Posted January 30th, 2010 by Brian
Filed under: Basketball, Feature, Live
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas game versus on the Big 12 Network. We’ll be live right around tip so join us to discuss the game at 3:00pm Saturday.
Feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. 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 Baylor Bears.
A family tradition: Sam Acho forced the 5th Acho fumble of the season. (Image: MB-TF)
Pregame WTH Floyd Casey?! Our game should be called the Battle of the Brazos (nod to the Red River Rivalry) since the fans were split right down the middle at the 50 yard line with UT fans taking up half the stadium. Should Baylor football still get their cut of the Big XII money pot with their contribution to stadium attendances?
1st Half WTH Fox Sports?! Please talk to the Texas coaches before you broadcast another game. The television truck kept asking for replays or studio updates that caused us to miss many of the Longhorns up tempo offensive plays. Heck, they even missed on (1st Qt. 9:30) Tre’ Newton’s 45 yard touchdown run for a game update. I guess replays are more important than live plays.
1st Quarter (7:38) WTH McCoy?! please leave the Baylor fans alone. You made a good decision to throw away the football on broken play. But your pass ear holed a young Baylor band girl. I am surprised Colt you even hit a fan with the attendance that was announced (44,372).
1st Quarter (7:34 & 6:46) WTH Novak?! Referee Scott Novak and his crew screwed up on back to back unsportsmanlike penalties for taunting on the Baylor defense. Both calls were horrible since Baylor was trying to stay motivated against the second ranked team in the country down by 21 points. Thanks Scott for legislating out enthusiasm at a college football game.
2nd Quarter (1:28) WTH Chykie?! A great forced fumble by which caused the ball to roll around in the end zone. had the ball in his hands but could not come up with the touchdown recovery. Oh well, Chykie had a great game by leading the team in tackles with 8 and had a bone jarring sack. WTH Shout Out to who had 2 sacks and was constantly in the Baylor backfield.
3rd Quarter WTH Beebe?! Big XII Commissioner Dan Beebe was brought in for filler time in the booth during the 2nd half of the game. Dan thought the current BCS system needed a little tweaking with adding the strength of schedule, but shot down the idea of a playoff or a plus 1 system to determine the championship. Maybe we need to add the conference commissioners with the university presidents who do not get it when nearly everyone wants some sort of playoff.
Next Day WTH Monroe?! I know that we have all done some stupid stuff. I hope that D.J. Monroe’s lack of poor judgment (DWI arrest) does not end a great start to a college career. I’m all for second chances to those who deserve it.
WTH Shout Out?! Thanks to the fans at Bucky’s Big Red Tailgate Company who hosted this Longhorn at the Wisconsin Badger game against Michigan. You guys truly know how to throw a tailgate party and take care of a Texas fan in Madison.
Next up for the Longhorn’s is the final home game of the season against the Jayhawks at 7pm Nov. 21st.
No slow start this week for the Texas Longhorns. and company took it to the Baylor Bears early and often Saturday afternoon. They ran the ball well, threw the ball with ease, and the defense dominated and had a shutout until late scores against the backups. Check out highlights from the game below:
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas game versus on FSN. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game bright and early at 11:00am Saturday.
Feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. Hook ‘em!
Will the Longhorns find a consistent rushing attack against the Baylor Bears? (Image: Daylife)
All the talk again this week has been about a potential game in early January, but there’s still several possible roadblocks in the Texas Longhorns’ way.The Horns have beaten the Baylor Bears 11 straight times and will go for number 12 today at 11am. At the beginning of the season Baylor QB Robert Griffin was going to be one the most exciting players in the conference, but after an early season injury the Horns will instead face a 3rd string freshman. Does it even matter?
Check out our predictions below:
Brian - I’m calling it. This is the week, Will Muschamp’s defense gets their first shutout. After a sluggish early AM start last week against UCF the Texas offense will come out sharper against Baylor and help to keep the D off the field. Muschamp’s blitzes will confuse the young Baylor quarterback and and are going to have huge games. The Horns have a 24-plus point lead at halftime and we’ll see backup QB for the entire 4th quarter. Texas 42, Baylor 0
Jeff - Baylor has won 4 games, 2 with Robert Griffin and 2 without. They will play Saturday without him, so let’s first look at the 2 BU wins sans Griffin. They beat Kent State, a middle of the road MAC team over a month ago and then shocked Missouri last Saturday. The BU defense has given up an average of 28.6 points per game in conference play. If you take out their game against a win-less Southland Conference team in Northwestern State, the Bears average home game ends with a 25-18 loss. That is in games against UConn, Kent State, and . The closest team to UT’s level would be OSU and Baylor lost that game 34-7. That is a 27 point loss. The Horns are favored by 26.5 this Saturday. That is a lot of points, but I believe this will be an easy cover. The Horns seem focused and are improving.
I think Texas still has a “bad” game in their system (I hope it never comes out) and this could be the week. This would be the best week for it. I don’t believe it will be on Senior Day next Saturday against . I certainly don’t want it to be on Thanksgiving or in the Big 12 Championship game. So if is going to play poorly, or the defense has a lackluster game, let us hope it is this Saturday. Baylor can’t beat Texas regardless of UT’s performance. Texas 45, Baylor 10
Ross - The Bears need two wins in the next three games to be bowl eligible. They will have to sweep that last two game of the season, because the Bears will not beat the Horns this Saturday. The Horns believe that it is their destiny to make it to the Big XII championship undefeated. They will continue their dominance over Baylor in Waco. Texas 45, Baylor 10
Roddrick Muckelroy may not be on the field to harass the Baylor Bears this season.
After hurting his knee jumping to celebrate a big play last week, Texas linebacker is listed as “probable” on this week’s official injury report for . Normally you’d think that would mean we’d almost certainly see Rod against the Bears tomorrow, but since it is Baylor it might mean a week of extra space for his tweaked knee. I expect to see him in uniform but not in the game unless it’s an emergency.
The two other names on this week’s report are more familiar as defensive tackle remains out with his concussion and true freshman offensive lineman ‘ foot is still keeping him out. Those two players are likely to seek a medical redshirt later in their time at Texas and possibly receive an extra year of eligibility.
Can Texas make it through their schedule and back to the Rose Bowl for another MNC?
It’s about that time to start sizing up the college football season, so here’s my rundown of games on the Longhorns schedule, in order from easiest to hardest. These rankings take each team’s projected strength, plus the location and timing of the game.
12. (Sept 5)
Why they’re here: Because this is a gimmie game. Don’t kid yourself; this is the Glass Joe on our schedule. In their two games versus big-time teams last year (Auburn and Ole Miss) the Warhawks were outscored 93-0. Best of luck fellas!
Why they’re not higher: Because they finished 4-7 last year and the game is at home. Seriously, the Christians walking into the Coliseum to face Lions had more of a chance. On the bright side, this may be our first glimpse at the QB of the future Garret Gilbert.
11. At (Sept 12)
Why they’re not here: Okay, this team is also Glass Joe… but playing at home in what should be the biggest game in their history. Sorry that’s all I got.
Why they’re not higher: Because the got pounded by the “big boys” in the WAC last year (TCU, Utah, BYU) by a combined score of 129-14. Bite the curb, and tell us how it tastes. We’ll try and not make you look too bad in front of your parents.
10. (Sept 26)
Why they’re here: Yes, they are a small conference school, but they have a coach who guided his previous team to two Rose Bowls. Don’t underestimate the importance of coaching in college football.
Why they’re not higher: Because when you move past the coach, this is still the same team we beat 42-13 in El Paso last year. And there won’t be any chicks giving their boyfriends hand favors on the mountain to distract our defense this year.
9. (Nov 7)
Why they’re here: They gave us a hell of a tussle in their place a couple of years ago. More than any “gimme” in the schedule, they probably believe they can beat us. Plus, given where they fall on the schedule (between Oklahoma State and Baylor) our boys could be due for a letdown.
Why they’re not higher: Because they lost to UTEP by 45 points last year. THE END.
8. Colorado (Oct 10)
Why they’re here: Because their coach is pretty damn good, and they play division one football there. Not intramurals brother…
Why they’re not higher: Because we smoked their ass last year, and this team traditionally is not great away from Boulder. Seriously, look it up: the school’s biggest three wins since joining the Big 12 have either come at home or on the a neutral site. Danger Dan Hawkins, danger!!!
7. At (Oct 24)
Why they’re here: Because last year at this time, people were picking them as a National title contender. Sure they lost a bunch of talent, but I’m sure Pinkle has a bunch of talent ready to shine, right?
Why they’re not higher: Wrong. Sorry, but Chase Daniels was special (for Missouri at least) and Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman are NFL talents. So far, Missouri hasn’t shown the ability to reload and keep pace in the Big 12.
6. (Sept 19)
Why they’re here: Because they beat us last year, and are always a tough out. Tech is the most hit-or-miss team in the country: when they’re off they can lose to SMU, when they’re on they can beat Oklahoma or Texas…
Why they’re not higher: at home. Sorry, I should have finished that thought. Look it up, Tech’s biggest wins in the last few years have come in Lubbock. Factor in that they will be working in a new starting quarterback, and the timing of this game is the final nail in the Red Raiders coffin. Don’t underestimate the “revenge” factor working in Texas’ favor.
5. At Texas A&M (Nov 26)
Why they’re here: It’s the Aggies; they have one good game in them a year and they always seem to save it for “t.u.”. They also will be playing at home and have the benefit of the 12th Man, plus they have a former NFL coach at the helm and a better-than-you-think reservoir of talent.
Why they’re not higher: Because the reservoir doesn’t run THAT deep. Look at the rankings, the Ags recruiting fell off mightily during the Fran tenure (or as they call it on Texags.com “the Dark Ages”). Plus the fact that the Horns seniors are 1-2 versus the Ags will provide a little extra motivation. A+M will really need the 12th Man… hell, they might even need to grab a 13th and 14th while they’re at it.
4. At (Nov 11)
Why they’re here: Because the Bears have the fastest collection of skill players in the Big 12 (no really!), and now their Freshman All-American QB Robert Griffin has a full year starting under his belt. If you recall, the Bears battled back to tie the score at 14 in Austin last year before Texas pulled away. I just have the feeling that Art Briles has one major upset in him next year… and A&M doesn’t count.
Why they’re not higher: Because playing Baylor on the road is only slightly more difficult than playing them at home. Waco is basically a stone’s throw from Austin, relatively speaking, so the crowd will be 40% Horn fans at worst. Plus, Colt McCoy’s girlfriend will be in attendance, so he’ll be extra motivated. Wouldn’t you be?
3. (Nov 21)
Why they’re here: Because Kansas is good, that’s why… potentially REALLY good. Todd Ressing is a top 10 quarterback nationally, and Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe form the conference’s best 1-2 punch on the outside. The Jayhawks’ falloff last year can directly be attributed to the defense, which should be much improved this fall.
Why they’re not higher: Because the game is in Austin and an improved Kansas squad is still a notch below what the Horns will line up with. The Texas D, playing without All-American Brian Orakpo, shut down the Jayhawks last season holding them to a season-low 7 points. Plus the timing of this game likely means the Horns will either be locked in on a BCS berth, or at the very worst trying to salvage the Cotton Bowl; regardless, it is unlikely they will have their guard down coming into this game.
2. (Oct 17)
Why they’re here: This is always the game of the year in the Big 12 conference, but with all the late season debate and hoopla last year, this game’s intensity has been ratcheted up to another level. The Sooners are they only team quite in UT’s weight class on the schedule, and like it or not, they’re won the last three conference championships. The offense is manned by Heisman winner Sam Bradford and All-American Jermaine Gresham (who’s caught three touchdowns in his career versus the Horns), and their defense looks both deep and talented. Plus they have Ryan Reynolds back, who’s like the greatest football player ever!
Why they’re not higher: No, really he’s not. This is still the same defense that Colt hung 38 on last season, and Greg Davis seems to have Brent Venerables’ number. The Sooners’ also lost four starters on the offensive line along with their top two receivers, so Bradford won’t likely duplicate his numbers from last year. And to be honest, all the extra motivation is on Texas’ side: they beat OU, OU gets the BCS title shot and Bob Stoops crows and taunts by taking some less-so-subtle shots at Mack Brown. It’ll be a battle, but Texas looks to be a little stronger than 08, whereas OU looks to have taken a slight step back.
1. (Oct 31)
Why they’re here: 26. That’s the combined halftime deficits the Horns have faced their last two trips to Stillwater. I don’t know if it’s something in the water or what, but our boys always seem to stumble through the first half, only setting the stage for a thrilling comeback. This team is too good for us to spot double digits in the first half, plus the Horns will be coming off one huge game (Oklahoma) and one somewhat tough road game (Missouri) the two previous weeks; can they be at their best three weeks in a row?
A lot of things about this scenario bring back memories from Lubbock last year.
Posted May 25th, 2009 by Mike
Filed under: Baseball, Feature, World Series
The Texas baseball team holds the Big 12 Tourney trophy. (TexasSports.com)
The Memorial Day weekend got even better on Monday when ESPN announced that The University of Texas baseball team will be the number 1 seed in the upcoming 64 team College Baseball Tournament. The Longhorns will be joined by Texas State, Army, and Boston College in their opening regional bracket. The likely match-up in the super regional is TCU. If not TCU, it could be Texas A&M.
The number 1 seed ensures Texas won’t have to leave Austin to play a baseball game unless they make it to the College World Series in Omaha. A trip I’m sure they’d be eager to make.
Texas got the weekend started by winning three straight games in Oklahoma City to capture the Big 12 tournament championship. The team got off to a bumpy start in the tournament with an opening game loss to Baylor. But wins over and followed by a championship game win over Pool B winner gave Texas their fourth tournament championship. The Longhorns win the tournament for the second straight year.
Posted May 23rd, 2009 by Brian
Filed under: Feature, Football, Recruiting
Rumors started swirling Wednesday and on Friday Ahmad Dixon made it official by announcing he had decided to switch his commit from Texas to the Baylor Bears. The 4-star 2010 safety prospect is from Waco and made the decision that he wanted to stay and play for his hometown school. Baylor coach Art Briles was able to convince that he could be a part of turning the Bears into a legit competitor in the Big 12. In an interview with Jason Suchomel of Orangebloods.com Dixon said, “I wanted to be a part of a humongous change that Baylor is about to have in the next couple of years. I wanted to go down as one of those guys in history to go down with these great teams that Baylor is about to produce.”
Dixon’s decommit is a surprising one and hurts the Horns’ 2010 class. Fortunately defensive back has been a team strength and both the 2009 and 2010 classes have been great at the position. It will be interesting to see how the Texas coaching staff uses the freed up scholarship. There are several other 4-star safety prospects that they could pursue in-state or they could hold onto it and go after a national blue chipper. Come back to The 40 Acres for updates on this story and on other Longhorns recruiting news.
The Texas Longhorn baseball team wrapped up the 2009 regular season with a double header sweep over an overpowered Alabama A&M squad. Head Coach used the late season matchup to get his staff ready for the upcoming Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.
The Longhorns will enter the conference tournament as the number #1 seed. Texas will face #8 seed on Wednesday at 12:30, on Thursday at 3:00, and on Friday at 12:30. The finals take place the following day between the top teams in each pool. and A&M are the favorites in pool B.
Despite an occasional dry spell at the plate this year’s Longhorn team has performed better than any team since the championship squads. Texas sports the best pitching staff in college baseball, and in post season play pitching depth is as important as point guards in March Madness. Garrido’s group still has question marks behind the plate, but the lineup has shown the ability to score runs if they can get on a roll early.
Texas has all but locked up a top 8 national seed. The granting of a top 8 seed would guarantee the Longhorns wouldn’t have to leave Austin until the College World Series, if they were good enough and lucky enough, to make it.
Travis Tucker hit a grand slam Saturday against Baylor. (Image: Statesman.com)
The Texas baseball team took a huge step towards a Big 12 title over the weekend by sweeping in a three game home split series. That is now two sweeps of top conference foes in the last three series, the first came two weekends ago against . The Longhorns needed a big weekend following a 0-2-1 series at home against .
Texas has relied on pitching for much of the season but in the first two games the Longhorn offense exploded for double digit run totals thanks in large part to horrible defense by Baylor.
Augie Garrido’s group hosted game one on Friday in Austin in a matchup between and Kendal Volz that aired on ESPNU. Volz, the closer for last year’s USA national team and a likely first round pick, struggled early with his control and Longhorn hitters took advantage. , playing at DH and on fire, came through with an RBI in the first inning. UT added another run on a Volz wild pitch to take a 2-0 lead after one.
The Longhorns added two more in the second, and following a Baylor run in the top of the third, added a fifth run in the third.
Up 5-1 with Ruffin cruising Texas looked to put the game away early but Baylor added two in the top of the fifth and one more in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 5-4.
The Bears had the momentum, and Volz had settled down by getting ahead of Texas hitters, but the Baylor defense couldn’t stay out of their own way. They committed seven total errors on the night, one of which was on Volz himself.
Texas scratched across four runs in the seventh and three runs in the eight to stretch the lead to 12-4 with closer on the mound. Wood pitched three total innings, a decision that was puzzling with an eight run lead and two more games left in the weekend, allowing no runs.
On Saturday the series moved to Waco. And it wasn’t a good day to be a pitcher. The two teams, both known for solid pitching, allowed a total 30 runs on 25 hits in the nine inning slug fest. It was the Longhorns once again that jumped on the Bears early with 10 runs in the first three innings.
The offense was led by the home runs of , , and . had his second strong game in a row collecting four hits in six at bats on Saturday alone.
got the start for Texas and he gave the Horns a very solid seven innings of work. The sophomore gave up five runs, only two were earned, with 10 strikeouts. Texas stretched the lead all the way to 19-5 going into the ninth inning where Baylor made a late push to bring the score closer but it was too little too late.
Texas needed the sweep on Sunday in Baylor to put an exclamation point on the series and that is exactly what they did. Texas teams in the past few years have lacked that killer instinct, hopefully a performance like this weekend’s propels them into the postseason.
got a rare weekend start in place of as he battles a few injuries and bad outings. And the freshman made a case to make the move permanent with a dominating performance. The former Georgetown star struck out 10 batters in six innings allowing only one run on three hits. Jungmann has the most upside of any pitcher on Texas’ staff and it was a great sign to see him step up in a big moment.
Baylor got a great pitching performance of their own from Willie Kempf, but the Longhorn bats managed to a few more runs than the Bears could match.
Texas’ offense was led by the three hits of leadoff hitter and the huge two run RBI homerun by Rupp, his second of the series.
Wood came in to close out his second game in three days to seal up the series.
The sweep puts Texas to the top of the standings along with A&M and Kansas State. The Longhorns will face A&M at home May 8th-10th in what could become a series to decide the regular season championship and the number one seed in the conference tournament. With a series win against the Aggies the Longhorns would essentially become a lock to be one of the top 8 seeds in the national tournament. That would mean Texas wouldn’t have to play outside of Austin until the College World Series if they were able to advance that far.
Posted March 16th, 2009 by Brian
Filed under: Basketball, Feature, NCAA Tourney
Rick Barnes has his work cut out for him in the East bracket. (TexasSports.com)
The Texas basketball team’s once in a decade loss to was bad but apparently two Big 12 tournament wins were enough to get the Horns a 7 seed in the tough East bracket. The Longhorns will open the tournament against Minnesota on Thursday at 6:10pm.
The East may be the toughest region in the tourney. If Texas can get past Minnesota they’ll have to face in the second round in what would be essentially a home game for the Blue Devils in Greensboro, North Carolina. If the Horns get by that tough test, it could actually set up a rematch with two top teams they beat earlier this season in 3-seed or .
We’ll have previews of Thursday’s game and the rest of the tourney so check back in on the 40 Acres all tourney long.
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