The unexpected happened today in Dallas. What was supposed to be a grudge match between quarterbacks Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford was anything but after Bradford was knocked out of the game in the first quarter. And what was supposed to be an offensive slug fest actually turned out to be a defensive struggle.
Some may say it wasn’t pretty, but Texas earned a hard-fought 16-13 victory over Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday. Bradford only attempted six passes in the game, completing two for 77 yards before suffering another injury following a first-quarter sack. On the other side, McCoy was just 12 of 39 passing for 127 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
This game turned on the first possession of the second half. After Oklahoma took a 6-3 lead into halftime, the Longhorns came out in the third quarter utilizing a hurry-up offense that allowed McCoy to finally get into a rhythm passing. While the drive only produced a field goal, it instilled confidence in McCoy after the Sooners had frustrated him in the first half. This was the second straight year in which OU’s defense got the best of McCoy.
Freshman receiver Marquis Goodwin also played a huge role in the Longhorns’ victory. Oklahoma completely took emerging Heisman candidate Jordan Shipley out of the game by blanketing him in coverage, but Goodwin hauled in three passes and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from McCoy midway through the third quarter to give Texas its first lead. With Shipley held in check, Goodwin came up huge.
Preseason Ranking: No. 2 in AP Top 25; No. 2 in USA Today Poll.
Key Returning Players: Colt McCoy (QB); Jordan Shipley (WR); Brandon Collins (WR); Vondrell McGee (RB); Adam Ulatoski (OT); Roddrick Muckelroy (LB); Sergio Kindle (LB); Jared Norton (LB); Earl Thomas (S); Deon Beasley (CB); Curtis Brown (CB); Cody Johnson.
Key Losses: Brian Orakpo (DE); Rashad Bobino (LB); Henry Melton (DE); Roy Miller (DT); Ryan Palmer (CB); Quan Cosby (WR); Cedric Dockery (G); Chris Ogbonnaya (RB).
Player to Watch:Colt McCoy, QB.
Who else? After completing 76.7 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,859 yards, rushing for 561 yards and totaling 45 touchdowns (34 passing, 11 rushing) in 2008, is there anything McCoy can’t do? He could usher people to his seats before the game and sell concessions at halftime and still compile 400 total yards and five touchdowns. McCoy is once again a legitimate Heisman candidate and only has one mission after deciding to return for his senior year: Win a national championship.
Every couple of weeks during the 2009 season, I’ll rank the top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates based on their chances of winning college football’s most prestigious award. Players will either rise or fall in the rankings based on their performances throughout the year.
Below is Version 1.0. Obviously with no games being played yet, I’m mostly projecting with this top 10. These types of rankings always stir up a lot of debate, so I encourage readers to tell me which players should be rated higher or lower. I’ll update the list after the first week or two of the season.
Without further ado…
1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
After Sam Bradford edged Tebow out in last season’s Heisman race, some will argue that the Oklahoma QB deserves to be at the top of this ranking. But I’m giving the slight edge to Tebow right now after he absolutely destroyed the competition in the second half of last year. Florida will incorporate the no-huddle into their offense this season, which should only benefit Tebow’s style of play and give him even more scoring opportunities than he already had. Outside of Florida having to replace tackles Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins, there’s little reason to believe that Tebow will take a step back in 2009 and considering the Gators are once again national title contenders, he should be the front-runner to win this year’s Heisman.
2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
After throwing for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns last season, I don’t doubt that the reigning Heisman winner could be even better in 2009. But the Sooners’ offensive line is a major question mark entering this season with the losses of Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Jon Cooper and Brandon Walker. That’s a lot of change in one offseason and while OU should light up the scoreboard once again, I could see Bradford taking a backseat to Tebow when the final Heisman results are tallied.
It wasn’t a good day to be a top-ranked team as both #2 Oklahoma and #3 North Carolina were upset on the road by unranked teams.
Texas 73, Oklahoma 68
The Sooners’ lost POY frontrunner Blake Griffin to a concussion and he missed the entire second half, so we need to keep this loss in perspective. He finished with just two points and three rebounds in 11 minutes, so Oklahoma got next to nothing from him. A.J. Abrams led the way with 23 points, which included 5 of 11 from three-point range. Damion James, who originally committed to Oklahoma before Kelvin Sampson’s abrupt departure almost three years ago, posted 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns. It was Texas’ 10th straight win at home against ranked opponents.
In College Park, MD, the Terps came back from a 16-point deficit to upend the Tar Heels in overtime. “General” Greivis Vasquez — I just made that nickname up, by the way — had a triple-double with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Maryland to the win. The Tar Heels got virtually nothing from their bench; Bobby Frasor, Larry Drew, Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller combined for just five points, 13 rebounds and one assist in 52 minutes of playing time. The Terps kept Tyler Hansbrough under control (11 points on 4-12 shooting) and held North Carolina to under 38% from the field for the night. The Terps also had 18 assists to just five for the Tar Heels. Maryland is now in position for a NCAA tournament berth after starting 2-4 in ACC play. They’re now 6-6 in conference and will host Duke and Wake Forest over their final four regular season games.
This loss has to be worrisome for North Carolina fans. This is supposed to be a deep, talented team, but its bench produced next to nothing. In the end, both of these teams are still likely to be top seeds come tournament time, but I’d feel a lot better about penciling in the Sooners to make the Final Four than I would the Tar Heels.
8. The BCS is an “unfair” system. Want to talk “unfair”? How about the Patriots — who finished with 11 wins — sitting home in January while the 8-8 Chargers, 9-6-1 Eagles, and 9-7 Arizona Cardinals all play in the postseason. My guy Kevin Hench can talk (er, whine, kick, and scream) about this far more passionately, but in the same year everyone cried about the BCS, the NFL’s postseason system left an 11-5 team out in the cold. The Texas Longhorns weren’t the only ones who got a raw deal this year.
The Texas Longhorns weren’t the only ones who got a raw deal this year.
No sh*t – so were the Utah Utes.
Yeah, the Patriots were jobbed big-time this year and the Browns were screwed last year. But those are just two teams – one team per season – over the past two seasons. The BCS continuously bends multiple teams over on a yearly basis and people still defend it.
Schrager’s comparison is freaking laughable and when you consider the Chargers made it to the divisional round, the Eagles made it to the NFC Championship and the Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl, it weakens his point even more.
Stewart Mandel of SI.com takes a crack at predicting how the top 25 will look in college football next season.
1. Florida (13-1 in 2008)
Who’s back: QB Tim Tebow, DE Carlos Dunlap, LB Brandon Spikes, CB Joe Haden, S Ahmad Black.
Who’s not: WRs Percy Harvin* and Louis Murphy, T Phil Trautwein, G Jim Tartt.
Skinny: The defending champs return a former Heisman winner at quarterback, their top three tailbacks and, remarkably, their entire starting defense.
2. Texas (12-1)
Who’s back: QB Colt McCoy, WR Jordan Shipley, T Adam Ulatoski, LBs Sergio Kindle and Roddrick Muckelroy.
Who’s not: WR Quan Cosby, DE Brian Orakpo, DT Roy Miller, CB Ryan Palmer.
Skinny: McCoy and the offense should be potent again, and last year’s young secondary should improve with another year under Will Muschamp.
3. Oklahoma (12-2)
Who’s back: QB Sam Bradford, RBs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, TE Jermaine Gresham, DT Gerald McCoy.
Who’s not: WRs Jauquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson, T Phil Loadholt, G Duke Robinson, S Nic Harris.
Skinny: Bradford’s return is huge for an offense that must retool its line and receiving corps. The defense has nine starters back from the BCS title game.
4. USC (12-1) Who’s back: RBs C.J. Gable, Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight, WR Damian Williams, S Taylor Mays.
Who’s not: QB Mark Sanchez*, DT Fili Moala, LBs Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, S Kevin Ellison.
Skinny: New QB Aaron Corp or Mitch Mustain will have a solid supporting cast. The defense loses a boatload of staples but should be able to reload.
5. Ole Miss (9-4) Who’s back: QB Jevan Snead, RB/WR Dexter McCluster, DE Greg Hardy, CB Marshay Green, S Kendrick Lewis.
Who’s not: T Michael Oher, DT Peria Jerry, LBs Tony Fein and Ashlee Palmer.
Skinny: After knocking off Florida, LSU and Texas Tech, the Rebels are ready to take the next step behind star QB Snead. Hardy’s return is a huge boost.
The 2008 season isn’t even a month dead yet and already I miss college football. (Although not the constant playoff debate, which shouldn’t even be a debate at all if BCS-supporters could ever get their heads out of their asses and realize they ruin college football every year.)
I like seeing Ole’ Miss that high. As Mandel points out, the Rebs knocked off Florida, LSU and Texas Tech last year, and also gave Alabama a run for its money, too. Snead is the real deal and that’s a team that will be fun to watch next season.
Depending on the poll, 85%-90% of football fans would like to see some sort of a playoff. For now, we’re stuck with the BCS, which gave us Florida and Oklahoma in the title game. The problem is, now that the bowls are finished, there are three other teams (not including Florida) that have a legitimate argument that they are the #1 team in the country. Utah finished the season undefeated and beat two teams that are ranked (or will be ranked) in the top 10. USC beat up Penn State and looked great doing it. And Texas put away a feisty Ohio State team in the Fiesta Bowl…oh, and they beat Oklahoma as well. Or is the #1 team Florida, who only looked so-so in their win over the Sooners?
The Gators received 48 first-place votes and 1,606 points in the poll released early Friday, after they beat Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS national title game.
Utah, the only team in major college football to go undefeated this season, got 16 first-place votes and 1,519 points.
“I thought we had an outside chance,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in a telephone interview with the AP. “There was enough national sentiment, I thought we might get the No. 1 slot. It wasn’t to be.”
Florida won its third AP national championship and second in the last three seasons. Steve Spurrier and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel led the Gators to the 1996 title.
No. 3 USC received one first-place vote. Texas was No. 4, and will have to settle with finishing ahead of fifth-ranked Oklahoma.
The Utes from the Mountain West Conference swept through their regular season, while Florida and Alabama from the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 and Southern California from the Pac-10, jockeyed for position in the national title chase.
The Mountain West does not have an automatic bid to the BCS — it’s not considered a strong enough league to deserve one — but the Utes earned their way in.
Utah was seventh in the final regular-season poll, but that perfect record looked much more impressive after the Utes beat Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl last week.
The Pac-10 should do the right thing and bring Utah and BYU (or TCU?) into its conference. Then they could have a conference championship game and Utah and BYU (or TCU?) could show how good they really are.
Imagine if the NFL had the same system college football has. We wouldn’t have had the opportunity to witness one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time when the Giants beat the Patriots last year, because the Giants would have been ranked No. 6 in the polls.
Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic writes that while Texas’s 24-21 win over Ohio State in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl was impressive, the Longhorns aren’t title-worthy.
With all due respect, we’d like to direct the jury to disregard the statements of Texas coach Mack Brown, who proclaimed after Monday night’s Fiesta Bowl that, “We’re obviously one of the best teams in the country, if not the best.”
If we’re to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, the Longhorns aren’t worthy of national-title consideration. They were gutsy and entertaining in a 24-21 victory over Ohio State, but by week’s end Florida or Oklahoma will prove it’s more deserving.
We direct your attention to People’s Exhibit 1, mainly Texas’ inability to find the end zone until the third quarter. In a college football postseason that has become, yawn, absurdly diluted, Texas’ quest for title respect was the most interesting story line of the night.
Until the Longhorns scored their game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds left, it was Mr. Sweater Vest himself, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who gave the game its spice. The guy might be more sock hop than hip-hop, more L.L. Bean than LL Cool J, but he added some oomph with the way he showcased his freshman quarterback.
In a game that squared off a team that had a lot at stake against one that didn’t, Texas needed a blowout to sway opinion. It will have to live with the reality that the Bowl Championship Series got it right.
Hey, it happens.
“I wasn’t sure before tonight . . . but I’m going to vote Texas No. 1,” Brown said.
Brown is loyal. He’s just not right.
You knew if Texas didn’t blow out Ohio State that we would see 50 of these articles hit the net by Tuesday morning. No offense to the Longhorns or the Buckeyes because they played an entertaining second half, but the game didn’t matter. None of the college football games matter expect for the national championship game and even that doesn’t matter. Without a playoff, there’s no fair way to judge which team is the best in the nation so I refuse to partake in the, “Texas deserves to be No. 1/Texas doesn’t deserve to be No.1” discussions. Sorry.
