Okay, try to get past the annoying title.  Full disclosure, I am a Texas Longhorn student and fan.  On December 6, the school formally cut ties with much-maligned offensive coordinator Greg Davis after a 5-7 embarrassment.  The rumor mill has been swirling regarding his replacement at OC.  Among a handful of names, Bryan Harsin appears to be at or near the top of the wishlist.  And by this I do not refer to some stupid fans' wishlist, I mean the guys that make the power moves and donate the money.  To make this brief I'm on a fact finding mission to satisfy my own curiosity.

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Before getting into my main point let me just say that I've only been following Texas Hoops since about 2004 so take that for what it's worth.

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Last year the Horns boasted a pretty tough run defense (top 5-ish) and were whipped by the Buckeyes and Beanie Wells in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl.  Im worried about the size of our defenders versus the Alabama offense.  It looks like a bad matchup.

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Watching the games thus far this season, I have come to a few conclusions regarding our offensive difficulties

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We all knew La-Monroe wasn't exactly a ratings machine for ESPN and the like, but I heard on the radio now that Texas @ Wyoming will not be televised either! 

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Ever since that November night when Malcolm Williams brought Texas to the brink of an undefeated season with two phenomenal touchdown grabs, the Horns fanbase has been enamored with his potential.  The next Roy Williams!  The deep threat we've been looking for!

The media guides are in love with him and crown him as a playmaker on the precipice of greatness:

"Malcolm Williams already showed what he could do with a whale of a performance in the loss to Texas Tech"-CFN

"Williams could pile up huge numbers if he keeps his head in the game"-Gatorsports

"Malcolm Williams is still a physical freak"-Bleacher Report

All the previews point to number 9 being the new star.  I see it differently.  Due to William's skill set within our offense I don't see him putting up these huge stats.  I find it more likely Brandon Collins AND James Kirkendall out-yard Williams.

This is not to say Williams isn't the best prospect at the next level, just that this offense focuses on midrange passing.  If Williams' role is going deep, he's not going to get a whole lot of looks.  Brandon Collins and Kirkendal, and Shipley of course stand to rack up the stats and praise.  I know they will get the ball.  But will Williams? 

I just see his role being too small within the workings of the current scheme to justify all the hype. 

Who's the most valuable #2 receiver? 

I was just watching a bit of College Football Live today on the old worldwide leader.  One of their focuses today was Virginia Tech's prospects for 2009.  Now let me preface this by saying I don't know a great deal about the ACC or Virginia Tech for that matter but I consider myself a fairly educated unbiased observer.  When I hear that Virginia Tech is a serious contender to win it all I find myself really skeptical.

I just wonder, what exactly has Virginia Tech done in the last 3-5 years to justify the hype?  They've won the ACC three times in a row.  That's nice, certainly we Horns fans can't exactly scoff at that.  However comparing the Big 12 competition to the ACC isn't fair.  In addition when was the last time Virginia Tech beaten another legit elite contender.  When they played LSU they were completely outclassed.  I think they have 1 BCS victory in 4 tries, and that is against Cincinnati.

They have a respectable defensive unit year in and year out, and I do admire that.  At the same time, factor in the teams they play in conference and how the defense fares out of conference and I have my doubts about the numbers it puts up.

Aside from that I look at the overall talent pool VT brings in yearly and I'm not impressed.  Don't get me wrong there's a lot to be said about "coaching up" players and finding "hidden gems" but at the end of the day you need big time talent to beat big time talent on a consistent basis.

I look at QB Tyrod Taylor, a nice athlete who has contributed a lot to VT's success.  He still isn't a polished passer (who is right?) and I have doubts about whether he brings enough to the table to make a step up from good to great.  The offense around him is young and scrappy (AKA 2-star or 3-star talent) and I just dont see a dangereous team.

Overall when I think Virginia Tech I think:  consistency, defense and special teams, good coach, scrappy.  I don't think Virginia Tech:  National Title Contender.  They're good for 9-10 wins a season, maybe a conference crown but they have a ceiling. 

Anyone disagree?  I understand this is BON but I think its okay to talk about college ball at large, especially in the off-season.  Please inform me if I'm way off base...

It's time to close the door on another season of UT basketball.  While the team frustrated many of us, the truth is attrition gets you eventually and every program has a "down" year.  Thankfully a down year with Rick Barnes at the helm is a wave goodbye in the second round of the NCAA's.

Did Texas underachieve?  In hindsight I am not so sure they were as good as we all thought, but overall i'm proud of the season they duct-taped and paperclipped together.

Over the course of the season we saw some inspiring improvements and nauseating steps back.  Formerly reliable vets like Atchley and Mason regressed while raw players like Pittman and Ward made definite improvement.

Meanwhile the future of Texas hoops looks pretty nice.  Consider the tentative roster for next year:

Center:

Dexter Pittman, Clint Chapman, Matt hill (maybe transfers)

Guard:

Varez Ward, Justin Mason, Dogus Balbay, Jai Lucas (not clear on his eligibility), Avery Bradley

Forward:

Damion James, Shawn Williams, Gary Johnson, Jordan Hamilton

Think about what this lineup gives us.  Dominant big man inside (Pittman), veteran guards who can both handle and defend (Balbay, Mason, Ward), some newbies that hopefully can knock down an open 3 (the frosh), monster athlete/rebounders (James, Johnson), and a ton of depth.

All we need is some better PG play, and this team could be Texas' best ever.

There's much to look forward to.  Ah the offseason, the mother of optimisim.

So the speculation of late seems to center around some supposed shift in running philosophy.  Orangebloods and several of ya'll have recently alluded to ideas of Cody Johnson as being the starter and having Colt take the snap from under center and have a fullback...etc.

From what I'm hearing this is going to be something they toy with in the spring in hopes of using it situationally throughout the season. 

The first thing that comes to mind to me is..."not gonna happen".  This seems to have "q package" written all over it.

Who sees real results coming out from this spring.

Stewart Mandel's (SI) pre-preseason projections:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/01/09/early-top10/index.html?eref=T1

Mark Schlabach (ESPN) pre-preseason projections:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3818270

So it looks like Texas is gonna start around #2 next year in the polls.  This is nice, however preseason rankings never got you anywhere. 

You know looking back at 2008 it's such a good story.  The perseverance, the grit of this team was great to see.  They never backed down or gave in.  They always came to play, the effort was always there. 

As much had been made about "Just wait until 2009", 2008 turned out to be one of the best seasons ever.  Texas started under the radar for the first half of the season, built a lot of confidence, and piggybacked on some senior leadership who's worth we may not yet understand.  They formed a solid core for a winning team and had great chemistry. 

What can we expect next season?  Undoubtably missing a Title game berth would be an absolute heartbreak.  This Texas team faces a new challenge next season; enormous expectations.  This team will probably get the most preseason hype since the 05-06 dream team.  When you think about how special 2008 turned out, you have to wonder if you can just bottle that and recreate it the next season.  Granted VY and co. did it and Mack has been around a long time.  This offseason is of utmost importance and will be a very delicate time.  Between now and September, the legacy of this team will be brewing.

So what are the major concerns facing 2009?  Can you lose Quan "first down" Cosby and be the same team.  Orakpo, Miller, Melton, Lewis are all gone.  We also say farewell to some solid role players Ryan Palmer and Rashad Bobino who weren't the most talented but held down the fort admirably.  No doubt there is some exciting young blood being infused now, but it's hard to say what the results of the turnover will be.

Setting:  San Diego, California

Outcome:  A noffense oriented BIG12 south team guns to an early lead, only to be flat out pistol whipped by an "ok" Oregon team.  Oklahoma State plays its injured players (Bryant, Robinson, Hunter) and (not surprisingly) shows no inkling of defense.  I suppose the Cowboy players were saying "Sorry, didn't mean to touch you" as the Ducks raced by them over and over.  FAIL!

Setting:  Dallas, Texas

Outcome:  Another offense oriented BIG12 south team guns to an early lead, only to be embarrassed and out-physicalled.  Harrell was chucking ducks over a hobbled Crabtree's head all game long.  Meanwhile an "improved" Red-Raider defense got bullied around.  Jevan Snead became Eli Manning and that Darren McFadden wannabe became a superstar tailback.  FAIL!

Setting:  Glendale Arizona!!!

Are we next?

Muschamp you better stop this trend.  Remind all the players they have to be ready!

...

But seriously here, big let down.  The BIG 12 North is 3-0 in bowl games against some suspect compettion and now some of our conferences flagship teams in the south (0-2 btw) have been pantsed.  Queue Mark May, Lou Holthss, etc "Oh my god told you so BIG 12 defense sucks Big 12 overrated, SEC!"

Sorry at this point there's no way to counter the argument about the big 12 defenses.  The only thing to hold on to is that OSU and TTU dont have TEXAS/OU level talent on defense.  Year in and year out there is a ceiling on these teams ability on D.  If Texas and OU have similar trouble there's gonna be backlash on a BIG 10 scale. 

Still I hope OU loses.

Post after post has sprung up regarding everyones favorite ex-longhorn recruit.  In recruiting these bigtime athletes you play with fire.  You either are going to snag one or you're left looking like an absolute fool.  Either way a lot of time, resources and yes, for the extreme, emotions are invested into the situation. 

This time we didn't come out on top.  It's okay.  I don't wanna hear anything about "I hope he blows a knee" and the like.  I also don't want to see things like "Well I always knew he wasn't that good".  It's just hypocritical. 

And the idea that these rumors and allegations are soooo important is ridiculous.  ESPN hasn't even mentioned anything, not even on the ticker on the bottom of the screen.  SI and ESPN.com have no "news" about NCAA violations. 

Everyone just remember it's the offseason for these ($) sites and controversy sells, sells, sells.  The OU/Texas feud is easy fodder and writers all want a piece of the action.  To us BONers or those of you who frequent Orangebloods, just remember we kind of exist in a different world than the average fan.  When the demand for information is as high as it is around the blogosphere, sometimes news isn't really available.  In these cases news must be manufactured.  And that is what we have in my opinion, manufactured news. 

The situation we have received for christmas is not a nice one especially considering the parties involved, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  This NY times guy is probably some small-time writer and thought he'd throw his hat into the fray, make a name for himself. 

Until Mack/Muschamp/UT president/ Deloss has anything to say about this just let it die.  The overanalysis (ahem Geoff), the speculation, the sky is falling attitudes are all a little to much about one teenager's decision.  Next year and the year after probably do not in fact hinge on Jmac's decision.

There are loudmouths in plenty on each side that are all talk and no substance.  Don't waste too much time or dwell on everything thats going oh so wrong for Longhorn Nation.  Nobody outside of OU and Texas are talking about this, it just isn't that big of a story.  If I'm wrong we'll know pretty soon. 

And as far as lady lucks particular abhorrance for us at the moment, over a given sample size most things inevitably regress to the mean.  OU is sort of peaking right now, eventually they'll be no place to go but down (hopefully Jan 8th in Miami).