To quote Winston Churchill (Head Coach, United Kingdom, 1940-1945; 1951-1955), "it is a good thing for an uneducated man to read a book of quotations." We quote Churchill not to suggest that the readers of Burnt Orange Nation are uneducated, or all men for that matter. Rather, we would like to agree to the expressed sentiment that it is good to read quotes.
In that regard we will try each week to educate/entertain, using quotes, about the week that was in college football and the week to come. Let's start with some Longhorns-relevant sound bites:
"The most productive player defensively was Roddrick Muckelroy. He just had an outstanding game."--Mack Brown. In a mostly vanilla postgame press conference, Mack was absolutely right about Muck's performance against UTEP. That guy is playing out of his mind and bringing smiles to burnt orange faithful everywhere. He's just a pleasure to watch because he plays linebacker the way linebacker is meant to be played.
"Arkansas is going to come in here and play their hearts out. It's Texas. Everybody plays Texas hard." --Texas OG Cedric Dockery. Dockery summed up exactly what we love--and fear--about being Texas fans. Arkansas has beaten Western Illinois and UL-Monroe by a combined five points. Monroe missed a make-able field goal to win it as time ran out. There is no reason why the Piggies should hang with Texas this weekend. But teams always give the 'Horns their best shot, and Bobby Petrino may well have something up his sleeve that Texas won't see on either game film. There aren't any players left from that 2003 squad that got beat in DKR by Arkansas, but those fans that were probably remember the misery and want no part in a repeat.
"I knew the rivalry (between Arkansas and Texas) was pretty big from the get-go. Just the way the fans took it on each side. When you first come up here, (the rivalry) is one of the first things you learn and that Texas and Arkansas don’t like each other, so it’s something the fans take very seriously." --Arkansas QB Casey Dick. We went up to Fayetteville for the 2004 game, we saw first-hand just how true this is on the UA campus. So before you laugh at the idea that this rivalry is still "something the fans take very seriously," keep in mind he's talking about Hog fans. We do, however, seriously doubt that it's one of the first things any Texas player learns about upon arriving in Austin.
"Other than Tim Tebow, he is probably going to be the best quarterback we’ve seen all year. He’s very mobile, he’s a great passer and they have great receivers to complement him." --Arkansas Defensive Tackle Malcolm Sheppard. Sheppard said this in response to a question about Colt McCoy. It's a nice compliment to the Longhorn QB and, considering the quarterbacks in the SEC West, probably accurate. One interesting side note is that Jevan Snead and Ole Miss make a trip to Fayetteville on October 25. That makes Arkansas the only squad that will face both McCoy and Snead this year. We wonder whether any reporters will think to ask Sheppard to compare the two after that matchup.
Click through to read more quotes from around the college football world.
"That's a tough question. Each week is different. It's hard to say who's better." --San Diego State Head Coach Chuck Long. Long's Aztecs are now 0-2. Asked after his team's tough loss to Notre Dame on Saturday which one of their opponents so far is better, this was his response. San Diego State's Week One opponent? Cal Poly. Ouch, PB. "Here at Ohio State, they teach you to be a better man. There, it's just all about football." -- Ohio State Wide Receiver Ray Small. This is a great example of a kid giving bulletin board material to a team that simply doesn't need it. Small made this comment in reference to USC, which is preparing to mash the Buckeyes into mashed buckeyes in Week Three. The young man got his impressions of Southern Cal on his recruiting trip there. We would like to issue the qualification that Small's comment may, indeed, be very true. USC does strike us as a pure football factory with all the attention and glitter that LA has to offer. And Ohio State may well teach you to be a better man; but they certainly don't teach you how to win national championship games.
"It's unfortunate, but it's one that they almost have to call. It really should be a no-call, but it's one that they have to call when they see it...The game is an emotional game. We cannot play it without emotion, and therefore we are going to celebrate. The key is trying to manufacture the right celebration that does not belittle the game or the sportsmanship that should be part of the game." -- Washington Head Coach Ty Willingham. The Huskies got hosed. We're not sure how many readers saw the end of the BYU-Washington game, but the Huskies got hosed. Washington QB Jake Locker scored what should have been the tying touchdown at the end of the game, and as he moved to hug his teammates he tossed the football behind him. The refs decided that was excessive celebration, BYU blocked the lengthened extra point, and WU lost a shot at overtime. Ty Willingham is much too classy to complain about it, but we certainly are not. This was a travesty--Locker did nothing to "belittle" the game or its sportsmanship, but the officials sure did.
"Our kicking game really let us down tonight." --Tulane Head Coach Bob Toledo. This one qualifies as the understatement of the week. Tulane lost at Alabama 20-6. That's a 14 point differential. The Tide returned TWO Tulane punts for touchdowns, and that was the entire difference in the game. Tulane outgained 'Bama 318 yards to only 172. The Green Wave defense legitimately dominated Alabama. If they could cover punts, the Wave could have been the huge story of the weekend. Gustav foced them to practice in Birmingham all week, and they went on the road and owned Alabama--except for the score. We did learn one thing from this game, however: perhaps Sports Illustrated was just a tad premature in serving notice to the SEC that 'Bama is a threat. Beating former Tulane coach Tommy Bowden's Clemson Tigers may turn out not to have been a harbinger of great things in 2008 after all.
And this week's Quote of the Week:
"I think I'm going to go to practice one day and have a chat with my team. Beat 'em, but don't run it up on me that bad any more." -- Jonesboro, Arkansas store owner Hoppy Hoffman after offering 1% off on Arkansas State gear for every point ASU beat its opponent by on Saturday. The Red Wolves beat Texas Southern 83-10. For those keeping track, had they done the promotion the previous week, fans would have gotten 4% off for a victory over Texas A&M.