SB Nation - Jamie McCoy

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)

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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.

Thank You, Seniors - 2009

Beergut — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:42:40 -0000

Today marks the final game at Kyle Field for eighteen senior football players:

#2 Marcus Gold
#2 Jeff Wood
#4 Jamie McCoy
#5 Howard Morrow
#5 Jordan Peterson
#21 Justin McQueen
#25 Jordan Pugh
#27 Chevar Bryson
#36 Anthony Lewis
#38 Ryan O'Bryant
#46 Matt Featherston
#52 Corey Gibas
#53 Derek Dumas
#55 Matt Moss
#63 Kevin Matthews
#74 Lee Grimes
#75 Vincent Williams
#76 Michael Shumard

Thank you, seniors, for all you have done, and all you continue to do, for the Aggie football program.

Please close out your final game at Kyle Field by BEATING THE HELL OUTTA t.u.!!!!!!

Aggie On Deck!

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

by JACK DEMPSEY - AP

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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?

ISU Game Thoughts

miketag — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:21 -0000

Just watched the DVD of the ISU game. Saw a couple of good things and a few areas that still concern me. The ISU team I saw on the video did not resemble the team that beat NU in Lincoln IMO. Maybe the NU offense is just that slow. ISU defense looked much quicker in that game. In our game they reminded me a lot of the UAB defense. JJ could have passed for 400 yards in this game if we wanted him to. The ISU secondary was hard hitting, but played off our receivers a bunch. There were holes in their zone coverage all day long. The ISU coach was correct in his pregame statements that they simply do not have the athletes right now. On defense, they were outmanned. Our defense struggled all game long IMO. That is still a major achilles heal of our team. If we want to stay in the game against OU and even tu, we need to really pick it up on that side of the ball.

Too many missed tackles. At times we look like an average defense out there, other times we resemble last years unit a lot with the first guy never making the tackle. It may just be that we need another year in the S&C program until out athletes are where they need to be.

For the second game in a row, Cyrus Gray ran very strong. He is dancing less and running vertically more. There were three or four instances in the game where he was pushing the pile forward at the end of the play; he was refusing to go down. He has really improved as a running back this year.

Second game in a row the OL opened huge holes for the running game. We are going to need our OL to play like that in every game the rest of the year if we want to win them.

Jeff Fuller, Kenric McNeal, Uzoma Nwachukwu, and Brandal Jackson are starting to remind me of the OU WRs in Rhett Bomar's first year. They are going to struggle with being consistent this year, but the next two or three years should be a lot of fun.It was nice to see Fuller back and almost to full strength.

Kyle Mangan played the run well in this game. He is starting to become more of a complete LB.

Our LBs as a whole need to get a lot better as a unit. Garrick Williams is improving, but too many times RBs break through the LOS and it is a free run into the secondary and a 10-15 yd gain.

Defense as a whole just needs to play better. We cannot play defense like we did on Saturday and expect to win any more games this season.

Special teams were very poor in this game. Too many long kickoff returns.

Jamie McCoy seems to have grown into his role as an H-back. Hopefully that will make him more enticing to the NFL scouts.

JJ had a nice game, but had two balls that should have been intercepted. He needs to continue to play within himself and not force the ball down the field. Tannehill is a hell of a playmaker, but that does not excuse throwing into triple coverage.

Matchups :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition

Seth C — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:01:11 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

2 months ago: Texas Tech's Brandon Sharpe (92) swats down a throw by Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee (5), as Nebraska's Ricky Henry (74) and Marcel Jones (78) block Texas Tech's Colby Whitlock (93), in the first half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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Texas A&M Aggies (3-3, 0-2)

vs.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-2, 2-1)

Game Information:
Date: October 24, 2009 :: Time: 6:00 p.m. CST :: Weather: Lubbock, TX
TV: None :: Radio: Affiliates :: Game Cast: Fox Sports

The figures next to the team name are, in order, yards per game / national rank / conference rank.

Texas Tech Passing Offense vs. Texas A&M Passing Defense

Texas Tech (413.57 / 2 / 1): Not surprisingly, the Texas Tech offense struggled a bit against Nebraska, but a win is a win, especially when it's on the road against a nationally ranked opponent, and you beat that opponent by 21. QB Steven Sheffield was a manager, and since all indications lean towards Taylor Potts or Seth Doege taking the reins on Saturday, then I'm hoping that he takes the same advice that Leach gave Sheffield:

I wanted him to throw the ball and hit some fat guy in the stands. That didn’t consistently happen. We had a conversation on that.

I do think that Potts is a quality quarterback, and if there's one thing that Leach has consistently been able to do since he's been here is to coach up a quarterback or two. I don't think that's going to stop and although Potts wasn't perfect (again, there is no perfect QB other than St. Tebow) he's still pretty damned good. If it's 3rd string Seth Doege, then I'm concerned about his ability to play on such a high level without so much experience, but I trust Leach. I think it's a testament to the receivers on this team, but each week, we're seeing a different receiver step up and make plays. In fact, after a few weeks of Tramain Swindall leading this team in receiving, Detron Lewis is back on top. And to jazz you just a tad bit more, there's less than 120 yards separating the top 4 receivers. In other words, one great game and you could see Alexander Torres, Lyle Leong, Swindall or Lewis lead this team.

Texas A&M (226.67 / 73 / 6): The Aggies really haven't played a true passing team, except for Arkansas, and TAMU promptly gave up 271 yards and 4 touchdowns. We're going to continue to talk about this until there are a few more conference games to compare, but TAMU has faced Oklahoma St. and Kansas St. thus far in conference play. Not exactly passing teams and it's hard to gauge whether or not the pass defense is truly struggling (73rd in the nation) or if it's going to get worse. I did have the opportunity to watch quite a bit of the OSU game and I thought that the Aggies do have athletes in the secondary, but they're young, and that's a bad combination going into the meat of the Big 12 schedule. A big part of the pass defense success is the outstanding play of Von Miller, who already has 10 sacks, which includes 12.5 tackles for a loss. And aside from Miller, no player has more than 2 sacks for the year, perhaps indicative of the bigger problems at TAMU, there's talent at certain positions, but it's not enough to win a bunch of football games.

Verdict: I'm nervous about this pick, especially if Potts cannot play, but I'll still take Texas Tech.

Texas Tech Rushing Offense vs. Texas A&M Rushing Defense

Texas Tech (70.43 / 118 / 12): It would be easy to say that the Red Raiders ignored the rushing game on Saturday, and there were times that I thought that the line did a good job of creating holes, but 14 rushes between RB Baron Batch and Harrison Jeffers just isn't going to be enough. Again, the rating looks much worse than it probably is, due in part because Potts took so many sacks earlier in the year (he's working on that . . . promise). The loss of LT Terry McDaniel could prove to be a huge loss for this team I don't know if OL coach Moore has many more options other than to start Chris Olson at left tackle. The only other player that's received significant time is Mikey Okafor at right guard, who was later benched in favor of moving Brandon Carter back to the right side.

Texas A&M (166.83 / 88 / 11): There's going to be a similar theme that I have with the Aggies in that I do think there's talent there, but it's young talent. The Aggies have played two teams that feature their running game and gave up 169 yards and 3 touchdowns to Oklahoma St. and 232 yards and 6 touchdowns to Kansas St. The defensive line features 2 freshmen or sophmores and the linebacking corps also has a freshman and sophomore. Garrick Williams and Kyle Mangum are the linebackers who make most of the plays. The Aggies are 37th in the nation in tackles for a loss, but as mentioned above, Miller is responsible for 12.5 of thoese tackles, which means that the Aggies have 1 player truly making plays thus far.

Verdict: Despite the Aggies looking as bad recently been.

Texas A&M Passing Offense vs. Texas Tech Passing Defense

Texas A&M (320.50 / 6 / 3): The skill position players for TAMU are actually fairly talented and for this reason alone, you shouldn't overlook the Aggies. Freshman WR Uzoma Nwachukwu has been tremendous thus far this year while WR's Ryan Tannehill and Howard Morrow each have over 20 catches. TE Jamie McCoy is an offensive threat, with 21 catches for 251 yards. QB Jarrod Johnson has been remarkably good, not Heisman worthy, but he's been pretty good with a horrible offensive line. Johnson isn't as accurate as you might want him to be, but he's still completing 57.8% of of his passes and has 16 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions. As mentioned before, the offensive line has allowed 2.67 sacks a game, which is good for 95h in the nation. That's been Johnson's problem all year, the young offensive line,

Texas Tech (238.57 / 89 / 8): The Texas Tech pass defense has been good, not great and this is something that I keep mentioning, and it's something that's going to have to continue this week, is not to ge beat deep. The pass defense isn't great, but the pass efficiency defense (I really don't know what this is) is at 40th in the nation. In any event, the secondary is also healthy, except that S Will Ford may be out, but there's been enough guys who have seen sufficient reps that I'm not too concerned about losing Ford. The Red Raiders are 8th in the nation in sacks, led by their DE's: Brandon Sharpe (8), Daniel Howard (5) and Rajon Henley (3).

Verdict: I like Johnson, Tannehill and Nwachuksu, but it's the pass blocking that's the problem.

Texas A&M Rushing Offense vs. Texas Tech Rushing Defense

Texas A&M (156.83 / 49 / 5): Prior to this game, I wondered how much the Aggies were actually running the ball, expecting a bit more production from RB's Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael. Both are supposedly heralded, especially Michael, who's had 11 to 14 rushing attempts since the first game. This unit isn't bad, in fact the Aggies are 49th in the nation in rushing offense, which is pretty good, but maybe the point I was trying to make at the beginning, is that why not slow the game down just a tad bit more, in the hopes that the Aggies could hang onto the ball, and chew up some of that time of possession.

Texas Tech (101.86 / 24 / 5): The rush defense has been consistently good all year, and I keep mentioning this point, but the key to a good defense is being able to stop the run. The rush defense is only allowing 3.05 yards a game and despite some rough patches against Texas (135) and Houston (144), the Red Raiders only gave up 70 yards to Nebraska that is averaging 151 yards a game and 116 yards to Kansas St. that is averaging 184 yards a game. DT's Colby Whitlock and Richard Jones aren't showing up in the box score, but coupled with the outstanding and oftentimes overlooked play of the linebackers, this unit is slowly but surely becoming adept at stopping the run. I thought DE Rajon Henley's play last week deserved mention, especially against the run. I thought he was outstanding.

Verdict: I'll take the Red Raiders again.

Five Questions with I Am The 12th Man

TB — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:03:28 -0000

In an attempt to garner more information about this week's K-State opponent, I posed five questions to Beergut of the Texas A&M blog I Am The 12th Man. You can also check out my answers to his questions here.

BOTC: The Aggies are much improved this year on the offensive side of the ball. What's been the biggest change?

12th Man: Maturation of our keys players at the skill positions. Jerrod Johnson was a redshirt sophomore last year, Cyrus Gray was a true freshman, Jeff Fuller was a true freshman, Ryan Tannehill was a redshirt freshman, etc. All of those guys are a year older and a year more mature, physically and mentally.

A switch to a no-huddle attack has helped immensely, too, helping us get more plays on offense and wear down the opposing defenses. We're averaging a little over 86 plays per game on offense, which is a lot of opportunities to move the ball.

Mike Sherman has also done a good job recruiting on offense; true freshman Uzoma Nwachuwu and Christine Michael have been key contributors as true freshmen this season.

BOTC: Despite the offensive improvement, the offensive line play has been atrocious at times. What's the primary factor?

12th Man: Last season, we entered the year with 6 scholarship offensive linemen, so we had no depth. We are still trying to create some depth, while putting a capable line on the field, and it has been a struggle. I think we're still a year away from having a competent offensive line. Our biggest issue has been youth at key positions. We've started a true sophomore or a true freshman at LT in all of our games this season. That menas at times we're playing an 18 year old five months removed from high school against 21-22 yr old men; the physical difference along is staggering.

BOTC: Texas A&M is mired in a historically bad stretch of football right now. What is the time frame for the Aggies getting back to being competitive with Oklahoma and UT in the South?

12th Man: I think we expect to be competing with and possibly beating both of those teams by next season, at the latest. I think expecting to compete for the South division title in the third year of a coaching regime is not an unrealistic expectation, and I think that is where we will be in 2010.

BOTC: Other than Von Miller and Jerrod Johnson, give us a player on each side of the ball to keep an eye on Saturday.

12th Man: Offense: Uzoma Nwachukwu, WR

He is simply an athletic playmaker with ridiculous leaping ability. He has 16 receptions for 309 yards and 4 TDs on the season so far, with a rushing TD to his credit.

Defense: Trent Hunter, SS

He is the best strong safety in the Big 12, and one of the best in the nation.

BOTC: In lieu of a score prediction, give us some keys for Texas A&M to win this game.

12th Man: We need to stop your running game early. I expect Snyder to try to run the ball as much as possible, especially against our defense. We need to stop the run, and force y'all to pass the ball. It would be very helpful if we can get some early scores on the board, and force y'all to play catch up.

On offense, we need to spread the ball around in the passing game, and get it into the hands of our playmakers like Nwachukwu, Jamie McCoy, Ryan Tannehill, and Christine Michael. Keeping Jerrod Johnson upright and keeping the defensive pressure off of him is imperative.

Oklahoma State Review - Quick Hits

Beergut — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:01:32 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson (1) throws a pass against Oklahoma State during the third quarter of a NCAA football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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I was sick and tired of heating about Dez Bryant before the first quarter was over. Funny how we've played without our best WR for the last two games, and no one says anything, but Okie State is a bunch of saints overcoming horrendous privation because they don't have a WR who was dumb enough to lie to the NCAA, and get caught doing it.
Uzoma Nwachukwu is ridiculously talented. Having him and a healthy Jeff Fuller on the same field together will be scary.
Having EZ, Fuller, and Jerrod Johnson behind a competent offensive line is what I dream about.
Our offensive line is keeping Christine Michael from becoming a serious Big 12 Freshman of the Year candidate. I don't think he'll gain enough yards, mostly because our offensive line hinders more than it helps him.
While there are still a lot of times I question what Cromwell is doing in his playcalling, I did love the use of Jamie McCoy as a fullback, and that we gave him several carries. It gives us another weapon to use and something else the defense has to prepare for without changing personnel on the field.
I didn't see us try to run option on State at all today. I know we have it in our playbook, I'd like to see us use it. With McCoy at FB, it is another facet of our offense we can explore.

Von Miller was held without a sack for the first time this season, but had 5 tackles and 1 TFL. Good performance considering he was going up against possibly the best LT in the nation in Russell Okung.
We still need to work on defending the screen pass. A lot.
Joe Wickline has OSU's offensive line executing like a symphony; that is why there isn't a drop-off in production, regardless of which running back is carrying the ball.
That was an incredible interception by Matt Moss; unfortunately, it was also our only interception of the game. I believe we have two interceptions on the season now, and neither of them are from members of our secondary.
Stephen Campbell was okay replacing Jordan Pugh, despite the one play he fell down to give up the long TD reception. He was fourth on the team in tackles, with 8 on the day.
Three of our four leading tacklers in this game were members of the secondary; that is never a good sign.
I liked what I saw of Spencer Nealy in this game. He is a capable backup for us.
I am disappointed we didn't get the ball to Ryan Swope during this game. Because of our weakness on offensive line, I think we should focus more ont he short passing game, and Swope should be a big part of that.
We need to use play-action passes to gain 6-8 yards, not 15-20. A 15 yd pass off play-action takes longer to get there, and is a lower percentage play. We should take the quicker, higher percentage play.
We're also not using Bradley Stephens much as a wide receiver or a running back.
Our next game, on the road against Kansas State, is one of the ones we need to win to become bowl eligible. After their 66-14 loss to Texas Tech, they'll be pissed and ready to play against us.

SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable - 2009 Season - Week 5

Beergut — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:19:49 -0000

This is the fifth installment of the 2009 Big 12 Roundtable, a weekly feature during the season. Each week, an SB Nation Big 12 blogger will host the Roundtable and submit a series of questions to all Big 12 bloggers. This week, the Roundtable is being hosted by Rock M Nation. Listed below are I Am The 12th Man's answers.

1. Is it time for the Big 12 to collectively pour one out for the departure of Baylor quarterback Robert "Hot Tub" Griffin? Even if your team benefits from his injury, are you sad to see one of the conference's premier playmakers done for the season?

I think most Big 12 bloggers have already mentioned Griffin's injury, and sent along their condolences in their own way. As I have already pointed out, Griffin's season-ending injury means my pick for first team All-Big 12 QB is done, and my pick for the upset of the year, Baylor over Texas Tech in Waco, lost its foundation. Griffin is a thrill to watch on the field when he is playing, and I think all Big 12 bloggers are college football fans at heart, regardless of our team affilitation, so we are all sad to see him out for the year. I think it is also important to note that despite Griffin's freakish athletic ability, he wasn't a brash or cocky person who talked trash or made you hate him; he let his play on the field do the talking for him, in an example of class I wish more athletes would follow. This makes Griffin's injury doubly sad, because he is a positive role model of how exceptional star athletes should act.

2. Play the role of Mythbusters for us. If you could dispel one national perception of your team, what would it be?

Really not sure how to answer this one, because I'm not sure what myths are out there about our team. I think most people regard our team as an enigma, not sure what to think of us because we've rolled up some astronomical offensive numbers on some weak defenses, so they're not sure if we're for real or not. The only myth I can think of that might exist about the football program is that Coach Sherman is on the hot seat; that simply isn't true, and it wasn't true before the beginning of this season.

3. Give us the name of one player on each side of the ball on your team that everyone else in the conference may not know about or fully appreciate.

Jamie McCoy, Tight End: I think most Big 12 bloggers know of McCoy to some degree, but I don't know if they appreciate what he does for our team. The coaches move him around a lot, and since we often operate out of 10 personnel, Jamie is sometimes asked to come in motion frm the slot and act as a wingback, and kickout a defensive end, or motions over to fullback, and blocks in the I-formation. This is in addition to being our team leader in receptions, with 13 for 169 yds on the season so far. With the injury to Jermaine Gresham, I think a legitimate case can be made for McCoy as the Big 12's best tight end.

Trent Hunter, Strong Safety: Obviously, Big 12 bloggers don't know about or appreciate Trent Hunter, because none of them voted for him for All-Big 12 on our preseason all-conference team. Am I bitter? Damn right I am. Hunter is the second-best safety in the nation, right behind that Eric Berry fellow from Tennessee, who really should win the Heisman. Hunter currently leads our team in tackles, with 20 on the season so far. Is calling Hunter one of the best safeties in the nation hyperbole? No. Watch him play, and I defy you to disagree with me.

4. OU vs. Da U: Who ya' got?

Oklahoma, all the way. I'd root for OU just out of conference pride, but I think Oklahoma's defensive front is going to be a nightmare for Jacorey Harris. If Miami can't handle Virginia Tech's defense, Oklahoma is going to make for a long night. Miami is playing at home, so I think they might keep it close, and OU's secondary is still questionable, in my mind, but I still think OU takes this one.

5. Give us your Offensive Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week, and Storyline of the Week for last week.

Offensive Player of the Week: Jerrod Johnson, QB, Texas A&M.

You can call me biased, and I really don't care. Jerrod had 3 TDs rushing and 3 TDs passing, and that is simply a phenomenal individual effort. The Big 12 Conference chose Iowa State's Alexander Robinson and Missouri's Danario Alexander as Co-Offensive Players of the Week, after Robinson rushed for 127 yds and scored 3 TDs against Army. Alexander had 9 receptions for 170 yds and 2 TDs against Nevada. Now, Alexander's performance against Nevada was impressive, so I don't want to take anything away from him, but Johnson scored more TDs than those two combined. I really don't understand the media. Colt McCoy throws another pick-six against UTEP, and the pundits fall all over themselves declaring him back in the Heisman race; if he had a statline like Jerrod last Saturday, they''d be calling him better than Tim Tebow. Jerrod puts on an incredible performance, though, and nary a peep. Like I said, you can call me biased, but I don't care. Someone needs to give Jerrod recognition for what he did last Saturday.

Defensive Player of the Week: Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri

Missouri played a legitimate opponent in Nevada, and going up against the reigning WAC Offensive Player of the Year in Colin Kaepernick, they had their work cut out for them. 'Spoon had 9 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss in helping his defense control Nevada's explosive Pistol offense.

Storyline of the Week: It has to be Kansas' football team fighting with Kansas' basketball team. While basketball players aren't always known for their intelligence, you'd think they'd be able to do simple math: 85 scholarships versus 13 scholarships means they're outnumbered and will lose every time. Furthermore, football players train to do violence multiple times a minute for 60 minutes every Saturday in all types of weather. Basketball players train to put a ball through a hoop indoors; you'd think this would occur to these hoopster brainiacs, but apparently it didn't. It did make for some fun television and some nice discussion of Mark Mangino's disciplinary hold on the Kansas team (are they off that 2006 probation yet?).

6. Power Poll! Rank the teams 1-12 based on who would win on a neutral field.

texas longhorns
Oklahoma Sooners
Missouri Tigers
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Kansas Jayhawks
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Baylor Bears
Iowa St Cyclones
Kansas St Wildcats
Colorado Buffaloes

UAB Postgame Stat Review

Beergut — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:23:44 -0000

Final - 9.26.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
UAB Blazers	3	3	6	7	19
Texas A&M Aggies	7	21	14	14	56

Complete Coverage >

SB Nation Full Boxscore

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Passing					Rushing
	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD
Jerrod Johnson	23	29	80.0	290	3	14	61	4.4	3

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Rushing				Receiving
	Rush	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Cyrus Gray	19	99	5.2	1	1	0	0	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Receiving
	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Howard Morrow	5	71	14.2	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Receiving
	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Jamie McCoy	5	59	11.8	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Passing					Receiving
	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
Ryan Tannehill	1	1	100.0	8	0	3	101	33.7	1

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Receiving
	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Ryan Swope	2	12	6.0	1

First fo all, it has to be mentioned that Jerrod has broken set another school record, becoming the first Aggie QB to have three passing and three rushing TDs in the same game. Cyrus Gray stepped up big; Gray and Johnson were the Aggies' running game, combining for 160 of the team's 236 total rushing yards (68% of their production). Jamie McCoy and Howard Morrow were two of Jerrod's favorite targets, with 5 receptions each. Ryan Swope finally broke into the stat column, garnering his first career reception and his first TD catch. Ryan Tannehill was his usual awesome self, but the big thing to me is that Jerrod hit other receivers (McCoy among them) on third down, so he's not just focusing on Tannehill; he is spreading the ball around.

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
	Solo	Ast	Total	Sacks	Yds	Int	Yds	IntTD
Von Miller	3	2	5	2	8	0	0	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
	Solo	Ast	Total	Sacks	Yds	Int	Yds	IntTD
Matt Featherston	2	1	3	1	7	0	0	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
	Solo	Ast	Total	Sacks	Yds	Int	Yds	IntTD
Eddie Brown	3	2	5	1	5	0	0	0

Von Miller turned in another solid performance, but the big news in his backup, Matt Featherston, getting his first sack of the season. We apparently had both Featherston and Miller on the field at the same time on some downs, an alignment I was hoping for in the offseason. I think they make a fearsome duo in the pass rush.

Eddie Brown had another solid outing, collecting 5 tackles and his first sack of the season. Brown, Featherston, and Miller combined for all four sacks in the game, a nice accomplishment on a dual-threat QB like Joe Webb. We're going to need a good [pass rush next week in the Southwest Classic against Ryan Mallett and Arkansas.

Overall, you have to be happy with the way this game turned out. We got the blowout win we needed, we were able ot get some more players involved in the offense and defense, and we didn't have any significant injuries.

Alabama-Birmingham Statistical Preview

Beergut — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:57:46 -0000

Let's take a look at the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers:

The first player you need to know about is senior QB Joe Webb.

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
2009 - Joe Webb	3	73.0	44	77	57.1	561	187	7.3	5	5	57	367	122.3	6.4	3	-	-

Webb is both the team leader in passing and rushing; he is basically their whole offense. The bad news is that he is an effective dual threat QB, averaging 309 yds per game total offense, rushing and passing. The good news is that he hurts his own team as much as he helps it, with his 5 TD passes being offset by his 5 interceptions.

Webb's favorite targets are WR Frantrell Forrest

G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD	KR	YDS	AVG	Lng	TD	PR	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
	Receiving							Kickoff Returns					Punt Returns
3	10	165	55.0	16.5	3	4	91	22.8	26	0	0	0	0	0	0

and TE Jeffrey Anderson

G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD	KR	YDS	AVG	Lng	TD	PR	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
	Receiving							Kickoff Returns					Punt Returns
3	9	136	45.3	15.1	2	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Together, they are responsible for 53% of his passing yardage, and all of his TD passes.

When Webb isn't carrying the ball, Dexter Barnett is the one he hands off to.

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
2009 - Dexter Barnett	3	15	58	19.3	3.9	1	3	3	1	1	0

Controlling Webb and Barnett will be the key to shutting down the Blazers running game.

Defensively, the Blazers are pedestrian to poor, giving up an average of 459.7 yds per game total offense (126 rushing, 333.7 passing), and allowing opponents to score 28.7 points per game on them. Defensively, the Blazers are led by CB Terell Springs and S Chase Daniel (apparently Missouri's former QB has been located after he disappeared off the Washington Redskins roster). I've always said when your top two tacklers on defense are members of your secondary, you have some real issues on defense, and UAB has some real issues on their defense.

Offensively, our no-huddle spread attack should be able to move the ball and score on UAB's defense. We should be able to run the ball, and we should be able to go to the air early and often. With Jeff Fuller injured, I expect us to go to Uzoma Nwachukwu, Jamie McCoy, Howard Morrow, and Kenric McNeal often as we work on building depth and try to replace his production.

Defensively, we need to focus on containing Webb, so he isn't able to run wild and move the chains. We need to force the Give read in their option game, so we can target stopping Dexter Barnett. If we can cover Forrest and Anderson in the passing game, we should be able to slow their passing game, and force Webb to go to his other receivers.

Ultimately, I think we'll win this game somewhere along the lines of 42-20.