Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

The demolition of Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium's North end zone began Friday and apparently didn't take too long. Check out the time lapse video of the demolition below:

The end zone is being torn down as part of a $150 million expansion to DKR. There will be approximately 8,000 additional seats in the North end zone for next season and the entire section will be closer to the field. The additional people and more enclosed structure should also give the Horns more of a home field advantage next season. I can't wait till all the proposed changes are completed and the stadium is completely enclosed, it should be one of the largest and most impressive facilities in the country.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, Heisman

The 2006 Heisman Trophy was awarded to Ohio State's Troy Smith Saturday night in an agonizingly long and uneventful made-for-ESPN ceremony. With that out of the way we can now look forward to next year and begin discussing the players who could make a run for college football's biggest award in 2007.

Heisman runner-up Darren McFadden is likely the early favorite but Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and a random overhyped Notre Dame player should also be on any early lists. As just a redshirt freshman McCoy was a serious Heisman contender in early November before he was injured and he should be ready for an even better season in 2007.

McCoy's passing stats were on par with Troy Smith and Brady Quinn's and he was leading his team like a grizzled veteran. He led the Horns to come from behind victories against Nebraska and Texas Tech. Before that fateful QB sneak against Kansas State, McCoy was setting team and national records and had the Horns in position to defend their national title. Imagine the numbers he could've put up if offensive coordinator Greg Davis hadn't kept the training wheels on for so long.

It won't be a cakewalk for McCoy next year, the Longhorns do lose three of their starting linemen including All-American Justin Blalock and there's rumors his favorite wide receiver Limas Sweed may jump to the NFL early. McCoy needs to improve his arm strength, force fewer passes into coverage, and most of all stay healthy for the entire season, but if he does those things he could find himself in New York for the 2007 Heisman Trophy presentation.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

Last night on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Texas cornerback was announced as the winner of the Jim Thorpe Award. The Thorpe Award goes to the nation's top defensive back and Ross is the Longhorns' second consecutive winner. Last year safety Michael Huff took home the honor.

Ross beat out Florida's Reggie Nelson and Michigan's Leon Hall for the award in what is at least a slight upset in my book. Ross was outstanding for much of the season and has a knack for making the big play, but the Texas secondary struggled all season long and particularly against Kansas State in the huge upset loss.

He certainly had the statistics to deserve the award (18 pass breakups, five interceptions, and three forced fumbles) and Ross was one of the nation's best cover guys, but it's surprising to think that college football's top defensive back came from one of the country's worst pass defenses. How bad would the Texas secondary have been without him?

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

The Associated Press writers who cover the Big 12 and nine Longhorns were named to the first and second teams. Texas had the most first teamers of any school with six players being honored. The fact that only three defensive players made the list is a pretty good indication of why the Longhorns underperformed this season. The Horns really need a linebacker or two to step up next year if they want to make another title run. In addition to making the second team, quarterback Colt McCoy was named the Newcomer of the Year by the AP writers.

Here's the Longhorns who made the list:

First Team Offense

OG Kasey Studdard
OT Justin Blalock
OC Lyle Sendlein

First Team Defense

DE Tim Crowder
CB Aaron Ross
S Michael Griffin

Second Team Offense

QB Colt McCoy
RB Jamaal Charles
WR Limas Sweed

Second Team Defense

None

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

It's been a rough couple of weeks for the Longhorn faithful. Upset loss to Kansas State, injury to Colt McCoy, loss to hated rival, reinjury of star quarterback, defensive coordinator moving on to Big 12 opponent, and finally stud backup QB transferring (maybe). It's getting scary just to wake up in the morning and check the papers.

A few Texas players though have gotten some good news as they were named finalists for national individual awards:

Justin Blalock: Outland Trophy (best interior lineman)
Tim Crowder: Ted Hendricks Award (top defensive end)
Aaron Ross: Thorpe Award (top defensive back)

None of the three players are favorites for the awards but its great to see Longhorns frequently showing up on these lists year after year. The winner of the Hendricks Award will be announced on December 6th and the Outland and Thorpe announcements will be part of the ESPN College Football Awards Show on December 7th.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Injuries, NCAA FB Rumors

Colt McCoy's father says the freshman quarterback is feeling better should be ready to go by the Longhorns' bowl game (whichever one they end up in). McCoy was initially injured on a quarterback sneak against Kansas State and then reinjured by a cheap shot from Texas A&M's Kellen Heard and a hit from Michael Bennett.

Pops also wonders the same thing a lot of Texas fans were Friday:

Brad McCoy also said he thinks his son's arm strength was off against A&M and wondered if it was a lingering effect from a stinger suffered against Kansas State two weeks earlier.

"I've coached him his whole life and I just didn't think he had his best stuff," Brad McCoy said. "He's so accurate, and he doesn't throw short very often, and it seemed like his passes got shorter and shorter as the game wore on. That's just Dad's opinion."

McCoy should not start the bowl game unless he's 100%. Against A&M he started off well but quickly tired and wasn't near the player he had been all season. Colt's a gutty, smart kid but he doesn't have the arm strength to make all the throws unless he's completely healthy.

Hopefully Brad McCoy is right, because rumors of an impending transfer by true freshman QB Jevan Snead are picking up steam. If the coaches know he's gone to they bring him to a bowl game? If not who is the Horns' back up? Does Mack Brown consider burning Sherrod Harris' redshirt if McCoy can't go? It's been a rough couple weeks for Texas fans.

Source

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Injuries

Texas fans have a little something extra to be thankful for this week as UT coach Mack Brown announced at his weekly press conference that both quarterback Colt McCoy and lineman Justin Blalock would be available against Texas A&M on Friday. The offense put up 42 points against Kansas State and wasn't the reason the team lost the game, but it was clearly a different offense without the two injured stars. If both players are 100% I feel much more confident about the match-ups against the Aggies and the outcome of the game.

Probably just as importantly the bye week gives the many banged up guys on defense a little time to heal. Coach Brown said, "We'll probably be healthier as a team than we have been for the past eight weeks." That's fantastic news for a defense that has struggled with injuries throughout the season and has not played up to expectations.

Source

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Injuries

The news out of Austin this week on Colt McCoy's injury has been minimal and mixed. Early in the week rumors were that McCoy was throwing and practicing and now his dad is pretty much saying the opposite:

Redshirt freshman quarterback Colt McCoy sat out of practice all this week while recovering from pinched nerves in his neck and shoulder, his father, Brad, said Thursday.

"I think the coaches wanted this to truly be an off week for Colt while he rests the injury," Brad McCoy said. "But his spirits are better. He was pretty down after Saturday night."

Hopefully he was only held out for precautionary reasons and will be ready to go by next Friday. As far as I know he has been throwing with minimal pain but has not been practicing with the team. No reason to rush him back but McCoy will need snaps in practice this coming week to shake off any rust before game day.

Backup quarterback Jevan Snead did eventually settle down last week against Kansas State but I'd feel much more comfortable going into the aggie game with our Heisman-candidate quarterback at 100%.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Police Blotter

Former Longhorn running back Ramonce Taylor was sentenced this Thursday for his felony pot possession arrest back in May. He'll be able to serve his 60-day sentence on weekends while he continues to attends classes at Texas College in Tyler. More details on the ruling:

Former Texas running back Ramonce Taylor was sentenced Thursday to 60 days in the Bell County jail and 350 hours of community service as part of his plea deal two months ago on state felony drug-possession charges.

Taylor also received five years of deferred probation and must pay a $1,000 fine. He was given the option of serving the jail time on weekends, so long as he finishes the sentence by March 11 and maintains his status as a full-time student.

Taylor was the one who called police and gave them permission to search his car, which was when they found his backpack with close to five pounds of marijuana in it. Taylor pled guilty to the charges back in September but he and his lawyer still maintain that the drugs weren't his.

It's still unclear how Taylor's conviction and year away from football will affect his NFL future but things certainly don't look too bright right now for him. The NFL never stops giving guys with talent chances so if Taylor can impress them when draft time comes around with his talent and in interviews he'll get his shot.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

It's been almost 48 hours since Texas lost to Kansas State in one of the season's biggest upsets and it might finally be okay for me to talk about it without weeping. The loss will certainly be one that's remembered by Longhorn fans for a long time. It was made much worse by the seemingly perfect storm of events from earlier in the weekend that had set up the Horns for a real shot to defend their national title. Here's a few of my thoughts on the game loss debacle from Saturday night:

Gene Chizik and the defensive game plan. Chizik is one of the most respected defensive coordinators and his name pops up for pretty much every available head coaching gig that comes available, but something has been off with the defense all season long. Against Kansas State Chizik blitzed early and often but never got any pressure on the KSU quarterback and never adjusted. We left ourcornerbacks out there by themselves and they didn't respond well. We have a great run defense and an awful pass defense, why don't we ever run any nickel?

Jevan Snead just needs time and a little help. He didn't start out well but as the game wore on the true freshman started to look more comfortable. He didn't have much protection early on, the KSU defense brought everyone at him and the offensive line did a terrible job picking up the blitz. He needs more experience and needs to learn he doesn't always have to rocket the ball as hard as he can, but he'll be a fine QB whenever (or wherever) he gets his chance. Tough kid.

Maybe we should try not to fumble as much. It was a problem last year but we got away with it, we put the football on the ground way too often and it finally resulted in a loss. The game was tied at 21 in the third quarter before Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young turned the ball over on successive drives. Sometimes it's because they're fighting for extra yards, sometimes it's bad luck, and sometimes they're just too careless, but there's never any excuse for fumbling the football. They're two of the best running backs in the conference, but the coaches can't feel too confident putting the football and the game in their hands.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Injuries

The Texas Longhorns drove easily down the field for a touchdown on their first possession against Kansas State but on the final play of the drive Colt McCoy injured his neck/shoulder on a quarterback sneak for the touchdown. The Horns had 1st and goal from the one-yard line but it took them four plays to punch it in (though it looked awfully close and should have been reviewed on first and second down.) McCoy was hit hard directly in the helmet as he tried to punch it into the end zone. McCoy walked off the field with his right arm dangling to his side and then looked to be in a great deal of pain as team doctors checked him out.

True freshman QB Jevan Snead came in for McCoy and looks like he could be in there for a while. McCoy was warming up on the sidelines but has now been sent back to the locker room for further evaluation. He looked like he was throwing pretty well, so the injury might not be to his shoulder as it first appeared. A concussion could explain the caution the Longhorns are taking with the injury.

Snead has looked okay running the offense so far. The Horns are running the ball well and that could set up Snead in the passing game. Snead also adds a running threat himself that McCoy doesn't have. The offensive line needs to do a better job protecting whoever is playing quarterback, the Kansas State defense has been getting in there pretty quick and not giving Snead time to get comfortable.

We'll have more on McCoy's status as we hear it from the terrible ABC announcers.

Update: It is after halftime and ABC is reporting that McCoy is out for the rest of the game. Still no word on exactly what the injury was.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Fans

Another week another primetime game for the Longhorns, looks like it's not just us here at the Texas FanHouse that loves watching the Longhorns on TV. ABC is putting the Horns facing off against Kansas State on tonight in the majority of US homes despite not exactly being a marquee match-up. Here's the other games to tune into today:

Georgia at (5) Auburn - 11:30 am on ESPN GamePlan. A loss here by Auburn not only knocks the Tigers out of the BCS title picture but hurts Arkansas and Florida's computer rankings a little. All the SEC teams worry me as the human polls might try to make it up to the conference for undefeated Auburn being left out of the title game several years ago.

Nebraska at (24) Texas A&M - 2:30 pm on ABC. An A&M win here is probably better for the Horns. Nebraska will likely win the Big 12 North and face Texas in the championship game, but beating the same team twice isn't worth much in the computer polls. Better to face off against a 10 and 2 top twenty Texas A&M the day after Thanksgiving.

South Carolina at (6) Florida - 2:30 pm on CBS. Can Steve Spurrier crush his old school's national title hopes? Texas fans hope so. The Gators are just two thousandths of a point ahead of the Horns and could get a boost from a win in the SEC title game over Arkansas. If both the Horns and Gators win out it'll be chaos.

(13) Tennessee at (11) Arkansas - 6 pm on ESPN2. Probably the best game of the day. Two tough SEC teams, but the game is in Fayette-nam and the Vols are without starting QB Erik Ainge so the Razorbacks have the edge.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

1. Don't look past the Wildcats.

The Longhorns got some big time BCS assistance from Rutgers on Thursday night and they now have a serious shot at playing for a national title, and none of that matters at all if they don't win Saturday night. Texas can't worry about the BCS rankings or a game in January or even winning the Big 12 Championship, they've got to focus on Kansas State and take care of business on national television.

2. Break some long runs.

The Texas offense has been pretty darn good this season, they've got a Heisman candidate at quarterback and two running backs averaging about five yards per carry. The one thing the Horns haven't done this year is break the long run. Without Vince Young in the backfield and with defenses stacking the box, Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young have been solid but haven't provided many explosive plays. Against K-State the Longhorns would love to turn that around. The Horns have taken what defenses have given them this year, but Saturday they should instead take what they want.

3. Dominate on defense.

After some pretty worrisome troubles on defense against Baylor, Nebraska, and the first half against Texas Tech the Texas defense has played six incredibly solid quarters. The Texas defense shut out the Red Raiders in the second half and then last week didn't allow a good Oklahoma State to score an offensive touchdown. The secondary has been banged up all season and still isn't 100%, but they're healthier than they've been in a month and they're playing like it. The Kansas State offense isn't one of the Big 12's best but true freshman quarterback Josh Freeman is getting better every week. The Longhorns need pressure on the QB from Tim Crowder and Brian Robison, and the secondary needs to avoid mental mistakes and tackle well. A good defensive performance should mean a big win for the Horns.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, Bowl Games

The Longhorns' national title hopes got a little brighter over the weekend as a few more pieces fell into place. Texas currently sits at number five in the BCS standings behind Ohio State, Michigan, Louisville, and Florida in the fight to be in the top two spots at season's end.

West Virginia's loss last Thursday night dropped them out of the picture, and as added bonus I personally believe they were a better team than Louisville and had a better chance of finishing the season unbeaten. The Cardinals are far enough in front of Texas that they'll easily remain there unless they drop a game, something they could do as soon as this Thursday against fellow unbeaten Rutgers.

The Horns are in a good spot against fellow one-loss teams Florida, Auburn, and soon Michigan. If all four of these teams finish the season with only one loss the Longhorns could pull out in front. Texas already has a decent cushion over Auburn and is right on Florida's tail despite being way down in the computers. Wins against Texas A&M and Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship might be enough to put them ahead of the SEC's best. It's tough to tell how far Michigan would fall if they lose to Ohio State, but it's never good to lose in late November.

Crazy things seem to happen every November, and Texas could benefit from that craziness. But they've got to keep winning.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

Many of the top teams in the BCS rankings struggled yesterday but the Texas Longhorns were dominant from start to finish. The win over Oklahoma State puts the team in the driver's seat for the Big 12 South title and could have them in the BCS top 5 when the rankings are announced later today. Just like every week, here's the best links to the best coverage of the game.

AP: McCoy launches Horns past Cowboys in surprisingly lopsided game
Sports Ticker: Horns silence the critics; dominate Okie State
Inside Texas: Colt Guns Down Cowboys in Record Form
Inside Texas: Photo gallery
CFN: Texas blows past Oklahoma State 36-10
ESPN: McCoy sets single-season Texas TD passing mark
Statesman: Cowboys fail to tie up McCoy
Statesman: Back in the title picture?
Statesman: Veteran receivers have played large role in McCoy's success
Statesman: Game notebook
DallasNews: Colt in control: UT makes sure
DallasNews: UT keeps Oklahoma State covered up
DallasNews: McCoy heads class of QBs who will revive Big 12
MySA: Comparison of McCoy to Applewhite only goes so far

(BugMeNot for DallasNews.com and Statesman.com.)

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

The Longhorns played one of their most complete games of the season and knocked off the Oklahoma State Cowboys by 26 points. Texas led the game from start to finish and played well on both offense and defense for all 60 minutes. The win is the 21st in a row in Big 12 conference play, the longest such streak in the nation.

The Texas defense, and in particular the secondary, played its best football since the Red River Rivalry. After shutting out Texas Tech in the second half during last week's big comeback win, the Horns held the Cowboys well under their season averages for both rushing and passing. They only managed 48 yards of offense the entire second half and their only points came on a 96-yard kickoff return by Grant Jones. The defense also stepped up after each up of the Longhorns' fumbles with takeaways of their own.

The player of the game was clearly Texas QB Colt McCoy. The youngster out of Tuscola became the single season record holder for touchdown passes for the University of Texas when he completed his third TD pass of the game to Jermichael Finley. His total of 27 TD passes (with at least three games remaining) surpasses the record previously shared by Chris Simms and Vince Young. Since the Ohio State game, McCoy has looked poised and in complete control of the offense and tonight was no different. He finished the game with three touchdowns and 346 yards through the air.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

The game is only at halftime but so far tonight the Texas Longhorns are playing like they don't know the game is on TBS. Both teams started the game off slowly but about midway through the first quarter the Texas offense begin hitting it's stride. The biggest key for the Horns is that unlike the last two games this year on TBS and the last two years against Oklahoma State they didn't come out flat and fall behind big early on. They lead the game 20 - 3 at the half and have played solid on both sides of the football.

Quarterback Colt McCoy is off to a great start completing 14 of 17 passes for two touchdowns in the first half. The game plan has had him throwing lots of the little screens to the wideouts but they've also taken shots down the field. Billy Pittman and Nate Jones have TD's and Quan Cosby caught a beautifully designed pass for a big 51 yard gain.

The much maligned Texas pass defense also performed well through the first two quarters. The powerful Okie State passing game only had 89 yards through the air and Texas picked off Bobby Reid once. The Cowboys are averaging only 5.1 yards per pass play so far.

Let's see if the Horns can keep up the solid play in the second half and put this one out of reach early.

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Fans

Another night game for the Longhorns tonight on TBS, with limited commercial interruptions, so Texas fans can spend all day on the couch watching games. Maybe drinking a little leading up to the 6 pm kickoff too, because I'm worried this one could be a doozy.

ESPN Gameday in College Station - 9 am on ESPN. Should be interesting to see if the Aggies do anything to embarrass themselves on national TV. Host Chris Fowler, like most blue chip recruits, decided he didn't want to go anywhere near Aggieland and won't be there today.

Missouri at Nebraska - 11 am on ABC. Mizzou blew it last week against Oklahoma but still has a chance to win the Big 12 North. Neither team should be too highly ranked if they make it to the Big 12 title game, but it would be better for Texas to knock off the Tigers then beating Nebraska again.

(13) LSU at (8) Tennessee - 2:30 pm on CBS. Texas needs an LSU victory here. The Vols are a few spots back of the Horns in the BCS standings but could rise quickly with wins over top 15 teams the next two weeks.

Oklahoma State at (4) Texas - 6 pm on TBS. Oklahoma State's QB Bobby Reid was a guy a lot of Texas fans wished the Longhorns had recruited, now he'll give the beleaguered Texas secondary all they can handle. Texas needs to jump out big early and put up an impressive win.

(18) Oklahoma at (21) Texas A&M - 7 pm on ABC. The Sooners defense has gotten a little better every week after starting the season off slow. They have the players to slow down the Aggie rushing attack but they'll have to play well on offense and put up some points win tonight.

Full TV Listings

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Recruiting

Texas Longhorn commit Sam Acho is this year's huge sleeper recruit for the state of Texas. When last summer started the future defensive end had offers from TCU, Oklahoma State, Tulsa and SMU and was almost completely unknown on all the recruiting websites. After a trip to Southern Cal's camp in June and a highlight video on Rivals.com that would all change:

Acho was being recruited, getting the usual mail that promising juniors receive. He was a three-sport athlete at one of the state's most prestigious private schools. But he wasn't going to be on Rivals.com's Texas 100 state list. TCU gets credit for scouting and offering Acho a scholarship first last spring. Oklahoma State, Tulsa and SMU soon followed.

A decision by Acho's father, Sonny, turned their world upside down. Sam would go to Southern Cal's camp June 13-14. Father and son figured with five or six offers in hand, why not showcase him to one of the nation's top programs?

Acho had a stellar camp. Among 300 athletes, Acho's vertical and strength tests and his time in the 40-yard dash stood out. USC assistant Ken Norton Jr., the former Cowboys linebacker who recruits Texas for the Trojans, asked Sonny for an explanation. "Ken Norton said, 'Where did you hide him?'" Sonny said.

The kid went from some decent offers from area programs to holding scholarship offers from some of the nation's top programs. Texas, USC, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Iowa all came calling after his camp performance. Acho committed to the Longhorns after a trip down to Texas where he had a chance to meet the coaches tour one of the nation's top business schools.

Acho is big and fast and he has an incredible upside. He has the athleticism to get after the quarterback and should have the size to be a force against the run as well. He's also an intelligent and well-rounded young man who should succeed both on and off the field at the University of Texas.

Source
Rivals video (subscribers only)

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Filed under: Texas Football, Big 12

What an incredible game for Texas Longhorn fans. This team may not have Vince Young but this year's group of kids certainly knows how to entertain. Not a perfect game by the Longhorns (at least on defense) but they made the adjustments they needed to and went out in the second half and got the job done. More opinions on the game from the FanHouse will be coming soon, but for now enjoy stories about the game from all around the web:

AP: Down 21 early, McCoy sparks Texas' rally past Texas Tech
Bevo Sports: Texas at Texas Tech live blog
Inside Texas: Texas Wrecks Tech
SI College Football Blog: McCoy's performance was positively Vince-esque
AAS: McCoy makes successful return to West Texas
AAS: Another week, another heart attack
AAS: Mike Leach blames officials
AAS: Report card, go figure, horns up and down
DMN: Down, not out: Horns rally past Tech, 35-31
DMN: Effort, confidence make Mack proud
Houston Chronicle: Texas showed heart, mostly at QB
MySA: Potent Texas Tech offense misfires when needed most
MySA: McCoy has legs and he knows how to use them
MySA: McCoy making name of his own
RedRaiders.com: Record crowd watches Tech blow big lead
RedRaiders.com: McCoy recovers from rough start, sparks Texas

(BugMeNot for DallasNews.com and Statesman.com.)

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