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.

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Texas takes on [tag]Iowa State[/tag] and former Texas coach Gene Chizik today at 11:30 on FSN and the team is still looking for it’s first Big 12 win of the season. Riding a four game conference losing streak the Horns are looking to get back on track against an ISU team that has struggled mightily this season under their new coach.

The Longhorns are big favorites, but here are three things to watch for in today’s game:

1. Hold on to the freaking football.

[tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag]’ fumble last week wasn’t the only mistake the Longhorns made in the loss to Oklahoma but it was certainly a back breaker. He’s run hard and pretty well despite an inexperienced offensive line and a sometimes questionable offensive scheme, but at some point that doesn’t matter if you can’t hold on to the football consistently. For me that point was last week. It’s time to get [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] more touches and keep Charles on the sideline when the Horns get inside the red zone.

2. Play more young guys.

McGee isn’t the only youngster who needs to start seeing increased playing time. Texas is a program that should be (and has been) a perennial top 10 team but they’re not likely to end there this season so it’s time to start looking towards 2008. This doesn’t mean throw in the towel on this season, on the contrary playing guys like Sergio Kindle, Deon Beasley, McGee, John Chiles, and Michael Huey should give the Horns a boost in 2007 as well. I hope these guys can get some meaningful early minutes and that Texas pulls away enough to get them even more time in the second half.

3. Try a double pass or other trick play.

Trick plays sure worked well against Texas’ Gene Chizik coached defense last year so today seems like a great day to finally execute the Colt McCoy to [tag]John Chiles[/tag] double pass. The Horns tried it last week against OU but couldn’t hold off defenders long enough to give Chiles a chance to throw. Chiles just needs to play more in general and not just on trick plays. So far every time he’s been in the game the play call has involved him so defenses are able to key on him and be on the lookout for trickeration. Line him up out wide and send him on a normal pass route a few times per game.

Looks like we’re definitely headed towards another situation where the early FSN game is going to interfere with the start of the Texas vs. [tag]Rice[/tag] game. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have decided to forego defense and play a 9-hour offensive shootout. All is not lost however, if you’re a DirecTV customer the game will start on schedule on channel 667 and you can check out FSN Southwest’s contingency plan for the telecast over on the official UT football site. Plus I’ll post frequent updates on the game here on this post. Stay tuned…

First Quarter

• Rice won the toss and will kick off.
• Good deep kick and [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] takes a knee.
• Chris Hall starting at right tackle again. Limas Sweed is healthy enough to make the start at receiver.
• Colt McCoy misses Cosby on a 12 yard out.
• [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] may never touch the football again. Another damn fumble. Rice football.
• No surprises starting at linebacker. Same three veterans: Derry, Bobino, Killebrew.
• Great penetration on the blitz by [tag]Rashad Bobino[/tag] results in a loss of yards.
• [tag]Deon Beasley[/tag] got the start at cornerback over Brandon Foster.
• How is that not grounding? Rice OL forgets to block Frank Okam and he gets a free run at the QB.
• There’s a flag, they called it after all. Rice lining up for 50-yard field goal attempt.
• Rice kicker misses wide left. My former coworker and former Rice kicker Derek Crabtree would’ve made that one. Or so he’d tell me.
• Charles is still the running back. McCoy hits Jermichael Finley on a quick out for a 9 yard game.
• Charles reverses field and gets a good gain. Kid has tons of talent, hold on to the ball and I’ll be your best friend.
• Ugly option play and McCoy gets brought down hard. Guard Cedric Dockery got his ass kicked.
• Great catch on a hitch by Cosby. Colt tried to get him killed. Short of the first down and Texas has to punt.
• Texas sends out [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] with the rest of the punting team in some sort of likely fake but we screw it up and have to blow a timeout.
• After the timeout we’ve got the regular offense out there for 4th and 2.
• Lead dive out by Charles behind FB Atwan Cobb gets the first down.
• Completion from McCoy to Nate Jones on a slant. 7 yard gain.
• McCoy fumbles the shotgun snap but he rolls to his left and finds Cosby alone for a completion and a first down.
• Terrible looking play where two Texas linemen are running laterally 3 yards deep in the backfield and Charles has to fight his way through them on the counter before he can get a couple of yards. Yikes.
• Tony Hills with an obvious hold made more obvious by the fact that he threw his hands up in the air trying to claim innocence. Costs the Horns a first and goal opportunity.
• McCoy and Cosby bail out Hills. Great pass and catch for the touchdown on 3rd and long. The inside receiver was even more open on the play.

Rice 0, Texas 7

• About 1:30 left in the Tech/OSU game and OSU just scored to go up by four on a 54 yard TD catch.
• Didn’t know Texas was using the Bill Bates air conditioned shoulder pads. Great technology.
• Great job by Aaron Lewis to string out the play, Bobino flies to the ball and blows up the blocker, and Lewis is able to make the tackle.
• The Rice receiver might have been bobbling that ball. Rice thinks so too and is running the no huddle.
• Rice’s line is getting whipped right now. They’re doubling the two defensive tackles and that allowed the end to come and make the tackle untouched.
• As I’ve said over and over again, that spread punt formation is the dumbest thing in college football. Texas gets the ball at their 33.
• Colt is holding the ball a tick too long on the deep ball. Another underthrown bomb and another incompletion. He’s got a good enough arm if he gets rid of it a little quicker he’d be a lot more successful.
• Long run by Charles on the single back counter.
• Another ill advised deep ball. Come on Colt. Be smart. Interception but there’s flag on the play.
• McCoy bailed out by the pass interference call. That could have gone either way. First down Texas.
• John Chiles in the game. McCoy motioned left and Chiles ran the zone read. Nice idea but center Dallas Griffin got his ass beat and a Rice lineman blew up the play.
• Two incompletions and Texas will have to attempt a field goal.
• Ryan Bailey’s 44-yard field goal goes right down the middle.

Rice 0, Texas 10

• If our corners are going to give 15 yard cushion they can’t miss freaking tackles. Beasley whiffs and there’s a good gain for Rice.
• Ryan Palmer shows Beasley how to do it.
• Sergio Kindle in the game. Texas defensive line is blowing up the zone read every time.
• Looked like all the young linebackers might have been out there on that series. Rice has to punt.
• Cosby fair catches a line drive punt at the 10 and Texas starts this possession with bad field position.
• Charles lined up at wideout and McCoy puts a beautiful pass in his hands and Charles drops it. Would have been an easy 6.
• Colt is leaving all these short passes up high. Doesn’t seem to have the zip on it he did last season.
• The game is on regular FSN Southwest now so I’ll be doing less play by play and make more witty comments.

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I’ll update this post from time to time today with any news on National Signing Day including who has sent in their letter of intent and any other rumors going around. Most of the guys should be signed by around noon and then we’ll just be waiting around for Jonas Mouton’s decision this evening.

Morgan shocks Aggies and Seminoles

4-star linebacker Michael Morgan was expected to choose between Florida State and Texas A&M last night and surprised everyone when he announced he’d be headed to USC next fall. While the Trojans were in his final three, most experts believed he was headed to FSU or possibly to the Aggies if he decided he wanted to stay closer to home.

The announcement sent the Aggie fans into meltdown mode. He was a critical recruit and one they had been very confident about landing for a while. The Aggies had a down year on the field this season and it’s been reflected in their lack of success in recruiting, Morgan would have been a very nice addition to an otherwise average class.

Latest on Mouton

Seems like most experts are predicting Jonas Mouton will pick Michigan tonight when he announces his decision on Fox Sports West. There’s still people predicting Texas or USC and Mouton has kept things pretty close to the vest, so these are all just guesses and gut feelings. I think in the end Texas just got in too late to have a chance to completely win him over.

Signed letters of intent as of 9 a.m.

According to Geoff Ketchum over at Orangebloods.com, 19 players have already signed their letter of intent to play for the Horns as of about 9 a.m. The following players have been confirmed by the Orangebloods staff:

• [tag]Ben Alexander[/tag]
• [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag]
• [tag]Buck Burnette[/tag]
• [tag]Antwan Cobb[/tag]
• [tag]Dustin Earnest[/tag]
• [tag]Brian Ellis[/tag]
• [tag]Sherrod Harris[/tag]
• [tag]Robert Joseph[/tag]
• [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag]
• [tag]Hunter Lawrence[/tag]
• [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag]
• [tag]Steven Moore[/tag]
• [tag]Jared Norton[/tag]
• [tag]Phillip Payne[/tag]
• [tag]Jevan Snead[/tag]
• [tag]Greg Smith[/tag]
• [tag]Roy Watts[/tag]
• [tag]JMarcus Webb[/tag]
• [tag]Montre Webber[/tag]

Steve Moore was the first one in this morning at around 7:30 and there’s been a steady flow since. I’m glad to see Ben Alexander‘s name already on the list as I had a slightly bad feeling about him. He’s out of state and several schools from the ACC and SEC have still been recruiting him since he committed back in June.

All letters of intent are in (11 a.m.)

The last six of the 25 man class are signed and Orangebloods has confirmation on them. Add the following names to the Class of 2006:

• [tag]Deon Beasley[/tag]
• [tag]James Henry[/tag]
• [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag]
• [tag]Eddie Jones[/tag]
• [tag]Josh Marshall[/tag]
• [tag]Britt Mitchell[/tag]

Now just waiting on Mouton…

Mouton to Michigan (4 p.m.)

His press conference isn’t for several more hours but it appears Jonas Mouton has already made his decision. Lloyd Carr’s official press release on the Wolverines’ signees confirms that Mouton has signed his letter of intent and makes tonight’s press conference just a formality.

That wraps up things for the Longhorns today as everybody we knew about is already in and no one new is really left out there. We’ll have an overview of the entire class soon as well as a position-by-position breakdown of next year including the new guys in the coming days/weeks.