40 Acres Sports

Chris Ogbonayya runs against Colorado

Starting this year the coaches have started to keep a “big board” of the top 11 players on the offense and defense each week. With the start of conference play, we’ve decided to make one of our own. Here’s the list after the [tag]Colorado[/tag] game:

1. [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] – Texas may have found their running back. Chris “O” made the game’s first big play on a 65 yard touchdown catch from Colt McCoy that set the tone. He also added 75 yards on the ground and showed some big play ability.
2. [tag]Roy Miller[/tag] – The big guy was everywhere on Saturday night. Miller had eight tackles, a fumble recovery, three quarterback hits, and two pass breakups. He may be the conferences best in the middle.
3. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] – It says a lot about McCoy’s play thus far this year that the game versus Colorado is a step back. Colt had been playing out of this world so far, and came back to earth a bit against a Colorado team that decided to blitz all night. He finished 23 of 30 for 262 yards including two touchdowns and interceptions. McCoy didn’t lead the team in rushing finally, rushing for a solid 59 yards.
4. [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] – Muckelroy was all over the field in this game. He led the team in tackling again, accounting for 10 tackles and a pass break up. The speed and violence he is bringing to this line backing core has the unit playing better than any group in Mack Brown’s tenure.
5. [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] – “B-Rak” is making himself a lot of money this year. Texas fans were hoping he’d put it all together on the field and he hasn’t disappointed. When teams decided to block him with just one guy he seems to get at least a hit on the quarterback every time. He finished with only two tackles, but had five hits on the quarterback and made the pocket a place CU’s quarterback Cody Hawkins a place he didn’t want to be.
6. [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] – As Earl Thomas goes, so goes this young secondary. The red shirt freshman appears to be the emotional leader of the group in the back. Earl’s name wasn’t mentioned all that much last night, and that is a good sign. He had two pass breakups and provided good support in the run game.
7. [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] – Johnson began the game as the starting running back for the first time in his young career at Texas. With Ogbonnaya having such a big game and the score becoming lopsided, Cody was limited to a short yardage back. He capitalized however, and two touchdowns will get you on the big board every week.
8. [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] – Shipley caught the other McCoy pass on the night. It wasn’t a huge day for the ex Burnet star, but he got in the end zone and moved the chains on a few receptions. He has definitely become the guy McCoy looks to on hot reads and around the goal line. Their chemistry is amazing.
9. [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] – Cosby had the most catches on the team and appeared to be the most explosive on the night. The old guy on the team finished with nine catches for 71 yards. His long was just 15 however, as all the wide outs failed to make a big play.
10. [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] – Sergio is just a physical freak. He causes havoc wherever he is on the field. When he lines up opposite Orakpo in the “buck” package an offense has no chance. Kindle looked better playing in space as he gets more and more comfortable on his surgically prepared knee. The light has finally come on in his third year on campus, and the sky appears to be the limit for this guy.
11. [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag] – Chykie Brown played his best game as a Longhorn Saturday night against Colorado. It started early, as the starting corner knocked down a long pass attempt by Cody Hawkins. If that pass is completed the game may have been completely different. The whole secondary played with a swagger it never had last year. The Tony Yayo hand dance needs to go, but the play of this group is here to stay.

The Texas defense hit QB Cody Hawkins often

The Texas Longhorns played their toughest opponent of the season Saturday but still dominated against the Colorado Buffaloes. The defense was downright dominant and the CU quarterback will be seeing the Texas defensive linemen and linebackers in his dreams for weeks. We’ll find out in less than a week what the Longhorns are made of.

See what everyone is saying about the game below:

Bevo Sports

• Video: Texas at Colorado highlights
• Live game blog
• All Texas/Colorado coverage

Local Media

• Texas/Colorado box score
• Texas/Colorado game quotes
• Texas/Colorado game notes
• Texas beats Colorado, looks ahead to OU
• Texas defense looks good after stuffing the Buffs
• Ogbonnaya looks like an answer at running back
• Scott’s limited results fine with UT
• Longhorn football notebook
• Takin’ Care of Business
• Becoming Brett

Colorado Media

• Longhorns roll over Buffs
• Overmatched Buffs come up far short against No. 5 Longhorns
• Longhorns crank up the “D”
• Buffs get clocked in speed trap
• CU’s defense lone bright spot vs. McCoy, Texas
• Buffs kicked while down
• Gap still large between CU, Big 12’s best
• Hawkins continues to struggle under center
• Teammates won’t put blame on Goodman

Texas media

• Unbeaten OU, UT should make Red River Rivalry hard to beat
• UT takes care of Colorado, sets up showdown with OU
• Texas defense rushing to the top
• Texas 38, Colorado 14, final thoughts
• Texas Longhorns make a statement with defense
• Chris Ogbonnaya could be the answer for Texas’ running game
• Longhorns wax Buffs
• UT drops Colorado 38-14 in Big 12 opener
• Houston Chronicle live blog

National media

• Ogbonnaya scores 2 TDs, saves another as No. 5 Texas cruises
• AP photo gallery
• Defense carries Texas to win at Colorado

Follow along below with our live thoughts and analysis during tonight’s game versus [tag]Colorado[/tag] on FSN. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game right around 6pm tonight. 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!

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The Texas Longhorns were expected to have a down season (by their standards) but after four blowout wins the team finds itself setting ranked as one of the top five teams in the country. On FSN (and in HD) at 6:00 pm tonight the Longhorns will face their first conference opponent of the season in a 3 – 1 [tag]Colorado[/tag] team. This is the first game before a tough four-game stretch against ranked opponents but the Longhorns can’t start looking ahead or things can come crashing down very quickly.

Will the Longhorns avoid the upset? Can the defense continue to get after the opposing quarterback? Read on to see what the editors of Bevo Sports and a guest from Buffs.tv think will happen today:

Brian – The Longhorns played their best game of the season last week and I think they step it up again against Colorado. They were ranked last week but other than a win over not as good as we thought [tag]West Virginia[/tag] they haven’t been overly impressive. Texas’ special teams will be the key to avoid the upset. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] will continue to impress and freshman running back [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] will get his first career 100-yard game. Texas wins by the same score they do every week… Texas 52 – Colorado 10

Matt – There are a couple of things that worry me about this game. First, it is an almost night game in Boulder. The fans will be crazy (probably drunk) and it is tough to play with that thin air. Second, the last time we played Colorado we beat them 70-3 and knocked out their quarterback. I’m pretty sure Colorado is looking for a little revenge and will keep that previous game in mind. And finally, this game comes a week before the Red River Rivalry, so there is definitely a possibility that the Horns will be looking ahead. Now with all of that said, I still think Texas has too much offense for Colorado to handle. And with the improved defense I don’t see Colorado doing too much. Texas needs to jump out to a quick start to kill the hopes for the Buffaloes. If they do that they should roll. Texas 45 – Colorado 20

Mike – The Longhorns face their first big test of the year on the road at Colorado to get Big 12 play started. Colorado has a solid team, and proved they could pull an upset by beating [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] the week before last year’s Red River Shootout. Texas is on a roll and I don’t think anyone not wearing crimson and cream is going to slow the Horns down. Colorado wears black and gold. I may have started drinking the Kool-Aid on this one, but I think Texas wins and wins big. They dominate from the start and Colt McCoy keeps his Heisman hopes alive with another big game through the air and on the ground. The defense records over five sacks and two turnovers, and a running back will finally have a run over 30 yards. Texas 45 – Colorado 13

Marc from Buffs.tv – This game is going to come down to the trenches. Can the Colorado line hold off the Longhorns long enough for Hawkins down field? Can the Buffs get enough pressure on McCoy to force him into some bad decisions? If the Buffs can’t win at least one of these battles, winning the game will be very difficult. The good news is that the Buffs never give up in Boulder. This game will be decided in the fourth quarter. Texas 21 – Colorado 23

Can Colt McCoy make like VY against the Buffs?

Texas opens up Big 12 play tonight at 6pm against a good [tag]Colorado[/tag] team coming off their first loss of the season. The Buffaloes are a talented team heading in the right direction thanks to head coach Dan Hawkins and the play of his quarterback son, but the Longhorns are 13-point favorites and if they do their job they’ll win the game.

Read below for the Longhorns’ keys to beat the Colorado Buffaloes:

1. Don’t look past Colorado to next week.

Texas fans are already making plans and looking forward to next week’s huge match-up with [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] but the team can’t do the same. The Buffaloes are easily the toughest team Texas has faced and can easily pull off the upset if the Horns don’t play as well as they should.

2. Don’t give up a big kickoff return.

WR Josh Smith is Colorado’s biggest weapon, particularly on kickoff returns. Nothing kills momentum worse than giving up a backbreaking return after a touchdown. The kickoff coverage team has been solid so far but they haven’t faced a guy like Smith. Kicker [tag]Justin Tucker[/tag] needs to what he’s done all year and put his kickoffs high and in the end zone and he’ll completely neutralize Smith’s abilities.

3. Pressure quarterback Cody Hawkins.

After back-to-back weeks of seven sacks the Texas defense suddenly has one of the top pass rushes in the country. The Colorado offensive line has been decimated by injuries and [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] and company need to take advantage. The real test comes next week but this will be a good indicator of what the defensive line and linebackers can do against an offensive line that doesn’t average sub-260 pounds. Texas needs to hound Cody Hawkins and bring him down for at least three sacks tonight.

Texas vs. Colorado in the Big 12 Championship

Conference play is in full swing this weekend with many teams getting their first real test of the season. The Big 12 now has 4 teams in the Top 10, with all of them on the road. It will be interesting to see if they can all come out unscathed. If Texas and Oklahoma both win their Big 12 openers, they will face off next week in a possible #1 versus #5 match-up.

Let’s take a look at a game in each of the big conferences. Remember, I did go 3-1 last weekend against the spread.

#13 Auburn at #19 Vanderbilt (+4) – 6:00 PM EST on ESPN. Vanderbilt is definitely one of the surprises of the season. And after last week their win against Ole Miss is looking that much better. Auburn has been anemic on offense and basically riding their defense to wins. With two weeks to prepare and home field, Vanderbilt has the advantage in this one. It will probably be close, but take Vandy to win.

#7 Texas at Colorado (+13) – 7:00 PM EST on FSN. There are a couple of things that worry me about this game. First, it is an almost night game in Boulder. The fans will be crazy (probably drunk) and it is tough to play with that thin air. Second, the last time we played Colorado we beat them 70-3 and knocked out their quarterback. I’m pretty sure Colorado is looking for a little revenge and will keep that previous game in mind. And finally, this game comes a week before the Red River Rivalry, so there is definitely a possibility that the Horns will be looking ahead. Now with all of that said, I still think Texas has too much offense for Colorado to handle. And with the improved defense I don’t see Colorado doing too much. Texas needs to jump out to a quick start to kill the hopes for the Buffaloes. If they do that they should roll.

#23 Oregon at #9 USC (O/U 57) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Everyone wants to see how USC will respond after getting smoked by Oregon State last week. I don’t expect to see a blowout or anything against Oregon, but I do expect to see USC’s A game. Both teams can score almost at will and this will probably be the typical Pac-10 shootout. Look for each team to score in the 40s and take the over in this one.

#14 Ohio State at #18 Wisconsin (+2) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Hardly anyone comes out of Camp Randall with a victory, with Wisconsin winning their last 16 at home and 27 of the last 28. Ohio State has now turned over the reigns to Terrelle Pryor, and with Beanie Wells back from injury their offense is heating back up. As long as their defense can do a decent job against the Badgers, Ohio State should be able to come out with the victory. Actually on second thought this game probably shouldn’t be on the “what to watch” list since it will probably be pretty boring. Just take Ohio State and cash-in in the morning.

Cody Johnson runs against Arkansas

Saturday at 6pm on FSN the Longhorns will start Big 12 play against [tag]Colorado[/tag]. The Buffaloes are easily the Horns’ toughest opponent of the season so despite four blowout wins the team still hasn’t proven anything. Texas will lean on [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] as they do every week, but Texas will also need these five other players to step up to take care of business:

[tag]Cody Johnson[/tag]

The Texas coaches and fans thought the running game would be led by the tandem of [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] and [tag]Foswhitt Whittaker[/tag]. While Whittaker has struggled to contribute as expected because of injuries to both knees, McGee has just struggled. Enter former fullback Cody Johnson. The big man has looked like the best ball carrier on the team not named [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]. Mack Brown has preferred big, downhill runners throughout his career, a la Natrone Means and [tag]Ricky Williams[/tag]. And even though the UT running game doesn’t appear to suit Johnson’s strengths he has excelled. If Johnson can outperform McGee again, this time in a conference game, it seems likely that the combination of Johnson and Whittaker when he is healthy will lead the running game going forward into the season.

[tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag]

Texas has to find a third receiver. The physical appearance and upside of [tag]Malcolm Williams[/tag] and [tag]Dan Buckner[/tag] led many to anoint them the leaders for the position. But through four games it is clear that McCoy does not trust these two yet for whatever reason. Colt does seem to trust Kirkendoll, who made a nice run after the catch early in last week’s blowout of [tag]Arkansas[/tag]. The loss of [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag] allows defenses to key on [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] and [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag]. If Texas wants to continue their success through the air, one of the young receivers must step up. This week is Kirkendoll’s week to solidify himself as that guy.

[tag]Blake Gideon[/tag]

There is no doubt that the true freshman from nearby Leander High School has exceeded expectations. After only being out of high school for six months, Gideon finds himself leading a young but talented secondary for the Texas Longhorns. Most 18 year’olds would be overwhelmed, but the coach’s son appears to be taking to his new position like a duck to water. Gideon hasn’t made a whole lot of huge plays, but according to defensive coordinator [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag], Gideon is lining up the defense correctly. I think Muschamp, a former college safety, sees a lot of himself in Gideon and for UT fans that is assuredly a good thing. Teams are going to try and confuse the secondary to create big plays, if Gideon can limit these by being smart and aware, the Longhorn defense could become one of college football’s best this year.

[tag]Keenan Robinson[/tag]

If nobody else is running, I’d like to nominate myself as the President of the Keenan Robinson fan club. This may be premature but Robinson has looked like a star in the making every time he is on the field, albeit in cleanup duty. He has the speed and nose for the football that Muschamp craves in his line backing unit. Overall the group of [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag], [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag], [tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag], and [tag]Jared Norton[/tag] has looked great, but Robinson gives this defense the ability to keep three linebackers on the field against three receiver sets. The other linebackers on the team struggle in space. With Robinson’s speed and ball skills, he is a prime candidate to get more time as the opposing offenses become faster. The problem is deciding whose snaps the talented freshman cuts into. The combination of Robinson and Muckelroy at linebacker with Kindle playing rush end appears to be the best combination for Texas on obvious passing downs.

[tag]Justin Tucker[/tag]

Historically, Texas has not done great on kick coverage. Don’t believe me? Watch the DVD of the first Rose Bowl Texas played in. With the talent on campus, it has appeared the Horns have struggled to find the types of players it takes to excel on special teams coverage. Kick coverage is more about willingness and want to than superior athletic ability. Kickoff specialist Justin Tucker is making this quandary obsolete. Tucker has been booming the ball, forcing touchbacks at a rate not seen on the 40 acres. It’s beginning to seam that on balls he doesn’t kick into the end zone come at the coach’s request in order to get a look at the coverage unit. Against teams like [tag]Oklahoma[/tag], [tag]Missouri[/tag], [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag], and [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] special teams could decide the game. A weapon like Tucker, and on the punt team with John Gold, gives Texas an advantage in every game.

There were several of teams off last week in the conference but there was still a lot of movement in the power rankings. Losses by Colorado and Nebraska and a shaky home win by Texas A&M sent all those teams down a bit. Meanwhile Oklahoma State continues to win in impressive fashion. The Cowboys are undefeated and putting up big offensive numbers so have moved up three spots to number five. Conference play starts Saturday so things should be much clearer in next week’s rankings.

Check out this week’s Big 12 power rankings below:

1. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   The Sooners jumped to a huge first quarter lead against [tag]TCU[/tag] and then just road that through the end of the game. QB Sam Bradford threw for a ton of yards but had by far his least accurate performance of the season. More troubling for OU is the complete ineffectiveness of the running game. They tried to force the issue but manage to only rush for an abysmal 25 yards on 36 carries.

2. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   Bye week. The Tigers face Nebraska this weekend to open Big 12 play.

3. Texas

   
   LW: 3

   Another week and another 52 – 10 win for the Longhorns, this time over SEC rival [tag]Arkansas[/tag]. The Texas offense has been impressive all season but for the first time all season the defense was dominant. The front seven was able to sack the Razorbacks’ QBs seven times and the Horns are now top five nationally with 16 sacks on the season. Texas faces Colorado Saturday at 6pm on FSN.

4. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 4

   Bye week. Red Raiders open Big 12 play against Kansas State.

5. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Okie Lite put another 50 spot on the scoreboard this past weekend against Troy. The Trojans aren’t exactly a national power but [tag]Ohio State[/tag] struggled to get past them while the Cowboys racked up 612 total yards. They host the Aggies Saturday at 7pm.

6. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

   
   LW: 7

   Bye week. KU opens conference play with a virtual bye against Iowa State.

7. [tag]Colorado[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   Colorado didn’t show up well in a surprisingly thorough loss to [tag]Florida State[/tag]. QB and coach’s son Cody Hawkins was inaccurate and inefficient and the running game didn’t do enough to pick him up. The FSU offense wasn’t much better but thanks to terrible kick coverage was able to play with a short field on several possessions. The Buffaloes face the Longhorns Saturday.

8. [tag]Nebraska[/tag]

   
   LW: 6

   Nebraska fans may be disappointed in a home loss to [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag] but Bo Pelini’s team fought hard till the end and almost came back and won it. This week Nebraska has a tough one when they host #4 Missouri.

9. [tag]Baylor[/tag]

   
   LW: 10

   Bye week. Next up are the number one ranked Sooners.

10. [tag]Kansas State[/tag]

    
    LW: 9

    Another shaky week for the Wildcats, barely beating a 1 – 3 Louisiana-Lafayette team in Manhattan. QB Josh Freeman and the offense again looked solid but the defense looked like swiss cheese. The Ragin’ Cajuns ran all over them to the tune of 335 total rushing yards in the game. Not good. Up this week is Texas Tech.

11. [tag]Iowa State[/tag]

    
    LW: 12

    Bye week. This week the Cyclones face off against Kansas.

12. Texas A&M

    
    LW: 11

    Just how bad are the Aggies? Army wasn’t just winless but they were winless against mediocre competion, and at Kyle Field the A&M needed a fourth down stop to escape with a win. Their match-up with Oklahoma State Saturday night will be an interesting one to watch (but not actually watch because it’s embarrasingly not being televised).

The Longhorns get conference play started this week with a road game against the Colorado Buffaloes. Texas has been on a roll, while CU enters the game after suffering their first loss of the season last week in [tag]Florida State[/tag]. Last year, Colorado shocked [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] in Boulder the week before the UT-OU showdown so Texas will have to show up to play and not look ahead to Dallas if they want to leave undefeated.

When Texas has the ball

Quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] has played as good as any other quarterback in the country. McCoy has played as good as any player in the country. Period. The guy has done everything for the Longhorns: he runs, he passes, he pooch punts, if he cleaned the locker room and prepared the food would you be shocked? Me neither. A great quarterback gives a football team a chance to win every game. McCoy is a great quarterback, and shows no signs of slowing down in the first test Texas faces this season. The offensive line has been above average. While the pass coverage has been outstanding, this group must take some of the blame for a lack of production from the backs. Colorado has given up a ton of yards in back to back games to [tag]West Virginia[/tag] and Florida State. A good day would be great for confidence heading into OU week.

The Colorado defense is simple, but good. They don’t blitz a lot, they don’t disguise coverage, they play mostly zone. Expect Texas to pass, and do it often with McCoy getting pre-snap reads on virtually every play. Texas is hopeful running back [tag]Foswhitt Whittaker[/tag] will be back this weekend. Couple the darting style of Whittaker with the emergent bruising style of [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] and the struggling Longhorn backfield could become one of the better tandems in the nation. Take into account that both of them are freshman and it should ease the anxiety of a Longhorn fan base that is used to stars toting the rock.

The biggest concern for Texas fans should be the inability of [tag]Malcolm Williams[/tag], and to a lesser extent [tag]Dan Buckner[/tag], to become a deep threat that opposing coaches must worry about. I can not remember one deep ball thrown to either of these guys when the ball wasn’t near the goal line. [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] and [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] have been very good, but with the loss of [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag] a threat down the field needs to replace the threat in the middle to allow space for Cosby and Shipley. If the offense can’t find one, the room Shipley and Cosby have been enjoying will dry up quickly.

When Colorado has the ball

Last week we finally got to see what [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] is going to do with the Texas defense. Attack, attack, attack. The Longhorn defense was flying to the ball, and when they got their they made sure Arkansas ball carriers remembered it. Never under [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] has a defense been as fast and aggressive as the defense was this week. When the knowledge and experience that only comes with game snaps catches up with the raw talent and energy of this defense this group is going to remind a lot of people of the old Miami and Florida State defenses UT fans used to beg for. Mack Brown’s best coaching move may be hiring Will Muschamp when it is all said and done.

On offense Colorado is just a solid football team. They don’t do a lot of things great, but they don’t hurt themselves. These are the types of teams that can jump up and bite a better team. If Texas makes mistakes and lets Colorado hang around, the home crowd could put them over the top. However, these types of teams can also be overwhelmed if the better team applies pressure from the beginning. The best way to silence a crowd is to make big plays with your defense.

UT has already scored twice this year on the defensive side of the ball. Texas is ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense, and has been applying a ton of pressure the last two games. The combination of [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] and [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] has to keep opposing quarterbacks awake at night. With those two coming off the edge, it has almost been a guarantee someone is getting to the quarterback. Add [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag], [tag]Henry Melton[/tag], [tag]Sam Acho[/tag], and [tag]Eddie Jones[/tag], and you can see how Texas has recorded seven sacks in each of the last two games.

Muschamp biggest contribution could be the job he is doing as the linebackers coach. Last year this same group of players looked lost in many situations. The scheme seemed to have them playing on their hills, a skill the collective group lacks. The scheme brought in by Muschamp has the linebacker’s core playing downhill and loving it. And while the group of [tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag], [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag], Sergio Kindle, and [tag]Jared Norton[/tag] have been great; the next great linebacker at Texas may have had his coming out party against Arkansas in the second half. His name is [tag]Keenan Robinson[/tag]. The freshman was everywhere, and just appeared to be playing at a different speed. Muschamp loves speed. I don’t know whose snaps will be taken away, but Robinson is going to play more and more.

The secondary is coming together, and it has all hinged on the play of safety [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag]. The secondary is what it is, but if Thomas can play with his swagger, and the front seven keeps applying pressure they have a chance to improve greatly. The best friend to a secondary is a pass rush, and I expect Texas to blitz a lot from here on out. The young secondary will get beat a few times, but so far they have gotten better each week. Muschamp will make sure that continues.

Colt running for a first down

Man the Texas Longhorns sure seem to like the score 52-10, now beating 3 of the 4 teams they have played this season by that same exact margin. Let’s just hope we don’t see the other side of that score this year.

Again the Longhorns looked impressive against [tag]Arkansas[/tag] dominating the Razorbacks in every aspect of the game. Going into the game I was actually a little worried, but after seeing Casey Dick throw up floating lobs into the secondary, my fears were quickly dissipated.

My favorite stat of the game? Texas rushed for 208 yards on the ground while Arkansas managed only 11 yards. Talk about a butt-kicking.

Let’s see how each position fared in the game:

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A+

Another almost near perfect performance for [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] as he continues prove he can hurt you through the air as well as on the ground. Colt finished with only two incomplete passes going 17 of 19 for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns. Colt also added 84 yards on only 9 carriers and 2 touchdowns. I don’t really like to think about the Heisman so early in the season, but he is definitely making a case to at least be mentioned in the talks.

[tag]John Chiles[/tag] got plenty of action Saturday since the game was basically over in the first quarter. By now we all know that he can run, but I would like to start seeing him try to become more of a pass first style quarterback. Why not try to develop his passing skills during the game when we are up by 40?

Running Backs – Overall Grade: B

I wasn’t really all that impressed with that impressed with the Texas running game. [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] got the majority of the carries with [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] obviously still trying out the position, but he only managed to average 3.0 yards per carry with a long run of 9 yards. That kind of production against a weak team like Arkansas just doesn’t cut it. Luckily [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] had a pretty decent game averaging 4.8 yards per carry and ended up with 1 touchdown. Right now it looks like Cody Johnson is the best back we have, and as long as he can keep is conditioning up we should be ok.

The one major blemish on the day for the running backs was when [tag]Jeremy Hills[/tag] showed absolutely no hustle late in the game on a John Chiles fumble, which ended up getting returned by Arkansas for their only touchdown of the game. You can’t totally blame that on Hills, but if you are seeing limited action you need to hustle on every play. I’m pretty sure [tag]Major Applewhite[/tag] had a few words for Hills on that one.

Wide Receivers – Overall Grade: B+

It’s really hard to give grades when you beat a team as easily as Texas did on Saturday. The receivers played pretty good all around, but everything seemed so easy it’s hard to say they were “great.” [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] looks like he is the new safety net for Colt now that we know [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag] is done for the season. They said it a few times on the telecast, but it really does look like Colt and Shipley are just out there relaxing and playing a game of catch in the backyard. Shipley ended up with 2 touchdowns and [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] added one more. The one nice thing about a blowout win is we get to see some young players get some action. Sophmores [tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag] and [tag]Brandon Collins[/tag] both look to be solid receivers.

Defense – Overall Grade: A

I believe this is the defense’s first A of the season and it is well deserved. The front seven had constant pressure on [tag]Casey Dick[/tag], and knocked him around so much that I actually almost started to feel bad for him. And for the first time this season I actually started to notice some of the secondary in a positive way. [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] actually made some plays, and [tag]Blake Gideon[/tag]’s name was called for some other than getting beat. It looks like [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] might actually be getting through to these guys.

[tag]Aaron Williams[/tag] returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter on an absolutely horrible pass by the Arkansas backup quarterback. The front seven added 7 sacks with [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] leading the way with 2 for 17 yards in losses. Hopefully we can keep this up.

Overall Grade: A

That was about as dominating a performance as you can have. [tag]Bobby Petrino[/tag] has to be a little embarrssed with the way he made his debut in this storied rivalry. Texas now gets to start Big 12 play against a [tag]Colorado[/tag] team who is looking for revenge after their 70-3 loss in the 2005 Big 12 Championship game.