No slow start this week for the Texas Longhorns. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and company took it to the Baylor Bears early and often Saturday afternoon. They ran the ball well, threw the ball with ease, and the defense dominated and had a shutout until late scores against the backups. Check out highlights from the game below:
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas game versus [tag]Baylor[/tag] on FSN. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game bright and early at 11:00am Saturday.
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!
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 [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] and [tag]Sam Acho[/tag] are going to have huge games. The Horns have a 24-plus point lead at halftime and we’ll see backup QB [tag]Garrett Gilbert[/tag] 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, [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] and [tag]Nebraska[/tag]. 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 [tag]Kansas[/tag]. I certainly don’t want it to be on Thanksgiving or in the Big 12 Championship game. So if [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] 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
There was a poll posted recently on Orangebloods.com asking. “Who do you want to win the OU vs. A&M game?”
Based on the early results I saw when I responded, it seems that an overwhelming majority of UT fans want A&M to win. There were various reasons stated for voting this way. Some said because A&M already is down and we need OU to be down as well. Some expressed their hate of OU is stronger than their hate of A&M. Some dismissed A&M as any competition to Texas and thus it didn’t matter if they won or lost, but it was important for OU to lose because they are Texas’ bigger rival.
To all of this I say balderdash, garbage, nonsense, poppycock, baloney and malarkey!
Maybe it is a Dallas vs. Houston situation, but living in Houston I don’t know any OU fans. When OU beats Texas I don’t wait for the idiot fans to post the score in their cubicle or send out their Christmas card with a picture of the scoreboard. It doesn’t happen in my world. BUT, when A&M wins the Aggie roaches come out of the woodwork.
I can hear it now, “but A&M sucks, they aren’t our biggest rival”. Wrong!
We have two equally big rivals in my opinion. But Texas has a bigger advantage when A&M is down than when OU is down. Let me explain.
In the last 30 years, OU has had 24 winning seasons while A&M has had 23 winning seasons. UT’s record against OU is 15-15, against A&M it is 14-16. Since Mack Brown arrived UT is 5-6 with OU and 8-3 with A&M. You can see that OU is at least UT’s equal on the field and it hasn’t prevented Texas from having an unprecedented amount of success in recent years. Texas loses recruits to OU every year, but still gets the lion’s share of recruiting riches. This would be different if A&M wasn’t currently so bad. UT doesn’t go head to head with A&M in many recruiting battles because A&M isn’t in the mindset of most top flight Texas blue chips. If A&M hired a top flight coach, or decided to return to their rogue program past, times could get tougher.
Tech is Tech, hell, it is in LUBBOCK! They are never going to be a consistent threat to UT recruiting dominance. Baylor, yeah right, [tag]TCU[/tag], nope, [tag]Houston[/tag], no way, but A&M could be a pain in UT’s backside. I remember the Sherrill and early Slocum years of recruiting dominance in this state. Whether by cheating or not, it happened. It killed Texas football for a decade. The talent differential was amazing when the teams lined up the week of Thanksgiving. Those days can’t be allowed to return!
A&M needs to stay terrible!! It is close enough to Houston and East Texas and the talent pool that exists there to make some large waves if they turn their ship around. Talent wins out over everything else most of the time. We have the talent. We have to make sure that we continue to get that talent. This involves keeping A&M down and not an option for top recruits.
You should root for another 77-0 on Saturday.
And if you need another reason to want A&M to lose, just think about all the Aggie a-holes you know and how much pain they will be in when they finish 6-6 and play in the Texas Bowl.
Roddrick Muckelroy may not be on the field to harass the Baylor Bears this season.
After hurting his knee jumping to celebrate a big play last week, Texas linebacker [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] is listed as “probable” on this week’s official injury report for [tag]Baylor[/tag]. Normally you’d think that would mean we’d almost certainly see Rod against the Bears tomorrow, but since it is Baylor it might mean a week of extra space for his tweaked knee. I expect to see him in uniform but not in the game unless it’s an emergency.
The two other names on this week’s report are more familiar as defensive tackle [tag]Calvin Howell[/tag] remains out with his concussion and true freshman offensive lineman [tag]Mason Walters[/tag]’ foot is still keeping him out. Those two players are likely to seek a medical redshirt later in their time at Texas and possibly receive an extra year of eligibility.
During an interview this week, Texas head coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] clearly states that there should not be a distinction between BCS and non-BCS schools and that all schools should be treated equally. Somehow, ESPN spend the next 36 hours claiming Mack had said non-BCS schools didn’t belong in the national title game. Say what? Watch for yourself below:
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’ game against the Central Florida.
Pregame WTH UT Fans?! The Horns have not played a home game in close to a month and you need the alumni band to help fill out the upper deck. Yes, I know the game started at 11am, but there were way too many empty seats for the 2nd ranked team in the nation. Now I know why they announce the attendance (101,003) in the third quarter.
Kickoff (15:00) WTH Adidas?! Even before the kickoff, the UCF football team, wearing Adidas, was hexed because of a contract dispute. Newly signed Marcus Jordan (UCF basketball player) wore his dad’s Nikes which caused Adidas to terminate their $3 million dollar contract with the school. Never bite the hand that feeds you. The football team never had a chance.
2nd Quarter (5:22) WTH Jekyll?! Maybe I should call you Mr. Hyde. UT kicker [tag]Justin Tucker[/tag] boots a 70 yard kickoff which is not returned. Great Dr. Jekyll! Then Justin ( 3rd Qt. 11:31) proceeds to uncork a 16 yard punt. Come on Mr. Hyde! You know things are going good with the Horns when you’re complaining about the punting.
4th Quarter (13:01) WTH Jordan?! What an incredible pitch and catch between [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] for an 88 yard touchdown. After the game you put together (11 catches 273 yards), you deserve to take a bow. How about a Heisman pose like [tag]Ricky Williams[/tag] threw down? I guess your offense lineman wanted you to take a curtain call at the end of the game when they pushed you out to acknowledge the student section who was cheering your name.
Whole Game WTH Defense?! No interceptions. No fumble recoveries. Not even a touchdown? What is happening?! Oh yeah, UCF is 2 of 12 on 3rd down. The defense holds an opponent to lowest score of the season (3 pts.). Yeah, this group is OK. Defensive MVP was clearly [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag].
WTH Big XII?! Can the Longhorns continue the season as an Independent? Take the Longhorns win-loss record out of the mix and the rest of the Big XII record is 57-44. Only four teams after the first week of November are even bowl eligible.
Next up for the Longhorn’s is a trip up north to Waco to face the Baylor Bears at 11am Nov. 14th.
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas game versus [tag]Central Florida[/tag] on FSN. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game bright and early at 11:00am Saturday.
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!
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
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