All Day Sports Talk

Diaster avoided

Sam Bradford re-injured his shoulder on the second drive of the game, when Aaron Williams came off the edge and tackled him in a hit that was nearly identical to the one that sidelined him against BYU.

At that point, Longhorn nation probably felt a collective sigh of relief. Their beloved 'Horns would get to take on the Sooners with their star gunslinger sitting on the sidelines. Unfortnately for them, Ryan Reynolds, Gerald McCoy, and the rest of the Oklahoma defense decided to try and steal the show.

Colt McCoy and the Texas offense once again looked out of sync early. However, there would be no second half renaissance this week. The OU defense was simply too talented for Texas to crack.

New heroes emerged for the Texas offense as the game progressed. Fozzy Whittaker and Marquise Goodwin provided Mack Brown's team with just enough spark in the second half to pull a three point victory out of the Cotton Bowl.

Credit must be given to the Texas defense too. Will Muschamp's unit gave up yards in the air, but made big plays and forced turnovers to keep the game within striking distance. Two second half interceptions by Aaron Williams and Earl Thomas helped to seal the game. Another forced fumble in the first half killed an OU drive that made its way into Longhorn territory. 

This victory will not be enough to jump the 'Horns up in the standings (unless Alabama or Florida lose), but it does keep their destiny in their own hands. Missouri and Oklahoma State will both be tough games for the Longhorns, but if they survive then they will be in position to play whoever wins the SEC. Texas fans just need to hope that Colt McCoy loses the turnover bug by then.

Time for the 'Horns get back on track

The Texas Longhorns may be 5-0, but they have hardly looked like a dominant team this season. The 'Horns have let teams with inferior talent like Wyoming and Colorado hang in there until halftime, before Texas ultimately pulled away. Meanwhile, Heisman hopeful Colt McCoy has not been as sharp as he was last season. The lackluster play has finally been reflected in the polls, with the Associated Press dropping Texas to third.

Alabama has leapfrogged Texas in the AP and Harris polls, but the Horns could score major style points and leap back into the second spot with a strong showing in the Red River Shootout this weekend. With Sam Bradford back, the Oklahoma offense will be the strongest that Texas has faced this season. However, the offensive line for OU is still a work in progress, which should allow Sergio Kindle to pressure Bradford into some bad throws. Bringing the heat will certainly help the young Texas secondary make some plays against a group of OU receivers that were forced into action because of injuries.

Ultimately, the game will come down to McCoy playing like the '08 version of himself. The Sooners are far more talented than the defenses McCoy has seen this year. Star DT Gerald McCoy will need to collapse the pocket. Colt has been turnover prone this season, and some pressure up the middle might force him into some more of the interceptions that were so uncharacteristic of him last year. Colt McCoy will undoubtedly look to Jordan Shipley, his most reliable target when the heat comes. However, McCoy also needs to make a few more plays with his legs. He only has run for 58 yards this season, compared to 561 in 2008. The threat of McCoy running in the zone-option will put more pressure on the opposing defense, and with the ends playing wider to stop McCoy, the middle may open up for a big Vondrell McGee run.

The weakness of the OU offensive line should propel the Longhorns to victory, but if Jordan Shipley is the only person on the Texas offense that comes to play this week, then the Sooners could very easily derail Texas' National Championship dreams, and put themselves in the driver's seat for a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

Time for OSU to step up

The Buckeyes already came into this season under the microscope. An embarrassing loss to USC last year, followed up by two other high profile defeats to PSU and Texas have continued the recent tradition of Ohio State losing in big games. The reputation of the school and the Big Ten as a whole has greatly suffered because of OSU's failures, and a good showing on Saturday night will help change the perception people have of the conference and the Buckeyes.

However, many are rightfully skeptical over the Buckeyes' chances against the Trojans, even if they are in Columbus. Last week saw the Navy Midshipmen come a two-point conversion away from tying the Buckeyes and sending the game to overtime. There's no reason a service academy should give a high profile, power conference opponent like OSU any trouble. But they did. Navy looked tougher and quicker than OSU, and  RIcky Dobbs gave the Midshipmen a passing threat they haven't had in years. What should have been a laugher became a nail biter. Was OSU merely looking ahead to next week, or was the game an omen of things to come in '09?

The defense of OSU needs to step up. If they couldn't stop the run against Navy, then they'll have no chance against USC. The Trojans have one of the best offensive lines in the nation, and a stable of running backs that could start for most programs across the country. On top of that, Matt Barkley looks like the real deal. He has a big league arm, and the potent running game of USC should open up big plays down field off of play action.

There is hope for the Buckeyes. Terrelle Pryor gives Ohio State the biggest X factor in college football. If he's on his game, the true sophomore has the talent to takeover and dominant on his own. Running quarterbacks have given the Trojans problems in the past, and Pryor will need to his best Vince Young interpretation to give his team a chance. His running ability is often talked about, but Pryor can throw the ball to. If his offensive line can keep him clean, then Pryor is capable of making plays down the field and opening up some running lanes for the OSU tailbacks.

It's time for Pryor to come into his own, or the Buckeyes might be staring at their first BCS-less season in awhile.

Weis and the Irish will rebound in 2009

                 Yards     CMP%    YPA     TD-INT    Rating

Player A      2586      54.1     7.33     17-10    125.87
Player B      3172      60.9     7.21     25-17     132.49

Looks like the Irish are right on track. Player A is Brady Quinn before his breakout junior season, while Player B is Jimmy Clausen from last year. The yards are skewed because Clausen threw more, but we can see at this stage in his development he is about where Quinn was at the same point. The YPA and TD-INT differential are the same, while Clausen completes almost 7% more of his passes.

Clausen, Weis, and the Irish have taken a lot of flak over the past two years, but the struggles should not have come as a surprise. Not every young QB is going to come in and put up big numbers from the get go like Sam Bradford in Oklahoma. With that said, Clausen has shown improvement from his freshmen to sophmore year, and there's no reason to believe he shouldn't continue his development in 2009.

He has emerging threats like Golden Tate and Michael Floyd at wide receiver, while Armando Allen and Robert Hughes are improving players in the backfield. In total, 10 of the 11 offensive starters will return for Notre Dame in 2009. This should give the Irish offense enough firepower for Clausen to put up big numbers in his junior campaign.

Now, I know what you're all thinking. What about the defense? It's a unit that will be young and inexperienced. That isn't necessary a bad thing. The Irish defense hasn't been anything to write home about in years, and maybe some young blood will bring some speed and aggression back to that side of the ball.

The unit also switches to a 4-3, but the players are young. This isn't Weis and his staff asking a bunch of seniors to change schemes. Manti Te'o will give the linebacking corps a big boost and the defensive line will be anchored by junior Ian Williams. If Ethan Johnson can tap into his potential, then the front seven will look good. A key to the secondary will be Harrison Smith making a smooth transition from linebacker to safety to replace David Bruton.

The schedule, aside from USC, is full of winnable games for the Irish.  If Clausen and the offense improve and the defense gets even marginally better, this team can win 9 or 10 game next year.