Bevo's Daily Roundup - October 5, 2010

Bruised pride. The Horns are not ranked.

Players said UT's consistent presence in the nation's elite has long been a point of pride, one used by coaches in recruiting and harped on by Brown in the locker room as a reminder to maintain excellence. So all of a sudden, not having a number in front of their team name might be a bit jarring.

"It's going to be tough," running back Fozzy Whittaker said. "We're used to being in that tradition of being in the Top 25 somewhere."

MackSpeak. Mack Brown answers the questions without saying anything at all.

The Longhorns are their own worst enemy.

"You are what your record says you are," Bill Parcells once said.

And so we come to this Bevo bunch, an unlucky team, true, but one that hasn't been able to make its own luck, or take advantage of its opportunities. At its core, Texas is a flawed team, one seemingly without set offensive playmakers and one prone to occasional lapses both defensively and mentally.

This is why the players love Brown.

ABC will carry the NU-Texas game with a 2:30 start.

At least Johnson has some talent.

Jerrod Johnson just isn't playing the part.

Looks like senior. Plays like sophomore.

Texas A&M QB Jerrod Johnson sure looks the part. Big and strong, he can zip the ball a country mile. However, he’s much further from a complete product than most novices will lead you to believe. He remains painfully raw, an unfinished product, despite being in his fifth year on campus and his third as a starter.

Just in case you wanted to ask...

A few days after A&M QB Jerrod Johnson had one of the best/worst games of his life in a loss against Okie State in Stillwater, Aggies coach Mike Sherman was asked if his QB's problems were as a result of the shoulder injury he suffered and had surgery on last spring.

Nope.

"Early in the season, not having had spring ball, he was a little rusty at times just throwing," The Sherminator said today. "I think we constantly checked his shoulder. Both he and the doctors said it's fine. He rifled the ball (at OSU) a few times which warranted saying his shoulder is fine."

A&M's offense needs an overhaul.

Johnson's ability to run is an added threat, but opposing defensive coordinators will continue to bring pressure because Johnson has lost 10 of 21 career fumbles.

He's got to do a better job of protecting the football, and head coach Mike Sherman has to devise game plans that maximize Johnson's talents while not exposing his liabilities.

Aggies, meet Thayer Evans.

Oklahoma

They're back.

The fact of the matter is OU is winning these games, and there’s something to be said for that.

"That’s what you want is to be criticized for winning," said OU head coach Bob Stoops jovially. "We’re back to OU football."

The Sooners are still a work in progress.

"In the end we're still a work in progress. I like that to be quite honest with you. To not play your best and beat a good Texas team is always a good thing. It doesn't really matter. We're all going to keep playing. We've all got a bunch of games to come. We'll see how we're able to keep maturing and growing."

The classy and intelligent Sooner faithful.

Oklahoma State

This could be a special season for the Pokes.

There are a lot of words to describe the game with the Aggies.

Shocking. Exciting. Ugly. Mistake-filled. High-scoring. Explosive. Unusual.

But one word is all that matters for OSU: Win.

This wasn't in Tommy Tuberville's plans.

Surely this is not the road trip Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville envisioned when he started the week.

 

There were three things Tuberville wanted out of his team this week that were not present in Tech’s 24-14 loss to Texas two weeks ago: A complete game performance; no dumb mistakes and turnovers; and a better running game.

 

Consider it a three-and-out in that aspect.

Iowa State beat Tech.

Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads got the victory over his former boss, Tommy Tuberville of Texas Tech.

Rhoads was the defensive coordinator at Auburn in 2008 when Tuberville was the Tigers' head coach.

The Cyclones have a lot of success at night.

The Buffs win!

Things are tough in Kansas.

The BCS may even be more confusing this year.

As this season races past the quarter mark, Alabama has clearly established itself as the country’s top team. It is the jockeying for the No. 2 spot that will become the bigger story line once the first B.C.S. standings are released Oct. 17. An early look at the polls shows that a handful of teams that rest outside the traditional power conferences will have a good shot at No. 2.

While the central issue of last year’s season revolved around whether Florida or Alabama would inevitably play Texas for the national title, the script for 2010 is more muddled.

Horny Frog trash talking.

But early this afternoon while meeting with media, he volunteered to respond to remarks made by some TCU players - as quoted in the Baylor Bear Insider - following the Bears' 45-10 loss to the Horned Frogs three weeks ago in Fort Worth. Some Frogs indicated Griffin, who underwent knee surgey last year and missed most of the 2009 season, isn't as fast as he was. In that game, Griffin ran 14 times for 21 yards and passed for 164 as TCU raced to a 35-3 halftime lead.

"I was hoping someone would ask me about that," Griffin said. "I really don't understand that whole statement in general because I've never played against any of those guys. [The schools' last previous meeting was in 2007, when Griffin was a senior at Copperas Cove.] So how would they know if I was faster or not? That's all I'll say about that.

Herschel Walker sums up everyone's feelings about Lane Kiffin:

"He is a guy you don't want to trust at all," Walker said. "I think it's sad when you trust your kids with someone like that and they leave."

Les Miles happens.