Local sports commentary

[Boogahz]

I just thought it would be fun to post some of the random stuff that shows up in the local papers regarding the football season. This one was in regards to the Texas-Baylor game:

COMMENTARY: KIRK BOHLS

A college football mulligan
Texas, Baylor would do things differently

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Saturday, October 20, 2007

With kickoff for the titanic Texas-Baylor football game fast approaching, you can literally feel the electricity. Sorry, that's my cell phone on vibrate. But there's so much tension in the air, you can cut it with a flyswatter.

Yes, we kid. Because when these two teams are playing in the Basement Bowl as the only teams in the Big 12 South that are NOT tied for first, you're left with little drama other than a projected solution for Baylor assistant Eric Schnupp's bladder problems.

So with the Longhorns and Bears lugging a collective 1-5 league record into Floyd Casey Stadium, we've come up with five things the Mack Brown braintrust would do differently if today's game against the 24-point underdog Bears were the 2007 season-opener.

1) Play John Chiles more. And more.

This could be 1, 2 and 3 because it's the biggest Mack mulligan. This is the one strategic decision that could have had the most profound impact on the Longhorns' season because it would have accomplished so many things.

Were the versatile freshman quarterback in more games more frequently, his presence would have energized what has been a dormant running attack all season long, one that ranks 51st nationally and just sixth in the Big 12. It also would have better positioned Texas in the event of an injury to Colt McCoy, which is hardly an outlandish notion considering he suffered a severe neck stinger that — in this opinion — cost the Longhorns two games last season and suffered a mild concussion that threatened to ruin this entire season.

In addition, Chiles would have been more game-ready for the Oklahoma game. Instead of rushing for a mere 61 yards in that game, Texas might have doubled it, had it used Chiles for more than two plays. The coaches' excuse that McCoy was playing well ignores the root problem that the team is not a physical run team and that it could substantially benefit with Chiles in the backfield as a runner or running threat. He would complement Colt, not replace him.

It's totally inexcusable that Chiles has thrown just eight passes this season and completed just one. Brown inserted him and the second-team Longhorn offense for one first-quarter series in last week's blowout victory over Iowa State and didn't go back to him until late in the third quarter when the score was so out of hand that it precluded Chiles from passing out of deference to former Texas defensive co-coordinator Gene Chizik.

2) Play all the running backs.

Instead of relying on Jamaal Charles almost exclusively the first six games and using Chris Ogbonnaya and Vondrell McGee sporadically, Texas should have switched to McGee after Charles' two fumbles against Central Florida and especially after his killer fumble on the brink of the Oklahoma goal-line in that loss.

None of the three has shown the ability to take over a game. It's far too late now, but Texas should have known what it had in Charles and pushed along true freshmen Fozzy Whittaker and Cody Johnson in September if it believed none of the top three was the answer.

Charles has more than 100 carries more than any other running back but runs too hesitantly and is too loose with the ball, having been responsible for all four of the team's lost fumbles this season.

The real rub is the suspect scheme in which the running back operates out of the shotgun, too often takes handoffs from a dead stop and rarely hits the hole at full speed. Texas would be wise to steal a page from Nevada's "Pistol" offense, which is a hybrid, sawed-off shotgun formation with the quarterback a few yards behind the center and the tailback lined up several yards behind the quarterback and able to run downhill at full speed as he gets the handoff. Nevada ranks 14th nationally in passing and 29th in rushing.

3) Use more cornerback and safety blitzes.

Duane Akina hasn't shown nearly enough exotic blitzes to pressure the passer. No Longhorn has more sacks than defensive tackle Frank Okam, who has 31/2, but none in the last three games. In fact, linebacker Jared Norton is the only player with a sack who doesn't play on the front line.

Especially since Baylor has allowed just eight sacks over the course of 349 pass plays this season, Akina should take the reins off and bring the house. Maybe the garage, too.

4) Rely more on tight end Jermichael Finley with deep routes to stretch the field, back the linebackers off the line of scrimmage to enhance the running game and provide a consistent vertical threat in the passing game.

Finley has just 23 catches and only one touchdown. He caught three passes for 20 yards against Rice, one for 8 yards against Arkansas State and none last week. He is too valuable not to be utilized to the fullest.

5) Plan for Kansas State in June. Maybe April.

Granted, Texas won't play the Wildcats the next two years unless it comes in the Big 12 title game, but it the Longhorns go to sleep on an opponent it takes for granted — say, Baylor — it won't be sniffing the league championship game this year or any time soon.

This Texas team isn't blessed with so much talent that it can mail it in with minimal effort. That shouldn't be the case today as the Longhorns flex their muscles and win, 58-17. No do-over should be necessary today.

and I posted this as Texas trails 6-3, hehe.

[Boogahz]

Best place to be is on a bye
Teams who don't play move way up in BCS standings.

By Chris Dufresne
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
Monday, October 22, 2007

Quickest way to the top right now in the Bowl Championship Series: Don't play anybody.

Sit tight and let the rankings come to you.

Yes, Ohio State is getting hammered for claiming No. 1 after beating the likes of Youngstown State, Akron, and Kent State — but at least those are real teams.

Yes, the Kansas Jaw-drops moved up four BCS spots to No. 9 after a win at Colorado, as if that's never been done before, but at least the Kansas victories involved footballs and chin straps and trainers.

But here's how wacky this season already is:

Arizona State did not play Saturday but got four merit-raise advances to No. 4 in the BCS standings.

In the USA Today coaches' poll, Arizona State moon-hopped from No. 12 to No. 7. The Sun Devils jumped over Southern Cal, which cheapened itself with a crushing 38-0 win at Notre Dame.

It's come to this: Playing nobody is better than beating Notre Dame.

USC's win earned it only one coaches' poll cookie; the Trojans moving from No. 9 to No. 8.

Play air and move up five positions: Kill Notre Dame and get killed for it.

Boston College, which also didn't play, took advantage of the fact that South Florida did and moved to No. 2 in the BCS.

Rounding out the BCS top five are LSU, Arizona State and Oregon.

Two weeks after the Stanford disaster, USC moved up two square pegs into the round No. 12 hole. The Trojans are No. 7 and No. 8 in the Harris and coaches' indexes, and rose to No. 9 in The Associated Press, yet remain chained to a No. 21 computer ranking caused in part by dismantling two powerhouse programs, Nebraska and Notre Dame, on the road in years when those two programs are a combined 5-11.

Oklahoma is the top-ranked Big 12 team in the BCS at No. 6. After that, it's Kansas at No. 9, Missouri at No. 13 and Texas at No. 19. The Longhorns are still not ranked in the Top 25 by any of the six computers that factor into the BCS.

Ohio State and Boston College have yet to score signature wins, but one team is at Penn State this week and the other is at Virginia Tech.

[Fash]

It's come to this: Playing nobody is better than beating Notre Dame.

[Boogahz]

yeah, that line alone is what made me want to post it

[Winnow]

Thats

Yes, Ohio State is getting hammered for claiming No. 1 after beating the likes of Youngstown State, Akron, and Kent State — but at least those are real teams.

Can someone verify these are real teams?

[Winnow]

Thats

Yes, Ohio State is getting hammered for claiming No. 1 after beating the likes of Youngstown State, Akron, and Kent State — but at least those are real teams.

Can someone verify these are real teams?

Arizona State did not play Saturday but got four merit-raise advances to No. 4 in the BCS standings.

In the USA Today coaches' poll, Arizona State moon-hopped from No. 12 to No. 7. The Sun Devils jumped over Southern Cal, which cheapened itself with a crushing 38-0 win at Notre Dame.

"moon-hopped"

lol

[Boogahz]

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... bohls.html

Horns have yet to stand up and say 'We are Texas'
Unpredictability becomes Texas' ID.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

So we're nine games deep into the college football season, and Texas has finally established an identity.

It has none.

No clear-cut, this-is-what-we're-good-at identity like the ones that define most teams.

Other teams have a well-defined picture of who they are. Texas A&M can run the ball. Oklahoma makes big plays. Nebraska can't stop the run. Fran sends e-mails. Kansas is just good all-around. Iowa State loses. Oklahoma State can put up 40 on you in the blink of an eye.

But Texas?

Think Longhorns, and what do you come up with? Hard to say, besides being America's best team at recovering onside kicks.

Well, uh, there are the great possession wide receivers who rarely drop a pass. The defensive front is pretty darn good. Colt McCoy is a great quarterback having a wildly inconsistent year.

Jamaal Charles is good for 290 yards about every ninth game. When Brandon Foster isn't returning a turnover for a score, he and the secondary get abused worse than a psychic who forgot his anniversary. The backup linebackers are better than the starters. Jermichael Finley is being held hostage at whereabouts unknown.

But a reliable, week-in, week-out trademark?

Forget it. And that's a scary proposition for a team making the late stretch run.

"What they are is an improving team," coach Mack Brown said. "We're still inconsistent and not the type of team we've been around here. But I really like their resilience. We're probably the most-criticized 7-2 team in the country. We could lose these last three games or we could win 'em."

He's right.

Texas is neither a passing team nor a running team. It has had 329 pass plays — 314 throws and 15 sacks — and 351 rush attempts although probably 40 of those are really good quarterback scrambles. McCoy throws too many interceptions, and the running game is too often tilted sideways.

It doesn't have a stone-you defense. Texas gives up 20 points a game. Ohio State's No. 1-ranked unit yields 8.9.

It doesn't have outstanding special teams. It hasn't run back a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown all year and ranks 46th and 63rd nationally in those categories. Quan Cosby has been steady at each and sure-handed while the Texas coverage units have given up a score on both a punt and kickoff return, both against Kansas State.

So what's that leave?

"We never give up," McCoy said Monday when asked what defines this team. "Nothing this year besides the Iowa State game has come easy for us. Everything has been a fight. That shows the character and the determination of the team."

That's well and good, but usually teams need something concrete to fall back on in times of trouble like, say, this weekend. Saturday's game at Big 12 South co-leader Oklahoma State, in this space, was projected as the most dangerous game of the year.

More than anything else, Texas has stamped itself as a team with an iron will and no longer a team with a tailback with iron hands. It's had enough resolve to overcome deficits in five of its seven wins, not be distracted by seven arrests since May, fight through injuries to eight starters, including its best receiver and best pass rusher, and three-game suspensions of its most athletic linebacker and a very good receiver.

Oklahoma State has rallied around a downhill offense and a feisty coach whose fans call America's Coach. If these Cowboys are America's Team, the Horns are Adversity's Team.

"The good thing about this team is our resiliency," defensive tackle Derek Lokey said. "I think this team can be very good. At times, we've shown that. It's still to be determined how good this team can be."

At No. 14 in the Associated Press poll, Texas finishes with three unranked teams and has to leave the state once. Win all three, and the Horns will emerge as a top-10 team with the possibility of a BCS date. Lose just one, and they could tumble all the way out of the rankings.

For certain, the Longhorns have slipped far below the national radar, but with good reason. They've beaten one team with a winning record (unranked Central Florida) and have posted three consecutive victories over three teams that are a collective 8-19 overall with a Big 12 mark of 1-14. They're lucky they're ranked as high as they are. They're working to change their image to a physical one that takes a businesslike approach.

"We've got a lot of blue-collar guys on this team," offensive tackle Tony Hills said. "Previous Texas teams were stacked with athletes. This one's got to go to work and get it done. We just have to keep sawing wood."

Virginia Tech has its lunch pail. Considering it has played this season in workmanlike manner, Texas might ought to grab some hard hats of its own.

[Boogahz]

Big 12 take-home exam
Who's getting it done, and who's just done

Thursday, November 01, 2007

While we anxiously await Scott Boras' announcement of just how many zeroes there are in a kajillion, we take time out to review the top award candidates in the Big 12 for those who are getting it done and those who, well, who are just plain done.

1. The Coach of the Year is:
a) Mark Mangino for making Kansas the surprise team in college football and himself the heavy favorite for national coach of the year.
b) Dan Hawkins for beating Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
c) Gene Chizik for beating anyone.
d) Dennis Franchione for keeping his job past October.

2. The Player of the Year is:
a) The irrepressible Todd Reesing, who has been a rock for the rock-chalk Jayhawks.
b) The multi-dimensional Zac Robinson for turning around Oklahoma State and feeding himself.
c) Chase Daniel, the league's best leader, for making Gary Pinkel look smart at Missouri.
d) Missouri's injured Pig Brown because we like his name better than Curtis Lofton.

3. The Rookie of the Year is:
a) Michael Crabtree, Graham Harrell's favorite target.
b) Sam Bradford, Oklahoma's favorite son.
c) Cody Hawkins, Dan Hawkins' actual son.
d) Jeremy Maclin, our favorite all-purpose player.

4. The Defensive Player of the Year is:
a) Jordon Dizon, Colorado's tackling machine.
b) Auston English, Oklahoma's next Dan Cody.
c) Aqib Talib, the best two-way player this side of Derek Lokey.
d) Bill Callahan, who's always on the defensive.

5. The Big 12 is so down this year, the only league it is better than is the:
a) Big Ten.
b) WAC.
c) Sun Belt.
d) Swedish Anti-Defamation League.

6. The upset of the year was:
a) Kansas State's shocker over Texas for the second straight year.
b) Texas A&M's three-overtime win over Fresno State.
c) Nebraska's one-point victory at home over Ball State.
d) A screen pass call by Greg Davis.

7. If you were an A.D. at Texas A&M or Nebraska, you should hire:
a) Greg Schiano.
b) Jim Grobe.
c) Frank Caliendo.
d) A shrink.

8. If you were the A.D. at Baylor, you should:
a) Hire Mike Singletary.
b) Hire R.C. Slocum.
c) Beg Art Briles.
d) Think about selling insurance.

9. Mack Brown's worst mistake in 2007 was:
a) Keeping the same offensive scheme as 2005.
b) Not playing John Chiles enough.
c) Not playing Sergio Kindle and Jared Norton every snap.
d) Blaming the fans for booing a team, an offensive coordinator and a play call that deserved booing.

10. The two BCS teams from the Big 12 will be:
a) Oklahoma and Missouri.
b) Oklahoma and Kansas.
c) Oklahoma State and Kansas.
d) One more than will actually get a bid.

11. The game-changing play of the year is:
a) Missouri's fumbled exchange leading to a cheap OU touchdown.
b) Jamaal Charles' fumble inside the OU 10.
c) Nebraska kicking off to anybody.
d) Oklahoma State's roughing the Aggie punter.

12. The best YouTube moment from the Big 12 was:
a) Mike "I'm 40, I'm a Man" Gundy's personal testimony.
b) Mark Mangino's instructional video of the improper way to celebrate a touchdown.
c) "Leave Fran Alone" tape.
d) Mike "I'm 39, I'll Be a Man Next Year" Gundy tape never before seen.

13. If the season started over today, you could expect:
a) Iowa State to decline the opportunity.
b) Zac Robinson to take the Cowboys' first snap of the year.
c) Me to put down $1,000 on Kansas to win the Big 12.
d) Guy Morriss to rent.

14. The best player you never heard of before the season:
a) Kansas State receiver Jordy Nelson, a bigger Wes Welker.
b) Kansas down lineman James McClinton.
c) A Nebraska blue-chipper who has already decommitted.
d) Colt McCoy's backup who is practically invisible.

15. Judging from the strength of its teams, the entire Big 12:
a) Should give fans their money back.
b) Can't wait for basketball to start.
c) Should concentrate on cross country and sudoku.
d) Would all work night and day on the Trinity 15-lateral special.

My answers (just a quick glance):

1) A
2) A
3) A - No way in hell I would pick B
4) D
5) C
6) D
7) D
8) B - if he would take the job
9) D
10) B
11) C
12) B
13) C - Almost had to pick A
14) D
15) B? - This one was tough since I think that all of the changes in conference leaders is good for the game.

[Gzette]

I talked to a ASU cop two days ago. I asked, "you know your university in number 1 in motor vehicle thefts, assaults, burglaries, and alcohol violations?"

his reply:

"yeah but we're number 4 in the BCS, that's all that really matters"

haha

[Boogahz]

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... eaker.html

LONGHORNS FOOTBALL
Big 12 football tiebreakers

Monday, November 19, 2007

Losses by Texas and Oklahoma this weekend would plunge the Big 12 South into a three-way tie, with the Longhorns, Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys all having 5-3 conference records.

The Sooners can end all the suspense by defeating the Cowboys on Saturday, but if they don't, the Longhorns stand to claim the South Division's spot in the Dec. 1 championship game in San Antonio against the winner of Saturday's Missouri-Kansas game.

Here's how the conference tiebreaker procedure works:

The following procedure will determine the representative from each division in the event of a tie:

(a) If two teams are tied, the winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative. (If Texas and Oklahoma are tied at 6-2, the Sooners would win this tiebreaker, given their victory over Texas.)

(b) If three or more teams are tied, steps 1 through 7 will be followed until a determination is made. If only two teams remain tied after any step, the winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative.

1. The records of the three teams will be compared against each other. (If Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are tied with 5-3 records, this tiebreaker would not decide things. The teams would all be 1-1 against each other.)

2. The records of the three teams will be compared within their division. (Again, no decision here. All three would be 3-2 in the division.)

3. The records of the three teams will be compared against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish — 4, 5 and 6. (Now it gets confusing, because at this point Texas Tech and Texas A&M would be tied for fourth in the South with 4-4 records. Big 12 officials say that they won't implement a tiebreaker at this point to decide who's fourth (if they did, Tech would be considered fourth, and Oklahoma ultimately would be eliminated from the championship game mix). Instead, that fourth-place tie would mean that this criteria wouldn't settle anything.

4. The records of the three teams will be compared against all common conference opponents. (Again, this doesn't settle anything.)

5. The highest ranked team in the first Bowl Championship Series Poll following the completion of Big 12 regular-season (intra-) conference play shall be the representative. (This, then, should settle it, but it's up to the human voters and the BCS computers, which will produce new standings when all the dust has settled next Sunday.)

6. The team with the best overall winning percentage shall be the representative.

7. The representative will be chosen by draw.

8. Find something for your headache

[Truant]

Yeah, we were talking about that scenario this weekend while watching the Tech OU game.

It seemed a lot easier to explain with a couple beers!

[Boogahz]

Now that the Big12 South is actually decided, it's time for the BCS Championship chase to hit it's own rocky road:

From: http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... dings.html

Missouri, WVU Lead BCS Standings
By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP College Football Writer


NEW YORK — Missouri and West Virginia have one more step to take before bumping into each other in New Orleans. The Tigers and Mountaineers hold the top two spots in the Bowl Championship Series standings released Sunday with a week left in a topsy-turvy regular season.

The Tigers play Oklahoma (10-2) in the Big 12 championship game at San Antonio on Saturday and the Mountaineers face rival Pittsburgh (4-7) at home. If both win, it'll be Missouri-West Virginia in a most unlikely BCS championship game Jan. 7 at the Superdome.

A month ago, neither team was even in the top five of the BCS standings, but a string of upsets have left Chase Daniel and the Tigers and Pat White and the Mountaineers in control of their own destinies.

"I've been telling the guys, the more you win, the more that's at stake," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said Sunday in a conference call with reporters.

If either Missouri (11-1) or West Virginia (10-1) trip up next week, third-place Ohio State (11-1) is poised to take advantage and play in its second straight title game.

If the Tigers and Mountaineers both lose, the national title picture gets very murky.

Georgia was fourth in the standings, followed by Kansas (11-1). Neither will play in their conference title games, but both still have a shot to play for a national championship.

Georgia (10-2) could become the first team with two losses to play for a national title and several other two-loss teams could make a claim to be in the championship game if the top two lose for a second consecutive week.

Sixth-place Virginia Tech (10-2), seventh-place LSU (10-2), eighth-place Southern California (9-2) and ninth-place Oklahoma all have one last opportunity to surge up the BCS standings on Saturday.

Ohio State's regular season ended Nov. 17 with a victory over Michigan that made the Buckeyes the Big Ten champions. The week before, Ohio State was No. 1 in the country when it lost to Illinois at home and seemingly fell out of the title race.

At worst, the Buckeyes, who lost the national championship game 41-14 to Florida last season, will be in the Rose Bowl.

Hawaii moved up to 12th in the standings after beating Boise State 39-27 and winning the Western Athletic Conference, putting Colt Brennan and the Warriors in position to earn an automatic BCS bid.

The Warriors, the last remaining unbeaten team in the nation, finish the season at home against Washington and need to be in the top 12 when the final standings come out next Sunday.

Missouri was No. 1 in the Harris poll and West Virginia was No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll Sunday. Those polls make up a two-thirds of a team's BCS average. Missouri was first in the computer rankings with West Virginia second.

The Tigers' BCS average was .978 and the Mountaineers were at .971.

A Missouri-West Virginia final seemed to be a long shot when October ended. Both had a loss and were stuck behind a pile of teams in the BCS standings. On Oct. 28, West Virginia was seventh in the standings and Missouri was ninth.

Since then it's been a steady climb as the Tigers and Mountaineers have kept winning while the other contenders have tanked.

It started when Ohio State lost to Illinois on Nov. 10. A few days later, Oregon lost quarterback Dennis Dixon to an injury in the first quarter and the Ducks' national title hopes went with him in a loss at Arizona.

Two days later, Oklahoma lost its second game of the season at Texas Tech, leaving Missouri and Kansas as the Big 12's best hope for a national title.

At that point, it became apparent that the winner of the Missouri-Kansas game would go to the Big 12 title game with a chance to play for the national championship at stake.

The Tigers, who entered the season unranked, took care of their business, handing Kansas its first loss of the season, 36-28.

LSU also went down, losing in triple overtime 50-48 to Arkansas on Friday, and that opened up a spot for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia grabbed it emphatically with a 66-21 victory against Connecticut to clinch the Big East title and a BCS bid. The Mountaineers were ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll, but lost in late September 21-13 at South Florida. White injured his thigh against the Bulls and didn't finish the game.

Neither West Virginia nor Missouri has ever won a national title.

If Mizzou and West Virginia both lose, I think Ohio State and the Big Ten(11) should look at the conference schedule more. Having the Michigan v Ohio State game as the last game of the season could end up hurting Ohio State. Having one bye week is not such a big deal as we saw earlier this season when Arizona State jumped after not playing, but having more than three weeks off before other conferences are finished can only hurt them when it comes to the title picture and voters.

[Sylvus]

If Mizzou and West Virginia both lose, I think Ohio State and the Big Ten(11) should look at the conference schedule more. Having the Michigan v Ohio State game as the last game of the season could end up hurting Ohio State. Having one bye week is not such a big deal as we saw earlier this season when Arizona State jumped after not playing, but having more than three weeks off before other conferences are finished can only hurt them when it comes to the title picture and voters.

I'll let zamtuk or another bucknut speak for his team/fanbase, but I would absolutely HATE it if they changed the schedule. Michigan-OSU has been the last game of the season since before my dad was born, and I fully expect and welcome the fact that if we're going to make a run at the national title, it's going to be after beating Ohio State.

Perhaps I read you wrong and you mean just push the game back a week or two. I'd be okay with that, though I think the pressure there comes from the Big 10 being farther North than most other conferences. Makes for it being much colder on these last two weeks, as well as a bit darker earlier, what with the tilting of the earth and such.

[Boogahz]

yeah, I meant to push it later in the overall season. Having it as the last game of the season is cool, but having it 3+ weeks before the rest of the country is finished playing only takes the winner of that game further away from already fickle voters.

[Tyek]

I don't know Boog it looks like it might help them this season. I would love it if both teams lost and we get an even more screwed up BCS picture. Once again, Imagine a playoff with the top 8 teams playing. Would you want to be Missouri playing USC in the first round? How about West Virginia playing LSU? I hope they have the lowest rated bowl season ever. The lowest rated national championship and the lowest ad revenue possible. I try to avoid most of the bowl games anymore. I mean a 6-6 6th place finisher in one league playing a 7-5 4th place team really is not necessary.

[Ashur]

I'll let zamtuk or another bucknut speak for his team/fanbase, but I would absolutely HATE it if they changed the schedule. Michigan-OSU has been the last game of the season since before my dad was born, and I fully expect and welcome the fact that if we're going to make a run at the national title, it's going to be after beating Ohio State.

I have no problem with pushing it back, but agree with the gentleman from Michigan, it stays the final game. Play for all the marbles I say!

I agree the huge hiatus last year hurt the Buckeyes performance, especially with Troy Smith doing the whole Heisman thing.

Edit: Let's just have the whole conference take a bye week the first week.

[Winnow]

Don't push back the OhioGan game. It will conflict with the ASU/UoF game! Your ratings would pummet.

[Tyek]

Maybe you can add a few easy wins against 1AA teams and spread out your schedule a bit.....oh wait...that did not work out so good this year.

North Dakota State, Appalachian State...lol.

[Boogahz]

This fits in with our "strongest" conferencethreads a bit as well:

In the SportsBusiness Journal’s annual poll of readers, released Monday, the Big 12 was rated the best overall conference by only 5 percent of the voters. Twice that many respondents called the Big 12 the most overrated conference.

Best overall conference
SEC 32.20%
Big Ten 21.30%
Pac-10 15.50%
ACC 14.20%
Big East 9.70%
Big 12 5.30%
(Responses: 1,145)

Most overrated conference
Big Ten 31.00%
SEC 14.10%
Pac-10 13.90%
ACC 13.20%
Big East 11.70%
Big 12 11.50%
(Responses: 1,124)

[Boogahz]

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... olden.html

OU's Big Red whine: We should've gotten a shot

It's time to the end the madness and create a college playoff.
By Cedric Golden
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, December 03, 2007

All ballots are counted.

No hanging chads reported.

Your BCS championship game finalists? LSU and Ohio State.

And you thought Hillary and Barack were under a giant microscope.

I chatted with Oklahoma athletic director/campaign manager Joe Castiglione in San Antonio Saturday night as his head coach/presidential hopeful Bob Stoops debated his team's championship merits after a 38-17 landslide win over the top-ranked Missouri Tigers.

Watching Stoops have to sell the media on Oklahoma's right to be in a championship game was both understandable and unfortunate. I don't blame Bob — he should believe his team is one of the two best in the nation, a team deserving of a trip to New Orleans. Stoops owns a vote in the coaches' poll and undoubtedly voted OU as the nation's top team on his ballot. Futile as his vote turned out to be — OU will play West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl — why shouldn't he tab OU tops? The Sooners beat Missouri twice, the same Missouri team, Stoops reminded the media, that was hyped to be the nation's best over the past week.

"I don't like to sit here and boast and put it this way," he said. "But I'll make one more try at it. No one else played the No. 1 team in the country tonight."

He's right, but Ohio State (11-1) and LSU (11-2) will be in the title game, despite his best attempt to impersonate a roadside politician. It's time to clean up this mess. University presidents, what do college football fans need to do to help you get your heads out of your, uh, books and give us a playoff system? Let us know.

Congrats to the Buckeyes and Tigers. But enough, already.

Give college football fans a playoff system, not because your game needs to resemble the NFL format, but because the best way to settle any dispute is on the field. And if you can't give fans that right away, please make the conference championship game uniform across the board. Quit caving in to these conferences, NCAA, and do the right thing. Either we all have a conference title game or we don't.

Two-loss Mizzou (which dropped out of view) and West Virginia lost on the field, which was fair. What isn't fair is that others don't have to prove it in a conference championship game. What if the Big 12 didn't have a conference title game? Missouri would be playing for the national title. Instead, Missouri got left out of the BCS mix, passed over by a team it beat a week ago.

Thankfully we found out Saturday that the Tigers aren't even the best team in this conference, let alone the best in the country.

While other teams were battling to get into a BCS game, Ohio State's players were like us — watching it all unfold on TV. The Buckeyes haven't played a game since Nov. 17, a nice little layoff, or vacation, whatever you want to call it.

Texas coach Mack Brown has long voiced his support for a playoff system, but there hasn't been a grass-roots effort to get this thing going, and it will probably continue to go nowhere as long as the fate of college football rests in the hands of administrators who don't have the same passion as the coaches they employ.

Change is always difficult, but good change is better than no change.

Why a playoff? Look at this season. Teams bounced in and out of the top 10 more than concertgoers in the beer line. The past weekend was argument enough. You have to hand it to Pittsburgh for making West Virginia the sixth No. 2 team to lose to an unranked team this season. Have to hand it to Oklahoma for ending Missouri's national title dream. Why stop now?

When the final gun sounds in the Superdome and either Jim Tressel or Les Miles is carried off the field, there will be several other coaches — including Stoops — who will mutter, "My team deserved to play in that game."

Even an eight-team tournament would remove all doubt. When New England wins the Super Bowl, you won't hear the Indianapolis Colts saying, "Man, I wish we could have gotten a shot at them."

And for the team that is ranked ninth and just misses out on the playoffs? That happens in other leagues too. Come back next year.

At least the ultimate decision is taken from a computer and placed where it belongs — on a football field.

Castiglione is a proponent of the plus-one playoff concept, where the fifth bowl game of the BCS format would pit two winners of the first four bowl games. But he would prefer that humans replace the computers.

"We would want strong-minded people who will factor in what's fair for all involved," he said. "None of us want to be in the position to whine or make excuses, but we're looking for ways to make it better."

I would prefer an eight-game playoff that used Castiglione's committee to choose and seed the teams. The rest is simple: 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, and 4 vs. 5. Semifinals followed by a championship game that would alternate between different bowl sites.

It would be so easy to draw up that bracket, start the playoffs this weekend and play the championship game the first week in January. The playoffs could even be scheduled to coincide with Christmas break, which would make the profs happy.

So, want to find out if 12-0 Hawaii is really one of the big boys? Playoff.

Want to see Texas and OU possibly play one another twice in the same season? Playoff.

Want to get rid of the BCS mess? Playoff.

Want to put Jerry Palm out of work? Playoff.

Want to get the university presidents, network bigwigs and BCS supporters to take a real hard look at this thing?

Payoff.

We'll try anything at this point.

[Boogahz]

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... bohls.html

Is the best yet to come for Horns?
Texas football may have rediscovered itself in Holiday victory

By Kirk Bohls
Saturday, December 29, 2007

SAN DIEGO — Now is the time that we normally swallow in a convincing bowl victory, such as Texas' 52-34 manhandling of 12th-ranked Arizona State, and foresee better things to come in 2008: a possible Big 12 championship, a solution for global warming and so on.

You know the drill. We'll spare the usual hyperbole and celebrate the Longhorns' annual 10-win season, but in truth, we see no reason to temper any enthusiasm for next season. That is, if Texas truly learned its lesson after thoroughly outplaying and outcoaching ASU.

The Longhorns will be severely tested by a much more demanding 2008 schedule that includes nine bowl teams — among them the emerging heavyweights of the Big 12 North Division, Missouri and Kansas, plus an improving Colorado team. However, we trust the coaching staff took notes of their inadequacies and will demand constant accountability — and not just before a bowl game.

Here's a look at the 10 biggest keys to a championship season in 2008:

Play hard every snap.
That wasn't always the case this season. Texas brought fervor and intensity to the Holiday Bowl that it hadn't shown on a consistent basis, and ASU got swept up by Texas' emotional tidal wave and never really had a chance.

It was refreshing to see constant pursuit by an entire defense, rather than by isolated players.

Assuming Jamaal Charles does return to Texas, give him 25-30 carries a game. The junior tailback told me after the Holiday Bowl that he was returning to school for his senior season, in part because he didn't have a spectacular performance in the game and didn't think he'd be drafted by an NFL club until the second or possibly third round. Return, and he could advance to first-round status.

"I will come back," Charles said. "Maybe I'll be up for the Heisman. I want to top the national leaders in rushing and be up there with the most touchdowns. I want to work twice as hard and be a leader."

Without question, the speedy, tougher Charles elevated his game in 2007, led the conference in rushing and was Texas' most valuable player, just ahead of receiver Nate Jones. Charles is poised for a truly brilliant season if he packs on the nine pounds he lost during the year and plays at 210 next season.

Mack Brown should either replace Duane Akina as co-defensive coordinator or give Akina full rein to develop exotic, aggressive game plans like the one used Thursday. The Longhorns blitzed constantly and produced five turnovers and four sacks.

Akina's side of the ball rarely played four quarters this season and slacked off in the final quarter against ASU, but they played lights-out football for three quarters. Mack has a tough choice to make.

Texas needs to better utilize tight end Jermichael Finley, if he returns (and he undoubtedly should). Save for a recovery of a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, the third-year sophomore was rarely seen as a receiver.

Develop a deep threat.
The loss of wideout Limas Sweed was devastating because it deprived Texas of a chance to stretch the field, and allowed defenses such as ASU's to employ press coverage at the line and bump the Longhorns' other smaller receivers off their routes. The versatile Quan Cosby is a tremendous asset, as is Jordan Shipley, but the hope is that some of UT's talented freshmen will begin to emerge. The coaching staff thinks Brandon Collins has Roy Williams-caliber hands and potential.

Continue to use Colt McCoy as a runner.
The quarterback exploded as a runner this year but regressed as a passer, with questionable decision-making and too many poor throws. Frankly, we were wondering if we had overrated the sophomore, his 51 career touchdown passes notwithstanding, but he measured up in the bowl game. He definitely has to cut down on those 18 interceptions.

Have offensive coordinator Greg Davis loosen up.
He will always be the biggest lightning rod in Austin and invoke more vitriol than toll roads. He relaxed in the bowl game, had Cosby throwing a pass off an end-around reverse, had McCoy throwing a touchdown pass to defensive tackle Derek Lokey, and made several excellent calls.

Mack needs to sit down with Rick Barnes for a coaching chit-chat.
Barnes deserves early consideration for national Coach of the Year honors for turning a basketball team without superstar Kevin Durant into a top-10 club, and Brown would be wise to mimic Barnes, kick some posteriors and actually say his team has a bad practice once in a while to motivate. Tough love is essential.

Can the corny team slogans, give out only three awards at next year's banquet, have more physical practices with an emphasis on tackling all season, and play every game with a sense of urgency.

Finally, keep Chris Jessee off the field.

Follow all these rules, Mack, and you'll beat your opponents next year like a red-headed stepson ... uh, stepchild.

[Tyek]

Apparently UCLA just hired Neuheisel. Not sure I am really excited about that. He left Colorado a shell of its former self. He helped kill Washington as well. He seems extremely slimey to me. I would rather they hired Chow or even Steve Mariuchi.

We will see how it all plays out, hopefully he has learned from his mistakes.

[noel]

My understanding is that Mariucci wasn't interested at all. =\ I'm not convinced that trying to emulate USC's success with Carrol would have been a good idea, and I think that if it hadn't worked out, that would have been the criticism they'd have taken.

[Tyek]

I had not heard the Mariuchi thing. Too bad.

I understand the Chow concerns, but I would rather have looked towards a positive attitude. The Bruins would be hiring one of the top offensive minds in football. So what if he was a Trojan one time.

Neuheisel may end up a great hire. I am just concerned with the way his last 2 program collapsed at the end of his tenure. The announcers were acting like it was the greatest hire possible.

I know you follow the Bruins more closely Noel, do you know who else they were looking at? I am a fan of the Bruins, but I have been focused on a quick recovery from the surgery.

[noel]

Pretty sure it was just Chow, Mariucci and that guy from Boise State who's name escapes me. Mariucci wasn't interested, the guy from Boise State declined, and Chow interviewed... not sure what happened with that, I never heard. Local sportstalk honks think Newheisel will be a good hire. Personally I think after Dorrel who did a good job of cleaning up the image of the program, someone will come in who can light a fire under the Bruins. I think Newhiesel does that.

BTW No idea how to spell Newheisel correctly and in the middle of the Pats game so too lazy to look for it!

[Boogahz]

While Neuheisel did leave some of his prior coaching gigs in questionable shape, he did have a good impact on each of the teams as well. Here's a bit from ESPN.com regarding the story:

He had a 66-30 record as a head coach at Colorado from 1995-98 and Washington from 1999-2002. He hasn't been in the college game since Washington fired him in 2003 for participating in a betting pool on the NCAA basketball tournament. He sued for wrongful termination from Washington and settled in March 2005 with UW and the NCAA for $4.5 million.

Colorado was placed on two years' probation by the NCAA for infractions committed while he was the Buffaloes' coach. All were deemed secondary violations and most involved improper contact with recruits.

Neuheisel said he took full responsibility for his past errors in judgment, and assured Guerrero and other UCLA officials that he'd learned from his mistakes.

"They have my complete, unequivocal promise that this will never happen again," he said.

Guerrero said Neuheisel's problems at Washington and Colorado were a concern during interviewing process, but added, "They happened 5-10 years ago. I think he's much wiser and more mature. I don't think it's going to be an issue at all at UCLA."

[Tyek]

I don't think it's going to be an issue at all at UCLA."

I just hope this is not on his epitaph.

He showed a very loose interpretation of the rules. The NCAA tourney thing was stupid, but If I remember, there were other issues and the bracket thing was the final straw.

[Winnow]

This was Erickson's first year as coach of the Sundevils. He was working off Dirk Cutter's players and was still able to turn the team into a ranked team with a great record where the previous several years at ASU were big disappointmets. Give him a year, maybe two to do what he has always done (recruit and be successful in college football including national titles). Things are looking good for ASU.

[Boogahz]

It's that time of year again!

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... bohls.html

College coaches are on the clock, and time changes could benefit Texas
Tuesday, August 05, 2008

College football is on the clock. Again.

Seems like they're always messing with the college game. If they truly wanted to enhance the sport, they'd institute an eight-team playoff, publicly release the coaches' poll votes every week and abolish instant replay.

The game's overseers did correctly get rid of the 5-yard incidental facemask and cracked down on chop blocks this offseason. But they nearly ruined college football two years ago when they tinkered with time by adopting a continuous clock and stealing 13 plays from us every Saturday. The clock practically began running the moment the placekicker's toe touched the ball on kickoffs and rarely stopped for anything except a few hundred commercials.

Scoring went down five points; coaches' blood pressure went way up.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee was back at it in the offseason and, believe it or not, may have actually gotten it right this time when it switched to an NFL-style 40-second clock between plays. As soon as a play is ruled dead, that clock starts, and the offense has 40 seconds to get off a play.

The change should deliver a somewhat shorter game than the ones that lasted 3 hours, 22 minutes last season — without the loss of plays and scoring.

In 2006, the college coaches all but held their breath until they were blue in the face. Look for some of the same this September just because the new applications of the play clock will be different from what they're used to.

The time change is designed to rid the game of the inconsistencies from one conference's officiating crew to the next and to try to keep the game in a neatly packaged, three-hour window. Are you listening, Texas Tech?

But until the season openers kick off in about three weeks, we don't know all the ways that the new clock will change the game. Just know that it will change the game.

Also know this: The move could benefit your Texas Longhorns, and these are the reasons:

The switch should greatly help offenses that rely heavily on no-huddle, and Texas heavily falls into that category, going huddle-less about 50 percent of the time. It should work in favor of smart coaching staffs, and the Longhorns have that in spades, especially with the addition of Boy Genius Will Muschamp.

"If you're in a conventional offense and huddle up, it's gonna cost you plays, no question," Texas' Mack Brown said.

Furthermore, the change could benefit Texas and every other Big 12 team because it's a quarterback-rich league full of experienced heads — Colt McCoy, Chase Daniel, Graham Harrell and so on. Those guys won't panic as much as a rookie quarterback, who gets the play call from the sideline or a substitute. The change may not allow for many audibles, as much motion or checks at the line of scrimmage.

"I think I'll have a second or two less from the time you get the play," said McCoy, whose offense was whistled for 10 delay-of-game penalties with the old system last year. "We may call some plays in advance."

Where it could hurt the Longhorns is with their relatively immature receiving corps. Teams that like to throw the ball deep downfield may have to substitute receivers to get the next play off in time. And young receivers do have to know where to line up.

As usual, Brown was ahead of the crowd when he brought in referees all spring and had his team grow accustomed to the 40-second clock. Many schools didn't do the same, and the Texas coach said his phone was ringing off the wall with colleagues interested in Mack's evaluation.

The change could lead to more discussions about transmitters in quarterback helmets although Brown expects those to lead nowhere because of the $5,000 cost per helmet. Division II and III schools won't agree to such costs, and only Division I-specific legislation would ever allow such a move to gain traction.

In the meantime, the clock change could also work on the behalf of former NFL coaches like Texas A&M's Mike Sherman, Alabama's Nick Saban and Texas Savior Muschamp.

"It should make for a more standard way to officiate the game," Sherman said. "It will speed up the game."

Nothing wrong with that so long as it doesn't really change the essence of the game. Oh, and now that the clock's been modified, can they please move the starting possession of overtime back to the 40-yard line and get rid of all those meaningless overtime stats?

I think the Muschamp comments are kind of funny. Yes, he had some great success previously, but let us hold off on the coronation until he has proven himself here

[Gzette]

UT #13. I hope we fly under the radar until we blow up OU!

[Boogahz]

Third and Longhorns: John Bridges' sometimes warped view from the pressbox
Friday, November 28, 2008

QUICK KICKS

45-35: The Texas student section was a sea of those numbers. A&M fans should've countered with some "38-30" and "12-7" signs. How many "39-33" signs do you think we'll see in Lubbock on Saturday? Wouldn't be surprised to see a few "65-13" banners in Stillwater, either.

They must not like him: What do the Aggies have against Colt McCoy? He sure gets hit harder in this game than any other.

Goodbye to a Longhorn slayer: Hats off to Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee, who beat the Longhorns twice and played 'em tough for four years.

Slip slidin' away: Did we miss all the rain? Or was Royal-Memorial the only spot in Central Texas to get rain in, oh, the past six months? The turf was more slippery than a gravy boat.

For this, we give thanks: ESPN does much that annoys us, but we've gotta give the Worldwide Leader credit for helping to get Texas vs. A&M back on Thanksgiving - right where it belongs.

Let the madness begin: Quick, someone cue Tom Petty. For Texas, the waiting really will be the hardest part.


HOW THEY SEE IT

The poll voters: Horns had better hope that turkey-stuffed poll voters didn't doze off in the first quarter.

The Heisman voters: Remember how Vince Young may have cost himself the Heisman with a lackluster game at A&M in 2005? This time, with a national audience all to himself, the Texas quarterback stepped up. Next stop: NYC.

The Longhorns' coaches: We're not going to diss Oklahoma, but be sure to check out our 30-minute prime-time campaign infomercial tonight. It worked for Obama; maybe it can work for Texas.


GRADES PLEASE ...


RUN OFFENSE: B

Horns racked up 216 yards but didn't really get rolling until A&M tired late. Cody Johnson, where have you been (or why haven't you been getting more carries)?


PASS OFFENSE: A

McCoy was his usual efficient self, racking up 311 yards despite taking all those big hits. Brandon Collins stepped up with 103 receiving yards.


RUN DEFENSE: A

It doesn't get much better than this - minus-24 yards for A&M on 22 carries. Granted, 56 of those negative yards were the result of sacks.


PASS DEFENSE: B

Aggies put up a respectable 269 yards in the passing ledger. Longhorns got after Aggie quarterbacks and racked up six sacks.


KICKERS: C

All was good except for Ryan Bailey's missed field-goal try when the game was still in the balance. Hunter Lawrence replaced him and was perfect.


RETURNERS: D

Kick returns of 11 and 14 yards and a punt return of minus-4 yards just don't get it done. At least Horns held on to the ball.


DOUBLE DIGITS

Today's big number: 200

Mack Brown became first Longhorns coach to reach 200 career victories.

Today's little number: 10

Aggie penalties for 71 yards - and far more lost yardage on nullified plays. Whenever A&M did something good, it quickly did something foolish.


WHO'S NEXT

Well, we just don't know, do we? First, it's Texas Tech vs. Baylor and then it's Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, both on Saturday. Longhorns either will play in the Big 12 championship on Dec. 6 or in a to-be-determined bowl sometime in January.