SB Nation - Jarett Dillard

Postgame React: Texas Takes Care of Colorado, 38-14

Peter Bean — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:25:38 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

Game MVP: Jordan Shipley caught 11 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, then added a 74-yard punt return for a score that sealed the game for the 'Horns.

Browse more photos »

The outcome was: incomplete. In thinking and trying to write about Texas' 38-14 win over Colorado, I find myself returning to the following three related points:

Texas won the game. Given the result (Pasadena) that is guaranteed to follow if Texas wins each of its remaining regular season games, the victory must be acknowledged and celebrated.
The team's performance was uneven overall -- outright terrible in some areas, brilliant in others, and up-and-down everywhere else.
Discussing those performances is a relatively easy chore; the tremendously difficult challenge involves speculating about what tonight's performance might tell us -- good and bad -- about the rest of the season and, more immediately, next week in Dallas.

Speculating about what's in front of the team first requires we correctly diagnose what is and isn't working. I'm certain that, at least for me, getting that right means a second (and probably third) viewing of the game are in order. Tonight, though, we dive into our first-take impressions of the performance. Join me after the jump for my initial reactions, then hop down to the comments and share with me your own.

The Offensive MVP was: Jordan Shipley (11 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD receiving / 3 punt returns, 88 yards, 1 TD). The Roommate's 11-catch, 147-yard evening was almost embarrassing, considering that Texas' offense more or less devolved into a two-man game. No kidding at all: if the McCoy-Shipley duo were any less sensational, this would be one painfully frustrating team to watch. As it is, the two are damn effective -- far more than any single pair has the right to be -- and they deserve a standing ovation.

With that said, the centrality of the offense's focus on the McCoy-Shipley connection raises two related questions, one easy and one hard: First, would the offense be better if it were not so hyper-focused on these two? And second, is this offense capable of thriving in some other form? The first question is the easy one to answer: for this offense to be great, it would need to develop into a more balanced and robust attack. What's difficult to say is whether it can or will...

For now, suffice it to say that Shipley is your unquestionable offensive MVP against Colorado, especially if light of his game-ending 74 yard punt return for a score. Whatever Texas' other issues on offense, the senior wideout is every bit the elite playmaker his most vocal fans always insisted he would become. On a night when virtually everything I wrote about this game wound up flipped on its head, it was perhaps fitting that Jordan Shipley spent so much time at split end, where his abuse of single coverage was the offense's only constant all night.

The Offensive offensive LVP was: Greg Davis. And now we get to the WTF WAS THAT portion of the program, starting with the running game. Removing from the stat line the 2 sacks of McCoy for -12 yards, Texas rushed the ball just 23 times for a pitiful 58 yards (2.5 per attempt). The Longhorns rushed for 22 yards in the first quarter, -1 in the second, 4 in the third, and 28 in the fourth. It would be easy enough just to say that tonight's offensive performance was a repeat of the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, except that tonight those 11 excellent Buckeyes defenders were played by a group of Buffaloes who, coming into the game, had surrendered an average of 201 yards per game on the ground (111th nationally), at nearly 5 yards per attempt. West Virginia's Noel Divine gained more yards on one carry against Colorado than Texas did over an entire game.

Far above anything else that happened tonight, it was the utterly forgettable performance rushing the football that both angers and concerns the most. I can accept that this group isn't going to rush for gobs of yards against most solid defenses, but I had been under the impression that the ineptitude was so limited. Let's just be blunt about tonight's performance: this one's on the coaches and, in particular, Greg Davis. We can and will talk about the various personnel/performance issues, but the fundamental failing here was one of preparation and coaching. It's hard even to know where to begin, given the ease with which we could devote an entire postgame react to this single topic. For now, a few ~~points~~ rants on tonight's rushing misery:

Against Colorado we saw front and center why earlier this spring I strenuously objected when the coaches communicated an interest in using Cody Johnson in a featured role. First of all, on the "kind to Cody" side of things, there's the impact such a role might have on Johnson's proven value as an exceptional short yardage and goal-to-go tailback. But second, there's the idiocy of thinking a guy with his skill set is a legitimate option as the featured tailback in our rushing scheme -- for crying out loud, the quick guys often struggle to get to the rushing lanes we try to create. Now, is it possible to design a rushing scheme in which Johnson could succeed as the main man? I think so. But is this offense's one such scheme? It's incredible we even have to ask.
There is plenty we might say about the myriad sins committed by Texas' offensive linemen, but let's be up front about the fact that they are in many ways set up to fail. There are the many well-documented issues relating to the scheme itself, yes... but even beyond that, Davis's woefully weak overall approach to the endeavor all but guarantees the lousy results. No joke: Texas would be better off evolving to the point of conscious disregard for the run than it is with this "we care enough about rushing that we'll continue to make predictable stabs at it from time to time, but at the first sign of adversity we're mostly going to pass, except for the awkwardly timed plays in which we remind ourselves that we care about rushing."
Related to the approach, of course, is the play calling. There is absolutely no synergy whatsoever between the passing and rushing attacks, and neither one serves to set up and/or support the other. On the worst nights, the end result is what we saw against Colorado: 25 or so irregularly called rushing plays that not only lack coordination with the aerial plan of attack, but all too often subvert it. The inverse, of course, is true as well: it is hard to imagine any coordinator with such a strong passing attack at his disposal do as little as Davis does to deploy it in a way that would support successful rushes. Again, Texas would be better off consciously committing more to the pass, if only for the benefit of being able to develop a complementary plan for rushing the ball.
Having said all that makes it nearly pointless to spend much time on personnel, but hell, if we're going to hand the ball off to our tailbacks and ask them to make water from wine, how difficult is it to conclude that the speedier and shiftier the tailback, the better? When on Texas' last drive the coaches finally got around to using their speediest and shiftiest tailback, Fozzy Whittaker was -- like his predecessors throughout the game -- rudely greeted behind the line of scrimmage almost as soon as he'd been handed the football. But Whittaker managed to scamper out of a tackle, reversed course, fired his jets to take the corner, and wound up turning his lone carry of the game from a three-yard loss into a twelve-yard touchdown. Even if it's naive to think any one player could rescue this mess of a running attack, it's not too much to ask that we at least put in the runners with the best chance to make their own magic?
If you're wondering: after holding Baylor to 6 yards rushing on 17 attempts, Oklahoma has now surrendered just 268 yards rushing on 150 attempts (1.7 yards per rush). As much as anything else that Texas did well in last year's 45-35 win, they found a way to rush the football successfully -- 161 yards on 35 attempts (4.6 ypa). The favored Sooners, of course, did not, managing just 48 yards on 26 carries (1.8 ypa). If you're wondering what the blueprint looks like for this year's Oklahoma team to similarly knock favored Texas off its title track, it begins and ends right here. If next Saturday Texas is as impotent rushing the football as they were against Colorado, Texas fans will have to hope that either our own defense is even stouter or Colt McCoy has one of his best days as a Longhorn.

All those words, and we've barely discussed the passing game? Amazing... I'll keep it brief, then.

There was much more to be encouraged by the points of strength on display in the passing game, but there's no getting around the fact that from these points of strength Texas is extracting an uncomfortably low amount of value. Successful plays in the Texas passing game tend to flow from a chaotic scramble by McCoy at least as often as they neatly follow from design. It's schoolyard football, and while it's nice that the top two jocks are on our side making plays, they won't be able to do it all themselves when the opposing teams have athletic talent like our own.

More to the point, they shouldn't have to. Texas is not Rice, and McCoy and Shipley are not Chase Clement and Jarett Dillard. There is real opportunity for systematic excellence in Texas' passing attack, and though this isn't the space to chart all those X's and O's, I'm guessing we can all agree that the current version of the Colt McCoy offense -- however successful, however exciting -- too often produces at rates suboptimal to the talent of the players comprising it.

The Defensive MVP was: Roddrick Muckelroy and Sergio Kindle. We could highlight other names from what was, in the end, a good night for the defense (127 total yards allowed, 2.2 yards per play, 2 INTs, CU 3 of 15 on 3rd down), but Muck and Kindle were simply in a different class. Both seniors attacked tonight's game with enormously fierce intensity -- indeed, in the early going, too much, leading to several undisciplined plays. Once they settled into the flow of the game and played within their assignments, the speed and power with which these two were flying around the field making plays was truly beautiful to behold.

Muckelroy completed his evening with a team-best 11 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss (1 sack) and a pair of passes broken up. Kindle finished with 6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, and countless teammate-springing pass rushes; an advanced box score would undoubtedly show Kindle with half a dozen assists. The aggression and raw speed with which both players hone in on the football instills in the opposition a visible sense of urgency to make a play immediately.

Beyond those two, the defense benefited from terrific play from every Longhorn on the line. Sam Acho was only a smidge less brilliant than Muck and Kindle, if at all, Lamarr Houston wreaked havoc in the backfield each and every time Colorado tried to block him with one man, and Ben Alexander had a career night with 5 tackles and solid penetration with his rush.

Ten gallon hat tips to Emmanuel Acho and Earl Thomas, as well, both of whom were absolutely filthy at various points in the game. Thomas is already a bona fide star, while it's a real delight watching the younger Acho develop as a player: once his intelligence and aggression finish melding with his outrageous physical gifts, he's going to be as destructive a linebacker as Texas has had in a while.

The offensive Defensive LVP was: Blake Gideon and Keenan Robinson. Fans have rightly thought it incomplete to talk about Gideon the past two years without acknowledging his many important contributions, which tonight should include his terrific diving interception. Of course, complete evaluation of Gideon also means that there is no avoiding his limitations, either. When you get down to it, what we think about Gideon comes down to which of those two lenses we're looking through when we ask the question: Given the team's needs, Gideon's contributions have been indisputably important; and... given a truly high-elite defense's goals, Gideon's limitations are unmistakable. I understand if fans prefer to limit the discourse to the former, but tonight seems the right time to spend a few words on what he is not.

Gideon's most obvious sins on Saturday night were the two highly visible ones on Colorado's opening drive -- a terrible point-blank missed tackle on Sumler, followed three plays later by Gideon's late arrival to Devenny's touchdown catch. The missed tackle was atypical -- merely a mistake, which everyone is prone to from time to time. The late coverage, however, exemplifies the bigger problem with Gideon: he is a step shy of being a playmaker. It was easy to see on the late coverage, but it's equally easy to see in the box score, where Gideon on Saturday was credited with just a single tackle. Some of that's opportunity -- he spent a good bit of time in deep coverage -- but he's got just 16 tackles through 5 games this year, to go with just 2 passes broken up.

The complete story about Blake Gideon is this, then: It's not that he typically plays as poorly as he did early in tonight's game, it's that he is at almost all times merely adequate. Texas can live with adequate if there aren't costly mistakes, but in either case the truth of the matter is that Texas could use an upgrade. With Christian Scott derailed for the year, Gideon will likely stick and, if he's solid and can continue to avoid costly mistakes, give Texas "enough." But we should understand what he is, and needn't gloss over what he is not.

Moving down the chopping block, I take no pleasure in singling out Keenan Robinson for subpar play tonight, but even someone as bullish about the kid as I am has to say that this was not his finest game. Prior to tonight, the young linebacker had been handling about 80% of his responsibilities impressively well, with a smaller portion of his performance trailing behind. But where his weaknesses had heretofore manifested themselves sporadically over the course of several games, tonight he was not so fortunate with the distribution, as he spent much of the first half struggling with his positioning both in pass coverage and in navigating CU blockers. While the good news is that he has displayed all the physical tools (good speed and excellent strength) requisite to play the position very well, his inexperience has regularly caused him to take the wrong path to a play, leaving him too far away to close for a tackle or helplessly walled off by blockers from where he needs to be. It's all teachable stuff, so there's little about which to be concerned in the long term -- here's to hoping he learns a lot from film review of tonight's game.

On the Milk Carton: Malcolm Williams (0 catches). No need to reopen all the same wounds, but for all the McCoy-to-Shipley brilliance, it's scary to imagine that Texas is going to try to win 13 games without developing a deeper, more well-rounded offensive arsenal. And it's hard to imagine that Malcolm Williams can't or shouldn't be a part of that. You didn't have to spend much time watching Florida's defense tonight to realize there aren't any happy endings for a one-dimensional offense against so fast and powerful a defense as the Gators. More importantly, Texas won't even get the chance to dethrone the Gators if the Longhorns' offense is as stale in the Cotton Bowl as it often was tonight.

Garrett Gilbert watch: 1-1 passing, 2 yards. Those of us who predicted a blowout by halftime thought Gilbert might get his first taste of Big 12 action, but it was not to be. On the bright side, he completed his only attempt to raise his completion percentage up over 80 on the season.

Oklahoma Fear Factor: 8 out of 10. (5) is the baseline. +1 for Texas' disastrous rushing performance tonight; +1 for the offense regressing to Colt-looking-for-Shipley; +2 for the implications of Davis's failure to develop this offense against the easy portion of the schedule; +1 for Sam Bradford being healthy enough to start; -1 for Jermaine Gresham on the sidelines; -1 for Bradford lacking any downfield weapons; -1 for Oklahoma's OL making their rushing game average; -2 for Texas' phenomenal special teams; -1 for the positive results in our coaching staff when they feel a sense of urgency after a sketchy performance; +4 for the intensity of the rivalry.

Heading into next week I feel: Conflicted. How should fans feel after a win like tonight's? Should we focus on the win and Texas remaining unbeaten, celebrating the brilliance of McCoy-to-Shipley, the excellence of the special teams, and the overall dominance of the defense? Or is it naive to look past the abysmal rushing performance, the lack of diversity in the passing game, and the team's hyper-dependence on Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley?

Indeed, there's your million dollar question, Longhorns fans: Are this team's strengths exceptional enough that Texas will still win even when all the team's weaknesses pop up in the same game?

Against average competition, the answer is clearly yes, but what about against Oklahoma, Missouri, or Oklahoma State? Is Texas strong enough to overcome another half like last year's opening period in Lubbock?

The related question, of course, is whether there are reasons to believe the team can improve on its weaknesses. How fundamental are the troubles, what viable solutions appear to exist, and how likely are they actually to develop?

Though I don't think anyone can definitively say they have all the answers, I invite your thoughts on any and all of the questions posed throughout this post. For my part, I obviously am at this point conflicted, torn between my excitement about the team's many strengths and the nagging worry about the offense remainiong vulnerable to occasional bouts with mediocrity. For what it's worth, my sense after five games is that the defense, special teams, and overall roster composition are substantially stronger than last year -- sufficiently so to mitigate the offensive question marks. Whereas in 2008 Texas was vulnerable to a bad game on both sides of the ball, it's difficult to envision the 2009 defense coughing up big points and needing a pick-me-up. If that's correct, then Texas can win any given game if either the offense has a good day or, in the case of a pedestrian performance by the offense, Texas' defense and special teams put points on/keep opposing points off the scoreboard.

That's all speculative, though, and with the best team on the schedule awaiting us next Saturday, it's going to be one hell of a stressful afternoon in Dallas if the coaches don't have a successful week of practice righting some wrongs. Because I'd rather not find out whether on an afternoon Texas' offense only scores twice, the Longhorns defense really is, as I hopefully suggest, good enough to carry the team to a Red River Shootout victor, anyway.

Hook 'em 'Horns. OU Sucks.

2009 MMM Rice Owls Preview

umass09 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:54:16 -0000

Coach David Baliff finished 2008 with a 10-3 record and a Texas Bowl victory over Western Michigan. This was a significant improvement from Baliff’s first season where the Owls went a dismal 3-9. Although the future looks bright for the program, they enter 2009 with some key losses on both sides of the ball.

John Thomas Shepherd looks to have the edge at the starting quarterback position this year, as Chase Clement has graduated. Shepherd is a senior and although he does not have a lot of playing experience, he has been around the system and has watched and learned from Clement over the years. Another option at quarterback might be the transfer from Alabama, Nick Fanuzzi. He is a sophomore and brings athleticism to the position. He can run and throw the ball and depending on Shepherd’s success, Fanuzzi might take over at the position.

With C.J. Ugokwe gone, the running game should be split between Jeramy Goodson and Tyler Smith. Goodson returns as the leading rusher from a season ago, but Smith is younger and has more upside. Smith is only a sophomore who did not play last season due to a major knee injury.

Fortunately, even with the loss of Jarett Dillard the Owls are still deep at receiver. Toren Dixon should be the main target for whoever is at quarterback. He caught 50 passes last year for 598 yards and five touchdowns. Also, look for Corbin Smith to step up and make some big plays for the Owls.

Despite returning eight starters the defense needs to make adjustments in 2009. They ranked 111^th in the nation in total defense last year, giving up 450 yards per game. With the offense that will not put up the numbers it did like last year the defense needs to play better and help out the young and inexperienced offense.

Rice has a very experienced line where Scott Solomon wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks. He recorded 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season. Cheta Ozougwu is a nice compliment to Solomon at end who added 3.5 sacks last season and 40 tackles. Terrance Garmon is coming off one of his better season and will lead the group of linebackers. He totaled 66 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2008 and brings with him solid experience.

Look for the secondary to make significant improvements from ranking 11^th in the conference in pass defense. They have a bunch of returning players including safety Andrew Sendejo. He led the team with 94 tackles last year and added three interceptions. The defense should improve, but the offense has some rebuilding to do, so do not expect another ten win season from the Owls.

Prediction: 3-9

WR, Jarett Dillard, Rice

Jeremy Bolander — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:31:08 -0000

WR, Jarett Dillard, Rice

At A Glance
Position 1: Wide Receiver	Height: 5-10
Position 2:	Weight: 191
Class: Senior	Age:
Projected Round: 3rd-4th	40time: 4.52

Combine/Proday Results
Bench Reps: 13	Vertical: 42.5
20yd Split: 2.57	Broad Jump: 10'9"
10yd Split: 1.50	20yd Shuttle: 4.41
3 Cone Drill: 7.10

Pros: Productive receiver with long arms and adequate size. Very reliable hands, snatching the ball away from his body. Can free himself off press coverage using his hands and quick movements on the line. Excellent route-runner as he stays low in his cuts, sells the jerk route well and does not round off out-cuts. Good vision and a naturally elusive runner with the ball in his hands. Lulls defenders to sleep off the line, then takes off down the seam. Adjusts to throws to his outside shoulder.

Cons: Lacks great athleticism and explosiveness off the line. Lacks the pure speed to separate from corners or safeties. Has trouble getting to corners and linebackers to block at the second level. Gets knocked off his routes too easily. Won't win many battles for the ball in the air because of relatively weak hands and vertical, although he can shield the defender. Likely a slot receiver. Must adapt to a new quarterback after building a great relationship with Clement.

Around MHR:

Draftguys are "hit or miss"

but this one was pretty good, I enjoyed it. It highlighted some of the really good stuff about Jarrett, especially his routerunning, and his ability to force the corner to bite on any initial moves he makes. I think he will run some nifty double moves on some surprised corneres, ala Royal v. Hall from 08. One error on the video was where they stated that Dillard will win his share of jump balls (or something to that effect) which is interesting, because they said it before the combine, as near as I can tell, which means before his vertical measurement (which surprised a lot of scouts). At least, i assume it was before the combine, since the video is from the Shrine game. Maybe they dubbed it later. Regardless, Dillard was anything but a sure thing on jump balls during the season, even with that tremendous vertical leap of his, so anyone expecting him to come into the NFL and be pulling down a lot of end-zone post routes or corner fades will be disappointed. It comes back to what the weakest area of his game is (and which separates Royal from Dillard by leaps and bounds), and that is his ability to fight for his routes. he really struggles against savvy corners who are allowed to get up to the line and push him around, and he loses fights for jump balls or traffic balls more than he wins them. As long as he can keep the DB swinging around like a yo-yo he will have the advantage, but I think in the NFL he will have to fight through some frustration as he gets mauled at the line of scrimage. Royal, of course, never had that problem because he could stick his arm into the defender and keep separation, or box out a LB. Unfortunately Dillard can’t do that and he doesn’t have the elite speed to keep the DBs from playing up close to him (although in the video they showed the DB being VERY respectful to him, but I’m not sure why. I suspect they had double-moved him multiple times, and he was trying to keep Dillard in his sights. The overplay where they counted off the DBs steps was a very well run STOP or COMEBACK route, but usually those routes require some setup.) One last thing that wasn’t highlighted in the video was the very average burst off the line he shows, another reason why DBs will pressure him early.

Around SBNation:

Highlights:

Scouting Reports and Offsite Links:

He isn’t tall enough … they say.

He isn’t big enough … they say.

He isn’t fast enough … they say.

“They” showed up for pro day at Rice Stadium on Thursday morning to watch the Owls’ NFL prospects as if they were going to see something from Jarett Dillard they had not seen before.

Nope. The best receiver in Rice history is still not quite 5-11, stills weighs just 190 pounds, and still runs the 40-yard dash in only 4.5 seconds.

But man, what a football player.

And “they” know it. [see more...]
Great athleticism...Soft, reliable hands and catches everything...Nice body control and ball skills...An outstanding leaper...Runs very good routes...Is more quick than fast...Aggressive and competitive...Great awareness...Hard worker...Team player...Extraordinarily productive. [see more...]
Invited to the East/West Shrine Bowl. A unanimous All-American selection in 2006. Tabbed by Sports Illustrated and Walter Camp as an All-American selection again in 2008. Scored 20 touchdowns in a season twice in his career. Made a run at Larry Fitzgerald’s NCAA record of 18 straight games with a touchdown reception, finishing with 15.
Injury Concerns: No injury concerns [see more...]
A very coordinated receiver who possesses great awareness and body control down the field. Is a big time jump-ball threat for his size and consistently goes up and plucks the ball. Has come a long way as a route runner and does a great job sinking his hips and cleanly getting in and out of his breaks. Is very sharp out of his breaks, pays attention to detail and has great hands for the position. [see more...]

Bowl Previews: Tuesday brings offense, offense and more offense (Humanitarian, Holiday, Texas)

cocknfire — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:39:40 -0000

Another good news, bad news day on Monday, as I chose both winners correctly to move to 9-5 but feel to a truly awful 1-13 in choosing the score. C'est la vie. Today's slate:

Humanitarian Bowl, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

What it is: A reason to disorient at least two football teams by forcing them to play on the Smurf Turf of Boise.

The Teams: Maryland, Nevada

How Maryland got here: How does Maryland ever get to a bowl game? With pixie dust and unicorns, of course. A team that could only beat Delaware by seven and lost to Middle Tennessee State also defeated California and North Carolina. I have no explanation for it -- even for the ACC, Maryland took the week-to-week swings to new levels of bizarreness. They were outscored by nearly 1.5 ppg during the regular season; their best offensive player might be Da'Rel Scott, who rushed for 959 yards and 6 TDs but has a troubling tendency to disappear during big games -- 11 yards against Virginia Tech on ten carries, 19 yards on 13 rushes against Boston College. Their defense, which allowed 355.0 ypg, qualifies as mediocre.

How Nevada got here: For those of us who saw the Wolfpack as potential WAC dark horses -- coughcough not me at all coughcough -- well, that never happened. Nevada essentially fell off the national map after losing to Texas Tech and Missouri by a combined 104-36 margin. Those would be the only two games the Pack lost by more than a touchdown, though, and Nevada had a decent enough year. For Nevada. I love their QB, Colin Kaepernick, who doesn't have a high completion percentage but doesn't make many mistakes, passing for 2,479 yards, 19 TDs and just 5 INTs this year and rushing for 1,115 yards and 16 TDs. He also has a talented and colorfully named supporting cast, from Vai Taua, who rushed for 1,420 yards and 14 TDs, and Marko Mitchell, 56 catches for 1,011 and 9 TDs. Too bad they didn't get much help from their defense, which allowed 395.6 ypg.

College football fans care because: It's the first time Maryland and Nevada have ever played each other. That's all I've got.

SEC fans care because: There are still no SEC bowls yet, so you might as well watch this one.

Watch this game if ... : You don't mind watching football played on blue grass.

The result: Nevada 55, Maryland 45

Holiday Bowl, 8 p.m., ESPN

What it is: A game surrounded by the most Pacific Life commercials you'll ever see without watching CNN.

The Teams: No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 15 Oregon (all rankings, as always, BlogPoll)

How Oklahoma State got here: By losing only to teams that were ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 when the Cowboys played them and are now ranked No. 2, No. 3 and No. 7. That would be -- in whatever order you like, because everyone has a strong opinion about this -- Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. That said, their schedule outside of those three games goes from Missouri to Colorado to -- um, Houston? Oklahoma State's offense generated 489.3 ypg and 41.6 ppg. So they score. The offense is explosive pretty much across the board, and is led by a man. Who's 40 41. Stopping other teams' offenses has been a problem, with the defense allowing 392.3 ypg.

How Oregon got here: With a powerful rushing game led by Jeremiah Johnson (156 carries, 1,082 yards, 12 TDs) and the lower-profile LeGarrette Blount (130 carries, 928 yards, 16 TDs). The only losses were to Boise State, Southern Cal and California; the Ducks ended their season by waxing rival Oregon State 65-38, preventing the Beavers from claiming the Pac-10's Rose Bowl berth. Of course, their defense isn't much better than Oklahoma State's; Oregon's opponents rang up 383.0 ypg.

College football fans care because: These teams will score points. And then more points. And then more points. They could hit 100.

SEC fans care because: If Oregon can win, the Big XII's rep might take a hit.

Watch this game if ... : You want to find out what hideous uniform configuration Oregon has cooked up for this game.

The result: Oregon 56, Oklahoma State 34

Texas Bowl, 8 p.m., NFL Network

What it is: A bowl you've never heard of because it's always been on the NFL Network.

The Teams: Western Michigan, Rice

How Western Michigan got here: Going 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the MAC, mostly thanks to the arm of Tim Hiller. Hiller threw for 3,527 yards, 34 TDs and 8 INTs while completing almost 67 percent of his passes. Hiller attempted 40 or more passes in five of the Broncos games, including an astonishing 63 attempts in a 34-28 OT win against Buffalo. Opponents rang up 390.3 ypg against Western Michigan.

How Rice got here: An offense that includes QB Chase Clement (3,812 yards, 41 TDs and 7 INTs passing, 621 yards and 11 TDs rushing), WR Jarett Dillard (79 receptions, 1,224 yards and 19 TDs) and WR James Casey (104 receptions, 1,217 yards and 12 TDs). Rice did allow 466.8 ypg on defense.

College football fans care because: Rice hasn't won a bowl game in 54 years.

SEC fans care because: You really have no reason to.

Watch this game if ... : You want to find out what hideous uniform configuration Oregon has cooked up for this game.

The result: Rice 48, Western Michigan 36

Raking The Muck: Things You Need To Know For Friday Edition

CW — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:05:13 -0000

Notre Dame Will Not Be Going to El Paso: Mike Teel's gentle but firm deflowering of Louisville last night (six touchdown tosses...in the first half!) means that there is zero chance Notre Dame goes to the Sun Bowl, due to a bunch of rules regarding 7-5 teams versus 6-6 teams. Thanks for the effort, Louisville; you were only playing for a bowl bid. Everyone in wearing red is most likely still lingering on that Western Kentucky upset over the weekend, so a no show like this on Thursday night to avenge the Jeremy Ito game of 2006 is understandable.

Where will the Irish be bowling? I still think Texas, just so Jarett Dillard can close out his career by catching seventeen balls for 300 yards against us. I'd prefer Hawaii for any number of reasons (not on NFL Network, a nice birthday/Christmas gift to myself), but there are still a few other options still available, including San Diego and beautiful Shreveport.]

Luke Harangody might be resting until the Big East schedule starts: Mike Brey doesn't want to risk rushing Harangody back from his bout with pneumonia (Luke won by KO in seven rounds, for what it's worth), so while he may knock some rust off in the Functional DNP's against Delaware State and Savannah State in late December, it's unlikely he'll see the floor against Ohio State this weekend. Andy Katz seems to think the team will now be leaning on Luke Zeller, and if by "leaning" he means "starting one Luke in place of the other," then he's probably correct.

This game Saturday is going to be a tough one: With Harangody out, the freakish height of the Buckeyes' starting guards (6' 6" and 6' 7") and the fact the game is being played in a football stadium that has the likelihood of throwing off three-point shooting (the large, cavernous venues tend to do that, at least at first), I am not feeling confident for the showdown between Ty Nash and BJ Mullens everyone's been talking about. It's a 4:00ish start (Gonzaga murders Indiana beforehand) on ESPNU Saturday, and matches one of the best offenses in the country against one of the best defenses, but to be fair, the Buckeyes' defense didn't look that swell until future lottery pick Jack McClinton was kicked out of the game. It will undoubtedly be a fun game and has the potential to give the Irish wins over two big-time conference champions.

The women's soccer team is still undefeated: However, they are putting that pristine record on the line in the College Cup Final Four against the Stanford Cardinal at 4:30 pm on ESPN2 and ESPNU. If they win, they'll either face UCLA, the team they bested for the 2004 national title, or North Carolina, the Irish's mortal enemy and a team that knocked them out in 2006, although the favor was returned last season.