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 Sooners.

Pre-Game (15:00) WTH Defer?! Is it me or do we lack that killer instinct? What a great opportunity to take a young team and attack on offensive first after winning the coin toss. Horns chose to defer to the second half. I will defer to the 96,000 plus in attendance, but I believe no one liked the choice of shirt by Mack Brown with the Longhorn on the pocket.

1st Quarter (9:30) WTH McCoy?! This would be the first of many turnovers for the Longhorns. A sack and subsequent fumble by Case McCoy was later turned into an OU field goal. I guess Case forgot his horseshoe. Great job by the defense to bend but not break in the first quarter, but that was about the change quickly.

2nd Quarter (15:00) WTH Diaz?! Understand that you were trying to play coverage most of the day, but there were no blitzes of memory that were up the middle to disrupt the timing of Landry Jones. An easy lob over the UT defense to Kenny (crazy hair) Stills was a sign of bad things to come to start the second quarter.

2nd Quarter (2:50) WTH Ash?! The Horns are a young team… young team… young team (trying to justify the mistakes). I just wish they had not made a whole season’s worth in one game. David Ash was trying to make something happen by throwing across his body to the waiting arms of OU Demontre Hurst who rambled 55 yards for the first of three defensive touchdowns to establish the Red River Rout.

2nd Quarter (2:38) WTH Cap’n America?! One of the few bright spots was Fozzy Whittaker (aka Captain America) 100 yard kickoff return to bring the north side of the stadium to its feet. Thanks Fozzy for the highlight.

2nd Quarter (:31) WTH Dagger?! After the kickoff return by Fozzy, the OU offense dialed up a quick 8 play drive to the end zone to retake the mojo for a 34-10 lead into halftime.

3rd Quarter (8:12) WTH One Play?! I have heard of offensive efficiency but this is ridiculous. OU Dominic Whaley takes the hand off at its own 36 and is never touched for a 64 yard touchdown. I guess every play is drawn up to score… this one did.

4th Quarter (12:29) WTH Davis?! I am sorry kid but I am going to have to bust you on this one. The OU defensive back rips the ball away from Mike Davis and takes it 56 yards to the house. I thought our problem was not catching the ball, now we have to hope you hold on to it?!

Next up for the Longhorns are the Cowboys as they host to Oklahoma State for the game on Oct. 15th.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at 40AcresSports or follow me at Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

Last night we were treated to a show in Ames, Iowa when the Longhorns came in and started from the onset of annihilating the Iowa State Cyclones. It was a steady dose of passing and running throughout the game. While most Longhorn fans were confident that this would be a sure victory, after last season’s fiasco, there had to some within the Longhorn family that was nervous and worried, because this Iowa State team had pulled an upset that nobody saw coming already this season. This was going to be a nice challenge for the Horns before their annual rivalry game with Oklahoma.

Most fans would have been happy to see a team with a consistent movement and be able to show a chance at making some big plays. What Longhorn fans were treated to was somewhat of an offensive clinic from Case McCoy and David Ash. Both Quarterbacks showed a pocket presence that would go beyond their youthfulness, and showed some flash of excitement as the starting quarterbacks. While they are young and inexperienced, they have shown the ability that keeps both of them getting snaps and alternating in the offense.

While Iowa State is not an Oklahoma caliber team, there is a lot of hope building within the fan base that the Longhorns will be able to steal a big win in Dallas next weekend. A win like this is just a building block for a young team that should help lay the foundation for the future. The only puzzling question is going to be who will win the starting position outright?

At the Start of the season, I was figuring Texas was looking to bounce back with a solid 8 win campaign and I had them being 2-1 after the first three games, but that was the best case scenario. Fast forward to the season and the Longhorns just had their way with UCLA and are now 3-0. This is a surprising revelation for any fan, even the most optimistic and diehard fan had to figure that a 3 -0 start wasn’t in the cards for this team.

Given the fact that Garret Gilbert was the starting quarterback, there wasn’t any sign of hope for this to happen.

Thankfully Mack and the coaching staff came to their senses and decided to hand over the starting job to Case McCoy and David Ash. This is why the Longhorns left Los Angeles with a victory. These two quarterbacks are an exciting combination and have energized the offense and will help this young team build on an already magnificent start. Nobody thinks this team will go undefeated and compete for a championship, but with each game and another win, something special could happen. This is where the coaching and youth need to find a happy medium, but the youth can mature this season, and start building the foundation towards something special in the future.

Right now Texas is 3-0, but with some luck and preparation, they could easily make it to the October showdown in Dallas with an undefeated record. But that is still a ways off, and nobody should start looking ahead. The fans and the team need to take it one game at a time, one series at a time and let the momentum build to where the football gods will let it go. There are some exciting things happening on the 40 acres, and as long as the coaches let the team learn and build, things will fall into place. Who expected this to happen after the disaster from last year?

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 BYU Cougars.

Pregame WTH Hospitality?! I was enjoying some tailgating on campus when some BYU faithful came strolling by. Offered up to the group some cold beers and they refused our Texas hospitality. Oh yeah, Mormons do not like the demon water. So I gave them some of our own demon water, an H2Orange water bottle.

1st Quarter (15:00) WTH Cable Wars?! ESPN and Time Warner are battling it out over the broadcasting of the LHN. Interesting how the Texas athletic department is OK taking ad revenue along the stadium stands. There were Time Warner Cable banners all across the stadium while ESPN is broadcasting the game.

1st Quarter (1:54) WTH Grape?! This may be my last reference to Garrett Gilbert. The last image maybe of him throwing into double coverage where the BYU safety easily picked off the throw. He constantly locks his eyes on one receiver and makes poor decisions. I really hope he can fix the mental issues of his game. He may need to fix it while on another team’s roster.

3rd Quarter (12:45) WTH Hockey?! I have seen more shift changes in this football game than in the NHL. David Ash for one play and then comes Case McCoy. Great block delivered by David to help the running game get the team back into the game 13-10. Is it me or does David look like Sam Bradford when he has his helmet on?

3rd Quarter (4:26) WTH Marquise?! It is great to see Marquise Goodwin back to help out this team of struggling wide receivers. But you cannot get tripped up on your electrifying return of 40 yards by the BYU kicker. Marquise came back because he missed the team camaraderie. Well get ready for some ribbing in the film room this week.

4th Quarter (11:18) WTH Roommates?! Case hooks up with Jaxon Shipley on consecutive 1st down throws. Jaxon hurdles one defender on the first throw and snags the next pass play one handed to bring DKR fans to its feet. The momentum of these two plays carries the Horns on to take the lead for good. Did you know that Case and Jaxon are roommates? Here we go again and I am starting to like it.

4th Quarter (3:39) WTH Diggs?! This call out should be for the entire defense on how great their play was on the field especially giving up only 67 total yards in the second half. Cornerback Quandre Diggs interception was the momentum shifter that the defense needed until we saw the closer.

4th Quarter (2:44) WTH Harsin?! The Lone Star State is starting to warm up to the Boise State offense when you see a freshmen wide receiver, Shipley, throwing a pass to another freshmen quarterback, Ash, to move the chains. New Kids on the Block should be replacing this year’s slogan of Brick by Brick.

4th Quarter (1:34) WTH Closer?! I would like to introduce the newest nickname to one of our stable of running backs who we will now affectionately call The Closer. Malcolm Brown running off left tackle for 14 yards sealed the win for the Horns and will hopefully garner more than the 14 carries next game.

Next up for the Longhorns are the Bruins as they travel to LA for the game at 2:30pm on Sept. 17th.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at 40AcresSports or follow me at Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

ESPN this season is posting video clips of all the big plays up on their video page from the games they air. Great new feature. The highlight package from Texas’ come from behind win over BYU is posted below:

And here’s the interception that may have ended Garrett Gilbert’s career as the Longhorns’ starter:

Too bad they don’t have the Jaxon Shipley to David Ash pass available.

Garret Gilbert is the most polarizing quarterback at Texas since Chris Simms, and even though he won the starting job, coming out of camp, he was not the fans choice to be the starting quarterback. While he had a decent night against Rice in week one, there was nothing shown in that game that made anyone feel that he was ready to take the job and run with it. Nobody in the Texas community felt safe knowing this team was led by Gilbert. But most fans were willing to give him a chance to prove them wrong against BYU. Unfortunately for him, that never happened. He struggled early and often in the early part of the game.

It really wasn’t anyone’s surprise when he was benched for the combination of McCoy and Ash. In the long story of Garret Gilbert, who came to the university of Texas with such promise, he has shown a long line of struggles, and it looks like we have reached the end of his story, for now. I am not one to say that Gilbert won’t have another shot at some point down the line, but for now, I think it is safe to say we have seen the last of Garret Gilbert starting. Sad to say that he went out with little opposition, to the fan favorite McCoy and surprise David Ash.

Tonight’s Texas game against BYU will be the first time the LHN deprived Longhorn fanbase will be able to watch their team this season. We’ll be active here and on Twitter and would love to have you join in on the conversation.

Follow along live with @40AcresSports on Twitter and below for our coverage. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game at 6pm 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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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 Rice Owls.

Pregame (15:00) WTH LHN?! C’mon ESPN I know you want the biggest bang for your buck, but you are pissing off Longhorn Nation without letting the fans see the game at least on pay per view. The 101,624 in attendance saw the Longhorn Network studio set up in the Southeast section of the stadium. Coincidence that it chose that location?

1st Quarter (1:18) WTH QB Controversy?! I guess you can eliminate the controversy when you have 6 players line up to take the snap. Fozzy Whitaker had the most success in the wildcat formation when he wowed the crowd with his exploits (88 all-purpose yds. & 2 TD’s). QB David Ash will not redshirt this year because he has a package… giggle.

2nd Quarter (13:03) WTH Crime Dog?! Rice RB Sam McGuffie took a wicked shot from S Kenny Vaccaro and managed to gather himself to complete a 15 yard pass which was the longest pass play for the Owls. It was a great job by the UT defense all night in keeping Rice out of the end zone.

2nd Quarter (:35) WTH Special Package?! Guess no one was missing Coach Davis after all the different packages of players that came running on and off the field during the game. I was tired just watching the players run back and forth. Get used to the illegal motion penalties with all the different packages of players getting familiar with the new system installed by Coach Harsin.

Halftime WTH MOB?! Great job by the funniest band in the land. The Rice band made fun of the Aggies leaving for the SEC. The line of the night was when the Rice announcer said that the Big 12 and the SEC were both raising their IQ points by that Aggies move.

3rd Quarter (12:15) WTH Grape?! Garret Gilbert had a solid night for the Horns (13-23 for 239 1 TD – no turnovers). The dumbfounding play was when he was being chased out of the pocket and he flipped the ball backwards that thankfully Fozzy landed on the fumble.

3rd Quarter (5:32) WTH Out of Bounds?! I have heard the saying that a player has a nose for the end zone. Never heard of a player that is attracted to the out of bounds line. An earlier run in the first half by Jaxon Shipley was negated by him touching the end line. Thankfully his aerobatic catch for the touchdown in the third quarter was not wiped out by an apparent end line violation. Dare I say that Jaxon looks faster than Jordan?

4th Quarter (1:00) WTH Rugby?! Justin Tucker is such a great field goal kicker that I wonder about the decision to use him as a rugby style punter. Justin’s final punt only traveled six yards to set up the Owls at mid field. Great job by the UT defense and non-scholarship player Cody Ramirez to recover a fumble to end the drive.

End of the Game WTH UT Band?! It’s a great moment when the tower is lit orange and the band plays the Eyes of Texas after a win. A new wrinkle was added before the traditional ending to a game. The entire football team was serenaded by the Band’s rendition of DJ Khaled “All I Do is Win.” No one can deny that this is a brand new season.

Next up for the Longhorn’s are the Mormons from BYU at 6pm on Sept. 10th.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at 40AcresSports or follow me at Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

This post is supported by Sonic. Log on to flavortouchdown.com to enter for a chance to win the Sonic Flavor Touchdown Sweepstakes.

The 2010 season hasn’t exactly gone as everyone hoped. Okay, that’s probably a huge understatement.

Texas fans knew this would be a rebuilding year while breaking in a new quarterback and finding a replacement for the most productive wide receiver in the history of the program. They didn’t expect this. It’s not just that Texas has lost games, it’s the shocking way they’ve done so without any semblance of an offense and a sieve of defense.

Depending on what happens in 2011, this can either go down as a season where the Longhorns regrouped and reloaded or it could be the end of an era. These five players will determine which way it goes:

Garrett Gilbert

Or maybe it’s Case McCoy or Connor Wood or David Ash. Or the ghost of Vince Young. Whoever it is, the quarterback play in 2010 has been terrible and you can’t win games when you’re turning the ball over as much as the Horns are this season. Not all of this falls directly on Gilbert. His supporting cast has dropped touchdown passes, struggles to run the football, and frequently makes defensive ends you’ve never heard of look like All-Americans. The 2011 season (and rest of 2010) hinges on a quarterback stepping up and making plays and making the players around him better.

Mike Davis

There have been glimpses. One of the biggest things missing from this team is a playmaker and wide receiver Mike Davis has shown that he might be that guy. He’s a favorite target of Gilbert and can make big plays after the catch. He has to continue to get better at the consistency of his hands and his route running, but if he turns the corner this offseason he could be the guy who turns an inconsistent offense into a dominant one.

Mason Walters/Christian Westerman

It’s been a while (2005?) since Texas fans were satisfied with the team’s offensive line play and this season it has hit rock bottom. Next year will feature at least three new starters on the line but that may be a good thing. Redshirt freshman Mason Walters has started every game this season and the results have been mixed, but he and current high school senior Christian Westerman may be your starting tackles next year and if they can give the quarterback a consistently comfortable pocket the suddenly Sonic Flavor Touchdowns are a little easier to come by. The entire line needs a makeover into a tougher, more aggressive unit and it starts with these two guys.

Aaron Williams

Williams has played great this season but not as great as some were expecting. The Thorpe Award candidate is a lockdown corner and a surefire first round NFL draft pick if he decides to leave but if he returns he immediately makes the Texas defense national title caliber. A return for his senior season isn’t as far fetched as it sounds, with the looming NFL labor issues more top draft picks will come back to school for another year than expected.

Jackson Jeffcoat

True freshman defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat didn’t play against Iowa State due to injury and his presence was definitely missed. He’s not an every down player (yet) but he’s already a dangerous pass rusher and guys that can go get the quarterback make everyone around them better. If Jeffcoat can stay healthy and progresses as hoped he should be a double digit sack guy for the rest of his career.

Texas fans will be watching. Who is going to step up and right this ship?

Log on to flavortouchdown.com to enter for a chance to win the Sonic Flavor Touchdown Sweepstakes. You could win a prize package and a VIP football trip for 6 to the bowl game of your choice. Hopefully the Longhorns win at least two more games this season and make it to one of them.

Nobody recruits like Mack Brown. He hits early and hard. Only a couple of weeks after inking a top 2010 class, Mack and his coaching staff are 13 recruits into a strong 2011 class. ESPNU recruiting experts discuss Texas’ quick start…