Big 12 Weekly Roundup, Week 9
by GoHornsGo90 on Nov 2, 2010 4:32 PM CDT
Email
Print
I just don't know what to say anymore. We're repeatedly being told by the coaches that stuff needs to change and is going to change, but it seems the more things "change," the more they stay the same. Color me unsurprised that we lost to a superior Baylor team at home. Home field advantage for this team (and for the basketball team as well, I might add) is nothing other than the lack of being on the road. Hell, we probably play more inspired on the road than we do at home.
Nebraska, as I expected, dismantled a Mizzou team that was poorly coached the entire week leading up to the game, and even more poorly coached during it. I swear I root for the two single most incompetently coached teams in the country, bar LSU.
And the Ags got a nice blowout win over Texas Tech, with Ryan Tannehill earning the start and picking apart the Tech defense like Chris Whaley at an all-you-can-eat chilidog buffet.
The games after the jump.
Kansas State-14 (5-3, 2-3)
Oklahoma State-24 (7-1, 3-1)
The Skinny: Well we finally get to see how fantastic the OSU offense is minus the best receiver in the country, and it wasn't pretty. Justin Blackmon was suspended this weekend for driving under the influence in Dallas last week. You'd think Dez Bryant would learn after last season, but at least Mack's happy as he finally has a valid reason why he didn't recruit a surefire stud at WR. Okie State's offense was not crisp, though they did role up 511 yards, and the Cowboys needed a Johnny Thomas interception for a TD to seal their first win in Manhattan since 1988. Still, 511 yards and only 24 points? Weird.
Big Man On Campus: Okie State QB Brandon Weedon wasn't his usually productive or efficient self, but throwing for 298 yards and a couple of scores with no interceptions is certainly nothing to scoff at. Especially as a Texas fan.
Iowa State-28 (5-4, 3-2)
Kansas-16 (2-6, 0-4)
The Skinny: So let me get this straight: A week after Iowa State goes to Austin and scores 28 points against Will Muschamp's defense, they play Kansas, one of the very worst teams in the entire country, in Ames and score the exact same amount of points? That's pathetic and embarrassing on so many levels. The Cyclones ran all over the Jayhawks to the tune of 232 yards, paced by Alexander Robinson, but started the game with a sluggish first half before pulling away in the second.
Big Man On Campus: Aforementioned ISU RB Alexander Robinson had his second big game in a row. The fourth leading rusher in school history had 117 yards on 17 carries and added a touchdown.
Nebraska-31 (7-1, 3-1)
Missouri-17 (7-1, 3-1)
The Skinny: After the Missouri offense went three and out on the first drive, I said out loud we were going to get killed. Not just because we went three and out, but because of the way we did it. None of the plays utilized a running back, despite Nebraska's weakness against the run and best pass coverage DBs in the country. Also, I saw a Blaine Gabbert that had reverted to his form earlier in the season-scrambling right (directionally, not correctly) from a clean pocket into pressure and holding onto the ball far too long. This told me two things. First, that our offensive coordinator had zero idea how to correctly attack Nebraska, despite it being shown on film all year. And second, that Gabbert wasn't comfortable with the scheme or the defense. When Nebraska's defense can get pressure with just their front four, which they did, they are almost unbeatable.
Mizzou's defense is not good against the run, plain and simple. They are built to stop the pass downfield and pass rush all day long. Needless to say, none of those are particularly helpful against Nebraska. After a torrid first quarter, I was impressed with Mizzou's adjustments the rest of the game. While we did manage to knock Taylor Martinez out of the game late in the second quarter, he wasn't a factor earlier in the game with his legs and Zac Lee is obviously a better passer. So I'm basically saying I'm impressed with Missouri for winning the game after the first quarter, even though Nebraska didn't have T-Magic. Moral victories abound, these days.
Big Man On Campus: Not only on campus, but nationally. This was the easiest choice for BMOC all season, as Nebraska tailback Roy Helu, Jr. went absolutely crazy on the Mizzou defense. The senior racked up a school record 307 yards on 28 carries with scores of 66, 73, and 53 yards. Having your name on top of guys like Rozier, Green, and Jones is impressive to say the least. While he ran through holes that you could fit a bulldozer through, you have to give him credit for good vision, patience, and the ability to consistently outrun Mizzou's defensive backs. People on Mizzou's campus scoffed at me for saying Missouri's defense had no chance to handle Big Red's O like Texas did, but the speed and gap-reading ability from the Texas front seven (when they decide to show up) is just so far ahead of the Tigers right now.
Texas A&M-47 (5-3, 2-2)
Texas Tech-27 (4-4, 2-4)
The Skinny: Hmmm, looks like the Aggies who were calling for Ryan Tannehill knew what they were talking about. The junior set the single-game passing record for Texas A&M in his first career start. Not bad, Ryan. The Ags rolled up 623 yards of offense, but it wasn't all happy news as Christine Michael broke his tibia in the third quarter. In other news, Adam James caught his first catch of the season. I'm sure most of the Raider nation is loving that tradeoff right now.
Up next for A&M is a chance to build on this win and prove themselves against big, bad Oklahoma, a team they've had zero success against the past decade.
Big Man On Campus: Aggie former backup QB Ryan Tannehill threw for 449 yards and four scores, with only one interception. Very impressive first start for Tannehill, who spent most of his time at WR prior to this game. Looks like this will spell the end of a productive career for Jerrod Johnson.
Texas-22 (4-4, 2-3)
Baylor-30 (7-2, 4-1)
The Skinny: Baylor gets their first win over UT since 1997. Look at those win-loss numbers. When was the last time Baylor had a three-win advantage over Texas? When was the last time Baylor was bowl-eligible before Texas? Hell, when was the last time Baylor went to a bowl game? The program is in absolute disarray right now, and there doesn't seem to be any quick fix. Nor do any of us seem to realistically think Mack would make one if there were.
I don't blame Gilbert for this game like I did against Iowa State, because he played much better. He just got absolutely no help from his WRs, who have cemented themselves as, yes, one of the conference's worst, if not the nation's. Certainly, they are one of the worst pass-catching groups in the country. Surely it's time for Bobby Kennedy to get the pink slip-his guys play with very little fire, don't block downfield consistently, and, uh, can't catch the ball, which is usually a pivotal aspect of being a receiver.
Muschamp's defense gave up big plays all day long, which plays right into Baylor's hands. After what I thought was a solid start to the season, other than the needless personal fouls, Blake Gideon has shown his true self now that he's playing better competition. Christian Scott is not any better and my god do we miss Earl Thomas right now. If KV doesn't take over for one of them over the next off-season, we are going to be terrible at safety against next year.
Really need to get guys like Jackson Jeffcoat healthy. It seems like every player on the roster right now has some nagging injury that could hold him out every other week.
Mack said he might try Christian Scott at punt return. Is that a joke, Mack, or are you actually that moronic? D.J. Monroe. DeSean Hales. Darius White. I could go on, but it's pointless because I swear that whatever I type, the coaches do the exact opposite.
Question: Who honestly thinks Florida Atlantic is a gimme right now?
Big Man On Campus: Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin threw for 219 yards and a couple TDs with a pick, and ran for another score.
Oklahoma-43 (7-1, 3-1)
Colorado-10 (3-5, 0-4)
The Skinny: OU went absolutely crazy on offense, accumulating 635 total yards. They seem to be grooming Roy Finch for the starting job next year-he got only one less carry than DeMarco Murray and picked up 59 yards to Murray's 40. Landry Jones made his best effort to break Sam Bradford's school record in throwing for 453 yards, just 15 shy of Bradford's school record. Combined with backup Drew Allen's 35 yards, OU's offense broke their single-game passing yards record. So, yeah, basically it was a good day for Oklahoma's offense. And of course OU's defense wasn't bad either, as they were going up against Colorado.
Big Man On Campus: It was a big weekend for offense in the conference as a QB, RB, and WR all broke school yardage records at historically prestigious football universities. The WR was OU star Ryan Broyles, who caught nine passes for 208 yards and three TDs. You have to give a lot of credit to Jones too, though, as well as OU OC Kevin Wilson for going downfield after Colorado opened the game clamping down on Oklahoma's patented short passing game.
Power Rankings
So, it's hard to argue with UT being towards the bottom of the conference right now. Nebraska and OU are probably a toss-up right now, but I'll go with Nebraska for now since they have the best conference win (Mizzou).
1. Nebraska Cornhuskers
2. Oklahoma Sooners
3. Missouri Tigers
4. Oklahoma State Cowboys
5. Baylor Bears
6. Kansas State Wildcats
7. Iowa State Cyclones
8. Texas A&M Aggies
9. Texas Longhorns
10. Texas Tech Red Raiders
11. Colorado Buffaloes
12. Kansas Jayhawks
33 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
AHEM!
Up next for A&M is a chance to build on this win and prove themselves against big, bad Oklahoma, a team they’ve had zero success against the past decade.
I believe we beat them in 2002, when they were ranked #1. Give us our ONE. lol.
9-1 isn’t exactly success, even if it’s not 0 success. And after the embarrassment last year in Norman… not sure that this will be a pretty game for A&M. Here’s hopin’!
The song The Final Countdown is now playing in your head.
Our defense is much, much better than last year's
We’ve gone from 105th to 46th in total defense and 104th to 44th in scoring defense under DeRuyter. Hopefully that’s enough improvement to keep OU from scoring 65 again.
by aggiegirl2005 on Nov 3, 2010 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions
The saddest thing
is seeing Texas ranked 9th in the Big 12 and thinking “Yeah, that seems right.”
Consider that our defense, despite some problems, is still #1 or #2 out of 12. Just how bad does that make our offense and special teams?
.
by Longhorn in Canada on Nov 2, 2010 6:45 PM CDT reply actions
Even sadder
is that the only teams behind us fired their coaches last year, or would have if they could have afforded to.
Tubberville may work out to be an upgrade at TT, but I don’t think anyone could argue that Tech is worse this year for not having the Pirate at the helm. Also, the donut shops in Kansas may be the only ones who are crying to lose Mangino in the long term, but this year’s Kansas team would be better with him still there.
So, I guess we’re lucky to be as high as #9.
.
by Longhorn in Canada on Nov 2, 2010 6:52 PM CDT reply actions
Edit
“that Tech bis not worse this year…”
.
by Longhorn in Canada on Nov 2, 2010 6:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Good post
Kind of sad, but I think we’re all moving past the rage into acceptance. Which is probably healthier.
Now we can begin to really talk about things.
You ain't hurt...
Kind of how I feel too
As somebody who typically flips out over minutia when it comes to UT sports, I’ve just started laughing at stuff now (except the Kabongo decommit, that just put me over the edge). There’s too much to yell at and I’d lose my voice after a third of a quarter (or a twelfth, for you math majors).
Good review, as always (and I'm lax in not saying it more often).
Bad as we’ve been, I don’t see how K-State or Aggie gets ranked in front of us. I know . . . shut up, win some games, and we’re way better than ninth. Not sure who’s the more mysterious team, us or Tech.
Thanks edsp
I was thinking about whether to put us ahead of those two, and just couldn’t justify it. A&M can at least move the ball and rack up some points. KSU…well…guess I’m kind of preempting having to change the order of the rankings after Saturday’s game.
you have texas ranked right
you beat Tech @ Tech, so you should be ahead of them
Even with your discombobulated offensive attack, you’d still beat both Colorado and Kansas.
Why not K-State?
They’ve been better than Texas has most of the year.
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.
by burntorangehorn on Nov 3, 2010 12:09 AM CDT up reply actions
We will know this weekend lol
"You never lose a game if the opponent doesn't score." - Darrell Royal
by BMC237 on Nov 3, 2010 3:11 PM CDT up reply actions
We don't have any signature wins to hang our hats on....
but we don’t have any awful losses either. We lost to #17 OkieState by a walkoff field goal after an interception and to #18 Arkansas by one score as we blew our last drive. We did get blown away by the formerly undefeated #12 Mizzou though. And now it’s really hard to judge how good/bad we are since we have Tannehill at QB.
It’s a guessing game for all but the last two IMHO.
by aggiegirl2005 on Nov 3, 2010 8:18 AM CDT up reply actions
Where is this all-you-can-eat chilidog buffet of which you speak?
Color me intrigued.
Don't let the bastards get you down. Even the burnt orange ones.
If he got wind, I'll stay up-wind
Don't let the bastards get you down. Even the burnt orange ones.
by Hopkins Horn on Nov 3, 2010 12:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Agree that our offense and ST's are awful....
with the exception of Justin Tucker.
Thought you were a little tough on the defense saying they “gave up big plays all day long.” Not so. Baylor had three long scoring plays that sealed it. Yes, all three involved breakdowns on our part (mostly by our safeties whom Baylor went after all game long). You also have to give Baylor’s offense some credit. This just in, they can play a little bit. Still, even with the three big plays we held them well under their season averages on yards and points (500+ and 35).
Baylor’s offense is everything ours is not. It is well designed, spreading the field to give their playmakers space. They recruit to fit that system and with talented play-making threats at QB, RB and WR. They create situations in which one miss by the defense means a big play.
I don't think
Texas’ defense holding Baylor’s offense under their season numbers is anything to laud. Also, we gave up three long “scoring” plays. That doesn’t mean we didn’t give up other big plays (which we did).
Three long scoring plays is huge—that’s 21 points where the offense doesn’t have to consistently execute or score in the RZ (harder).
This is why I think Texas should use the big play philosophy this season—it minimizes the need for consistent execution and the substantial risk our offense has in running every single play. Drops downfield seem just as likely as drops five yards from the LOS for our receivers, so why not at least take some more yardage with the risk of the dropped pass? It’s all about expected value, and ours is probably about 2.5 yards for every 5-yard pass. That includes chances of a drop, missed throw, pressure on the QB, defense making a play, etc. Just not worth it. Same goes for a running play not to D.J. Monroe. No chance for a big play, because Cody or Tre’ do nothing in space.
But yes, Baylor is much better on offense than they have been in a long time.
Players have to make plays, but...
“Yes, all three involved breakdowns on our part (mostly by our safeties whom Baylor went after all game long). "
The two TD passes were both on 3rd and long. Muschamp called a blitz in both instances, Art Briles has been studying his tendancies and thus instructed Griffin to look for the blitz on 3rd & long and hit the hot route, thus two TDs.
Muschamp put his players in a bad spot, there was no need to blitz Baylor as their line had been unable to stop our front four from penetrating and RG3 had demonstrated a complete lack of ball security when flushed from the pocket. Simply rush four, or disguise the blitz, and neither pass goes for a TD.
Punt returners
Mack said he might try Christian Scott at punt return. Is that a joke, Mack, or are you actually that moronic? D.J. Monroe. DeSean Hales. Darius White. I could go on, but it’s pointless because I swear that whatever I type, the coaches do the exact opposite.
I don’t have a problem with Scott, he has returned kicks in the past and did a decent job of it. The SA paper today said that Mike Davis and Adrian Phillips would also get a shot, so I consider that good news – especially Mike Davis.
For years everyone bitched about Cosby/Shipley returning kicks/punts because we had all these other freak athletes – primarily Curtis Brown – that would be way more productive. I feel like many fans are back to pointing at those types of players instead of ones that will field the punt correctly. No way I’d have DJ Monroe back there for punts.
I guess Jaxson Shipley will be the guy on punt returns as soon as he steps foot on campus.
Scott
Is not shifty at all, not that fast (I don’t know where all those reports of his speed came from…they were wrong), and I don’t trust him with catching the ball. Why do we have to put secondary players back there? Put somebody who’s comfortable playing offense and has been consistently. C. Brown hasn’t played offense since high school.
Davis is too injury prone; I don’t want to risk him back there. Phillips is a good idea as he supposedly could have played WR here also.
I don’t understand how you can be comfortable with Scott and not Monroe. Monroe is used to getting the ball and knows what to do with it. Scott might have returned kicks, but 1) that is completely different than punts, which are much harder and 2) decent for him is just not fumbling the ball, he’s never done anything with it.
Here’s my logic: If we want to play it safe, I’m mad because with the athletes we get and the coaches paid by the millions we have we shouldn’t have to play wussy ball and just try not to fail. But if we ARE going to play it safe, at least actually play it safe instead of just calling it safe and putting back some guy who doesn’t know what the hell he is doing. We’re choosing the worst of both worlds, IMO.
100% agree with your last paragraph
We just disagree on which players to put back there. IMO, the best combination of securing the football and the chance of the big play would be Davis. The next would probably be Darius White. The other player I’d like to see get a shot is Fitzhenry, but that is based purely on speculation and what he looked like in highschool.
Monroe, despite being listed as a WR for part of 3 years, has never actually caught a pass. Combine that with what I’ve actually seen from the (very) limited practice reps and that is why I don’t want him back there. I’m not convinced he can catch a fooball any better than I can.
I thought Scott had done more than just one, but you are right. Maybe he was listed as the backup at PR to Shipley before the grade issues last year, but I could have sworn I’d heard he’d done it before.
Scott was being worked out at KR
In the last off season. Is that what you’re referring to?
I have no problem with Davis or White back there on principal, especially White. I just don’t like the idea of putting Mike back there since he seems to be extremely injury prone. Once he gets more muscular, I love the idea.
GHG90--agree completely that we should take more deep shots.....
on offense as well as give big-play guys like Monroe more touches. I actually thought we did a somewhat better job of that against Baylor.
I don’t have a number on passes thrown, say, 15 or 20 yards downfield, but it seemed like we tried more of them. I’m thinking of the 40+ yard completion of Kirkendoll, the pass from Fozzy for 25+, the deep ball where Malcolm drew a pass interference flag on the Baylor DB, and others that fell incomplete. DJ didn’t get as many touches as I would have liked—I think he got 4. However 4 is better than none followed by GD acknowledgeing after the game that he needs to get Monroe some touches.
The four touches
Almost seem like an excuse to NOT have to make an excuse after the game of why he wasn’t played. I want to see actual packages and consistent usage of him, not just a token usage so we complain less.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Burnt Orange Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
