40 Acres Sports

I knew they were a bunch of cheaters. I think he should miss the game against us.

In what is probably the biggest game of the year, Texas finally proved that they can win the big game. They went into [tag]Ohio State[/tag], didn’t really play their best game, and still found a way to pull out the win. The path is now set to the Rose Bowl, lets just hope we can beat OU.

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A-

Vince really scared me in this game. I know he is good, and I know he knows he is good, but can he please tuck the ball when he is about to get tackled? With that and his two picks, I really wanted to move him to a B+, but since he made that incredible touchdown pass, I had to give him a A-. Man was it nice to see him pass for 270 yards though.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: B-

The running game was really not there this game. But it is hard to tell if it was just playing against the best linebackers in the nation, or the running backs took a step backward. We are definitely going to need more production out of the running game though, because I don’t want to have to rely on Vince’s arm all season. Also, it looks like Jamaal Charles will be starting this week against Rice.

Receivers / Tight End – Overall Grade: A

Wow, the receivers came through huge in this game. Pittman was definitely the go to guy in this game, with 5 catches for 130 yards. And I don’t really need to comment much on that awesome catch by Sweed to win the game. Overall, just a great performance.

Offensive Line – Overall Grade: B-

Again, I think their performance was probably more of a result of how good the Ohio State defense is. They opened some decent holes every once in a while, but it is hard to block those linebackers.

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Some great games this weekend, including the biggest game of the year with #2 Texas at #4 Ohio State. This one is definitely a tough one to call and should be a great game to watch. #20 Notre Dame at #3 Michigan and #5 LSU at #15 Arizona St are also worth watching. Here is how we think things will shake out this weekend:

In a nutshell, Texas had their way with Louisiana Lafayette, which is indicated by the 60-3 score. Texas did pretty much anything they wanted to on offense, including rushing for 418 yards. The defense was also stout, and you could tell right from the start that Louisiana Lafayette was going to have trouble doing anything. I guess the only real down spot is Saturday’s game is the special teams, who missed 3 extra points! Now let’s move on to a position-by-position look at how the Longhorns graded out on Saturday.

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A

After [tag]Vince Young[/tag]’s 5 touchdown performance in the Rose Bowl, there is no surprise that he entered this season as one of the top contenders for the Heisman Trophy. With all of that pressure, I was interested to see how he would perform. I think it is safe to say that Young did not disappoint. Young finished the game with an efficient 13-17 for 173 yards. He looked to be very comfortable throwing the ball and you could tell he has gained a lot of confindence this past off-season. [tag]Matt Nordgren[/tag] played for most of the second half but did not attempt a single pass attempt. He did scramble a few times, showing off an interesting technique of gaining more yards when going out of bounds.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: A+

Texas appears to have a full stable of speedy and powerful tailbacks to compliment quarterback Vince Young this year. Freshman running backs [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] and [tag]Henry Melton[/tag] had a huge impact on the game, with Charles running for 135 yards and 1 score and Melton running for 65 yards and 2 scores. I swear it looked like Melton couldn’t be tackled. A bigger and quicker [tag]Selvin Young[/tag] added 65 yards and speedster [tag]Ramonce Taylor[/tag] also added 65 yards. With a total of 418 yards, I would say things are definitely looking good for the Texas running game.

Receivers / Tight Ends – Overall Grade: B

[tag]David Thomas[/tag] was up to his usual self, making big plays and scored 2 touchdowns on 3 catches. With his 2 touchdowns, David Thomas moved into fifth place all-time at Texas for a tight end with his 51th career reception. Senior [tag]Brian Carter[/tag] also help out by setting a career high with three receptions against the Ragin’ Cajuns for 65 yards, matching his previous career total of three receptions in only the first half. [tag]Nate Jones[/tag], [tag]Limas Sweed[/tag], and [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] also performed well, with Nate Jones scoring his first career touchdown. It was nice to see some consistency in this group and I look forward to seeing them improve this year.

Offensive Line – Overall Grade: A+

Considering that Selvin Young, Jamaal Charles, Henry Melton, Ramonce Taylor and Vince Young averaged 9.5 yards per carry, I would say that the offensive line did pretty well on Saturday. [tag]Justin Blalock[/tag] (fellow Plano East grad) led the offensive line who just totally dominated Louisana Lafayette. Hopefully they keep the same aggressiveness next Saturday against OSU.

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Wow, some big upsets this weekend definitely made for some big movers in my poll this week. I am dropping Oklahoma all the way down to 15 and Auburn down to 21. I still kept Miami in the Top 10, even with their loss to FSU, mainly because of how good their defense is. I can’t wait for Oklahoma to lose another game so I can drop them out of my Top 25, haha.

“Our goal is when Vince Young leaves here he won’t be a candidate for the Heisman”

Sounds like she could definitely get more $20K.

In my opinion, USC and Texas are the obvious #1 and #2, but the teams in the rest of the Top 10 almost seem interchangeable. It seems like so many teams have a new look this year, and I think I will need to see them in action in order to evaluate them better.

So here it is, my Top 25 preseason poll. Feel free to make some comments, as I am always open to learning more about a team (except for OU)…

1. SOUTHERN CAL
2. TEXAS
3. MIAMI
4. MICHIGAN
5. VIRGINIA TECH
6. TENNESSEE
7. OHIO ST
8. LSU
9. OKLAHOMA
10. FLORIDA
11. FLORIDA ST
12. IOWA
13. GEORGIA
14. AUBURN
15. LOUISVILLE
16. TEXAS A&M
17. TEXAS TECH
18. PURDUE
19. CALIFORNIA
20. BOSTON COLLEGE
21. VIRGINIA
22. ARIZONA ST
23. BOISE ST
24. ALABAMA
25. PITTSBURGH

With both Bush and Leinart at USC, hopefully they will cancel each other out.

Chance Wheeless definitely redeemed himself with a walk-off homer in the 9th.