Former Texas running back [tag]Cedric Benson[/tag] had career highs today with 171 yards and 38 carries for the Bengals against the Browns. No touchdowns and his longest run (46 yards) actually ended with him fumbling the ball but Benson’s running was huge for Cincinatti today and helped them win their first road game of the season. He looked like the big tough workhorse he was when he was with Texas today and could be back on track if he continues to run hard on the field and stay out of trouble off of it.
Posted December 21st, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Basketball, Feature
A great Texas defensive effort wasn't enough
The Texas Longhorns lost their second game of the year Saturday afternoon 63 – 67 to [tag]Michigan State[/tag] in Houston. The Horns led most of the game, but without a point guard capable of creating for himself and his teammates the team struggled to score down the final stretch. Once leading 60 – 58, the team scored only three points over the last five and a half minutes. [tag]Justin Mason[/tag] had a couple of chances to win or tie the game in the final minute of the game but missed two three-point attempts.
Starting guards [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] and Mason combined to score only 12 points in the loss, and backups [tag]Dogus Balbay[/tag] and [tag]Varez Ward[/tag] went scoreless despite getting more minutes than normal when Mason went down for an extended period with an injury in the first half. Abrams in particular struggled to find his shot throughout the game, held to a season low eight points and without a three-point field goal for the first time this year.
One bright spot in the loss was the play of [tag]Gary Johnson[/tag] in a return to his hometown of Houston. Johnson had a game-high 20 points on 8-12 shooting from the floor and 4-4 from the free throw line.
The last game for Texas of 2008 will be this Tuesday night on ESPN2 versus [tag]Wisconsin[/tag].
Game Statistics
Related Links
Okay he doesn’t suck, but Tennessee Titans’ current starting quarterback Kerry Collins isn’t better than average either. Peter Bean of Burnt Orange Nation takes a Music City Miracles article where they finally realized that Collins wasn’t actually having a “fantastic” season and does an excellent job stating the obvious: The Titans need to start playing Vince Young and do it in a hurry.
Texas head coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] 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 [tag]Ohio State[/tag] in January. Could be bad news for the Buckeyes if the Horns are both prepared and pissed.
Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com talk about the upcoming Fiesta Bowl match-up between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes. Will Texas be able to get motivated for the game after a disappointing end to the season? Will OSU’s Terrelle Pryor be able to shine on a national state, or will Texas QB [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] outplay him both passing and running the football?
Shaun Rogers was selected to his 3rd Pro Bowl
The NFL Pro Bowl rosters for the AFC and NFC were announced and two Longhorns were on it. Dallas guard [tag]Leonard Davis[/tag] and Cleveland defensive tackle [tag]Shaun Rogers[/tag] have both been selected to make return trips to Hawaii. This is Rogers’ third Pro Bowl selection, his first two coming after the 2004 and 2005 seasons when he was with Detroit. Big Leonard made his first Pro Bowl last year in his first season as a Cowboy.
Congrats to a couple of big former Longhorns.
Over the last several days Texas football players [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag], [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag], and [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] have brought in several All-American honors. Orakpo in particular has brought in four such honors including a first team AP All-American award today. Check out the list of honors below:
[tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]
- Second team AP All-American
- First team Football Writers (FWAA) All-American
- First team Walter Camp All-American
[tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag]
- First team AP All-American
- First team Football Writers (FWAA) All-American
- First team Walter Camp All-American
- AFCA Coaches’ All-America
[tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag]
- Third team AP All-American
From last week before the Heisman presentation but I missed it, [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] on the Jim Rome Show:
Fans knew it would be close but the final 2008 [tag]Heisman[/tag] voting came down to 151 points between the first and third place finishers. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford ended up edging out Texas quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] to take home this season’s Heisman Trophy. The two Big 12 QBs didn’t get the most first place votes (that honor fell to third place finisher Tim Tebow) but Bradford pulled in enough place votes to “earn” the trophy.
The final voting totals for the top three are below:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Bradford, Oklahoma | 300 | 315 | 196 | 1,726 |
| Colt McCoy, Texas | 266 | 288 | 230 | 1,640 |
| Tim Tebow, Florida | 309 | 207 | 234 | 1,575 |
Kirk Herbstreit and Co. discuss how the voting broke down right after the presentation:
It wouldn’t surprise me if both Bradford and Tebow test the NFL draft waters but if they don’t we could see these same three finalists again next December. McCoy is coming back for sure and will certainly be at the top of a very short list of Heisman favorites in 2009.
Colt McCoy will return for his senior season
Texas’ hopes for the 2009 season just got a lot higher. Junior quarterback (and Heisman leader) [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] told the Austin American-Statesman today that he would be staying at UT for his senior season. Here’s the Bevo Beat story:
Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy will stay for his senior season.
McCoy told the American-Statesman of his decision Monday.
“I’m not going anywhere,” McCoy said.
McCoy said he wants to play for a national championship, after falling one spot short of the title game this season.
“I’m coming back because we have a solid coaching staff,” he said. “And I’m coming back because I feel like I can develop the young receivers we have.”
McCoy said he will not “initiate” an evaluation with the NFL underclassmen committee. He said his coaches may ask for an evaluation for informational purposes, but he does not plan on asking them to do so.
McCoy is a redshirt junior. After this semester, he’ll have 12 hours remaining before he graduates. He said he’s planning on doing an internship this summer and will take a final course next fall, then graduate.
Freaking. Fantastic. News.
It can’t be overstated how important this is for the Longhorns in 2009. [tag]John Chiles[/tag] improved by leaps and bounds this season but he’s not ready to lead this team where they’re capable of going. This team should be in this year’s title game and (depending on who returns at OU) and with McCoy returning will likely be one of the top three teams in next year’s preseason polls. The Longhorns are less than a month away from playing in the [tag]Fiesta Bowl[/tag] and I’m already fired up for next season.
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