40 Acres Sports

A few jabs at Mack, but a good article about Texas’ attitude & confidence this year.

Horns looking to win again this year with even more on the line.

Julius Whittier, Texas’ first black player, is happy to see a diverse team with a leader like Vince Young.

There is however a bit of a catch… (Update: Ticket now only $1)

I doubt Justin Blalock goes 1st round if he leaves, he’s a future OG whose never played there.

Rose Bowl not only pits the #1 and #2 teams, but the top 2 QB’s as well.

With over 100,000 votes cast Texas leads USC by a slim margin.

Not much college football on this weekend (Hawai’i Bowl was a great game Friday night) but several Longhorns in the NFL had pretty good games Saturday.

• [tag]Chris Simms[/tag] led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a game-tying touchdown with less than a minute to go in regulation and two easy field goal opportunities in overtime. He finished the day with 285 yards passing and 2 touchdowns and it looks like the Bucs will make the playoffs.
• In his first 20+ carry game since coming back off retirement/suspension [tag]Ricky Williams[/tag] ran all over the Tennessee Titans for 172 yards and a TD. Quietly, Ricky has played really well this season in Miami and has looked like the Ricky of old when given the chance.
• Roy Williams and Shaun Rogers led the Detroit Lions to a win over the Saints in San Antonio. Williams had four big catches for 111 yards and the Pro Bowler Rogers rumbled 21 yards for his first career touchdown after recovering a first quarter fumble.

Certainly doesn’t hurt recruiting to have these guys and others playing well in the pros every weekend. Future NFL success is one of the big draws for programs like Miami and if you can add that factor the UT’s already attractive atmosphere, coaching staff, location, facilities, and tradition I think you’ll see the program get even stronger over the next few years.

Some love for #7 and the Horns’ D.

Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl
	UCF (8-4) vs. Nevada (8-3) Dec. 24, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Favorite: Nevada by 2

The Nevada Wolf Pack are a fun team to watch and have been playing pretty good football over the last month or so. Their “pistol” offense sets quarterback Jeff Rowe up just 3 yards behind the center and allows them to have a shotgun passing game and a straight ahead rushing attack out of the same formation. Pretty interesting scheme that has allowed them to put up some serious yardage and points in the WAC this season.

Central Florida went winless last season and started this year off with two more losses. Since then they’ve gone 8 and 2 and earned their first ever bowl berth. Despite the eight win season the Golden Knights haven’t exactly been dominant, with seven of those eight wins coming by margins of ten points or less. Their offense is solid but not explosive, if they make some stops against the Nevada offense and keep this game close they’ll certainly have a shot to win this game late.

Unfortunately for UCF, I don’t think it’ll be close in the fourth.

Players to Watch: UCF QB Steven Moffett, Nevada QB Jeff Rowe, Nevada RB B.J. Mitchell

Prediction: UCF 16, Nevada 33

If Texas was in the Hawai’i Bowl…

Both the UCF football team and George O’Leary rebounded this season and both are great stories, but the Golden Knights aren’t a great team. They went 8 and 4 this season by winning a ton of close games against bad football teams. They needed a last second field goal to beat a Louisiana Lafayette team that the Longhorns put up 60 points on in about a half. The media would attack Texas if they scheduled UCF in the regular season. Texas 66, UCF 3.

It would be interesting to see how the Wolf Pack’s pistol offense would fare against a team with the athletes the Longhorns have on the defensive side. They were shut down pretty well by Washington State, Colorado State, and Boise State, not exactly defensive powerhouses. They certainly haven’t faced anyone with the firepower the Texas offense brings to the table. Texas 56, Nevada 14.