BCS Turnaround

Wow, after 2 VERY boring and predictable games in the Rose and Sugar Bowls the BCS is breathing a sigh of relief. The Fiesta and Orange Bowls both gave us unpredictable victories in two pretty exciting games. And man-o-man, I laid an egg in the stump luck bowl pick 'em game - I think I threw my bracket away some time on Tuesday evening.

Oklahoma:
Look, I'm not going to get on Stoops a whole lot - as I said earlier this week, he's won 4 conference titles, played for a fifth and played in 5 BCS games....he's a pretty good coach and he's consistent. BUT, at some point you've got to win one of these big games. The most interesting thing is they've lost these BCS games to opponents from around the country and from various conferences (USC, LSU, Boise State and West Virginia). The bigger issue (to this longhorn fan) is this really hurts the Big 12 conference "perceptions". It's one thing if Texas beats ASU and Okie State beats up on Indiana, but when the best of the conference lays an egg like that - Ugh.

OU will be just fine - they've got that entire offense coming back. They will be replacing a few more defensive guys, but I'm not sure that's such a bad thing at this point. Believe me, they can be doing MUCH worse than what they're currently doing - I think Stoops will have this team right in the thick of things next year. And the other good news is he absolutely owns Mack Brown and if (when) they get by Texas, it's almost cruise control to the conference title year after year.

But, that was a tremendously poor showing the other night - embarrassing loss for a team like OU.

West Virginia:
I think it's fair to say this game was like a "Fairy Tale" for the Mountaineers given everything they've been through over the last month. I don't think many folks gave them a chance - I know I didn't. The way these guys executed and moreover, the way they were getting pressure in Bradford's face all night was something else - that was a perfect example of a team hitting on all cylinders. The way they were able to score immediately after OU all through the second half was amazing. Kudos to those kids - huge win for that program.

HOWEVER, I do think it's a bit of a stretch to give their Interim Coach Bill Stewart the head coaching job after 1 game. Look, he did a heck of a job keeping those kids focused throughout all the madness and they obviously love the guy, but as I said, this was like a fairy-tale game for them - the challenge is sustaining that over an off-season (and oh yea, you have to recruit) and into summer drills and then throughout an entire season.

Who knows, he may be the guy who can get them over the hump and into the title game (they've been oh-so-close in 2 different years including this year), but I think they jumped the gun just a bit here. As their largest booster wrote in a letter to the AD, "you hired a painter to build a house." It's not a knock on Stewart, rather it's recognizing that this is a big-time program and you need a big-time coach....here's hoping Stewart turns out to be the guy; I'm just not sure he is.

Kansas:
Wow.....I mean, WOW!!! Man, when you're wrong, you're wrong...and I was dead wrong on this one. I thought for sure that Mizzou somewhat exposed Kansas just a bit (and I certainly thought Mizzou should have been in this game rather than Kansas), but I guess I was wrong. I really thought (and wrote here) that Virginia Tech would win this by 2 or 3 touchdowns.

What a terrific job Mangino did last night - I was stunned at how fast they came out. They had a tremendous game plan on both sides of the ball and they stuck to it, even when Virginia Tech took all the momentum in the second half. That coaching staff deserves some tremendous kudos for coming up with the perfect game plan.

I'll tell you, I thought for sure that when Kansas had first and goal on the 1-yard line and then backed themselves up to the 30 before throwing an INT, it was definitely over. But, Kansas' defense simply pushed the Hokie offense around. Loved the fact that they out-played Beamer at his specialty - special teams. The Jayhawks had a field goal blocked and a fake punt for a first down...and they recovered an on-sides attempt by Virginia Tech. All in all a great win for Kansas and an even better win for the conference.

Looking ahead to next year, 2 things that most interest me about Kansas. First, they are bringing back almost every starter they have on both sides of the ball. Talent should not be a problem for them next year. BUT, and secondly, with the conference schedule shuffle going on next year the Jayhawks get Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech next year - 3 teams they did not face this year. The good news? Those 3 games there will significantly boost their strength of schedule. The bad news? They actually have to play those 3 teams - I think two of them are on the road as well.

The Big 12 will be very interesting next year.

And finally, from the "this just in" file...
It would appear that the Texas Longhorns spoke with/interviewed Auburn Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp yesterday. Yes, this does sound familiar as Texas nabbed Auburn Defensive Coordinator Gene Chizik for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

I'll tell you what, if they can get this guy I would be absolutely thrilled. Auburn will end up a top 10 team in almost all defensive categories...Texas was near the bottom. This would, without a doubt, be an upgrade on the defensive side of the ball.

I read online that Muschamp was offered a job from Southern Miss this year. I have to believe that one pro to coming to Texas would be the high potential/probability for better head coaching offers down the road. Chizik came in for 2 years and got a head coaching job in the Big 12. Robinson was here for 2 years and got a head coaching job in the Big East - both BCS conferences I'll add. If Muschamp is able to come in here and significantly turn this defense around within a year or two, he'll certainly be a hot commodity.

This also says to me that Duane Akina may not be "the man". He won't be fired, but I don't imagine he'll be calling the shots as much should Muschamp come to the 40 acres. I think I read this in Bohls' column (or somewhere), but I agree with it: After all that emotion and intensity in that big Holiday Bowl win, Mack should come out in his next press conference and say, emphatically, we WILL have a top 10 defense next year. We will get better and do whatever is necessary to get there, but we'll get there.

That would be sweet, but it doesn't sound like our guy now does it?

And finally, I'll end the week on this little note that just may make you Longhorn fans spew your coffee all over your screens......

Mack Brown has more BCS Bowl wins than Bob Stoops. Stew on that one for a bit.

This Just In...

No sooner than I publish my post did the great, wise Charlie Brown inform me that Jamaal Charles is leaving for the NFL draft. I must say I am a bit surprised by this. He'll certainly get drafted and I'm sure he'll do well once he gets around some of those NFL coaches, but again, I'm a tad surprised.

Obviously I want him to come back, but honestly, I think another year would have done wonders for him. I'm sorry to see him go as he really could have made a big national splash going into next season, but oh well. I like McGee and like his speed, he's just not going to step in and pick up where Charles left off, not by a long shot. I'm also hoping the Big O can step in and start establishing himself as an every-down back. We shall see, but hopefully this will also open the door for recruiting.

Also announced was the fact that Larry MacDuff is leaving after just one year as co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. I have to wonder if MacDuff is playing fall guy though. Knowing Mack Brown and his antics like we do, this could have been presented as he's "leaving" while in reality he was "forced" out. Not sure if this will have any impact whatsoever except that there won't be a "co" in front of Duane Akina's title.

Anyway, the real post is just below - continue reading and enjoy.....

Jeckyll and Hyde Horns

The Longhorns pulled another case of schizophrenia last week - coming out and playing inspired football and dominating their opponent from beginning to end. You know what would have been great - if they actually did that at any point during the regular season.

I'm not sure what happened during those 3 weeks off, but whatever it is Mack needs to bottle and pull it out again on the first day of spring drills....and then a whole crap load of it when summer camp starts. The most glaring difference between this team and "regular season" Texas was the fast start - they scored 21 points in the first quarter. Take away the Rice and Iowa State games and those 21 points may be what they scored combined in the first quarters all year. And Charles, yet again, was able to pound and pound on the ASU defense (more on Charles below).

The defense was especially impressive - I think Duane Akina probably saved his job....if it was even in jeopardy to begin with of course. The secondary made tremendous plays and the pass rush was there all game long sacking Carpenter 4 times and ultimately knocking him out of the game.

And then we have McCoy. Could it be possible that our little General could be turning into a bona fide running threat? Don't get me wrong, he's not now nor will he ever be anything close to a Tim Tebow, but he made some pretty damn good plays with his feet. Of course his fumbling was maddening - he turned his usual 1-2 INTs a game into 0 INTs, but 4 fumbles. He's GOT to stop turning the ball over. With that said, he made some really great throws - we know he can do it and I don't think arm strength is an issue for him at all. He's still not consistent enough and I know he's only a sophomore in terms of football years, but it's worth pointing out. I think the one key thing keeping him from going from a good QB to a great QB is his consistency and that comes down to decision making most times. I've said it before that I think we've seen the best of Colt McCoy, but if he truly can establish just an ounce of running threat, his life will get tremendously easier, especially if he's got Charles back next year. He played a great game, especially with his feet, and it will be interesting to see how that develops.

Quick note on Arizona State. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I imagine it's a combination of ASU not being as good as they were getting credit for, and them not being as motivated/pumped up as Texas. Either way, they looked horrible. If I'm Erickson I think I'm taking a close look at that backup QB for next year. He took them down the field in no time at all - and Rudy was terrible. I'm not sure what all the hype about him has been about and I'm sure he's played much better games than this one, but he was under throwing balls left and right. I know it doesn't help when the defense is in your face all night, but he didn't make one play all night long. I was very unimpressed with that ASU team....BUT, I was also shocked by the Texas team I saw so who knows.

Eating Crow and Flip Flopping:
I officially am changing my opinion of Jamaal Charles. His continued improvement from week-to-week throughout the year has been somewhat remarkable. He's really turned into a premier back. I'm sure he'll be tempted to turn pro given his dominance over the last few weeks, but I really hope he stays for his senior year and he probably should - I think it can only raise his stock...especially given that the RB position is the easiest to fill in the NFL. There were a lot of folks who saw him play one of his best games last week which should serve him well. If he can put a full season together like he played the second half of this year, he may just find himself in that H-word discussion....but that's a long way away. I'm actually excited about having him back next year and seeing what he's able to do.

Looking Ahead:
Well, like I said, if Texas can find a way to bottle whatever it is they credit this last game to, they're in good shape. Seriously, you have to hope that this new "mantra" of accountability and hard work will become a constant here - there's no excuse not to continue it after what we've seen. How did that team we saw last week possibly lose to A&M and get destroyed by Kansas State? Bottom line is these are 18, 19 and 20 year-old kids who have been told they are God's gift to football all through high school - if you don't ride their asses and demand their focus, they'll do whatever they want...as we saw last off season.

Offensively they're returning just about everyone. They lose 2 offensive lineman, but both were lost for the year with injury over the last 2 months so the good news is some of the younger guys got to see some action sooner than they might have. They also lose Nate Jones and Billy Pittman, but they've got Finley, Shipley and Cosby all back. It would be great to see Finley break out next year at the tight end position.

By the way, regarding Mr. McCoy, if all things stay constant and for him over the next 2 seasons, he will hold just about every Texas passing record....which is something. If he has has another year or two like his freshman year - he's shatter them.

The defense is another story - they'll be replacing quite a few players on both the line and in the secondary. Frank Okam is leaving and we pray that Orakpu sticks around for his senior year. Derek Lokey also leaves as does Scott Derry at LB so next year's defense will certainly be a question mark. Honestly I'm not overly confident about it, but we'll see. Hopefully Akina has seen the light and knows what he needs to do.

Looking at the schedule, the Horns will definitely be tested early and often. They get UTEP, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas and Rice in the "pre-season" with UTEP being the only road game (Happy to see the Razorbacks in there for another year). And of course it's time for the north division shuffle - Texas will visit Kansas and Colorado and will host Missouri. All in all, Texas will be playing 9 teams who went to bowl games this year - I know it doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot, but it's something.

Sideline Gaffe:
What a circus that play was. First and foremost, the guy (along with the dozen or so other coaches/players) should not have been on the field anywhere near the ball...he shouldn't have been touching the field of play in anyway. BUT, here's where I have an issue with the whole thing: what prompted the refs to review the play? I'm not sure why they initially went over to review the play, but I don't think it was ever clarified, certainly not by ESPN (more on this below) . Secondly, in the review, they said that the assistant coach touched the ball. Really, because we all saw the same angles the review team saw and I can tell you with 100% certainty that there's no possible way to conclusively say that he touched the ball. In fact, I'm almost certain he did not.

The bottom line is this - did the guy go into the field of play and at least attempt to "interfere" with the ball while in play? Yep, no question. Did he touch the ball? Can't say for sure, but I can say that I'm 99.999% sure he did not. If you want to penalize Texas for their second sideline warning (they'd been given a warning earlier in the game), so be it, but don't just create a reason to penalize the team. And then to give them the penalty yards, but not the automatic first down? That was weird. All in all, the refs were terrible in this game and made some very sketchy calls against both teams throughout the first half - they got themselves too involved in the game and didn't know how to get out of it.

ESPN:
Hands-down one of the worst productions of a college football game I've seen...ever. Their feeble attempt to make the "sideline gaffe of '07" an actual story above the game was pathetic. I've said it before, sideline reporters do more to detract from the game than anything else. I assure you no one outside of the Davie family gives a you-know-what about what he has to say on the sideline - and we sure don't need to see him when he's talking at us. And please keep the reporters out of the stands. And Mussberger was just horrendous. I like Herbstreit a lot and I know he's an OSU nut and clearly biased, but they all are. In terms of calling games I think he may be one of the better ones. But him and Mussberger together was terrible. The Rose Bowl was a little better, but not by much.

Pull it together ESPN, stop taking away from the game - save yourself some money and stop paying sideline reporters to piss off the viewers.

Other Highs and Lows of the Bowl Week:

• The Aggies looked like they were dominating PSU....for about 2 minutes. I guess once Penn State figured out the game plan, that was it as Darnell had nothing in his back pocket. We'll see if Sherman can upgrade things a bit, but they really need better talent.
  
• Illinois and Hawaii - yea, that's pretty much what we thought. I turned both of these games off early as I imagine several other households did. Man, I wonder if the respective bowl committees wouldn't love to have that one back. Sadly I imagine we'll see much of the same over the next 2 nights.
  
• Great game and comeback win by Tech. I know they played pretty poorly in the first half, but Leach has to be happy with how they clawed back - not characteristic of the Red Raiders. That and they've got about 19 returning starters next year.
  
• LOVED hearing the Texas sideline chant Rudy, Rudy....as Carpenter was being helped off the field. Evidently, according to the stellar commentating, Carpenter was talking quite a bit of smack about how overrated Texas was and what he was going to do against them....like throw 3 INTs. I said it above - bench that kid, he's horrible.
  
• Congratulations to Lloyd Carr and Michigan - very impressive win over a very talented and fast Florida team. That little gem should stir up some more unneeded debate on the SEC vs. every other conference.
  
• Here's guessing Florida is vastly improved next year as they've got a bona fide running back eligible to play and they return quite a few players on both sides of the ball....including that heisman winner kid.
  
• What an impressive day for the Missouri running game - namely Tony Temple who racked up what seemed like 500 yards on the ground. Seriously, he had 281 and 4 TDs. That's insane. Clearly the Razorbacks were keying on Chase Daniel and the passing game in their preparation.
  
• I certainly hope that OU and VaTech stomp their opponents so as to send a message to the bowl committees - put the best match ups together, whatever it takes.
  
• Memo to Rich Rodriguez (and Michigan) - pay back the $4 million you owe W. Virginia as stipulated in your contract and end this stupid mess - it will hurt all parties involved the more this lingers and let's be honest - $4 mil is nothing to any of these parties.
  
• The more I look at the pollsters and the line setters in Vegas the more I'm convinced that the pollsters should let Vegas do the rankings - those guys seem to know exactly what they're doing the vast majority of the time.
  

Running Horns:
After a great start to the season (one of the best in decades), Texas hit a couple of speed bumps through their Big 10 gauntlet. I did get to see some of the MSU game in replay, but just read about the Wisconsin game. Michigan State doesn't surprised me as one of the most glaring question marks (weakness really) is Texas' lack of size. Michigan State is a very physical and pretty big team and Izzo coaches kids to be tough and I think they just over powered Texas. They rebounded when they needed to and played great defense until the last couple of minutes. It was bound to happen and it's by no means the end of the world for this team, but they do need to be prepared for more play like that from future opponents.

The Wisconsin game on the other hand is a bit more concerning. Again, the prescription for this loss was defense and rebounding. The most frustrating thing is that Wisconsin was without their top scorer. Simply put, Texas dicked around let the Badgers hang around until the end of the game. Can't do that with a team like Wisconsin.

The good news? Texas gets coveted freshman Gary Johnson back in the lineup tonight following heart risks/issues. He was cleared by doctors to play and it looks like he'll get some playing time this afternoon against TCU. Hopefully he can work begin to ease himself into playing shape soon enough as he adds some much needed bulk to this Texas lineup (6-7, 235 pounds). After tonight, Texas gets Saint Mary's (not a pushover team at all) on Saturday before kicking off conference play next Saturday at Missouri. This should be a good year for Big 12 basketball with the aggies continuing to play very well following Gillespie's departure (how's that working out for you Kentucky???) and of course Kansas continuing to kick ass. And you know Knight will have the Red Raiders ready to play.

NFL Playoffs:
Ahhh, very excited about this year's playoffs - should be some great games. In watching/listening to games this past weekend, a common theme kept coming up that surprised me - the Dallas Cowboys not playing all out against Washington. Part of me agrees with everyone outside of Dallas in that this game really didn't mean much to the Cowboys and they had nothing to gain by winning the game. The Dallas fans kept calling into radio shows and trying to convince the country that this is still a big rivalry and the Cowboys will treat it just like every other game. I hope for their sake they were wrong. Look, this isn't college football - rivalries mean a lot, but not near as much as staying healthy in the playoffs - that trumps everything.

With that said, I did hear one interesting argument - Dallas did have motivation to win in that if they would have won, it could have potentially knocked out the Redskins out of the playoffs (along with a Vikings win) and if you're Dallas, do you really want to face this Redskin team in the playoffs? Dallas should win the game (assuming it would happen), but I gotta think that Washington is one of these teams that no one wants to face. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say I think Washington upsets Seattle this weekend. They seem to be extremely motivated and they've got the "fate factor" on their side considering the loss to Sean Taylor earlier this year. Interesting thought, but again, I'll side with healthy in the playoffs over anything else.

I also think Tennessee vs. San Diego could be an interesting match up. The Chargers should win this game, but it's not like these guys are playing with supreme consistency. Tomlinson is Tomlinson and he'll get his yards, but if you can get pressure on Rivers, you've got a chance. Fisher will have to do a superb job of preparing his team, but they can conceivably pull the upset here. Not saying it will happen, but I wouldn't call it a Charger lock either.

I'm taking Tampa Bay over the G-men - if they play like they did against the Patriots they could beat the Bucs pretty good...I just don't think they will. Tampa by a touchdown.

Jags at Pittsburgh could be another very good game. The Jags just beat the Steelers there in Pitt a few weeks ago and look like a team on a mission. I think it's hard enough to beat the Steelers twice in a year much twice at home in the same month. I'm going with the home team here in a squeaker, but again, this one is no lock. How is it possible that not one player from Jacksonville made the pro bowl?

That's what I got gang. I'll try and get a Year-in-review out next week after the rest of the meaningless bowl games are over with (except that last one). Have a good short week and hope you enjoyed your holidays. Happy New Year!