It Begins..
The hype that is. Strap it on these week Horns/Sooner fans because this may very well be the most hyped Red River Shootout we've seen in long time if not ever. You know how the media works - thank goodness they only have 5 days to do it (unlike the Texas/USC game where they had a month).
No "true upsets" this weekend which is good in a way in that OU, TX and Mizzou look to maintain their stranglehold on the top 4, but something's going to give over the next few weeks and it should make for some really good football. Oh so close Iowa State....oh so close.
Let's take a look at the conferences big 4 heading into the meat of conference play - this coming weekend will start a fairly grueling stretch for these teams.
Texas:
Very impressive win for the Horns this weekend - they had some lapses in a few offensive series (more on this later), but the defense was terrific. I could not be happier with how this defense played. If I'm not mistaken, they only got credited for a single sack, but the way these guys were able to get penetration on every play was great. Granted, CU's offensive line has been decimated with injuries this year, but nevertheless, great confidence builder. This has to be the best, most disciplined defense I've seen at Texas (especially this early in the year) in a long, long time. I even think this team is better now than the '05 national title team was during the same time of year. And the secondary looked great too. Cody Hawkins is a solid QB and he and his receivers made some plays in this game, but even when they made plays the D-backs were right there. And I'll give CU and any other team that 50 yard flea flicker play once a game all year long.
Regarding the offense, let's get this out of the way. H-U-G-E game for Chris Ogbonnaya - really great seeing this senior come alive. I've been a fan of this guy for a while and felt like he should have gotten more playing time, but I still say Cody Johnson is the guy to carry the load for the long haul. Either way, the Big O made some tremendous plays and really helped this Texas team maintain momentum. I did feel like that the play calling in the running game was bland and predictable. They kept running to the outside on every running play for the entire first half. I didn't get it. The offensive line didn't have their best game either. They weren't terrible, but they weren't near as good as they have been. Although they gave up 3 sacks, I do feel that Colt was responsible for at least 1 of those - I felt like he held on to the ball a little too long on numerous occasions (not just the sacks). But, offensive line has to protect a hell of a lot better than that, especially if OU gets fully healthy for this game. And Colt was Colt - couple of picks, but one of them was not at all his fault. But oh boy, the first one was all on him. Bad decision. Either way, it's only his 3rd of the year.
All in all, great game by the Horns. I will admit something, I was a bit upset when they gave up the TD as I was really hoping for a shutout to send a big defensive statement. Whatever, I wanted to see continued improvement and I think we got it last night. Great show and big win leading up to the next 4-5 games.
Oklahoma:
There's not a lot to say other than they are really, really good. What makes this upcoming game so interesting/intriguing to me is that although we've seen OU playing at this level in years past, I'm not sure we've seen Texas playing at this level in a very long time. If I had to pick and the game were tomorrow I'd honestly probably pick OU...but I don't have to pick now and I'm not.
Bradford is putting up some crazy numbers and he ain't making a lot of mistakes which is scary. And their defense doesn't do anything special, but they do what they need to do every game. I think their defense is not unlike the Texas defense to be honest. They're not holding teams to 100 yards of total offense a game, they're giving up yards, but they're not giving up big numbers and they're certainly not giving up a lot of points.
Here's what I know about next week - the game may very well be decided in the first quarter, between both teams' lines - OU is putting up some pretty gaudy numbers in the first half of their games this year so Texas will need to keep that in check. I do know this, it's going to be the most important week of practice these Horns have had in a long, long time. I hope they practice like they did leading up to the Holiday Bowl last year because I know the Sooners will be.
Missouri:
Wow - how far off was I on this one? Very impressive performance by Missouri's offense and very unimpressive performance by the entire Nebraska team. Not a terrible loss for Pelini and company as Missouri is obviously a very good team, but they're going to have to get a lot better if they're going to be anything but a doormat in this conference. The scary thing about Missouri in this game is they rushed for 200 yards, compared to just 79 yards rushing for Nebraska. You know what you're going to get from Daniel - a pedestrian 78% completion percentage for 250 and 3 TDs - but if they're going to start getting 150+ on the ground too then look out.
The Tigers have the luxury of playing in the North division so they miss OU and Tech this year, but they get a home game against Okie State next week (no gimme), the trip to Austin and then Colorado at home the following week. Not brutal, but no easy stretch either. Oklahoma State will test that secondary who gave up over 350 yards in the air to the Huskers - and frankly it will probably be a good tune up/test before coming to Austin the following week.
Texas Tech:
What can you say - Tech is Tech. It's not that I don't find it impressive because their ability to do what they do is something else. I'm not sure how good or bad Kansas State's defense is, but when you're throwing up 600+ yards of total offense, that's crazy. I shutter to think about what they may do to Nebraska's defense next week in Lubbock - and I imagine Bo Pelini is shuttering too. Here's the thing about Tech - they're very good and most definitely a top 3 or 4 team in this conference right now, but we've seen this from them before. I have no reason to believe that their defense (the achilles heal in years past) is any better this year - not because they're getting shredded, but because they haven't done anything different from past couple of years. Tech has a weird schedule - they get Nebraska at home next weekend and then they travel to A&M (look out Tech, Texas has been there recently...you have no business losing, but you very well could) and Kansas the following two weekends before coming back home to play Texas and Oklahoma State. I think we can safely say that there are very few teams in this conference who have an easy path over the next 4-6 weeks. Either way, Tech is a very good team and playing some damn good ball right now, but I'm being a tad cautious with them for the time being.
Other Happenings Around the College Gridiron:
I would guess that the Red Sox/Angels match up is probably one of the biggest going on right now..so why do they insist on playing the game so late? That's crazy - do they realize most of these fans have jobs? Crazy game scheduling.
That's all I got folks - enjoy the week and do yourself a favor, stay off of the message boards leading up to this Red River Shootout - you'll only drive yourself crazy.
No "true upsets" this weekend which is good in a way in that OU, TX and Mizzou look to maintain their stranglehold on the top 4, but something's going to give over the next few weeks and it should make for some really good football. Oh so close Iowa State....oh so close.
Let's take a look at the conferences big 4 heading into the meat of conference play - this coming weekend will start a fairly grueling stretch for these teams.
Texas:
Very impressive win for the Horns this weekend - they had some lapses in a few offensive series (more on this later), but the defense was terrific. I could not be happier with how this defense played. If I'm not mistaken, they only got credited for a single sack, but the way these guys were able to get penetration on every play was great. Granted, CU's offensive line has been decimated with injuries this year, but nevertheless, great confidence builder. This has to be the best, most disciplined defense I've seen at Texas (especially this early in the year) in a long, long time. I even think this team is better now than the '05 national title team was during the same time of year. And the secondary looked great too. Cody Hawkins is a solid QB and he and his receivers made some plays in this game, but even when they made plays the D-backs were right there. And I'll give CU and any other team that 50 yard flea flicker play once a game all year long.
Regarding the offense, let's get this out of the way. H-U-G-E game for Chris Ogbonnaya - really great seeing this senior come alive. I've been a fan of this guy for a while and felt like he should have gotten more playing time, but I still say Cody Johnson is the guy to carry the load for the long haul. Either way, the Big O made some tremendous plays and really helped this Texas team maintain momentum. I did feel like that the play calling in the running game was bland and predictable. They kept running to the outside on every running play for the entire first half. I didn't get it. The offensive line didn't have their best game either. They weren't terrible, but they weren't near as good as they have been. Although they gave up 3 sacks, I do feel that Colt was responsible for at least 1 of those - I felt like he held on to the ball a little too long on numerous occasions (not just the sacks). But, offensive line has to protect a hell of a lot better than that, especially if OU gets fully healthy for this game. And Colt was Colt - couple of picks, but one of them was not at all his fault. But oh boy, the first one was all on him. Bad decision. Either way, it's only his 3rd of the year.
All in all, great game by the Horns. I will admit something, I was a bit upset when they gave up the TD as I was really hoping for a shutout to send a big defensive statement. Whatever, I wanted to see continued improvement and I think we got it last night. Great show and big win leading up to the next 4-5 games.
Oklahoma:
There's not a lot to say other than they are really, really good. What makes this upcoming game so interesting/intriguing to me is that although we've seen OU playing at this level in years past, I'm not sure we've seen Texas playing at this level in a very long time. If I had to pick and the game were tomorrow I'd honestly probably pick OU...but I don't have to pick now and I'm not.
Bradford is putting up some crazy numbers and he ain't making a lot of mistakes which is scary. And their defense doesn't do anything special, but they do what they need to do every game. I think their defense is not unlike the Texas defense to be honest. They're not holding teams to 100 yards of total offense a game, they're giving up yards, but they're not giving up big numbers and they're certainly not giving up a lot of points.
Here's what I know about next week - the game may very well be decided in the first quarter, between both teams' lines - OU is putting up some pretty gaudy numbers in the first half of their games this year so Texas will need to keep that in check. I do know this, it's going to be the most important week of practice these Horns have had in a long, long time. I hope they practice like they did leading up to the Holiday Bowl last year because I know the Sooners will be.
Missouri:
Wow - how far off was I on this one? Very impressive performance by Missouri's offense and very unimpressive performance by the entire Nebraska team. Not a terrible loss for Pelini and company as Missouri is obviously a very good team, but they're going to have to get a lot better if they're going to be anything but a doormat in this conference. The scary thing about Missouri in this game is they rushed for 200 yards, compared to just 79 yards rushing for Nebraska. You know what you're going to get from Daniel - a pedestrian 78% completion percentage for 250 and 3 TDs - but if they're going to start getting 150+ on the ground too then look out.
The Tigers have the luxury of playing in the North division so they miss OU and Tech this year, but they get a home game against Okie State next week (no gimme), the trip to Austin and then Colorado at home the following week. Not brutal, but no easy stretch either. Oklahoma State will test that secondary who gave up over 350 yards in the air to the Huskers - and frankly it will probably be a good tune up/test before coming to Austin the following week.
Texas Tech:
What can you say - Tech is Tech. It's not that I don't find it impressive because their ability to do what they do is something else. I'm not sure how good or bad Kansas State's defense is, but when you're throwing up 600+ yards of total offense, that's crazy. I shutter to think about what they may do to Nebraska's defense next week in Lubbock - and I imagine Bo Pelini is shuttering too. Here's the thing about Tech - they're very good and most definitely a top 3 or 4 team in this conference right now, but we've seen this from them before. I have no reason to believe that their defense (the achilles heal in years past) is any better this year - not because they're getting shredded, but because they haven't done anything different from past couple of years. Tech has a weird schedule - they get Nebraska at home next weekend and then they travel to A&M (look out Tech, Texas has been there recently...you have no business losing, but you very well could) and Kansas the following two weekends before coming back home to play Texas and Oklahoma State. I think we can safely say that there are very few teams in this conference who have an easy path over the next 4-6 weeks. Either way, Tech is a very good team and playing some damn good ball right now, but I'm being a tad cautious with them for the time being.
Other Happenings Around the College Gridiron:
- Auburn certainly put itself in a hole this weekend with their second loss of the year. They've still got Alabama, West Virginia, and Ole Miss on the road and Georgia at home. I still think it's a very good bet that they knock off at least two of those teams.
- Weird start to that Texas game - Colt's "not quite past the line of scrimmage" play followed by the "he didn't quite get the ball out of the end zone" play.
- Speaking of, I'll take the play because it was awesome, but that rule of the ball vs. feet being over the line of scrimmage and/or end zone line. So as I understand it, with regards to the line of scrimmage, it's where your feet are. BUT, in the case of the end zone it's where the ball is. That's crazy.
- And by the way, there's no question that the ball crossed the end zone line in that kickoff return turned almost safety. Not that it mattered.
- Go look at the box score of the Oklahoma State/Aggie game and tell me how in the world Okie State doubled them up. Almost identical in total yards, time of possession, penalties and punts. I'll tell you how they did it - the Cowboys got 21 points off of turnovers and special teams.
- How about those range of emotions for Chizik and the Cyclones: Up 20 to nothing at half time and lose 35-33. That's absurd. Hope none of you made in big bets on that one...
- Looks like things are on track for Butch Davis and North Carolina - look out for this team over the next year and a half. They seem to be getting better and better each week and after that come-from-behind win at Miami last week I think they've got to brimming with confidence. And this week? They knocked off an undefeated (don't laugh) Connecticut team.
- Vandy still has Florida, Georgia (on the road) and the Vols - other than that they should win their games. I don't see them getting through all of those tough remaining games, but they're certainly playing at a high level.
- Yet another stellar endorsement for the AP polling system: Pitt beat South Florida on Thursday night. S. Florida's ranking? They drop from 10 to 19. Pitt's ranking? They enter the poll at 24. To boot - I believe this game was in South Florida. I know it was their first loss, but sheesh.
- And speaking of the Big East - will be interesting to see if they can throne a conference champ in a couple of months that's NOT ranked in the top 25.
- As I type this the early games have just concluded and my only question is what the hell happened to Philly? They've been playing quite well, but this is now 3 straight losses in close games. Granted, they all played very good defensive teams, but you have to pull those out. It's going to be very tough for them to climb back in the divisional hunt. I still question their play calling on the goal line. Hey, Reid, everyone a) knows what you're going to do and b) knows how to stop it. Philly was up 14-0 at one point.
- So Felix Jones just ran for a 33-yard touchdown on his first touch in the last two games - yea, keep giving it to that guy Jerry. Keep giving it to him.
- Nice come-from-behind win by the Titans to stay perfect. And that was in Baltimore. By the way, tough break for the Ravens - it was also their second straight close loss. But the Titans, man, still undefeated. Collins wasn't great, but this was the Baltimore defense. Looks like it was a pretty ugly game offensively for both teams, although Baltimore rushed for over 100 yards on this Titan defense.
- Hmm, Peyton Manning and the Titans are down by 2 scores in the second half and win the game. Imagine that. They needed that win in a bad kind of way.
- Seattle is horrible this year, but the Giants are starting to look like they are just a step or two better than anyone else right now.
- I could be wrong Cowboys' fans, but I'm inclined to say that what you're starting to see is the Wade Phillips era taking hold of the franchise. There is zero sense of urgency with this team right now, or so it would appear in the way they play. If they continue down this path then they will have some serious issues in this division where they still travel to Washington and Philly and get the Giants twice. The crazy thing is Cincy played a TERRIBLE game yesterday and were still in it in the fourth quarter. It's the NFL and a win is a win, but if I'm Cowboy fan, I'm a bit concerned.
- I know the Dolphin win over San Diego was a big statement, I'm just not sure yet in which direction: bigger win for Dolphins or bigger loss for Chargers? I do think the Dolphins are a much improved team and with Ronnie Brown playing at a high level and Ricky Williams playing well too, this is going to be a tough team down the stretch. Pennington is nothing special, but he's efficient as hell.
- I would say Matt Ryan is adjusting to the NFL quite nicely indeed. Great game and great win for that team. How many rookie QBs come in and play as well as he does (and acts like a professional and an adult like he does)? Not many.
- What a great drive Kerry Collins put up to win the game in Baltimore yesterday. I think it's safe to say that Collins is the number 1 guy in Nashville barring injury or complete collapse and I don't see him collapsing. I had to look this up, but he's a free agent after this year, but VY has 3 years left. Next year, Vince makes a pedestrian $2 million, but will get an average of over $12 million the following 2 years. BUT, the Titans can cut him after next year and not pay him a dime. Collins is 35 and Vince is at a crossroads: will be an interesting next couple of years for the Titans. Assuming everything stays equal/the same through next year I see the Titans cutting Vince because they've never been an organization to invest a whole hell of a lot in their offense and if they can keep a very efficient Collins playing at this level for another year or two they'll jump on it and take their chances with developing/bringing in another QB down the road. BUT, the Titans will have to resign KC after this year and I imagine there will be some teams who will be coming after him as well. VY will get his chance in another franchise at some point and I think it will behoove both parties. VY needs to be in an offensive-minded organization and the Titans are anything but that. More importantly than that, VY needs to learn to understand that he doesn't know it all and he needs to work his ass off to become a starter somewhere else.
- I still can't believe Jerry Jones isn't going to (allegedly) trade for Roy Williams at Detroit. Something tells me over the next 10 months he'll be regretting that....assuming he doesn't really do it.
- This is weird - if I'm not mistaken, I don't think the Redskins play another divisional road game? They beat Dallas and Philly on the road and I *think* they played in New York the first game of the year...that's quite lucky to get those road games out of the way this early in the season.
- Kurt Warner silenced the critics this weekend - knocking off previously undefeated Buffalo and doing it without any turnovers.
- Interesting note I heard this weekend: In the same week (and maybe on the same day) both OJ Simpson and Lawrence Phillips were sentenced to prison. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving pair.
I would guess that the Red Sox/Angels match up is probably one of the biggest going on right now..so why do they insist on playing the game so late? That's crazy - do they realize most of these fans have jobs? Crazy game scheduling.
That's all I got folks - enjoy the week and do yourself a favor, stay off of the message boards leading up to this Red River Shootout - you'll only drive yourself crazy.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 3:21 PM
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