SB Nation User Blog: dimecoverage

Baylor Preview: Battle With The Bears

dimecoverage — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:03:58 -0000

Thanks to John Werner, Waco Tribune-Herald, for a look at the Baylor Bears.

The rule about bears is their unpredictability. - Anonymous

1. The loss of Griffin was tough, but last week in Columbia Nick Florence had as great a performance as any quarterback in the Big 12 this entire season. Why is he doing so well right now? What will be his challenges against Texas?
Florence is a smart guy, and he's learned the offense better every week, and it paid off against Missouri. He was really in sync with his receivers, and his passes were crisp. The Longhorns will likely present a much greater pass rush than Missouri, and Florence probably won't have as much time to throw.

2. Talk about the receivers. Who are Florence’s favorite targets?
Kendall Wright caught 10 passes against Missouri, while David Gettis caught eight. Lanear Sampson is another target. They've all got good speed.

3. Talk about the offensive line. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? How has the protection been for the quarterback?
Baylor's offensive line has been solid in pass protection, but has a hard time pushing people back on runs.

4. Talk about the secondary. Who is will be matched up with Jordan Shipley? Do the defensive backs have the speed to keep up with the Texas receivers?
If Baylor doesn't get a decent pass rush, it's going to be tough for the defensive backs to match up with Texas' receivers. It's hard to say who they will match up against Shipley.

5. Joe Pawelek isn’t big or fast, but he is one of the impact players on this team? What makes him so scary for opponents?
He's intelligent and has great instincts. He never gives up on a play, and has a knack for getting interceptions.

6. Phil Taylor had a lot of pre-season hype. How has he contributed this season?
Phil's been double-teamed a lot, and hasn't made a lot of big plays. Other defensive linemen like Jason Lamb and Tracy Robertson have made more big plays.

7. What matchup between Baylor's offense and Texas' defense concerns you the most and which one gives you the most confidence? Between Baylor's defense and Texas' offense?
The Bears will have a hard time running against Texas' defensive line. Baylor's secondary will have a hard time containing McCoy and Shipley.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 10, 2009

dimecoverage — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:38:27 -0000

"I've called the computers. They haven't called me back," Brown said.
"I've invited them to our games. I don't think any of them have shown
up."

The computers were not impressed with Texas' win over Central Florida.

The computers, collectively, weren't so impressed with Texas' 35-3 dismantling of Central Florida.

When the latest Bowl Championship Series standings were released Sunday, the Longhorns dropped to third, behind Florida and Alabama.

The Horns are not concerned about the drop to No. 3.

Texas must be feeling pretty good about where the Longhorns stand in the BCS standings when coach Mack Brown can crack jokes about it — even when they dropped a spot.

Texas (9-0) stayed at No. 2 in The Associated Press rankings, but fell to No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday after beating unranked Central Florida 35-3.

Alabama jumped the Longhorns to No. 2 after beating No. 9 LSU 24-15.

Texas doesn't have any ranked opponents left in the regular season, but Brown knows if the Longhorns can win their last three games and the Big 12 championship game, Texas should coast into Pasadena, Calif., for the BCS title game on Jan. 7.

"Everybody has told me if we do what we need to do, we'll play in the last game," Brown said Monday.

Cody Johnson is at the top of he depth chart.

We are back to those comparisons with the 2005 team.

The only other time Texas started 9-0 under Mack Brown, the Longhorns celebrated a national championship after the 2005 season.

Brown said Monday that the current team has more work to do.

"At this time, they've earned the right to be in the conversation with the 2005 team," Brown said. "But they haven't earned the right to be considered as good, because they have to finish like that team did."

I have some bad news. Nebraska is the Horns' achilles' heel.

Two years ago this month, the Nebraska Cornhuskers surrendered 76 points in a loss at Kansas. Three weeks later, the 'Huskers gave up 65 points in a nationally televised, season-ending defeat in Boulder.
With Saturday night's 10-3 win over Oklahoma, the 'Huskers have now given up an average of seven points in their past three games. They've held the opposition to 10 points or less six times in nine games.
Rest assured, folks — the Blackshirts are back.

And if you're a fan of the burnt orange down in Austin, that fact probably shouldn't go unnoticed.

Yes, though the offense looks more like a middle school starting 11 than a college one these days, the Nebraska Cornhuskers — still unranked and under the radar — have emerged as one of the few teams in the nation still capable of throwing a wrench in the assumed plan for the BCS Championship Game.

But The Wall Street Journal thinks Texas would crush the Cornhuskers in a conference title game.

The Bears

Bears can be a royal pain in the ass.

Art Briles likes to call the Big 12 South a neighborhood.

Baylor coach Art Briles likes to call the Big 12 South the neighborhood.

A place where everyone knows each other better than his own family. A spot where brothers wrestle, fight and sometimes make up (and sometimes don’t).

Inside the neighborhood is an even smaller cul-de-sac where the Texas teams play — and that’s where Baylor will hole up for the final three weeks of the season.

If Baylor wins on Saturday, they might get to go to a bowl game.

The Big 12 bowl lineup is out for next season. Most of the games will be in Texas and out West.

The powers that be. The traditional powers lead the North.

By the end of Saturday’s action, Kansas State and Nebraska had established themselves as the division leaders. Rather, they re-established themselves.

The Cornhuskers and Wildcats were conference kingpins when the Big 12 opened for business, combining to win the first five North division titles. But they haven’t been good together in several years, at least good enough to win the kind of games they won on Saturday.

Mack Brown is very happy for Bill Snyder.

"He's the master," Brown said Monday during the Big 12 conference call. "He's a wizard at what he does. I was happy for college football and Kansas State when he came back. I wasn't happy for the rest of us, because I knew he was going to get it fixed fast."

The Cornhusker defense might be good, but the offense needs work.

Nebraska has scored just four offensive touchdowns in its last four games. The Huskers totaled 180 yards against the Sooners.

Pelini says there is a “tremendous sense of urgency” to improve on offense.

The Jayhawks are getting better at pass blocking, but they still can't run.

Entering Saturday’s game, the unit had hoped to improve on facilitating the team’s run game and in reducing the number of sacks allowed, and while the ground game stalled for the fourth straight week — Kansas managed just 60 yards on 23 carries — quarterback Todd Reesing appeared to have plenty of time to maneuver in the pocket.

“I think we pass-protected much better today,” Mangino said. “The run game never really got going as well as we’d like. There’s no excuses for it, but I thought our kids blocked better up front.”

Is this the worst Oklahoma team of the decade? (And be sure not to miss the comment about the Nebraska defense in the video.)

The college football season is winding down and it is getting...boring.

So instead of marquee matchups, the next three weeks will be much more like the last two. The biggest stories will be about questionable calls by officials on the field, and in the replay booth, and coaches being slapped on the wrist or fined for voicing their feelings about the officiating.
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Has the highlight of the week in college football come down to Lane Kiffin’s latest quip? Or whether Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive will fine coaches for pointing out rather obvious missed calls by officials?

Pete Carroll was shocked USC jumped Oregon in the polls.

``You're kidding?,'' he said. ``I think that's a crazy stat. I don't understand. That doesn't make sense at all. Somebody should be questioning that. I felt they weren't getting enough credit going into our game.''

It is now just a waiting game.

There are just three remaining scenarios to consider:

First and most likely, Texas wins the Big 12 championship and meets the SEC champion.

Second, Texas loses in the Big 12 championship game, and the SEC champion faces a one-loss SEC team in a rematch of that league's title game.

Least likely, Texas loses the Big 12 championship game, the SEC title-game loser has two losses and the SEC champion faces a surprise undefeated team (Cincinnati, TCU or Boise State).

We can all learn something from TCU?

With an impressive blowout win (the kind the rest of the nation's biggies can't seem to post) over San Diego State, our very own TCU has jumped up to No. 4 in the latest BCS standings. Slim as it may be, the Frogs have a chance to become the first non-automatic qualifier to jump up and make an appearance in the BCS title game. How cool would THAT be?

The Big Picture has the teams everyone loves to hate.

And finally...

Maybe the Aggies could scout this football tournament to get some help...

Great ticket deal for Basketball this weekend.

dimecoverage — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:27:20 -0000

From Ut Athletic Department

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Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 9, 2009

dimecoverage — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:15:27 -0000

The Horns are currently No. 1 in total defense.

Will Muschamp is worth every bit of his salary. Somehow, he managed to lose Brian Orakpo and Roy Miller to graduation and yet improve this defense from somewhere in the Top 50 range to #1 with a bullet. I am simply awestruck.

Are the Horns really just playing against themselves the next few weeks?

By any realistic standard, Texas is playing against itself from here on.

And it should be noted that the 'Horns have consistently lost that battle -- three years in a row, Texas has entered November with long winning streaks and major goals intact, and blown games as a significant favorite down the stretch all three years.

Texas dropped to No. 3 in the BCS standings.

Nebraska looks like they are on their way to a possible North title. Should the Horns be concerned about the Cornhusker defense?

Nebraska 10, 20th-ranked Oklahoma 3.

Given the upset, and the fact Nebraska’s surging defense shows no signs of letup, Dallas again looks like a probable December destination for Big Red fans hungry to return to the Big 12 title game. Indeed, these Blackshirts are a scary bunch. Perhaps even scary enough to make No. 2 Texas take notice.

For more on the game with Central Florida, see Sunday's Daily Roundup.

The Bears

They look harmless.

In case you haven't heard, the Bears beat Missouri. They came back from a 27-16 halftime deficit and won 40-32. It gets better: Baylor freshman quarterback Nick Florence (he was the third on the depth chart at the beginning of the season) passed for a school-record 427 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bears aren't dead yet.

"I know that people were kind of saying, ‘Oh man, we’ve got our third-string guy in there. The season is over with,’ " Pawelek said.

Turns out, Nick Florence has some game.

"Nick makes a lot of people believe," Baylor Coach Art Briles said. "He’s good with the football in his hands, he makes good decisions and he’s a rally guy. People kind of rally around him. He makes them feel confident. He did a great job."

One Baylor student attending the Missouri game summed up what the team is like without Robert Griffin:

"We had the talent, it's just he hid a lot of the deficiencies on the team," he said. "He made our offense go."

"When you can't get off the field on third-and-16, there's something 
wrong right there," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said.

Boulder has been a problem for the Aggies. This season wasn't any different.

Johnson certainly didn't lose the game, but neither did he win it. That also goes for just about everyone else on the team. There was a lot of good, but not enough, so everyone will accent the bad.

"There were numerous things in the game [where] we had a chance," Sherman said. "Instead of kicking the field goal, we might have been able to score a touchdown. On the goal line [early in the game when A&M was stopped at the 1-yard line], we didn't get that. [We] missed a field goal, dropped a punt; there were different things in the ballgame, as well as tackling the quarterback."

Maybe the Aggies should just stay off TV.

Texas A&M will play on television in at least two of its final three regular-season games. Based on a recurring theme to a topsy-turvy season, the Aggies should try and pull the plug on the tube.

Simply, they tend to falter at any sign of prosperity — and especially on TV. Take Saturday. On a crystal-clear afternoon, the Aggies blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, as Colorado shocked A&M 35-34 before 47,227 fans in Folsom Field.

The conference will probably have more bowl eligible teams than bowls available.

For the first time since 2006, it looks like the Big 12 will only have one team in the BCS. That will cost the league millions of dollars, but result in a true bowl selection for the conference for a change.

No Big 12 teams have been eliminated from bowl contention. And it’s likely that if the conference has more teams than bowl slots, there’s a good chance that the conference should be able to fill another bowl or two, if needed.

ESPN's Tim Griffin passes out his weekly stickers.

Now here is a story you never thought you would see this year.

The conference will probably just have one team reach a BCS bowl. A year ago, in the Nov. 9 standings, the Big 12 had four of the top 12 BCS teams including three in the top five.

Beyond the top two teams this season, it's been messy, with inexperience, injury and an inability to manage success. Consider Oklahoma and Texas A&M, which meet Saturday. Each team could have become bowl eligible Saturday.

Nebraska is a nice state with really nice fans. And this is from someone in Oklahoma.

"There is no place like Nebraska," rings the first line of Dear Old Nebraska U., the Cornhusker alma mater.

Ain’t it the truth?

"The more you play up there, the more you understand they appreciate good football," said Stoops, who has been coming to Lincoln for 20 years with either Kansas State or OU.

"Even 2005, when we won, there were people applauding you. That’s their culture. That’s how they do things. It’s pretty neat."

Stoops is right. Class indeed is part of the Nebraska culture. "It’s something we’re very proud of," said Randy York, director of husker.com. "It’s not perfection, but it is sincere and it is overwhelming."

Sloppy play caused the Sooners loss to the Cornhuskers.

"We've had a similar script in the four scenarios that we have been on the wrong side offensively, and it's way too many negative plays," Wilson said. "The first thing an offense can do is beat itself and we have done things in four games that have cost us a chance to win all four games offensively."

Oklahoma's four losses have come by a total of 12 points, leaving Stoops disappointed that his team keeps making "foolish plays" that have kept them on the wrong side of tight games.

Iowa State lost to Oklahoma State 34-8.

Austen Arnaud took the football field for the first time in three weeks Saturday.

For three quarters, it was literally a pointless exercise for the Iowa State junior quarterback. He finally connected with tailback Alexander Robinson for a 45-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, helping the Cyclones avoid their first shutout in six seasons. But little else came easy in a 34-8 loss to Oklahoma State.

"You can't afford to start slow against the No. 18 team in the nation," Arnaud said. "For me and (center) Reggie (Stephens), it was just kind of getting back into the flow, and the biggest thing was the speed of the game."

Bill Snyder is making this all look way too easy.

When Snyder first took over the Wildcats, he competed against Tom Osborne and Bill McCartney, coaches who built national-title teams and routinely landed some of the nation’s top recruits.

Compared to Osborne and McCartney, Snyder’s primary coaching competitors today must look like Mo, Larry and Todd Haley to the architect of the Manhattan Miracle.

Kansas State is back on top in the state of Kansas.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Governor’s Cup lived in a Kansas State trophy case on a year-round basis.

Like he is now, Bill Snyder was the Kansas State football coach back then, and he recalls winning the hardware so many times that the award presentations following all those victories against cross-state rival Kansas became "matter of fact" for his players.

But for this group of Wildcats, who for the most part had never seen the silver prize up close before beating Kansas 17-10 on Saturday at Snyder Family Stadium, the experience was unparalleled. K-State players were so overjoyed to see the cup in their locker room that they climbed over each other to touch it. When center Wade Weibert got to the front of the line, he realized something special.

"It was kind of like, we’re the football school this year," he said. "We haven’t owned that title in the last couple years."

The BCS Guru has his thoughts on TCU's bold move into the No. 4 spot and digests all the games from Saturday.

It didn't turn out to be Upset Saturday exactly, but the BCS picture definitely became a bit more clear, if not quite crystal clear. This much we do know:

* It appears that a BCS championship matchup between Texas and the SEC champion, either Alabama or Florida, is all but inevitable.

* Iowa finally went down with a thud. However, the Hawkeyes can still win the Big Ten and earn a Rose Bowl bid by beating Ohio State next week in Columbus. If the Buckeyes win, they go to Pasadena.

TCU and Cincy may not like it, but that's pretty much the way it will play out.

The toughest tests have been passed, the tallest hurdles cleared for Texas, Alabama and Florida. For the second season in a row, an SEC vs. Big 12 matchup in the BCS championship games seems inevitable.

Florida and Alabama might even be able to stumble a bit down the stretch and still play for a national championship.

That's not really the way the BCS is supposed to work.

Don't like the BCS? It is time to do something about it.

Those SEC officials are back at their mischief again.

The Colbert Report

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Political Humor

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Stephen Colbert hates bears. And so do we, at least this week.

Central Florida Collapse

dimecoverage — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:09:28 -0000

"I just decided no. We've got some goals out here, and neither of them are passing yards." 
- Mack Brown on decision to pull McCoy.

The Horns are all about sportsmanship...and not blowing our chance at an undefeated season. Mack Brown did the right thing by removing Colt McCoy from the game with nine minutes to play.

Given the choice of getting his quarterback a school record or playing it safe and sane, Coach Mack Brown and No. 2 Texas took the high road in a 35-3 win over Central Florida.

Brown said he decided against putting McCoy back in the game to show sportsmanship and because of the possibility of injury.

We wonder if any member of Brown's staff had input in the decision. The school record McCoy fell shy of is owned by Longhorns quarterback coach Major Applewhite, established in the 2001 Holiday Bowl against Washington.

Don't dare the Horns. You will lose. (Box score.)

The Central Florida defense dared Texas to beat them with the pass, especially the deep ball.

The Knights dropped their safeties and used their linebackers in a firm zone or on run blitzes, all in a futile attempt to upset the second-ranked Longhorns Saturday at Royal-Memorial Stadium.

Bad, bad plan for Central Florida.

"It was fun to get to break free a little today," Shipley said. "You’ve
got to give a lot credit to [offensive coordinator Greg] Davis today
for finding the right match ups. We had a great offensive game plan."

Jordan Shipley gets a star.

Shipley almost doubled the offensive output of Central Florida by himself, with a Texas-record 273 receiving yards and one touchdown.

"We'd like to get him a seventh" year of eligibility, Texas Coach Mack Brown said of his sixth-year senior. "He just keeps playing so well."

Shipley isn't one for a lot of gushing praise or adulation.

In truth, Shipley never lets anything go to his head. He may be the most humble person on the entire team.

Why, in a span of a 10-minute post-game interview, Shipley thanked God for blessing him, McCoy for throwing him perfect passes, Malcolm Williams and Kirkendoll for opening up the field, Greg Davis for calling more plays downfield, the offensive line for giving McCoy time to throw him perfect passes, his father and grandfather for teaching him good sportsmanship and, I believe, his academic adviser, next-door neighbor and his eighth grade science teacher.

We have a sound running game. His name is Cody Johnson.

As Cody Johnson has become smaller, his role at Texas has grown.

Johnson ran for 44 yards on 10 carries Saturday, scoring two second-quarter touchdowns.

Everyone is talking about the H-word.

Offensive records fell. Passing stats glittered.

Texas coach Mack Brown even dropped the "H-word" — Heisman — in reference to his starting quarterback, who threw for a career-high 470 yards in Saturday’s 35-3 rout of Central Florida.

But the heart of this triumph, just like the story of this undefeated season, rests in the shadow of Colt McCoy’s bloated passing line and Jordan Shipley’s 273 receiving yards, a single-game school record.

"It would have been nice, but it's not all about records for me," McCoy said later. 
"At the end of the game, you have more points than them, then it's a good day's work."

Sam Acho is a humanitarian. He has started an adoption program.

Defensive end Sam Acho started a family Saturday.

And he wants to add to it.

Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp focused this week in practice on the Longhorns getting more sacks. He joked with his team that the Longhorns were going to start an "adopt-a-sack" program.

The players took it to heart, spending all day in the Central Florida backfield during Saturday's 35-3 loss and sacking quarterback Rob Calabrese six times.

Sergio Kindle has grown up off the field.

On the field, Texas defensive end Sergio Kindle always has been considered a beast.

Off of it, the senior hasn't always made the best decisions.

He's received a DUI. He ran his car into an apartment building and left the scene of the accident.

He's been one of those guys you don't want your players modeling their behavior after.

But he took a step in the right direction last week.

Playing the Knights is just an excuse to post one of the greatest clips in comedic cinematic history.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 6, 2009

dimecoverage — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:50:25 -0000

Who is the best team in Texas? The Longhorns or the Horned Frogs?

Most would say the No. 2 Texas Longhorns (8-0), but No. 6 TCU (8-0) looks more and more like a team worthy of Lone Star superiority. Last week, three Las Vegas guys who consider such things told Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram their odds would be Texas by four, six and 10 points.

Do you know who Mike Tolleson is?

He may be the most anonymous/best assistant football coach in America, but you wouldn't know it, mainly because you don't know him. And won't.

Which is exactly the way Mike Tolleson likes it.

It's a wonder he even consented to a picture for the Texas media guide. Someone must have jumped out of the bushes and snapped it.

For the last dozen years, Mike Tolleson — if that, indeed, is his real name — has been churning out outstanding Longhorns defensive tackles as regularly as Hefner has Playmates, sans staples. And he's received next to no credit for it.

Macolm Williams scares Cody Johnson.

Malcolm Williams and Cody Johnson love horror films.

The Texas split end and tailback who are roommates watch the flicks in their spare time, what little they have when they're not practicing or playing football.

Johnson, the hulking running back, will cower in his seat. He's scared of poltergeists, vampires, demons, extraterrestrials and knife-wielding serial killers who lurk in the shadows.

And Williams, who admits that he, too, is scared of the apparitions and aliens, has the most fun making Johnson jump out of his seat and scream like a kid in elementary school.

Stop snickering. The Horns are very serious about Central Florida.

A run at a national championship can capture the imagination of a city. A state. A country.

A calm has settled over our fair city, friends. There isn't the nervous tension that accompanies a football team that's playing as well as any in the country. Maybe it's because this Texas team is a low-key one that prefers polite chest bumps to the locker room flow sessions Vince Young made famous.

Or it could have something to do with Saturday's opponent.

Central Florida is coming to town. Yep, that Central Florida. The one in, uh, Central Florida.

Hey, that's not a problem for us. UCF head coach George O'Leary is worried about the number of deep pass completions the Knights have given up this season.

He said that while Central Florida's defensive line has done a good job of rushing quarterbacks, the Knights' secondary has waited too long to try to break up deep passes.

"We're there to make a play, we're just not playing the ball," O'Leary told the Orlando Sentinel. "We're too involved with the man all the time. So that's been a big work point this week in practice."

Lots of love coming from Central Florida. The Knights are oozing with Longhorn praise.

"Texas has all the pieces in place to make run at the national championship from what I've seen on film," O'Leary said Tuesday. "They're stout on defense. They've got great quickness over there. I think, offensively, they've got great playmakers (and) a quarterback that makes good decisions."

So what is at stake in this game?

It's all about the BCS and poll position, and the Longhorns don't want to look sloppy after two dominant road wins. This game was supposed to be played in mid-September and Central Florida was supposed to be a tuneup for Big 12 play. The game got moved so Texas could play Texas Tech on national TV.

Be careful in DKR on Saturday. Big Brother is watching.

The defense has improved this year.

"They've stepped up and made big plays that we maybe hadn't made a whole of last year or early this year," head coach Mike Sherman said. "So, yeah, I think we're playing opportunistic football."

The Aggie's tentlike athletic complex is not up to code.

The analysis by Haynes Whaley Associates of Houston suggests that the McFerrin Athletic Center was built using a flawed design similar to that linked to the Dallas Cowboys' practice facility, which collapsed in May, injuring a dozen people.

The Aggies do not want to be home for the holiday.

Like most of us, Texas A&M free safety Jordan Pugh enjoys spending time with friends and family members during the holiday season. But he reached his limit last December.

The breaking point, Pugh said, came while exchanging holiday cheer during phone calls with friends who played for Texas, Oklahoma or other bowl-bound football teams.

"Hearing them talk about their bowl practices kind of made you mad," Pugh said. "I like being at home with my family. But I like playing in bowl games better than that."

Offensive lineman Patrick Lewis didn't get a scholarship offer from LSU so he became an Aggie.

"I was an SEC guy, and all the way through my sophomore year of high school, I just knew that I was going to LSU," he said. "But then I stopped growing taller, and they shied away from me. It took a while for reality to set in that LSU wasn't going to offer me a scholarship. I was heartbroken."

Almost two years ago, Lewis and his father, also named Patrick, were watching the 2007 Alamo Bowl between the Aggies and Penn State on television.

"My dad suddenly asked me, ‘Would you play for that team?'" Lewis said. "I asked him which one. He said, ‘A&M.' I responded, ‘Why not? They're in the Big 12, and that's big-time football.'"

The OU-Nebraska rivalry has lost the drama.

Saturday's 85th Oklahoma-Nebraska game, one of college football's most historic rivalries, might best be described this season as the Battle of the Mediocre Reds.

Need proof? The last time both teams entered this contest still needing a win to become bowl eligible was long before six victories were even required to advance to post-season play.

Dez Bryant has the NCAA's decision. It is not good.

The Pokes still plan to compete for the Big 12 title.

Oklahoma State’s plans for winning a championship took a big blow Saturday in a loss to No. 2 Texas.

But the Cowboy players are in no mood to give up as they prepare to play a revitalized Iowa State team Saturday.

"There’s still a chance at a Big 12 title," said OSU offensive lineman Brady Bond. "The way the Big 12 has been played this year, there’s still a chance. We’re just going to play one week at a time and worry about what we can worry about. We can’t control how Texas plays. We’ll take it one game a week and we’ve got Iowa State this week so we’ll go from there."

Darrell Scott's teammates were bummed by his decision to leave Colorado.

"Guys are bummed," McKnight said. "Darrell was well-liked on the team. I’m close with Darrell. I was close with Josh. That was hard when he left, too.

"I was pretty caught off-guard by the whole thing. That’s how it is. When guys aren’t happy, they leave. That’s life. Hopefully it works out for him."

In recent weeks, Scott has sometimes stood by himself at practice with his arms crossed. McKnight said Scott was always kind of a quiet guy but well-liked by teammates.

Buff fans will be decked out in powder blue for the A&M game.

For Buffs fans, powder blue is the color of defeat.

It's the color of losing streaks, of (arguably) poor coaching, of lackluster fans.

It's the color that the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team wore from 1981 to 1984, when they won a total of 10 games out of 44.

Ten games in four years.

Manhattan is a tough place to play.

When playing away from home, the Kansas State football team is unpredictable. It has lost big, lost close and won by blocking a late extra-point attempt.

But at home, the Wildcats are completely different.

When taking the field at Snyder Family Stadium this season, they’ve led almost from start to finish, played stingy defense and won all four of their games. Two by convincing fashion.

Kansas State has big plans. They plan to go bowling in December.

"The fact that we've played nine games and still have everything in the world to play for, that means a lot," Gregory said. "A lot of teams at this point in the season don't have a lot to play for. Maybe they go to a bowl, win a couple extra games.

"We're playing to try to stay alive in the Big 12 North and try to have a legitimate chance to win a Big 12 North championship."

Some things are going right for the Bears.

Baylor’s defenders would like nothing more than to bottle the momentum they captured in the second half against Nebraska, and maybe spike the Gatorade coolers with it this weekend.

But, in truth, they know better. The Bears recognize that it wasn’t any magic elixir that led to their feisty, turnover-creating effort versus the Huskers. Rather, it was just 11 guys fulfilling their own responsibilities.
"The whole second half, it looked good, but all we really did was do our jobs," senior defensive tackle Jason Lamb said. "That’s what happens when everyone is on the same page, doing what they’re supposed to do. So regarding trying to carry it over to the next week, we’re just going to go out there and do our jobs, a pretty simple thing.

It is Kansas-Kansas State hate week.

He's back. Tim Tebow leads the Heisman race this week.

The more unbeaten teams, the happier everyone is. Well, everyone meaning the BCS.

Imagine at least one undefeated school in five BCS bowl games. The ratings would be huge, controversy would rage, the Associated Press could even crown an independent No. 1 if it doesn't like the Florida-Texas outcome.

And the BCS would sit back and count the receipts.

From our college football expert out in Palm Springs... Do college football fans really want a playoff?

It is my humble opinion that the football sports media of America so want an expanded playoff for college football they will produce story after story to vilify the BCS. Even members of Congress, who should be trying to solve our economic woes, are jumping into the fray but only when it involves a team from their home state. Most of the people in Congress don't know if the ball is pumped or stuffed. I do not buy this baloney that the fans must have the playoff. It's the media that wants it.

This guy is a college football fan.

And finally...

Video of the 1929 Yale vs. Georgia game. It has nothing to do with the Big 12, but it is interesting to see historical footage of one of the greatest sports. Thanks to About Them Dawgs!

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 5, 2009

dimecoverage — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:11:16 -0000

"Our theme now will be to play to the standard of the best team in the country," Brown said. 
"We want to be the best in the country, and we can improve in so many areas. 
We are good right now, but we can get better. "The other thing that we have 
challenged our guys with is if you are going to be a great team that goes 
undefeated, you have to be excited to play every week, and that's 
hard to do. A lot of people can't do that, but that's part of the magic of 
being a great team. You have to be able to get rid of Oklahoma State today, 
and you have to be able to get ready for Central Florida. If you can't do that 
then you are not one of the best teams in the country.

The Longhorn special teams have their own club. Colt McCoy can't even join.

"We actually like to say that you buy a membership," Akina said. "Recently Curtis Brown decided to buy a membership when he blocked a kick against Missouri. He had been debating whether or not to join, and he finally did. We were excited to get a new member."

"We've got seven current members," Akina said. "The most we've ever had in one year is 10, and that was 2005."

The unit has become so popular that even the biggest of stars want to be a part of it.

But despite being a Heisman Trophy runner-up, McCoy's not welcome as a member of the block party.

More motivational techniques. This time they are using sticks.

"We took little sticks this week at the pregame meal and we had each individual player break his stick," Brown said.

"Then we had them put the pieces together in a plank to let them know that together we can be strong. We've got to keep that mind-set."

Team Automatic. Hunter Lawrence is accurate.

There’s a reason the Texas coaches refer to them as Team Automatic. The Longhorns haven’t been quite perfect in kicking field goals this season, but they’ve been pretty close.

Kicker Hunter Lawrence has made 16 of his 18 attempts, seeing one blocked and one 54-yard attempt hit the crossbar.

He’s also made 36 of 37 extra points.

"Hunter’s been so accurate," said Texas head coach Mack Brown. "He’s done everything we’ve asked; he hits them right down the middle."

Colt McCoy won't say it, but you can probably go ahead and book that flight to Pasadena.

After helping his team rout Oklahoma State 41-14, the Texas quarterback was asked this week if it's difficult for the No. 2 Longhorns to not look ahead, not just to the Big 12 Championship but also beyond.

"I think it's hard for y'all not to think about it," he said. "For us, we understand that there is a lot of football left to play. We are through the first two parts of our season. I don't know if Coach (Mack) Brown told you about the first four and second four, and we have four more now, and it's the most important part right now.

"We've got to finish, and it's just one more step to that."

Mack Brown talks to Jim Rome about the season.

Barking Carnival is not impressed with the the University of Central Florida.

First of all, screw these guys.

I hate their erector set stadium, their fan base too dumb to gain entrance into Florida State, their resume-padding ruddy-faced coach, their color schemes, the sprawling sack of flatland swamp theme park offal of Orlando, and the fact that Kevin Smith tore our ass two years ago when we still played defense like Truman Capote. I also hate the fact that I confuse them with South Florida, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Stetson, and, oddly enough, The Colorado School of Mines.

This week's opponent: UCF

Tackling has been an issue and now there's coverage. But the good news is that you have three more days to work on this before you meet the No. 2 team in the country.

While the Knights' veteran front seven have put heavy pressure on opposing teams, the secondary has given up a lot of deep passes.

O'Leary said UCF's defensive backs are shadowing receivers properly but waiting too long to break up passes. He blamed the pass coverage problems on youth and inexperience.

"We're there to make a play, we're just not playing the ball," O'Leary said. "We're too involved with the man all the time. So that's been a big work point this week in practice."

Basketball

It's time.

On Avery Bradley: "I've never seen a guy have that many put-back dunks at 6-foot-3," 
senior forward Damion James said. Adds coach Rick Barnes: "He guards the 
basketball as well as anybody you'll ever see."

Damion James is impressive. But you knew that.

Damion James, the Longhorn forward who auditioned for NBA teams last spring before opting for a senior year in college, has returned as a more mature, efficient player.

That was evident during a scrimmage the Longhorns had with Davidson on Saturday in the Erwin Center.

We don't have any concerns, either. Texas is going to be good this year. Damn good.

Texas was going to be plenty good anyway. But two days before the NBA draft withdrawal deadline, Damion James sid he'd play for Texas as a senior and upgraded the Longhorns' expectations in the process.

This could be Rick Barnes' best team, one so good that Barnes shrugs when asked what worries him about this bunch.

"I don't know if I'd say I have any concerns right now," Barnes says. "You know, I love the fact that we're going to have great competition."

Rick Barnes has stockpiled talent.

Not only has he been stockpiling talent in Austin for 11 years -- including such players as LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin -- but if you check his teams' records, you'll find the hoops 'Horns have hooked 'em best when they've been deeper than Durant's pockets.

Barnes' only Final Four team, in 2002-03, had nine players who averaged double-figure minutes and a 10th who averaged 9.9 minutes per game. His Sweet 16 team the next year had a whopping 11 players who averaged more than 10 minutes. Everyone on his 2005-06 Elite Eight team played at least 5.4 minutes.

Get the feeling he can manage the minutes? "It's a situation I'd rather be in," Barnes said. "It's pretty simple. When you have a lot of guys who deserve to play, then everyone is accountable. If you do it in practice, then you're going to play. I'm not one of those guys who believes in players who do it only when the lights come on. You have to show up every day."

We're deep. Texas' depth and talent put the Horns as one of the best teams in the nation.

The bottom line is that no one has more overall talent up and down the roster than the boys in Austin.

Dexter Pittman and the Horns have a goal.

"People may say we're a great team right now, and we've got a lot of good players and stuff," Pittman said. "But there's a lot of areas where we need to improve. We're all dedicated and we're all going for one goal, and that's the Final Four."

Texas Sports interviews freshman Shawn Williams.

What are your thoughts on being part of what some say is one of the best freshman classes to ever come to Texas? It feels good. It's always good to be considered one of the best. I'm looking forward to it.

What are you going to have to do to earn playing time? The main thing is playing defense. That's always a key factor. If you can't stop anybody, you're not going to play anyway, no matter who you are. That's what I'm working on right now.

Rush The Court previews the Big 12 Conference.

Linebacker Von Miller leads the nation in sacks. And horse-collars?

Miller, a pass rusher from Dallas, leads the nation with 13.5 sacks through eight contests — with four regular-season games and probably a bowl game to go. Green, now an associate vice president with the university's 12th Man Foundation, owns the school's single-season sack record with 20, set in 1979.

Athlon Sports tries to figure out what is going on in the Big 12 North.

The Big 12 now plays defense. The defenses have made this year very unpredictable.

It’s a new year in the Big 12. An unpredictable year. A year that has seen the once seemingly unstoppable offenses stopped, and the after-thought defenses step up.

Drama in Lawrence. Is there dissension between Mark Mangino and Todd Reesing?

"I think (the media) make it a big deal," Mangino said. "It’s not a big deal. When you look at the circumstances and what has taken place over a period of time, it was the appropriate thing to do."

But Reesing told the Lawrence Journal-World he viewed the situation differently.

"It was a big deal to me," Reesing told the Journal-World. "It is what it is. It’s above my pay grade. It’s his decision. (But) I’m still the starting quarterback here, there’s no doubt about that. This job is not up for grabs. I’m going to move forward."

"I guess you can take it for what it is," he said. "I don’t know if he was trying to send a message, or if he just wanted to let Kale play a little bit. I don’t have an explanation. It happened, it’s over, we’re moving forward."

The Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock did not approve of Reesing's benching.

Mangino’s decision to bench Todd Reesing late in the Jayhawks’ loss to Texas Tech signals that the 12-1 season of 2007 and the Orange Bowl victory mean nothing in 2009. Not to Mangino, the Janet "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" Jackson of college football coaches.

Who cares that Reesing saved Mangino’s job and reputation and earned his coach additional millions by leading Kansas to a magical 12-1 season and top-10 ranking? Who cares that Reesing is the best Kansas quarterback since John Hadl?

And who really cares that the only way Kansas was going to erase Tech’s 14-point advantage was Reesing catching fire in the final seven minutes

A while ago a Kansas win over Kansas State was a given. Not any more.

In the last three weeks, the Jayhawks have plummeted. They were shockingly defeated by a bad Colorado team, and although it’s not exactly shocking that they lost to Oklahoma and Texas Tech, the way they lost those games was certainly surprising. Whereas quarterback Todd Reesing had earned a reputation of taking good care of the ball — he threw only seven interceptions all season in 2007 — he has become a turnover machine with seven of them in just the last three games, and that has been the biggest shortfall in KU’s pitfall.

Meanwhile, K-State has awakened from their slumber and has everyone thinking that the giant might be back. The Wildcats looked like they’d be a joke this year after barely winning by four over Massachusetts (who lost to Delaware by 16), losing to Louisiana (who lost to Florida Atlantic by 22), and getting pummeled by 52 against Texas Tech. Left for dead, KSU mystified everyone by beating Texas A&M by 48 for a one-week, 100-point turnaround, and then they proved it wasn’t a complete fluke by beating Colorado and only losing by 12 at Oklahoma.

Bill Snyder just wants a little balance.

"We have to become a more balanced football team," he said Tuesday with preparation under way for Saturday's 11:30 a.m. Big 12 North showdown with rival Kansas at Snyder Family Stadium. "I think that's important to our program, at least in my eyes."
But, the fact remains that the Wildcats' bread and butter so far has been a rushing attack that ranks third in the league and 32nd nationally with 182.3 yards a game. They're last in the conference in passing at 175 a game.

Dan Hawkins is in a must-win situation in Colorado.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins returned to normal this week at his media luncheon today. There was no long, introspective opening statement, reading of letters of support or acknowledgement of mistakes made as was the case a week ago.

Hawkins stayed with a business as usual approach in discussing last week's homecoming loss to Missouri and this Saturday's home game against a Texas A&M team he called "very electric."

The Buffs are in must-win mode for the rest of the season. Another loss would eliminate them from the postseason.

Zac Robinson will surpass Mike Gundy's passing record at Oklahoma State.

So now you tell us. Bob Stoops just wasn't as optimistic about his offensive line as his offensive coordinator.

He was "a lot more so than I was," Stoops said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "You never heard me that way."

Before the season, Wilson publicly built up the potential of the Sooner line, even though only two of its members, tackle Trent Williams and guard Brian Simmons, had played meaningful snaps in their careers.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 4, 2009

dimecoverage — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:03:00 -0000

Colt McCoy on the Horns' secondary: "Yeah that is great. They can score 
as much as they want to as far as I am concerned. That really helps our 
football team. They were able to capitalize on some turnovers, 
which was big. I feel like our offense played really well. 
They were executing and the score before halftime
was really big for us."

Music NSFW

This is a great story about cornerback Curtis Brown.

If Mack Brown had spent some time with Oneta Taylor, he would have known better.

If he had seen what happened when a 4-month-old grandson ended up on her doorstep, and how she raised him just like she raised 10 kids of her own even though she was, to use her word, "crippled," Brown wouldn't have had any doubts.

But the coach of the Texas Longhorns didn't know any of this when he met Curtis Brown. All the coach saw was a bashful teenager who never talked, who didn't exude bravado like the kids he usually recruited, and who gave outsiders no inkling of the inner strength his feeble grandmother had instilled in him.

"I discouraged him from coming here," Mack Brown said. "He was so shy, and I didn't feel like he had a tremendous amount of confidence. And this is a place where you need to have confidence, or it will eat you up."

The offensive line likes blocking for Cody Johnson.

"The offensive line likes blocking for (Johnson)," Brown said early last week. "They like that he runs over guys and the way he punishes the defense. That's the type of running that gets them excited."

This is probably the most insightful quote from Mack Brown about this team:

"I think we'll play hard Saturday. I haven't always thought that (about past Texas teams). I think that about this year's team."

What about that road to Pasadena? That saber-rattling, quasi-military institute down the road wants to foil our plans for a bouquet of roses.

The Dash already is on record declaring the Longhorns a lock for the BCS championship game. But if you insist on looking for Bevo-related drama between now and January, this would be the spot. The Aggies have unloaded on their past two opponents, burying Texas Tech and Iowa State by a combined 87-40 margin. And because this game is on Thanksgiving night, it can serve as a welcome escape from the annoying family members you've been forced to talk to all day.

With all the BCS title talk, opponents will have a lot of bulletin board material.

"Every (opposing) coach in America will put that stuff on their board and say, 'You're not getting respect,' " Brown said. "College football players love to compete. They have a tremendous amount of pride.

"And when somebody tells them they can't do something, all they're doing is stirring you up and trying to prove you wrong. And that's what will happen with our last four opponents here."

Barking Carnival has the Okie State post-mortem.

Now that we own the state of Oklahoma, what exactly do we do with it? Do we sell it in a flea market in Addison for rims? Trade it for the monsoonal portion of Bangladesh?

From Tuesday's Austin American Statesman chat with Suzanne Halliburton and Alan Trubow:

Question: Was the heavy use of 4 and 5 wide out formations a reflection of Davis' lack of respect for OSU's secondary and pass defense? Because I thought that we were going away from those formations and more to what I think were called "11" formations (1 back, 1 tight-end). Will we see more of the 1 back 1 tight-end in the future?

Suzanne Halliburton: They were. And I asked Greg about it post game and he said he didn't want to give away his secrets. They did it to keep Ok State off balance.

Central Florida Knights

Colt McCoy on the Knights: "They were a good football team, and I 
watched them play last night. They’ve got some really good players 
on defense. Their defensive line is really good. We’ve got to be prepared 
for them. I just remember we didn’t finish it like we wanted to. 
We got up a little bit and never put it away. We just let them 
hang around and hang around. We had to make some plays 
at the end to actually win the game. We definitely will
watch a little bit film with week, they still have some of the same
coaches, and go back to work. That’s key for us. All we talked about in
our team meeting was staying focused, getting back to work 
and getting better."

The Knight's head coach thinks the team needs to improve on tackling before they play the Horns.

O’Leary said UCF’s offense struggled during the first three quarters against Marshall because it failed to sustain blocks. He said the Knights have to correct the problem this week before they face a tough Texas defense Saturday.

The Knights didn't have much time to celebrate their victory over Marshall. They need to prepare for the No. 2 Horns.

UCF Coach George O'Leary and his staff didn't get much sleep after Sunday's game, studying film and putting their finishing touches on their Texas game plan.

"You've got to do what you've got to do," he said.

UCF has a freshmen trio in the secondary.

O'Leary said the Knights' freshman trio in the secondary — Josh Robinson, Kemal Ishmael and A.J. Bouye — are "way ahead" of any freshmen defensive backs he's coached at UCF.

This is the latest Aggie football tribute on Youtube. They are getting excited again with wins over Tech and Iowa State.

The Aggies and Raiders are still at it.

Asked about the thin air the Aggies will face Saturday in Colorado's high altitude, Sherman replied, "Lubbock has pretty good altitude. There's a lot of hot air up there, too."

Later, offensive linemen Michael Shumard was asked about Sherman's decision to take a knee inside the Iowa State 5-yard line at the end of Saturday's game.

"It showed class," Shumard said. "I would hate to be a player for a team that would try to score with 10 or 20 seconds left in a game, or call timeout and try to score."

Leach did that in the final seconds of Tech's 43-25 victory last year at Kyle Field.

It doesn't take much to make an Aggie happy. Motivation 101: Aggie Style.

The threat of further public humiliation loomed large, headed to Texas Tech, where A&M had last won in 1993.

Sherman provided an answer.

The second-year coach had initiated the practice of awarding carabiners – the metal loops used in activities involving ropes – to players after wins. The maroon-colored carabiners bore the motivational slogan, "One step at a time – 2009."

Sherman took a preemptive strike with the carabiners early in the week before the game in Lubbock.

"I might as well give it to you now," Sherman told his team, "because we're going to play and we're going to win this football game."

When the Aggies have a problem offensive line, they just need to change their mindset to solve all their problems.

The Texas A&M offensive line is one of the most often criticized aspects of the 2009 Aggie football team.

That criticism changed when A&M Head Coach Mike Sherman found the winning combination, used in the Aggies' past two games.

"After the Kansas State game, we knew we needed to change something," said senior lineman Kevin Matthews. "[We] came into practice that week with a different mindset."

~~I don't know who to give credit to for this great photo, but thanks!~~ Thanks to texascfo's wife for the great photo.

North of the Red River section is gone for this season since the state of Oklahoma is now irrelevant.

Have any idea who will win the North title? We don't, either. (Big 12 standings.)

The race for the Big 12 North Division title is more muddled than ever.

The top five teams in the North are either 5-3 or 5-4 and have at least two losses in conference play. Kansas State (5-4, 3-2) remains the surprise leader of the division, followed by Nebraska (5-3, 2-2) and Iowa State (5-4, 2-3).

Preseason North favorites Missouri (5-3, 1-3) and Kansas (5-3, 1-3) got off to slow starts in the Big 12. Only Colorado (2-6, 1-3) looks like it won't be a factor after losing four of its last five.

Big 12 athletic directors will discuss scheduling in upcoming meetings.

The proposed change would be for teams never to go more than one year without facing each other in the regular season. Colorado would play Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State this year and then play the other three South Division foes next season. In the third year, the Buffs would play Texas, Texas A&M and OSU again but at the opposite site from this season.

The league already has completed future schedules through the 2014 season and it`s likely any changes would not take effect until 2015. However, it`s possible changes could be instituted sooner if there was broad agreement for one option.

The conference just announced more bowl agreements for Big 12 teams.

The Big 12 Conference announced today that it has entered into agreements with the Dallas Football Classic and Eagle Bank Bowl for the 2010-13 seasons.

Under the agreement terms the Big 12 is guaranteed a spot in the Dallas Football Classic for the 2010 and '12 seasons; and the Eagle Bank Bowl in 2013.

The Conference will provide a team to either bowl in 2011 if the conference/team under contract that season is unable to supply an opponent. For 2011 the Dallas Football Classic has agreements with the Big Ten and Conference USA to provide teams; while the Eagle Bank Bowl is partnered with the Atlantic Coast Conference and Navy.

This week's Kansas-Kansas State game will have implications in the Big 12 North title race.

Someone has to emerge from the North to get a shot at Texas in the Big 12 championship game.

The Big 12 North does not have a team that would appear good enough to finish in the top five of the Big 12 South.

Still, someone is going to win it. So far, only Kansas State and Nebraska have two losses. The other four teams have three losses.

It is not out of the question that all six teams in the North will have three losses by Sunday.

Dan Hawkins wants his players to cut loose.

Speaking today during his weekly media luncheon, Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said he is looking for his team to come out in a "cut it loose" mode Saturday at home against Texas A&M.

"We're trying to get guys over the edge of ... I always tell them to, 'Play to win and not to lose. Don't play not to make a mistake. You've gotta go.'

"There's been flashes of that, signs of that. In the last two games, early on, you didn't see that."

Darrell Scott probably won't waste his time cutting loose. He is leaving.

Mark Mangino is not spending any quality time with his defense this week. The offense is his main focus.

That's because KU's defense has kept the Jayhawks in games the last three weeks while the offense has blown them. KU hasn't allowed more than 358 yards since giving up 512 to Iowa State in the Big 12 conference opener. The defense has eight takeaways in those three games and ranks seventh in the Big 12 in total defense. Considering the way the season started, that's not bad.

Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert may finally be healthy.

After being hobbled by a sprained ankle for the past several weeks, Missouri sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert professed himself healthy and ready to go for the Tigers' game Saturday against Baylor.

"It felt good. My ankle's feeling a lot better than it has been," Gabbert said. "It means that they can't drop everybody into coverage. It really helps the running game out a lot, because the defense can't key in on Derrick [Washington] because they have to focus on me, too."

The Cyclones may be have their offensive weapons back this week, too.

Austen Arnaud wore an unsightly, inch-long scar on his throwing hand. Reggie Stephens recalled the fairly gory details of his recent appendectomy.

Yet, both Cyclone stars also wore smiles on Monday, providing a strong indication they'll return to the playing field this week.

According to Iowa State, a return to full strength could return the Cyclones to the win column this Saturday.

Even though the Bears lost to Nebraska, there was a bright spot.

The Bears suffocated Nebraska's offense in the second half, not allowing a touchdown in the second half for the first time since Baylor accomplished the feat in 2008 against Northwestern State University.

"I thought there were a couple of things that were pretty inspiring. All of a sudden everything changed in the complexion of the game," Briles said. "It's been a while since we have been able to have fun on the field, and it felt good."

Poke Zac Robinson will be just fine after the loss to Texas.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy thought the same thing Monday that he did Saturday night following OSU’s 41-14 loss to Texas.

The Longhorns are pretty good and turnovers doomed the Cowboys.

And Gundy also thinks that senior quarterback Zac Robinson will be just fine following his four-interception game against Texas.

"Zac pressed. I’ve been there and done that myself so I have a pretty good feel for what he did," Gundy said. "We have complete confidence in his ability. He just pressed. He tried to do a little bit too much and it cost him at times.

ESPN crews talks about officiating. Starts at the 2:16 mark.

Is the BCS rigging results?

The top schools appear to be getting BCS protection from officials because it's in the best interest of the conferences for the best teams to win.

A second team in the BCS means an additional $4.5 million to conference coffers.

A conference advancing a team to the national-title game brings huge exposure and revenue to the school and the league.

There have been enough strange calls lately to warrant a serious crackdown on getting it right for the sake of not having columns like this written.

The Big Ten had their own officiating woes.

NewsOK's Barry Tramel attempts to make sense of the BCS.

When you’ve got a team of interest challenging in the BCS rankings, they are interesting to study. The computer rankings, the polls, how the danged thing all fits together in the first place. You can spend 10-15 minutes deciphering information from the expanded BCS chart.

But if you’ve got no team in the fight, it’s like studying pig-Latin. Doesn’t really get you anywhere.

Seven teams in the FBS are still unbeaten and speculation runs rampant. Who's in, who's out.

The top three teams -- Florida, Texas and Alabama -- all have the luxury of knowing they can reach the BCS Championship Game by winning out, but the outlook isn't nearly so good for Iowa, Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State.

TCU and Boise State will get the shaft.

Let's be clear on this: If TCU and Boise State both finish undefeated and all five of the BCS schools lose at least one game, neither one is going to play in the national title game in Pasadena. That's not an opinion, that's a fact.

Here's another fact: Only one of the undefeated non-BCS schools will get a BCS bid. There is now a likely scenario whereby Boise State, which beat Oregon soundly the first week of the season, will not play in a BCS game while USC -- which just lost to Oregon by 27 points -- might. Ohio State, which lost to USC and a horrible Purdue team, might also play in a BCS bowl. Iowa might lose to Ohio State and still get a BCS bid, and Penn State, which already lost to Iowa, could, too.

But Boise State almost certainly won't -- unless TCU loses a game and Boise State wins out.

Mr. College Football Tony Barnhart tries to figure out how Georgia Tech can play for the BCS title.

What about Cincy? Dr. Saturday tries to figure out the how and why of the Bearcats.

No one thought they had a chance at the start of this thing, when the Bearcats were just one face among many, but now that they're here, there's a fighting chance: As the BCS lines up in the moment, Cincinnati is third in line for the No. 2 spot behind Texas and Iowa, and the only team with a realistic chance of skipping UC in the line is LSU. If they keep winning, not many dominoes have to fall to move the 'Cats into at least a 50/50 argument for the second championship slot.

And finally...

Nebraska football is featured on a very bad comedy show. There are more clips, but they're even worse.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 3, 2009

dimecoverage — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:46:49 -0000

We're starting the day with some drama.

"I hate it that we didn't give Texas our best effort," said OSU coach Mike Gundy.

It is that whole poison cheese issue again.

You can picture Texas coach Mack Brown sitting in his office, wondering how he's going to combat the assumptions, the hype, the "poison cheese," as he often calls it.

It's Day 1 after the Texas Longhorns dismantled Oklahoma State 41-14 and Brown, always worried about media overreaction, knows what's coming.

"The only thing that is important to us now is Central Florida," Brown said of the Longhorns' upcoming game at Royal-Memorial Stadium. "Since it's not a conference game, it's a national game that can impact our national rankings."

Earl Thomas, Heisman Trophy candidate. It could happen...

Attitude, leadership and dog tags. The defense has come up with another motivator.

"We had a huge team meeting [Sunday] just to say, "Hey, don't relax, don't give up, there's till a long road ahead of us, lots of games to play and lots of room for improvement," quarterback Colt McCoy said. "I really feel like the attitude on our team is really good and wants to get better. According to Brown, that attitude starts with the team's senior leadership.

"It's their team. They have some input, they have ownership in their team without taking over," Brown said. "So we're constantly asking our guys [for] ideas."

The latest came from senior defensive end Sergio Kindle in the form of dog tags that read "Texas Swagger."
"A lot of people might think it means cockiness or something like that, but it basically means that we are Texas and no matter what, no matter who, we're going to come to play," Kindle said. "We know how it felt to get complacent last year. I'm pretty sure nobody on the team wants to have that feeling again."

Everyone appreciates your support, Kirk. Austin American-Statesman's Kirk Bohls has his weekly nine things and one crazy prediction.

I voted Texas No. 1 on my Associated Press ballot for the first time this season because the Longhorns pure and simple strike me as the best team in the nation, with fewer flaws than any other unbeaten team. Florida doesn't have the passing game (ranked 90th), Alabama doesn't have the experienced quarterback (Greg McElroy ranks 71st in completions and hasn't thrown a TD in three games), and Iowa, well, don't get me started (74th in offense).

Not sure rampaging Oregon isn't the No. 1 team in the nation, however, or at least has a claim to it. Texas ranks first in the nation in scoring offense and 11th in scoring defense, the best two categories to measure a team.

"We're really proud of how the guys played at Oklahoma State," Texas coach Mack Brown
said in the wake of a 41-14 victory. "We were very concerned about that
game and really used the disappointment we felt at the same time last
year at [Texas] Tech as motivation. Everyone knew they had to prepare
better and play better this time and we did. We had a great week of
practice and it showed up in the game."

The football gods like Texas.

A year ago, the Longhorns were cursed by a few percentage points spit out by computers.

But it appears all of the bad karma has been reversed from last year, when most believed the 'Horns had earned a spot in the national championship game by their play on the field.

The Horns are on a familiar road.

Call it the Pasadena Parkway, a unique road with many possible paths.

In Texas' case, the list of directions means the Longhorns can now reach the BCS national title game at the Rose Bowl without ever setting foot outside the Lone Star State.

Longhorns vs. the Ducks in the BCS title game?

Technically, neither No. 10 Oregon nor No. 3 Texas ever really left the Bowl Championship Series national title chase. Sure, the Ducks lost their first game of the season to Boise State, but one-loss teams from automatic BCS-qualifying conferences have advanced to the championship game several times. The Longhorns and their supposed Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback were unimposing for much of the season's first two months, yet they remained undefeated all the while.
Still, not until Saturday night did both squads emphatically remind college football followers why they deserve considerable mention in any national title game discussion.

The BCS race hasn't changed much this week.

The calendar turned to November, but college football's race for the BCS National Championship looks just like it did when the season started in the first week of September.

As expected, No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Alabama remain on a collision course for the Dec. 5 SEC championship game in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. No. 2 Texas remains the best bet to face the SEC champion in the Jan. 7 BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena, Calif.

If we play Kansas State for the big 12 championship, it could Colt McCoy's chance at redemption.

In some ways, a Texas-Kansas State finale would be ironic. And appropriate. K-State is the only Big 12 school that quarterback Colt McCoy has not defeated while putting together his 40-7 record as Texas’ starting quarterback. His mark against the Wildcats is 0-2.

Based on what the Longhorns showed Saturday in Stillwater, there is no reason for Texas to dread any matchup against a North opponent. But the key, as Brown stressed, is to build on the victory at Oklahoma State, not relax because of it.

College Football News has what's hot in week nine:

Texas Third-Down Defense
Really, the ‘Horns have been fantastic on every down this season, but especially on third downs. Texas maintained its national lead in the category in Stillwater Saturday night, vexing Zac Robinson and forcing him into four costly interceptions. Two of those picks were taken backs for six, a common trend that’s developed this fall in Austin. The combination of the pressure being brought up front and the coverage in the secondary has opponents converting just 23% of the time on third downs.

ESPN's Tim Griffin has his Big 12 power rankings.

Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe wants teams with 6-6 records to be immediately bowl eligible.

What do the Wildcats know that other Big 12 teams do not?

The Sooners had no answers for Daniel Thomas, Brandon Banks and quarterback Grant Gregory, who have transformed into one of the most dangerous offensive trios in the Big 12.

Who'd have thunk it?

Anyway, K-State's ability to move the football and pile up points against Oklahoma is nothing new.

In the seven games the Wildcats have played against OU since Stoops' arrival in 1999, they have averaged 30 points. That's far and away more than any other Big 12 team have scored against the Sooners in the same time period, and it even includes a 35-point outburst by a Ron Prince-coached K-State team in 2008.

K-State's 30 points against the Sooners on Saturday — albeit in a loss — were the most given up by the Sooners this season. The 35 points scored by Kansas State against OU in the 2003 Big 12 championship game were the most given up by the Sooners that season, as were the 37 points scored by K-State in 2001 and the 31 points the Wildcats scored in 2000.

Bo Pelini wants a better running game.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini is intent on improving production in Saturday's game against Oklahoma, despite facing the Sooners' ballyhooed rushing defense.

"We've got to get better production," Pelini said. "We need to run the football better. We've got to block better. We've got to run more consistently. We have to not miss holes. We just need to execute better in that phase of our game."

Todd Reesing will be the starter against Kansas State.

A few weeks ago, Mark Mangino took to the bully pulpit in the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference to extol Todd Reesing as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate.

On Monday, Mangino made the announcement that Reesing would still be his starter Saturday at Kansas State -- a decision that was up in the air after the senior quarterback was benched late in the Jayhawks’ 42-21 loss at Texas Tech last week.

What a difference three weeks can make.

OU is becoming a complete team.

Obviously, Oklahoma has been less than a complete team for much of this season. It's easy to be incomplete when Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham are on the sideline and the blockers and receivers surrounding Bradford's replacement and Gresham's replacement are not the same fellows who helped the Sooners produce more points than any team in college football history last season.

As a result, OU has been just good enough to get beat, losing three games by five points.

So, what happens when the defense finally has an off night?

A Landry Jones-led offense rode to the rescue, driving twice for fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure a 42-30 victory over Big 12 North Division leader Kansas State.

Slow starts have been a problem for the Buffs.

CU has been outscored 64-27 in the first quarter this year, and the Buffs haven`t scored more than once in the opening quarter of any game.

It`s a trend that has the team and its coaching staff doing some soul searching. Several players have said some of their teammates have to find a way to play with more confidence. Meanwhile, the slow starts have frustrated fans believing coaches aren`t doing a good job preparing the team.

Robert Cessna has what it will take for the Aggies to return to the top 25.

What constitutes a Top 25 football program? And what’s it gonna take for Texas A&M to become one? A&M hasn’t finished in the AP’s final Top 25 since 1999. You talk about facing an uphill climb — 66 programs have made at least one Top 25 finish in the 2000s. And barring a strong finish, A&M’s drought will reach 10 straight seasons. A slew of returning players and a favorable schedule next year could help the Aggies break into the Top 25.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - November 2, 2009

dimecoverage — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:18:19 -0000

So they can't read The Eyes Of Texas? The Longhorns are not supposed to read any college football preview magazines.

The offensive coordinator Greg Davis especially wanted Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy to avoid the common theme that he was one of three favorites for the Heisman Trophy and that the Longhorns’ season would depend on his play.
"You tell them not to," Davis said of players reading the magazines, "but they do."

The Horns had a defensive strategy. It worked.

Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp wanted to focus on shutting down OSU’s run game after giving up 217 rushing yards to the Cowboys last season.

"They’re a running team and we wanted to put the ball in the quarterback’s hands," Muschamp said.

The strategy worked. With a strong push from the front four and a secondary that studied enough film to be able to sit on routes, the Longhorns didn’t let Robinson find his rhythm.

Barking Carnival has the good, the bad and the ugly, Poke style.

Craig James gave his reason for voting the Horns No. 2:

"Pretty easy decision for me: Texas is simply a more complete team than Alabama right now," said Craig James of ABC Sports.

For more game coverage, check out Sunday's Daily Roundup.

The Sooners beat Kansas State 42-30.

Despite leading by three touchdowns in the first quarter, the Sooners had to hold off the Wildcats late for a 42-30 victory at Owen Field to move to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Landry Jones had a big night, completing 26 of 37 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns.

Yet in the second half, K-State's Brandon Banks haunted the Sooners with a bag of big plays, including a kickoff return for touchdown that brought the Wildcats to within 35-30.

Whoop! The Aggies won again. They beat Iowa State 35-10. Are they back from the land of the dead?

Two weeks after Kansas State worked this team like a part-time job, the Aggies are somehow back on the road to respectability after putting together consecutive wins over Texas Tech and Iowa State. And these wins haven't been nail-biters. The Aggies have done some bullying lately and in the take-no-prisoners world of college football, it's better to hit than be hit.

Texas Tech beat Kansas 42-21. Jayhawk quarterback Todd Reesing suffered a groin injury in the game with Colorado and it has had an impact on his performance.

This is a headline you never expect to see.

Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen was sacked eight times in the Buffs loss to Missouri 36-17.

Tyler Hansen said it was all his fault. That was difficult to believe.
Colorado’s sophomore quarterback was sacked eight times during Saturday’s 36-17 loss to Missouri. Hansen avoided others with his scrambling.

Hansen fumbled three times — once on a center exchange — and also threw an interception. But in keeping with the theme of the day, Hansen said what went wrong was his fault, no one else’s.

Nebraska beat Baylor 20-10.

Nebraska’s 20-10 victory Saturday over Baylor, noted for the starting debut of quarterback Cody Green, was probably better suited only for the 31,702 in attendance at Floyd Casey Stadium — the smallest crowd to watch the Huskers since a 1991 visit to Oklahoma State.

Leach being Leach, again.

About that fat girlfriend remark: "To those that are offended, I’m offended that you don’t think I get to exercise my First Amendment rights, so that makes two of us," Leach said.

The Big 12 South race is over, but the North is a different story.

The Big 12 South football race is over. Texas will play in the Big 12 championship game. The Longhorns would have to lose twice to miss Arlington. UT could lose, I suppose, at Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night, but no way will the ‘Horns lose at home to Kansas or at Baylor.
But that doesn’t mean we know who Texas will play in the Big 12 title game. The North Division is wilder (more mediocre) than ever.

The BCS mess. Should government intervene?

The BCS Guru looks at the demise of the once heralded Trojan Empire.

Like the Byzantine, Ming and Romanov empires, all good things must come to an end. Such was the case for the Trojan Dynasty that has ruled the Pac-10 since 2002.

In retrospect, it was easy to see that this was a rebuilding year for USC. It lost most of its defensive stalwarts, including an entire linebacking corps that went among the first 38 picks in the NFL draft. It lost its star quarterback, who now hot dogs it for the New York Jets. It even lost its offensive coordinator to a rival Pac-10 school.

But because it's USC, it was assumed that it'd go on like business as usual ... until Saturday night, when the Oregon Ducks formally pronounced the fin de siecle with a resounding quack.

Nice. We might end up playing against this guy at the end of the season.

Adam Jones looks at week nine of the season.

On a crisp Saturday night in Autzen, the Ducks flew higher than a UVa frat boy at a Dave Matthews Band concert. USC got worked. USC, in the Pete Carroll era, does not get worked. The Trojans occasionally "stub their toe" or "falter" or "slip up" or wonder "who the hell is Jacquizz Rodgers and why can’t we tackle him?" But they do not get worked. Until Saturday. Oregon broke open a close first half with an offensive barrage that ended 600 yards deep into the night, with quarterback Jeremiah Masoli running for 164 yards and his backfield mate, tailback LaMichael James, slicing for another 183. Why yes, it was the most points and yards ever run up against Pete Carroll’s USC, even dating back to when they didn’t start eleven future NFL players on defense. This is not vintage USC; but give the Ducks credit.