Bevo's Daily Roundup for July 23
by dimecoverage on Jul 22, 2009 9:08 PM CDT
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43 days until the Louisiana-Monroe game.
Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune, has the top stories of the Big 12 South. No. 1 is Colt vs. Sam.
1. Sam vs. Colt: As if the Big 12’s fiercest rivalry needs another simmering plot line. They will likely never be on the Cotton Bowl field at the same time during the Oct. 17 Red River Rivalry, but the league’s two most spectacular quarterbacks should engage in a season-long competition that extends well beyond the annual grudge match at the Texas State Fairgrounds. Oklahoma junior Sam Bradford, the defending Heisman Trophy winner, and Texas senior Colt McCoy, last year’s Heisman runner-up, should have their teams in the thick of the national title hunt all season while absorbed in their own competition for the game’s top honor, along with, of course, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, the 2007 winner and 2008 third-place finisher. History could be made this December in New York: While eight players have finished among the top two Heisman vote getters in back-to-back years, no two players have ever finished 1-2 in the voting in consecutive seasons.
Happy birthday wishes to Vondrell McGee. Mack Brown texted McGee to wish him happy birthday and McGee texted back.
"He texted back, 'I can't wait,'" Mack Brown said. "Vondrell doesn't say a lot, so that was something."
Colt McCoy came back to Texas this season for one reason:
"I came back to win," he says. "I think we have a great chance."
Media Days are coming. The conference web site will have live video each day. Mack Brown, along with Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley and Roddrick Muckelroy, will be up Wednesday, July 29, starting at 11:15 A.M.
T.J. Ford, Royal Ivey, Kevin Durant, D.J. Augustin and LaMarcus Aldridge have started a web site, www.Texas360Now.com.
"Our web site will launch on Monday, July 20 and fans can find it at www.Texas360Now.com. I'm doing the site along with Royal Ivey, Kevin Durant, D.J. Augustin and LaMarcus Aldridge. We're going to start with some videos of things we've been doing this summer. It will show our workouts and the five of us messing around with each other. The site will let people into our worlds and show people who we are. It hopefully can show people what we put into training and what goes into being a professional athlete."
Flashback -1940 Texas - Texas A&M Game
From Mack Brown Texas Football:
GREAT MOMENT
Texas 7, Texas A&M 0
Thursday, November 28, 1940
Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
Noble Doss' incredible over-the-shoulder pass reception on the third play of the 1940 Texas/Texas A&M game led to the winning TD in the 7-0 Longhorns victory that ended the Aggies' bid for back-to-back National Championships.
A tribute to Noble Doss.
Well, we knew TexAgs was not exactly credible, but this? The Aggie web site has hired Jackie Sherrill as a writer.
TexAgs.com is pleased to announce that they have hired legendary former Texas A&M Football Coach Jackie Sherrill. Coach Sherrill will produce Aggie Football-related content exclusively for Billy Liucci’s TexAgs Premium, a branch of the website devoted to paid subscribers.
Sherrill knows all about paying people.
Mike Sherman made a trip to Austin and he had some inspiration for Aggie fans:
Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman, in a rousing oration on Aggies football Tuesday night, pointed to the success of every other sports program at A&M.
"All of our sports, with the exception of football, are very competitive," Sherman said, later adding, "we're on a mission to make sure that we're not the lone duck on the pond."
Someone broke into the A&M football complex and left a message.
Oklahoma
What makes OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson so successful?
Instead of molding players to fit his scheme, Wilson has been successful in molding his scheme to fit around the strength of his players.
The Sooner's defense may be very, very good.
They’ve got big-time defenders, everyone would agree. G.K. McCoy and Travis Lewis and Dom Franks and Jeremy Beal. A dozen more that intimidate just by stepping off the bus.
But what OU also has is experience. Defenders who know where to line up and when to adjust and how to shift on the fly when Mike Leach or Mike Gundy trots out a trick.
The Sooners have nine returning starters and several experienced sabertooths behind them. That’s the good news. The better news: Those defenders were getting really stingy down the stretch of the 2008 season.
Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy has decided to call plays again this season.
OSU quarterback Zac Robinson was a camp coach at the Manning Passing Academy, along with Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. ESPN's Tim Griffin interviewed Robinson about the experience.
Q: Describe what it was like to be around those other quarterbacks who worked camp, some of whom are on teams that you'll face this year:
ZR: It's good to be around those guys. Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and I actually hung out together out at the camp. It's fun to sit around and talk to those guys about their experiences and kind of compare notes because we are all in a similar situation and we all face the same teams in the Big 12. It's good to get their input.
ESPN's Tim Griffin has a question that we have all been asking lately: Whatever happened to the Big 12's workhorse backs?
Boulder crime spree? Two freshmen Colorado players had their bikes stolen the first weeks after arriving on campus.
Darrell Scott will stick around for the Colorado's next season.
Colorado running backs coach Darian Hagan said Monday he was "never concerned" that sophomore tailback Darrell Scott might follow the lead of Scott's uncle and transfer out of the program.
Josh Smith, a junior wide receiver, announced in late May that he wants to pursue football and a planned career in music at a school closer to his Los Angeles home. Many Buffaloes fans might have assumed that Scott would join his uncle because the two are close and had vowed as youngsters to play college football together.
"I wasn't worried about Darrell leaving," Hagan said, "because I know for a fact that Darrell didn't come to Colorado because of Josh, although a lot of people think that."
Hagan said Scott told him Smith was crazy for deciding to leave. "Darrell said he loves it here, that he is excited for the season and isn't going anywhere," Hagan said. "Darrell tried to talk Josh out of it, but Josh had his mind made up."
Strangest marketing idea ever. The Iowa Corn Growers Association is teaming up with Iowa and Iowa State athletic departments for a statewide, multi-sports promotional joint venture.
The New York Times college sports blog, The Quad, is still counting down (or up) the 120 teams. Colorado comes in at No. 43.
Missouri offensive coordinator David Yost has some big challenges next season.
Obviously, finding a new quarterback to take the place of Chase Daniel will be the biggest challenge. Sophomore Blaine Gabbert appears to have that task firmly at hand heading into preseason practice.
But another huge challenge facing Yost will be to replace wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and tight end Chase Coffman, two All-Big 12 receivers who were selections in the first three rounds of the NFL draft.
Those departures have Yost shuffling through various positional groupings as he attempts to sort out the changing demands he has for his receivers. The work will be important as the Tigers aim for their third straight appearance in the Big 12 championship game -- a feat that never has been accomplished by a North Division team.
Mike Leach's spread offense is teaching Ruffin McNeil some new tricks.
Someone in Kansas City isn't too keen on Phil Steele's idea that Nebraska will win the North division title.
Here’s one: those people picking Nebraska to win the Big 12 North are abso-tooting-lutely nuts.
This would include the venerable Phil Steele of Phil Steele’s (Venerable) College Football Preview fame.
HuskerExtra breaks down the stories you will probably hear at Media Days.
And finally...
And here are some things you will never hear at Big 12 Media Days...
"There are three things that can happen when you throw the ball and two of them are bad," said Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. "I don’t care if everyone and their brother is airing it out these days, we do things our way out here in Lubbock. When you’ve got a back like Barron Batch you run him til he drops. Twenty, twenty-five times a game, whatever it takes. I’m looking for a QB that can manage the game and not get us beat."
"I planted a few trees and really have settled in for the long haul here in College Station," said A&M head coach Mike Sherman.
"It’s a tough place to recruit to," said Texas coach Mack Brown.
"I don’t think the bowls are a good way to judge a team or a head coach," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.
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You have to like Nebraska’s odds of winning the north. Missouri is more than likely going to take a big step back. The only real competion left in the north is Kansas. And Nebraska has a good South draw: rebuilding TTech team at home, OU at home, and Baylor on the road. I think Briles is doing a good job turning things around at Baylor, and I think they get 6 or 7 wins and make a bowl game, but I don’t think they can beat Nebraska this year. So that’s 2 Ws from the South.
Kansas, on the other hand, has @ Ttech, OU, and @ UT. So yeah, that’s 2 losses. Maybe even 3 since we all know how crazy things can happen in Lubbock.
I think the stars are just aligned a little better for Nebraska.
Speaking of Baylor
I heard on the radio yesterday that the line for Baylor in Vegas was 5.5 wins. I’d take that. Let’s take a look at their schedule:
@ Wake (L – although this might be a Maybe after they lost 4 D starters in the first 4 rounds of the draft, or at least a close game)
Uconn (W1 – the lost by a FG @ Uconn, and Uconn lost 4 players in the first TWO rounds of the draft)
NW State (W2)
Kent State (W3)
@ OU (L)
@ ISU (W4)
OkSU (L)
Nebraska (L, i expect it to be a good game though)
@ Missouri (Maybe)
UT (L)
@ A&M (maybe they won’t lay a 41 point beat down in the first 3Q, but still a win..)
Ttech (Maybe)
I’d give them 55-60% odds of winning the two maybes, so it shouldn’t be hard to get 6 wins and their first bowl game in…? I don’t know how long. WIth a little luck, they could pull 7 wins.
I think Bu takes Wake Forest.
In last year’s game, Baylor didn’t start Griffin and after three three-and-outs they changed to him. However, by then WF had a 17-0 lead. While Griffin was dynamic from the start, BU really didn’t call that good a game for him. The offense was ragged most of the time and the defense just wasn’t strong enough to defend against WF’s aggression. I think that will change this season. This year I think Baylor will have the real edge and will win going away. I’ll say 35-14 right now.
You give the Bears a 3-0 start and they’re going to feel pretty dangerous going into OU. I sure that will be a sobering experience, but still, that is probably exactly what Briles is laying out. They beat ISU and they’re 4-1 when they get OSU at home. That will be a make-it-or-break-it game for them.
I suspect attrition will take a toll (depth is their real problem), but Baylor could break out of the gate strong and pull down 7 seven wins when it’s all said in done. If I were in Vegas I wouldn’t give them more than 5.5 but being here and seeing the build-up, they have a shot.
Anyone ready for basketball?
Ever go out on the town for a night in Austin? Between the BBQ and Tex-Mex, the indie rock and mainstream country, the tequila and the Live Oak beer, it’s the sheer number of options that’s most impressive about the town. This year, it’ll be much the same with hoops. Rick Barnes lost a pair of seniors, but returned an NBA prospect and roped in the nation’s fourth-ranked recruiting class. The Longhorns sheer diversity of scorers at every position could leave the rest of the Big 12 hungover come fall.
I’ve got one word: YUM. And that goes for the food, and for this team.
Still a Blaine Irby fan
by patienthornsfan on Jul 23, 2009 5:43 AM CDT reply actions
Want
"From the waist down, Earl Campbell has the biggest legs I have ever seen on a running back." -John Madden
by run Bevo run on Jul 23, 2009 6:55 AM CDT up reply actions
Oklahoma's D
There’s a lot of hype around OU’s D this year, because they didn’t have much churn I guess.
Am I the only one that thinks that might be a lot of hot air? Did they play a game in the Big 12 where their opponents scored less than 35 points? Or outside the Big 12?
NewsOK thinks they may have the best D line in the nation… but I think they might have a lot to prove in order to win that title. If I remember last season correctly, it wasn’t OU’s D people were scared of.
their DL is worth the hype
Gerald McCoy wasn’t worth the hype last pre-season, but he is now. He was damn good last year, and he was ridiculous in the BCS championship game against Florida.
Doing my homework...
I guess the OSU game was playing in my head where they were trading TD for TD, but looking back on their stats, I don’t really see any red flags. They did really well with interceptions, and held Florida to 24.
I agree on DL but they're overplaying their hand with the hype.
Not unusual for them this time of year, though. The early poll placement is becoming worth its weight in gold.
I think their D will be pretty darn good
Maybe not best in the country, but really good. They were good last year, and they bring an aweful lot back. I hope their offense loses a step, because I think their D will be better than last year.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
P.S. 45-35
They will be good
but what I’m seeing is just an explosion of hype. This is the season for hype – not just for OU but for all teams who are ambitious or who desperately need to fill the seats. So I just don’t take much of it seriously.
The OU defense should be better with the numbers and more experience – but we still laid 45 on the same defense.
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