40 Acres Sports

The Texas Longhorns are a near unanimous number one team in the country and they face a surprising Oklahoma State Cowboys team that is sitting at number six in the BCS standings. The teams will face off at 2:30pm today on ABC in one of the biggest games of the college football weekend. Will the Longhorns keep the train rolling and be one game closer to a national title shot? Find out what the editors of Bevo Sports think below:

Brian – Another top ten opponent for the Longhorns and probably another high scoring game. OSU might have the most balanced offense the Horns have faced all year and everybody of the defense will be tested. This will be a game where linebacker [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] will need to shine and he’s going to come up big. The Texas offense will continue to score in bunches and will get big days from two different running backs. This could be Fozzy Whittaker’s week to finally show he can break a big run. Texas 45 – Oklahoma State 31

Matt – Texas doesn’t get a break as they face another top ranked team for the 3rd straight week. Even though Texas has won 10 straight in this match-up, Oklahoma State has been a trouble spot for Texas in recent years, needing many a miracle 2nd half comeback to pull out the victory. I think this year Texas will jump out early at home and continue to apply pressure throughout the game. Zac Robinson can run, but the speed on the Texas defense should keep him under wraps. This one could be a shootout with both teams ranking in the top 5 in the nation, but the Texas defense will give them the win. Texas 58 – Oklahoma State 40

Mike – Oklahoma State provides a challenge this team hasn’t faced all year. For the first time a team is going to try and establish a running game against Will Muschamp’s defense. Texas’ front seven has been outstanding this year against the run and while some would say it is because their competition has consisted of pure passing teams, I think they are just that good. I see another game similar to the [tag]Missouri[/tag] game last week. I don’t think Texas pulls out to a 35-0 in the first half, but I do see them winning by at least 20 points. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and this offense has been on a roll and they are just going to get better with the emergence of [tag]Brandon Collins[/tag], [tag]Malcolm Williams[/tag], and a healthy Fozzy Whittaker. Texas pulls away with a physical second half. Texas 52 – Oklahoma State 34

The #1 Texas Longhorns versus the #11 Missouri Tigers is the biggest game of the weekend in college football. The two high scoring offenses will match-up tonight at 7pm in a nationally televised game on ABC and ESPN Gameday was live from the forty acres this morning. With an even bigger target on their backs than usual, can the Longhorns continue their high level play and stay at the top of the polls? See what the editors of Bevo Sports think below:

Brian – [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] did a great job slowing down Mizzou’s offense in their upset last week and Texas is even better on that side of the ball. If OSU can get after Chase Daniel with their defensive line than [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] and [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] are going to have huge games. With their defense the Tigers will need to score 50+ to win against good teams, they’re not going to do it tonight. Texas will frustrate Daniel into making mistakes and the Horns are going to win big because of it. Texas 48 – Missouri 27

Matt – Many Longhorn fans seem to think this game is going to be easy. This scares me a little. Missouri is a tough team and they don’t average 555 yards (383 yards passing) for nothing. And then you have the fact that Texas just gave up 5 passing touchdowns. And then you have Chase Daniel who is probably still pissed off with past recruiting issues and will probably be trying extra hard to prove Texas wrong. Now with all of that said I think Texas will be ready for this game and won’t get caught in all the hype the #1 ranking brings. This will be be a high scoring affair (the O/U is only 65). Texas 48 – Missouri 38

Mike – Last week I made the mistake of picking against Texas. This week I’m torn between made to look like an idiot for two straight weeks and jinxing the Horns by picking them to win. I’m hoping [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] are enough to overcome my jinx because I’m picking Texas in this one. Both teams have Heisman Trophy candidates at quarterback, both teams can make plays in the special teams, and both teams are coming off of season changing games. The difference in this one will be turnovers and pass defense. I think Texas holds the advantage in both of those categories. McCoy is going to shred an overmatched Tiger secondary and the combination of Orakpo and Kindle will remind Chase Daniel why he always wanted to be a Longhorn. Texas 41 – Missouri 20

In the 103rd match-up between hated rivals Texas and [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] both teams are again among the nation’s elite teams. The Sooners are #1 and the Longhorns are #5 and both have legit shots at a national title if they come out of today’s [tag]Red River Rivalry[/tag] with a win. ESPN’s College Gameday is at the Texas State Fair and you should be too, but if you’re not the two teams will be on ABC HD at 11 am.

Which quarterback will stay hot? Can the Longhorns pull off the upset and become national title contenders? Read on to see what the editors of Bevo Sports think will happen today:

Brian – This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Longhorns but the coaching and more importantly the attitude of defensive coordinator [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] has this team and Texas fans believing. Both the Longhorns and the Sooners have been completely dominant this season and both have Heisman candidate QBs, which defense will step up? I think it’s Muschamp’s guys and I think thats means an upset win for the Horns. OU QB Sam Bradford will hit a couple of good long passes but the Texas front seven will get enough pressure to protect the secondary. Texas 27 – Oklahoma 21

Matt – For a #5 team in the nation, Texas has managed to keep a relatively low profile this year. I think that has been a blessing in disguise since it has let the team grow without a lot of added pressure. Honestly if you asked me to pick this game at the beginning of the season, I would probably have said Oklahoma without even a doubt. But with the way Texas has played this season and their improvement on defense, they have a legitimate shot of coming out of this one with a victory. Both offenses have overpowering stats and high profile quarterbacks. Neither quarterback has faced any adversity, and I think that will change greatly for Sam Bradford this week. Will Mushcamp has something going here in Austin, and I think that will be the difference in the game. Texas 38 – Oklahoma 37

Mike – I just can’t make myself pick Texas. I want to, but I can’t. Texas doesn’t have a receiver that presents any type of deep threat, a tight end that can catch, a running back with any burst, and their two safeties are freshmen. The Longhorns are playing great and coach Muschamp has every one believing, but Oklahoma is still the favorite. The Sooners have an advantage at every position excluding the defensive line and maybe quarterback. Can Texas win? Of course, but if a gun was to my head and I had to make the right pick to save my life I wouldn’t be picking UT (this should be how every pick is made). The game will be close and it will come down to protection and turnovers. OU will squeak it out at the end because of a better running game and less turnovers. I hope I’m wrong. Texas 24 – Oklahoma 31

The Texas Longhorns were expected to have a down season (by their standards) but after four blowout wins the team finds itself setting ranked as one of the top five teams in the country. On FSN (and in HD) at 6:00 pm tonight the Longhorns will face their first conference opponent of the season in a 3 – 1 [tag]Colorado[/tag] team. This is the first game before a tough four-game stretch against ranked opponents but the Longhorns can’t start looking ahead or things can come crashing down very quickly.

Will the Longhorns avoid the upset? Can the defense continue to get after the opposing quarterback? Read on to see what the editors of Bevo Sports and a guest from Buffs.tv think will happen today:

Brian – The Longhorns played their best game of the season last week and I think they step it up again against Colorado. They were ranked last week but other than a win over not as good as we thought [tag]West Virginia[/tag] they haven’t been overly impressive. Texas’ special teams will be the key to avoid the upset. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] will continue to impress and freshman running back [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] will get his first career 100-yard game. Texas wins by the same score they do every week… Texas 52 – Colorado 10

Matt – There are a couple of things that worry me about this game. First, it is an almost night game in Boulder. The fans will be crazy (probably drunk) and it is tough to play with that thin air. Second, the last time we played Colorado we beat them 70-3 and knocked out their quarterback. I’m pretty sure Colorado is looking for a little revenge and will keep that previous game in mind. And finally, this game comes a week before the Red River Rivalry, so there is definitely a possibility that the Horns will be looking ahead. Now with all of that said, I still think Texas has too much offense for Colorado to handle. And with the improved defense I don’t see Colorado doing too much. Texas needs to jump out to a quick start to kill the hopes for the Buffaloes. If they do that they should roll. Texas 45 – Colorado 20

Mike – The Longhorns face their first big test of the year on the road at Colorado to get Big 12 play started. Colorado has a solid team, and proved they could pull an upset by beating [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] the week before last year’s Red River Shootout. Texas is on a roll and I don’t think anyone not wearing crimson and cream is going to slow the Horns down. Colorado wears black and gold. I may have started drinking the Kool-Aid on this one, but I think Texas wins and wins big. They dominate from the start and Colt McCoy keeps his Heisman hopes alive with another big game through the air and on the ground. The defense records over five sacks and two turnovers, and a running back will finally have a run over 30 yards. Texas 45 – Colorado 13

Marc from Buffs.tv – This game is going to come down to the trenches. Can the Colorado line hold off the Longhorns long enough for Hawkins down field? Can the Buffs get enough pressure on McCoy to force him into some bad decisions? If the Buffs can’t win at least one of these battles, winning the game will be very difficult. The good news is that the Buffs never give up in Boulder. This game will be decided in the fourth quarter. Texas 21 – Colorado 23

The Longhorns face off against (formerly?) hated rival [tag]Arkansas[/tag] today at 2:30pm on ABC. Some current UT students weren’t even born yet when the Razorbacks left the old SWC but this rivalry still holds some heat and could keep today’s game closer than expected.

Will the Longhorns finally get their running game going? Can the defense get started before the second quarter starts? Read on to see what the editors of Bevo Sports think will happen today:

Brian – These aren’t your daddy’s Razorbacks. After changing coaches Arkansas is in a rebuilding year and the Longhorns are poised to take advantage today. New Texas coaches [tag]Major Applewhite[/tag] and [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] will make sure the Horns match Arky’s energy and this one will be a blowout. The running game won’t be perfect but [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] will have his coming out party and top the century mark for the game. As a team the Horns will rush for over 250 yards and win easily. Texas 56 – Arkansas 21

Mike – [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] will continue to play at a Heisman level in a beat down game that should have happened two weeks ago. The last time Arkansas came to town they left with a shocking victory, but the Razorbacks don’t have super freak Matt Jones under center. The secondary will continue to give up big plays, but the players and the staff has shown the ability to make big game adjustments. Anything can happen (USC vs. Oregon State), but I don’t see this staff letting this team come out flat. The running game finally gets it going and the front seven dominates again as the Longhorns roll. Texas 41 – Arkansas 20

Matt – Man this match-up looked like a lot more fun when it was originally scheduled for Sept 13. This is a storied rivalry, but this won’t be much of a game. The Texas defense will be tested through the air, but they should be able to keep things under control with some Casey Dick mistakes. I don’t see Texas overlooking this game after what happened to USC. Colt and the offense will continue to roll and should win by a big margin. Texas 55 – Arkansas 19

If you haven’t been following them closely, the [tag]Rice[/tag] spread offense is a pretty impressive and efficient machine. Through three games Owls’ QB Chase Clement has already thrown for eight touchdowns and is averaging nearly 300 yards passing per game. He and wide receiver Jarett Dillard have already connected for five scores and are on their way to being the most prolific QB/WR duo in college football history.

Unless you somehow missed the first two Texas games you know that the young Texas secondary still has a lot of growing up to do. Can they handle that prolific Rice passing game? Will [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and the Texas offense continue to put up big numbers on the scoreboard? Read our editors’ predictions below to find out:

Brian – Texas should win easily this evening versus the Rice Owls but there may be more important things to take away from the game than just the final score. With [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] and [tag]Missouri[/tag] dominating opponents the Longhorns need to show that they can do the same. The Horns need to and will show marked improvement on both sides of the ball from when they last played two weeks ago. The defense will still play it close to the vest but I think even without complicated blitzes the return of [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] will mean much better pressure on the quarterback. Texas will struggle to get big running plays but McCoy will continue his impressive early season play with at least four TD tosses.

Rice 10 – Texas 45

Mike – Even before Hurricane Ike this looked like a blowout, add the distractions and circumstances the Rice team has faced all week and it appears doubtful this game has any chance not to get ugly. I expect Texas to try and establish an identity in the running game, and I expect that identity to come in the form of [tag]Foswhitt Whittaker[/tag]. After a week off, look for Will Muschamp’s defense to try and set the tone with big plays and pressure. Rice excels on third down, and needless to say UT does not. If Texas can limit those extra opportunities and avoid mistakes the Owls have no chance. This one is all Texas.

Rice 13 – Texas 52

Matt – Even though we have only allowed 23 points in our first two games, both opponents have been able to move the ball a little too easily against our young secondary. And the one thing Rice does well is throw the ball, so this should be a good test before getting into the meat of our schedule. Hopefully with the week off Muschamp has straightened some things out and we see that improvement on the field. I am definitely not worried about our offense, as we should put up at least 50 this Saturday. I am going with a high scoring game (so take the over).

Rice 23 – Texas 59

It may be the biggest game in [tag]UTEP[/tag] football history but tonight’s game featuring the Texas Longhorns and UTEP Miners should be over quickly. The Longhorns are the team traveling 600 miles west (without leaving the state), but tonight the Miners will be the ones sent packing.

Las Vegas has the Horns as 26.5 point favorites, but read on below to see how we see tonight’s game shaking out:

Matt – I think last week [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] proved to a lot of people that he is going to be a different player this year. He ran with purpose and threw with amazing accuracy. Colt and the Longhorns offense rolled over FAU and racked up 52 points pretty easily. They will probably score at least that much this week and it might be just as easy. UTEP’s defense is not what you would call impressive, and their offense isn’t much better. I will be interested in seeing how the young safeties respond this week after struggling a little in their first game. This one shouldn’t be close.

Texas 55 – UTEP 16

Brian – This looked like a tougher game before UTEP got blown out by Buffalo last week. The Miners might not be that bad and were simply been looking ahead to this week’s game, but the Longhorns should still crush them. I fear the late start means Texas comes out of the gate a little slowly but things should be rolling by the start of the second quarter. [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] and [tag]John Chiles[/tag] both have huge games tonight on the ground as the Horns gash them with their running game.

Texas 45 – UTEP 17

ESPN’s Pat Forde has his prognosticator hat on for the 2008 season and doesn’t go out on too many limbs. One of his predictions is that the Longhorns won’t reach 10 wins for the first time since 2000. Read on…

Texas’ streak of seven straight seasons with at least 10 wins will end.

The Longhorns don’t lack talent, but they drew a killer Big 12 schedule: three 2007 bowl teams from the North division (Colorado, Missouri and Kansas), and they’ll play two of those teams on the road. And in addition to facing Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, they must face trendy breakout pick Texas Tech in Lubbock. Burnt orange fans are encouraged to beat the rush and start criticizing offensive coordinator [tag]Greg Davis[/tag] now.

Definitely not a ridiculous opinion. The Horns struggled mightily to get to 10 wins in 2007, lost their biggest offensive threat, and face a tougher schedule this season. In Texas’ favor they should see a big improvement on defense thanks to new coordinator [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] and those tough teams on the schedule could easily fall back to earth. If the offensive line and defense play more consistently the Horns should keep the streak going and be a lot more fun to watch.

A great day of basketball yesterday with some fantastic finishes and upsets. I would have loved to have been in Tampa yesterday to watch all those top seeds go down in dramatic fashion. Now on to round two of the tourney, where it’s less about the underdog and more about watching good basketball. Only one match-up today really jumps out of me but it should still be a good day to sit on the couch and be a college basketball fan.

Here’s what to watch on the first day of round two:

(11) Kansas State vs (3) Wisconsin – 3:20pm
Michael Beasley led K-State past fellow phenom OJ Mayo but the Badgers are a lot tougher inside than USC. Prediction: Wisconsin

(6) Marquette vs (3) Stanford – 5:45pm
Winner takes on Texas/Miami winner in Houston. Stanford is a tough team and the Lopez twins (both with girl names, Brook and Robin) and might be a tough match-up for the Horns so root for the Golden Eagles. Prediction: Stanford

(5) Michigan State vs (4) Pittsburgh – 8:10pm
The game today that I’m most interested in, but since it’s head-to-head with the Aggie game we won’t get to watch it. A couple of really good teams that have both been playing well. Prediction: Michigan State

(9) Texas A&M vs (1) UCLA – 8:15pm
The Aggies played well against BYU but tonight’s game against UCLA should be a whole different level. Can they keep it close and be around at the end with a chance of an upset? Probably not. Prediction: UCLA

Related Links

• Bevo Sports day two preview
• Bevo Sports day one preview
• ESPN scoreboard
• Printable bracket (PDF)
• My Tourney Challenge bracket

Day one was sadly short of upsets, and the evil Dukies were able to hold off Belmont in the final seconds Hopefully our Good Friday of basketball is a day of tons of upsets where everyone but the Horns go down.

Here’s what to watch on day two:

(10) Saint Mary’s vs (7) Miami – 11:30am
The Hurricanes are coached by former Texas assistant Frank Haith, but his team won’t have enough for a strong St. Mary’s team. The Gaels played the Horns tough for a half back in early January and will give Miami trouble here in the first round. Prediction: Saint Mary’s

(15) Austin Peay vs (2) Texas – 2:00pm
Arkansas fans will be chanting “Let’s go Peay!” with all their redneck vigor, but the Longhorns should be able to handle the Governors easliy. Prediction: Texas

(11) St. Joseph’s vs (6) Oklahoma – 6:10pm
The Sooners were struggled against good teams this year and St. Joe’s is a good team. Somehow I managed to pick every 11-seed to win, only one for three so far… Prediction: St. Joe’s

(12) Villanova vs (5) Clemson – 8:50pm
Clemson gave UNC a run for their money three times this year and Villanova was one of the last teams in. Yet, this is my 12/5 upset of the year. Prediction: Villanova

Related Links

• Bevo Sports day one preview
• ESPN scoreboard
• Printable bracket (PDF)
• My Tourney Challenge bracket