Welcome home Horned frogs.  A former Southwest Conference member is finally playing in the conference it should have been in day one.  The frogs in my opinion should have never gone to another conferences once the Southwest conference was dissolved.  If Baylor could remain in the same conference as Texas, so should have TCU.  And the only reason Baylor became part of the Big tweleve was political, Ann Richards Ex- Governor of Texas had a lot to do with Baylor being in the Big 12.  TCU has done well under Coach Patterson. I think he is one of the better coaches in college football and it amaze me how TCU has been able to keep him.  I think if Jerry Jones had any football sense should hire him as their head coach next year.

Well, Patterson is bringing a good team but young and lack depth to Austin.  Maybe not as good without starting Quarterback Pachall which is no longer with the team due to personal reasons.  He has been replaced by freshman Boykins which is  going through growing pains and injuries.  He has not done a bad job.  He does not protect the ball as well as Pachall and strength arm s is not the same.  TCU also has a problem running the ball, last two backs earlier in the season.  Some of the problems on the offense is due to the offensive line not that good.   Especially in the passing game easy to bull rush.   TCU fails to use the tight-ends in the passing game but are fairly good blockers.  The strength of the offense is the talented receiving core but one problem no experience passer to get them the ball.efensively TCU goal is to stop the run which they do well.  Only one running-back has rushed for more than hundred yards in a game was Randle from OSU.  They have two dominating tackles in D. Fields with eight sacks and S. Maponga.   The linebackers weakest spot on defense.   They have a very talented secondary.  This team has a problem stopping oppents on third down.

For Texas to win offensively o line is going have to establish the run game.  They must protect the quarterback on passing situations.  The offense must limit turnovers and run the ball.  With the three back Texas have and the talented receiving group points should be put on the score board.   The running game must be effective on the corners.   If  Harsin continues to play call like the past two weeks and that is to keep defense confused.  He must continue to use his weapons.  And, again get tight-ends involved in the passing game.

Defensively, Texas must cause TCU to turn the ball over and put pressure on the young quarterback.  Secondary better get ready because TCU lines up all four talented reciever’s each offensive play and try to get them  the ball.  Running game is weak as, well as the offensive line.   Diaz, must stick to basic defense.  I would added bilitz packages and nickel defense but limit the twisting stunts.

Both teams have field goal kicking problems.  TCU kickoff  team is one of the best in the country.  They have a very talented punt returner in Dawson.  Good thing Texas’ punter is also good and normally limits punt returns with his kicking accuracy.  Texas must not allow long returns in the kicking game and continue to do a good job putting pressure on the punter.

This is not the traditional Texas v. A & M game but close enough.  Texas has a 15 game home win streak and won the last game against TCU.  I predict Texas will win by seven points and score over twenty points.

Farewell to Texas great Darrell Royals.  He will be know for the wishbone running offense and a player’s coach.  With all the money and pressure on college coaches, their are fewer player’s coaches.  Today’s coaches  have one concern and that is winning and they pretty much live in the now.  So,  the last things on their mind is what happens to their players after football.  Which was totally opposite philosophy of Royal’s.   And many of his former players returned to Austin this past weekend to give their beloved coach a royal send off.

The Longhorns were able to put the pesky Cyclones away.  They did it with good offensive and  defensive play.  The team is finally starting to play like a unit.  They are cutting down on mistakes and giving up big plays.  This young team is finally maturing.  It took awhile.  I would have thought quicker success with all the talent on this squad.  I still think the coaches overloaded them with to much information at the beginning of the season which caused them to think rather than just play the game.  I am really impress with Harsin and his play calling.  He finally figured it out keep the defense guessing and utilize your money players.  It is good to see Magic Davis having a good year along with his quarterback, David Ash with over 300 yards passing and two touchdowns in this game.   And finally the play of freshman back J. Gray has been more than expected.  He has filled in well for the absence of Malcom Brown.   Backs finished with over two hundreds yards.    And well give must due to the offensive line in protecting the quarterback and opening holes for the backs.

The offense dominated the Cyclones defense with over 600 yards.  As, I preach use the tight-ends in the pass offense which Harsin has started to do.  Greg D. was used in a trickery wishbone play which netted over forty yards.  Magic D. and Shipley had over 100 yards receiving and touchdowns among them.  The run game set-ups the passing game in this cause did Texas good a job.  Zone blocking scheme in the run game is opening gaping holes.  It also gives room for the lineman to get down-field and block.

Must give due to the defense.  Players starting to step up like Josh Turner with big plays in the secondary.  Especially with that big intercept ion in the game.  The defense held Jantz under 150 yards passing and sacked twice.   And held to total offense to under 300 yards.  Iowa State had very little passing game and the defensive backs played well.

Its time to look ahead to an old South West Conference foe recently accted in the Big 12, Horn frogs from Forth Wort, Texas.  Game will be played in Austin on Turkey Day.  The game is replacing the taditonal UT v. Texas A &M.

Darrell Royals, at the age of 88 passed away this week.  He is one of my all-time Texas’ favorite coaches.  He ranks right up there with Tom Landry, Jim Wacker and  Bear Byrant .    He was great for the college game really cared about his player.  He taught them the skills to make it in everyday life.   He mentored some great Longhorns like Earl Campbell,Tommy Nobis,Johnny lam Jones and more.   His claim to fame was the wishbone offense started by assistant Coach Emory Ballard.  A very good offense back in the sixty and 70′s.  Power run oriented with an option aspect.  It was good for churning yardage and running the clock down.  Emory Ballard took the wishbone to Texas A & M and also the powerhouse of the 70′s Oklahoma ran the wishbone.  Which produce some Heisman winners such as Earl Campbell and Billy Simms.   The 3 time national Champion and greatest Texas’ coach Royal’s will have the best seat in the house when Iowa State  comes to town.

Texas faces a very competitive Iowa State team.  They are a win away from being bowl eligible.  If the Longhorn defense continue to play like last week and improve then they Will win this game.    Jantz is a dual threat and leads this cyclone offense which is not very good.   He is an inconsistent quarterback and has a tendency to throw interceptions.   They have two running backs over 300 yards led by Johnson both are small and quick.  The receivers are adequate  but drop a lot of passes.  Probably the best unit on the offense is the line.  The can do an okay job in the run game and not a  bad pass blocking unit.

Texas offense should just be able to dominant this game.  The line should be able to control the line of scrimmage in the run game.  With the return of Malcom Brown and the combination of JB and Gray.  It should be a simple run game plan inside and out.  Ash, is still doing a fairly good job running the offense.  He should be able to pick apart this small secondary with his talented receivers in Magic and Shipley.  I still feel they need to get the tight-ends move involved in the passing game.  I hope Harsin continue to keep the defense’s off balance and he utilize his weapons.

This game should not even be close.  I expect continued good play by the special teams and continued ball control which will give Texas a win by 10 points and will score over 20 points.  

Four years in a row and this one was big.  This keeps the Longhorn’s in the run for a good bowl game.  It is hard to win in Lubbock.  Tech’s lost may contribute to the firing of Tubberville at the end of the season.  His playing calling and clock management in this game was questionable at times.  But, this lose can’t totally be blamed on the coach.  Tech left a few points on the score board due to poor executions,penalties and dropped passes. I must give it to the Longhorn’s defense they played well in the red-zone and on third down.

One of the best games,  the defense has played of late.  Held Tech to less than 25 points.  They played better assignment football which maybe due to the defense schemes being simiplified.  They cut down on big plays for long gains.  And they tackled better and showed more aggression.  Ever since the second half  of the KU game this defense has played better.  Some believe Mack took  over the defenses responsibility.  I doubt that but he has more input.  Texas did a good job against Tech’s running game.  Defensive line in the middle did play well in the trenches.  Tech ‘s one big play due to a mistake by the linebackers but overall played better.  Secondary’s job was  made easy due to less pass attempts by Tech which I thought was strange.  Secondary did a good job staying in front of Tech’s talented receivers all day.   The Longhorn’s defense won this game.

Playing calling by Brian H. was good.  He keep the Tech defense guessing.  He would set  up in  pass formation and run the ball or show run and pass.  They did a great job running the ball outside with Gray. The offensive line  gave Ash time to complete passes  down-field.   Ash played a good game with all the pressure surrounding last weeks game.  He can really keep his  composure.  He passed the ball well to Magic Davis, which had over 100 yards and two touch downs.    The tight-ends did a good job blocking on the corners to open the outside running game.

Overall,  a good win.    Mack pushed the right buttons this week to get the  team prepared for Tech in Lubbock.

Ash it is, starting against Tech Saturday in Lubbock at 2:30p.  Believe me Casey will be standing and waiting if Ash plays poorly.  Texas had to start Ash, if not it probably would have ruined him for the remainder of his career at Texas.  I am really not sure if Mccoy should be starting but thats why Mack get paid the big bucks  to make those decisions.  Even though both teams will not be playing in the Big12 championship game.  They are fighting for Bowl spot which could
mean millions for the programs and stellar  recruits. 

This is not going to be an easy game for Texas to win.  Mainly, based on the way the defense has played this season.  Tech has a good runner in Williams and so far Texas has giving a up  great deal  of yardage in the running  game.  They have a very good quaterback in Seth D.  He does have a tendency to turn the ball over in key games which have resulted in losses.  The receiving corp is  good and big.  They also do a good job blocking downfield.  Texas defense must cause the offense to commit mistakes, such as turnovers and pentalities.

 Texas is really hurting on the defense side of the ball.  One key factor is injuries, Jeffcoat and Hicks most likely out for the year.  Another is inexperience the majority of the starters are underclassman.  They play Diaz’ defense poorly in respects to failure to play their assigments  correctly.  And I blame that on Diaz, he just needs to keep things simple at this time.  His stunts and twist just put the players in a disadavantage.  The secondary better bring their A game.  Not only a re the recivers good but they block well in the running game which can result in long runs.  And Texas has a history of giving up big gainers.

Tech has a good defense and the front line puts pressure on the quarterback.  That gives Ash problems when our run game is bad.  The problem with Ash is downfield passing.  Mccoy is a better passer and has that scores mentalitiy like Farve.  For, Texas to win they are going to have to out score Tech
because the defense most likely will not be able to stop them.  I do like the emergence of Gray but I wish Malocom B. was healthy.  Texas is going to have to work the edges because the middle might be tuff.  This is a big game for the tight ends in the running game.  The must give the backs an advantage
on the outside.  Harsin, must utlize his weapons and spread the ball around.

The team which commtits less turnovers and prevent big plays will win the game.  If Texas can control the ball and the clock they will win by 3 points andscore over 20 points

What’s wrong with the Texas Longhorns.  Time has caught up with the
program.  Too put it bluntly Mack’s stuff is old.  The league and college football
has learned and mastered Brown’s system.  He has lost some very good defensive coordinator in the past years.  Those loses have made the defense play ineffective.  I still believe defense wins the game.  And the Longhorn defense this year is losing  games.  Thought Diaz was the answer but not.  Main reason worst defense of all time in my prospective.   They are allowing over 30 points per game.  No defense team with that high of a scoring average  has any chance of winning a big game. The offense is hot or cold but they are averaging over 40 points per game.  Now the Longhorns have another quarterback controversy with play this past weekend against Kansas.  I hope Mccoy is the answer for these team and coaching staff job security.

I was curious how long it will be before Ash is removed.  His worse collegiate game ever two key picks.   First of all, I probabbly would have not played him with a broken wrist.  Even if the break occurried on the none throwing arm.  I thought Harsin finally figurd it out last week.   But not all Ash’s fault offense killed its self by mistakes and penalties.   And the offensive line had a
poor game from missed blocks to penalties.  This team has to get the ball to the talented and speedy players more like Goodwin,Monroe and Daje.  Past offensive performs has shown these three players make big plays and score. 
I like the way they are using J. Gray on offense.  He is the real deal.  I am not really sure when M. Brown will return. The offense played poorly in the red-zone and 3rd down attempts.  But, it is great  to see Case saved the day. 
He did a great job throwing to Shipley,Davis and tightend DJ. 

I have been around football for years and one thing a defensive player enjoys is hitting some one.  Texas has had some problems with that this year.    Another thing about a good defensive player is assigment responsibilities.   Something the liebackers and safeties have had problems with all year.   Failed to shed blocks a problem the whole defense has had a problem with this year.  Giving up big plays for long gains has been a major issue with Longhorns defense.  The positive thing about the Kansas game for the defense is the limited Simms rushing yardage in the second half.   Okafar, Thompson and Vaccaro a had good game.   Q. Diggs continued to play miss tackles with the offense.   

Texas did a good job playing at the level of its competition.  I wish they would do that against the OU’s and West Virginia’s.

It is the Jay-hawks next for the Longhorns.  I wish this was a basketball game  which would probably be more exciting to watch.  But, no its still football season and Texas is vying for a win over Kansas to be eligible for a Bowl game.  I personally was hoping this time of year we would be in contentions for Big 12 title game.  With the two loses in conference play they will be lucky to get invitation to the Alamo bowl.

On paper this team should be in the top ten and undefeated.  But the game is played on the field and Texas is not that good.  I have to blame the down fall to the team to the coaching staff.   They have no idea what to do to win a big game.  Clock management has been poor.  Player personnel utilizing has been poor.  And game planning has been horrible.  I thought I would never say that about a Mack Brown coaching  staff.    I hear more excuses for the teams failures and promises to fix the problems.  We as Longhorn fans better prepare for a long season and possibly and poor ending.  As, a Longhorn fan the lost to Oklahoma was enough.  This team needs to play like no tomorrow.  They need to regain the old swagger and respect they had in college football.  This current team is too soft and play with no heart.

But, back to the upcoming game.  The Jay-hawks have nothing but Coach Weis.  First year in the Big 12.  It will take a few years to build a competitive program.  Offensively, it runs the ball.   Handle by quarterback, Cumming, does a fairly good job running the run game with his mobility.  Fairly good passer but inadequate receivers.  This offense will try to run the ball against Texas a wear down the clock.

Defensively, unit ran by old Cowboy coach Dave Campo.  Not a very good defense but statistically better that than the Longhorns.  A very good red zone defense but overall giving up a lot of points per game and yardage per play.  Ash, and offensive team should be able to pass the ball at will.  Again, the running game should control the game, especially with the return of Malcom Brown.

Texas will score over 30 points and win by 20 points.

Years ago the Dallas Cowboys had the No Name defense and of late the Texas
Longhorns have the No Team defense.  This may be the worst Longhorn defense ever and especially under Mack B.  I remember it wasn’t long ago fans wanted Greg Davis gone.  It took awhile for that to happen because Mack is loyal to his coaches.  But,  he eventually removed Davis for Harsin, which is turning out to be a good thing thus far.  Now, the fans won’t Diaz gone due to the poor defensive play this season.  I think the chances of Diaz being released this coming year is slim.    He is going through second year growing pains,injuries and a young team.   His defense played well for him last year.  He also lost some key backers off that team to the N.F.L.   Again, Mack likes to stick with his staff, especially if their good recruiters.  But believe me one more poor defensive season like this one and he will be gone and even Mack.

The defense gave up too many yards and points against Baylor.  They pretty much keep the Bears in the game.  Still having a hard time stopping teams on the fourth down.  The linebackers are still having problems shedding blockers and assignment responsibilities.  The secondary Diggs got scorched by T. Williams.   Josh Turner is starting to step up in the secondary very intense player with ability to tackle and a nose for the ball.    Bright spot held Baylor to three fields goals and created a few turnovers.

Texas beat Baylor with a bang up quarterback versus a poor undersized defense.   David played an intelligent game missed a few passes but over all did well.  The offensive line did a good job protecting the passer and opening holes for the running game.  The longhorns must continue to do what they did Saturday night on offense.  Balance offense attack with the rushing and passing game.  Harsin also utilized some of his young talent in Daje J. and J. Gray.  Joe B. had five touchdowns and Magic Davis had over 100 yards in receiving.  I still think they need to get the tight ends involved more in the passing game.  Probably one of the most under utilized position in the passing game.  90 percent of the time tight ends or open in the flats or straight down the field.     

Well, key things stop the Baylor win streak.  Won a conference game.  Offense won with balance attack.  Play Kansas next.   Still in the hunt for a bowl game maybe Alamo or Cotton.

Its Baylor time.  No RG3, now playing for the Washington Redskins or talented
receiver K. Wright.  The Bear’s are o and 2 in conference play but own a two game winning strike against Texas.  Baylor is lead by offensive minded coach Art Briles.  He coached at University of Houston prior to the Baylor job.   And did a great job with the Cougars.  He runs a spread style offense specializing in the vertical passing game.  He seeks out the defense weaknesses and capitalize.  He is also a great recruiter and does a good job finding players to buy into his system. 
 
Nic Florence is running this Baylor high octane offense.  He is a good down-field passer with the ability to run the ball.  He has a tendency to throw  interceptions, especially attempting to make a big play.  He has five good receiver’s to get the ball too, starting with T. Williams, a potential high NFL draft pick.  The receiving core is small to big with a great deal of speed and the ability to gain yards after the catch.  The running game is poor but have a good one in L. Seastrunk.   He is young and exciting.

If Texas defense can possibly find a way to tackle, they may have a chance to stop Baylor’s running game.  I have some concerns with the defensive line due to injuries.  Definitely concerned with the linebacker’s again due to injuries and the inability to play the position effectively.  The secondary  better be ready to play.  The must be prepared to stop running backs when they get to the next level, which has happen quite a bit this season.  And the results long scores.  This may become the worse Texas defense ever.  Compared to last years defense not sure what happen in one year.  I guess the recognition went to their head. 

 The specials team’s need to step up.  Get back at putting pressure on kicker’s.  Return to putting opponents return teams in negative territory.  And must find a dependable field goal kicker.  The return teams must break a few.  They may be what is need to get the offense fired up.  Texas is 1 and 2.  They will win this games by 8 points and score over 30 points.

The thrill is gone.  Longhorn’s and Mack Brown have lost there swagger from the
old National Championship days with VY.  This program is in need of a major overhaul, from the Athletic Director to the strenght and agility coach.  Second year in a row OU has scored over forty points on Texas.  It seems they could just score at well last Saturday.  The defense showed no pride and that reflects the Defensive Coordinator, no heart or desire.  As long as, I can remember in the State of Texas we take pride in our football.  But, the Longhorn’s against OU last Saturday was an embarrassment to the school and the State. I do believe, Manny Diaz, the secondary and linebacker coaches should be fired.  They need to find a Defensive Coordinator with the Ravens mentality.  This defense is just to soft.   They need to play like it is a contact sport and not a bump sport. Tackling is really simple got to run through the opponent and wrap up and drive to the ground.   Texas had over 12 missed tackles in the OU game.  As a team, they have over sixty miss tackles.  The highest in the Big 12,  with that stat along you can’t win games.

Offensively, they need to go back to the big play players.  Haven’t heard from M. Goodwin, Daje and others.  They need to feature the freshman back, J.Gray.  He is healthy,explosive and ready to lead the rushing team.  The offensive’s line run blocking is poor.  They just cannot move the Defensive lines off the ball.    Pass blocking is okay.  This line is to passive and allows opponents to bully them. Ash is still young and growing.  Oklahoma  game is a measuring stick for UT quarterbacks.  Based on last Saturday’s appearance he still has a lot to learn.    Beside Shipley, I would play Goodwin and the young receivers.  If the run game continues to sputter, I would look at a four receiver set.  I think the staff on this side of the ball has improved.  But, dealt a bad hand due to the poor defensive play.

The major problem this coaching staff will have to remainder of the season.  Will be getting the players up for games.  It has been reported some players are starting to point fingers and blame some of their teammates.  I didn’t think this years’ team was a National Championship team but I thought they would be competitive in the Big12.  I guess I was wrong.