Magic… Momentum… Anything?
As we get closer to the start of the 2013 Football Season, the question needs to be asked where is this team headed. An even bigger question is what is the state of the Longhorn Men’s Athletic program?
Magic is described as the appearing to perform supernatural feats using sleight of hand. Back in the day there was a term used as “Sooner Magic” where the unexpected would occur for the OU Football team. The term came from epic tussles between the Sooners and Cornhuskers. That magic and momentum carried to other games where the Sooners would do the unimaginable. Just look at their last National Championships when OU who was a 10.5 point underdog beat the Seminoles 13-2. Texas had a similar run of “magic” when Vince Young took a team that had just lost 0-12 to the Sooners in 2004 and went on to win 20 games and two Rose Bowls plus a National Championship. Now look at these two programs and tell me where the “magic” is at. The magic is with the other teams in the conference.
Kansas State: Just came off the greatest sports year ever with a Big XII Championship in football, baseball and basketball in 2012-13.
Oklahoma State: Won the Big XII Championship in 2011 and owns a better overall record over the Sooners for the past three years.
Baylor: Has a Heisman Trophy winner, a new stadium being built and a winning record over the Horns in the past three years.
Texas Tech: At least they have a new coach and an inspired fan base that has a lot of hope for the future.
TCU: Is finishing up their renovations to their stadium and has plenty of momentum with a solid coach and a win over the Horns last year.
And then there is A&M: A multi-million dollar stadium renovation that will make it the biggest football stadium in Texas, solid footing in the tough SEC, and a Heisman Trophy winner. Oh yeah, I forgot… we do not care about them anymore since they are not in the conference.
So with everyone else having momentum beginning this football season, what is in store for the Longhorns in 2013. Here is a video to get you going before we go game by game.
New Mexico State (0-0) at Texas (0-0) Aug. 31st
At least we can say we beat the Aggies this year… even though there from New Mexico. Horns WIN (big)
Texas (1-0) at BYU (1-0) Sept. 7th
This game will tell much of the story for this year’s team. Win impressively and the fan base will believe a BCS game is in the cards. The Horns squeak by this team with their altitude sickness in check, and then the fan base is in for a rollercoaster ride. Lose this game and we will wonder if Mack will make it back next year. Horns WIN (close)
Mississippi (2-0) at Texas (2-0) Sept. 14th
This game just got tougher since the Rebels posted a 7-6 record last year in the SEC. The only reason I can predict a win for the Horns is because this game is at home. Again the aftermath of Provo determines this outcome. Horns WIN (close)
Kansas State (3-0) at Texas (3-0) Sept. 21st
The sorcerer from Manhattan will have his team ready to play. I think momentum of the home crowd and the pending bye week ahead will get this team ratcheted up to take it out on the Cats. Horns WIN (big)
Texas (4-0) at Iowa State (2-1) October 3rd
A Thursday night game?! Are we in the AAC? Do we need the exposure to help our recruiting? Guess Horns want some extra time to get ready for the Sooners. Horns WIN (big)
Texas (5-0) vs OU (4-1) October 12th
The Sooners will be coming off back to back tough games (ND & TCU) before the Red River Rivalry. I cannot see the play of the Belldozer causing much harm unless Manny and the defense cannot stop the run like last year. Hope the extra time gives Applewhite something for Stoops’ defense to chew on. Horns WIN (big)
Texas (6-0) at TCU (4-3) October 26th
Trap game! TCU will have the toughest part of their schedule behind them and they will be looking to turn their season around with a win. The Horns will have another bye week to start dreaming about an undefeated season. The more desperate team will win this one. Horns LOSE (close)
Kansas (2-5) at Texas (6-1) November 2nd
Get ready for a pissed off bunch of Horns in Austin. They will take it out on the Jayhawks who will be reeling from 5 consecutive losses coming into DKR. Horns WIN (big)
Texas (7-1) at West Virginia (3-5) November 9th
I see the urgency in the Horns to not let another TCU moment come back to haunt them. Playing for the first time ever at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, sounds like the stadium was named after an impressionist painter; the fans will try to make it an intimidating venue. The Longhorns take care of business in the fourth quarter. Horns WIN (big)
Oklahoma State (9-0) at Texas (8-1) November 16th
This is the defacto Big XII Championship game in Austin. Both teams are talented and will be coming on strong for this pivotal matchup. Last year I flipped a coin and I predicted the Horns would win (Horns won a close one). Just flipped it. Horns LOSE (close)
Texas Tech (7-4) at Texas (8-2) November 28th (Thanksgiving Day)
The rock star coach will be a little less flamboyant coming into Austin. The talent on the field should show up with the Horns still smarting from last week’s lost to the Cowboys. Fans will breathe a sigh of relief after this one is over on Turkey Day. Horns WIN (close)
Texas (9-2) at Baylor (8-3) December 7th
Say so long to Floyd Casey Stadium which is the smallest stadium in the Big XII. A sloppy game played by both teams as they try too hard to impress the bowl committees. Both running games will be on display on a miserable day for offense. The Horns emerge victorious to reach Coach Brown’s bar for a successful season. Horns WIN (close)
Just so you know… close means 10 points or less and big is 14 points or more.
I am predicting a 10-2 year for the Horns. You can check my past predictions to see that I was not too far off in 2012 & 2011. I hope to see some magic and some momentum from the Horns this season because I don’t think Mack Brown has anymore tricks up his sleeve.
Well, the rivalry is over…at least for some time. The tussle between the Aggies and the Horns ended this year which also put to rest the State Farm Lonestar Showdown between both Universities. The made for internet contest was 19 events across women’s and men’s sports where the teams competed head to head for a possible 19 points for a trophy as big as Texas (it was a gaudy trophy at that). If the schools tied at the end of the year (which happened twice), the team that won the series championship from the previous year would be awarded the trophy. Check out the complete history at lonestarshowdown.net.
The contest went from 2004 until 2012 (8 years) where the Horns won 6 of these series over the Aggies. The two years the Aggies won were 2007-08 and 2008-09. Here are a few stats from this contest.
The biggest margin for the Aggies was 2 points in 2007-08
The biggest margin for the Horns was 10 points in 2004-05
Here are the teams that dominate during this 8 year span:
Texas Volleyball 6-2
A&M Women’s Indoor Track 6-2
Texas Men’s Cross Country 6-2
Texas Women’s Swimming 6-2
Texas Men’s Swimming 8-0
Texas Women’s Tennis 6-2
Texas Baseball 7-1
A&M won the following head to head battles during the 8 year time frame.
Soccer – Women’s Basketball – Women’s Indoor Track – Men’s Golf – Women’s Golf – Women’s Outdoor Track – Men’s Outdoor Track
Texas won the head to head battle on the following sports.
Volleyball – Men’s Cross Country – Women’s Swimming – Men’s Swimming – Men’s Basketball – Men’s Indoor Track – Men’s Tennis – Women’s Tennis – Baseball – Football
The two teams tied with a 4-4 record in Softball and Women’s Cross Country
A&M should feel proud about their sports program during this period because the program collected 8 of their 12 national championships during this time. (1) Men’s Golf (3) Men’s Outdoor Track (3) Women’s Outdoor Track (1) Women’s Basketball
Compare that to the Longhorns who secured 5 of their 48 National Championships during this series. (1) Baseball (1) Football (1) Men’s Swimming (1) Women’s Outdoor Track (1) Women’s Indoor Track
The Aggies will be quick to point out to that their football program since 1975 finished with a record of 19-18 against the Horns. We all know how the final game of this series ended to help Texas establish a decisive 76-37-5 record. During the Lonestar Showdown timeframe the Horns held a 5-3 record over the Aggies.
Isn’t it when you really want something bad enough, aren’t you suppose to get it? Many Aggies may have said that I need it, I really want it and I have to have it. You can possibly say that the Aggies wanted it more this year than the Horns, but as it turned out THE UNIVERSITY of the state took home the state title. Just don’t tell Baylor.
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 Aggies.
Pre-Game WTH 118 years?! I agree that egos have caused this rivalry to end. The Aggies says “It’s time for Texas A&M”… to slug it out with the SEC. The Horns have their path to blaze (LHN). Divorce is tough. Let’s reunite for the kids’ sake.
1st Quarter (7:26) WTH Tucker?! The 31 yard punt by Justin Tucker was making every Longhorn fan pull out their hair. The only good outcome was that most of his punts were never returned. He definitely made up for his punting woes at the end.
2nd Quarter (12:13) WTH Refs 1?! Keenan Robinson was called for roughing the passer when the QB Ryan Tannehill landed on him? Keenan must have pissed off the entire officiating crew because he also got called for a horse collar penalty in the third quarter when he clearly just had the jersey.
2nd Quarter (9:31) WTH Shipley?! This is not for the pass play to Irby for the first score. Before that play and the muffed punt that caused all the electricity for the Horns, Jaxon Shipley I think had the play of the game. On third down his bad knee gave way and he barely got a hand on the ball to knock it down. An Aggie defender was there ready to make the interception and take it to the house. Close call!
2nd Quarter (1:47) WTH Harsin?! Coach Harsin I am going to blame you for this interception thrown by Miles Onyegbule. Your innovative play calling gets this Horn team so fired up that they will throw into triple coverage to please you.
We have completed a quarter of the season and it’s time to start looking at conference match ups for the Horns. But before we get back to football, I want to look back at Realignment Armageddon 2.0. We can surmise that the Big 12 is back together and everything is back to normal. (Who believes that?) I do think we need to take a look at what was lost. Here is what I believe the PAC 16 would have looked like if Larry Scott and the rest of the universities on the left coast would have opened the door to the 4 schools in the East.
Northwest Pod
Oregon state
Oregon
Washington
Washington State
West Pod
Stanford
California
UCLA
USC
Mountain Pod
Arizona
Arizona State
Colorado
Utah
East Pod
Texas
Texas Tech
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
The pod system would have played out by having the schools in the East only having to travel to the western time zone twice a year for football. The teams would play a home and away series for two years and switch to the other remaining teams in that pod. The travel schedule for most of the other university sports would be quite different due to the size of this conference, but we all know that football pays the bills. The media markets that this league would boast would cover 12 of the major 28 markets including the biggies such as LA, SF, Houston, & DFW.
Here is a look at the possible football schedule using the pod system for the Longhorns for the 2012 and 2014 season. The odd years would result in the teams switching destinations to accommodate the home and away series. The OU game would still be played at the Cotton Bowl every year. The remaining 3 non-conference games of the season would be a host of cupcake teams to offset a brutal but highly entertaining regular season (goodbye A&M)!
2012 – Pac 16 conference games
@ Oregon
Washington St
@ Standford
UCLA
@ Colorado
Arizona
@ Texas Tech
OU
@ OK State
2014 – Pac 16 conference games
Oregon St.
@ Washington
USC
@ California
Utah
@ Arizona St.
@ Texas Tech
OU
@ OK State
The Pac 16 games would provide better match ups and great destinations over the Big 12. The conference titles games would be the former Pac 8 schools (NW/West) against the Mountain/East division schools in locales such as Pasadena, Tempe or maybe even at Cowboy Stadium. Texas wants to play in large television markets for exposure and to play in mostly southern climates to recruit elite high school talent. The cons to this new frontier is that it would be much more difficult to reach a BCS bowl game or even the National Title game under the PAC 16 scenario. It looks like the Big 12 will allow the Longhorn Network to exist as long as the Tier 1 and Tier 2 television rights are shared among all schools in the league. There are probably some hurt feelings and back room deals that still need to be ironed out and another team needs to be added for this Big 12 conference to work. I just thought you might want to see what was lost last week when the Pac 12 was said that their full right now. I did enjoy DeLoss Dodds assessment of Texas during this entire upheaval. “We are who we are.”
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 @40AcresSports or follow me @Horns1991. HOOK EM!!
Best quote of A&M’s so far failed bid to leave the Big 12 for the SEC:
I’m not quite as sure why the SEC wants A&M, because other than getting its toes into the state of Texas – assuming College Station counts – this is like a high-end mall expanding to add a Walgreens.
From Jeff Schultz at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Andy Katz thinks pretty much every other recent conference move made sense, except of course the Aggies moving to the SEC. Some quotes from Katz:
This move specifically is done because Texas A&M didn’t like the way Texas was getting favored status from the Big 12.
And…
They didn’t like being treated as the second child.
The best one comes from the other host though…
A&M has been in the shadow of Texas for quite some while now.
Too bad for the Aggies. Instead of being little brother to Texas and Oklahoma whipping boy, they’ll now be fighting Mississipi State for fifth place in the SEC West. Aggie fans somehow think they’ll be better in SEC. They couldn’t consistently beat Texas Tech and Baylor but think they can hang with Bama and LSU.
It was the first time since 1983 that a team from the state of Texas hosted a basketball game as the #1 team in the country, and until overtime it looked like it would be a while before it happened again. The top ranked Texas Longhorns were taken to the buzzer by the Texas A&M Aggies Saturday evening before the Horns finally pulled away in overtime 72 – 67. After only 3 points in the first half, senior All-American candidate [tag]Damion James[/tag] put the team on his back and dominated with 23 points in the second half and overtime. His big 3-pointer and and then game ending block of an Aggie 3-pointer in OT finished off the thrilling victory.
Some brief highlights and thoughts on the game from ESPN are below…
Next up for the Horns are back-to-back road games against top 15 opponents. They’ll face #12 [tag]Kansas State[/tag] Monday night on ESPN and then travel to play #15 [tag]Connecticut[/tag] on Saturday on CBS.
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 Longhorns’ game against the Texas A&M Aggies.
1st Quarter (13:44) WTH Goonies?! The UT defense (aka “Goonies” or “Legion of Boom”) gave up a 70 yard touchdown pass to A&M Jeff Fuller which got the Aggies student body kissing crazy. The defense could not come up with any significant stops most of the night (A&M had 532 total yards). Some say that the short week caused the defense to be tired. Whatever the reason for the worst defensive outing of the year Coach Blood needs to get it corrected.
1st Quarter (10:12) WTH 4th Down?! [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] decided that he was practically going to go for it on every 4th down play (1 for 3 for the night). I do not mind the aggressive play calling but the razzle-dazzle option play to punter [tag]Justin Tucker[/tag] that traveled 15 yards to come up two yards short was ridiculous.
2nd Quarter (14:10 & 1:11) WTH 65 yards?! That is exactly the yardage that [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] ran up the middle to gouge the A&M defense for the go ahead score to start the second quarter. The run was so spectacular that it will definitely be replayed in New York during the Heisman presentation. That also happens to be the exact amount of yardage that Colt led the offense just before the half to take back the lead 21-14. He completed 4 out of 5 passes and ran twice during this series to grab back any momentum away for the Aggies. Two signature moments that every Longhorn fan needs to remember about Colt because I know the Aggies will never forget it.
2nd Quarter (6:27) WTH Frederick?! I have heard of being juked out of your shoes, but I never thought I would see it. A&M Terrence Frederick was trying to cover UT [tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag] when Terrence came out of both of his shoes. He did make the tackle in his stocking feet after the 12 yard completion.
Halftime WTH Aggie Band?! Well we lost another halftime to the Aggies. Will we ever win one?!
4th Quarter (6:57) WTH Goodwin?! The great equalizer after your rival just scored a touchdown to bring them within 3 points in the 4th quarter. [tag]Marquise Goodwin[/tag] returned the kickoff 95 yards for the final margin that sealed the win for the Horns. Speed kills and Marquise had the ultimate answer.
Next up for the Longhorn’s is the Big XII Championship against the Huskers at 7pm on Dec. 5th.
It wasn’t the game most Texas fans expected, but the wild, close game against Texas A&M might end up being a blessing for the Horns and [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]. The coaches have plenty of tape to motivate the offense and the defense all week and McCoy put on a Heisman highlight reel for the entire country. Check out highlights from the game below:
Close game? Blowout? The records don’t always matter when the Texas Longhorns take on the Texas A&M Aggies. This is their bowl game, the closest they’ll ever be to an important game. For the Horns it’s another step on the road to a national title shot. Can the Horns take care of business and not let emotion and momentum keep the Ags around? Find out what we think in our game predictions below:
Brian – Why are so many people predicting this game is going to be remotely close? This is a Texas A&M team that got blown out of the water by [tag]Kansas State[/tag] and embarrassed by a shell of an [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] team. They gave up 30 and barely beat Utah State. The Aggie offense has had it’s moments this season and quarterback Jarrod Johnson can chuck it a little (though he often has no control of where it’s headed), but the vaunted Wrecking Crew defense is one of the nation’s best. Tonight in front of a national Turkey Day audience the Horns are going to roll up big points and [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] is going to put up more big numbers for his Heisman campaign. Texas wins big. Texas 45, Texas A&M 17
Ross – Why I am nervous about the A&M game? Let’s take a look at the last few regular season games for this Longhorn team. Here are the winning margins of the last five games: 31 points, 33 pts, 32 pts, 27 pts, and last week was 34 points. Why should I be worried, the Longhorns have been putting teams away since the Sooners. OK, let’s look at the last five A&M contests.
2004 26-13 Win / 2005 40-29 Win / 2006 7-12 Loss / 2007 30-38 Loss / 2008 49 – 9 Win
The record is 3-2 that past five years and Colt McCoy has a losing record against the Aggies. The 2005 undefeated team went in to College Station (same momentum) and won a much closer game than the score indicated. I would like to think that we would win by the same 30 point average that we have racked up the last few weeks, but this is a rivalry game so I expect this to be a nail biter. Texas 28, Texas A&M 17