Texas head coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] was on ESPN SportsCenter this weekend talking about preseason rankings, expectations, going undefeated, and of course the [tag]BCS[/tag]. Watch:
The Longhorns didn’t finish off the 2009 recruiting class with the bang some fans were hoping for, but the class is still one of the top in the nation. Rivals.com ranks Texas as fifth overall class overall, but is with [tag]Florida[/tag] and USC for best average rating per prospect. Check out a brief video feature on the entire top ten below:
Lance Zierlein of the Houston Chronicle has posted his list of the five best and worst underclassmen decisions of 2009 draft and I think they’re pretty dead on. He’s one of the few guys out there that really knows his stuff regarding the [tag]NFL Draft[/tag] and Big 12 football.
Zierlein thinks Texas linebacker/defensive end [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] made the right call by returning to Texas for his senior season. Right now Kindle is still relatively raw at both linebacker and as a pass rusher, and with another year of seasoning under [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] he could explode in 2009. I also agree completely with his thoughts on the decisions by players such as USC’s Mark Sanchez, OU’s Sam Bradford, and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman.
The relevant notes from Zierlein are posted below:
Best
3. Sergio Kindle, DE/OLB, Texas – Staying In: Kindle opened up many scouts eyes as a pass-rusher this year at Texas. Will Muschamp recognized that Kindle’s top potential wasn’t at LB but as a pass rusher. Kindle has good straight line speed but needs to become a more fluid athlete and he has a chance to do that with another year at Texas.
Worst
2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma – Staying In: I say this is a bad decision, but as long as he plays well next year, he’ll be a top 3 pick next season. The problem is that he is losing almost his entire offensive line as well as two of his top targets. Injury is the only real concern for me here, but he probably would have been a top 3 pick this season and maybe the top pick.
3. Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State – Coming Out – What are you thinking, Josh? You have the size and arm strength that NFL teams would salivate over if you could just put together a big year on the collegiate level. Why not go back and improve on your numbers and then become the hot name in the 2010 draft?
Let’s see what else looks good this weekend. I went a decent 3-2 last weekend and should continue my 75% pace this weekend.
#1 Alabama at #4 Florida (-10) – 4:00 PM EST on CBS. This is probably one of the more shocking lines that I have seen in a while. And not necessarily because I don’t agree with it, but because the undefeated, #1 team in the nation is double digit underdogs playing in their conference championship. Needless to say Alabama will have a chip on their shoulder for this one. I am still not convinced that Tim Tebow can throw the ball effectively against a good defense. Have you seen his passing touchdown highlights? They are always ugly lobs to a receiver that is wide open, never a crisp pass into coverage. I think Alabama will be able to contain the run and force Tebow to beat them through the air (which he can’t), and not only cover the spread but win outright. Take Alabama moneyline.
#5 USC at UCLA (-33) – 4:30 PM EST on ABC. Some weird controversy in this game with Pete Carroll wanting to wear the home jersey even though they are the road team. You know what, who cares, I say let them both wear home jerseys. It’s not like it is going to matter. Last weekend USC’s defense only allowed 4 first downs. This weekend they will only allow 3. UCLA is not playing well right now and is too young in the talent positions. This game was over before it even started. Take USC and give the points.
#20 Missouri at #2 Oklahoma (-17) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC.I hate when you can’t control your own destiny, but yet again Texas fans have to sit back and root against Oklahoma for a shot at the national championship. At the beginning of the year I would have said Missouri has a shot, but after we destroyed them at home this season and seeing how they have been playing lately, I will go ahead and say they have no shot at winning this game. In fact, they really don’t have a shot at covering this game. Oklahoma will get up 21-0 in the first quarter and never look back. Take Oklahoma and give the points.
The latest BCS rankings are out and despite the gains by [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] in the two human polls, Texas has taken advantage of the the [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] loss and moved up two spots to number two in the rankings. The computer polls are the reason the Horns are hanging on now but since the Sooners play a ranked team this week it may take an impressive Thanksgiving Day win to remind voters that the Horns actually beat the Sooners when they matched up in October.
Check out the top 10 below:
Rank | Team | BCS Average |
---|---|---|
1 | Alabama | 0.987 |
2 | Texas | 0.920 |
3 | Oklahoma | 0.912 |
4 | Florida | 0.875 |
5 | USC | 0.797 |
6 | Utah | 0.785 |
7 | Texas Tech | 0.778 |
8 | Penn St. | 0.752 |
9 | Boise St. | 0.658 |
10 | Ohio St. | 0.620 |
Thanks to a (joyous) [tag]Penn State[/tag] loss the Longhorns have moved up another spot in the latest BCS rankings released Sunday. Thanks to that loss and human voters seeing the error of their ways, Texas is third ahead of [tag]Florida[/tag] and more importantly [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]. The Horns dropped big from number one after their loss to [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] but moved back passed those teams this week in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll.
Texas’ ranking against the Sooners is huge on the chance their is a three-way tie between those two teams and the Red Raiders for the Big 12 South. In that scenario the division winner will be determined by which team has the highest BCS ranking. If the Horns end up winning out and in the Big 12 Championship, a win over the North’s representative would likely mean a shot at the whole enchilada.
The BCS top 10 rankings are listed below:
BCS | Harris Poll | USA Today | Comp. Rankings | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BCS Avg | Prvs | RK | Pts | % | RK | Pts | % | Avg | % | |
1 | Alabama | .9814 | 1 | 1 | 2808 | .9853 | 1 | 1508 | .9889 | 2 | .970 |
2 | Texas Tech | .9715 | 2 | 2 | 2768 | .9712 | 2 | 1469 | .9633 | 1 | .980 |
3 | Texas | .8798 | 4 | 4 | 2471 | .8670 | 5 | 1300 | .8525 | 3 | .920 |
4 | Florida | .8640 | 5 | 3 | 2531 | .8881 | 3 | 1348 | .8839 | T-5 | .820 |
5 | Oklahoma | .8444 | 6 | 5 | 2427 | .8516 | 4 | 1314 | .8616 | T-5 | .820 |
6 | USC | .7896 | 7 | 6 | 2329 | .8172 | 6 | 1268 | .8315 | 8 | .720 |
7 | Utah | .7692 | 8 | 8 | 2034 | .7137 | 7 | 1104 | .7239 | 4 | .870 |
8 | Penn State | .6839 | 3 | 7 | 2073 | .7274 | 8 | 1074 | .7043 | 10 | .620 |
9 | Boise State | .6783 | 10 | 9 | 1940 | .6807 | 9 | 1028 | .6741 | 9 | .680 |
10 | Georgia | .6156 | 13 | 12 | 1581 | .5547 | 12 | 842 | .5521 | 7 | .740 |
Related: View the full BCS rankings
Texas’ loss to last week to [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] didn’t knock them completely out of the national title race but it certainly shook things up. Texas fans spent the next 72 hours crunching numbers and running scenarios that could result in the Longhorns still making it to the title game. That may make math and stats nerds happy but its just another sign of just how ridiculous the NCAA Division I FBS not having a playoff really is.
ESPN’s Pat Forde makes a(nother) strong case for a playoff in college football:
No less a voice than Barack Obama’s called on Monday night for a playoff in college football. To which The Dash says hallelujah, it’s time for some pressure on the ossified system from the top down. Once upon a time, the Tide wooed Butch Davis to be their coach. The first round of The Dash’s eight-team playoff would shape up as follows today: Top seed and SEC champion Alabama versus eighth-seeded ACC titlist [tag]North Carolina[/tag] in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The backstory would make this interesting, since the Crimson Tide were interested in current Tar Heels.
The first round of The Dash’s eight-team playoff would shape up as follows today:
Top seed and SEC champion [tag]Alabama[/tag] versus eighth-seeded ACC titlist [tag]North Carolina[/tag] in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The backstory would make this interesting, since the Crimson Tide were interested in current Tar Heels coach Butch Davis as far back as 2000, when he was the coach at Miami. That was before Mike Price, before Dennis Franchione and before Mike Shula. Then Bama got it right — royal-flush right — with Nick Saban.
Second seed and Big Ten champion [tag]Penn State[/tag] versus seventh-seeded Big East winner [tag]West Virginia[/tag] in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. Just for fun they could award the old Lambert Trophy for the best school in the East to the winner.
Third seed and Big 12 champion [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] versus sixth-seeded Pacific-10 champ USC in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Would anyone enjoy seeing the Red Raiders’ O (first nationally in passing offense, second in total offense, third in scoring) against the Trojans’ D (first nationally in pass defense, first in total defense, first in scoring defense)?
Fourth seed at-large selection Texas versus fifth seed at-large selection [tag]Florida[/tag] in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and Tim Tebow on the same field might be a little fun.
(Dash apologies to [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] and Utah for being the best teams left out. Y’all can console each other in, say, the Alamo Bowl.)
After that: semifinals at the Orange and Fiesta Bowls. National title in the Rose Bowl. Championship trophy presented by Dashette Irina Shayk.
Decide for yourself whether that playoff would generate any interest. After you’ve thought it over for five seconds, call the president of your favorite university and scream into the phone that you want a playoff. Do not stop screaming until you are out of breath or they have hung up on you — and then redial and scream again.
Maybe it will come to pass by the time Tebow’s kids are in college.
Or maybe it happens a little faster depending on Tuesday’s election results.
Just imagine adding the Texas Rose Bowl win over USC, plus the brutal four game stretch the team just finished, plus even more on the line than ever before. How fun would that be?
The Longhorns lost the battle to [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] on Saturday but they still haven’t lost the war. The new BCS rankings were revealed tonight and Texas fell only to number four, behind [tag]Alabama[/tag], [tag]Penn State[/tag], and Texas Tech who moved all the way up to number two. The Horns still have a every good chance to end up back in the top two and headed to the national title game.
All the Horns need is for two teams ahead of them to go down, and with the remaining schedules ahead for both Tech and Alabama that is a distinct possibility. Texas fans need to be rooting hard for [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] and [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] the next few weeks and for [tag]LSU[/tag] this week against Alabama. The team needs to take care of business during the final weeks of the season for any of this to matter, but fans will be doing a lot of scoreboard watching.
The BCS top 10 rankings are listed below:
BCS | Harris Poll | USA Today | Comp. Rankings | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BCS Avg | Prvs | RK | Pts | % | RK | Pts | % | Avg | % | |
1 | Alabama | .9747 | 2 | 1 | 2798 | .9818 | 1 | 1498 | .9823 | T-1 | .960 |
2 | Texas Tech | .9372 | 7 | 3 | 2644 | .9277 | 3 | 1409 | .9239 | T-1 | .960 |
3 | Penn State | .9286 | 3 | 2 | 2689 | .9435 | 2 | 1437 | .9423 | 4 | .900 |
4 | Texas | .8531 | 1 | 6 | 2322 | .8147 | 7 | 1227 | .8046 | 3 | .940 |
5 | Florida | .8268 | 8 | 4 | 2391 | .8389 | 5 | 1268 | .8315 | 5 | .810 |
6 | Oklahoma | .8220 | 4 | 5 | 2366 | .8302 | 4 | 1290 | .8459 | 9 | .790 |
7 | USC | .7551 | 5 | 7 | 2273 | .7975 | 6 | 1232 | .8079 | 10 | .660 |
8 | Utah | .6972 | 10 | 9 | 1864 | .6540 | 9 | 1018 | .6675 | 7 | .770 |
9 | Oklahoma State | .6660 | 9 | 8 | 2021 | .7091 | 8 | 1066 | .6990 | 11 | .590 |
10 | Boise State | .6529 | 11 | 10 | 1797 | .6305 | 10 | 958 | .6282 | 8 | .700 |
Related: View the full BCS rankings
The new BCS standings are out and the Longhorns remain easily atop the list. A close game against [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] had no effect on either the human or computer polls that make up the rankings. Texas is number one in every computer poll and holds nearly every first place vote in both the Harris and USA Today Coaches poll.
All the team has to do is take care of business and it appears there’s no way any other team could jump them in the rankings. One indicator of how much both the humans and robots love the Longhorns are the rankings of both OSU and [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] even after losses to Texas. After the loss this weekend the Cowboys only fell one spot in the Harris Poll and two in the USA Today poll. This might mean the Horns could lose a game and still be around number three in the BCS. Let’s hope we don’t find out.
Check out the top ten in the latest BCS rankings below:
Harris Poll | USA Today | Computer Rankings | BCS | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | RK | Pts | % | RK | Pts | % | % | Comp avg | BCS Avg | Prvs | |||
1 | Texas | 1 | 2839 | .9961 | 1 | 1522 | .9980 | 1.000 | 1 | .9981 | 1 | ||
2 | Alabama | 2 | 2696 | .9460 | 2 | 1439 | .9436 | .960 | 2 | .9499 | 2 | ||
3 | Penn State | 3 | 2650 | .9298 | 3 | 1414 | .9272 | .920 | 3 | .9257 | 3 | ||
4 | Oklahoma | 4 | 2370 | .8316 | 4 | 1265 | .8295 | .820 | T-4 | .8270 | 4 | ||
5 | USC | 7 | 2255 | .7912 | 6 | 1228 | .8052 | .750 | 6 | .7822 | 5 | ||
6 | Georgia | 8 | 2124 | .7453 | 8 | 1137 | .7456 | .820 | T-4 | .7703 | 7 | ||
7 | Texas Tech | 5 | 2286 | .8021 | 5 | 1246 | .8170 | .610 | T-10 | .7431 | 8 | ||
8 | Florida | 6 | 2258 | .7923 | 7 | 1199 | .7862 | .610 | T-10 | .7295 | 10 | ||
9 | Oklahoma State | 9 | 1871 | .6565 | 10 | 972 | .6374 | .730 | T-7 | .6746 | 6 | ||
10 | Utah | 10 | 1802 | .6323 | 9 | 987 | .6472 | .730 | T-7 | .6362 | 11 |
Related: View the full BCS rankings