40 Acres Sports

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.

The game kicked off at 11am against [tag]Central Florida[/tag], but no one told the Texas offense that. It took a little more than a quarter to get started but when they finally did the Texas passing game exploded for record numbers. Watch the McCoy/Shipley show below:

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!

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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

Times are great to be a Longhorn fan! Yeah, tell me something I don’t know, right?

At times in the last few years I have seen evidence that some, if not most, of us Horn fans don’t realize the heady times in which we live.

For a little perspective, let me introduce myself. I was born in May of 1968 and attended my first game at Memorial Stadium in September of 1968. My dad attended UT in the early 50’s around a stint in the Air Force during the Korean War and had been traveling from Houston to Austin to attend games while he was in high school. He became a lifelong season ticket holder and actually named the Longhorn Band the “Showband of the Southwest” while the publicity director for the band as a student. I grew up traveling to all UT football games, home and away. Some people fish or hunt or go camping, my dad and my brother and I went to UT games every weekend. They are the memories of my childhood and youth.

I went to UT and am now 41 and married with 2 young daughters, but still have season tickets. My brother and I have 9 tickets together. My dad passed away last year.

I include all of this to show that I have seen good times, great times, and horrible times to be a UT fan. Let me tell you, right now is as good as it gets!

We have not been ranked outside the top 25 since October of 2000. We have never had a longer tenure in the rankings.

As you can see by winning percentage, Mack Brown’s tenure and our current decade is the best we have ever produced. We have won 21 of our last 22 games, 31 of our last 35 since the 2006 Alamo Bowl.

There are some other parameters where Coach Royal’s run in the 60’s bests our current times. These are of course conference championships, which is well documented and a constant drumbeat of Brown’s critics, but more importantly to me is our record against our main rivals, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

In the 52 seasons since [tag]Darrell Royal[/tag] took over in Austin in 1957, we have only beaten both OU and A&M in the same season 18 times. Of those 18, 11 of those seasons belong to DKR, Royal achieved it 11 out of 20 years, Akers was 3 for 10, McWilliams was 1 for 5, Mackovic was 0 for 6, and Brown is 3 for 11. I am expecting that to go to 4 for 12 this year. But, you can see by the rarity or it occurring that beating both our main rivals in the same year is tough. Royal did it better than any. In fact he did it 11 of his first 14 seasons at the helm. He didn’t beat them both in the same season again after 1970. [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] though, if we win in College Station in a few weeks will have beaten OU and A&M both in the same year 3 of the last 5 years. We haven’t had that kind of dominance since the 60’s. We have only beaten OU and A&M in the same year 3 times since 1957 when both of them had winning records, 1977, 1981, and 1990. Historical comparisons only go so far. I believe it was easier to win the SWC many of the years we won it than it is to win the Big 12 now, but by no means do I mention that to minimize the previous accomplishments. But I would argue that never has UT been more nationally important, competitive and relevant than right now.

We have never had tougher competition. There is now more parity in college football than ever before. To dominate is harder than ever. It is not our birthright to be good. It takes a lot of hard work by a lot of people to make it happen. If it was so easy to win at Texas, why have there been down times? If it was so easy to win at OU, why have they had such lean times in their past? Winning is not an accident, it is a direct result of actions. From 1977 to 1997, the years between Royal and Brown, UT had a mediocre winning percentage of 65%. Those years also included 6 years with a losing record. Brown and Royal have never had a losing record. UT had some GREAT times in those intervening years, winning many big games and I enjoy every minute of it. But obviously never was the level of success sustained.

When I hear people gripe about Mack, or Greg Davis, or not being able to run the ball, etc. etc. etc., I want to shake those people! I was there when we lost to Nebraska 19-3 in the 74 Cotton Bowl. I was there when we lost to Houston 30-0 in Austin. I was there in 1980 when North Carolina beat us 16-7 in the Bluebonnet Bowl. I was there on January 1, 1984 when we really couldn’t score and lost a chance at the National Championship 10-9 to Georgia. I was there when we lost to Air Force 24-16 at the Bluebonnet Bowl. I was there when we beat Pitt in the Bluebonnet Bowl in 1987 and we acted like we had won the National Championship. We were so desperate for a glean of hope. I was at Ownby Stadium when we only lead an SMU team just coming off the death penalty 14-7 at half after being shut out until under 5 minutes left in the 1st half. I was also in Austin when we lost 50-7 to Baylor. I was in Starkville when we lost 13-6 to Sherrill and Mississippi State after such an incredible 1990 season. I was there when we lost to Rice 19-17. I was at 66-3. I have seen BAD offense and MISERABLE defense.

Thinking about those memories now make today seem so much sweeter. Those scores are inconceivable today, something out of another place and time.

So if something happens and we don’t play in the BCS National Championship game this year, or we do make it and lose, don’t lose perspective. Times are great!

It will still kill me a little inside when we next lose. I will still lose sleep over it and lament it, and get angry when it comes to mind (like the 2001 Big 12 Championship game), but I will try like hell to keep it in perspective.

I will think of how I felt as the Eyes played in the Rose Bowl and as I called my dad from the stands to hear his tears of joy. I will think of how I hugged my brother and cried a little myself as we left the stadium. The only other time I can remember crying and hugging my brother was in the stands when we beat A&M 28-27 in 1990. I will think of the sheer joy I felt when we beat OU last year after losing my dad a few months before.

In other words, ENJOY IT HORNS! I promise it won’t last forever.

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 Oklahoma State.

Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas both returned interceptions for TDs Saturday night. (Image: Statesman)

Pregame WTH Poke Fans?! Wow, the biggest crowd in [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] football history. You packed it in on Halloween night. You recorded 58,516 fans?! You did renovate the stadium with Boone Pickens money, didn’t you?

1st Qt. (5:56) WTH Burks?! Referee Greg Burks and his staff got a few calls wrong at the beginning of the game. The calls did benefit the Longhorns, but the personal foul call on OSU Lucien Antoine for hitting UT [tag]Dan Buckner[/tag] going across the middle was a good hard play. I wish the NCAA would get rid of the helmet to helmet hit when it does not involve the quarterback. The officials also missed it (1:19 – 2nd Qt.) when UT [tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag] was stripped of the ball when they assumed his momentum was stopped but never blew the whistle. Glad that the Horns blasted the Pokes on Halloween like a blue armadillo to make sure that these calls were not an issue.

1st Quarter (3:37) WTH PVC Man?! Oklahoma State degrades one of their own by having him hold a large PVC pipe flash card stand. A player, #23, for the Pokes holds an elaborate flip card that shows a heart, a number and an image on it for the OSU offensive package. The Poke player is auditioning for holding the leader board for the next round at the Masters.

1st Quarter (1:44) WTH Hubert?! Come on Hubert Anyiam from Oklahoma State. You had a gift touchdown pass that was perfectly placed to you by Zac Robinson on 4th down. (14:25 – 2nd Qt.) Then you got the ball ripped out by UT [tag]Sam Acho[/tag] which led to the first touchdown for the Horns. Oh yeah, great job ABC for cutting away and missing most of the play.

2nd Qt. & 3rd Qt. WTH Goonies?! The Longhorn defense played an incredible game especially the secondary which returned two interceptions for the touchdowns ([tag]Curtis Brown[/tag] – 2nd Qt. & [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] – 3rd Qt.). But you need to slow down with all the nicknames. [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] comes up with the defensive nickname the Goonies because they like to goon it up with the opposing offense (Like that one). This week [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] comes up with the name “Texas Swagger” to get the team motivated to close the deal against the Cowboys. Coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] got into the act early in the year with giving out T-shirts with the logo .0128 which is the margin that they lost to OU for the Big XII championship. I guess I do not care what ploy is implemented as long as the Horns win.

3rd Quarter (10:27) WTH Case?! [tag]Case McCoy[/tag] is standing next to the lovely Rachel Glandorf (Colt’s girlfriend) and proceeds to spit on the floor right next to her. I guess the upcoming UT commit at quarterback is affecting his better judgment.

Next up for the Longhorn’s is a trip home to face Central Florida at DKR Memorial at 11am November 7th.

Check out this pretty incriminating video of Florida’s linebacker Brandon Spikes sticking his hands into the face mask of a Georgia player. It is of course impossible to discern intent from a video, but to me it is pretty clear that Spikes is trying to gouge the Georgia player’s eyes. Watch and judge for yourself:

(via Barking Carnival)

While the Longhorns were celebrating Halloween with a buttkicking, this baby was rocking the best costume of all time. Say hello to Baby Mangino…

(via Deadspin)

Watch highlights of Texas taking care of business against #14 [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] below:

Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during tonight’s Texas game versus [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] on ABC. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game right around 7:00pm 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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