40 Acres Sports

Today’s matchup for the Longhorns against [tag]Iowa State[/tag] should be a rout, but there’s been lots of games like that this season and Texas only took care of business against Rice. The Horns need to continue the solid play from last week against Oklahoma and if they can they should be able to come home with a comfortable win.

Follow with me and my random thoughts during the game below:

First Quarter

• I wonder when FSN Southwest will be in high definition on DirecTV? It looks like the game is being shot in HD and if I had FSNMW I could be watching it in HD. Oh well.
• Ryan Bailey kicking off, is Hunter Lawrence hurt?
• Same starting lineup on defense that we’ve seen all year.
• Texas is only 7th in the Big 12 in punt returns? [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] is solid back there so I don’t really blame him for that number. With Limas Sweed out for the year it might be time to protect Cosby and put one of the young WR/DB’s back there.
• Long bomb from [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] to [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] on Texas’ first offensive play. McCoy does nice job buying time in a collapsing pocket and finds Shipley wide open. 58-yard touchdown for the Horns.

Texas 7, Iowa State 0

• FSN’s wonderful coverage continues. They take a TV timeout and miss both the kickoff and the first ISU play after it. Sad.
• FSN announcers are apparently using an OU roster instead of Texas.
• On third down play it looks like defensive line slants to the field and [tag]Robert Killebrew[/tag] lets the ISU runner get wide for the first down. Might have been Lamarr Houston’s fault. Terrible defensive fundamentals.
• I was just going to complain about the lack of pressure from the Texas defense then [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] comes untouched off the end for the sack.
• Face raped? Yikes. Not sure you should say that on TV. That was a definite face mask but the reason the helmet comes off is that it’s not fitted correctly. Your helmet should never come off that easy. He said face rape again.
• Is our defense really this poorly coached? We’ve got guys flying inside to avoid blockers on every play. If you’re a defensive end and have a linebacker blitzing to your inside you can’t try to get in the same gap. Ugh.
• [tag]Derek Lokey[/tag] playing defensive end on that play. He got whipped man on man and gave up a big run.
• Texas holds on third down and forces a field goal. Field goal is wide right. Break for Texas as Iowa State had put together a very solid drive.
• Mental mistake by wide receiver covered up Jermichael Finley. FSN announcers are morons.
• Looks like [tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] is seeing increased playing time already over Jamaal Charles. If we’re going with the wide open offense that’s a good idea since he’s a better blocker and pass catcher than Charles.
• Looks like McCoy is growing a sweet mustache. Couple more weeks and that might be thick enough to show up on camera.
• Ogbonnaya and [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] get the two Texas redzone rushing attempts. Hope Charles can keep his head up, figure out the issue, and earn these attempts back.
• Not sure that was a well advised throw by McCoy but man did Cosby get up and get that one. No good camera angle but I think that might have come out a little when he hit the ground. Another good scramble to buy time and find a receiver by Colt.

Texas 14, Iowa State 0

• Hunter Lawrence kicking off on this one. Wonder why it wasn’t him in there on the first one?
• Young linebackers in there for this series.

(more …)

Texas linebacker [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] was arrested Saturday morning by the Austin PD and charged with driving while intoxicated. Kindle was pulled over for swerving lanes in downtown and arrested around 2:30 am after he failed a field sobriety test. He was later released from Travis County Jail. Coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] released the following statement on Kindle’s arrest:

“We’re aware of Sergio’s situation and are disappointed anytime one of our players is accused of wrongdoing. We take a strong stance against drinking and driving and will thoroughly investigate this situation.'”

Kindle, probably the defense’s most promising young player and a possible future superstar, is the second Longhorn to be charged with a DWI this summer. Defensive end Henry Melton was arrested on June 1st.

College students drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. They also get into the occasional scuffle. I can let those types of transgressions go, but this is different. Drunk driving kills innocent people and ruins families. It only takes a second to change lives forever. This is not a “boys will be boys” situation. It’s time for Mack to put a stop to this kind of behavior.

Kindle and Melton may not be bad kids and these may just be isolated mistakes, but they must be punished severely. You can’t (and shouldn’t) stop players from having the occasional good time, but you can make them realize there will be consequences for their actions. The two players must miss playing time, suspend them both for at least the season’s first three games. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to make an example of someone. The next time a player goes out to party maybe he’ll think twice before he gets behind the wheel under the influence.

Dennis Dodds’ coaches on the hot seat list has Mack Brown as one of the country’s few untouchables.

Aggies are recruiting toddlers but Mack Brown is sticking with his policy to not offer sophomores.

I think Mack wants McCoy to keep a level head and wants a senior-led locker room.

Burnt Orange Nation posted a great image of all the Big 12 coaches if they were South Park characters. Click the image to see it a little bigger.

Pretty funny stuff. I’m not sure why Mack Brown looks like he’s been smoking weed all day, everyone knows only the team gets high. My favorites are Mark Mangino, Mike Leach, and Mike Gundy. Those are pretty dead on. I don’t think Dennis Franchione or Gary Pinkel look confused enough. And it kind of sucks that just like on South Park, the Big 12 coaching ranks only have one token black guy.

Thankfully [tag]Limas Sweed[/tag] will not be receiving a suspension from [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] or the Big 12 from the punch he threw in the first half of this past weekend’s Baylor game. The incident came when Limas got tangled up with Baylor cornerback Anthony Arline, the two argued, and Limas fired back with a punch. Sweed did receive a personal foul 15 yard penalty, but that is all he will face.

“There was a lot of mouthing and a lot of pushing, and I didn’t like the way he responded at all,” Brown said of Sweed’s actions, which resulted in a personal foul. “I thought the call was fair, and I told him that’s not who we are and we’re not going to put up with it.”

It seems Mack has learned a lesson after suspending Tarell Brown before the Ohio State game. Don’t sit down your best player before a big game against a Top 25 ranked opponent. Besides, there is plenty of time to lecture him during the offseason.

Source

The premier episode is tonight on NBC at 8/7c.

Someone should let Houston Chronicle writer John Lopez know he should at least try a little to get some facts right. He doesn’t have to be perfect, just come closer than he did in this article where he urges Aggies to judge Dennis Franchione based on what he does on the field.

Lopez compares Fran’s situation in College Station to John Mackovic’s tenure in Austin:

Once upon a time, there were Longhorns who thought former coach John Mackovic’s biggest problem was his aloof, high-society ways. But that wasn’t it. Mackovic was a failure and not the right fit because he got his tail consistently whipped by Barry Switzer and Jackie Sherrill on the recruiting trail and again on Saturdays.

Nice story, too bad it’s completely fictional. Mackovic was the Texas head coach from 1992 – 1997. Barry Switzer was cheating in Norman, Oklahoma from 1973 through 1988, and Jackie Sherrill was cheating in College Station from 1982 to 1988. Don’t worry John, you were only four or five years off.

And in his first three years at Texas, Mackovic was 19 – 14 – 1 compared to Fran’s 16 – 18. He also won a Southwest Conference title and had two second place finishes. The Aggies finished 5th, 4th, and 4th in the Big 12 South. Comparison’s not working out too well there. By the way, Mackovic also won one more Big 12 title than Franchione ever will at Texas A&M.

Nevermind actual facts, keep Fran!

Westlake star offensive lineman and future Longhorn [tag]Matt Nader[/tag] collapsed tonight during the Chapparal’s game at A&M Consolidated. His mother performed CPR and emergency medical personnel used a defibrillator when they did not detect a pulse. Matt is currently in a College Station hospital but is now alert and talking. Our thoughts are with Matt and his family.

More details over at the NCAA FanHouse.

Update: It looks like Matt Nader has been forced to give up football due to a heart condition. Thankfully his doctors say he will lead a normal life. Also, it looks like Matt will still have the opportunity to get an education at UT, as coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] has a policy of standing by a scholarship agreement, even if a player can no longer play.