds his own pretty well. Griffin plays with excellent enthusiasm and competitiveness which makes him an eager corner in run support. He played in all 16 games for the second straight season and recorded 91 tackles and a pick.

– Michael Griffin had the type of year that have made many hail him as the best defensive back to come out of the 2005 group. Griffin is a Pro-Bowl alternate after recording seven interceptions and a sack on the year. He is quickly becoming one of the best safeties in the league. His play has allowed the Titan defense to become one of the best in the league. Griffin also returns kicks for the #1 seeded Titans.

– The former Marine has established himself as one of the last true fullbacks in the game. The Tennessee running game is one of the best in the league behind the duo of Chris Johnson and Lendale White. The two split carries with mirrored success, and the one constant is the presence of Hall. He has also become a weapon in the flat out of the backfield, recording two touchdown receptions this year.

– Hampton had a tough season as he struggled to get on the field with health and conditioning problems. When Hampton can play he remains the best 3-4 nose tackle in the game. He recorded one sack in 13 games that he was rarely able to make it all the way through.

– The Thorpe award winner hasn’t lived up to his draft status so far in his career, but it is still early. Huff lost his starting job and didn’t record a sack, interception, or forced fumble on the year.

– Jammer had another great year in San Diego. He is one of the most physical corners in the league and continually gets matched up with the opposing team’s biggest and best receiver. Jammer recorded 88 tackles, two interceptions, and three forced fumbles for the playoff bound Chargers. It has been amazing to watch the turnaround of Jammer’s play after struggling for the first few years in the NFL. The pressure of being a high pick has subsided and Jammer’s play has risen.

– DJ has moved inside and performed well for the Chiefs. The knock on the former Texas star coming out was his unwillingness to take on blocks, and after a few years as a pro the criticism still exist. When playing in space he excels, but at the point of attack he has remained a liability. Johnson has been up and down, but has shown flashes of potential. He ended the year with 85 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception, and four forced fumbles. If/when the light turns on for DJ the sky is the limit.

– Okam may have earned himself a roster spot for next year with his play down the stretch. He lacks the motor and intensity most coaches want out of an interior defensive lineman, but he has the tools to become a solid player in the league if he ever turns it on.

– I feel bad for Cory Redding. I feel bad for any player, coach, trainer, and journalist (except Rob Parker) in Detroit. Redding was the heart and soul of their defense (if that is possible), and if he ever gets out of Detroit he may have a chance to make some noise. Until then, he’ll be rich in Detroit. He got three sacks on the year.

– Robison plays behind Jerod Allen so his snaps are limited. When he is on the field he shows up and makes plays. He managed 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 15 games.

– Shaun Rogers is the most disruptive interior lineman in football today. The guy is just huge and unstoppable when his motor is turned on. He took over games at points this season in spite of double and triple teams. Rogers will be in the Pro-Bowl again after turning in 76 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He has Hall of Fame type talent when it is all clicking for Rogers.

– He may not be the best athlete in his marriage, but the Thorpe award winner has become a better than average cornerback in a tough place to play. Ross started in every game he played, 15, and grabbed 3 interceptions, including one that he returned for a touchdown. Ross has the ability to be a shutdown corner as his technique and confidence continue to grow.

– Scaife has emerged as a very productive tight end even in the face of losing his quarterback and his team bringing in a big name free agent in Alge Crumpler. There were a few games where Kerry Collins completely forgot about Scaife, but he finished with 58 receptions and two touchdowns. Scaife has also become better as a blocker which allows him to stay on the field in all situations.

– People tend to forget about Sendlein when discussing the better offensive lineman Mack Brown has put into the NFL. Sendein has started every game of the season for a playoff team. Not too bad.

– Simms is the number three quarterback on Tennessee’s roster.

– Studdard remains a reserve lineman for the Houston Texans. He hasn’t been able to crack the starting lineup.

– Sweed is listed as the 4th receiver on the Steeler roster. One would think Sweed will contribute more after a full off season.

– The Patriots use a lot of tight ends in their offense, so none of them have numbers that are going to blow you away. Despite that Thomas has been able to get on the field a lot so far in his career. He pulled in nine receptions for 93 yards, but was never able to reach the end zone.

– Injuries rendered the 2008 season a wasted one for Vasher. He played in eight games, recording one interception, before being placed on injured reserve.

– The former Heisman trophy winner and league pariah has made his comeback has a productive back in the Miami system. He was one of the many bright spots on a team full of them this year. Williams is able to make plays without being relied on to carry the full load because of the presence of Ronnie Brown. Ricky scored four touchdowns on 659 yards rushing. He may have made his biggest impact as a receiver out of the backfield where he averaged over seven yards a catch on 29 receptions.

– The losing ways of the Lions followed Williams from Detroit to Dallas. Roy was never able to make an impact for the Cowboys for reasons that still remain unclear. He has proven to have the ability which leaves work ethic and injury as the two other reasons for his lack of production. Williams has unfortunately been criticized for both a lack of work ethic and inability to stay healthy in his career. He will need to have a huge year next year to justify the trade and contract Jerry Jones awarded him.

– Young was another Longhorn that struggled with injury. Denver is notorious for alternating backs, and with the addition of injuries Young was never able to stay on the field. When he was healthy he produced so it will be interesting to see what the new coach in Denver decides to do with Selvin.

– 2008 was not a good year for VY. The greatest player in Longhorn history lost his job after one game and a knee injury, and never was even given the chance to win it back. It now appears Jeff Fisher made the right choice as Tennessee earned the #1 seed in the AFC. While they did it with defense and running the ball, Collins has done a good job in a Trent Dilfer type role. This season may end up being the best thing that has ever happened to Vince as a professional if he uses the experience in the right way.

Ricky Williams rushed for a season-high 105 yards

The former Longhorns were led by and this week. The group in Tennessee keep on winning while the guys in Kansas City, Detroit, and Oakland are already looking forward to the offseason.

- Brown played a good game at cornerback against one of the best receiving core in the NFL on Monday night against the Cardinals. Brown played on nickel situations, which there were plenty of. He finished with tackles on the night.

- Last week the rookie running back posted his first career 100 yard game and this week Charles got rewarded with the start. Unlike last week Charles was never able to get anything going after being injured on his first carry. He was able to come back into the game, but remained largely ineffective. Charles has suffered through ankle injuries before, so hope it is an isolated incident. He gained only eight yards on three carries in the game.

- Dawson had another good game going three for three with a long of 52. He was also perfect on his extra points. The veteran is now 17 of 19 on the year.

- Cedric has become a consistent player in this league. He plays with an attitude and is becoming a better tackler. Griffin has a great player opposite him to learn from in Antoine Winfield. Griffin finished with three tackles against the Packers.

- The Titans keep winning and Griffin keeps playing well. He ended up with five tackles on the night, but was all over the field on defense and in special teams in the win over the Bears. Tennessee remains the only undefeated team left in the NFL and they’re doing it with solid defense.

- The fullback and ex-Marine didn’t have his best ball game even though his team won. Hall fumbled a carry on the goal line that would have put the Titans on the board first. The Tennessee run game was not up to their standards but they still came away with the victory.

- Huff didn’t get many chances in the game against Carolina because both passing offenses were inept. The former Thorpe award winner only registered one tackle on the game that saw Steve Smith only catch one pass and Jake Delhomme only completed seven total.

- Jammer’s Chargers squeaked by the Chiefs on Sunday to save their season. Jammer has come into his own on the season. Teams are avoiding his side when they can, but the physical corner still recorded three pass defenses and four tackles. Jammer is playing the best out of all the corners from Texas in the NFL.

- The big rookie got some playing time in the blowout loss to the Ravens. He didn’t disappoint, recording three tackles in the game. Okam had only made one tackle on the season prior to this game. If Okam stays in shape he should become a player in the NFL.

- The Lions are awful. That may not do it justice. Redding has been a bright spot on the team when he has been healthy. On Sunday the defensive tackle was credited with three tackles. Did I mention the Lions are awful?

- Robison got some playing time and rewarded the team with a sack. He is in a tough spot backing up Jared Allen, but Robison has shown flashes and should start to produce once his opportunities increase.

- I’ve never seen more people assigned to one nose tackle in my life. There were times when Denver triple teamed Rogers with a running back coming in to chip him on his way out of the backfield. Rogers still recorded two tackles on the game, but his main contribution was freeing up other defenders. The Browns gave another game away on Thursday night.

- Ross gave up a touchdown in the win against the Eagles but played pretty good after it. His future wife, Sonya Richards, gave the Texas football team a pep talk before the game against Baylor this past weekend too. Ross finished with two tackles and one pass breakup.

- Scaife had a huge game for the Titans with 10 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. When Tennessee picked up Alge Crumpler many thought Scaife’s roll would be reduced, but it has been the opposite. Even with Vince Young on the bench, the Titans have looked for Scaife on third down and near the goal line. That is the biggest sign of what the Titan staff thinks of the former Texas tight end.

- It is clear watching Vasher on Sunday that he is not 100 percent yet. He gave up an easy touchdown on a simple slant patter early in the loss against the Titans. When he is healthy Vasher is one of the more dangerous corners in the league, but when he is hobbled he is no better than average.

- Ricky recorded his first 100 yard game since his return to the NFL. He gained half of it on one touchdown run of 51 yards. He finished with 105 yards on 12 carries. The Heisman voter carried the ball one less time this week than his last two weeks combined.

– Two tackles and an interception in the loss to the Chargers.

– Seven carries for 38 yards rushing plus three catches for 24 yards. Jamaal also had his first NFL kickoff return for 21 yards.

– 1/1 on field goals and on extra points.

– Finally saw the field for the Packers against the Cowboys but had no catches. He got in on special teams and managed to pick up an unsportsmanlike penalty in a brush with Martellus Bennett.

– Two tackles against Carolina.

– Big game against the Texans with two interceptions. Also added two tackles.

– One carry for one yard.

– No stats against Philly. Will miss the next game against Baltimore with an injured groin.

– Three tackles, two of them solos, against Buffalo.

– Recovered a fumble and returned it 23 yards, broke up two passes, and added three tackles in the Chargers blowout of the Fightin’ Brett Favres.

– One tackle in what may be one of 16 losses this season for the Chiefs.

– Two solo tackles for the lowly Lions against the 48ers.

– Had a solid game against Baltimore posting four tackles.

– Five solo tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage.

– Three catches for 26 yards including a touchdown.

– Still no playing time.

– One catch for four yards in what will hopefully be one of many losses for the Patriots.

– Good performance for Nate versus Tampa Bay. Three passes defended including an interception, with four solo tackles added on.

– Great game for Ricky and his counterpart Ronnie Brown as the Dolphins went back to the college game to get a little offensive firepower. He had 16 carries for 98 yards (6.1 average) and two catches for 21 more yards.

– Two catches for 18 yards in a loss to San Francisco. Roy has to be frustrated and already looking forward to 2009 somewhere other than Detroit.

– Very efficient game against New Orleans with 11 carries for 65 yards.

– Less busy after a good week one, only three carries for seven yards. The Chiefs only rushed the ball 19 times all game as a team. Charles also had a 15 yard catch and hurt Larry Johnson’s feelings.

– Two of two on field goals with a long of 38 yards in a loss.

– Still looking for his first career catch. I’m not sure if he’s getting any snaps at all.

– Six tackles and one pass breakup against Peyton Manning and the Colts.

– Picked up his first interception of the year off a tipped pass. Also added six tackles from his safety spot.

– Three carries for nine yards.

– One tackle.

– Four tackles against KC and two passes defended.

– Posted 11 tackles and had a forced fumble in the Chargers’ controversial loss to the Broncos.

– Eight tackles, seven of them solo.

– Inspired me to teach my kids to deep snap.

– Three solo tackles against the Packers.

– First sack of the 2008 season and added six tackles.

– Four tackles.

– Without Vince Young, just one catch for six yards.

– Still no catches in his NFL career. Like Finley, looking at his game logs it appears he’s not even playing.

– Picked up his first catch of the year against the Jets, a 14-yarder from Matt Cassel.

– Returned punts for the first time in a long while. Had three returns for a total of 21 yards. Added two tackles.

– After an exciting preseason another ho hum game for Ricky. He had 11 rushes for 28 yards in the Dolphins’ blowout loss to Arizona.

– Just about the same performance as week one: three catches for 48 yards. Looks like Calvin Johnson has become the clear number one target in Detroit, maybe Roy can head down to Tennessee next year as a free agent.

– Was the Broncos’ leading rusher with eight carries for 78 yards, including a big 49-yarder. Also added one catch for eight yards.

Ross played well Sunday night and helped the excellent New York Giants’ defense contain the Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and the rest of the New England Patriots. He did well in coverage mostly in the slot and was credited with two tackles. Because of Ross and my hatred for the Patriots, I actually found myself rooting pretty hard for the Giants during the game.

Congrats to Aaron and the Giants.

I was hoping Ross would fall a couple more spots to the Cowboys but the Giants are a good fit for him as well. The team needed more talent and depth. Ross should be able to contribute in the secondary immediately and could be the starter opposite Sam Madison by the time the season starts. He also should be able to contribute to the Giants as a punt returner as well.

The Dallas Morning News’ Rick Gosselin has been one of the more accurate draft prognosticators of the last few years and he’s posted his final mock draft this morning. His draft is definitely a bit different than most I’ve seen this week (Amobi Okoye is at 23 but I haven’t seen him below 10 in a while). He’s got two Longhorns in the first round, including cornerback Aaron Ross heading to the Dallas Cowboys at 22.

Here’s how Gosselin thinks of the Longhorns he has going in the first two rounds:

Round 1

22. Dallas –
The Cowboys need depth at cornerback, and Ross gives it to them. He won the Thorpe Award as college football’s top defensive back in 2006. The Cowboys also need help on special teams, finishing 21st in the NFL in punt returns. Ross has an 11.8-yard career punt return average with three touchdowns.

32. Indianapolis –
The Colts lost starting cornerbacks Jason David and Nick Harper in free agency. Griffin would allow the Colts to move starting safety Marlon Jackson back to his true cornerback position. Colts coach Tony Dungy likes DBs who hit – and Griffin leaves Texas with 364 career tackles.

Round 2

55. Seattle –
The Seahawks made a mistake when they allowed Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson to leave in free agency in 2006. A year later, they are still trying to fix it. Blalock started 51 games at tackle for Texas, but the Seahawks project him at guard because of his height (6-3).

ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay doesn’t just predict the first round, or even the second round, he’s got a full seven-round mock draft up and available for ESPN Insiders. McShay has a lot of love for former Longhorns, with cornerback Aaron Ross and safety Mike Griffin going in the first round. Guard Justin Blalock and defensive end Tim Crowder then go in the early second round in his prediction.

Those aren’t the only Horns he’s high on, here’s how all the Longhorns faired in McShay’s draft:

Round 1

24. New England –
The Patriots never act as if they’re handcuffed by needs during draft weekend, but the Asante Samuel situation should increase their interest in this year’s cornerback crop. Ross lacks ideal man-to-man cover skills, but he has the size, instincts and playmaking ability to emerge as a difference-maker in the type of zone-heavy defensive scheme the Patriots run. Ross also can help in the return game, which adds to his value.

26. Philadelphia –
Although the Eagles certainly could use depth at several different positions, it’s hard to find a glaring weakness at any starting spot on their depth chart. One thing is certain: Philly will not be handcuffed by positions of need in this year’s draft. With that in mind, Griffin is a good value because he brings experience and versatility to the table after notching 250 tackles in his last two seasons at Texas.

Round 2

39. Atlanta –
42. San Francisco –

Round 3

92. Buffalo –

Round 4

106. Minnesota –

Round 7

251. Jacksonville –

Let’s see how this goes. I’ll post as often as I can stand to. Horns and Trojans are about to get underway.

BIG FREAKING GAME!

Did we win the coin toss, defer, and USC chose to kick? Will we receive to start both halves? Nevermind, the official said it wrong.

First Quarter

• Great deep kick and good coverage on Reggie Bush. Great start to the game for the Horns.
• Bush stopped for a loss on the game’s first play. Now let’s do that 60+ more times.
• Texas’ defense in the backfield with great penetration on the first 3 plays.
• Holy crap! fumbled the punt. Crap crap crap. Come on defense step up. Crap.
• Reggie Bush has no class. Hand the ball to the ref instead of flicking it up in the air after a 5 yard run. Let’s hope he actually gets ejected if he punches someone again this game.
• Too bad helmet-to-helmet contact isn’t illegal in college football. Plus hit him in the chest.
• Stupid penalty by . He seems to get one per game, let’s hope this is it. Come on D!
• Turnover costs the Horns 7 points. Game started off fantastically and then suddenly went downhill from there.

Texas 0, USC 7

• Let’s go Vince, get fired up.
• Looks like no huddle for the offense to start things off again this week. I like it.
• Poor spot on 2nd down leads to 4th and 1. elects to go for it and Horns get nowhere. Turnover on downs at midfield. All the momentum is going USC’s way now. Defense has to make a big play here and get things back going Texas’ way.
• Apparently guy in charge of the clock doesn’t realize it should stop after incomplete passes.
• Freaking Rose Bowl and national championship and the clock breaks?
• Horns go to 3 down linemen on a 3rd and long. Interesting look.
• Texas makes the stop but a face mask on Michael Huff gives USC the necessary yards for the first down.
• in the game early instead of (I think that’s who isn’t in there.) getting more speed on the field.
• has a pick go in and out of his hands.
• Reggie Bush gets about an extra 2 yards thanks to the generous spot. These simple plays need to be reviewed as much as any others.
• Another generous spot for Matt Leinart on the 4th down QB sneak but I still think they’re short. Come on!
• Horns stop them and get the ball back. Let’s go let’s go!
• Meanwhile ABC is on commercial break #26 after like two minutes of football.
• Bad play design or something as and end up next to each other on pass routes. Complete to Pittman for the first though.
• Another freaking fumble. Charles bumps into David Thomas and just drops it. Crap. Lost 5 yards. Kills the offense’s momentum.
• Bud Light commercial featuring the “daredevil” are dumb.
• Lost takes such long hiatuses that they have to have recap shows by the time they come back.
• Interesting counter play from USC. Kind of a WR and FB counter instead of a GT counter.

Second Quarter

• Obvious offensive pass interference on Dwayne Jarrett. Shockingly Dan Fouts even noticed.
• Huge gap on a screen to Bush but then he stupidly tries to lateral through traffic and Texas recovers.
• First time all year Texas didn’t score in the first quarter of a game.
• Selvin Young getting still in there. I hope if Charles is healthy the coaches don’t give up on him after earlier fumble.
• First time is in the game. Run north and south and make ‘em pay Ramonce.
• Offense moving the ball all game long if we don’t put the dang thing on the ground. Great play by Vince to find Brian Carter. Nice to see Brian back in his last game as a Longhorn.
• Like the play calling by Greg Davis so far.
• You’ve got to be kidding me. Now Taylor drops the ball. 3rd and very long. Hold onto the damn ball and we’re probably up in this game.
• nails a 46 yarder. Wow, I have expected him to do the FG/pooch punt play. Nice kick and Texas turns Bush mistake into 3 points.

Texas 3, USC 7

• The USC song girls/cheerleaders’ Rose Bowl sweaters are really ugly looking.
• Was that a catch? I don’t know if you can overturn it. You can’t really tell if his arm is under the ball. Let’s hope they go to a replay though, just to make sure the damn thing works. Last angle looked like a lot of it was on the turf. Do the replay booth guys have HD?
• Seems to be some decent holes when they run up the middle.
• Leinart seems to have good time on play action/bootlegs.
• Very late hit by one of the USC offensive lineman. Goes right to the face of Aaron Harris a good second after the play. Right in front of the ref. Broke Harris’ chinstrap.
• Very nice chaps.
• Replay! REPLAY! Great interception by . COME ON REPLAY DUDE!!
• WHEWWWW! Replay officials get it right! Texas football. Fantastic break and catch by Griffin. Big time change of momentum as USC was moving the ball well. Man I hate the way they phrase that, “Indisputable video evidence that the play was a…”
• Henry Winkler has no clue what’s going on. Come on Fonzie get a clue.
• I’m literally terrified everytime someone other than has the football.
• If you’re not going to blow the whistle while the scrum is going on you need to give the ball carrier the forward progress. Another bad spot.
• Vince has good time to throw and guys are open under 15 yards or so.
• That’s why Charles has to be in the game. Great run, breaking tackles and moves all over the place.
• Stupid play by Vince but got lucky. Whoa, his knee was down anyways. Texas rushed the extra point to avoid the replay and Pino pushes the damn thing wide right.
• That’s more what I expect out of the way they’ve run instant replay this bowl season. System is good, but the people running it are complete and utter failures. If it’s close at all, stop it for a second and see if it needs to be reviewed further. Went Texas’ way (though we were moving the ball well and should’ve scored eventually anyways) but just sucks.

Texas 9, USC 7

• Keith Jackson says USC should’ve called timeout to force them to replay it. That’s not freaking the point, you shouldn’t have to do that.
• It looked like the replay booth guys were just watching the play and fighting about it. Whoops. Now they look even worse. I complain more than anyone, but that’s a tough, pressure-filled job.
• U2 sucks.
• Third and 17. Come on get it back.
• I saw Leinart tossing the ball on the sidelines in the middle of the 1st quarter and now their second teamer John David Booty may be warming up on the sidelines. Leinart have some sort of injury? His throws haven’t that off and he sure looks healthy enough to continue. I don’t remember him taking any big hits.
• Horns get the ball back at the 50. Good return by Ross but he did the same thing he did on the first one he fumbled. He’s wrapped up around the ankles and completely lays out trying to get an extra couple of yards.
• Brandon Carroll is “working the tight ends.” That sounded really bad Keith.
• is very white. Nice dance moves Matt.
• David Thomas is seemingly wide open every play. Nate Jones and Brian Carter in there, we’re rotating a lot of wide receivers.
• Ramonce Taylor shows why he deserves to be in there. Big run for a TD!!

Texas 16, USC 7

• The Pac 10 voice over guy is no Walter Cronkite.
• First really good kickoff by Greg Johnson.
• Screens really look open against us, let’s hope we adjust but don’t give up something elsewhere.
• Great play by Drew Kelson covering Reggie Bush. Man is replay a sham. You have to review that. That’s the whole freaking point of the system. I think he held onto it long enough. Don’t use it if you’re going to be freaking clueless. Texas should’ve used a timeout, we’ve got all three left. The very next play is a decent gain for a USC first down. Damnit.
• Poor job by Longhorn pass rushers. Leaving their lanes and opening it up for Leinart to scramble for a big gain. Leinart looks a little loopy after the play.
• If that’s not holding I sure don’t know what is. USC lineman has wrapped up around the neck right in the middle and there’s no call. Good coverage gives Okam time to make the sack anyways.
• If defense can make a big play and force a field goal or even a turnover that would be gigantic going into halftime.
• Sounds like a lot of Longhorns in the stands.
• Another sack! USC has to use last timeout and now they’re backed up pretty far if they want to kick a field goal. 8 seconds left in the half.
• Not much of a push on the field goal block and USC’s kicker knocks it in.

Texas 16, USC 10

• Let’s see if Taylor can get a big return to end the half.
• Sure got a lot of guys cramping up or something.
• Pete Carroll was talking a mile a minute. Relax a little man, I know you’re nervous.
• Mack Brown on the other hand is his normal loveable self.

Halftime Thoughts

Well that was a hell of a first half. A lot of unforced errors by the Longhorns cost them as they weren’t stopped by anyone but themselves in the half. The Texas defense is giving up a little in the rushing game, especially to LenDale White up the middle, but other than the big screen play to Bush (that ended well for Texas) they’ve prevented the big play. The secondary has played very well the entire game and had a pick (two if they replay the Kelson play) that turned the game around.

Six point game right now and though I’m confident that the offense can get the job done, you certainly feel too comfortable playing a team as good as USC. Texas gets the ball first in the second half and if they can control their mistakes and go down and score on the first possession it’ll go a long way to winning this game.

Notice how the ABC studio guys harp on the Vince Young pitch non-call and ignore the interception by Kelson that wasn’t called on a drive that ended with 3 points for USC. Where’s O.J. Simpson? Why don’t they have him on the show? That would be killer. Aaron Taylor’s suit hurts my retinas.

Is the USC band trying to suck? I miss Ashlee Simpson’s performance from last year’s title game. They’re that awful.

Strike all that, the Texas band sounds almost as bad. It’s something ABC is trying to do with the sound. Instead of hearing the band as whole you’re hearing like a single clarinet geek with all sorts of background instruments of equal loudness. Weird. Texas band’s uniforms must be the country’s ugliest. The squiggly line down the pant leg is the perfect touch.

Third Quarter

• How the heck do you block illegally when Ramonce Taylor is completely on the other side of the field with no blocking?
• No huddle to start the half.
• USC brought a lot of people on all three plays and Texas is already forced to punt. Most pressure he’s been under all game.
• LenDale White is a much better running back than Reggie Bush.

Texas 16, USC 17

• Texas offense is moving again. No huddle and a nice mix of runs to Charles, draws by Young, and short passes.
• Vince was a bad man on that drive. A ton of plays with his legs and takes it in from 14 yards out for the TD. Nice answer to the USC score. Reminiscent of VY from last year’s Rose Bowl.

Texas 23, USC 17

• Defense needs to step up and get Vince the ball back so he can take this thing over.
• First time all night we’ve really stopped that WR screen, seems to have been good for at least 5 yards most of the night. lit Jarrett up.
• Don’t really care, but isn’t there a minimum number of hours of classes you have to take? Serious question.
• Leinart is getting way too much time.
• USC going for it on 4th again.
• Big hole up the middle and White breaks it for a touchdown. Nobody back there after the first wave of defenders. Game is really starting to look like last year’s Rose Bowl.

Texas 23, USC 24

• Great catch by Thomas to convert an important 3rd down. Diving grab.
• Another big run by Vince puts him over 1,000 yards rushing for the season.
• Taylor running sideways for no yards again. I think Charles is a much better back against good defenses.
• 3rd and 5 on the fifteen yard line and we run a bit of a gimmick screen to Thomas. With the success Vince has had the last two drives I don’t know why you don’t let him drop back and make something happen. Shoot.
• Keith Jackson is awesome, gets a little lost sometimes.
• Queen Latifah has to bully people into buying her movies. Sad. People don’t even like her of their own free will in her own commercials.

Fourth Quarter

• It all comes down to this, one point game heading into the 4th quarter. Exactly the game that people not all over USC’s jock expected. Big plays, quick and hard hitting defenses. Time for the defense to step up.
• Pino misses the 31 yarder that would have put Texas on top. Short field goals from the sharp angle like that always worry me. Crap.
• ABC shows one play and goes to another commercial. Bah.
• Heather Graham’s new show “Emily’s Reasons Why Not” looks like crap. The only question is what’ll happen first, a name change or cancellation?
• Strength and Condition Coach = Jeff “Mad Dog” Madden = Cramps
• USC is double teaming both the defensive tackles and there’s just huge gaps up the middle throughout the second half.
• Now Bush broke one for a touchdown. Started up the middle and bounced it outside. Texas should have had 7 or at least 3 and USC takes it and turns it into 7 of their own. Offense has to score as it looks like the defense is wearing down.

Texas 23, USC 31

• Long drive by the Trojans so Vince has been on the sidelines for a while now, let’s hope he’s still feeling it like he was in the 3rd quarter.
• Reggie Bush has one good play and the “greatest of all time” crap starts again.
• Is the “receiver must make a football move” rule only in the NFL? If it’s a NCAA rule too that’s incomplete. Tough to call. May be too hard to overturn. And the refs say the same thing. Horns catch a bit of a break.
• Horns take that break and run with it. Two completions in a row to Billy Pittman for good gains.
• Why haven’t they shown the Texas alumni on the sidelines? They’ve shown Marcus Allen and crew like ten times.
• Seems like the second or third time tonight we’ve changed what we’re doing once we got inside the 30 trying to score. A fade and then 2 zone reads instead of giving Vince more freedom to improvise or make a pass.
• Pino hits this one and pulls the Horns closer to USC.

Texas 26, USC 31

• I’ve said it like eleven times but at some point in this half the defense has to make a play. Now needs to be the time.
• There’s another freaking stupid penalty by Killebrew. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
• I don’t think there has been a single holding call all game. That’s unfathomable.
• Did we just lose two members of the secondary on one play? Mike Griffin and Tarell Brown collide as Dwayne Jarrett hauls in the touchdown pass. Son of a…
• Griffin’s helmet hit Brown right in his right arm and now they’ve got a splint on it. Damnit.

Texas 26, USC 38

• Let’s go Vince, this is the exact same situation you were in last year.
• We just lost 10+ seconds because ass clock operators didn’t stop it on an out of bounds play.
• Didn’t I just say this was just like last year? Vince leads the Horns down for a quick score and finishes it with a run eerily similar to one of his escapes last year against Michigan. 5-point game with 4 minutes to go. If the defense gives the Horns any chance Vince will do something.

Texas 33, USC 38

• Poor kickoff but it doesn’t hurt too much. USC starts out at about the 35.
• Come on defense!
• Biggest third down of my life.
• Oh my God he fumbled that. Wow, that was so close. 4th down and 2 for the whole freaking thing. What does Carroll do? Does he trust his defense to not let Vince go 80+ yards in under 2 minutes?
• HE DIDN’T GET IT! HE DIDN’T GET IT!! TEXAS FOOTBALL!
• Vince needs to score in about 2 minutes and 5 seconds.
• Come on Horns!
• TERRIBLE OFFICIATING! Not even close and they wasted 10 seconds while refs stood around not knowing what to call.
• They put 7 seconds back on the clock.
• OH MY FREAKING GOSH TOUCHDOWN VINCE YOUNG!!!!!!!!!
• I was begging Texas to use their timeout to get a good 2 point conversion play set up and for some reason USC blows their last one. That could be very big.
• Vince Young takes the draw in for 2. Texas up by a field goal with 19 seconds left.

Texas 41, USC 38

• Damnit Keith and Dan, there’s still 19 seconds left. The game’s not over SHUT UP!
• The lack of timeouts hurts USC as they can’t quite get downfield for a field goal chance. Ball. Game. Over.

Final Thoughts

We just won the National Championship with less than a minute to go. I’ll think later.

GO HORNS!

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A

After ‘s 5 touchdown performance in the Rose Bowl, there is no surprise that he entered this season as one of the top contenders for the Heisman Trophy. With all of that pressure, I was interested to see how he would perform. I think it is safe to say that Young did not disappoint. Young finished the game with an efficient 13-17 for 173 yards. He looked to be very comfortable throwing the ball and you could tell he has gained a lot of confindence this past off-season. played for most of the second half but did not attempt a single pass attempt. He did scramble a few times, showing off an interesting technique of gaining more yards when going out of bounds.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: A+

Texas appears to have a full stable of speedy and powerful tailbacks to compliment quarterback Vince Young this year. Freshman running backs and had a huge impact on the game, with Charles running for 135 yards and 1 score and Melton running for 65 yards and 2 scores. I swear it looked like Melton couldn’t be tackled. A bigger and quicker added 65 yards and speedster also added 65 yards. With a total of 418 yards, I would say things are definitely looking good for the Texas running game.

Receivers / Tight Ends – Overall Grade: B

was up to his usual self, making big plays and scored 2 touchdowns on 3 catches. With his 2 touchdowns, David Thomas moved into fifth place all-time at Texas for a tight end with his 51th career reception. Senior also help out by setting a career high with three receptions against the Ragin’ Cajuns for 65 yards, matching his previous career total of three receptions in only the first half. , , and also performed well, with Nate Jones scoring his first career touchdown. It was nice to see some consistency in this group and I look forward to seeing them improve this year.

Offensive Line – Overall Grade: A+

Considering that Selvin Young, Jamaal Charles, Henry Melton, Ramonce Taylor and Vince Young averaged 9.5 yards per carry, I would say that the offensive line did pretty well on Saturday. (fellow Plano East grad) led the offensive line who just totally dominated Louisana Lafayette. Hopefully they keep the same aggressiveness next Saturday against OSU.

Defensive Line – Overall Grade: A

From the first series on offense for Louisiana Lafayette, it was pretty apparent that they were not going to be able to accomplish. Rod Wright, , and dominated Louisiana’s offensive line and disrupted about everything they did. In a nice surprise on the line, redshirt freshman stripped Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Jerry Babb for his first career forced fumble.

Linebackers – Overall Grade: B

Redshirt sophomore had a huge game, recording 7 tackles and recording his first ever sack. , , and played solid games under the new defensive coordinator . Texas definitely lost a game-breaking player in Derrick Johnson, but this linebacking crew should be able to keep up with any offense they see this year.

Secondary – Overall Grade: B+

had a pretty impressive game intercepting a pass in the second quarter, continuing his improvement from spring camp. All 3 Griffin’s played impressive games in the secondary, with a couple big hits on Louisiana’s receivers.

Special Teams – Overall Grade: C-

Now before we get into the kicking game, let me talk about the bright spots on the return game. Aaron Ross had 5 punt returns for 106 yards, breaking one for 52 yards in the 3rd quarter. also added an impressive kickoff return for 34 yards. The kicking game, however, was a totally different story. went 1 for 4 on his first 4 PAT attempts. That is just ridiculous. I am fine with having some question marks with 45+ field goal attempts, but anything inside 35 yards should be solid. This is something that definitely needs to be corrected before the OSU game for us to have a shot.

Overall – Overall Grade: A-

There is definitely some room for improvement, but overall I would say that this was a pretty good performance for the first game of the year. I really wish that we had a little bit better competition to tune-up for OSU, but not much we can do about that. Next week will be the true test to see if this team is ready for another trip to the Rose Bowl. I would have given the team an A if it weren’t for the 3 missed PAT’s. I hope next week I am giving the team an A+.