I hope that we are all happy as we start heading into the new season with a brand new quarterback and new expectations. The past five years have been an incredible run for the Longhorn football team with more wins in the programs history than at any other time in our 127 year history.
Let’s all take a moment to reflect back when this run all started in the mountains of California. (love the personal videos!)
“The Kick” coupled with the maturation of one of the greatest Longhorn players, Vince Young, brought us the momentum we needed to achieve greatness. This greatness was realized the very next year with a 13-0 record and a BCS National Championship when the Horns beat the glitzy boys from Southern Cal 41-38. The ultimate responsibility of following up such a legend was laid upon the shoulders of a young face quarterback from Tuscola Texas. That young player named Colt McCoy had the support of an energized and confident coach in Mack Brown to continue that success for the next four years. Those four years culminated in three bowl wins including a Big XII championship.
This historic kick put the Longhorns once again on the brink of success in the BCS National Championship game until the story book run came to an end. Colt McCoy none the less provided more wins than any Longhorn or college quarterback has ever delivered with 45 wins.
Why do I recap these moments that everyone clearly has experienced themselves? The reason is the fear that we will forget the past and not appreciate the run as we start the 2010 season. This year’s team is loaded with standout defensive players all led by Coach Blood. Our offense has a few question marks, but blue chips can be found including the quarterback who grew up quickly before our eyes against Alabama. I know that we have questions at running back and we are changing our offense scheme to be a more running team, but we should win every game, right?!
I feel good about going into this year but not with the type of success that we have seen around here over the past five years. Garrett Gilbert is the real deal, but I see growing pains along with our offensive line struggling with him. I still see us reaching 10 wins, but I see that 10th win coming at Jerry World (aka the Cotton Bowl) after we finish the regular season 9-3. Who will we lose to… be sure to check out all of our predictions at 40 Acres Sports throughout the season before every game. I hope that I am wrong, but I do not see Dusty Mangum or Hunter Lawrence on our team so I will just appreciate the season before us.
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!!
Posted February 27th, 2010 by Brian
Filed under: Feature, Football, Spring Football
Defensive tackle Derek Johnson is a big dude. Can he play as good as he looks? (Image: MBTF)
After nearly two whole months without Texas football, Friday was finally the first day of Spring practice. No tidbits yet (practices are closed to the public) but the official site does have a short video to watch and a nice photo gallery as well.
Well it’s official. Maybe. Texas coach has finally released an official statement. From the Dallas Morning News…
Muschamp clarified his intentions Wednesday night.
“I’m happy at Texas and plan to be here for a long time,” Muschamp said through a Texas football spokesman.
He added that he has not interviewed for any other jobs nor does he have intention to do so.
While Muschamp did not address any specific rumors or schools, his name has surfaced most recently at Tennessee after Lane Kiffin was hired at Southern California.
Previous Muschamp to Tennessee updates
- From this morning… Tennessee offers head coaching position to Will Muschamp?
- Say what now? Muschamp flies to Knoxville, meets with Tennessee
Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will follow Mack Brown as next Texas head coach. Right?
It’s been a wild day.
This morning everyone’s sources within UT were 100% confident that Texas defensive coordinator wasn’t going anywhere. That was the story for most of the day. Orangebloods, Inside Texas, and the Statesman all spoke to multiple sources in the am and there appeared to be no issue, no smoke, and no chance the Horns would lose their big name coordinator.
But the official confirmation never came.
As the day wore on it became more and more troubling that the University had not made an announcement about Muschamp. Nothing official was coming out of Belmont. And coaches of high school recruits were reporting they hadn’t heard any status updates either. What in the world was going on?
Will Muschamp had flown to Knoxville at 5:45 am to meet with Tennessee. Say what?
From about 4 pm until 7 pm that’s all we heard. Everything from the morning seemed false. Not only was this a big name school who was interested in him, but Muschamp had actually already met with them in person. And no one’s sources had said anything about it. Three hours with no new news. That’s not good.
Finally around 7 pm IT editor Ross Lucksinger tweets that, yes, Muschamp did meet with the little UT this morning but two sources have told him that Coach Boom turned down their $3 million offer and is staying at Texas. A Knoxville radio station reports the same and that the Vols are moving on in their coaching search.
And finally, the saga comes full circle and all the news is once again that Muschamp is saying and more importantly the Texas staff is calling up recruits to tell them. Orangebloods and Inside Texas are now both reporting that recruits are starting to hear from the staff that Coach Muschamp isn’t going anywhere. Whew.
That’s all we know. And I’m not even sure how much we know is true. If/when Texas finally makes an official we’ll keep you in the loop.
Update: According to Muschamp himself, reports of him interviewing with Tennessee or any other team are false. He’s happy at Texas. (10:44 pm)
- From this morning… Tennessee offers head coaching position to Will Muschamp?
- Final word? Will Muschamp says he’s staying at Texas
Will Texas coach Will Muschamp be wearing the wrong orange for the wrong UT next year?
Update: Will Muschamp says he didn’t interview with anyone and he’s happy at Texas. More info. (10:31 pm)
Wow. The college football coaching dominoes fall fast.
Saturday word broke that the Seattle Seahawks would hire USC’s Pete Carroll as their new head coach. Yesterday evening, instead of hiring Jeff Fisher or Jack Del Rio the Trojans bring in the obnoxious controversial Lane Kiffin after only one year at Tennessee. That started “riots” in Knoxville.
Are riots in Austin next?
According to Volquest.com, Texas defensive coordinator is at the top of Tennessee’s wishlist and they have reportedly already offered him the position. Muschamp is one of the two highest paid coordinators in the country and has been named Texas’ head coach-in-waiting, but head coach just signed another contract extension and looks like he could be at Texas for several more seasons. Muschamp also does not have a buyout in his contract, meaning it would cost Tennessee nothing beyond his salary to get him out of Austin.
Muschamp has repeatedly stated that how much he loves Texas and loves Austin and that he intends to stay the defensive coordinator for the Longhorns until it’s his turn. But things change. Is the opportunity to be the head coach of an SEC power too good to pass up?
Both Geoff Ketchum of Orangebloods.com and the Statesman’s Suzanne Halliburton have reported last night and this morning that every source at Texas they talk to says Muschamp is saying. The one person no one has talked to is Muschamp himself.
I don’t expect the Muschamp rumors to last past today, this thing is going to go down fast. Either the school will make an announcement he’s staying (and probably a raise) or we’ll find out he’s gone. We’ll have more news when we hear it.
Update: InsideTexas.com now also reporting more sources saying Muschamp will turn down the Vols. (10:54 am)
Update: News has taken a turn for the worse. Seems once confident sources are now unsure what is going to happen. (4:40 pm)
Update: Will Muschamp flew to Knoxville this morning to meet with Tennessee. He reportedly turns down a $3 mil offer. More info. (8:30 pm)
Update: Finally. Will Muschamp says he’s happy and he’s staying at Texas. (10:31 pm)
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during tonight’s national title game on ABC. We’ll be live right around kickoff for Texas vs so join us to discuss the game at 7:00pm Thursday night.
Things might be a little less wordy than normal, but please 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!
It could come down to which QB plays best. Who would you choose? McCoy or McElroy?
Here we go ladies and gentlemen. The king of college football for the 2009 season will be crowned tonight at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. In front of a every sports fan in the country, the #2 Texas Longhorns will take on the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide for all the marbles. In a few hours the winner of the Citi BCS National Championship Game will hold up the crystal football and have a moment they will never forget.
Predictions from the national media are all over the place. Some think Bama wins big and think Texas doesn’t stand a chance, others look at the entire body of work and think the game could go either way. Our predictions for the title game are below:
Brian - Enough talk, time for some action. The Horns have heard they’ve got no chance to win for almost a month and it will motivate them to come out and play their asses off. Will it make them overly hyped or give them the burst they need to win? I don’t think it matters. Texas defensive coordinator has his goon squad ready and pumped to shut down the Tide and they’re going to do it. The defense and special teams give the Horns good enough field position all night to allow to throw caution to the wind (a little) and score just enough points to beat a great Bama defense. Horns win in defensive struggle decided by special teams and turnovers.Texas 23, Alabama 13
Matt - This season and game reminds me a lot of the 2005 National Championship run, but I love being the underdog and overlooked by most people in the nation. All I keep hearing about is how good Alabama’s defense is and how they dominated Florida. Well I have watched quite a few of Alabama’s games this year and I think some people need to go back and watch film on the Alabama vs Tennessee and Alabama versus Auburn games.
I think the key to the game will be if Texas can get off to a fast start. It seems in almost every game this season Texas just goes through the motions in the first half, makes some adjustments, and comes out on fire in the second half. That simply won’t work in this game. A lot of that responsibility will be on Colt McCoy. He needs to take over the game early and do whatever it takes to start off strong, even if that means running the ball more like he did in the A&M game.
Alabama does have a strong defense but I am severely unimpressed by their quarterback McElroy. He seems slow in the pocket and Texas has the speed on defense to give him some problems. I think he will have a couple of key turnovers which will be the difference in the game. I actually believe this game will be a little bit higher scoring than most people think. And because of the Texas Longhorn Rose Bowl history, I am going with a last second field goal to win. Texas 31, Alabama 30
Ross - 13-0 in 2009. 25-1 over two years. This has been an incredible run by our Horns. Do you see where this prediction is going? I had the same feelings going into the 2006 National Championship game and it turned out pretty good. The UT coaches (Will and Greg) will have a lot to say about the outcome of this game more than any other game this year. The Horns have a daunting task against the most complete team that they have faced all year. I pointed out what the Horns need to do to win with the new year’s resolutions post. The Tide have the momentum from the SEC Championship game, but the Horns have the chip on their shoulder. I think Saban will have Bama wound so tight while Mack will have the Horns playing with nothing to lose. Horns will win a close one. Texas 26, Alabama 24
Predictions from Twitterverse
- TDFINN: 31 – 27 horns
- hockeynightdoc: 17-13 Texas in an ugly ugly defensive struggle
- carlmc: Texas 15-12
- texfan23: im going with 37-15. Colt has. +300 Passing, tre gets +60 with a big run over 20. ET gets a Pick 6.
- rcmercado: Texas 27-17
- livingnearshamu: UT 24 UA 14 Hook ‘em ‘Horns!
- whitneyredman: Here’s my prediction. My stomach will be in knots all night and I will come down with a stress fever. Hook ‘em.
- ATexican: score prediction Texas 31 Alabama 21 #HookEm #UT
More Predictions
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 Longhorns’ game against the Texas A&M Aggies.
True freshman receiver Marquise Goodwin's kick return TD in the 4th quarter ended it. (Image: Statesman)
1st Quarter (13:44) WTH Goonies?! The UT defense (aka “Goonies” or “Legion of Boom”) gave up a 70 yard touchdown pass to A&M Jeff Fuller which got the Aggies student body kissing crazy. The defense could not come up with any significant stops most of the night (A&M had 532 total yards). Some say that the short week caused the defense to be tired. Whatever the reason for the worst defensive outing of the year Coach Blood needs to get it corrected.
1st Quarter (10:12) WTH 4th Down?! decided that he was practically going to go for it on every 4th down play (1 for 3 for the night). I do not mind the aggressive play calling but the razzle-dazzle option play to punter that traveled 15 yards to come up two yards short was ridiculous.
2nd Quarter (14:10 & 1:11) WTH 65 yards?! That is exactly the yardage that ran up the middle to gouge the A&M defense for the go ahead score to start the second quarter. The run was so spectacular that it will definitely be replayed in New York during the Heisman presentation. That also happens to be the exact amount of yardage that Colt led the offense just before the half to take back the lead 21-14. He completed 4 out of 5 passes and ran twice during this series to grab back any momentum away for the Aggies. Two signature moments that every Longhorn fan needs to remember about Colt because I know the Aggies will never forget it.
2nd Quarter (6:27) WTH Frederick?! I have heard of being juked out of your shoes, but I never thought I would see it. A&M Terrence Frederick was trying to cover UT when Terrence came out of both of his shoes. He did make the tackle in his stocking feet after the 12 yard completion.
Halftime WTH Aggie Band?! Well we lost another halftime to the Aggies. Will we ever win one?!
4th Quarter (6:57) WTH Goodwin?! The great equalizer after your rival just scored a touchdown to bring them within 3 points in the 4th quarter. returned the kickoff 95 yards for the final margin that sealed the win for the Horns. Speed kills and Marquise had the ultimate answer.
Next up for the Longhorn’s is the Big XII Championship against the Huskers at 7pm on Dec. 5th.
Will the Longhorns find a consistent rushing attack against the Baylor Bears? (Image: Daylife)
All the talk again this week has been about a potential game in early January, but there’s still several possible roadblocks in the Texas Longhorns’ way.The Horns have beaten the Baylor Bears 11 straight times and will go for number 12 today at 11am. At the beginning of the season Baylor QB Robert Griffin was going to be one the most exciting players in the conference, but after an early season injury the Horns will instead face a 3rd string freshman. Does it even matter?
Check out our predictions below:
Brian - I’m calling it. This is the week, Will Muschamp’s defense gets their first shutout. After a sluggish early AM start last week against UCF the Texas offense will come out sharper against Baylor and help to keep the D off the field. Muschamp’s blitzes will confuse the young Baylor quarterback and and are going to have huge games. The Horns have a 24-plus point lead at halftime and we’ll see backup QB for the entire 4th quarter. Texas 42, Baylor 0
Jeff - Baylor has won 4 games, 2 with Robert Griffin and 2 without. They will play Saturday without him, so let’s first look at the 2 BU wins sans Griffin. They beat Kent State, a middle of the road MAC team over a month ago and then shocked Missouri last Saturday. The BU defense has given up an average of 28.6 points per game in conference play. If you take out their game against a win-less Southland Conference team in Northwestern State, the Bears average home game ends with a 25-18 loss. That is in games against UConn, Kent State, and . The closest team to UT’s level would be OSU and Baylor lost that game 34-7. That is a 27 point loss. The Horns are favored by 26.5 this Saturday. That is a lot of points, but I believe this will be an easy cover. The Horns seem focused and are improving.
I think Texas still has a “bad” game in their system (I hope it never comes out) and this could be the week. This would be the best week for it. I don’t believe it will be on Senior Day next Saturday against . I certainly don’t want it to be on Thanksgiving or in the Big 12 Championship game. So if is going to play poorly, or the defense has a lackluster game, let us hope it is this Saturday. Baylor can’t beat Texas regardless of UT’s performance. Texas 45, Baylor 10
Ross - The Bears need two wins in the next three games to be bowl eligible. They will have to sweep that last two game of the season, because the Bears will not beat the Horns this Saturday. The Horns believe that it is their destiny to make it to the Big XII championship undefeated. They will continue their dominance over Baylor in Waco. Texas 45, Baylor 10
After a tough stretch of games the Texas Longhorns take on the Central Florida Golden Knights and are big favorites in a game they should win easily. All the talk amongst the media and fans this week has been about how it’s a cakewalk from here on out for Texas to get to national championship game, were the Texas players listening to all the hype? Is this a game that could possibly trip up the Longhorns? Check out our predictions below:
Brian - The Longhorns are finally playing like the team fans thought they’d see all season long. That’s bad news for the Central Florida Golden Knights who are probably wishing the schedule hadn’t flip flopped and this game was taking place 6 weeks ago when Texas was still finding it’s identity. This game could be one that in previous years Texas would have overlooked, but not with the carrot of a national title shot out there and with Will Muschamp’s defense crushing opponents. The offense rolls with two TD passes over 40 yards and the defense gets on the board again. Texas 49, Central Florida 7
Jeff - “The spread is crazy on this game.” That statement is usually followed by a guaranteed cover. But the numbers and my gut just don’t add up to a huge scoring day from Texas. I don’t believe that the Horn’s offense will score more than 5 touchdowns in this game. Central Florida has only given up more than 20 points twice all year, once to a better than average Southern Miss, and once to Miami, both in losing efforts. As solid as their defense seems to be, their offense is the opposite.
As I watched their game last week with Marshall, I kept having the thought that a shutout was on their horizon. I don’t believe they will score more than 3 points. I REALLY would love to throw up a zero, but they have a strong-legged accurate kicker who has hit 5-7 outside 40 yards and is 1/1 from 50 yards out. So put it all together and I see 35-3 without defensive/special teams scores. But since we seem to be scoring non-offensive touchdowns every week, I’ll add one of those too. Texas 42, Central Florida 3
Ross - Since we have the #1 ranked scoring offense (41.75 points / game) and the #1 ranked rushing defense (52.88 yards / game) at the 40 acres, I believe this is a lethal combination that will go against Central Florida. The Horns have not played a home game since October 10th. Expect a very rowdy and loud UT crowd when the 2nd ranked team in the country hits DKR Memorial this Saturday morning. I see another game with everything clicking right for the Longhorns against the knights. Texas 49, Central Florida 13
One more game to tune up for the Longhorns before Big 12 play gets fully underway. The Longhorns are big favorites, but how to the editors of 40 Acres Sports see the game going?
Brian - Is this the coming out party? In the last non-conference game for the Horns I expect the Texas coaches to try to feature Newton and jumpstart the running game for the rest of the season. will start slow again but this time Greg Davis will go to hurry up in first quarter so he’ll play three good quarters of football instead of two. Defense comes up big against a UTEP offense that has been struggling against even average early season opponents. Texas 60, UTEP 14
Michael - The 2009 Longhorns have yet to live up to preseason expectations, and there’s little chance of that changing this afternoon against an uncommonly weak UTEP team. However, the offense has a golden opportunity to show that they really are the dominant, well-oiled machine that Texas fans expected them to be. Look for a healthier Colt McCoy to establish his passing dominance, hopefully with more deep shots to Malcolm Williams to take some pressure off of . With Tre Newton as the starting back, I’d like to see more running plays inside the box as well to get our offensive line some practice in being aggressive. Defensively, there’s still room for improvement. Look for to make his return at some point this afternoon, and Muschamp will most likely be working to tighten down the zone defense to eliminate some of the bend in the “bend and not break” scheme. Texas 52, UTEP 10
Ross - This game against UTEP needs to be the breather that all Texas fans have been hoping for. Colt McCoy had 4 TD passes last year against the Miners and we should expect the same this year. The emergence of Tre Newton as the starting running back should open up the middle of the field where opponents/linebackers have not respected the running game. This will be the momentum game that will help the UT players feel good going into the bye week. Texas 45 – UTEP 17
Predictions from Twitterverse
- kslonghorn 55-14 Texas – great showing by Chiles today
- paulwalker 49-14…
- dagr81210 Colt gets it going and for 4 quarters and Texas wins big Utep 7 TEXAS 46! Hook’em Horns!
- willifordj UT 48 UTEP 17. Tre Newton with 148 yds rushing and 2 TDs. Earl Thomas with 1 pick. Okafor with 1.5 sacks.
- Bill_Morrison 48-10 #UT; McCoy to throw for 3 TD’s, run for 1; SergioK w/ 2 sacks;
- marshallboone Texas 55 UTEP 13
Quarterback and the two Texas coordinators comment on the Big 12 opening win against . Watch the video below:
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