Uromisitisis??? Not for Bill Walker!

Well, he did it. Bill Walker, of Kansas State, has officially PEED ON THE COURT, during a basketball game. You might remember Mr. Walker from being the guy who ate popcorn on the bench, last year, during a game.



OK, so most guys I know, do not even like for another guy to stand next to them at a stall when they pee. Clearly, Walker has no problem doing his business in front of several thousand people. But it is nice to see that not only is Bill Walker going to parlay his college basketball career into an NBA job, but he has also managed to make college basketball a spectator sport, since he is eating and peeing on the bench and all. So, in honor of Mr. Walker, here is a funny Pee Video:

So This is How it Feels to be the Big Ten

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is an annual event of the ACC every year showing that they are in fact, much much better than the Big Ten. It has become quite the humorous event for the general public who gets to see the Big Ten severely beaten down, the December karma for Ohio State getting in the football National Championship game for beating Michigan and no one else. The event was created to showcase the top two basketball conferences, which is certainly not the case anymore for the Big Ten, who might not be in the top 5 conferences in the country.

Well someone, somewhere must have wanted to know what it feels like to be the Big Ten when they signed the Big XII up for the Pac-10/Big XII Hardwood Series. It was supposed to be the showcase event of the West, and two games in, it has the potential to get ugly. It could be done before the bulk of games on Sunday. Let’s take a look…

#17 Oregon 80, Kansas State 77 OT
- This was a game that the Big XII needed, with Kansas State playing at home. Unfortunately, Michael Beasley’s 24 points and 12 boards weren’t enough to get it done. They did a good job of erasing a 5 point deficit with 5 minutes left, but couldn’t get the win in regulation and a more mature team in Oregon, pulled away.
Pac-10 1, Big XII 0

#24 USC 66, Oklahoma 55
- This one wasn’t as close as the final score as USC almost lead wire to wire. The Sooners were held to 18 points in the first half, shot 35% from the field for the game, and were without a starter scoring in double figures. They also had no answer for the USC freshman tandem of Davon Jefferson (23 pts, 9 reb) and OJ Mayo (18 pts, 5 reb).
Pac-10 2, Big XII 0

FRIDAY

#6 Washington State (6-0) at Baylor (5-0)
- Baylor continues to improve each season, led this year by their three guards Aaron Bruce (Sr, 10.6 ppg), Curtis Jerrells (Jr, 14.0 ppg), and LaceDarius Dunn (Fr, 12.4 ppg). They already boast an impressive road win over Notre Dame (68-64) but this will be their stiffest test of the season thus far. Washington State is ranked #6 in the country and boast one of the best backcourts in the country with senior guards Derrick Low (15.5 ppg) and Kyle Weaver (12.7 ppg). Baylor is improving, but they’re not that good.
Prediction: Pac-10 3, Big XII 0

Iowa State (2-3) at Oregon State (3-2)
- Iowa State comes in with three straight losses at the hands of Bradley, Minnesota, and Northern Iowa. While none of those teams are complete pushovers, none of the games were closer than a nine point margin. Even the return of sophomore guard Wesley Johnson and his 18 points didn’t help against Northern Iowa. However, in Oregon State, you have an opponent that might actually be worse than the Cyclones. Boasting a loss by two to Alaska Fairbanks, Oregon State should be the wiping boys of the conference. But when you pin two bad teams against each other, you go with the home court advantage.
Prediction: Pac-10 4, Big XII 0

SATURDAY

Washington (4-2) at Oklahoma State (2-3)
- A nice win against LSU is about all the Cowboys have to show for this season. A loss to North Texas and being absolutely throttled by #13 Marquette and losing handily to Illinois are the more pressing issues for this team. A young team rebuilding, freshman James Anderson (19.2 ppg) is expected to carry the load. Washington’s only two losses have come at the hands of #15 Texas A&M and #21 Syracuse. Juniors Jon Brockman (18.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg) and Justin Dentmon (13.8 ppg) should give the Cowboys all they can handle.
Prediction: Pac-10 5, Big XII 0

Missouri (5-2) at California (4-0)
- Missouri’s fast paced, full court pressure has given everyone problems this season. Close losses to #11 Michigan State and Arkansas are the only blemishes on their schedule. Missouri uses a 9 man rotation and looks to pressure at every opportunity. California’s nucleus of four players which accounts for 81% of their scoring and 75% of their rebounding will be challenged to stay fresh and stay out of foul trouble.
Prediction: Pac-10 5, Big XII 1

SUNDAY

#4 Kansas (6-0) at #24 USC (6-1)
- USC will get their second shot at a Big XII opponent, but this time against the class of the Big XII. Kansas is deep and talented, boasting five players scoring in double figures. Brandon Rush against OJ Mayo should be an exciting matchup, but Kansas will have too much firepower for the young USC squad.
Prediction: Pac-10 5, Big XII 2

Arizona State (4-1) at Nebraska (4-1)
- Senior center Aleks Maric (16.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg) is one of the best players in the Big XII, but is about all that Nebraska has in terms of firepower. He will cause problems all day for Arizona State, but will it be enough compared to the problems that Arizona State’s freshman backcourt of James Harden (17.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Ty Abbott (11.6 ppg) will cause for the Huskers.
Prediction: Pac-10 6, Big XII 2

Stanford (7-1) at Colorado (5-2)
- Led by seniors Richard Roby (14.6 ppg/5.6 rpg) and Marcus Hall (13.6 ppg) Colorado is trying to rebound from a disastrous 2006 campaign. They might be a little better than last year, but not by much. With no one over 6-6 logging over 11 minutes per game, Colorado is going to have serious problems with 7’0” Robin Lopez (12.4 ppg/ 6.6 rpg).
Prediction: Pac-10 7, Big XII 2

#9 Texas A&M (7-0) at Arizona (4-2)
- Texas A&M is a power team that can shoot from the outside. Senior forward Joseph Jones (11.3 ppg/ 4.7 rpg) and 7’0” freshman center DeAndre Jordan (9.1 ppg/ 7.1 rpg) open things up for the perimeter shooters. Arizona boasts two NBA talents in freshman Jarryd Bayless (18.8 ppg/ 4.7 apg) and sophomore Chase Buddinger (18.3 ppg/ 5.0 rpg), but they don’t have the size inside to deal with the A&M power game.
Prediction: Pac-10 7, Big XII 3

#8 Texas (6-0) at #1 UCLA (7-0)
- The match up between DJ Augustin and Darren Collison will be the one to watch, but Texas’ quickness shouldn’t overwhelm UCLA, and Texas will struggle with the inside skill players of UCLA. Oh, and they’ll have absolutely no answer for freshman sensation Kevin Love (18.1 ppg/10.6 rpg).
Prediction: Pac-10 8, Big XII 3

Nebraska's Glory Days, A Relic of the Past?

It appears that Nebraska has narrowed its coaching search to two candidates. Bo Pelini, defensive coordinator of LSU, and Buffalo head coach Turner Gill. What do these two men have in common? They are both former members of the Nebraska family. Gill as a former quarterback and Pelini a former assistant coach under Osborne and Frank Solich. Tom Osborne and the Cornhuskers nation are demanding a return to prominence from the days of old, and while both of these men could do it, Nebraska is going about the coaching search the wrong way.

Osborne has stressed the importance of his new coach understanding and embracing the tradition and culture of Nebraska football and knowing the expectations that come with the job. Many believed Callahan was the wrong man for the job because he didn’t embrace Husker nation and wasn’t familiar with the winning tradition and history of the school. Well, let me tell you, if Bill Callahan had opened up his arms to Husker nation and embraced all that Nebraska football is, and had still gone 5-7, he would have been fired. And if Callahan had been successful in turning Nebraska into a perennial National Championship contender, no one would have cared that he wasn’t in tune with Husker Nation. The fact of the matter is that Callahan probably isn’t a very good head coach. His offensive mind was evident in flashes throughout his stay in Lincoln, but the collapse of a once renowned defense showed where his weaknesses were.

Pelini, who has overseen a top notch defense at LSU (though they have severely underachieved this season with the amount of talent they have), and Turner who has helped turn around a laughable Buffalo program (5-7 this season, but they also moved to the MAC. Temple won 4 games in the MAC this year) could be the right men for the job. But, Osborne seems convinced that it will take a Nebraska man to right the ship and return the program to the glory days of, well, Osborne. This logic is flawed and is the kind of nepotism that has been problematic in several programs around the country (Penn State, Florida State).

Any coach that is hired understands that he is there to win. He understands there are expectations from the fan base and the school to win and conduct himself in a manner that they can be proud of. I don’t think it takes a Nebraska man to understand how to win at Nebraska. It takes a winning football coach to understand how to recruit and coach in today’s college landscape.

Osborne says he wants to return to the success of Nebraska football, return to developing Nebraska talent. This sounds very much like Osborne wants to be heavily involved in the football program and have input on how the system is run. He says otherwise, but his opinions on running quarterbacks and recruiting should be worrisome. The key to recruiting is getting talent from talent rich areas, Nebraska and the Midwest is no longer one of those areas. Callahan had the right idea in trying to recruit in California, Texas, and Arizona, though his reliance on junior college transfers caused to be problematic. Missouri and Kansas have shown that this is how you have to build your program to succeed. Nebraska would be foolish to get away from that strategy.

One of the most difficult things to do in this world is adapt and change with the times. To take what you know and what has been successful for you, and to be able to adapt it to continue to succeed in a changing world. I don’t know if Tom Osborne has displayed that ability. I think Nebraska will hire Pellini or Gill, and I think they will be unable to restore the glory of Nebraska football. An undesirable location in a changed football landscape at a program that hasn’t been relevant in years, I don’t know if Nebraska football will ever regain the glory it once had.

Baylor Finds Their Man! It's Guy Morriss! Okay...Not Really

Baylor has apparently found their new head coach and it isn’t Guy Morriss, which is more than I thought they would be able to pull off. The new man will be Houston head coach Art Briles, who after five seasons in Houston, will take over the suffering Bears program.

The move could end up being a shrewd one for the Bears as Briles history as the head coach of Stephenville High School, and then his successful transition with Houston. He rebuilt a suffering program at Houston using a high octane passing attack. He initially took the job at Houston and immediately signed quarterback Kevin Kolb (a 2nd round pick for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007) whom he built the Houston program around. No word on whether he has any NFL quarterbacks he can bring with him to Baylor.

Even after Kolb left, Briles lead the Cougars to an 8-4 record this season. Familiar with the Texas recruiting scene Briles may help give Baylor a much needed boost in the Texas recruiting wars. While he doesn’t have the star power that Baylor had hoped for like a Mike Singletary, he might have a chance to bring the program back to respectability.

That being said, it is Baylor. They play in the Big XII and are the only private university in a conference full of large public universities. They just don’t seem to fit, and it seems like the only way they can succeed is if they do more with less.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3131738

9-3 Still an Overachievement

While Texas fans had grandiose visions of back-dooring their way into a BCS birth, when it came down to it, Texas ended their charade, and played like the 8-4 football team they are. Outside of the Texas Tech game, where Texas Tech declined to use a defense, the Longhorns have been a team that couldn’t play four quality quarters of football and couldn’t dominate in any phase of the game. The fact that they are 9-3 and have a shot to get another 10 win season, is a success in its own right.

The biggest flaw in this year’s Texas team was obviously the defense. The unit trying to cope with the departure of Co-defensive Coordinator Gene Chizik was obviously no where near the unit they were of previous years. The defense struggled to stop anyone all season and had an extremely tough time coming up with stops on third down. It just seemed like whether it was a 3rd and 3, or the 3rd and 20 in the first quarter of the A&M game, the Longhorns would figure out away to give up 4 or 21. The role of a defensive coordinator is to put his players in the position to succeed and to make adjustments throughout the game. While the Texas players often times didn’t make the plays when they were there, the defense rarely made adjustments or improved during the course of the game, and it seemed like the defense was caught off guard or out of position too much. (You may say that the defense stepped up in games against Nebraska and Oklahoma State, but just because the offense decides to run out the clock with 12 minutes left in the game doesn’t mean the defense is making stops.) The way the defense played this season leaves me to wonder whether Chizik was the brains of the operation, but I’m willing to chalk it up to a mediocre secondary and an atrocious set of linebackers and give Duane Akina another year of getting the defense to play in his system.

A more pressing concern has to be the play of Colt McCoy. His decision making in the A&M game might have been worse than his performance in the Kansas State game. After three weeks of playing solid football and making the plays that the defense gave him, Colt looked determined to win the A&M game by himself. As has been the case, when he tries to do too much he fails miserably. While his running game hadn’t been in full force the entire season and he struggled with injuries to his wide receivers, namely Limas Sweed, Colt still should have been better off. After a successful freshman season, Colt was given a larger responsibility in the offense, and he didn’t cope well with the responsibility. His 18 interceptions this season have been costly and keep this offense from achieving more. It is starting to appear more and more that Colt McCoy’s ceiling as a player lies somewhere between the reliable quarterback that played within the system that he was his freshman year and the improvisational playmaker he has tried to be this season. I think the best we can hope for out of Colt McCoy is a quarterback that relies on his running game, spreads the ball around to his extremely talented wide receivers and tight ends, and on occasion makes a few spectacular plays. I think if he tries to do more than that or Texas insists on being a pass first team centered around Colt McCoy, he will continue to have a Kansas State game and Texas A&M game a few times a season.

I think Colt can be a good enough quarterback to win BCS bowls and possibly a National Championship, but it won’t be because of Colt McCoy. If it were to happen it would need to be because Colt leads an offense built around Jamaal Charles and Vondrell McGee, that utilizes Jermichael Finley, Quan Cosby, and Jordan Shipley on the outside. But most of all it would need to be a team that has a National Championship caliber defense. Colt McCoy doesn’t have the ability to throw for 4,500 yards, 38 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t the right quarterback for the University of Texas. If Colt could find his niche and play within himself he could be a quarterback that throws for 3,500 yards with 28 touchdowns and 5 interceptions on a BCS team.The real question will be how Colt McCoy handles the pressure that will be present throughout his next two years at quarterback. If Colt McCoy is continued to ask to win Texas football games as oppose to leading the offense, then Colt will continue to have terrible games mixed in with the good and solid ones. If that is the case, then the Texas faithful will begin to clamor for someone who can win games for Texas, like their hero Vince Young. Colt McCoy will have to deal with John Chiles becoming more involved in the offense during his junior and senior season. It is unavoidable; Chiles is a talent that can give a new wrinkle to the Texas offense. But if Colt McCoy can’t handle the criticism or the competition much like Chance Mock, Texas will find itself a team without a leader bogged down in a quarterback quagmire that can’t compete with the elite teams in the Big XII.

Major Applewhite and Chris Simms was a difficult situation that ended with neither reaching their full potential. Chance Mock struggled with the future looking over his shoulder and it ended with Texas underachieving. Colt McCoy needs to be the quarterback for this team, but it needs to be in a system where he is not expected to be the All-American. Unfortunately, Greg Davis’ offense has only been truly effective for two years at the University of Texas, and that was when Vince Young was his quarterback.

That Was Fast...

And just like that, Ricky Williams is out for the season... Again. I was so hopeful for a glorious comeback but, alas, it was not to be. Ricky was stepped on after his 6th carry, Monday night, and had a chest muscle torn.

Ricky must wait until 2008 (that rhymes)

It's been quite a poor year for former Texas running backs: Ricky (out for year), Cedric (out for year), Priest Holes (retired after 1 game), Selvin Young (currently injured)

Giving Him the What??

THE BUSINESS!

Black People Are Mad at A&M...

So, not everyone seems to be pleased with the Aggie hiring of Mike Sherman; namely, black people. And who can blame them? I mean, Mike Sherman is like the exact opposite of black (some may say "white"). But honestly, why would any black coach want to be subjected to coaching at A&M and in College Station? I mean, it's only made up of 98% white, suburban, conservatives. I am pretty sure their idea of "Hip Hop" is Charlie Pride. Sounds Fun!

Minorities Clamoring to Go To College Station

I make light, but don't get me wrong, the article brings up some good and important points. I mean schools always say they want "experience" but how are you supposed to get that if you can't get your FIRST job? (sounds like my attorney job search right now). Anyway, it's a good discussion topic with no real "right" answer But it does seem like job hirings need to look a little more transparent than they currently do. It's just a little hard to get past the "Good 'ol boy" perception.

AS SEEN ON TV!!!

Volleyball clinches Big XII Title

The Lady Longhorns volleyball team wrapped up their 2007 regular season this past week with a 3-2 win at Iowa State and a 3-0 win versus Kansas State this past Saturday. The win improved the #3 ranked Longhorns to 24-3 on the year with a 19-1 mark in the Big XII Conference. The win gave the Longhorns a share of the Big XII title with Nebraska, and it is the Longhorns first conference title since 1997.

With the Conference championship comes a slew of All-Big XII awards. Head Coach Jerritt Elliott won his second Big XII Coach of the Year honors (First in 2004). The Longhorns also placed 5 players on the First Team All-Big XII. Sophomores Ashley Engle and Destinee Hooker, and junior Michelle Moriarity marked their second appearance as first teamers. Junior Lauren Paolini and Julianne Faucette were also named to the First Team. Faucette also was named the Freshman of the Year in the Big XII.

As apparently is the case for the Longhorns and the NCAA tournament in minority sports this season, the Longhorns received a bit of an unfair seeding. While they are a #1 seed Nationally, they find themselves in the Gainesville, FL bracket, which would set them up for a third round match up at the home arena of the #10 Florida Gators, the #4 seed in the region. Yeah, that makes sense. Though I'm not sure it will make a difference. The Longhorns have won 20 straight matches and are firing on all cylinders this season. Their losses this season come to #1 Penn State and #2 Nebraska.

The Longhorns open up their quest for a National Title this Friday against #16 seed Texas State. They will then face the winner of LSU (#9 seed) and #14 New Mexico State (#8 seed). Both matches will take place in Austin. Other teams of note in the Longhorns bracket are #5 USC (#2 seed), #25 Long Beach State (#7 seed), #18 St. John's (#3 seed), and #23 Oklahoma (#5 seed).

Things I Did Not Know...

Did you know the inventor of Gatorade was a University of Texas graduate? Yeah, neither did I. Well, now its too late because he is dead. That's a shame. I feel like I could have used that in an argument at one time.

Gatorade Inventor Passes

Hook'em, Mr. Cade.

Just Ignore the Band Nerds

The Rice band has always been a favorite among fans wherever they travel, not so much for their musicianship as it is for their witty and creative performances. I enjoyed their Nano Bertha performance a few years ago at Texas and their prison themed performance this year was a bit painfully humorous, and have had noted performances at several different places.

However, their performances are even more note worthy when they can manage to have the opposing team file a complaint with the league, which Tulsa was kind enough to oblige with. The Rice band’s performance of “Todd Graham’s Inferno” apparently did not impress the Golden Hurricanes, honoring the former Rice coach who left the Owls after one season for Tulsa.

The performance searched for Coach Graham in the different circles of hell, making reference to Dante’s “Divine Comedy”.

While I’m sure the show was enjoyable, it is so much more worth it, now that Tulsa has filed a complaint. Oh doesn’t Bubba Cunningham (Tulsa’s AD) know? Band nerds are like your older sibling. They are only going to keep picking on you if you give them a reaction.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3129832

Longhorns are Legends in the Annals of Stub Hub! History

After facing three high school teams to start the season, the Longhorns spent Thanksgiving in the winter wonderland that is, Newark, New Jersey. There’s nothing like crime, filth, and oil refineries that get you in the Holiday spirit.

This season, the Longhorns have had many question marks coming into the season. With Kevin Durant gone, the Longhorns had their leader leave after one season. Would DJ Augustin or someone else step up and lead this team? Would the team be able to fill the holes in the stat sheet left behind by Kevin Durant? Would the Longhorns get any interior presence from any of the bigs? Who would emerge to give this Longhorns team more than a few scoring options? Would any of the freshman emerge as a budding star?

In the semi-finals against New Mexico State, the Longhorns faced a team that pushes the pace, and returned most of their lineup from a tournament team last season. It was the first true test for this Longhorns group, and they passed with flying colors, defeating the Aggies 102-87. Leading from wire to wire, the Longhorns were unstoppable on offense and solid enough on defense. AJ Abrams had 31 points on 9 of 12 from three point range. DJ Augustin had 25 points and 10 assists, and Connor Atchley, Justin Mason, and Damion James all scored in double figures. The Longhorns shot 62% from the field and 61% from three point range in the game. It was a track meet for the Longhorns, but limited their mistakes to 11 turnovers, compared to 19 for the Aggies.

The win put the Longhorns in the Stubhub Championship match against #7 Tennessee on Saturday. In a back and forth first half, the Longhorns seized control in the last three minutes, going on a 12-2 run to end the half, giving the Longhorns a 50-41 lead. They would coast from there winning 97-78. The Longhorns shot 63% from the field and 50% from three point range while holding the Volunteers to 37% from the field. The Longhorns got a balanced scoring attack, with AJ Abrams, DJ Augustin, Justin Mason, and Connor Atchley (CONNOR ATCHLEY!) scoring over 20 points. Connor also had 11 rebounds (CONNOR ATCHLEY!) and DJ Augustin had 8 assists.

The tournament was a statement for the Longhorns as they showcased their offensive firepower in the post-Kevin Durant era. It is clear to see that this is DJ Augustin’s team and he has become one of the top point guards in the country. With DJ at the helm the Longhorns will be able to score against almost anyone. AJ Abrams continues to improve as a scorer and the biggest surprise has to be the play of Connor Atchley (CONNOR ATCHLEY!). With Justin Mason’s return to the form we saw early in his freshman year, the Longhorns have their defensive stopper and slasher on the offensive end. The Horns have also been getting quality minutes from freshman Alexis Wangmene off the bench.

There are only a few question marks for this Longhorns team, early in the season. DJ Augustin had 6 turnovers in each of the last two games, which you would think has to do with the fast paced style of both games. But it will be something to keep an eye on moving forward. The play of Damion James early in the season has left a bit to be desired, as the Horns were hoping this would be the season that James lived up to his pre-college hype and emerged as the force in the post the Longhorns need. The Longhorns still need another post player or two to step up and be a reliable option off the bench.

Alexis Wangmene has played well, but Dexter Pittman isn’t fully healthy yet, Clint Chapman hasn’t been a viable option, Matt Hill is out for the year, and Gary Johnson (who was supposed to be the answer this season) has still not been cleared to play with his heart condition. Against the power play of the Big XII, the Longhorns are going to need improved play from the interior if they hope to be able to benefit from their quick perimeter attack.

The Longhorns will get a taste of what they need to work on as they face the #1 team in the country UCLA on December 2nd in Los Angeles. They will also get a good preview for Big XII play, as they also face Michigan State and Wisconsin this December, who will be two of their most physical tests of the season.

An Anti-Climatic Finish

The 2007 season came to an unceremonious end for the Lady Longhorns soccer team as they were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles, 4-0, on Sunday. A season that was full of accomplishment for the Horns ended rather quietly in the third round of the NCAAs. With an early season win over UCLA, to a second consecutive Big XII Tournament Title, and two victories over top five Texas A&M in the span of six days, the second coming in round two of the NCAA tournament in College Station, this season has been all about accomplishment for the Longhorns.

But they didn't come ready to play in round three and got outplayed by a very good team. They were never really in the game, as they were out shot 29-5, and while they were only down 1-0 at half, Florida State had controlled the entire time. The second goal pretty much sealed the deal a minute and a half into the second half. This was the Longhorns third appearance in the third round of the NCAA tournament, and ended the same way as the last two, with a loss.

The Longhorns ended the season 16-4-5, and spent most of the season ranked in the Top 15. The Longhorns will lose three starters to graduation and one reserve. Forward Kelsey Carpenter will be sorely missed as she has been a force for the Longhorns since her freshman season. Scoring 39 goals and 20 assists during her four seasons on the Forty Acres, she was a second team All-American in 2006, and a participant with the US U-21 National Team this past summer. Carpenter has been a constant star for the Longhorn attack and she will be extremely difficult to replace.

Midfielder Caitlyn Kennedy is one of the most talented players to ever step foot on the Forty Acres, but she never achieved her full potential as she was plagued by injuries her junior and senior seasons. When she was on the field she was a scoring threat as well as a creative spark plug for the offense, registering 16 goals and 13 assists over her four seasons as a starter. Her best season was her sophomore campaign, and hopes were high her junior and senior seasons as she was Preseason All-Big XII selections both years. Unfortunately, she could never stay healthy, and her mark on the Longhorns was never what it could have been.

Defender and Midfielder Greta Carter came to the Longhorns in 2006 as a Junior transfer from SMU. In her two years she appeared in 49 games, starting at defense and midfield. This year she played an important role as the Longhorns relied on her constantly to step up her game after injuries to Caitlyn Kennedy and Stephanie Logterman. She responded, having a solid season, scoring a goal and registering two assists. Her flexibility and ability to play multiple positions will be missed.

Leslie Imber spent her four years with the Longhorns as a quality role player who played forward, midfield, and defense. She was always able to step in at multiple positions and log quality minutes. She appeared in 74 games for the Longhorns over 4 seasons and scored 2 goals her junior season. With the amount of talent Texas brings in every year, she could never lock down a starting role, but her ability to play multiple positions made her a valuable commodity off the bench.

With much of the team returning for 2008, and another top recruiting class coming in, the Longhorns will once again be ranked among the top teams in the nation. The Longhorns will be lead by on of the top players in the country in Kasey Moore, who will lead the team from the central midfield and will be a front runner for National Player of the Year. The entire defense will be back led by U-21 National Team member, junior, Stephanie Logterman, junior goalkeeper Dianna Pfenniger, junior defender and three year starter Jill Gilbeau, and freshman Erica Campanelli who emerged this year as a freshman. The offense will be lead by freshman sensation Nikki Arlett, who scored 10 goals and recorded 5 assists this season. She will be joined by freshman Emily Anderson and Alisha Ortiz who both flashed great talent in their inaugural campaigns. The real question marks for this Texas team is who will step up and fill the holes left in the midfield by the graduating seniors. Texas will need bench players like freshman Kirsten Birkenhold and Stephanie Gibson to step up and fill the void.

Texas had a great season, but going out the way they did has to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of a program that looked poised to make a run towards their first Final Four appearance. While it was disappointing finish, the Longhorns cleared many hurdles and built confidence for what should be a promising 2008 campaign.

Texas A&M Welcomes the Sherman-ator

Well, it's official. Texas A&M has hired a new coach.

It's Mike Sherman

Boy, that took all of 3 days. I bet they were really debating whether or not to keep Fran for a while there. Is it me, or is Mike Sherman not a name that scares you as a Texas fan? I mean, he's been an NFL head coach and he is an Aggie, but it's not a name that strikes fear. If you listened to Aggies over the past few weeks, you would have heard the names Jimmy Johnson, Tommy Tubberville, Steve Spurrier and the ghost of Vince Lombardi.

But, to me Mike Sherman is a name the will excite old, white former Aggies (mostly because he is, himself, an old, white former Aggie). But I don't see the "kids" getting too pumped over this hire. I may be wrong, but I doubt the inner-city kids have been clamoring for this hiring.

But I do love this quote:

Sherman called the program "a sleeping giant" and vowed to turn things around.

Seems like EXACTLY what Aggies love to hear and think about themselves. So, until I am proven wrong by a 3rd straight loss to A&M, I will continue to not be concerned with this hiring.

Talk About Your All-time Backfires....

So Baylor doesn't have a coach. Oh yeah, and the guy they wanted, doesn't so much want them. Oops! Baylor legend, Mike Singletary, has announced he is not interested in the job opening at his alma mater.

Singletary Says No Go in Waco

And a final memo to the Bears.... Get used to it.

Rumors Are Fun...

Oh those wild coaching carousel rumors... how we all love them.

Greg Davis to SMU??

This one, however, would rock the collective Texas Football world. I would say about 70% of fans would be jumping for joy, while the more football savvy fans would realize that Texas really did lose a great assistant coach. Even if he wasn't the offensive coordinator, Greg Davis is valuable asset as maybe one of the top QB coaches in the nation. Just look at his pedigrees: Major Applewhite, Chris Simms, Chance Mock, Vince Young, Colt McCoy. There has been ZERO drop off in QB play.

But when there is a loss, to Texas fans, there is but one reason: It has to be Greg Davis. I cannot even fathom the amount to hatred that has been tossed at this man. And for what? The top 6 scoring seasons in Texas history? The top 8 passing seasons in Texas history? Molding Vince Young into one of the greatest players in NCAA history?

Yeah, there are frustrating times, but there are with any coach. If you talk to a fan bases, they can probably point out 40 offensive plays they would have run differently that the person being paid to do it. I mean, they score 60 points a game in NCAA '08! They HAVE to know what they are doing. They even had it on Heisman Level!

Long story short, there is a reason that Mack has held on to this guy for so long. He does a good job. Texas will miss him if he goes. The fans just don't know it yet.

After Facing Arkansas-Montecello and UC-Davis, Texas Basketball Ready for Hogwart's Academy

Hey the Texas basketball team is 3-0! Technically, those games have been against Texas-San Antionio, UC-Davis and Arkansas-Monticello... but who is counting? It really isn't that odd for top basketball teams to beat up on much lesser competition in the beginning of the year, but it doesn't really make for great basketball. The Roadrunners, Aggies and Boll Weevils (yeah that's right) have not really challenged the Horns too much this year, but thats also not what they are here for. This is a Texas team that is young and trying to turn the page on the Kevin Durant Era. These games provide the coaches with a chance to get offenses and defenses in and set playing rotations.

Texas' most recent whipping-boy was Arkansas-Monticello, who left Austin a 100-52 loser. A.J. Abrams led the scoring charge as he dropped in 30 points, hitting 8 of 12 threes. Augustin was solid as usual with 8 points and 6 assists. All eleven Longhorn players that saw action scored, including Ian Mooney (who even saw 10 minutes on the floor).

While these games may not tell us too much about Texas' future successes or difficulties, we can get some idea of what this team will look like from this game. First, we know this team is young. J.D. Lewis & Ian Mooney are the only seniors to go along with 2 juniors, 7 sophomores, and 4 freshmen. But this Texas team is as deep as it is young. Granted, it was a blow out, but seven players saw over 15 mins and everyone contributed when on the floor.

Texas will also be a defensive team. Texas has allowed 37, 42 and 52 points in their games this year. Again, this isn't the best competition, but Texas plays tough, hard-nosed defense throughout the games. Lastly, this is D.J. Augustin's team. Everything Texas does on offense is going to be predicated on D.J. He is going to have to penetrate to get this offense going. Texas is guard heavy, so Agustin's drive will likely be setting up open threes for his teammates. He will also pick running the pick and roll with Damion James and the other Texas big men. What ever Texas plans on offense, you can be sure that it will run through D.J.

These early games are mostly fun for seeing blowouts, discount admissions and random white guys playing towards the end. Texas starts playing better competition this Friday against New Mexico State and will then face wither West Virginia or Tennessee on Saturday.

New Commercial Confirms Kevin Durant "Man-Crush"

Just in case I was worried that my man-crush on Durant was fading, the NBA has put him in a really cool new commercial. Thank you.

A Season of Firsts

The Lady Longhorns came into the 2007 soccer season much like they have every year, a top ranked team filled with talent and expectations. Typically the hype has fallen short of performance and the Longhorns have fallen short in the conference tournament, the NCAA tournament, and against Texas A&M.

This season has been different as Texas defeated #2 UCLA in a neutral site game early in the season and have continued with a season of firsts. Texas added their second consecutive Big XII Tournament title with a victory over #2 Texas A&M. Heading into the tournament Texas got a tough draw, ending up in College Station with a second round rematch with the Aggies looming.

Texas accomplished another first on Thursday, defeating BYU in the first round. Texas to that point had never won a match in College Station, against the Aggies or anyone else. The win put the Longhorns in the second round, with a match up against the Aggies, whom they had never beaten in College Station.

In a game that faced adverse weather conditions, throughout, Texas A&M controlled the first half after a 50 minute weather delay, and took a 1-0 lead into the half. The second half is when the magic happened as Texas overcame the weather, the opponent, and the atmosphere, and did something they've never done before. Three straight second half goals put them on top 3-1, and they held on for the 3-2 victory, defeating the Aggies for the first time ever in College Station, and their fourth win in the last five matches against the Aggies.

Freshman Erika Campanelli picked the best time for her first career collegiate goal tying the game at one. And then seniors Caitlyn Kennedy and Kelsey Carpenter scored the second and third goals, respectively. Then the Longhorns played defense and held on, as Dianna Pfenniger had 7 saves, as Texas A&M had 23 shots.

The win is huge for this Texas program and one can only hope that the Longhorns can build on this victory and take on the only other hurdle standing in this program's way; they have never made it out of the third round. The Longhorns will try and fix that this Friday as they head to Tallahassee, Florida to take on the #3 seed in the region, the #6 nationally ranked Florida State Seminoles. The winner will meet the winner between the #5 seed in the region Connecticut and the #1 seed in the region and #9 nationally Stanford.

Baylor Bears 'Sic Guy Morriss

The Baylor Bears have officially shown Guy Morriss the exit. It's not like anyone did not see the writing on the wall. In his five years as coach, Baylor has posted an 18-40 record and a 7-33 Big 12 record. This season the Bears are winless in conference play.

GUY MORRIS FIRED

But, is Baylor even a job worth taking? What do fans expect from the Bears? Honestly, Morriss has at least made playing Baylor a harder win than they used to be. They may have a had a down year, but is bringing in a new coach really going to make Baylor a powerhouse or a attractive spot for recruits? The Bears aren't even competing with the Texas' and A&M's of the world. They usually fight for prospects with TCU, SMU and the like.

But I don't see that changing fast. The best thing Baylor can do is change it's schedule, not its coach. The best thing they can do is schedule four cupcakes in preseason play and if they can pull out just 2 conference wins, they can be bowl eligible. Baylor need not have delusions of grandeur of sustained success. But then again, who thought Kansas would be #2 in the nation after going 11-29 in conference play from 2002-2006?

Lloyd Carr to Retire, Per ESPN

ESPN is apparently confirming a rumor that has been discussed for the past several weeks. Michigan's head coach, Lloyd Carr will be retiring after the football season. Carr has coached the Wolverines for the past 13 years and was the last hold over from Bo Schembechler era at Michigan.

CARR OUT AT MICHIGAN

Carr brought a National Championship to the program in 1997, and Michigan has been an incredibly solid and consistent team during his 13 years. But, for all that Michigan did accomplish, fans always were left wanting more and felt like they never lived up to the expectations and talent levels. It couldn't help that Jim Tressel has made 2 National Championship games, brought a title home and Ohio State has started to consistently out perform Michigan.

This does have some indirect effect on Texas, because it will likely affect the names in the A&M hiring and LSU's Les Miles may be the favorite for the job.

Mormons Will Not Break Us, Bring on the Aggies

Texas opened up their quest for the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship on Thursday afternoon in College Station, Texas. Facing the #22 BYU Cougars, Texas had their first challenge in what was a horrible tournament draw.

Early on Texas looked like a focused and driven team, as freshman forward Alisha Ortiz scored two goals in the first 20 minutes of the match. The first goal was scored in the 10th minute as Ortiz dribbled through the box, around the keeper and passed the ball into an empty net to give the Horns a 1-0 lead. The score didn't stay like that for long as Ortiz picked up a loose ball outside the box and drilled a strike to the back upper side of the goal to give the Longhorns all they needed for a 2-0 victory. The outburst by Ortiz was a surprise as she only had one goal on the season coming in.

After the early lead, Texas was content to take the pressure off, sit back, and play defense. And defense they played, as BYU had 17 second half shots, forcing keeper Dianna Pfenniger to make 7 saves. However, Texas was able to keep the Cougars off the board and will advance to the second round for only the third time in school history.

There they will face #2 in the nation, Texas A&M who advanced with a 4-1 victory over Stephen F. Austin. Texas has split two meetings with the Aggies, losing 2-0 during conference play in College Station and defeating the Aggies 2-1 in a neutral site victory for the Big XII Tournament Title just 6 days ago.

The Longhorns have won 3 of their last 4 meetings with the Aggies, but have never beaten A&M in College Station.

Week 12 Spotlight

The Cleaning Crew took back control in Week 11, and the Staples need to make something happen quick if they hope to erase the 59 point deficit by the end of the year."

Quarterbacks
- Brian Brohm is third in the nation in passing yards per game, and is about the only bright spot for Louisville this season. They are going to score, and he's going to get his yards. They put up 31 points last week against a good West Virginia defense, so they will do their thing against anyone. For as good as the Louisville offense is, their defense is that much worse. That is why dual threat quarterback Matt Grothe of South Florida should have a huge day throwing the ball and running the ball against Louisville.

Runningbacks
- West Virginia has a big game this weekend at Cincinnati. They need a win to stay in the Big East Title race. When it comes to big games, the Mountaineers give the ball to Steve Slaton and let him carry them to victory. Look for him to have a big day. Another runner that will have a big day is big Anthony Dixon of Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have been a huge surprise in the SEC this season and Dixon has run for over 1,000 yards this season. Going against an Arkansas defense that doesn't really play any, the Bulldogs should be able to pound the football all game.

Wide Receivers
- When you have a team that has a system that produces insane numbers like Texas Tech's passing attack, the players involved will benefit. However, when you get talent in those systems the results are eye popping. Michael Crabtree has been having one of those years and he is good for over 100 yds, and a few touchdowns per game. Another big target that has had a big year is Aaron Kelly at Clemson. He has emerged as the go to target for quarterback Cullen Harper, and look for Kelly to have a big day against Boston College.

Offense/Defense
- West Virginia's offense is going to give Cincinnati problems this weekend. A team that can normally stop the run well, the Bearkats haven't seen anything like Steve Slaton and Pat White. Coming off a poor performance last week against Louisville, look for West Virginia to bounce back in a big way. Penn State travels to Michigan State this weekend, with the Nittany Lions looking to lock up a new years day bowl. It should be cold, with a chance of rain and snow, which will make it a low scoring Big Ten affair. Also, I'll be at the game, so I need something to cheer for.

Picks

Maryland (5-5)
Florida State (6-4)

#7 Ohio State (10-1)
#21 Michigan (8-3)

#23 Kentucky(7-3)
#9 Georgia (8-2)

Mississippi State (6-4)
Arkansas (6-4)

Duke (1-9)
Notre Dame (1-9)

Penn State (8-3)
Michigan State (6-5)

#17 Boston College (8-2)
#15 Clemson (8-2)

#6 West Virginia (8-1)
#22 Cincinnati (8-2)

Louisville (5-5)
South Florida (7-3)

#4 Oklahoma (9-1)
Texas Tech (7-4)

Week 12 Spotlight

Well, folks. It is close to the end of fantasy season and the Stomach Staples are still training the Cleaning Crew by a pretty sizable margin.
QB- Graham Harrell- You can't fault his numbers, he can just never put up enough points to win. Tech can pretty much score on everyone and Harrell is always going to get his yards and TDs. OU wont let him go for 700 yards, but you can count on at least 350 passing yards for Harrell.

QB- Sam Bradford- OU is playing Tech. Did you see Tech's defense last week (and this entire season)? They can't cover receivers or tackle. That is usually helpful for an offense. Bradford will have a big day.

RB- DeMarco Murray- This follows the same argument as all my Oklahoma player picks. They are playing Texas Tech. Last week, Jamaal Charles had 165 yards rushing in the first half against Tech. Murray is going to see a lot of open field.

RB- Darren McFadden- He is nothing short of the best RB in the nation. McFadden has racked up some unreal number this year including almost 500 yards rushing the last 2 weeks. There has been no team that can really stop him this year, so what are the chances Mississippi State is going to do it?

WR- Henry Douglas- Lousiville may be one of the biggest disappointing teams this year. But that mainly rests on their defense. The offense has still been high powered and Douglas has been the main recipient of Brian Brohm's passing.

WR- Mario Manningham- No matter if Mallet or Henne is at QB, Mario is going to be the go-to guy. He has really stepped up his play this year while Michigan have been forced to rotate quarterbacks either from injury of lack of production.

O- Oklahoma- The Sooners are playing Texas Tech. Do I really need to elaborate?

D- Florida State- The Florida State defense has really been the only part of this team that has performed decently this year. Maryland has been hit and miss on offense this year. Sometimes they look terrible, sometimes they hang 45 on BC. Let's hope the 'Noles bring it.

That's Quack-tastic! Big XII in drivers seat for National Title

The Big XII may rank fourth in the Sagarin Conference rankings ahead of the Big Ten and ACC, but outside the top 4 teams, this conference is terrible. And yet, thanks to three ligaments in Dennis Dixon's knee (which I will say, sucks. He was fun to watch.) Oregon's National title hopes are gone, falling on the road at lowly Arizona. (A gift from younger Stoops to older Stoops)

The Oregon loss pretty much assures that the Big XII Champion is going to be playing for the National Title. I thought that Oregon was going to end up getting screwed anyways, because of the strength of schedule and voters boost that the Big XII Round Robin winner would get. As the new #2, #3, and #4 in the BCS with Texas most likely climbing into the top 10 before everything said and done, the Big XII has the most top heavy conference in the country. Am I saying they are the best teams in the country, definitely not. But when you have to get up for three games a season as opposed to every single one in the SEC, it makes it a little easier to run the table.

Assuming Missouri can get a road win at Kansas State this week, and Kansas can beat the streaking Cyclones of Iowa State, the Kansas and Missouri will meet as the #2 and #4 teams in the BCS with the winner moving on to the Big XII Championship game. This is the biggest game the Big XII North will have seen since the Nebraska-Colorado days, if not ever. It is certainly the first time the North has mattered in the last 5 years.

If Oklahoma can survive two dangerous offensive teams that can't play a lick of defense in Texas Tech (in Lubbock) and Oklahoma State (at home) then Oklahoma will be playing the winner of the North showdown for the right to play in the National Championship. If everything holds up, that game will be #2 vs. #3 in the BCS Rankings in a game that will be the first Big XII Championship game anyone has cared about in five years.

What does all this mean for Texas? Well it means that Texas got another fortuitous bounce in their improbable (and undeserving) darkhorse candidacy for the BCS. Oregon might not drop behind Texas in the BCS standings, but if Dennis Dixon is injured I don't think they can win both of their last two games at UCLA and vs. Oregon State. The loss also allows for Arizona State to control their destiny in the Pac-10. If they can win this weekend against USC, they will knock USC out of the BCS and lock up the automatic bid for the Pac-10, exactly what Texas would want. This is getting to the point of silliness as Texas continues to march towards a BCS birth. I still think that if Oklahoma wins the Big XII Title, a 10-2 Texas gets the nod from the BCS bowls because of their fan base, over a 2-loss Missouri or a 1-loss Kansas. Unfair? Yes. Am I going to complain? No.

A few other notes on the Oregon game:

- Was it me or did watching Brady Leaf (younger brother of Ryan Leaf) play just have a sense of impending doom about him? The Leaf cross has to be a heavy one to bare, and while I'm sure he is a talented player, I had a sick sense of enjoyment watching him lose and not comeback in that game. He's a Leaf, you just want to see if he's going to get drunk, yell at reporters, and throw interceptions.

- The Ryan Leaf sideline interview was priceless. For most people I'm sure it was seeing a late 90s celebrity being unearthed for an awkward appearance. However, being in Texas I did know that Leaf had landed on his feet (if you can call it that) as a volunteer Quarterbacks coach at West Texas A&M. While this is just too easy to make jokes about, Ryan Leaf reminds you that before you laugh, they are 11-0, #4 in the country in Division ? and are getting great quarterbacks play. Thank you for that resume reading Ryan, but don't call us, we'll call you. He did a solid job of holding it together and not looking too excited to be back on the football map for his 5 minutes of fame, until of course he told Chris Fowler that he missed him. I don't think I'm the only one that found that to be an extremely uncomfortable moment. If only he could have tried to kiss Erin Andrews.

- Dennis Dixon is an amazing player and he would have cemented the Heisman had he played the entire game, I'm sure of that. However, the collapse of Oregon once he was out of the game speaks volumes about this Ducks team. Many people like to compare Oregon and Dennis Dixon to Texas and Vince Young, and while they are similar players and Vince was the only reason Texas won the National Championship, that Texas team was a lot more talented and I think that without Vince with they could have won with their defense, special teams, and running game against a team in the bottom half of the division. You would have liked to see more from Oregon's defense and offense, being a team that was supposedly going to play for the National Title. Though I'm sure we'll be saying that about Kansas, Oklahoma, or Missouri in the coming weeks.

"Cool. See Ya Next Year! Stay Sweet!"

From the files of: "Oh, ok. Hadn't crossed my mind. But I am glad you are gonna still be here anyways." Jamaal Charles has announced that he will return for his senior season at Texas. I mean Charles has been amazing of late and he has all kinds of talent, but he is not one that most would have worried that he was going to the NFL early. But hey, having Jamaal, Vondrell and Ogbonnaya in the backfield for another season will be fun.

Charles staying put

In other news, I am announcing that I will be staying for dinner tonight. I will not leave early to get a jump start on breakfast for tomorrow. I talked it over with my parents and my nutritionist and we all feel that it is my best interest to not forgo my final meal of the day. While I know breakfast will always be there, there is always a risk of eating too much at dinner and not making as big an impact in breakfast as I would have. But I know I will have a successful breakfast no matter what, so one more meal will only help me in the long run.

Previewing the Weekend: BC v. Clemson

You have to think Boston College has been shunned from the collective psyche of the Northeast. I mean, come on they lost a game. And not only one game, they lost TWO! That's two more than the Celtics and Patriots combined. As far as Boston is concerned, the Golden Eagles are a bunch of 8-2 losers. Matt Ryan is far removed from being a Heisman front runner and BC is coming off 2 straight losses.

But BC goes into Clemson with both teams tied for the lead in the ACC Atlantic Conference. The winner goes on to face, most likely, Virgina Tech in the ACC Championship game. So there are big BCS implications for these two teams.

BC comes in on the strength of its passing game, behind Matt Ryan. While Clemson relies on is two big-time runners, CJ Spiller and James Davis (no relation to Greg, Texas fans). Also, Clemson comes in riding a 4 game win streak and, as mentioned before, BC has lost 2 in a row. But, if you look at Clemson's wins, you have to think they have not played a very tough schedule. Their last four wins come against Central Michigan, Duke, Maryland and Wake Forest. Not exactly a bunch of world beaters (Maryland did just beat BC).

Boston College has at least beaten some quality opponents (Virginia Tech & Georgia Tech), but they have definitely gotten themselves in a rut. They only managed 17 points against a very mediocre Florida State team and they had their defense destroyed by Maryland. Just a few weeks ago it seemed improbable that Boston College, who was ranked #2, would be on the verge of dropping three straight. But that's were they find themselves.

The big advantage Clemson has is their running game. They can control the clock and keep Matt Ryan off the field. When a strong passing team and a strong running team clash, I always err on the side of the running team, since they can keep the passers off the field. I think Clemson keeps the ball just long enough to not let BC in the endzone enough. Oh, and his game happens to be in Death Valley. Prediction: Clemson 27 BC 24

What this means for Texas: Honestly, not too much. Texas needs for the ACC to only get 1 team in the BCS and not have an at large bid. What is going to be most important is that the winner of this game needs to lose to Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game. So, with that being the case, let's root for BC since they are the lower ranked team

Previewing the Weekend: Kentucky v. Georgia

With Texas enjoying its first bye week of the season, we turn our attention to other matchups of note this Saturday that can have an effect on the Longhorns outside chance at a BCS bid.

Kentucky Strengths: For the Wildcats, its their offense. Andre Woodson has emerged on to the scene as a quarterback that can play on the big stage and lead his team to victory. Woodson's offense has put up almost 40 points a game this season, including 43 and 47 against LSU and Florida, respectively. Only twice this year has Kentucky put up less than 27 points.

Kentucky Weaknesses: Defense. Kentucky is 11 of 12 in total defense in the SEC, giving up almost 30 points a game. That is not a good sign when Georgia has been on fire as an offense. They are going to have to deal with Matt Stafford who is beginning to live up to the hype re received out of high school. It may be long game for the Kentucky secondary.

Georgia Strengths: Figuring out ways to excite their team. Whether is be Black jerseys or a full team celebration in the endzone, Mark Richt has pulled out all the stops to get his team pumped to go out and win. There is just no telling what tricks he might be pulling out of his inspirational gimmick bag.

Georgia Weaknesses: They don't have a glaring weakeness, but in the past 3 games the Bulldogs have given up 30, 34 and 20 points. And, oh by the way, that 34 was to Troy. Georgia just needs to be more consistent. They have all the pieces to make a run at the SEC, but their defense needs to come play every Saturday. That is especially true this week as Kentucky brings in a high powered offense.

What Will Happen: Kentucky and Georgia have seemingly taken opposite routes to this game. Kentucky exploded out of the gate and made a run at a Top 5 ranking before losing 3 of their last 5. Georgia, on the other hand, has won 4 straight and is one of the hottest teams in America. The Bulldogs are coming off an 25 beating of a ranked Auburn team. Georgia's offense can keep up with anything the Wildcats can do. But the difference is that Georgia's defense is going to come up with the stops that Kentucky's will not. Predicted Score: UGA 42 Kentucky 33.

What this means for Texas: It would be helpful to Texas' BCS chances if Kentucky could pull this out. Georgia is hot right now and climbing in the rankings. If they win out (even if they don't win the SEC) they could be in a prime spot for a BCS berth. Texas needs teams that are not going to win their conference to lose. The less teams they have to compete with for an at-large bid, the better. Go Cats!

Previewing the Weekend: OSU at. MICH

With Texas enjoying its first bye week of the season, we turn our attention to other matchups of note this Saturday that can have an effect on the Longhorns outside chance at a BCS bid.

# 7 Ohio State at #21 Michigan

It seems fitting that anytime this rivalry comes up, everyone starts talking about Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. The Ohio State/Michigan match up is a relic and our best link to the football of that era. If they put this game in black and white, it might look very similar to those old games. Why is this a problem? Because the Big Ten is getting lost in the new era of speed and spread offenses. Appalachian State showed the weakness with the Big Ten's outdated systems, Oregon exploited it, and Illinois and Ron Zook hammered it home all season long. Illinois is about the only team playing a spread offense in the Big Ten, and they have been able to move into third place in the conference with wins over Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin.

The aforementioned teams have made this game all but meaningless outside of the Big Ten, with the teams playing for a conference title, a trip to the Rose Bowl, and nothing more. They both come into the game following a loss for the first time since 1959. Ohio State saw its National Championship hopes dashed, but can still take joy in doing what it has done the last three years, and that is beat Michigan. QB Todd Boeckman (2121 yds/23 TDs/11 INTs) had his first bad game last week and hopes to bounce back this week. He has benefited all season from the running of Chris Wells (1241 yds/12 TDs) and his two main receivers, Brian Robiskie (864 yds/10 TDs) and Brian Hartline (610 yds/5 TDs). But the strength of Ohio State always is the defense, which is ranked 2nd in the nation this season. They will be a hard unit to beat, angry after a loss, exposed against a spread attack again, and joyful about facing a typical Big Ten offense.

This game is much more interesting for Michigan. As a team that needs this game to have anything to show for a disastrous 0-2 start that derailed any title hopes, Michigan is a disappointment. A senior laden team, that had Chad Henne and Mike Hart return to try and win a championship, they will also lose much of their defense, their offensive line and possibly both their top Wide Recievers (Manningham is a draft eligible junior). A loss also might spell the end of an era for Lloyd Carr at Michigan. Boosters have been frustrated, well just about every year since Michigan won a National title, but the voices have been especially loud after the first two losses of the season. A loss to Ohio State would mark an 8-4 season for the Wolverines, and could very well be the final straw for Lloyd Carr. (I can't say I endorse firing a coach who wins 8 to 10 games every season and recruits well. That's another story for another day.) Chad Henne (1497 yds/14 TDs/7 INTs) has been a huge disappointment for a fourth year starter and Mike Hart (1188 yds/12 TDs) might not play. The defense has been solid since getting shredded the first two weeks and will need to stop the run to be successful.

TEXAS' TAKE:
A Michigan win would be the worst thing for Texas, as it would probably but Hawaii or Boise State in a BCS bowl courtesy of them finishing ahead of the Wolverines, and there would be a chance that Ohio State could steal a BCS birth from Texas. An Ohio State win would keep the universe at peace, but the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl and keep Michigan out of the BCS picture.

PREDICTION:
While the game is in the Big House, this is still Lloyd Carr vs. Jim Tressel, Mike Hart probably won't play or won't be anywhere near 100%, and it is still Chad "Big Game Loss" Henne at quarterback. Lloyd Carr coaches his last game in the Big House as the Wolverines go down 31-17.

Previewing the Weekend: WVU at. CIN

With Texas enjoying its first bye week of the season, we turn our attention to other matchups of note this Saturday that can have an effect on the Longhorns outside chance at a BCS bid.

#6 West Virginia at #22 Cincinnati

West Virginia comes in having won 4 straight games, back in the hunt for the Big East title and an outside chance at the BCS National Championship game. It has been a crazy season in the Big East as most expected, West Virginia's last two games against Louisville and Rutgers to be the ones that decided the conference title, as oppose to their next two against Cincinnati and Connecticut.

West Virginia has one of the top offenses in the country behind the running of QB Pat White (863 yds/10 TDs) and RB Steve Slaton (885 yds/14 TDs). They are fast and athletic and have a great offensive line with an effective blocking scheme. They also spread the field well, making it difficult for defenses to crowd the box to stop the run. The West Virginia defense is also a great unit, ranking 4th in the country in total defense and 11th in pass defense. They will need to play well and pressure QB Ben Mauk (2033 yds/21 TDs/6 INTs) and force him into making mistakes.

Cincinnati comes into this game hot, after defeating South Florida and then destroying UConn 27-3 last week. If Cincinnati hopes to keep the magic alive against the Mountaineers they are going to have to disrupt the West Virginia game and force turnovers. While Cincinnati boasts the 13th ranked run defense in the country, they haven't faced a running attack like this. In WVU's only loss this season, South Florida was able to jump out to a 21-3 lead and forced West Virginia to throw the ball to get back into the game. The Bulls also forced 6 turnovers. This is going to have to be how Cincinnati gets it done if they hope to defeat West Virginia. Slaton is prone to fumbles, and Pat White has been in and out of games with injuries all season long. Cincinnati will need to hit hard and not give up the big chunks of yardage that West Virginia thrives on.

TEXAS' TAKE:
The Longhorns at this point are hoping for an at large BCS birth. To do so they need to be among the top teams that didn't win their conference and hope that Boise State or Hawaii doesn't get an automatic birth by finishing in the top 12, or finishing in the top 16 ahead of a major conference champion. How does this relate to the Big East? Anyone winning the conference other than West Virginia (Connecticut leads the conference by a half game) would cause all sorts of problems as UConn and Cincy are behind Boise State and Hawaii in the BCS rankings, and West Virginia would probably stay ahead of Texas as a two loss team. Texas needs West Virginia to win out which would lock up the Big East automatic birth and effectively knock Cincinnati and UConn out of BCS at large contention.

PREDICTION:
West Virginia is too much on the ground for Cincinnati and Ben Mauk struggles with West Virginia's aggressive defense as the Mountaineers roll 34-21.

Big XII Power Rankings

Heading down the stretch it now appears that it is a good possibility that the Big XII will have a representative in the BCS National Championship game. Is the conference really deserving of that? Are they deserving of three teams in the Top 5 in the country? Unless we're talking about a different Big XII than the one I know, they aren't. None the less, the Big XII has taken the nation by storm the past few weeks, and it is all because of one thing, outside the top four this conference is pretty bad.

Top Tier
#4 Oklahoma (9-1) (5-1) - W - 52-21 vs. Baylor
- The Sooners finally have to take it out of cruise control as they go to face the crazy lawyer himself, Mike Leach and Texas Tech. While it is always a tough match up they should be able to win if they run the ball up the middle. And you know, have one of the officials reside in Norman. Get by the Red Raiders and they have the Bedlam Series against Oklahoma State. While Mike Gundy manliness (I'M 40, I'M A MAN!!!) could provide a challenge for the Sooners, once again the total lack of defense should be what allows Oklahoma to get away unscathed (Does anyone play defense in this conference anymore?). Then it is time to wait and see who comes out of the Missouri/Kansas battle for a shot at the Big XII Title.

#6 Missouri (9-1) (5-1) - W - 40-26 vs. Texas A&M
- This is a tough call to keep Missouri here, but they have a win at Illinois (granted it was at the beginning of the year, and we thought the Fighting Zooks weren't good) and a close loss on the road at Oklahoma. Those two games give them two more good games than Kansas. Still not sold on the defense being able to stop anyone, but hey it's the Big XII! Defense optional! At Kansas State this weekend and a neutral site game against Kansas for all the marbles (or the Big XII North) in two weeks. If recent trends continue, they should watch out for the Wildcats, because history has shown that teams that give up 70 points one week, will score 70 points the next week.

#4 Kansas (10-0) (6-0) - W - 43-28 at Oklahoma State
- I find the Kansas Jayhawks an intriguing team for 3 reasons:

#1 - Everyone has jumped on their bandwagon and is trying to ride the Cinderella story all the while ignoring the fact that they have played a ridiculously easy schedule. Out of conference they played Central Michigan (#69 Sagarin Rankings), but the rest have been ranked 112, 173, and 201. Then in conference they have managed to avoid Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech due to scheduling, and the best of the rest is Oklahoma State (#39 Sagarin Rankings). No one on their schedule has more than 6 wins this season.

#2 - All that being said, I watched them for the first time against Oklahoma State, and they are really really good. Top tier in the nation, I don't know, but next tier, definitely. They are a talented team that doesn't turn over the ball and plays hard all the time. They are balanced on offense and have a very stout defense that has fared well against the passing attacks in the Big XII. They are fun to watch.

#3 - Mark Mangino is enormous. Most coaches that have a weight problem do something about it, Charlie Weis (gastric by-pass), Ralph Fridgen (Exercise, Dieting), Rick Majerus (retired for health reasons). But only Mangino keeps getting bigger. He just keeps growing. He keeps getting bigger. He's going to eat someone at some point in time. For Kansas' title hopes, it better not be the quarterback.

#12 Texas (9-2) (5-2) - W - 59-43 vs. Texas Tech
- Overshadowed by the fact that Mike Leach is insane, is the fact that this was the best game that Texas has played all season. If only the best game that we played all season didn't involve us giving up 466 yards and 5 TDs passing. But hey, the offense sure was clicking! Texas I don't think deserves to be mentioned with the top 3, and I can't say we deserve to backdoor our way to a BCS bowl. But hey, if we get chosen over a more deserving Missouri or Kansas, I'm not one to complain, only Mike Leach does that. We still look like a team that should be 8-4 and playing in the Alamo Bowl, so I for one am enjoying the overachieving season.

The Bottom Tier
Yes, I just did it. There's no middle tier. There's the top, and then there's the rest. There, I said it.

Oklahoma State (5-5) (3-3) - L - 43-28 vs. #5 Kansas
- They just looked overwhelmed by Kansas. Their defense isn't very good, and Kansas caused their offense to be out of sync. I was honestly surprised to see this game was that close. There was no point where I thought Kansas was going to lose. Oklahoma State is just a team that you have to show up for, but if you do you can win. The Texas and Kansas games speak volumes on how poorly coached this team is. Or I guess you could have watched the Mike Gundy You Tube Clip to figure it out.

Texas Tech (7-4) (3-4) - L - 59-43 vs. #14 Texas
- I think Pat Forde said it best when he said that Texas Tech will never be a contender as long as they can't run the ball and stop the run. While I think their passing offense is a pretty close equivalent to running the ball, they sure can't stop the run. Firing their defensive coordinator after the Oklahoma State game sure did the trick. I see a parallel between Texas Tech football and basketball. A second tier team that you don't want to play, but can't get the talent that they need to make the leap. And that reason is the wonderful metropolis called Lubbock.

Kansas State (5-5) (3-4) - L - 73-31 at Nebraska
- Obviously we learned a valuable lesson from this game. There are multiple levels of quitting for the season. The first level is what we saw the Bucks, Celtics, and Grizzlies do last season. The second level is what Nebraska has done this season. The third is giving up 70 points to a team that has quit on their season. Way to go Kansas State, you have officially reached the level three. Lose to Missouri and Fresno State and you won't have to worry about that bowl game.

Texas A&M (6-5) (3-4) - L - 40-26 at #7 Missouri
- Not a terrible showing for the Aggies. I mean, I wasn't expecting much better. In two weeks, they will get to send of Coach Fran in fine fashion in a showdown against rival Texas. I hate this game. Texas should win. Texas should win big. But this game is always close. It's a lose lose for the Horns. Either way, A&M will get to start from scratch after the season. Somewhere RC Slocum is laughing.

Colorado (5-6) (3-4) - L - 31-28 at Iowa State
- Seriously, you are the surprise story of the year in the Big XII (Still more than Kansas, look at reason #1) and then you go and lose to Iowa State. You were looking at a 5-3 finish in the Big XII, now I'm not even sure you're going to beat Nebraska at the end of the year. Either way it will be a successful year for the Buffaloes that they can build on, but 7-5 and the Alamo Bowl was so much more fun than 5-7 or 6-6 and the Insight Bowl.

Nebraska (5-6) (2-5) - W - 73-31 vs. Kansas State
- This whole thing has just become awkward. It's like a girlfriend that has decided to break up with her boyfriend. She knows it, he knows it. But instead of just accepting it and moving on, he buys her flowers and tries to win her heart back. Callahan you're going to get fired and no amount of 70 point outbursts is going to change that.

Iowa State (3-8) (2-5) - W - 31-28 vs. Colorado
- Back to back victories over Kansas State and Colorado have given first year head coach Gene Chizik something to build on for next year. Maybe it was mentioning them with the Baylor Bears that inspired the troops. Wouldn't it be funny if they pulled off the unthinkable and upset #3 Kansas this weekend? Though I don't know if you want to risk upsetting Mt. Mangino.

Baylor (3-8) (0-7) - L - 52-21 at #4 Oklahoma
- Going 0-8 in conference is embarrassing. Not holding a conference opponent under 30 points is embarrassing. Not coming within 20 points of a conference opponent since October 2006 is embarrassing. But hey, start looking at the surprise 6-5 teams this year and maybe you can find the new man to come in and be your coach for 3 years before going 0-8 in conference and firing him.