40 Acres Sports

Colt McCoy, protect the football, and secondary depth.

Stats weren’t overwhelming but he played well under big time pressure.

Colt may not be Vince, but early on he’s a more efficient passer.

The final score against [tag]Rice[/tag] wasn’t close and the game was over by halftime, but picking guys as players of the game was surprisingly difficult. There were solid performances from multiple guys on both sides of the ball and most of the big guys only played about a half. As for the play of the game, with several big gainers in a game that got out of hand quickly I chose a play that could end up being a signal of what the offense is capable of.

Players of the Game

Offense – [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] even with only eight carries put up the biggest game Saturday, 110 yards with an average of a whopping 13.6 yards per carry and a TD is a hell of a day. He even ripped off the team’s longest run of the year with a carry of 46 yards. The team had three runs of over 35 yards, hopefully the big plays continue against some stiffer competition.

Defense – [tag]Tim Crowder[/tag] edges out a surprising Scott Derry. Crowder finished with seven solo tackles (eight total), seven tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and he recovered a fumble for his first career touchdown. You can’t ask for a much better day out of defensive lineman. He was in the Rice backfield on seemingly every play and was a big reason the Owls finished the game with -12 yards rushing. He’s been a consistent force all season.

Play of the Game

The most important play against Rice wasn’t the most explosive play of the day and didn’t result in points, but does tells us a lot about the future of this offense this season. Here’s this week’s play of the game:

On the play [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] hits freshman tight end [tag]Jermichael Finley[/tag] for a 22-yard completion on the first pass attempt of the game. McCoy makes a good read and throw to Finley who is running a 15-yard out. McCoy drops the pass in nicely and Finley makes a leaping grab on a ball a little behind him. It was the first completion to a tight end of the season and something I hope to see a lot more of. It’s important that the young quarterbacks have solid tight ends to rely on. Hopefully this isn’t the last time this season we see these two hook up.

The hype surrounding this game was unreal. The atmosphere in Austin before the game was incredible. The tailgating was off the charts (more pictures and details of that to come later). Too bad the game let us down. Texas looked like they came out with the same lack of effort as they did against North Texas. The only guy on the team that looked like he was working hard was Selvin Young.

And I still don’t understand why we stopped running the ball? We were absolutely killing them on the run, yet I don’t know how many times we threw a pass on first down or some little weak screen. Why not run the ball until they prove they can stop it? All in all, we definitely got outplayed and had poor execution of game plan (if there was one). [tag]Ohio State[/tag] doesn’t look unbeatable, but they were the far better team this past Saturday.

Now for the breakdown of I how I graded the positions:

Quarterback – Overall Grade: C

[tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] came back down to reality this week in the first big game of his career. You shouldn’t expect too much from a freshman quarterback playing his second game in college against the #1 team in the nation, and he proved why. Colt never really made a big mistake (except for that interception), but he never did anything good either. And I know this isn’t really his fault, but the amount of screens and 5 yard passes he threw just got ridiculous. Can we please see a 30 yard pass? The one positive thing I have to say about Colt though, is that everytime he was hit (and he got hit hard) he bounced right back up and didn’t let it affect him.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: A-

You definitely can’t blame the running backs for this loss. Texas rushed for 172 yards and averaged 6 yards per carry. [tag]Selvin Young[/tag] continues to show that he worked hard over the summer and ran for 94 yards for an impressive 8.5 yards per carry. Jamaal had a pretty good night as well, going for 70 yards. The only problem was out of their control, they simply did not get the ball enough. When you are averaging 6 yards per carry, you don’t throw the ball 32 times. Make Ohio State stop the running attack, then throw the ball down-field.

Wide Receivers – Overall Grade: C-

I think the receivers saw a lot more action than they were expecting. Most of the time you would think they would like that. However I doubt they really enjoyed catching a screen or 5 yard pass and then getting nailed by the defense. Ohio State really concentrated their efforts on Sweed and had some extra coverage on him most of the night, although when he was actually able to break away he did make some good plays. But with a play-maker like that you need to figure out a way to get him the ball.

Pittman’s fumble came about as bad a time as possible. Texas was pounding the ball down the Buckeyes throat, about to score, and Pittman fumbles the ball at the 2. Imagine how pumped the crowd would be scoring first, instead Ohio State is scoring 5 plays later. And where is Jermichael Finley? He needs to figure out a way to get the ball more and make the catch when it finally does come to him.

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First off, it was one of the hottest games that I have ever been to. The temperature was around 100 degrees and there was basically no breeze what-so-ever. As far as the game went, Texas obviously dominated a weaker [tag]North Texas[/tag] team, but I came away a little under-impressed with Texas’ performance. The offensive unit didn’t seem to have much of a spark, and there were really no plays that had any sort of wow factor. With that said, here is how I graded the performances:

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A-

[tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] started the game off quickly with a 60 yard touchdown pass to Limas Sweed on the third play of the game. Colt threw for two more touchdowns, added one on the ground, and threw for 178 yards. Overall I was impressed with Colt’s calmness on the field. He didn’t seem nervous at all and most of his throws were on the money (although a few of passes seemed to float on him a little). [tag] Jevan Snead[/tag] didn’t seem to be as relaxed as McCoy, but he still made some decent throws. And a few of his incompletions were definitely the receivers’ fault.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: A

There really should be an asterisk next to this grade, as the defense for North Texas was so weak it was hard to get a good feel for just how good the Texas’ backs were running. But with that said, the running backs looked good. [tag]Selvin Young[/tag] looks like a new man out there, showing off his regained speed. Young scored one touchdown on the ground and added another one receiving (did he embarrass that defender or what?). [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] ran for 77 yards and a score, but for some reason I was expecting a little more flash from him. I kept waiting for him to break one for a 50 yard gain. Colt actually had the longest running play of the day with a 27 yard scamper he almost broke for a touchdown.

Receivers – Overall Grade: C

I was pretty disappointed with the performance of the receivers, aside from [tag]Limas Sweed[/tag] that is. Sweed definitely did his part, going for a career best 111 yards and added 2 scores. Other than Sweed however, there were way too many dropped passes. Hardy dropped a couple I can remember and even Pittman dropped a pretty easy pass. Snead’s interception was also the result of a pass that was tipped off of Jordan Shipley’s hands. I expect this was all just nerves, but I hope they all get over it because this can’t happen against Ohio State.

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Let’s all go drink some malt liquor and celebrate.

I can’t wait for the reverse pass back to Colt McCoy for the TD at the end of the movie.

Good article on Colt McCoy, his on field skills, and what Vince taught him.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Vince Young has scheduled a press conference for 3pm today and will announce he is headed for the NFL. Young will reportedly sign with Steve McNair’s agent Bus Cook.

Obviously disappointing news for Longhorn fans but probably the best decision for Vince. His stock is about as high as anyone’s could get right now and he’s probably got a chance for some endorsements coming off his legendary Rose Bowl performance. Also, the hometown Houston Texans are drafting number one overall and his mentor McNair’s Tennessee Titans are sitting at number three. I think things are setting up for him to head to the Titans and spend a year or two learning under McNair (who is unsigned but looks close to completing a deal) while he finishes up his career.

Young’s departure would leave the Horns unbelievably thin and inexperienced at the quarterback position for next season. Redshirt freshman Colt McCoy would be the only scholarship QB on campus right now and he’s never taken a snap. Fortunately, blue chip recruit Jevan Snead will also be on campus this Spring and will have a chance to go through practices with the team. Snead performed very well in yesterday’s US Army All-American Bowl and will compete for the starting job. We’ll have a complete look at the Longhorn depth chart for 2006 sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Again, tough news if true but we wish him the best and will immediately become fans of whatever team he ends up with.

Update

It’s official, good luck Vince.

Update 2

Just to clear something up, I didn’t mention Sherrod Harris, the other QB recruit coming in, because unlike Snead he won’t be here in the Spring and I think that puts him well behind McCoy and Snead. He definitely has the skills and smarts to make an impact at Texas but he’s more of a project and might not be able to compete for the position immediately.