SB Nation - Von Miller

Who Should Win the Heisman?

cocknfire — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:30:13 -0000

More photos » by JACOB HARRIS - AP

Might cocknfire's vote go to a Notre Dame player, like Johnny Lujack?

Hopefully in time to be included in the Sports Blog Heisman Trophy presented by The Blue Workhorse.

This is not the easiest year to craft a Heisman ballot, at least not the way it should be done. As I've said before, the Heisman is becoming too much like the MVP award, and the MVP is becoming too much like the Heisman. Remember that the Heisman Award is supposed to go to "the most outstanding college football player in the United States." There is no reference there to how valuable you are to your team. There's not even a suggestion that your team has to be very good. The winner has to "the most outstanding." That's a tall order for anyone to fill.

Which is why I get distressed when I hear people touted for the award because his team is great and "they just couldn't do it without him." If the numbers back up that player being the most outstanding, fine. But his team's achievements shouldn't be as important to a candidate's chances as they are.

That said, they can't be discounted either. Which is why you have to at least look at Colt McCoy -- until you realize that he's having either his worst or second-worst statistical year and has nearly disappeared in three of his team's biggest games (Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska). Because showing up for the big games does matter if you're going to be most outstanding.

Showing up for almost all the games also matters. It's not just enough to be good overall; you need to have games where you shine. Just because your team's achievements aren't central to the award doesn't mean the ability to carry a team, either in victory or defeat, isn't something we should look for in a Heisman candidate.

But the overall numbers are a good place to start. I've chosen a few players from several different categories to consider. The choices aren't that easy to make; there are a lot of good football players in the NCAA -- and I threw in Tim Tebow because this is an SEC blog and so he has to at least be considered.

First, the quarterbacks.

Your going to want to click that for a larger version because it's got a lot of good info in there. For those unfamiliar with PEPCT (pass efficiency percentage), it's a new stat I'm still tweaking that measures a quarterbacks performance against defenses based on those defenses' normal pass efficiency numbers. And we should note that Tebow also has 859 rushing yards and 13 TDs on the ground.

But even if you add the rushing yards, Tebow just hasn't produced as much as Kellen Moore or Jimmy Clausen. The touchdown numbers would move him past Clausen, but he's thrown almost as twice as many picks as Clausen in comparison to the number of attempts. The numbers just don't support a Heisman candidacy this year.

Still, let's look at how players tended to do on a week-by-week basis.

You're not reading that incorrectly; Tim Tebow has passed for 250 or more yards in one game (Arkansas) all season long. Yes, I realize that Tebow is a running quarterback; but you should have to throw the ball for more than 250 yards more than once in a season to be a Heisman contender.

Not that there's nothing wrong with the other two contenders. It was hard to come up with a "signature" game for either -- their best games came either against weak opponents or when their teams lost, and like McCoy they sometimes had subpar outings in important games. For example, Moore's numbers aren't terrible against Oregon, but it was still his worst game statistically. And Clausen's "signature" game was against a team that defeated Notre Dame.

I'll choose Kellen Moore as the best of the quarterbacks.

Running backs overall.

It's harder to adjust statistically for defenses with running backs than with quarterbacks, though I'm working on a couple of possible ways to do it. In any case, here are a few things that I found interesting about this chart. First, Mark Ingram is undeniably the best per carry by more than a half-yard. Second, he has the edge in receiving yards. But look at Gerhart's touchdown numbers; they are absurd. He essentially scored every twelfth time he ran the ball. Dion Lewis was very good, but he just can't quite compare with what Ingram and Gerhart did overall.

Weekly.

Here is where Ingram's candidacy takes a little bit of a hit. Three times he rushed the ball for fewer than 75 yards, a mark that Gerhart and Lewis never falled to make. Even against the defenses of the SEC, the "most outstanding" should do better than that -- especially at rival Auburn with a chance at an undefeated season on the line.

Gerhart was more consistent by far this year, and his worst game seems just a little bit better than the others. Sure, it was against Wake Forest, but at least it wasn't against Navy.

So Toby Gerhart gets first place among the running backs, with Mark Ingram a close enough second to warrant further consideration later.

I've never understood why wide receivers don't get more consideration than they do for the award. So let's take a look at some of the better wideouts this year.

How hard was it for an SEC fan to include two Notre Dame players on his list of potential Heisman candidates? I don't want to talk about it.

But Golden Tate had an outstanding year. Look at that touchdown percentage and the yards per catch. With 45 fewer catches than Freddie Barnes against tougher competition, he had just 55 fewer receiving yards. Another 14 receptions for Danario Alexander only earned him 148 additional yards. The edge is resoundingly to Tate among the players I looked at here.

Weekly.

This is where Alexander and Barnes fall off the table to me. Both have more games with fewer than 75 yards than Tate and were far worse in their worst outings. (Though one becomes more and more curious as to how Notre Dame lost to Stanford. Oh, that's right. They had to play defense.)

So the best wideout of the group appears to be Golden Tate.

Finally, we have to look at defenders and examine this hype about Nebraska's Ndouopiufdsoia Suh, or something like that.

Dr. Saturday is the one who got me to consider Brandon Graham. And you've never heard of Von Miller at Texas A&M, who was completely off my radar until I started looking through the numbers. I know you've heard of Ndamukong Suh, because you probably watch football on ESPN and they mention his name almost as frequently as McCoy's.

All three of these players are very good, and consider that Suh was probably double-teamed more than any defensive lineman in the country. Even so, based purely on the statistics, you have to give Miller the edge here.

Weekly.

If you thought that Suh was almost unstoppable against Texas in the Big XII Championship Game, you were right. Four and a half sacks among six tackles for loss and 11 overall. Nothing Graham or Miller did all year can come close to matching that.

Counting all of those things and throwing in some of those "intangibles," I have to go with Ndamukong Suh as the defensive candidate.

Leaving us with:

Kellen Moore
Toby Gerhart
Mark Ingram
Golden Tate
Ndamukong Suh

One of these names is really in a different league from the others -- literally -- and that's Moore. He had a great year for Boise State, but playing in any midmajor save the Mountain West isn't quite like playing in a BCS conference. For consideration, you need to put up laughable numbers, and Moore's not quite there.

The next cut is tough, but I'm removing Golden Tate. That's hard, because I really wanted to see him at least get considered. He is, though, on a 6-6 team that not's going to a bowl game. Gerhart was on the best Stanford team in years, Ingram helped win an SEC Championship and Suh led the Cornhuskers to a Big XII North title. Again, the team's season can't be the central point. But we're getting to the point here where hair-splitting is all that's left.

So the top three are Gerhart, Ingram and Suh. Not terribly original. But the idea here is not to be surprising or creative; it's to find the best. Find me better than any of those three at their positions. I don't think it can be done.

We're allowed three names for the final ballot. So I now have to put them in order. This is the hardest part, because I honestly think any one of these players is more than deserving.

But Ingram disappeared one time too many. And as good as Suh was for Nebraska this year -- and as scared as I'd be to tell him this to his face -- the numbers put up by Toby Gerhart are almost incomparable. Gerhart it is.

1. Toby Gerhart
2. Mark Ingram
3. Ndamukong Suh

Thoughts On All-Big 12 Football Team

Beergut — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:25:36 -0000

by Jerry Larson - AP

Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Christine Michael. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune-Herald, Jerry Larson)

View full size photo »

I thought Jordan Shipley should have been named Offensive Player of the Year instead of Colt McCoy. McCoy had a poor first half of the season; Shipley was remarkably consistent game-in and game-out this year, and I thought that should count for something.
Mack Brown getting Big 12 Coach of the Year is something of a joke, in my opinion. texas was favored to win the Big 12 South and the conference in the preseason, and they....won the Big 12 South and will play for the conference championship this weekend. What about Paul Rhoads, who took a team picked to finish last in the Big 12 North to a fourth place finish and bowl contention?
I don't agree with the pick of Jeron Mastrud for all-conference TE over Jamie McCoy at all. McCoy had better numbers (31 receptions, 328 yards, 1 TD vs. 21 receptions, 233 yards, 1 TD), and was versatile enough to play some H-back and FB.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Christine Michael make Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. I thought he had a terrific season, but I figured the coaches would take the easy way out and give it to Landry Jones, who did receive some votes.

I think it is interesting that outside of Earl Thomas, texas had no other players make the first team defense. I thought Lamarr Houston deserved some serious consideration, although I can't argue against including Jared Crick, Ndamukong Suh, or Gerald McCoy at the DT position.
It was a surprise to see Michael Hodges receive some votes for Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
I am also happy some coaches think Jerrod Johnson deserved to be Offensive Player of the Year.
Von Miller received votes for both Defensive Lineman of the Year AND Defensive Player of the Year. With a freak of nature like Suh in this conference, you knew he wouldn't win either award, but the recognition of his performance this year is nice.
This conference is ridiculously loaded at wide receiver; show me another conference that can name a talented trio like Ryan Broyles, Kerry Meier, and Brandon Banks as their SECOND team.
I think Trent Hunter should be on the first team over Larry Asante, but I guess I'll have to be happy with a second-team selection. I think Asante had an easier job, since heplayed behind Suh and Crick, and just had to clean up on a lot of play. Hunter had to be a playmaker for us a lot more often, as attested by the 87 tackles he had on the season.
It is baffling to me that Sergio Kindle makes second team DL while Sam Acho did not. If you look at their play on the field or their statistics, Acho is obviously a better player, and this while playing on the strongside, so often facing double-teams.
It is nice to see that Uzoma Nwachukwu received some consideration for Offensive Freshman of the Year.

texas Game Review

Beergut — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:37:10 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson (1) towers over texas quarterback Colt McCoy (12), much like his performance Thursday night outshone McCoy's stellar effort. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Browse more photos »

In order to win the game, we needed to win the turnover battle, run the ball on their top-ranked run defense, and not have any special teams miscues. We gave up one KO return for a TD, and that turned out to be a backbreaker for us.
Even though he had an incredible performance last night, I still don't think Colt McCoy deserves the Heisman, because he wasn't even the best QB on the field last night. Jerrod Johnson took the best defense in this conference and one of the best defenses in the nation and made them look stupid.
I may be in the minority on this issue, but I didn't like the decision to go for the FG on the 4th and 3. The way our offense was playing, we could have made the three yards, and the TD would have kept the pressure on texas. Score the TD, get the onside kick, and you have the option of driving for the winning TD or going for the tie with a FG. A FG at that point still puts you down by a TD, and limits your options.
McCoy's 65 yard TD run up the middle was a pretty bad defensive breakdown; no excuse to not have anyone manning the middle of the field on 3rd and 2.
texas picked on Justin McQueen pretty good. With Coryell Judie coming off his redshirt next season, we should have someone there to play across from Terrence Frederick.
We rushed for 190 yards against the #1 rush defense in the nation; good job of creating some holes by the offensive line.
Christine Michael had a solid game, but he needs to learn to lock up the ball before the runs forward. His one fumble was a poor job by him of locking up the handoff. Jerrod had a few miscommunications in the runnning game, but it wasn't enough to hurt us seriously.

I like the Fly series we ran, although I think we should have given it to Uzoma Nwachukwu more than once.

Adam Ulatoski was holding on Von Miller pretty blatantly all night long. I was surprised they never flagged him for it.

Jerrod's performance last night makes him the first 3000 yard passer in Aggie football history.

Jerrod is also adding on to his own record for TD passes, with 28 so far this season, and one more game left to play.

After Jerrod and the wide receivers, I think the most impressive performance on the team was by our interior offensive line. They kept texas' DTs in check most of the game.

I really hope Ryan Epperson gets some work in this offseason with his position coach and improves greatly, because punting is still a weakness for us.

If we're not going to use Cyrus Gray on kickoff returns following the OU debacle, I'm okay with Ryan Swope. He was doing a stellar job out there against texas, and will only improve with time.

I was a little disappointed we didn't run any Wildcat this game. Hopefully, we'll show it again in the bowl game.

Thoughts on Kansas and Texas A&M

GhostofBigRoy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:48:57 -0000

There isn't a whole lot to talk about with the Kansas game that hasn't already been said here in the last couple of days or earlier in the season, so I'll just do it bullet style:

Before the Baylor game, I said that the two best receivers Texas would face this season on one team were David Gettis and Kendall Wright. Somehow I forgot about Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe and that was just stupid. Meier didn't have a huge game, but Briscoe did, showing the combination of size and speed that should make him one of the top receivers in the draft if he decides to come out this year. Much like he did against Michael Crabtree last season, Curtis Brown really struggled against Briscoe, for a variety of reasons. Briscoe's speed was a problem, as was his size. Mostly though, Brown struggled because he kept on getting in between trying to break up passes and trying to make the tackle, often ending up doing neither. Blake Gideon didn't help him much by consistently being late getting over the top as well, though in fairness to Gideon, he was the single-high safety on several of those coverages, giving him a lot of ground to cover.

Aaron Williams actually got beat a couple of times. Astounding -- I didn't even know if that was possible. Apparently he is mortal.
It's really heartening that the Longhorns are looking down the field more often, especially when using play action. The deep post to Williams went for a long touchdown and McCoy targeted the big receiver on two other plays downfield, with Williams for some reason stopping on one route that would have been a touchdown and McCoy missing outside and long on another that would have gone for a score. The fact that they aren't quite on the same page with those throws illustrates what a crime it was not to have played Williams more early in the season. Had the coaches put him on the field, he and McCoy might have already worked through those problems. The good news is that Williams hasn't dropped any passes in the last two games and continues to block extremely well downfield. On the pass into the flat to Tre' Newton after faking the jet sweep, Wiilliams absolutely leveled a linebacker.
James Kirkendoll contines to come on as well, working harder on his blocking downfield, but more importantly, showing the precise route running Texas fans expected to see all season. McCoy is seemingly gaining more trust in him every week and it's clear that the benching after the Oklahoma game really lit a fire under him. Great to see.
The offensive line had two breakdowns in pass protection again, once by Tray Allen when he let a defensive tackle come free on McCoy's fumble early in the game when Kansas showed blitz with one linebacker on the edge, then the other, clearly confusing Allen with the protection scheme. The other came when Kyle Hix left Maxwell Onyegbule unblocked on the edge, leading to a hit on McCoy. Frustrating.
I can guarantee that since Justin Tucker fancies himself a real football player, he hated the fact that he couldn't catch Briscoe on the kickoff return. He'll probably be angry about it the rest of his life.
John Gold's punting effort was extremely poor, meaning that both the traditional and rubgy punting have struggled the last two weeks. They need to figure it out. Kickoff coverage as well, which was terrible at times.
After Jordan Shipley's fumble on a kickoff return, Marquise Goodwin should be given every chance to win the job until DJ Monroe comes back -- he didn't look quite as explosive, but Shipley's fumble was inexcusable and the second fumble he has had on special teams in the last month.
Texas struggled to get pressure on Todd Reesing during long stretches of the game -- a lot of credit should go to the Kansas offensive line, which probably played their best game of the season against Texas, doing a particularly good job picking up on the twists the Longhorns ran consistently. Part of the problem may have been that the defensive linemen were worried about staying in their lanes, but the lack of pressure helped lead to a lot of the breakdowns in the secondary.
The jet tempo package worked as well as it has all season, with the Longhorns running several bootlegs off of the play, one that resulted in a scramble for a first down by McCoy and one that resulted in the 38-yard touchdown to Shipley on a drag route. It's a good thing that Davis didn't abandon the jet tempo when it wasn't working like he did the Q package and the WildHorn, because it's giving the Longhorns an advantage right now.
The Longhorns ran power a couple of times against Kansas and it's a great addition to the playbook.

Some thoughts on the game against A&M:

The skill position players on offense are good for the Aggies, but the offensive line has struggled mightily at times this season and Jerrod Johnson often holds the ball too long in the pocket, a recipe for disaster against the Longhorns.
The key to stopping the Aggie offense may be limiting their ability to run the ball, putting them in third and long situations where Texas can put pressure on Johnson. However, the defensive linemen must stay in their lanes as they did against Kansas and Oklahoma State to limit the scrambling ability of the Aggie quarterback -- when Johnson is running the ball effectively, the Aggies are a dangerous team offensively.
Defensively, Texas A&M has virtually nothing besides Von Miller. Early in the Arkansas game, Miller was extremely disruptive until Arkansas started double teaming him and sliding their protection away from him. As long as the offensive line can keep track of him, possibly using a running back to chip him at times, Colt McCoy should have plenty of time to stand in the pocket and throw down the field against an extremely poor Aggie secondary. However, because of the need to slide the protection away from Miller or double team him, the empty set may not be the best choice this week.
The Aggies are one of the most heavily penalized teams in the country, getting flagged an average of about eight times per game -- something they cannot afford to happen against the much more talented Longhorns.
Unless several catastrophic things happen, the Aggies don't have a chance in this game. The Longhorns need to come out with focus and intensity and Colt McCoy needs another strong game to help his Heisman campaign. In other words, he needs to play better than Vince Young did against the Aggies in 2005. If you want to feel better about the game, just read this.

Aggie On Deck!

ccmachine — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:31:38 -0000

by JACK DEMPSEY - AP

View full size photo »

In preparation for tomorrow night's tilt against Texas A&M we've invited Beergut from SBN's Texas A&M site, I Am The 12^th Man to join us and share some insight on the Aggies and this week's game.

CC Machine: How bad did the Colorado loss hurt and what the heck happened to cause it?

BG: It always hurts to lose a game you think you should win, especially when you manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like we did. When you enter the 4th quarter with a 10 point lead, you should win the game, and we made enough mistakes in the 4th to lose it. The game hurts us in that we could have been riding a 3-game winning streak coming into Norman tomorrow; instead, we're coming off a disappointing loss. Coach Sherman says he tries to approach every win and loss the same, because you always have to move on and prepare for the next game. The Colorado loss removes out margin of error concerning bowl eligibility, because a win there would have been our sixth, and guaranteed postseason play for our team. Now, we will face three teams in a span of twelve days to play our way into bowl eligibility; we can expect to be favored in only one of those games, so we have our work cut out for us. We lost to Colorado because we failed to stop them on defense in the 4th quarter, and we turned the ball over twice, once on offense and once on special teams. We failed to do the little things that help you win games, like protect the football, and that is why we lost the game. Coach Sherman always talks about treating wins and losses the same, because you have to acknowledge the effort, correct mistakes, and move on. Hopefully, we'll be able to move on and play a complete game on Saturday.

CC Machine: Mike Sherman coached the Aggies to new lows last season and has them on the doorstep of bowl eligibility this year. Are you putting all your eggs in the Baylor basket or is it possible that A&M could finish better than 1-2 over the final three games?

BG: I don't think our program can ever go any lower than what Dennis Franchione put it through during the 2003 season. Regardless, there is a good possibility we can win two of our final three games, since we play two of those games at home. Ranked #2 or not, texas has struggled against us the last three years, going 1-2, with a loss in Austin in 2006 and a blowout loss in College Station in '07. texas fans like to talk about all the similarities between this year and 2005; one they probably don't want to remember his how bad their team struggled in College Station that year, and how Vince Young's Heisman hopes disappeared in a pile of turnovers, as he was sacked three times, fumbled twice, and intercepted once. We'll get a chance to see how our offense performs against a stellar defense when we face your defense Saturday; that should be a good litmus test for us, because your defensive front is better than anything texas has.

CC Machine: Bob Stoops is 9-1 against the Aggies and the Sooners haven't lost a game in this series since 2002. How is this game going to be different from the past six seasons?

BG: I think it should be pointed out that for five of those nine games, we were at a severe coaching disadvantage because you had Bob Stoops and we had Dennis Franchione. When we actually had a defensive mastermind who could match Stoops (R.C. Slocum) and an offensive coach to combat your defense (Kevin Sumlin), we upset y'all in 2002. Our problems lately have been that OU generally has more talent across the board than we field, although we're closing that gap under Sherman. I think this year might be different because we field a better offense than we've fielded in a while, but we are playing y'all in Norman, which is a tough place to play, period.

CC Machine: Jerrod Johnson has been spectacular at quarterback this season but the Aggies seem to have struggled at the receiver position. Is that a fair assessment and has there been improvement there?

BG: I'm really not sure where you're getting the impression our wide receivers have struggled this season; we've passed for more yards (2637 to 2464) than OU has this year, and we're currenty third in the Big 12 in passing offense; simply put, we can fling the rock, and we have players who can catch it, too. We have six receivers with twenty or more receptions, and we're led by Ryan Tannehill, who is our main target on third down, and Uzoma Nwachukwu, who averages a nice 20.6 yards per reception. Our TE, Jamie McCoy, has 27 receptions on the season despite also playing H-Back and Fullback, and running the ball. Far from being a weakness, wide receiver as a position is a team strength.

CC Machine: Keys to success - Give us three keys to an Aggie victory tomorrow night.

BG: 1. Keep Jerrod upright.

The Sooner defensive front seven is terrific, and you'll be able to get pressure on Jerrod Johnson. If our offensive line can give him time, he'll be able to find open receivers and move our offense down the field. If our offensive line can open some holes so we can move the ball on the ground, especially with Jerrod moving around and scrambling, we should be able to move the ball down the field and score some points.

2. Let your stars make big plays.

Get the ball into the hands of our playmakers, like Nwachukwu, RBs Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael, and TE Jamie McCoy. If we spread the ball around and allow our players to make plays, we'll be successful on offense.

3. Von Miller needs to have a good game.

Trent Williams versus Von Miller might be the key matchup of the game. If Williams is able to control Miller, I'm not sure we'll be able to get much pressure on Landry Jones. If Miller can get to Jones a few times, and put some pressure on him, that will help our defense. It would also be nice if we could be stout against your running game, but one thing at a time here.

Tight end? What the heck is that and why don't we have one?

Q & A With Crimson And Cream Machine

Beergut — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:37:39 -0000

We preview our game with the Oklahoma Sooners by asking a few questions of Crimson and Cream Machine, SB Nation's excellent Oklahoma blog. Thanks to moderator ccmachine for his answers and insight into the Sooner program.

1. I thought after the 2005 season, Stoops would have learned his lesson, and y'all wouldn't have to go through a wholesale 'rebuild' season where you suffer a serious dropoff from previous seasons. Granted, you can't win the Big 12 every single year, and three in a row is a nice run, but do you have any thoughts on why Stoops & Staff weren't able to have adequate replacements ready to step up this season, particularly on the offensive line?

This seems to be more of a question of ignorance than anything else. What lesson was Stoops to learn from `05 that would have prepared him for the rash of injuries in `09? With yesterday’s injury to offensive lineman Jarvis Jones, making him doubtful for Saturday, the Sooners have now lost over half of their offensive unit to injury. What coach has a contingency plan for that?

Sam Bradford was the one who took most of the reps in preseason camp and this season was supposed to be spent prepping Landry Jones for next year. Instead Bradford is done and Jones has been thrown into the fire. The guy that was supposed to be behind Bradford transferred to Michigan State after losing out on the starting position which left just freshmen in the fold after Joey Halzle graduated last season. We knew the linemen wouldn’t be as good as last year but it also appears that not all 4-Star recruits are as good as advertised. That goes for receivers as well. Adron Tennell was a highly touted 4-Star guy coming out of high school. Now we know why he’s been riding the pine for his entire career.

2. Injuries have ravaged your team, with All-Americans Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham being lost for the season. Brody Eldridge and Auston English are now out for the season after the Nebraska game. Is it just bad luck this year, or do you think there is an issue on the S&C program that is leading to more injuries this year?

We call it the curse of Andre Ware! It has nothing to do with the strength and conditioning program. Bob Stoops has never suffered a rash of injuries like this and his strength and conditioning system has been in place since 1999.

3. All Aggies are familiar with DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown, and Ryan Broyles. We've watched Landry Jones attempt to replace Sam Bradford's production in the OU offense. Who is an offensive player we might not know about who could be a key contributor on Saturday?

DeJuan Miller (#24) has really come on lately. I have not idea why he didn’t play against Texas but since he entered into the starting lineup against Baylor the Red River Shootout is the only game where he didn’t receive a significant amount of playing time. He’s slowly moving his way up the ladder in receiving yards and earning the trust of Landry Jones as the second option at receiver.

4. Who is the A&M player you are most worried about on offense or defense?

On offense you can’t ignore what Jerrod Johnson is doing. He is quietly putting together the best season of any Big 12 quarterback by completing over 60% of his passes with a Big 12-best 21 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions.
Just as impressive on defense is Von Miller who leads the Big 12 in sacks with 15.5. He’ll be going up against a hodge-podge offensive line and will no doubt live in Oklahoma ’s backfield.

5. What does A&M need to do to pull the upset?

All they have to do is score more points. Yes, I realize that is a plain answer but its also a simple plan. The Aggies will struggle against Oklahoma ’s defense but conversely Oklahoma ’s offense is really hurting and may still struggle to score despite the Aggies being dead last in the Big 12 when it comes to scoring defense.

6. OU has been ridiculously tough at home under Bob Stoops. What do the Aggies need to do to take the crowd out of the game?

OU fans are already disgruntled with the offense so the longer the Aggies can keep Landry Jones and company at bay the more you’ll see and hear grumbling from within the stadium.

7. Score prediction.

OU’s offense is bad but A&M’s defense is worse. I like the Sooners 27-10.

Two News Links For Tuesday

Beergut — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:47:27 -0000

UPDATE: Per Crimson and Cream Machine, DE Auston English is now also out for our game, and the rest of the season, with a ruptured tendon in his ankle.

A lifeless loss to Kansas State. An inspiring win at Texas Tech. A dominating win against improving Iowa State. A fourth-quarter meltdown against lowly Colorado.

Texas A&M (5-4, 2-3 Big 12) has produced puzzling results in the last month, flashing Top 25 potential at times and sputtering at key moments in others.

Apparently, Chris Duncan of the Associated Press thinks we're inconsistent. It amazes me that members of the sports media can't make the connection between playing lots of freshmen and inconsistency. One of the hallmarks of youth in sports is that you're going to get inconsistent results. I guess it is asking too much for Duncan or other writers to actually thnk before they write, though. The irony is that we didn't lose the Colorado game because we are inconsistent, this team has been fairly consistent in that they have a stellar offense and a poor defense. We lost to Colorado because we failed to do the little things that make sure you don't lose the game, like protect the football. Two turnovers in the fourth quarter ultimately doomed us.

In other important news, Sooner left guard Brody Eldridge is out for the game Saturday after injuring his shoulder against Nebraska last Saturday. Per Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, Eldridge has been OU's highest graded lineman this season. Hopefully, our interior DL will be able to get a push against OU, and put some pressure on Landry Jones. NT Eddie Brown had a sack against Colorado Saturday, his third of the season, so hopefully the light is beginning to turn on for him. Five of our seven sacks were by either DL or Jack linebackers(Von Miller had two sacks, Matt Featherston had one), so hopefully that bodes well for our defensive front this Saturday. Landry Jones doesn't appear to be as mobile as Tyler Hansen is, so hopefully we'll be able to get more pressure on him.

Colorado Game Review

Beergut — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:07:48 -0000

More photos » by JACK DEMPSEY - AP

Texas A&M running back Christine Michael (33) breaks a tackle by Colorado cornerback Jalil Brown (23) and runs for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the Texas A&M-Colorado game. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Browse more photos »

My thoughts:

When you are on the road and faced with a 4th and goal to go situation inside the opponent's 3 yard line, I think you take the points and the FG early in the game to get on the board; late in the game, you go for the jugular and go for the TD. We did that backwards yesterday, going for the TD in the first quarter, taking the points in the 4th quarter.
I understood the reasn we went with an Empty set so often (we had the talent to exploit their secondary), but I don't like the routes we ran. If we are going to go with 0 personnel that often, we need a shallow cross or drag route over the midde so we can take advantage of their willingness to blitz. They were getting pressure on us when we went empty, so we needed to make them pay for that.
The strength of our offensive line is the guards and the center, so it is understandable why we kept trying to run up the middle. We had more our most success running against Colorado by going off-tackle, especially to the right side. I'm surprised we didn't adjust and run to that side more.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but Jerrod Johnson tied his own school record with his 21st TD pass this season. He set the school record with 21 TD passes last season.
I can't really get too angry at Terrence Frederick for his fumble on the final punt return because I know he isn't our normal returner, Dustin Harris is. He was just trying to catch the ball and make something happen, and you can't fault someone for effort. He just didn't secure the ball. I would have preferred for the coaches to tell him to let it go, and we'll make up the yards in the two minute drill.
I know we spread the ball around among seven different receivers this game, but I would like it if we focused on spreading it around more evenly. I know Ryan Tannehill is pretty much money on third down, so he is going to get a lot of receptions on third down, but our other six receivers all had three or fewer receptions while Tannehill had nine. I just think we need to call more plays for our other receivers to spread it around more. I think we need to make it a concerted effort to be as balanced as possible in our passing game regarding ball distribution.
It was nice seeing Ryan Swope getting the first start of his career. He had 3 receptions for 39 yards. I think he will be a real weapon for us in the slot.
Our offensive line gave up only one sack for the third consecutive game; their performance was solid.
Our performance in the red zone really needs some work. Part of the issue there is playcalling; I'm not a fan of going with 0 personnel in the red zone, period, unless you are planning to have the QB run the ball, and I think in that area, the defense is looking for it. I would rather go with 21 or 22 personnel, and have the option of the power running game led by a fullback or the play-action pass to the TE.
Our defense seemed to have trouble standing on their feet on some plays. I have never seen so many unblocked players simply fall down while trying to move to make a tackle.
Von Miller's two sacks keep him in the national lead, with 15.5 sacks now on the season. I believe this is the most sacks by an Aggie since we began Big 12 play; Keith Mitchell had 14 sacks in 1996. The entire Aggie defense totalled 16 sacks during the 2008 season.
A&M's 31 team sacks on the year leads the Big 12. Contrast that with last season, where we were second to last in the conference at the end of the season, ahead of only OSU.
Our defense really needs to step it up if we want to continue to compete the rest of the season.

Gameday Buff Bites - Colorado Buffaloes vs. Texas A&M Aggies

irish1611 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:26:56 -0000

For starters, CU needs to get going early - The Denver Post
I am absolutely disgusted at all of this talk about a lack of energy for the Buffs. I thought the Missouri game was a revenge game. The last two games against Kansas State and Missouri the Buffs had many things to play for but "guys weren't jacked up?"

The slow starts Colorado has had in some games this season make it appear its opponents are sprinting out of the blocks in track shoes while the Buffs give chase in flip-flops. Some ugly numbers: CU has been outscored 64-27 in the first quarter and 130-80 by halftime. In a season-opening 23-17 loss to Colorado State, the Buffs trailed 20-3 at halftime. In a 54-38 loss at Toledo in Week 2, the Buffs were down 30-3 at intermission. In Saturday's 36-17 loss to Missouri, CU had fallen behind 33-3 at the half.

"Especially last week, guys were tight. And a few guys weren't jacked up, for whatever reason," junior wide receiver Scotty McKnight said. "I don't know what you've got to do, but it didn't seem like there was a big energy before the game. "We had it the second half, sure. But you have to play this game with passion and energy. We didn't do that in the first half."

Woelk: Lack of emotion still a puzzle with Buffaloes - Boulder Daily Camera

It`s been hard to figure exactly what -- if anything -- inspires this CU team. One of the major criticisms from fans throughout the season has been what appears to be a lack of emotion on the sidelines. Hawkins is a coach who preaches a steady approach, but all too often, the team`s demeanor has been one that seems almost alien to the passion most people associate with the game of football. Hawkins insists that he and his staff have done their best to inspire that passion. "It does come from us," Hawkins said. "I`ve stood at the pulpit and been pretty demonstrative. But you don`t need to be a screamer. It has to be something inside that compels you to bring your 'A` game."

Being demonstrative at the pulpit, eh? Call me excited...

Henderson: Four straight losing seasons usually turns coach's hot seat into ejection seat - The Denver Post

Since 1980, 82 Division I-A coaches have come to a school and had losing seasons in their first four years. However, those who survived much longer are few and far between. Of the 82, 24 were fired soon after the season, or, in the rare case of Vanderbilt's Gerry DiNardo — who scored a job at LSU — went elsewhere. Of the 58 who survived past Year 4, 34 were fired after their fifth year. Why the attrition? Well, only eight of the 58 survivors posted winning records in their fifth season.

Buffs want to start fast, fix woes - The Longmont Times-Call
Patrick Ridgell of the Longmont Times picks a blow out in favor of Texas A&M. Who can blame him.

When CU has the ball: Something has to give. The Big 12’s worst offense in points and yards gained faces the Big 12’s worst defense in points allowed and yards allowed. While the Aggies have had their struggles, they’ve improved lately, holding Iowa State to 10 points and forcing five turnovers to win at Texas Tech. Miller’s pass rushing will cause CU problems. Advantage: Texas A&M

Prediction: The Aggies historically have struggled in Boulder. They play lots of freshmen and sophomores, and only three weeks ago they lost 62-14 at Kansas State. It’s not like they’re Supermen or something. But the results of the past two weeks for each program make them seem super compared to the Buffs. Texas A&M 41, CU 14

Who has the edge? | AggieSports.com | Bryan/College Station, TX
This is a first. The Colorado offense and special teams has the edge according to Robert Cessna over the the Aggies...really?

CU Buffs set for high-powered Aggies - Boulder Daily Camera
A team really can produce with young players? What a concept.

Speaking of youth, a season-long alibi in Boulder actually hasn`t been a huge problem for today`s opponent. Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2) is playing 18 true freshmen this fall andsome of them have been difference makers. Of the Aggies` 65 plays of 20 yards or more, 54 of them have been made by freshmen or sophomores. The Buffs face an explosive Texas A&M offense today. The Aggies are the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision to rank in the top 25 teams in the nation in all four major offensive statistical categories: rushing offense, passing offense, scoring offense and total offense. They rank third in total offense, averaging nearly 500 yards a game. Coach Mike Sherman`s team is eighth in the nation in scoring, averaging 36 points. "They`re kind of hitting on all cylinders offensively right now, and are certainly starting to gain some momentum the last couple weeks," Dan Hawkins said. "It will be imperative again for our defense to play real well and for our offense to establish some continuity and get going that way." The Aggies have needed much of that production because the defense has been shaky. They are allowing 30 points a game and are 98th in pass defense and 91st in total defense.

CU, A&M go in opposite directions the last 3 weeks - The Denver Post

CU desperately needs a win, but Hawkins knows the Aggies present a major test. "We're facing a team in Texas A&M that's really electric," Hawkins said. "They have one of the best offenses in the Big 12 — one of the best offenses in the country — and one of the best quarterbacks. They're doing a great job running the football. Cyrus Gray is a very good tailback. They've got some juice at wide receiver." The key, Hawkins said, is for the Buffs to short-circuit Texas A&M's mojo in the early going. "They've certainly started to gain some momentum the last couple of weeks," Hawkins said. "So it will be imperative again for our defense to play real well and for our offense to establish some continuity."

Mile high anxiety: A&M 1 win from being bowl-eligible | AggieSports.com

The thing Colorado could use most to beat A&M, which is a three-point favorite, is a solid game from the offensive line. Colorado had a season-low minus 14 yards rushing on 24 carries against Missouri, which also had eight sacks, the most allowed by the Buffaloes. For the season, CU is averaging only 2.4 yards per carry -- last in the Big 12. The Buffs also have allowed 28 sacks, the league's most.

Big 12 mailbag: How the Big 12 coaches rank - Big 12 - ESPN
Tim Griffin ranks the coaches in the Big 12 from 1 - 12. Here is #12

12. Dan Hawkins, Colorado – Burning Hansen’s redshirt and then taking him out of the game two weeks later was the sign of a desperate coach.

Waiting for the revival at Folsom Field - Travel - ESPN
As a football mecca, Boulder is a bit of a boomtown gone bust, yet hope is resilient here

Texas A&M at Colorado preview - Dallas Morning News

Key matchup Colorado's OL vs. Texas A&M's DL: Texas A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines rattled off the imposing dimensions, both height and weight, of the Colorado offensive line this week. He left off one key number, probably on purpose: the eight sacks the Buffaloes allowed last week in a 36-17 loss to Missouri. Colorado better regroup against A&M. Junior DE Von Miller, who leads the nation with 13.5 sacks, could boost those numbers and his All-American candidacy today.

Miller's sights set on Aggie sack record | AggieSports.com | Bryan/College Station, TX

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Miller leads the nation with 13 1/2 sacks as the Aggies (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) head into Saturday's game at Colorado (2-6, 1-3). He needs seven more sacks to pass the Texas A&M single-season mark of 20, set by defensive end Jacob Green in 1979.

A&M's Miller a one-man sack attack - Boulder Daily Camera

Who's hot and not around the Big 12 - Big 12 - ESPN

Hot: Texas A&M, who have outscored opponents 87-40 in their last two games. Not: Colorado’s offensive line, which yielded eight sacks and produced minus-14 yards rushing last week against Missouri -- only two yards removed from the lowest production in school history.

Offensive line doesn't want QB, season sacked | CU Independent

Brooks: Cabral's 300th Game Deserves A Picture - CUBuffs.com

Scott's departure could hurt Buffs' future - Dallas Morning News

At first, Hawkins decided to stay silent on the matter. But on his weekly radio show, he said: "I like Darrell and he's a good kid, and any time a kid leaves, I feel bad for a number of reasons. One is I don't think that quitting is always the answer. ... I feel bad when I'm not able to touch a kid or reach a kid and there's those things that happen. "Now again, I'm not perfect and I'm not going to save everybody. But our kids are great. They understand the nature of it and they practiced great and we wish Darrell nothing but the best and he's a good kid and you know I want him to go on and be successful in life and football," Hawkins said.

Los Gatos rallies past Wilcox - San Jose Mercury News

Showing no ill effects from a hairline fracture suffered two weeks ago, Los Gatos quarterback Nick Hirschman was in top form Friday night while leading the host Wildcats to a 26-14 De Anza division victory over Wilcox. After sitting out a league loss at Palo Alto last week, Hirschman returned wearing a plastic molding to protect his left lower leg, where he hurt his fibula in a win against Saratoga. Hirschman picked up where he left off, continuing his torrid season by completing 16 of 24 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He has 25 scoring passes without an interception on the year.

Q&A with the Texas A&M Aggies Blog, I Am the 12th Man

Jon Woods — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:34:31 -0000

The Ralphie Report recently sat down with I Am the 12th Man to get some Aggie perspective on tomorrow's match up, a game that is extremely important for both teams.

You can see our answers here: Q&A With The Ralphie Report

Up until Dan Hawkins meltdown a few weeks ago, Mike Sherman's seat was the warmest in the conference. At this point in the season how does Aggie Nation feel about the Head Coach? Starting to feel a little more comfortable or still worried that this may not be the man for the job?

I don't agree that he has ever been on the hot seat this year, simply because he has a guaranteed contract for seven years, and we weren't going to fire him after only two seasons. However, the Kansas State game did make everyone step back and say 'what the hell?', because it was the first game we hadn't shown some type of improvement. On the contrary, it looked like we had taken a huge step back, and that really made a lot of people mad. The win over Tech changed all that, because we actually showed massive improvement on the offensive line in that game, a weakness for our team going back to last season. Add in he fact that we hadn't beaten Tech in Lubbock since 1993, and it was a nice surprise to win that game in such dominating fashion after the inexplicable loss to Kansas State.

I think the fanbase is firmly behind Sherman, mainly because right now we are doing what young teams are supposed to do, which is show improvement every game.

Outside of Jerrod Johnson, who needs to step up on offense in order for the Aggies to win? (As an Allen grad, I hope you say Uzoma).

If we can get Uzoma Nwachukwu and Jeff Fuller going in the passing game, and Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray moving the ball on the ground, we should score points and we should win the game. The better we are able to run the ball, the easier things are for Jerrod Johnson, and when things are easy for Jerrod, our offense hums along like a machine.

We have a very "special" kind of love for Von Miller here in Colorado. I heard that he recently mentioned that he will explore entering the draft next year. What are his NFL prospects looking like at this point in time?

I'm not a scout, but I think he is one of those guys who can have a good combine and really move up in the draft. I think he may be looked at as a tweener because of his size, but I can see a 3-4 team taking him as an outside linebacker. I could see him going anywhere from as high as the first round to as low as the fourth round; just depends on his combine workouts.

How many people are expected to attend the game this weekend? I've been to College Station many, many times and I don't think you could find a place more different from Boulder. Are the Aggies fans going to enjoy the culture shock?

have no idea how many will travel to Boulder, I'd guess a few thousand. It isn't the culuture shock that would get most Aggies (y'all have beer, we like beer), it is the fact that we seem to struggle playing in Boulder.. People don't like to travel somewhere and then see their team play poorly..

The Aggies win the game if...? The Buffaloes win the game if...?

Aggies win if we can establish our running game, which means our passing game will move the ball, and our offense will be executing, and we'll score. If we can get a turnover or two on defense, that would be nice.

Colorado wins if they can establish their running game, and keep our offense in check. If it is a close game in the fourth quarter, and y'all have been running the ball all day, int he thin air of Boulder, y'all have a good chance to pull the upset.

Final score prediction?

A&M 28 CU 16