Matt Berg Posts

Could Miami's Defensive Coordinator Randy Shannon be the next defensive coordinator at Texas? The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Texas has indeed offered Randy Shannon their defensive coordinator spot, just one week after Texas found out current DC Gene Chizik will be leaving to become the head coach at Iowa State.

This is pretty surprising, as Mack Brown had previously stated that he would not begin the hiring process until after the Alamo Bowl. It will be interesting to see in the coming days more details of exactly how this all happened.

I am pretty excited about the prospect of Randy Shannon coming to Texas, as he was my first choice among all of the candidates. Miami has always had an excellent defense, and under Shannon they have been ranked in the top 5 in total defense three out of the last four years. And Miami's secondary has been producing some top NFL talents lately, so maybe he will be able to sure up our problems back there.

Update: The Austin American Statesman is reporting that Mack Brown has called the Shannon job offer report 'incorrect'. Looks like someone definitely has it wrong.

Since the Longhorns are no longer playing in the Big 12 Championship and will not be going to a BCS Bowl, it is time to start looking at where Texas will play in the post-season. Let's take a look at the current possibilities people are talking about:

Gator Bowl vs. Clemson/Maryland

West Virginia's loss to South Florida may put the Longhorns as the front-runners here. The Gator Bowl officials are said to be taking the Big 12 option over the Big East, which is probably a good decision for them, I mean who wants to see the Big East play?

Alamo Bowl vs. Iowa

The Alamo Bowl gets the 4th option on the Big 12. This could happen if Nebraska/OU and Texas Tech are selected before Texas. I think this is highly unlikely, as Texas will most likely be at least the 3rd Big 12 selection.

Cotton Bowl vs Auburn

This would be my personal choice for bowl game selections. This match-up would probably have the biggest draw, plus it let's me easily see the game in Dallas. Auburn has been struggling this season and I think we could pull out the win here. Let's make it happen.

Gator Bowl
Alamo Bowl
Cotton Bowl

Remember how USC lost in the Rose Bowl to Texas? Remember how that was over 10 months ago? Remember how USC couldn't convert a 4 & 1? Apparently Josh Peter over at Yahoo! Sports doesn't.

Josh's latest article is titled "Rush to judgment", and deals with the blown call by the refs when Vince Young's knee hit the ground on a touchdown in the second quarter of the Rose Bowl. Josh goes into great detail about the booth refs not having the right angle, not having enough time, blah blah. Well I have news for you Josh, we have known about this for quite a while. Did USC's loss to Oregon St send this guy into such a tail-spin that he had to bring up ancient history that no one cares about anymore? Gimme a break. Here is an excerpt from the article:

The biggest fumble in last season's epic national championship game between Texas and Southern California didn't occur on the field. It happened in the instant replay booth.

Ten months after Texas' victory, replay officials and their supervisor still haven't formally addressed what went wrong. But this much is sure: Instant replay, instituted as a backstop to ensure proper calls were being made on the field, failed.

I have an idea. I will put a reminder on my calendar for April 1, 2007, that way I will remember to write an article about the Mavs losing to the Heat in the NBA Finals and talk about how bad the refs were. And now might be a good time to write about how the Seahawks got jobbed in the SuperBowl. Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the inspiration Josh.

Rush to Judgment, [Yahoo! Sports]
Texas Longhorns win the Rose Bowl (to the dismay of ESPN), [Bevo Sports]

Colt McCoy is finally getting some recognition for his great play and has been named one of 18 semi-finalists to receive the Davey O'Brien award, given annually to the nation's top quarterback. Colt is the only freshman on the list that includes the likes of Troy Smith, Brady Quinn, and Big 12's Bobby Reid. Colt has a chance to give the Texas Longhorns back-to-back O'Brien Award winners, with Vince Young winning last year.

"The winner of the 2006 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award® will be announced on ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show scheduled for December 7 at 7 p.m. EST."

And on sort of a side note, ESPN has finally decided to recognize Colt as a Heisman candidate, putting him all the way up at the #4 spot. And Texas gets a nationally televised game this weekend, so with a big performance Colt may get even more pub.

2006 DAVEY O'BRIEN NATIONAL QUARTERBACK AWARD

Remember that loss to Ohio State in week 2? Remember how devastating that was? Remember feeling that the season was lost? Well 8 straight wins later and Texas needs only one more win to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Title Game. Which means that we are more than likely going to clinch after our match-up against Kansas St. And who knows, if we beat K State, A&M, and win the Big 12, we may have the opportunity to get a rematch against Ohio State in the BCS National Championship game.

This year's Big 12 Title Game will be played on December 2 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Not exactly sure why they play the game there, the weather will probably be bad and it doesn't have a retractable roof. I preferred the game much more in Houston (plus we get home-field advantage).

2006 Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship

In the third quarter against Oklahoma State Colt McCoy threw a touchdown to tight-end Jermichael Finley, breaking the UT single season record for touchdown passes with 27. It is amazing to think that in only his first 10 games at UT, Colt has already surpassed the touchdown numbers of Vince Young, Chris Simms, and Major Applewhite, all of whom are almost legendary at Texas. Let's take a look at the numbers:

1. Colt McCoy (2006) - 27
2. Vince Young (2005) - 26
3. Chris Simms (2002) - 26
4. Chris Simms (2001) - 22
5. Major Applewhite (1999) - 21

Colt now has the all-time NCAA freshman touchdown record in his sites (29), and he still has what looks like 4 games to play. If he keeps up with his average, he will throw for an astonishing 39 touchdowns this season, which would put him 5th on the UT career touchdown passing list. You have to figure it was tough coming in this season for Colt having to replace Vince Young, but it sure looks like he his handling everything well. Now we will have to see next season how he handles the pressure of being a Heisman front-runner.

UT Passing Records (PDF)

Ok, I am saying this now, Aaron Ross should get the Thorpe Award for the nation's top defensive back. He makes the big plays when the defense needs them, and he has the speed to keep up with anyone.

The Texas secondary has the chance to claim back-to-back Thorpe Award winners, as Michael Huff won last year and was drafted 7th overall by the Raiders. Ross has had an impressive season thus far, with a three turnover 4th quarter against Oklahoma (two interceptions and one fumble recovery for a touchdown), a forced fumble of Terrance Nunn against Nebraska to give the Longhorns a shot at a game winning field goal, and his latest defensive play against Okie Lite that is just too good to describe. Check it out:



I know I am probably a little biased, but this just seems like an easy call. What do you think?

For the fourth year in a row, the Texas/Oklahoma State game will be covered by TBS. And to most Texas fans, I am sure they are starting to become aware of the poor play we seem to bring when playing on TBS.

The last two games against Oklahoma State have been scary to say the least. Two years ago, at home, Oklahoma State jumped out to a 35-7 lead, all but crushing any hope of a comeback. The only problem was that Vince Young decided that he was going to take Texas on his back. Texas scored 6 touchdowns in the second half and held Oklahoma State scoreless, winning the game 56-35 and also covered the spread I might add.

Last year was almost as bad, down 28-12 at the half, the National Championship hopes were fading away. But Vince answered the bell again, running for an 80 yard touchdown pass on the third play of the second half. And Texas never looked back from there, winning 47-28, I think again covering the spread.

Any interesting fact in these last 3 TBS games against Oklahoma State is that Texas has never been the first to score, they are always having to come from behind. Well I say we end the TBS curse right now and jump out to a nice comfy lead, that way I won't be sitting on the couch screaming like I have for the last 4 comebacks we have had.

Folks, it's time to start considering Colt McCoy a Heisman candidate, and frankly I am a bit surprised that he is not garnering more attention. We all know that Troy Smith has the Heisman race locked up, but for ESPN to not even include Colt in their Top 15 is ridiculous. His numbers are on par with Troy Smith and Brady Quinn, and he has led the Longhorns to 4 straight comeback victories. What more could you ask for? Let's take a look at the numbers:

Pass Yards

• Brady Quinn - 2233 yds
• Troy Smith - 1898 yds
• Colt McCoy - 1705 yds

Touchdowns

• Colt McCoy - 24
• Troy Smith - 22
• Brady Quinn - 21

Yards Per Attempt

• Troy Smith - 8.87 YPA
• Colt McCoy - 7.86 YPA
• Brady Quinn - 7.37 YPA

Now I am in now way advocating that Colt should win the Heisman, or for that matter even saying he is better than Brady Quinn, I am just saying that he should be getting more mention as a Heisman candidate. ESPN's hate for Texas is really showing through in this one.

This is a sad day for Longhorn fans as defensive tackle Derek Lokey is out with a broken leg. Although they say he is out "indefinitely", it is likely he is done for the season. Luckily he is only a junior and will be able to return for his senior season.

"This is an unfortunate setback for Derek and our defense," said coach Mack Brown. "It will be important that someone steps up and fill his void for us to continue to be one of the best defenses in the country."

Lokey was starting on one of the best defensive lines in the nation, and on a team defense that was allowing only 46.5 yards per game on the ground. Another spot he will be sorely missed is in goal-line situations. Lokey would normally come in at the fullback position and block for Henry Melton, a tough combo to stop.

We wish him the best and a speedy recovery.

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