40 Acres Sports

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 Wildcats.

Pre-Game Respect. A great decision by the UT brass to have a moment of silence before the game for the Oklahoma State’s tragedy of losing two of their women’s basketball coaches in a plane crash. Nice touch with the OSU logo on the Godzillatron.

1st Quarter (11:03) WTH Ash?! David Ash needs to realize that you do not need to jump when you throw the football. He has a tremendous upside but the decision making is suspect. Wildcats put the first points of the game after the turnonver.

2nd Quarter (3:02) WTH Blue Chip?! Way to take the momentum right out of the stadium. Coach Brown decides to go for it on fourth down at their own 41 yard line. Tray Allen false starts which kills the drive and ends up leading to a punt and the turning point of the game.

2nd Quarter (2:51) WTH Refs?! I am getting sick of these judgment calls! The KSU punt returner, Tramaine Thompson, fumbles the ball and the Horns recover in great field position. The ref felt that the returner was scared of the oncoming pressure and decided to throw the flag. Best Mack Brown meltdown ever.

2nd Quarter (:57) WTH Mack?! KSU was trying to get into position for a score before the half. Wildcat Sheldon Smith did his best tight rope act along the sidelines with a 24 yard catch which the refs really enjoyed by deciding to make the judgment call that it was a catch. Mack you have got to challenge that call. You do not need the timeouts so why not get the booth to review it.

3rd Quarter (3:43) WTH McCoy?! I guess the golden horseshoe is back in place. Case McCoy steps in an orchestrated a 6 play – 79 yard touchdown drive. Great designed play by Coach Harsin for McCoy to hit senior Blaine Irby for his first touchdown of the year.

End of Game (:00) WTH UT Defense?! What an incredible display of domination by this unit. It was sad to see the effort was wasted with a loss. The Horns held the Wildcats to 121 yards of total offense. Collin Klein, aka Honey Badger (please), had 4 net yards of rushing on 26 carries. The other telling stat is that the Wildcats had 9 series which they had 3 plays and punt.

Next up for the Longhorns are the Aggies for the final time? at 7PM on Turkey Day.
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!!

Well that sucked. I was hoping to wake up in a world where Texas didn’t outgain Kansas State 310 to 121 last night and still lose. Oh well.

Here’s a few “highlights” from the game if you want to watch:

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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 Wildcats.

Start of the Game (15:00) WTH Little Apple?! A whopping 46,734 fans is the most intimidating place in the conference for UT? Seeing the Horns walk down the curved ramp, did they have to go through a turnstile to get onto the field. It’s still hard to believe a team from Manhattan Kansas has such a stranglehold on this team.

1st Quarter (14:07) WTH Defense?! The entire defense needs to be called out giving up such a quick score. It is also disturbing when a backup QB Collin Klein racks up a team high 151 yards of rushing and only 9 yards of passing. You know the run is coming and you cannot stop it?!

1st Quarter (9:28) WTH Mack 1?! I need to call out the gambler who has been quite successful on calling 4th down plays. The Wildcats have one of the worst rushing defenses in the country so the decision is to run a trick play which calls for a 5 yard snap back to the kicker in order to just gain one yard on 4th down.

1st Quarter (5:08) WTH Glee Club?! UT should employ K-State drum major CJ Longabaugh for his motivational speeches. Coming back from commercial, ESPN showed his final home game senior speech to his band members by ending it with “…Let’s finish Right 1, 2, 3!”

1st Quarter (4:04) WTH Kirkendoll?! James Kirkendoll had a good night with 6 catches for 72 yards. But the receiver had a once in a life time blunder when he was called for pass interference while he was run blocking his defender. When it rains it pours…

2nd Quarter (6:52) WTH Mack 2?! Are you trying to tell me that you designed exotics (trick plays) for punter Justin Tucker, but did not have one single play call designed for DJ Monroe. It’s amazing that you try gaining 10 yards by starting off with a reverse which gives way to an option to only get 7 yards. To add insult to injury, the team had a holding penalty that would have wiped out anything remotely positive on that play.

2nd Quarter (3:14) WTH Trey?! I know that you are just a freshman, but Trey Hopkins will have to serve as the poster boy for the failures of the offense line. The biggest pass play of the night (a TD) to James Kirkendoll was wiped out by your holding penalty. ESPN cameras throughout the night captured the UT fans in all of their anguish and disgust.

2nd Quarter (:20) WTH Grape?! One of the many hardships that follow Gilbert Grape (I mean Garrett) is the desire to force a throw. With the Horns on the doorstep of ending its sour first half, Gilbert launches an ill advised pass to the K-State defender Ty Zimmerman in the end zone. Grape will end up dishing out 5 INT’s without a hint of sitting him down to let him clear his head. I hope the coaches were right for leaving him in there for his sake.

3rd Quarter (1:19) WTH Goodwin?! I know that are special teams are not even close to being special. But Marquise Goodwin did not even look like he knew what he was doing when he plowed into the punter to extend K-States drive for their final touchdown of the night. Who is our special team coach!? Mike Tolleson? The same coach that takes care of the defensive tackles needs to work on both job titles this week.

Next up for the Longhorn’s are the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in Austin on November 13th.

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.

Log on to flavortouchdown.com to enter for a chance to win the Sonic Flavor Touchdown Sweepstakes. You could win a prize package and a VIP football trip for 6 to the bowl game of your choice. Hopefully the Longhorns win at least two more games this season and make it to one of them. HOOK EM!!

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.

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.

Varez Ward and the entire Texas team struggled against Missouri (TexasSports.com)

Texas had not lost at home since February of 2007; they’ve now lost twice at the Frank Erwin Center in the last seven days. came in and won in overtime thanks to Denis Clemente’s 44 points. Then on Wednesday came in and outlasted the Longhorns to capture sole possession of third place in the conference.

Texas had won three straight since dropping a game in . But even with those wins it was obvious something was missing on this team. Against OU, Tech, and Texas failed to score over 30 points in the first half. Against Kansas State it got even worse as the Longhorns scored only 22 points in the first 20 minutes of the ball game.

Rick Barnes’ team just can’t get it all together at the same time. One game will go off, next game can’t miss, and in another looks like an unstoppable force in the paint. A week ago it looked like was finally going to be the answer at point guard, flash forward to the Missouri loss and Balbay only registered two minutes of play.

Basketball is all about confidence, and right now as a team Texas has none. Early in the season the Longhorn defense put fear in opponents, especially on the ball. Now it looks like Texas is lost. They let a marginal player in Clemente take over a game, and then on the key play of the Missouri game Texas’ best on ball defender, , allowed a Missouri guard to get all the way to the paint for a game winning bucket with 5.5 seconds left on the clock. No big guy came over to help on the play.

Everybody knows Barnes is a great coach, so it is hard to understand the lapses in mental judgment by this team. There is no doubting their effort, this team plays hard, but at times the fundamental flaws on this team are just mind boggling. If it isn’t poor rotation of defense it is a bad block out on the defensive boards, if it isn’t a horrid fast break attempt it is the lack of passes on the offensive end.

This season has shown how important a point guard is in college basketball. Texas doesn’t have a player, like in past seasons, that can sense when the team needs a bucket and has the ability to go get it. Texas went scoreless for the last 5:01 of the first half against Missouri, erasing what was a 12 point lead at one time, because nobody on the offensive side can create for themselves or other people. James has become a one on one player, wants to be a jump shooter, looks lost, and Abrams is only effective when he running off screens.

Fortunately it will take a mega meltdown to miss out on the tournament. With wins over , , and it is a safe bet that Texas will get in there. Especially considering it is a down year in the Big 12. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like there are any answers to what ails this ball team. Something about them doesn’t seem right, and I’m not sure even Rick Barnes knows what is going on.

Lance Zierlein of the Houston Chronicle has posted his list of the five best and worst underclassmen decisions of 2009 draft and I think they’re pretty dead on. He’s one of the few guys out there that really knows his stuff regarding the and Big 12 football.

Zierlein thinks Texas linebacker/defensive end made the right call by returning to Texas for his senior season. Right now Kindle is still relatively raw at both linebacker and as a pass rusher, and with another year of seasoning under he could explode in 2009. I also agree completely with his thoughts on the decisions by players such as USC’s Mark Sanchez, OU’s Sam Bradford, and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman.

The relevant notes from Zierlein are posted below:

Best

3. Sergio Kindle, DE/OLB, Texas – Staying In: Kindle opened up many scouts eyes as a pass-rusher this year at Texas. Will Muschamp recognized that Kindle’s top potential wasn’t at LB but as a pass rusher. Kindle has good straight line speed but needs to become a more fluid athlete and he has a chance to do that with another year at Texas.

Worst

2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma – Staying In: I say this is a bad decision, but as long as he plays well next year, he’ll be a top 3 pick next season. The problem is that he is losing almost his entire offensive line as well as two of his top targets. Injury is the only real concern for me here, but he probably would have been a top 3 pick this season and maybe the top pick.

3. Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State – Coming Out – What are you thinking, Josh? You have the size and arm strength that NFL teams would salivate over if you could just put together a big year on the collegiate level. Why not go back and improve on your numbers and then become the hot name in the 2010 draft?

Source

In the first week of conference play every team that was supposed to win did just that. gave a heck of a run so they move up one spot even after a loss, but no one else moves. This week should be much more interesting as four of the top five teams in the conference go head to head.

Check out this week’s Big 12 power rankings below:

1. 
   LW: 1

   The Sooners throttled an overmatched Baylor team and ended the game quickly by putting up 28 first quarter points. Baylor QB Robert Griffin ran well against them so maybe can do the same this week when the Sooners and Longhorns face off.

2. 
   LW: 2

   Mizzou wins in Lincoln for the first time in thirty years in a rout. The Tigers’ defense continued to give up big yards (particularly through the air) but only gave up 17 points to the Cornhuskers. This week the Tigers face Oklahoma State.

3. Texas

   
   LW: 3

   The Horns took care of business easily against CU in their conference opener. The offense wasn’t perfect but the defense nearly was in the team’s win. This week the Longhorns will try to take down rival and top ranked Oklahoma.

4. 
   LW: 4

   Tons of points for both Tech and Kansas State. The game was never in doubt for the Red Raiders but the team’s defense still is. The team faces a good passing offense this week in Nebraska and we’ll see if they’re up to the test.

5. 
   LW: 5

   The Cowboys whooped the Aggies and at 5 – 0 are climbing up the national rankings. The team advantage of five Aggie turnovers and won easily despite giving up a lot of yards. The Cowboys face a big time defensive test this week against Missouri and I don’t think they’re up for it.

6. 
   LW: 6

   Uh oh. I was tempted to drop Kansas even after squeaking by with a win against Iowa State. They had to rally from a 20-point halftime deficit to the Cyclones but surprisingly held their #16 national ranking. Should be an interesting game against Colorado this week.

7. 
   LW: 7

   Colorado coach Dan Hawkins desperately needs to find offensive line help or he’s going to get his own son killed. The line was completely dominated by the Longhorns and therefore couldn’t get anything started on offense. They travel to Kansas this week for a battle to be the North’s second best team.

8. 
   LW: 8

   They ran their mouth during the week and then spit on Missouri QB Chase Daniel before the game but got blown off the field once the game started. They make way too many mistakes (penalties and turnovers) to be a good team. Up this week is Texas Tech.

9. 
   LW: 9

   They’re still Baylor, in case you were wondering. Despite looking like an improved team early in the season they didn’t put much of a fight against Oklahoma. The defense surrendered nearly 600 total yards and 49 points in game that would have been much worse if OU hadn’t started taking it easy after just one quarter. This week the Bears have a winnable game against Iowa State.

10. 
    LW: 11

    The Cyclones move up one spot despite losing. They jumped out to a big halftime lead but just couldn’t hold onto it once KU got going in the second half. The game could have been either a sign the team is getting better or a backbreaking loss that sends them into a tailspin. We’ll find out Saturday against Baylor.

11. 
    LW: 10

    The Wildcats put up some yards against Texas Tech but were bad on third downs and couldn’t put up nearly enough points to make up for their defense. KSU needs to win their next two games against A&M and then Colorado if they hope to pull themselves up from the bottom tier of the conference.

12. Texas A&M

    
    LW: 12

    As predicted, the Aggies got their butts kicked against Okie State. The offense did put up a ton of yards but turned the ball over five times in the first half. This week they face a pretty average Kansas State at home so we’ll find out if they’re as bad as we think they are. Should be fun(ny).

With the Horns and Sooners set to do battle at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, there’s another reason for fans of the two teams to argue and spit at each other. The Big 12 has released the men’s basketball preseason coaches poll and Texas is at number two right behind .

The Horns lost their best player in but returns a ton of talent and depth everywhere but point guard. With defending conference and national champs losing so many players the conference is wide open this season. If either or somebody can step up to man the point the Longhorns should have another shot to win the conference and make a deep tourney run.

2008-09 Big 12 Preseason Poll

See how the coaches think the league will turn out below:

There were several of teams off last week in the conference but there was still a lot of movement in the power rankings. Losses by Colorado and Nebraska and a shaky home win by Texas A&M sent all those teams down a bit. Meanwhile Oklahoma State continues to win in impressive fashion. The Cowboys are undefeated and putting up big offensive numbers so have moved up three spots to number five. Conference play starts Saturday so things should be much clearer in next week’s rankings.

Check out this week’s Big 12 power rankings below:

1. 
   LW: 1

   The Sooners jumped to a huge first quarter lead against and then just road that through the end of the game. QB Sam Bradford threw for a ton of yards but had by far his least accurate performance of the season. More troubling for OU is the complete ineffectiveness of the running game. They tried to force the issue but manage to only rush for an abysmal 25 yards on 36 carries.

2. 
   LW: 2

   Bye week. The Tigers face Nebraska this weekend to open Big 12 play.

3. Texas

   
   LW: 3

   Another week and another 52 – 10 win for the Longhorns, this time over SEC rival . The Texas offense has been impressive all season but for the first time all season the defense was dominant. The front seven was able to sack the Razorbacks’ QBs seven times and the Horns are now top five nationally with 16 sacks on the season. Texas faces Colorado Saturday at 6pm on FSN.

4. 
   LW: 4

   Bye week. Red Raiders open Big 12 play against Kansas State.

5. 
   LW: 8

   Okie Lite put another 50 spot on the scoreboard this past weekend against Troy. The Trojans aren’t exactly a national power but struggled to get past them while the Cowboys racked up 612 total yards. They host the Aggies Saturday at 7pm.

6. 
   LW: 7

   Bye week. KU opens conference play with a virtual bye against Iowa State.

7. 
   LW: 5

   Colorado didn’t show up well in a surprisingly thorough loss to . QB and coach’s son Cody Hawkins was inaccurate and inefficient and the running game didn’t do enough to pick him up. The FSU offense wasn’t much better but thanks to terrible kick coverage was able to play with a short field on several possessions. The Buffaloes face the Longhorns Saturday.

8. 
   LW: 6

   Nebraska fans may be disappointed in a home loss to but Bo Pelini’s team fought hard till the end and almost came back and won it. This week Nebraska has a tough one when they host #4 Missouri.

9. 
   LW: 10

   Bye week. Next up are the number one ranked Sooners.

10. 
    LW: 9

    Another shaky week for the Wildcats, barely beating a 1 – 3 Louisiana-Lafayette team in Manhattan. QB Josh Freeman and the offense again looked solid but the defense looked like swiss cheese. The Ragin’ Cajuns ran all over them to the tune of 335 total rushing yards in the game. Not good. Up this week is Texas Tech.

11. 
    LW: 12

    Bye week. This week the Cyclones face off against Kansas.

12. Texas A&M

    
    LW: 11

    Just how bad are the Aggies? Army wasn’t just winless but they were winless against mediocre competion, and at Kyle Field the A&M needed a fourth down stop to escape with a win. Their match-up with Oklahoma State Saturday night will be an interesting one to watch (but not actually watch because it’s embarrasingly not being televised).