40 Acres Sports

I wouldn’t say that I ever thought the game against [tag]UTEP[/tag] was in jeopardy, but I will admit I was a little worried and/or disappointed that we only carried a 15 point lead going into the 4th quarter. It seemed pretty obvious that Texas was dominating the game, but they just couldn’t put it away until late in the game. And once again we showed our weakness lies in the young secondary, which didn’t really show much improvement from the previous game against [tag]Florida Atlantic[/tag]. Luckily we still have some time before we have to face OU.

Now let’s see how each position fared.

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A-

[tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] had another outstanding game, throwing for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns. Colt’s one interception came in the 3rd quarter when wide receiver Dan Buckner was not able to get off the line against the smaller cornerback. I can’t really blame Colt on that one. Colt spread the ball around well, completing passes to 7 different receivers. I really like the confidence Colt is playing with so far this year and it doesn’t look he will be slowing down anytime soon.

Backup quarterback [tag]John Chiles[/tag] did make a brief appearance in the game, but did not attempt any passes. He did run twice for a measly 5 yards. He was a total non-factor. [tag]Greg Davis[/tag] needs to get him more involved.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: B+

The highlight of the running back group is the emergence of a possible future star, [tag]Fozzy Whittaker[/tag]. Fozzy missed the first game with a knee injury but showed no signs of that against UTEP. Fozzy showed off his great lateral speed and ability to get around the corner in a hurry. He is the perfect compliment to the downhill slasher, [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag]. Fozzy ended up with 72 yards on 12 carries for an impressive 6.0 yards per rush average. Vondrell ended up with only 6 carriers and 18 yards. He better watch out, the way Fozzy ran Saturday, he better improve his production if he wants to see more action on the field.

Receivers – Overall Grade: A-

If you remember last week I was a little disappointed with [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag]’s performance. Well you can throw all of that away, because this week he had the game of his life against UTEP. Quan caught 8 passes for 154 yards, including one where he completely burned the cornerback for an easy touchdown. Tight end [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag] found the end zone again with a nice leaping touchdown up the middle in the second quarter. [tag]Dan Buckner[/tag] also scored a nice touchdown off of a Colt scramble, but his inability to get a push off of a much smaller corner ended up with Colt’s only interception. Dan has the size, he just needs to learn to be more physical around the goal line. [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] continued to show he is always a threat coming out of the backfield and is definitely a nice luxury to have on 3rd downs.

Defense – Overall Grade: C+

So how do you give up only 13 points and still get a C+? By letting a team move the ball on you the whole game. Well ok, maybe not the whole game, but at times UTEP moved the ball down the field with ease. Texas allowed 3 drives over 65 yards, 4 field goal attempts, and 1 touchdown. The young secondary again looked average at best. [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] is supposed to be the one all of the coaches were impressed with in practice. Well somehow he needs to figure out to translate his success in practice to the field.

The defensive played a decent game, but only started to dominate late in the game when they had finally worn out the UTEP offensive line. [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] did end up with 2 sacks, but with their size and speed they should have dominated the whole game. Linebacker [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] had a ridiculous game, racking up 14 tackles and returning a fumble 26 yards for a touchdown. Overall the linebackers played pretty decent.

Special Teams – Overall Grade: B+

Quan Cosby had an impressive game at the wide receiver position, but he also made an outstanding play on special teams. Quan caught a missed field goal right on the edge of the endzone and alertly returned the ball all the way to the UTEP 35 yard line. Texas scored easily and basically put away the game right there. The kick-offs were much improved from last week, but that is probably due to the high altitude in El Paso. We’ll see how that goes next week.

Overall – Overall Grade: B+

I give Texas the same rating as last week. Not too great, not too bad. They definitely need to sure up some things in the secondary, but luckily there is some time for them to improve. And besides, right now Colt is on fire and the offense is rolling, so let’s save the worrying for a few more weeks.

The [tag]UTEP[/tag] fans and players have likely had this weekend circled on the calendar for months. Their match-up against the Longhorns might be the biggest game they’ve ever played in the Sun Bowl. After the Miners’ loss to lowly Buffalo last week this game lost a little luster, but the Texas team still has plenty to work on both for this game and the rest of the season.

Read below for the Longhorns’ keys to beat the UTEP Miners:

1. Don’t sleepwalk to start the game.

A 9:15pm game time is not normal for the Texas players but they can’t let it affect the way they start the game. There’s going to be a lot more downtime for the team on gameday but the players need to find a way to get into their routine and be ready for the opening kickoff. If it takes Texas two quarters to wake up, UTEP will gain confidence and start believing the upset is possible.

2. Secondary play must improve.

The young secondary certainly looked inexperienced in the first half against FAU before they settled down a bit. UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe had a rough season opener but was great in 2007 and will test the pass defense. There have to be fewer mental mistakes and fewer missed tackles this week and the safeties in particular need to improve quickly. The passing defense may not hurt the Horns this week or even against Arkansas, but when the team travels to Colorado in October they better not be playing like freshmen anymore.

3. Get more big plays out of the running game.

[tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] and [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] were both solid last week but the longest run of the game came on a 25-yard scamper from QB [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]. The offense was near perfect but not explosive, this week it would be good to see McGee take one 30+ yards to the house. Getting the speedy [tag]Fozzy Whittaker[/tag] back will certainly help but he’s still not full strength yet.

4. Hit UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe.

The best way to help out the secondary is by getting after the quarterback. The defensive line did get decent pressure on FAU QB Rusty Smith but didn’t record a single sack. That has to change this week. Against UTEP the Horns will likely stay pretty vanilla on defense but the team should still be able to get to and hit Vittatoe repeatedly. I want to see at least one sack each from [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag], [tag]Henry Melton[/tag], and [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] Saturday night.

Obviously the Texas Longhorns were supposed to beat [tag]Florida Atlantic[/tag] pretty easily (24 point favorites), but I was a little worried about how they were going to perform with all of their young talent. But I must say that I came away from the game very impressed overall. The offense looked solid, the defense was decent, and they looked liked they were playing with some confidence. I am looking forward to seeing this team progress.

Now let’s look at how each position fared.

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A

If there were any doubts about how [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] would perform this year, he quickly put the naysayers to bed by completing his first 13 passes and 19 out of his first 20. And if that wasn’t enough he tacked on 100 yards rushing, joining [tag]Vince Young[/tag] as only the second player in school history with 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game. One of the best things about Colt’s running was he didn’t have that chicken-with-his-head-cutoff style he seemed to have perfected last year, but that he actually ran with a purpose. And luckily for us, he was even able to survive two very late cheap shots from the FAU linebackers on the sideline.

[tag]John Chiles[/tag] also got into the action as both QB and in the new “Q package” on offense. The Q package didn’t necessarily contribute to any big plays, but having Chiles out there with Colt at the same time definitely made the defense think a little extra. Hopefully will get to see this a little more throughout the season. Chiles also threw for his first touchdown, 29 yards down the middle to WR James Kirkendoll.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: B+

The running backs didn’t do anything to get me too excited, but [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag], [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag], and [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] all had solid games. All three scored touchdowns, and Ogbonnaya even caught 4 passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.

I must say I am a big fan of McGee and I think he has a lot of potential to be a great running back this year. He showed that he isn’t afraid to run up the middle, and also has the speed on the outside. McGee finished with 63 yards and 1 touchdown. Even though they split a lot of time at the running back position, I expect to see a few 100 yard games out of McGee this season.

Receivers – Overall Grade: B

It’s easy to have a good game as a wide receiver when the quarterback is on fire. Tight end [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag] had a stand-out game catching 7 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Irby seemed to be Colt’s safety valve throughout the game. [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] put in a solid performance, including a nice touchdown catch in the back of the end zone. I do hope to see some more production out of [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] in the next game. Cosby never really seemed to be a factor, and dropped a catchable ball from McCoy after a nice scramble.

Defense – Overall Grade: B-

It’s hard to give the defense a B- when they only allowed 10 points, but the secondary looked somewhat shaky throughout the game. Our young safeties struggled as expected, as redshirt freshman [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] got beat on several big plays. At least he helped to make up for it with a blocked punt. The front seven was actually pretty strong. Even though the defense did not record a sack, they were constantly putting pressure on FAU QB Rusty Smith and forcing him to make some hurried decisions. Muschamp definitely has some work to do with this defense, but one good sign is it looks like they responded well after giving up to early red zone drives.

Special Teams – Overall Grade: B-

Starting the game off by kicking it out-of-bounds is not something I wanted to see. I am not sure why we always struggle with the kick-off, but it is something they eventually need to correct. Quan Cosby was returning some punts, which is pretty scary considering he is one of our main receivers. Not sure we can handle an injury to Cosby at this point. Earl Thomas’ blocked punt was nice, and I think having Akina back focused on special teams will be a good thing this year.

Overall – Overall Grade: B+

Like I said, overall I was pretty impressed with the performance. The offense executed well and Colt looks like he is back on track. There are still some things we need to sure up on defense, but they are young and have a lot of potential to be very good.

Position Rating: C+
Starter: Vondrell McGee
Reserves: Foswhitt Whittaker, Chris Ogbonnaya

Going into spring practice [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] was the clear number one guy at running back but freshman Fozzy Whittaker’s big play ability has earned him a share of the job. The talent is there but the lack of experience brings down the group’s preseason grade.

McGee was the top running back in the state in the 2006 class and has been solid so far in his short career. He’ll be expected to carry the bulk of the load especially early in the season. Whittaker doesn’t have Jamaal Charles’ top end speed but does have the quickness and elusiveness to break big runs. Neither player has much experience, McGee’s 75 carries last season are the duo’s only career touches, but together they have the ability to make up for the loss of Charles to the NFL.

Senior [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] is a reliable backup who will again contribute as the team’s third down back. As a former fullback and wide receiver Chris is perfect for the role, providing blitz pickup help and a sure-handed outlet receiver out of the backfield. His experience and versatility bring stability to the running backs corps but he likely won’t be relied on to provide much offensive output.

Related Links

• Quarterbacks preview
• Wide Receivers preview
• Tight ends preview
• Offensive line preview
• Defensive tackles preview
• Defensive ends preview
• Linebackers preview
• Cornerbacks preview
• Safeties preview

Update: Download named rosters for NCAA Football 10. (7/23/2009)

NCAA Football 09 is less than a month away, the demo is up on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network, and player ratings are starting to make their way on to the Internet. EA Sports released the team top 25 and player ratings for all those teams.

I went through the list and put the players’ real names in where possible. I had trouble with a lot of the true freshmen in the game so if you know who any of the blank names are or if I made any mistakes please let me know in the comments. It really looks like EA did a poor job this year on the roster and depth chart. Hopefully it’s a little more accurate when the game is released.

You can download Excel files of the player ratings at the bottom of this post or check out the overall ratings for the Texas team below:

Real Name	Name	Year	Position	Rating
[tag]Buck Burnette[/tag]	C #66	Soph(RS)	C	78
	C #60	Fresh	C	72
[tag]Deon Beasley[/tag]	CB #7	Junior	CB	85
[tag]Ryan Palmer[/tag]	CB #13	Senior(RS)	CB	84
[tag]Curtis Brown[/tag]	CB #3	Soph	CB	83
[tag]Aaron Williams[/tag]	CB #26	Fresh	CB	80
[tag]Chykie Brown[/tag]	CB #8	Soph(RS)	CB	80
[tag]Earl Thomas[/tag]	CB #12	Fresh(RS)	CB	78
[tag]DJ Monroe[/tag]	CB #27	Fresh	CB	76
[tag]Roy Miller[/tag]	DT #99	Senior	DT	90
[tag]Jarvis Humphrey[/tag]	DT #96	Fresh	DT	80
[tag]Brian Ellis[/tag]	DT #90	Soph(RS)	DT	78
[tag]Ben Alexander[/tag]	DT #92	Junior	DT	76
[tag]Kheeston Randall[/tag]	DT #88	Fresh	DT	76
[tag]Chris Ogbonnayya[/tag]	FB #3	Senior(RS)	FB	93
[tag]Cody Johnson[/tag]	FB #31	Fresh(RS)	FB	72
[tag]Ben Wells[/tag]	FS #5	Fresh(RS)	FS	84
[tag]Christian Scott[/tag]	FS #6	Fresh(RS)	FS	77
[tag]Blake Gideon[/tag]	FS #21	Fresh	FS	77
[tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag]	HB #2	Soph(RS)	HB	85
[tag]DeSean Hales[/tag]	HB #30	Fresh	HB	80
[tag]Antwan Cobb[/tag]	HB #24	Soph(RS)	HB	79
[tag]Fozzy Whittaker[/tag]	HB #22	Fresh(RS)	HB	78
[tag]Jeremy Hills[/tag]	HB #32	Fresh	HB	76
[tag]Tre Newton[/tag]	HB #23	Fresh	HB	73
[tag]Hunter Lawrence[/tag]	K #15	Junior	K	82
[tag]Justin Tucker[/tag]	K #9	Fresh	K	69
[tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag]	LE #33	Junior	LE	91
[tag]Aaron Lewis[/tag]	LE #95	Senior	LE	85
[tag]Henry Melton[/tag]	LE #37	Senior	LE	80
[tag]Charlie Tanner[/tag]	LG #52	Junior(RS)	LG	86
[tag]Tray Allen[/tag]	LG #70	Soph	LG	82
[tag]Chris Hall[/tag]	LG #71	Junior(RS)	LG	81
[tag]Aundre McGaskey[/tag]	LG #76	Fresh(RS)	LG	74
[tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag]	LOLB #2	Junior	LOLB	85
	LOLB #16	Fresh	LOLB	80
	LOLB #57	Fresh	LOLB	76
[tag]David Snow[/tag]	LT #78	Fresh	LT	78
[tag]Britt Mitchell[/tag]	LT #72	Soph(RS)	LT	78
[tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag]	MLB #44	Senior(RS)	MLB	90
[tag]Jared Norton[/tag]	MLB #11	Junior	MLB	85
[tag]Trevor Gerland[/tag]	P #17	Junior(RS)	P	83
[tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]	QB #12	Junior(RS)	QB	89
[tag]Sherrod Harris[/tag]	QB #17	Soph(RS)	QB	81
[tag]John Chiles[/tag]	QB #7	Soph	QB	79
[tag]Eddie Jones[/tag]	RE #32	Soph(RS)	RE	92
[tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag]	RE #98	Senior(RS)	RE	90
[tag]Russell Carter[/tag]	RE #97	Fresh(RS)	RE	77
[tag]Cedric Dockery[/tag]	RG #55	Senior(RS)	RG	89
[tag]Michael Huey[/tag]	RG #63	Soph	RG	81
[tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag]	ROLB #38	Junior(RS)	ROLB	87
[tag]Keenan Robinson[/tag]	ROLB #53	Fresh(RS)	ROLB	82
	ROLB #4	Fresh	ROLB	75
[tag]Adam Ulatoski[/tag]	RT #74	Junior(RS)	RT	85
[tag]Mark Buchanan[/tag]	RT #54	Fresh	RT	74
[tag]Ishie Oduegwu[/tag]	SS #19	Junior(RS)	SS	88
[tag]Nolan Brewster[/tag]	SS #36	Fresh	SS	79
[tag]Peter Ullman[/tag]	TE #86	Senior(RS)	TE	81
[tag]Ahmard Howard[/tag]	TE #13	Fresh(RS)	TE	74
[tag]Blaine Irby[/tag]	TE #19	Soph	TE	73
[tag]Quan Cosby[/tag]	WR #6	Senior	WR	89
[tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag]	WR #8	Senior(RS)	WR	84
[tag]Montre Webber[/tag]	WR #14	Soph(RS)	WR	83
[tag]Dan Buckner[/tag]	WR #4	Fresh	WR	79
[tag]Malcolm Williams[/tag]	WR #9	Fresh(RS)	WR	78
[tag]DJ Grant[/tag]	WR #80	Fresh	WR	75
[tag]Antoine Hicks[/tag]	WR #81	Fresh	WR	75
[tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag]	WR #87	Soph	WR	74

Downloads

• Texas player ratings
• Full top 25 player ratings

Receiving his T-Ring: Chris Ogbonnaya. Chris discusses the honor of getting his degree and earning his ring.

Summer update on Chris Ogbonnaya from MB-TF. Even just on 3rd downs Chris will make a big impact this season.

Biggest question for the Texas offense is who will replace Charles. Vondrell McGee, Fozzy Whittaker and Chris Ogbonnaya are main options.

I’ll be posting periodic updates, comments, and vulgarity as the game goes on. It’s kickoff time and I’m as fired up as I’ve been since early on in the season. Let’s see how the Horns respond to a little adversity.

First Quarter

• 2 seconds in to the game and it’s clear Brent Musberger didn’t do any preparation. Brutally mispronounces [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag]’s name and then calls [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] the name of some random walk on. Houston takes the very short pooch kick off and the Horns start the game off with the ball out at the 50.
• Looked like a bad read by [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] on the zone read. Picks up close to 10 yards though and the Horns have a 3rd and 3. Big play as the team really needs to get going early.
• 3rd and short run that the line did a terrible job blocking on but [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] breaks it for a 15 yard game.
• [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] is right. Charles was hit out of bounds down low and that should have been a penalty.
• Bad awareness by [tag]Nate Jones[/tag]. He was wide open but let himself drift out of the back of the end zone. Announcers have good comment though about how the design of the end zone in the stadium could be confusing.
• [tag]Greg Davis[/tag] is a gosh damn genius!!!!!!! WoooOoo! Touchdown [tag]Derek Lokey[/tag] for the touchdown!!! That a boy! Bill Belichick would be proud.

Arizona State 0, Texas 7

• The team really looks fired up. Let’s hope that results in some inspired play, and no let down once that energy wears off.
• [tag]Jared Norton[/tag], [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag], and [tag]Scott Derry[/tag] are the starters at linebacker. That might shut some Internet coaches up (for a few minutes.)
• And Norton is already hurt. Damnit.
• Defensive package on 3rd and long includes only 3 down lineman, [tag]Drew Kelson[/tag] and [tag]Deon Beasley[/tag] in there as extra pass defenders. Nice new look.
• Designed QB draw play. I don’t mind McCoy scrambling (in fact he’s been darn good at it this season) but not sure we should be calling too many first quarter QB runs in the huddle.
• As Musberger talks about [tag]Chris Hall[/tag] I just noticed that freshman [tag]Kyle Hix[/tag] is getting the start at right tackle and they’ve moved [tag]Adam Ulatoski[/tag] to the left side.
• [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] on the reverse pass. Not really anybody open and Cosby does the smart thing and just throws it away. Or maybe it twas just a terrible throw. The play wasn’t blocked well and the receivers were all covered as well.
• [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] in there on this series. Norton back in there as well.
• Fumble! Maybe. They called it a fumble on the field at least as corner [tag]Brandon Foster[/tag] appears to rip the ball out as the ASU running back falls to the ground. Looks like he had it out before his knee was down and doesn’t look like there’s 100% evidence of the contrary. Replay confirms, Texas ball!
• Hot damn! Hey there [tag]John Chiles[/tag], I vaguely remember you buddy. The young dual threat QB is in there and on the first play Charles takes the zone read hand off close to 50 yards. On the very Next play Chiles keeps it on the same play off the left end for the touchdown! (Psst… where has this been all year?)

Arizona State 0, Texas 14

• In case you hadn’t noticed, yes I’m about 5 minutes behind live on the DVR. I’ll be caught up after one or two commercial breaks.
• Wonder what the wind situation is like. [tag]Hunter Lawrence[/tag]’s kickoffs have all been pretty short.
• Has Roger Clemens hired investigator to “discredit Brian McNamee” or two prove that he didn’t take steroids? Those are two very different things.
• Not only did senior [tag]Robert Killebrew[/tag] not get the start at linebacker but I haven’t seen him in on defense at all yet tonight. Two series in a row where it’s nothing but the young guys and Derry is off the field as well.
• [tag]Erick Jackson[/tag] got really burned on a deep pass but gets back just in time because of the underthrown ball (and maybe a little early) and the ball is tipped up and safety [tag]Marcus Griffin[/tag] has the ball come right to him for the interception.
• I like the fair catch trash talk by the ASU punt returner. “Did you see the way I waved my arm and caught the ball. You can’t handle this!”
• Killebrew, Derry, and [tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag] in there for this series.
• Can Musberger get anyone’s name right? It’s Dick Tomey, not Toomey. Dufus.
• Finally. McCoy scrambles and throws deep on the run and get its to his open receiver Cosby for a huge 55 yard gain. That a boy Colt.
• And Charles runs tough and right through the Sun Devils’ defense for the 15-yard TD run. Heck of a run and refusal to get tackled by one guy. The Horns are now up 3 scores and it’s still the first quarter. Come on guys keep this up, don’t let an ASU score or anything swing this momentum.

Arizona State 0, Texas 21

• Veteran linebackers in for second series in a row. [tag]Henry Melton[/tag] getting some early playing time at defensive end.
• Bobino shaken up. Now both middle linebackers have needed to be helped up by the medical staff but both were able to walk off on their own power.
• We’re bring multiple linebackers on every play and if we don’t start getting to Carpenter a step quicker we could be in trouble.

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The Texas Longhorns held their annual football banquet Friday night (photos) where they honored team members for their accomplishments on and off the field. Though fans and recruits do attend, the event is definitely a night for the players to look back on the season and to honor the careers of the outgoing seniors.

Quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and running back [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] were deservedly named the team MVPs. McCoy didn’t have as good of a season as he did his freshman year but he definitely is the player that made this team go (when it went anywhere). Charles was also named Darrell K. Royal Most Valuable Offensive Player while the Mike Campbell Most Valuable Defensive Players were [tag]Brandon Foster[/tag] and [tag]Marcus Griffin[/tag].

In a team vote [tag]Dallas Griffin[/tag], [tag]Tony Hills[/tag], and [tag]Derek Lokey[/tag] were honored with the D. Harold Byrd Leadership Award. Also, in a shocking development quarterback McCoy was given the Outstanding Quarterback Award.

In a move that infuriated Internet Coaching and Motivational Experts [tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag], [tag]Scott Derry[/tag], and [tag]Robert Killebrew[/tag] shared the honor of being the team’s Outstanding Linebackers. I’m not sure what else you can really do though as no linebacker really deserved the honor and it would be pretty embarrassing to not hand out an award for the position.

A list of all the award winners is after the jump.

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