40 Acres Sports

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
	#10 Ohio St. (10-2) vs. #3 Texas (11-1) Jan. 5, 7:00 p.m. (Fox) Favorite: Texas by 8

The Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes will face each other for the third time in the last four seasons on January 5th in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Splitting the home-and-home series back in 2005 and 2006, the two teams will get the chance to settle the score on the field. The Longhorns are disappointed to be here while the Buckeyes have been embarrassed the last two seasons in BCS championship games, which team will show up in Glendale, Arizona motivated and ready?

As in seasons past, Ohio State relies on a dominating defense and their running game to win games. Behind captains and All-Americans James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins the OSU defense is in the top 10 nationally in several categories including total defense and scoring defense. On the other side of the football true freshman blue chipper Terrelle Pryor has started at quarterback since the USC loss and got better every week. Pryor is good, but running back Chris “Beanie” Wells is both the star and the workhouse who lugged it for over 1,000 yards this season despite missing three games.

The Horns are of course led by Heisman finalist QB [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]. McCoy and the Texas offense lit up scoreboards all season long even without a consistent rushing attack. McCoy found his favorite targets [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] and [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] to the tune of 3,445 yards and 32 TDs while blowing away Daunte Culpepper’s completion percentage record. The Texas defense has been re-energized by head coach in waiting [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag]. Thanks to the outstanding play by Nagurski Trophy winner [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] and [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] the defense has been a strength despite extreme youth in the secondary. They match-up well against the Buckeyes as the nation’s number two rushing defense.

Players to Watch

Texas: QB Colt McCoy, WR Jordan Shipley, LB Sergio Kindle, LB Roddrick Muckelroy
Ohio State: QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Beanie Wells, LB James Laurinaitis, CB Malcolm Jenkins

40 Acres Fiesta Bowl Coverage

• Bowl Game Looms Large for Texas Team
• Five Longhorns to watch: Fiesta Bowl
• Three redshirt freshmen don’t make trip to Fiesta Bowl
• Some Players need to step up in Bowl Practices

Related Stories

• ESPN Accuscore prediction: Texas 32, Ohio State 25
• Title solidifies Brown’s standing
• Buckeyes are aware of lack of respect
• Big D in Texas?
• Ranking the bowls

Related Videos

• Mack Brown press conference
• ESPN Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Breakdown

Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com talk about the upcoming Fiesta Bowl match-up between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes. Will Texas be able to get motivated for the game after a disappointing end to the season? Will OSU’s Terrelle Pryor be able to shine on a national state, or will Texas QB [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] outplay him both passing and running the football?

Over the last several days Texas football players [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag], [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag], and [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] have brought in several All-American honors. Orakpo in particular has brought in four such honors including a first team AP All-American award today. Check out the list of honors below:

[tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]

• Second team AP All-American
• First team Football Writers (FWAA) All-American
• First team Walter Camp All-American

[tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag]

• First team AP All-American
• First team Football Writers (FWAA) All-American
• First team Walter Camp All-American
• AFCA Coaches’ All-America

[tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag]

• Third team AP All-American

From last week before the Heisman presentation but I missed it, [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] on the Jim Rome Show:

Fans knew it would be close but the final 2008 [tag]Heisman[/tag] voting came down to 151 points between the first and third place finishers. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford ended up edging out Texas quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] to take home this season’s Heisman Trophy. The two Big 12 QBs didn’t get the most first place votes (that honor fell to third place finisher Tim Tebow) but Bradford pulled in enough place votes to “earn” the trophy.

The final voting totals for the top three are below:

Kirk Herbstreit and Co. discuss how the voting broke down right after the presentation:

It wouldn’t surprise me if both Bradford and Tebow test the NFL draft waters but if they don’t we could see these same three finalists again next December. McCoy is coming back for sure and will certainly be at the top of a very short list of Heisman favorites in 2009.

Colt McCoy will return for his senior season

Texas’ hopes for the 2009 season just got a lot higher. Junior quarterback (and Heisman leader) [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] told the Austin American-Statesman today that he would be staying at UT for his senior season. Here’s the Bevo Beat story:

Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy will stay for his senior season.

McCoy told the American-Statesman of his decision Monday.

“I’m not going anywhere,” McCoy said.

McCoy said he wants to play for a national championship, after falling one spot short of the title game this season.

“I’m coming back because we have a solid coaching staff,” he said. “And I’m coming back because I feel like I can develop the young receivers we have.”

McCoy said he will not “initiate” an evaluation with the NFL underclassmen committee. He said his coaches may ask for an evaluation for informational purposes, but he does not plan on asking them to do so.

McCoy is a redshirt junior. After this semester, he’ll have 12 hours remaining before he graduates. He said he’s planning on doing an internship this summer and will take a final course next fall, then graduate.

Freaking. Fantastic. News.

It can’t be overstated how important this is for the Longhorns in 2009. [tag]John Chiles[/tag] improved by leaps and bounds this season but he’s not ready to lead this team where they’re capable of going. This team should be in this year’s title game and (depending on who returns at OU) and with McCoy returning will likely be one of the top three teams in next year’s preseason polls. The Longhorns are less than a month away from playing in the [tag]Fiesta Bowl[/tag] and I’m already fired up for next season.

Colt McCoy once again carried the Horns on his back

Texas did everything they could on Thanksgiving night beating the Aggies 49-9. The defense was dominant and [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] may have secured the Heisman Trophy. The Longhorns wait to see how the BCS situation shakes out while we look at the top 11 performers from Thursday night.

1. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] – McCoy bounced back from a turnover filled sophomore season with arguably the best season a Texas quarterback has ever experienced. Texas A&M had been the bugaboo for the junior star until Thursday night. McCoy did everything once again for the Longhorns accounting for four total touchdowns and over 300 yards passing. He continued to be Texas’ number one running threat while completing his passes at a record breaking clip. Texas needed to impress the voters and their quarterback made sure they did.

2. [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] – There are a lot of players that deserved the top spot on Texas’ defense but Sergio is going to get the nod. Kindle was everywhere on the night showing off his unfair athletic ability. Kindle has found his home coming off the edge for the Longhorn defense but showed Thursday night the ability to play in space. The former Dallas prep star finished with five tackles, three of which were for losses, and a sack against the overmatched Aggies. Aggie quarterback Stephen McGee thought he had something to say after Kindle’s sack but quickly realized it would have been a very bad idea.

3. [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] – The soon to be first round pick made a huge impact in his first extended game action since the injury he suffered in the Texas Tech game. Orakpo is the most physically dominating player on the field every time he steps on the field. Even facing double teams and chips from running backs and tight ends, Orakpo is able to disrupt seemingly every play. He finished with a sack and a half and added four more recorded quarterback hits. The pressure the front four produces allows the secondary to get better each week.

4. [tag]Brandon Collins[/tag] – Seemingly all year long the young receivers have taken turns making an impact as the third receiver for the Longhorn offense. It was Collins’ turn this week. Collins had a team high 103 yards on a tied for team high six receptions. The sophomore did most of his damage on middle screens out of the spread set. His 20 yard touchdown catch in the second quarter gave the Longhorn offense the momentum it needed to get the scoring rolling. Texas would score a touchdown on the next four possessions.

5. [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] – There will be no more questions on Earl Thomas’ speed. The freshman safety made two jaw dropping plays on the night, one being when he caught speedy Mike Goodson on what appeared to be a 90+ yard touchdown reception. Despite a bad angle Thomas caught Goodson and let him know about it. Thomas gives the secondary an edge and was in on a number plays on Thursday night in both the run and pass game. Thomas has bounced back from the end of the Texas Tech game with three outstanding performances from his safety position.

6. [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] – The senior made his last game in DKR a memorable one by catching one of McCoy’s two touchdown passes. Cosby was one of the few players on this team that got on the field in the win over USC in 2005, so I’m sure he was happy to see the team back on top. Cosby has been McCoy’s rock all season and continued to come up with key third down and red zone completions. Cosby finished with six catches and 80 yards to go along with the touchdown.

7. [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] – It is hard to account for two touchdowns and over 100 yards on the ground and not earn top five ranking but the truth of the matter is that Johnson’s yards came mostly when the game was out of reach. The big guy in the backfield did show some impressive speed on his 61 yard run late in the game. Johnson has continued to be excellent in his role as short yardage back, but could be so much more for this team moving forward if he can get his weight down 10 pounds or so. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff uses the red-shirt freshman in the bowl workouts and in the Spring.

8. [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] – Texas A&M managed to gain -24 yards rushing on the night. Texas’ run defense has been ranked in the top five all season in yards given up per game and while a lot of that may be attributed to the offenses that are ran in the Big 12 the man playing the best week in and week out against the run has been Roddrick Muckelroy. The junior is becoming one of the best linebackers in the [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] era. He leads the team in tackles on the year and seems to do so in every game. Muckelroy finished with a tie for the team lead with six tackles, including one for a loss.

9. [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] – Shipley had a quiet day by his standards for most of the game against the Aggies, but was able to come up with the highlight of the game on a 68 yard catch over the middle to set up a first and goal. Colt McCoy’s roommate, in case you didn’t know, caught for balls for 85 yards. Shipley seemed to be the focal point for the A&M defense which allowed other players, such as Collins, to step up. Did you know Shipley and McCoy go fishing and hunting together?

10. [tag]Roy Miller[/tag] – Roy Miller has played great in the middle all season for Texas. His impact cannot be measured by looking at the box score, but he finished with two tackles, a pass breakup, and two quarterback hits. Texas A&M could get nothing going up the middle from the run or screen game for the entire 60 minutes. Miller must be given credit for his lead blocking on short yardage situations for the offense as well.

11. [tag]David Snow[/tag] – Didn’t hear his name on Thursday? That is a good thing. With no fanfare at all the true freshman has stepped in to play center for a potential national championship team and nobody has even noticed. Texas continues to struggle in the run game and has not protected McCoy as well as they would like but Snow has stepped up tremendously with [tag]Chris Hall[/tag] injured. It is likely Hall will be back for the bowl game, and in that case Snow will get snaps at guard on top of backup center.

It was a thing of beauty Thursday night as the Longhorns put the Aggies back in their place with a 49 – 9 thumping in front of a national Turkey Day audience. The Texas defense was completely dominant in the first half and the offense was led by an incredible night running and throwing by quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]. We won’t know till Sunday if it was enough but Mack Brown’s kids won with both class and style, something that should make any Longhorn proud.

Watch the highlights:

Will the Longhorns avoid a third straight upset?

The Texas Longhorns are 35-point favorites on Turkey Day against the Texas A&M Aggies and they might need to win by even more than that to impress the voters and hold onto their number two BCS ranking. The two rivals face off on Thanksgiving Day for the first time since 1993 when one of the Aggies many transgressions landed them with TV restrictions due to NCAA penalties. This year the Aggies are again playing with nothing to lose, can the Horns avoid another upset? Will they come out and earn enough “style points” to win a Big 12 South title and a chance for a national title? Find out how bad the Aggies will lose below:

Brian – Lots of poll watching and complaining by Texas fans this week but none of that will matter if the team doesn’t take care of business Thursday night. The last three seasons the Horns have been big favorites but didn’t come out strong and let the Aggies stay in the game. This year Texas needs to put some early points on the board against an overmatched team and never give them any hope. The Texas defense might give up a few points but the offense is going to have a field defense against a team that gave up 41 to [tag]Baylor[/tag]. Yes, Baylor! Quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] is looking for payback and his first win over A&M and he’s going to have a huge game in front of a national audience both passing and running. Texas 56 – Texas A&M 20

Matt – A lot more than just the usual rivalry bragging rights are on the line this Thanksgiving against Aggy. First and foremost is the fact that Texas currently sits at the #2 spot in the BCS and is desperate need of some style points with an impressive win (I am thinking by 40 or more). [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] will likely jump Texas no matter what with a win, but we can use all the help we can get. Second is the fact that Colt McCoy has yet to beat Aggy in his ridiculous career at Texas (probably the only thing he hasn’t done). I think these two scenarios make for a huge Texas win, as they will be looking to dominate this game. I am thinking 50+. Hopefully they don’t eat too much turkey before. Texas 60 – Texas A&M 10

Mike – Texas has every reason to blow out Texas A&M. The Longhorns enter the game with a slim lead over Oklahoma for the Big 12 tie breaker, and oh yeah, the Aggies have beaten the Longhorns for the last two seasons. At least one of the losses cost UT a conference championship and a BCS bowl. [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] is usually hesitant to embarrass an opponent by leaving in his starters and running up the score, but this week holds special circumstances. His team needs style points because it looks like who goes to Kansas City next week will be determined by who plays best this week. The Longhorns get the first shot to impress the voters on Thanksgiving night in front of a national audience. Texas needs to win dominantly from the opening snap to the closing one. In years past I’d be worried about how Texas would respond to such pressure but with the leadership on the team combined with the passion the coaching staffs brought to this squad I have no doubts this one is going to get ugly. Colt McCoy will have a huge day that will move him to the front of the Heisman race and the Longhorns will make it real tough for voters to put OU in front of them on Sunday. Texas 55 – Texas A&M 13

Obviously this year’s Texas vs. Texas A&M football game has more on the line than just bragging rights. The Longhorns enter the game at number two in the BCS, but hold such a slight lead in the standings that many worry that an [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] win over [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] will propel the Sooners into the Big 12 Championship game and with that into the National Title game.

On top of all the BCS hoopla, Texas also wants to erase the memory of the Aggies ruining their last two seasons. The Aggies are awful, but they were for the last two years so the focus for [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] and his staff has been to keep their players focused on the task at hand. There are some aspects of this puzzle that the football team can control and some that they can’t. The Longhorns must focus all their energy on what they can control.

For this week’s preview we look at what the Longhorns must do to sway a few voters back their way.

1. Beat the Hell out of A&M. The fans yell it, the team must do it. Even if the BCS wasn’t in the picture the recent history of this game should give these players enough motivation to put it on the Aggies. There is no doubt Texas has had the better team the last two years, but there is also little doubt who wanted the game more. A&M have been more physical than the Longhorns over that stretch and in football the team that hits the other in the mouth first usually has the upper hand. Keep in mind that while players like [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] have beaten the Sooners twice in their career, they have not beaten A&M. Texas needs to do it big this week.
2. Don’t let up. Mack Brown is a nice guy. Too nice at times. Coaches like Bob Stoops and Mike Leach make no bones about putting up big points even when the game is well out of reach. And while common sense would suggest that the voters would understand that a win is a win style points do count. There is no doubt that Oklahoma will put a as many points as they can if given the opportunity on Saturday night in Stillwater and Texas must do the same on Thanksgiving night. Texas needs to let their players play the whole game and put up over 60 points. All the voters know that Texas beat OU head to head, but many have given the nod to the Sooners in the polls because they feel Oklahoma has been more dominant in the last few games. Texas needs to put up a huge score on Thursday because the vote on Sunday will likely come down to who looks better this week.
3. Run the ball. Oklahoma is being viewed as the better team because people feel they have more ways to beat you. Last week against Texas Tech the Sooners did something Texas couldn’t do. They controlled the line of scrimmage and moved the ball on the ground at will. Voters, especially the coaches, want to see balance. Texas has not had balance this year unless the running comes from McCoy. With [tag]Foswhitt Whittaker[/tag] back in the mix and the emergence of a health [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag], the Longhorn running game has improved over the last few weeks. The Longhorns need to be able to run the ball when the other team, the announcers, and everybody watching knows they are about to run it. The Longhorns have struggled with that this year, but voting is a what have you done for me lately job and if Texas can come out and dominate it will erase a lot of the concerns people have had about the UT offense all season long.
4. Shutout. It might be a little much to ask for a shutout, but this team needs something close to that to impress the voters. I think most people consider Texas’ and OU’s offense on par with each other. Oklahoma gets the advantage in most people’s mind because of a perceived opinion that the Sooner defense is better than Texas’. A score of 42-6 would help Texas more than say a score of 65-24. Texas needs to be dominant in every aspect of the game, but a complete whipping of the Aggies on defense would impress the voters tremendously. All eyes will be on Texas this weekend and [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] needs to prove why he is being selected as the next head coach at Texas.
5. Remind the voters 45 – 35. This is going to be on the fans. Mack Brown and his staff have rightfully put all the week’s energy on beating A&M. It will be up to the fans on Thursday night to get the word out that what happens on the field should matter the most. It can be done with chants of “45 – 35” and with the signs that the Longhorn nation is looking to print out and distribute to all the people in attendance. When the cameras go into the stands in between plays or coming back from commercials the viewers at home need to be bombarded with evidence of the victory at The Fair Grounds.

Even with all this done it might not be enough to stay in front of Oklahoma, but at least UT would have done everything they could to get there. If the Big 12 Championship is OU vs. [tag]Missouri[/tag] it will be a match up of two teams Texas beat by double digits on the year. The Longhorns have over achieved for much of the year and deserve to catch a break. Hopefully they will this weekend. No matter what happens just remember: Go Baylor Bears.