Thursday, August 23, 2007
Texas coach Mack Brown has compiled quite the résumé since taking over the Longhorn program in 1998.
Brown has coached a Heisman Trophy winner, won the Paul “Bear” Bryant Trophy for being the nation’s top coach, and most importantly, brought the National Championship Trophy to Austin, Texas. He has also won at least 10 games for six consecutive seasons.
So, there’s no reason to believe that 2007 won’t be number seven.
OFFENSE
Texas is ranked fourth in both the AP and USA Today preseason polls and looking at its offense, it’s easy to see why. The Longhorns have three skill players in the preseason All-Big 12 football team.
Sophomore quarterback Colt McCoy is the Big 12’s premier signal caller and threw for 29 touchdowns as a freshman. McCoy worked on getting stronger in the offseason in hopes of becoming less injury-prone. With all the right parts in place, McCoy is considered a contender for the Heisman Trophy in only his second year.
Senior wide receiver Limas Sweed is a virtual lock for the All-American team this year. Sweed has both size and speed that make him nearly impossible to cover. Opponents likely won’t be able to double-team Sweed either, as the Longhorns also return their second and third leading receivers, junior Quan Cosby and senior Billy Pittman.
Junior running back Jamaal Charles averaged over five yards per carry last year and should be even better in 2007. The Longhorns do lose three starters along the offensive line, but will reload thanks to Brown’s always top-rated recruiting classes.
DEFENSE
The Longhorns were third in the nation against the rush last season. They return five of their front seven starters this year. Junior middle linebacker Rashad Bobino is the leader of the group and recorded nearly 20 tackles for loss in his first two seasons.
Massive defensive tackles like senior Frank Okam will clog the middle to let an experienced set of linebackers make tackles. Seniors Robert Killebrew and Scott Derry will play beside Bobino. Together the three have started over 50 games in their college careers.
Texas’ secondary shouldn’t be as impenetrable as the linebackers and defensive line. The Longhorns lose three starting defensive backs including two All-Americans. Senior strong safety Marcus Griffin is one of the Big 12’s best but beyond Griffin, there are clear-cut holes.
The Longhorns may begin the year with a rotation in the defensive backfield until a few underclassmen can prove they are capable of playing every down.
SEASON OUTLOOK
Texas’ nonconference schedule could be the easiest in the Big 12 except for Kansas’. After completing their four non-conference games, the Longhorns play Kansas State at home.
The showdown with the Wildcats will be a chance for revenge as they were the team that knocked the Longhorns out of national title contention last year with an upset in Manhattan.
The Red River Shootout, Texas’ annual rivalry game against Oklahoma, falls on Oct. 6 and the winner should have the best chance to win the Big 12 South, as usual.
The Longhorns will probably be favored in all 12 of their games this year, which makes the national championship game a definite possibility. The depth of the Big 12 South, however, makes it more likely that Texas will be defeated at least once.
PREDICTION
11-1, Big 12 Champion, Fiesta Bowl
— Edited by Elizabeth Cattell
Longhorns ready for long haul
Big 12 South Breakdown
A preview of the Big 12 South
Gameday: Nov. 15, 2008
Get ready for Saturday's game against the Longhorns.
Tigers shoot for North Division Title
Missouri started 6-0 last season but dropped five of their next seven ...
Morning Brew: Big 12 football’s best of ...
The Kansan takes a look back at the Big 12 and the ...
Big 12 Media Day: Overview of Big ...
See how next Football seasons looks before it starts.
The Big 12 boasts array of bowl ...
Oklahoma, Kansas to play in BCS bowl games. Texas, Texas A&M, Missouri, ...
Sooners look to repeat Big 12 title
Oklahoma’s only weakness appears to be a lack of experience at quarterback. ...
Texas Gameday
Texas is on pace for a spot in the national championship game. ...
Football: Big 12 South Preview
Here is a preview of Big 12 South teams and the up ...
Texas-sized showdown highlights Big 12 games
Red Raiders try to upend Longhorns as Missouri and Oklahoma look to ...
Big 12 experiences offensive explosion
Typically Big 12 offenses are known for smashmouth football. But this year ...
National college football preview
Staff writer Case Keefer previews the nation's college football action. There are ...
Gameday: Kansas @ Kansas State
Here's a breakdown of KSU and KU for Saturday's game.
Texas' young quarterback presents opportunity for Kansas
The Jayhawks will face the young, yet speedy, Longhorns Saturday.
Big 12 goes the distance with passing ...
The spread offense has enabled quarterbacks in the conference to put up ...
Big 12 Quarterbacks Breakdown
A Preview of the Big 12 Quarterbacks
Conference offers no clear favorites
Teams continue nonconference play in ‘Hangover Saturday’
Some high-ranked football teams struggled this weekend against lesser-ranked teams. The tough ...
Roesler: Three new 'Heisman Hawks' emerge from ...
James Sims, Jordan Webb and Justin Springer step up and stand out ...
Dufek: Why ESPN should vote Todd for ...
No one on ESPN’s expert panel has deemed Reesing worthy of appearing ...
Big 12 ‘mismatches,’ border rivalries, top defenses ...
This weekend in college football, fans experience Big 12 “mismatches,” Butkus Award ...
OK-State Cowboys quietly coming back
Here are some games from around the country that warrant watching this ...
Upsets aplenty across conference, nation
The Jayhawks didn’t play Saturday, but there was plenty of reason for ...
Roesler: Three ‘Hawk Heisman’ hopefuls
If Kansas had any hope of a Heisman, it would go to ...
Texas defeats Oklahoma in rivalry
Missouri shut out for last half of game against Oklahoma State.
Big 12 fares well on opening weekend
Missouri won, Kansas State lost and, unlike the Big 10, all four ...
Tulsa and Oklahoma face off this weekend
Other games to watch this weekend include South Carolina at Louisiana State ...
National football preview: Week 6
Bowling Green and Boston College meet for the first time in history.
Aggies threaten Big 12 Conference
Returning starters for Texas A&M prove an unstoppable team despite rough schedule ...
Big 12 Recap
A wrap-up of this weekend's games
Texas Tech looks to line for protection
Returning only one starter to the line, the Red Raiders may see ...
All Big 12
The All Big 12 First Team
Blog: College football's poll underdogs
Trevor Graff takes a look at the FBS teams who have surprisingly ...
Loss to Texas extends week of woes ...
In a week consumed by questions of Mangino's job status, road trip ...
Kansas loses to Texas 35-7
Kansas' defense couldn't withstand Texas' barrage and the Jayhawk rushing game was ...
Where KU’s defense prevailed against Texas, the ...
With multiple fumbles and only 305 yards of total offense, the Jayhawks ...
No big surprises here
This weekend proved to be a relatively routine weekend in Big 12 ...
Mangino named Coach of the year
Four picked for All-Big 12, four for second team.
Surprising season deserves top grades
The Jayhawks shone in nearly every facet of the game this season, ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID