40 Acres Sports

2008 Big 12 Champs?

Yesterday’s spring game was the first chance for many fans to see the team since the Fiesta Bowl, but it was also a chance for the media to wander the halls of Moncrief-Neuhaus. Statesman writer Kirk Bohls noticed something interesting about the team’s updated trophy area, namely a “2008*” under the list of Big 12 conference championships.

Read Bohls’ update from today below:

Trying to defuse a controversy over claiming credit for a championship they didn’t win, the Texas Longhorns are removing “2008*” from a list of Big 12 titles posted in a team meeting room.

A team official said today that coach Mack Brown had not been aware of the asterisked claim and wanted it taken down.

After online posts here and elsewhere Sunday, the Longhorns’ decoration quickly drew fire - especially in Oklahoma, where Sooner fans have taken to the radio airwaves and Internet boards to scoff at the Longhorns’ claim to a share of the Sooners’ tie-broken title.

Personally, it doesn’t upset me too much though I understand the University needs to handle itself a little differently than us as fans. I’m still ticked off about how last year went down. Reportedly (according to @suzhalliburton) the asterisk was supposed to only be under the Big 12 South area to denote last year’s division tie. Yesterday was the first time it was brought to Mack Brown’s attention and now it’s coming down.

Hey, at least we didn’t claim a spring game victory.

Follow along below with our live thoughts and analysis during this afternoon’s Spring Game that will take place at 2:30pm on ESPN360.com and then 8:30pm on ESPNU. You can catch our live thoughts here at 2:30pm.

We’ll also be embedding Twitter posts from @40AcresSports and with the hashtag #UT right in with the other notes. 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!

Notes: Comments on the article itself will be turned off till after the game. The Writer can view all comments sent to them but only they can publish your comments for everyone to see. The “autoscroll” feature ensures you’re always shown the newest content without having to refresh or scroll your screen. Subtle sound effects alert you to new content as the writer publishes it. You can turn these features on or off by using the controls at the bottom of the Live Blog.

Lots of Cody Johnson news this week that we’re just now catching up on. When the Horns were coming back to practice earlier this week from Spring Break word was out that he was working hard and impressing the coaches and had risen to the top of the running back depth chart. His performance on the field also had the Texas coaches worrying less about his weight:

Johnson’s personal battle of the bulge has dogged him throughout his college career. But [Mack] Brown is learning to gauge other factors than merely the scales when looking at the 5-foot-11, 255-pound Johnson and his productivity and value for the Longhorns.

“We’ve quit trying to get Cody to lose weight, we’re working with body fat and we think that’s the key to it,” Brown said. “He looks like he’s in good shape. He came back in good shape after the break. We feel like that he’s doing a really good job.”

But then on Wednesday Johnson tweaked his hamstring and threw the whole thing back in the air. The injury isn’t too serious but he will miss the next two weeks of practice including the spring scrimmage on April 5th. This will open things up for Vondrell McGee and Fozzy Whittaker to get more practice reps and impress the coaching staff, and also possibly may make it even less likely that incoming true freshman Chris Whaley will redshirt.

Mack Brown’s 2010 Texas football recruiting class just keeps getting better. Top defensive end Reggie Wilson made a surprise visit to Austin Thursday and yesterday word trickled out that Wilson had committed to the Longhorns. He is the 21st commit for the 2010 class.

Wilson is a 6-foot-4, 240 pound pass rushing defensive end from Haltom City, TX. He hasn’t been around football his entire life but he is an incredible talent with one of the biggest upsides in the entire country. He is one of the top players in the entire state, ranked number 4 in the LSR and number 1 by Inside Texas. He has a very good chance to end the season as a 5-star recruit if he puts up a strong senior season.

Wilson’s personal story is an incredible one, an excerpt from InsideTexas.com:

Wilson’s parents fled Liberia at the start of the country’s Civil War while Reggie’s mother was pregnant with him. The family moved to The Ivory Coast to a compound where Reggie’s parents cared for their seven children and other children that had were affected by the war.

When Reggie was seven, his parents, amid financial difficulties, moved to the United States with the hopes of making a better life for their children. Needing the older children to stay and take care of the younger children that could otherwise not take care of themselves, seven year old Reggie Wilson lived without his parents on the Ivory Coast for three years.

When Wilson was 10 his parents had saved enough money to bring him to the United States and after a short stay in New York with some relatives, Reggie was reunited with his parents in Fort Worth.

Congrats to Reggie and welcome to the 40 Acres. Make sure to check out all the commits and stay tuned to the site for all the latest recruiting news.

The Longhorns are one of the first teams in the country (love that Texas weather) back on the practice fields and preparing for the 2009 season. Before last season’s run at a national title, Mack Brown and Texas fans were actually pointing at this year as the one the team’s best chance to win it all. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy did an interview with ESPN and talked about the team building on their successful 2008 season and making another run in 2009, check it out:

College coaches are not allowed by NCAA rules to talk about potential recruits or commits until National Signing Day. With signatures from all 20 commits this morning, Texas head coach Mack Brown finally has a chance to talk about each of the future Longhorns and breaks down each one on film. Mack sits down in front of reporters and talks to reporters for nearly 30 minutes and it is definitely worth your time to sit down and watch.

Watch Mack talking about the class and discussing each of the recruits below:

Many thanks to Statesman.com for again providing embeddable video of Mack’s press conferences.

ESPN analyst Rod Gilmore does a good job breaking down the Fiesta Bowl and the gamewinning drive led by Colt McCoy and Quan Cosby. Watch Gilmore and Scott Van Pelt break down the game below:

The one thing I don’t get is how they take that game and make it a case that the Big 12 isn’t physical. Beanie Wells ran all over the Horns in the first half due to out of position linebackers and poor tackling by the secondary, not due to getting beat in the trenches. On the other side of the ball the offensive line didn’t play any worse than they had during conference play this season, it’s nothing new for Colt to be under constant pressure. It would be a thing of beauty to see what he could do in 2009 with better running game and blocking, hopefully we get to find out.

Our live stream of consciousness posted from @40acressports on Twitter from during the Fiesta Bowl is posted below:

• It was cool when they let blind guys sing the national anthem, but wasn’t letting a blind man design the Fiesta Bowl trophy enough? #UT 25 minutes ago
• @springnet 77 is Luke Poehlmann, a very promising true freshman lineman. He deserves to start in 09 just due to his sweet mullet. 31 minutes ago
• @HookEmSarah as Mack said this week, gatorade baths are for 7-5 coaches. plus I’m sure there nothing but whining on #UT msg boards. 37 minutes ago
• What a game. Congrats Horns on the big tough win. Congrats to the seniors. #UT 40 minutes ago
• I heart Quan and Brian Orakpo. Huge sack (and good job tackling QB too.) #UT 42 minutes ago
• ANnouncers are acting like this thing is over. #UT 44 minutes ago
• Unsportsmanlike could be huge. OSU kicker has big leg. Come on kickoff team. #UT 45 minutes ago
• Tressel’s challenge gives #UT much needed timeout. Horns should actually gain yards with review. 49 minutes ago
• That was a terrible initial spot. Clearly got first down. Replay will give it to #UT if spot doesn’t. 51 minutes ago
• #UT needs to be in bigger hurry. 56 minutes ago
• Not sure who #77 for #UT is but that mullet deserves playing time. 57 minutes ago
• There’s no such thing as double pass interference, whoevere initiated contact deserves the flag. #UT 58 minutes ago
• @joneke defense has been fantastic all game long. about an hour ago
• Absolutely terrible pass interference call. Beasley has right to ball and ball was way short. F***! #UT about an hour ago
• Well defended? Malcolm Williams was wide open and Colt just put it too wide. #UT about an hour ago
• 4th quarter! Wrap this thing up boys. #UT about an hour ago
• Attaboy Colt! You too Coach Davis. All three drives this half have been good ones (sans 20 yd sack.) #UT about an hour ago
• Matt Hasselback is the NFL qb you reference? Weird. Is Tim announcing the game? #UT about an hour ago
• When do you think we’ll see screen and go to Shipley? Looks set up well. #UT about an hour ago
• 4th and 36 and we can’t even punt for first down yardage. Momentum squandered. #UT about an hour ago
• Terrible play by Colt. Has to expect pressure on RB screen call. Drive killer. #UT about an hour ago
• Dear Greg Davis, finally a designed run for Colt and you get a beauty of a TD run for #UT. Let’s go defense!! about 2 hours ago
• #90 for Ohio St is dirty POS. 2nd time he clearly and intentionly went high with his hands on Colt. Hit was fine, hands to helmet isn’t. #UT about 2 hours ago
• Very good effort by R Bobino to get first down when there wasn’t much room on fake punt. #UT about 2 hours ago
• Fiesta Bowl trophy is one of the ugliest things on the planet. #UT about 2 hours ago
• Crap. Holding call turns 2nd and inches into 2nd and long. #UT about 2 hours ago
• Set your feet Colt. #UT about 2 hours ago
• @kbohls you have to be able to trust you junior QB not to take bad risk. That one is on Colt. #UT about 2 hours ago
• Bad underthrow by Colt costs #UT chance at at least tying FG. Huge mistake and momentum killer into halftime. about 2 hours ago
• False starts on wide receivers drive me bats***. #UT about 3 hours ago
• @kbohls blame out of position linebackers (due to play and blitzes) more than D-line for long runs. Agree about QB contain. #UT about 3 hours ago
• Getting the awful feeling opposing fans felt when VY was at quarterback. Glad Pryor has no clue about watching for 1st down markers. #UT about 3 hours ago
• 2nd and goal from 17 and we run a draw to Chris O? WTF? #UT about 3 hours ago
• Speaking of running, where’s Fozzy? #UT about 3 hours ago
• No attempts to get Colt McCoy running yet. Turn him loose Greg! #UT about 3 hours ago
• Better drive by #UT offense but inability to get positive yards on 2nd & short is killing us. about 3 hours ago
• Apparently that was a token holding call earlier, some pretty blatant ones on this series but we get pressure and S Kindle gets sack. #UT about 3 hours ago
• 1st freshman mistake for Pryor. Good run but stepped out before first down with no one about to hit him. Melton rushing out of control. #UT about 4 hours ago
• Woot!!!! Apparently holding still exists outside the Big 12! Good sign for Rak! #UT about 4 hours ago
• Chris Hall is playing. Retweeting @suzhalliburton: @40acressports They used the depth chart from A&M about 4 hours ago
• Chris Hall wasn’t on official depth chart for the game but #71 is in uniform at least for the Horns. Hope he’s 100% and starting. #UT about 4 hours ago
• RT @CedGolden: Is it me or is Barry Switzer wearing a burnt orange tie with a matching hanky? #UT about 4 hours ago
• Score predictions for #UT vs Ohio State: http://is.gd/eEb5 All three of us have the Horns winning a pretty close game. about 4 hours ago
• RT @bevobeat: Blaine Irby up and about. Horns’ injured tight end was out tossing the ball around in pregame. http://twitpic.com/100fd about 4 hours ago
• Ah oh: No Chris Hall on the 3 deep at center for Fiesta Bowl depth chart: http://is.gd/eDRj True frosh D Snow gets start. about 5 hours ago

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(Side note: This is the site’s 2,500th post. Kind of cool.)

This year’s success can ultimately be traced back to last year’s bowl game. Mack Brown made a decision to work his team and open up competition at all positions. The result was a brand new football team than the one that lost to the Aggies. Out of the three BCS games that Texas has now been invited to, there is no doubt the 2009 Fiesta Bowl has been greeted with the smallest fanfare.

However, Monday night’s game against Ohio State is the biggest game of the year in many ways. Think about the two scenarios and the impact it will have on the program. Let’s say Texas wins. The Longhorns will finish the year 12-1 and likely the number two ranked team in the nation. And no matter what happens in the Orange Bowl the Longhorn nation will have months to lay claim to at least the chance to have played for the national title. The program will be 3-0 in BCS games and will not have lost a bowl game since many were talking about moving Vince Young to wide receiver.

If the Longhorns lose, and contrary to popular opinion it can happen, all the championship talk flies out the window. All the momentum the program built up over the last year will come to a halt and the national media will feel they made the right decision to put OU in Miami. One has to look no further than Texas Tech and Alabama.

Luckily, the Texas plays understand this better than the fan base. When talking to people in Phoenix it has amazed me how nonchalant the fans seem to be. Ohio State will be the second best team the Longhorns have been on the field with this season. Their young and ultra-talented Vince Young clone of a quarterback has had six weeks to get better. The Buckeyes have a power run game that Texas’ hasn’t had to face and their tailback may be the best in the nation when he is healthy.

Yet, most feel the Longhorns will cruise. And hopefully they will, next year may hang in the balance.

Texas head coach Mack Brown discussed bowl practices and other topics with the media at the first official press conference since the regular season ended on Thursday. The Statesman has posted the video, watch below:

Word from Orangebloods sources is that the coaches and players are fired up and practices are spirited and the team will be ready for Ohio State in January. Could be bad news for the Buckeyes if the Horns are both prepared and pissed.

It was a thing of beauty Thursday night as the Longhorns put the Aggies back in their place with a 49 - 9 thumping in front of a national Turkey Day audience. The Texas defense was completely dominant in the first half and the offense was led by an incredible night running and throwing by quarterback Colt McCoy. We won’t know till Sunday if it was enough but Mack Brown’s kids won with both class and style, something that should make any Longhorn proud.

Watch the highlights:

Texas head coach Mack Brown was on ESPN yesterday (and replayed a ton this morning) discussing tonights Texas A&M game and of course BCS rankings. It sounds like he’s saying all the right things and wants the kids focusing on the Aggies, but I imagine if the team takes care of business tonight he’ll be on the phone doing interviews during several games Friday and Saturday. He also does a great job at subtly reminding voters that the Longhorns beat the Sooners head-to-head earlier this year.

Watch the interview:

Will the Longhorns avoid a third straight upset?

The Texas Longhorns are 35-point favorites on Turkey Day against the Texas A&M Aggies and they might need to win by even more than that to impress the voters and hold onto their number two BCS ranking. The two rivals face off on Thanksgiving Day for the first time since 1993 when one of the Aggies many transgressions landed them with TV restrictions due to NCAA penalties. This year the Aggies are again playing with nothing to lose, can the Horns avoid another upset? Will they come out and earn enough “style points” to win a Big 12 South title and a chance for a national title? Find out how bad the Aggies will lose below:

Brian - Lots of poll watching and complaining by Texas fans this week but none of that will matter if the team doesn’t take care of business Thursday night. The last three seasons the Horns have been big favorites but didn’t come out strong and let the Aggies stay in the game. This year Texas needs to put some early points on the board against an overmatched team and never give them any hope. The Texas defense might give up a few points but the offense is going to have a field defense against a team that gave up 41 to Baylor. Yes, Baylor! Quarterback Colt McCoy is looking for payback and his first win over A&M and he’s going to have a huge game in front of a national audience both passing and running. Texas 56 - Texas A&M 20

Matt - A lot more than just the usual rivalry bragging rights are on the line this Thanksgiving against Aggy. First and foremost is the fact that Texas currently sits at the #2 spot in the BCS and is desperate need of some style points with an impressive win (I am thinking by 40 or more). Oklahoma will likely jump Texas no matter what with a win, but we can use all the help we can get. Second is the fact that Colt McCoy has yet to beat Aggy in his ridiculous career at Texas (probably the only thing he hasn’t done). I think these two scenarios make for a huge Texas win, as they will be looking to dominate this game. I am thinking 50+. Hopefully they don’t eat too much turkey before. Texas 60 - Texas A&M 10

Mike - Texas has every reason to blow out Texas A&M. The Longhorns enter the game with a slim lead over Oklahoma for the Big 12 tie breaker, and oh yeah, the Aggies have beaten the Longhorns for the last two seasons. At least one of the losses cost UT a conference championship and a BCS bowl. Mack Brown is usually hesitant to embarrass an opponent by leaving in his starters and running up the score, but this week holds special circumstances. His team needs style points because it looks like who goes to Kansas City next week will be determined by who plays best this week. The Longhorns get the first shot to impress the voters on Thanksgiving night in front of a national audience. Texas needs to win dominantly from the opening snap to the closing one. In years past I’d be worried about how Texas would respond to such pressure but with the leadership on the team combined with the passion the coaching staffs brought to this squad I have no doubts this one is going to get ugly. Colt McCoy will have a huge day that will move him to the front of the Heisman race and the Longhorns will make it real tough for voters to put OU in front of them on Sunday. Texas 55 - Texas A&M 13

Obviously this year’s Texas vs. Texas A&M football game has more on the line than just bragging rights. The Longhorns enter the game at number two in the BCS, but hold such a slight lead in the standings that many worry that an Oklahoma win over Oklahoma State will propel the Sooners into the Big 12 Championship game and with that into the National Title game.

On top of all the BCS hoopla, Texas also wants to erase the memory of the Aggies ruining their last two seasons. The Aggies are awful, but they were for the last two years so the focus for Mack Brown and his staff has been to keep their players focused on the task at hand. There are some aspects of this puzzle that the football team can control and some that they can’t. The Longhorns must focus all their energy on what they can control.

For this week’s preview we look at what the Longhorns must do to sway a few voters back their way.

1. Beat the Hell out of A&M. The fans yell it, the team must do it. Even if the BCS wasn’t in the picture the recent history of this game should give these players enough motivation to put it on the Aggies. There is no doubt Texas has had the better team the last two years, but there is also little doubt who wanted the game more. A&M have been more physical than the Longhorns over that stretch and in football the team that hits the other in the mouth first usually has the upper hand. Keep in mind that while players like Colt McCoy have beaten the Sooners twice in their career, they have not beaten A&M. Texas needs to do it big this week.
2. Don’t let up. Mack Brown is a nice guy. Too nice at times. Coaches like Bob Stoops and Mike Leach make no bones about putting up big points even when the game is well out of reach. And while common sense would suggest that the voters would understand that a win is a win style points do count. There is no doubt that Oklahoma will put a as many points as they can if given the opportunity on Saturday night in Stillwater and Texas must do the same on Thanksgiving night. Texas needs to let their players play the whole game and put up over 60 points. All the voters know that Texas beat OU head to head, but many have given the nod to the Sooners in the polls because they feel Oklahoma has been more dominant in the last few games. Texas needs to put up a huge score on Thursday because the vote on Sunday will likely come down to who looks better this week.
3. Run the ball. Oklahoma is being viewed as the better team because people feel they have more ways to beat you. Last week against Texas Tech the Sooners did something Texas couldn’t do. They controlled the line of scrimmage and moved the ball on the ground at will. Voters, especially the coaches, want to see balance. Texas has not had balance this year unless the running comes from McCoy. With Foswhitt Whittaker back in the mix and the emergence of a health Vondrell McGee, the Longhorn running game has improved over the last few weeks. The Longhorns need to be able to run the ball when the other team, the announcers, and everybody watching knows they are about to run it. The Longhorns have struggled with that this year, but voting is a what have you done for me lately job and if Texas can come out and dominate it will erase a lot of the concerns people have had about the UT offense all season long.
4. Shutout. It might be a little much to ask for a shutout, but this team needs something close to that to impress the voters. I think most people consider Texas’ and OU’s offense on par with each other. Oklahoma gets the advantage in most people’s mind because of a perceived opinion that the Sooner defense is better than Texas’. A score of 42-6 would help Texas more than say a score of 65-24. Texas needs to be dominant in every aspect of the game, but a complete whipping of the Aggies on defense would impress the voters tremendously. All eyes will be on Texas this weekend and Will Muschamp needs to prove why he is being selected as the next head coach at Texas.
5. Remind the voters 45 - 35. This is going to be on the fans. Mack Brown and his staff have rightfully put all the week’s energy on beating A&M. It will be up to the fans on Thursday night to get the word out that what happens on the field should matter the most. It can be done with chants of “45 – 35″ and with the signs that the Longhorn nation is looking to print out and distribute to all the people in attendance. When the cameras go into the stands in between plays or coming back from commercials the viewers at home need to be bombarded with evidence of the victory at The Fair Grounds.

Even with all this done it might not be enough to stay in front of Oklahoma, but at least UT would have done everything they could to get there. If the Big 12 Championship is OU vs. Missouri it will be a match up of two teams Texas beat by double digits on the year. The Longhorns have over achieved for much of the year and deserve to catch a break. Hopefully they will this weekend. No matter what happens just remember: Go Baylor Bears.

Some video has been posted on the Statesman’s site of the Will Muschamp announcement from yesterday featuring comments from AD DeLoss Dodds talking about the continuity of the program and why they locked him up with this deal. Muschamp also has some really good comments about why he took the deal and how much his family loves Austin. Mack Brown gives Coach Boom some very high praise and discusses the supposedly non-existent timetable for when he’ll step down.

Watch the video:

In exciting breaking news, the Texas Longhorns have announced that defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will stay at Texas and will eventually succeed Mack Brown as head coach. Thoughts and predictions on the future of the Texas coaching staff will come later, but the university release is below:

The University of Texas has struck an agreement with Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp that will keep him in Austin and eventually lead him to the head coaching position for the Longhorns, Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds said on Tuesday. Details of the contract are still being finalized but it will start with Muschamp’s salary being raised to $900,000 on January 1, 2009.

“This is a plan that has been enthusiastically agreed to by Mack Brown, President Powers and the Board of Regents,” Dodds said. “With the landscape in college football and all of the changes around the country, I’ve been looking at this for the last couple of years. When it’s not working, you have to go outside and make changes. Things are going well here, it’s working, so it’s best to be prepared to build from inside and that’s what we’re doing.

“Mack has provided outstanding leadership and continues to elevate our football program to a level as high as anyone in the country. We hope he stays a long time and he will be our coach as long as he wants, but this assures us that when the time comes, we have the right guy to step up into that position and continue to build on the great things we’re accomplishing.”

Muschamp joined the Longhorns this season after highly successful stints at Auburn, LSU and in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins. As defensive coordinator, he helped LSU claim a National Championship in 2004. He was a finalist for the Broyles Award (nation’s top assistant coach) in 2007.

“This is first and foremost about keeping Will at Texas,” Brown said. “He’s had several opportunities to interview for head coaching jobs, but we wanted him to stay here. I’m going to continue coaching as I’m enjoying it. I have eight years left on my contract, I am not thinking at all about moving on, it’s simply that I think Will is a great young coach, a perfect fit for this place and he wants to stay. Nothing will change in our structure. He will continue in his role as defensive coordinator and when the time comes, will be ready to step in and take over the program.

“Everything we’ve talked about since we’ve been here, the premise of our program, has been about family. This is about family. When at some point I do step away, the fans can be assured the program can continue like it is. It will not miss a beat because the family will continue. Will believes in all the same principles we believe in. This assures recruits, our coaches and our players that Texas football will just keep on rolling.”

Muschamp’s Longhorn defense is leading the Big 12 in rushing defense (82.5 ypg/25th NCAA) and scoring defense (19.5 ppg/25th NCAA). UT ranks second nationally with four sacks per game. The Horns have held all of their Big 12 opponents below their season scoring average and limited six foes to 14 points or less.

“I was really excited when they presented the opportunity to me,” Muschamp said. “I’m not in any hurry to be a head coach and hope Coach Brown’s around for many more years. I’m just glad I’m going to be able to stay at Texas. This is the top program in the country, my family loves it here and there’s no better person to watch and learn from about running a football program than Coach Brown.

“President Powers, DeLoss Dodds, the administration and the leadership at Texas are outstanding. Coach Brown and a great support staff are in place. I’ve really enjoyed the kids in our program and everyone I’ve been around here. Texas has all the resources, facilities and a great recruiting base. It is the elite program in the country. No disrespect to any of the other places I’ve worked, but this is a really special place.”

A native of Rome, Ga., and 1994 graduate of Georgia, he was four-year lettermen at safety for the Bulldogs (1991-94). He was selected as defensive co-captain as a senior and was a part of two bowl teams. He also earned a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1993.

“When I first came here in January and my wife, Carol, and boys, Jackson and Whit, stayed back in Auburn, I got such a great feel for the community and people. When Carol and the kids moved here in May, they fell in love with Austin. If I would have left, I would have left on my own because she was staying here. She really loves the community and the people, and our kids love their schools. It’s just a special place and somewhere I want to be for a long time.

“I really appreciate the confidence that President Powers, DeLoss Dodds, the Board of Regents and Coach Brown have in me. I hope Coach Brown is here for a long time and look forward to continuing to coach our defense, learning from him and eventually carrying on the outstanding Texas tradition.”

Feel free to have your own opinion of what Buck Burnette’s punishment should have been and whether a mistake that destroys a team is worse than other criminal offenses, but at least don’t base it on “facts” that you made up yourself.

Read the story below from SI.com, no link because they don’t deserve it:

Crime and punishment at Texas
Bill Trocchi

Sorry if I’m late on this topic, but let me get this straight.

Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle was arrested for driving while intoxicated in the summer of 2007 and got a three-game suspension.

Texas defensive end Henry Melton was arrested for driving while intoxicated in the summer of 2007 and got a three-game suspension.

Texas defensive tackle Lamarr Houston was arrested for driving while intoxicated in September and got a one-game suspension. Here’s a link on all three arrests.

Texas center Buck Burnette posted a text message he received from a friend that contained a racial slur directed at Barack Obama on his Facebook page and was dismissed from the team.

Huh?

Ah, now I see. Look at the depth chart. Kindle, Melton and Houston all start. Burnette was a backup. Hmmmm.

Clearly, discipline needed to be handed out in all four cases. But the Facebook incident is by far the least punishable. Offensive? Yes. Stupid? Yes. Endangering the lives of others? No.

You can’t suspend a guy for one game after a DWI arrest and dismiss another for a Facebook racial slur. It is an insincere attempt to show you run such a clean and virtuous a program that you boot (backup) players when they post stupid, racially insensitive remarks on a Facebook page.

And then you hope nobody notices you start three drunk drivers on defense.

Let’s review those facts…

• Melton, Kindle, and Houston received lighter punishments because they’re starters. - Actually only Houston was a starter at the time of his arrest. Kindle was a second stringer who mainly saw time on special teams while Melton was buried on the depth chart after switching to defense from running back.
• “The Facebook incident is by far the least punishable.” - Actually, threatening the life of the President is a federal offense, but it doesn’t sound like he knew what Burnette actually said. Just today a Spring man was sentenced to 30 months in jail for threatening George W. Bush and another man faces up to 35 years in jail for threats he made on Internet message boards. Sounds pretty serious to me. The first DWI offense in Texas is punishable with up to 180 days in jail.
• Backups don’t matter so it’s okay to punish them. - With the injury this week to starting center Chris Hall the importance of backups is even more clear. Texas will be starting a true freshman at center against Kansas instead of Burnette.

I can see that he’s easily confused.

I’m not sure what fact checking Sports Illustrated does of their FanNation blog, but this article should have never gone up. Despite repeated corrections to the article being posted by commenters the original story still hasn’t been updated or corrected.

Will Colt McCoy have room to operate against Tech?

Texas faces another top ten team in what has to be the game of the week (sorry Florida and Georgia). This will be the third nationally televised game in the last four weeks for these Horns. Texas Tech is building this game as the “biggest” game ever to take place in Lubbock. The Tech fans are going to “black out” the stadium and the Longhorns are trying to do to Tech what Alabama did to Georgia when the Bulldogs held a “black out” on ABC primetime. Let’s look at what we’re in for.

When Texas has the ball:

In this year’s Big 12 conference I feel like I could write the same thing each week. The Longhorn offense faces a team that gives up and puts up points and yards in bunches. Colt McCoy and his offense should have no problem putting up points; the question will be the strategy offensive coordinator Greg Davis uses to achieve those points.

UT went over a quarter and a half without scoring a point to end last week’s Oklahoma State game. Texas had their chances though, as McCoy committed two turnovers deep in OK State territory that allowed the Cowboys to stay in the game. The running game was lacking for the first time since conference started and I think the coaching staff would like to get that part of the offense back on track. When this team can run the ball the middle of the field becomes wide open for McCoy and Jordan Shipley to work their overhyped roommate magic (they’re not over hyped, but their story has been). Most have been looking for Fozzy Whittaker to get his chance, and it might be this week.

Tech has a new defensive coordinator but remains the same defense it always is. They give up points on big plays and can be overmatched physically if a team stays within striking distance. The Red Raider defense thrives when an opposing team gets so far behind that they become one dimensional out of necessity. The Longhorns keeping the game close in the first quarter will go a long way in determining the outcome. It will be up to the offensive to control the ball and come away with points on virtually every possession because Texas Tech will score points.

The Longhorns will use short passes to set up the run as the game goes on. At this point in the season teams know who they are. The Longhorns are a possession passing team with the ability to run at times. Colt McCoy is the leader of the offense and this unit goes as he goes. If McCoy can eliminate turnovers it is very doubtful Tech will be able to slow Texas down.

When Texas Tech has the ball:

This is where it gets tricky. Everybody knows what the offense does, but I’m not sure even the coaches or the players know much about this defense. On one hand the talent is not in question. When the outside guys get to rush the quarterback there is not another team in the nation that is more dangerous. The linebackers have been playing as well as a unit as any group under Mack Brown. And the young secondary is getting better and better.

On the other hand, this same group just gave up over 200 yards of rushing offense in a game, Texas as a defense, including leading tackler Roddrick Muckelroy, struggled with open field tackling, the two safeties are still freshmen, and injuries are plaguing the best two cornerbacks on the team. All this the week the number one ranked Horns take on the most explosive offense, when clicking, in all of college football.

The good news is unlike the previous three weeks, the Tech offense won’t have a NFL caliber tight end. The bad news is Michael Crabtree still is in college. People talk about Jeremy Maclin and Dez Bryant, but neither of them compare to Crabtree. The guy is unbelievable and no one man is going to guard him. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has shown he likes to leave a safety over the top against elite receivers, as he did with Maclin and Bryant. Tech’s offense makes it hard to do that to a particular receiver because every wide out can line up at all the receiver positions in the Mike Leach offense. This is the first year Muschamp has gone up against Leach, so it will be interesting to see what the first year coordinator does. Odds are Duane Akina will be giving out advice this week because Texas has done relatively well against the Tech offense.

This is another game where it seems the running game will be an after thought. Tech uses short passes, much like Texas coincidentally, to supplement the run game. This will force UT’s linebackers and safeties to tackle well in space. Open field tackling by the Texas defense will be the difference in the game. If Texas can stop plays immediately after a reception they have a good chance of making some stops and getting off the field. But if Tech’s skill position players are able to make big plays after the catch the Longhorn offense will be forced into a shootout.

It wasn’t the high scoring game most of us expected but the number one Texas Longhorns were able to hold off a valiant effort from number six Oklahoma State Cowboys yesterday. The Horns got in front early and stayed there but the game was tight through out and the team had to stop a hail mary attempt on the game’s final play to win.

Watch highlights and post game interviews below:

In what has probably been his best coaching job at Texas, head coach Mack Brown has taken a team not many pundits were expecting much from and put them in the driver’s seat for a second national championship in four years. He’s recruited standout players, hired good coaches, and has the whole team playing incredible football this season. Even after winning the national title, somehow all the credit went to Vince Young and none to Brown.

And now finally some much needed love is coming Mack’s way. Check out this article on SI.com and read an excerpt of the main points below:

But here’s the thing: Mack Brown IS the best college football coach in America. I’m not offering this up as an opinion. I don’t even see how anyone else has a case. I mean, let’s break this down here. What do you want a college football coach to do? I can think of six main things:

1. Win.

Brown has won more games this decade than any coach in the country. He is the only coach in America to win at least nine games every season for the last dozen years.

2. Win the big games.

Brown was the winning coach in the 2006 Rose Bowl — USC vs. Texas — perhaps the greatest college football game ever played. His Longhorns have beaten Stoops and Oklahoma three of the last four years. In the Longhorns last 25 games against Top 25 opponents, they are 21-4.

3. Go to bowl games and win them.

Brown has taken his teams — Texas and North Carolina — to 16 consecutive bowl games, and Texas has won four straight bowl games.

4. Make game adjustments.

Texas has made 21 fourth-quarter comebacks under Brown — the 21st came this year against Oklahoma.

5. Recruit talented players.

Nobody questions Brown’s recruiting genius — in fact, he derisively has been called “Mr. February” because some think he should win EVEN MORE with the amazing recruiting classes he signs.

6. Energize the fan base.

When Mack Brown took over at Texas, there were 39,743 season ticket holders. That was a record. Today, there are 83,000 season ticket holders. The school has added 20,000 seats to the stadium, and they are adding more. Celebrities are showing up more and more too. Just last week, Derek Jeter was on the sidelines of the Texas-Missouri game, perhaps in the hope that some of his credit rating would rub off on Mack Brown.

I’m sure if the Longhorns keep winning we’ll be seeing a lot more of these stories as the year goes on.

Can Rod Muckelroy hold back the OSU offense?

The number one ranked Texas Longhorns face another tough test this weekend when the undefeated and seventh ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys come to town. Texas has met every challenge so far, and must show OSU the same respect they showed Oklahoma and Missouri in order to stay at the top of the BCS. Three out of the last four times the Cowboys and Longhorns have met Oklahoma State took a lead into halftime. Texas was able to make the comeback with superior talent, but this OSU team is far better than in past years and may not give up the lead if they are able to get it.

When Texas has the ball

The Texas offense, led by super efficient quarterback Colt McCoy, has been clicking on all cylinders this season. It has been hard for the offense to top the previous week’s performance for much of the year, but this week will be especially tough considering UT played its best game of the year last week in the destruction of a good Missouri team.

As with most Big 12 teams, the defense is behind the offense, and for this reason Texas expects to put up big numbers again. The emergence of a third receiver (and a fourth and a fifth) last week was almost as big as anything that has happened for this offense this year. Sophomore Brandon Collins had a huge day, and has set himself up to be the outlet on blitzes and when a defense takes away Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby. Teams have been unable to take away Shipley or Cosby for a whole game, but it will free up even more room to work if opposing coordinators have to game plan for the young studs at receiver. For most of the year Texas has lacked a deep ball threat in the passing game. That could have changed with the acrobatic catch by Malcolm Williams which showed the freshman’s unique skill set. Fellow freshman Dan Buckner also made a big play late in the game.

The running game is improving each week to the point where this offense no longer relies on McCoy to be their leading rusher. Texas has gone from having no running backs to having four. Senior Chris Ogbonnaya is playing at a level not even the coaching staff predicted, sophomore Vondrell McGee had his best game of the season last week, freshman Cody Johnson has been unstoppable on the goal line and in short yardage situations and fellow freshman Fozzy Whittaker finally got back in action, wasting no time showing off his ability on a 20 yard plus explosion through the middle of the Missouri defense.

The success of the offense depends on the play of the offensive line. So far, they have been dominant. Opposing defenses have chosen to blitz the Longhorn offense at a high frequently. McCoy says every team they have faced has blitzed more than they usually do in their games against UT. Oklahoma State already blitzes half the time and if that rate goes up this line will be key in providing time for McCoy and holes for the backs. Texas should have a physical advantage in this game and will look to exploit it more and more as the game wears on.

When Oklahoma State has the ball

This Oklahoma State offense could be the most balanced offense Texas will play all year. It will most definitely be the best running team, maybe the only running team that Texas has faced thus far. The Cowboys rely on a running back by committee but have relied heavily on Kendall Hunter as their main running threat.

Texas’ defense has been outstanding against the run, but it may be due to the teams they have faced. We will learn an awful lot about this defense after this game. We know they can get to the quarterback, but can they stop the run and get to the quarterback when a team throws a combination of the two at them for a whole game.

Last week the defense was dominant in the first half before taking their foot off the pedal in the second. It could have been the best thing that happened to Texas this week because it gave plenty for coaches Will Muschamp and Mack Brown to complain about in film study. Some have said that the points Missouri put up in the second half (28 of them) was on the second team, but if you look back at the game only the last touchdown came with all second team guys on the field. Texas lost its passion, which is to be understood in a blow out win, but they must get it back this week and not start believing all the hype. This team looks to be great at forgetting last week and refocusing, but it only takes one flat game for all of the big wins to become obsolete.

Oklahoma State is not just a running team. In fact they may have the best receiver in the league in Dez Bryant. Bryant, a Texan by birth like everyone else it seems in the Big 12, has been tearing apart opposing defenses. Like Jeremy Maclin last week, the Longhorn defense will have to identify where Bryant is on every single play. Bryant has the ability to take it the distance every time he touches the ball, and he touches the ball in special teams, in the passing game, and on reverses and screens. Bryant is by far quarterback’s Zac Robinson’s favorite target.

Speaking of Robinson, the Longhorn defense will face a quarterback with a skill set they haven’t seen this year (if you don’t count the practice field). Robinson is efficient with the ball and has the ability to pull it down and take off if the defense breaks down. OSU uses him on different types of options to press the edge of a defense. The Cowboy offense does a great job of forcing a defense to move up before burning them deep. UT’s defense must stay at home and prevent big plays in order to come out with this win.

This is the type of game that scares a team. But Muschamp and this defense face a similar offense everyday and practice, so I expect no problems in terms of scheme for this defense.

The Texas Longhorns picked up one of the biggest wins of Mack Brown’s career Saturday as they upset the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners 45 - 35. The Horns went down repeatedly but responded to every punch with one of their own until they finally knocked out the Sooners (literally) in the fourth quarter. A huge win for the Texas program quite possibly setting up a run at a national title.

Watch the ESPN highlights of the game:

Mack Brown celebrates after beating OU

Wow, what a great game. It seemed to have everything. Incredible quarterback play, kick-off returns, interceptions, horrible referee calls, great coaching, you name it.

Apparently Oklahoma isn’t invincible. In fact, OU still sucks!

Time to celebrate. Thank you Mack Brown. More analysis to come.

The Longhorns get conference play started this week with a road game against the Colorado Buffaloes. Texas has been on a roll, while CU enters the game after suffering their first loss of the season last week in Florida State. Last year, Colorado shocked Oklahoma in Boulder the week before the UT-OU showdown so Texas will have to show up to play and not look ahead to Dallas if they want to leave undefeated.

When Texas has the ball

Quarterback Colt McCoy has played as good as any other quarterback in the country. McCoy has played as good as any player in the country. Period. The guy has done everything for the Longhorns: he runs, he passes, he pooch punts, if he cleaned the locker room and prepared the food would you be shocked? Me neither. A great quarterback gives a football team a chance to win every game. McCoy is a great quarterback, and shows no signs of slowing down in the first test Texas faces this season. The offensive line has been above average. While the pass coverage has been outstanding, this group must take some of the blame for a lack of production from the backs. Colorado has given up a ton of yards in back to back games to West Virginia and Florida State. A good day would be great for confidence heading into OU week.

The Colorado defense is simple, but good. They don’t blitz a lot, they don’t disguise coverage, they play mostly zone. Expect Texas to pass, and do it often with McCoy getting pre-snap reads on virtually every play. Texas is hopeful running back Foswhitt Whittaker will be back this weekend. Couple the darting style of Whittaker with the emergent bruising style of Cody Johnson and the struggling Longhorn backfield could become one of the better tandems in the nation. Take into account that both of them are freshman and it should ease the anxiety of a Longhorn fan base that is used to stars toting the rock.

The biggest concern for Texas fans should be the inability of Malcolm Williams, and to a lesser extent Dan Buckner, to become a deep threat that opposing coaches must worry about. I can not remember one deep ball thrown to either of these guys when the ball wasn’t near the goal line. Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley have been very good, but with the loss of Blaine Irby a threat down the field needs to replace the threat in the middle to allow space for Cosby and Shipley. If the offense can’t find one, the room Shipley and Cosby have been enjoying will dry up quickly.

When Colorado has the ball

Last week we finally got to see what Will Muschamp is going to do with the Texas defense. Attack, attack, attack. The Longhorn defense was flying to the ball, and when they got their they made sure Arkansas ball carriers remembered it. Never under Mack Brown has a defense been as fast and aggressive as the defense was this week. When the knowledge and experience that only comes with game snaps catches up with the raw talent and energy of this defense this group is going to remind a lot of people of the old Miami and Florida State defenses UT fans used to beg for. Mack Brown’s best coaching move may be hiring Will Muschamp when it is all said and done.

On offense Colorado is just a solid football team. They don’t do a lot of things great, but they don’t hurt themselves. These are the types of teams that can jump up and bite a better team. If Texas makes mistakes and lets Colorado hang around, the home crowd could put them over the top. However, these types of teams can also be overwhelmed if the better team applies pressure from the beginning. The best way to silence a crowd is to make big plays with your defense.

UT has already scored twice this year on the defensive side of the ball. Texas is ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense, and has been applying a ton of pressure the last two games. The combination of Brian Orakpo and Sergio Kindle has to keep opposing quarterbacks awake at night. With those two coming off the edge, it has almost been a guarantee someone is getting to the quarterback. Add Lamarr Houston, Henry Melton, Sam Acho, and Eddie Jones, and you can see how Texas has recorded seven sacks in each of the last two games.

Muschamp biggest contribution could be the job he is doing as the linebackers coach. Last year this same group of players looked lost in many situations. The scheme seemed to have them playing on their hills, a skill the collective group lacks. The scheme brought in by Muschamp has the linebacker’s core playing downhill and loving it. And while the group of Rashad Bobino, Roddrick Muckelroy, Sergio Kindle, and Jared Norton have been great; the next great linebacker at Texas may have had his coming out party against Arkansas in the second half. His name is Keenan Robinson. The freshman was everywhere, and just appeared to be playing at a different speed. Muschamp loves speed. I don’t know whose snaps will be taken away, but Robinson is going to play more and more.

The secondary is coming together, and it has all hinged on the play of safety Earl Thomas. The secondary is what it is, but if Thomas can play with his swagger, and the front seven keeps applying pressure they have a chance to improve greatly. The best friend to a secondary is a pass rush, and I expect Texas to blitz a lot from here on out. The young secondary will get beat a few times, but so far they have gotten better each week. Muschamp will make sure that continues.

Mack Brown and Bill Murray

Comedian Bill Murray is in Austin for the Fantastic Fest film festival and stopped by to visit the Texas football facilities. He wanted to see DKR - Texas Memorial Stadium and was able to get a tour of that, Mack Brown’s office, and met briefly with Mack and a few players. Mack kissed babies, gave Murray a Texas jersey with his name on the back, and in general did his thing all in a brief 90 second meeting.

MB-TF.com was able to sit down for a quick interview with Murray and has also posted some photos as well. Read a few of the questions below:

Are you a big fan of college football in general: I am. It’s more fun. I’m from Illinois, but I really adored when Texas beat Southern Cal, because I thought that was good for the world. I thought that was great. I root more of the Illinois teams, because that’s where I’m from. But I’d like to see Illinois and Texas face off, because they both wear a variant of the orange. The burnt orange versus the orange from the Illini would be sort of like a Darwinian kind of war about which species of the orange would survive.

Are you planning on coming to the game: Well, I might. I’m getting caught up in the excitement. I’ve got an orange shirt now.

Do you see [Austin] as diverse and artistic as its reputation: I can see that. The fellow who was giving us a ride around town has a sticker on his computer that says, ‘Keep Austin Weird.’ I guess that’s a popular sentiment. But there seems like there are a lot of ‘individuals’ here. It seems more relaxed than maybe the impression a lot of people have of Texas. It’s very relaxed and I like the way the city lays out. I like the look of the buildings. Obviously there are new buildings going up, but I like the older buildings. I did see the Paggi House, which is being redone on the inside, but the few neighborhoods we’ve driven through, I like the way they felt. It seems like it would be a very pleasant place to live.