Texas Longhorn Colt McCoy

Texas has a chance to get back on track and earn back some of the respect that slipped away during the Ohio State game last week. The key this week will be for the defense to step up and not make many of the mistakes that they made last week. Rest assured that Gene Chizik has put the Longhorns through a rigorous workout this week and they will be ready. On the offensive side of the ball Colt will have to be ready for the heavy blitzing that Rice does. While Ohio State and North Texas both used a number of blitzes in their attacks, Rice will have many more defensive looks and try their best to confuse the young quarterback. If Texas limits their mistakes on both the sides of the ball the victory is a guarantee; covering the 34 point spread may be another story.

I’ll never forget the sight of the Twin Towers crumbling as the result of the worst terrorist attack ever upon the United States.  A sense of community and pride was reborn as friends and neighbors pulled together to pray and grieve.  As I look at how the affects of this attack have changed the face of America, I can’t help but ponder how it brings the entire sports and entertainment realm into focus.  Sports for some is a business and income; for millions of others it is an escape from reality and the opportunity to feel like your something bigger than just yourself.  The events of 9/11 greatly impacted my thinking and helped me to turn more to the things that really matter: faith, family and friends.  I’m an avid sport fan and a self proclaimed weekend warrior, but at the end of the day it’s just a game and can be easily taken away.  So as you pause today to remember those who lost their life, also remember that the games must go on; we must continue to move forward with our lives but we must never forget the sacrifice of those who died that day.

Less than 24 hours after a tough loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes and I can only imagine that the Mack Brown and his talented team have done what needs to be done; take in the loss, breath a sigh of relief as this historic showdown is over, and move mentally forward to prepare for Rice next week. As well, kudos should be given to Troy Smith for a brilliant performance that helped to place him into the forefront of the Heisman Trophy race.

Looking ahead now, the Rice Owls are the next opponent for the reigning National Champions and given their first two performances this season they should not be taken lightly. Rice lost a hard fought battle with the University of Houston during week one and remained competitive with the UCLA Bruins, who continue to reside just outside of the top 25 polls, during week two. Following the Ohio State game Rice should be a welcomed challenge but they should not be overlooked as they’ll be a much better opponent than North Texas.

As always, the overall goal here is another Big 12 Conference Title and the Longhorns are still on track to reach that goal; while the loss does drop them from #2 to #8 in the polls, they still have a solid chance at a BCS Game and a very outside chance at playing for the National Title again. Only time will tell, but we’ll all continue to watch it turn.

Ohio State proved to be the better team today coming to Texas and taking a big game from the Longhorns and Colt McCoy. However, I still feel as though this team will be a contender for years to come. With a National Title; Texas is now a program that can pick and choose which athletes will be on the roster. Overall, this is a very young team and Colt & Co. clearly have a long way to go; but I feel as though we could see another title within the next 4 years. Hell if things go right it could happen this year, but at this point this looks to be a stretch. I want to remind the Texas faithful that Vince didn’t look as great early in his career as a Longhorn, but with maturity he helped lead them to their first National Championship in years. Stay faithful, stay committed, this team is one of the top 3 programs in the Nation no matter what the BCS, AP or Coaches Poll happens to say.

So we’re one half into the defining game for Colt McCoy’s career at Texas and poise is the best one-word description I can muster. He has held his composure under the pressure of a strong defensive line, but he has shown very little of the explosiveness he can deliver for the offense. Had it not been for a turnover on the 1yd line he would have lead Texas into a 14-14 tie at the half. The second-half is still to come and no matter the final outcome I think it’s clear that Colt has shown he’ll be leading this team for 4 more years.

Looks like the Texas faithful will have the opportunity to see something that has never before occurred down in Austin, a #1 vs. #2 match-up.  Last week all the buzz was about how Colt would do in a game situation; this week it’s simply about sticking to the game plan, trusting his protection and making the right decisions.  Early on I have to give the advantage to Texas, simply because the game is at home; however, I feel that the Texas defense is going to be extremely tough and if Colt & Co. can exploit the Buckeye’s defense then Mack Brown can add another nugget to his legacy.  Set your tivo because you won’t want to miss one single down of this Super Bowl style game from the Texas Capital.

With a brilliant performance Saturday Colt McCoy has not only earned the respect of his teammates, but he also earned the respect of the Texas faithful. Jimmy Burch from The Star-Telegram had a great article in which he said Colt was “a viable weapon of mass production Saturday in his debut on college football’s firing line.” It now appears that the Class 2A high school status will only be regarded as a number to show case Colt’s talent. No longer will it be the debate of can a 2A athlete lead one of the elite football programs in the nation, but rather it’s amazing to see the talent that emerged from such a small program.

So the first quarter of Colt’s history as Texas Longhorn is officially in the books, and just a minute into the game he lead the team to their first scoring drive.  Overall he has looked solid making no mistakes in the first quarter, and would have looked better if his receivers could hold on to the ball.  As well, mistakes by the special teams limited his time on the field and almost allowing a field goal by North Texas.

Colt’s first scoring drive began with a 60 yard TD pass to Limas Sweed with 13:52 remaining in the first quarter.  The second scoring drive was topped off by a 1yd TD run by Colt McCoy on a QB sneak.  Clearly the play calling is very similar to when Vince Young was running the offense; the difference is most of the rushing offense has been handled by the backs.  Colt did have a nice scramble play that could have easily been a TD pass had his receiver held on to the ball.  Just minutes into the second quarter Colt lead the Longhorns down the field on a drive was capped off by a 1yd TD run by Selvin Young.

As promised Mack Brown placed Javan into the game with 8:04 remaining in the second quarter.  Javan’s first drive started with only 1 completion and ended with an interception as the result of a poorly placed pass.  So far it appears that Mack made the right call choosing Colt as his starter today and if he continue to deliver the ball as we’ve seen today Javan will have a hard time taking the position from Colt; add in runs like the 22yd explosion he had near the end of the 2nd and fans will forget about Vince much quicker than anyone had imagined.

So far it is clear that the Texas defense will make this a very enjoyable season holding the North Texas offense to a total of only 9yds and -4 net rushing yards through the fist half.  The true test on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball will be next week versus the Ohio State Buckeyes.  The Buckeyes are the #1 team i the nation in both the coaches and the AP polls suffering only 1 loss last season to Texas.  Next weeks game will have a huge impact on the BCS rankings and could eliminate one team from competition for the National Title.  The game should be nail biter andand as long as Colt and the defense hold up the out come should be favorable.

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Having followed Colt during his days at Jim Ned High School, I must admit that I’m a little excited to see how he will handle being thrust from 2A high school football to NCAA Division I football. While UNT is not exactly a football powerhouse, they’re not the Bangs Dragons either. In reality I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for the entire State of Texas to see what the tiny town of Tuscola had the opportunity to witness for 3 years, one rock solid athlete no matter where he grew up. I’ll be up early handling my chores around the house, because from 11:00-3:00 I’ll be glued to the computer following every minute of the action.