A great way to start your week... a stupid Sooner trick.
Dr. Saturday reviews the preseason contenders. UT gets a good review.
Crystal ball Says ... Even without a distinguished running back -- and there are certainly enough candidates to emerge in that role -- you can't question the offense, which was only held under 400 yards once last year and took a last-second miracle to beat even then. McCoy could easily have a 4,000-yard, 40-touchdown, Heisman-winning season in him. The questions are all about the defense, which was great by Big 12 standards (first in total and scoring defense) but pretty meh against decent teams -- even discarding Missouri's deceiving, garbage-time rally to 31 points after being dominated in the first half, UT legitimately allowed 35 points to Oklahoma, 24 to Oklahoma State and 39 to Texas Tech, and well over 400 yards to all of them. Ok. State and Ohio State both went over 200 yards rushing, and the Longhorns lose a huge chunk of their very good front four.
So there's almost inevitably going to be another shootout like the one last year in Lubbock, that comes down to who has the ball last. (Or who actually catches the damn interception that's right in your hands!) But I don't think this team will be significantly outplayed by anyone one on the schedule, and there are much worse odds than that.
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit interviews Colt McCoy.
Checking in on the graduation rate issue... The Austin American-Statesman reports that UT's numbers are good.
"Our numbers continue to show that our student-athletes are working hard — while balancing their busy schedules and demands on their time — to maintain their academic progress toward graduation," Texas men's athletic director DeLoss Dodds said in a release.
An APR of 925 or above amounts to a passing grade. Texas' football's APR was 939.
Only in College Station. Aggies love to spend time with other Aggies. Now they can be buried together.
The new Memorial Cemetery of College Station, set to open in a few weeks, has reserved a special section for Aggies and their supporters who want to be close — forever — to the sprawling campus and be with like-minded Aggies after they die.
"We're a weird lot, aren't we?" laughs Ross Albrecht, A&M class of 1984, urban landscape manager for the city and marketing supervisor for the cemetery. "There's a lot of school pride."
Ross Albrecht summed it up nicely.
Texas Tech wants a stadium to seat 85,000 people.
You know this probably isn't good. The American Football Coaches Association has reviewed the coach's poll.
The coaches' final regular-season ballots -- and even the identity of the 61 voters -- may soon be a secret as well
Nice work if you can get it. Former Sooner QB J.C. Watts is now a lobbyist for the BCS.
Thanks to Barking Carnival for finding this. Bud Shrake wrote an article on Abe Lemons and UT basketball for Sports Illustrated in 1977.