40 Acres Sports

Texas players & coaches seeing the sights and at practice.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
	#5 Notre Dame (9-2) vs. #4 Ohio St. (9-2) Jan. 2, 3:30 p.m. (ABC) Favorite: OSU by 4.5

Next to the Rose Bowl, this is definitely the bowl game I (and a lot of fans) have been looking forward to. Two of the college football’s most storied programs face off in the Fiesta Bowl and both programs are looking to end the season with a win that can provide momentum towards a national title run in 2006.

Ohio State has one of the nation’s best defenses and the best trio of linebackers around. Can A.J. Hawk, Anthony Schlegel, and company stop the Notre Dame rushing attack and force the Irish to be a one-dimensional offense? The Irish passing attack is one of the best, but can they have the same kind of success against the best defense they’ll face all season? Both teams should be able to score and the it will come down to how well Troy Smith protects the football and how well Darius Walker can run it.

Notre Dame has a 7 game bowl losing streak and if they lose today they’ll make history for the worst losing streak in bowl history. Why would a team lose so many bowl games in a row? That’s what happens when you’re constantly overrated by the national media, ranked where you don’t belong, and are put into bowl games you have no business being in. That’s the case again this season and we’ll find out if Charlie Weis can get the Irish to play over their heads and compete with the Buckeyes.

Players to Watch: ND QB Brady Quinn, ND WR Jeff Samardzija, OSU QB Troy Smith, OSU WR Santonio Holmes, OSU LB A.J. Hawk

Prediction: Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 17

If Texas was in the Fiesta Bowl…

Texas beat the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe at night to start the season and has gotten better and better since then. On a neutral field Vince Young and the rest of the Longhorn offense should be able to find success both on the ground and through the air. Troy Smith is playing well right now and his athleticism could hurt the Horns where they’re the weakest. More offense from both teams than in September but Texas protects the ball a little better this time around. Texas 35, Ohio State 21.

Oustide of USC, Notre Dame played essentially nobody all year long and still gave up their fair share of points. The Longhorn offense should be able to essentially score all game long against a very average Notre Dame defense. On the other side of the ball the Irish don’t match up too well against the Horns’ defense despite all their talent. They don’t run the option and are more of a pro style offense, they’ll score some points but they don’t scare me too much. Texas 42, Notre Dame 24.

AT&T Cotton Bowl
	#13 Alabama (9-2) vs. #18 Texas Tech (9-2) Jan. 2, 10 a.m. (Fox) Favorite: Tech by 3.5

I’m surprised Texas Tech is favored in this game, since getting blown out by Texas in October they haven’t gotten much respect nationally. I guess the guys in Vegas think the Alabama offense is so bad they won’t even be able to put up points against an average Red Raider defense. I agree with them.

Running back Taurean Henderson has to have a big game if Texas Tech has any hope of winning this game. If he breaks a couple of delays and catches the ball out of the backfield for some yardage then it’s going to completely change the game. Force the Crimson Tide defense to have to think about more than Cody Hodges and the passing game and Tech should be able to score some points. If they do that, they’ll win this game as Alabama is just awful on offense. Tech isn’t great on defense but they’re better than they used to be and if they can prevent the big play they should be able to make just enough stops to win.

Though it should be close, Texas Tech wins this game if they score over 20 points and they should be able to do that if they play as they’re capable. If they do win, the supposedly awful Big 12 will be 5 – 2 in bowl games with several big wins over ranked teams and upsets.

Players to Watch: Bama LB DeMeco Ryans, Bama QB Brodie Croyle, Tech RB Taurean Henderson, Tech SS Dwayne Slay

Prediction: Alabama 17, Texas Tech 24

If Texas was in the Cotton Bowl…

Easily the second best defense Texas would face this season (behind Ohio State) but the Alabama offense has struggled mightily this season. The Crimson Tide could only put 6 points on the board against Tennessee and 13 against Ole Miss, two defenses not even in the same league as the Horns’. I think Texas’ defense would score more in this game than the Bama offense. While their defense is tough, the Texas offense is going to have great field position all game long and would make enough plays to make this a rout. Texas 34, Alabama 0.

Texas is playing with a lot more confidence, is healthier, and has a lot more guys involved than they did back in October. The Red Raiders were exposed by the Horns in the first matchup and didn’t exactly roll through the rest of the season. I think this rematch turns into an even bigger blowout than the first as Jamaal Charles runs all over the place. Texas 61, Texas Tech 20.

I think Jamaal has a big day catching the ball out of the backfield. (via)

I honestly don’t think he knows what he’s gonna do.

Impossible not to root for Vince after what he’s been through & who he’s become.

Mark May: Well, the apostles weigh about 160# apiece on average and….USC’s OL averages 300 apiece. I’m saying SC runs on God’s chosen.

Herbstreit: Don’t forget Carrol would have a whole month to game plan for the Lord. I bet in that one month that he could find a way to blitz, get the ball to Jarrett on slants. Y’know.

Lou Holtz: What if God, like they told us at Sister Mary of Ignatius, where I was taught by Mother Francine, God rest her soul, what if the Living God sent a wave of locusts and a famine on USC’s defense?

May: How much do the locusts weigh?

Holtz: Shaddup.

Herbstreit: Coach. I, ugh, know what you’re saying but I gotta still pick USC over the Lord of the Heavens and the Oceans. A famine could affect USC’s run game but then how do you shut down that passing game?

(more …)

I’m not sure how many of you caught the [tag]Alamo Bowl[/tag] between Nebraska and Michigan last night but it was a great game that ended in an unbelievable play.

Eight laterals by Michigan as they attempt to make it 65 yards on the final play of the game. The entire [tag]Nebraska[/tag] team comes onto the field about halfway through the play to celebrate what they think is a victory. One more lateral by the tight end to Steve Breaston at the end and we might have had a play they’d be talking about for years and years.

You really have to see it to believe it, one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen on a football field.

Click here to watch the play. (Note: Video playback requires Flash Player 8.)

NBC Sports think Texas wins and Selvin Young is the MVP.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
	#6 Oregon (10-1) vs. OU (7-4) Dec. 24, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Favorite: Oregon by 3

This is a game that has been on my radar for some time now. On paper, this looks like an easy victory for #6 Oregon, but the line only having Oregon as 3 point favorites tells you another story. Oklahoma has won 5 out of its last 6 and Adrian Peterson back and healthy again. We all knew that Rhett Bomar would struggle early on, but he has been gaining confidence and actually been playing semi-solid over the past few games.

Bottom-line for Oregon is that they have QB issues, with Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf splitting time since Clemens injury. And if you Brady Leaf (Ryan Leaf’s brother) gets in the game, you know the San Diego crowd is going to be all over him. Also, I don’t really see Oregon getting up for this game after being outraged from being left out of the BCS.

I think Oklahoma wins this one in a close game, and for the second straight year a Big 12 team upsets a 10-1 Pac-10 team.

Players to Watch: Oregon WR Demetrius Williams, Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson

Prediction: Oklahoma 34, Oregon 30

If Texas was in the Holiday Bowl…

If Kellen Clemens were healthy the score wouldn’t be this lopsided but Texas still probably puts a ton of points on the board. They’re not terrible on that side of the ball but they haven’t stopped anybody this year either. Since losing their starting QB the Ducks haven’t been the same team on offense and would definitely struggle to get anything going against the Horns. Texas 49, Oregon 10.

Different but not too much closer ball game now that Peterson is healthy. With him and a more experienced Bomar the Sooners hold on to the ball longer and put together a few more scoring drives than they were able to back in October. Texas is really rolling on offense right now but would score fewer points as the Sooners attempt to control the clock and keep the Horns’ offense off the field. Texas 42, OU 20.