Holy Hangover, a night game in the Shoe! Can we finally say the T word? That’s right, the game we have been thinking,
and talking and dreaming
about since it was scheduled is finally here. The Longhorns from Baja Oklahoma are making their first visit to Columbus. Bevo, Burnt
Orange, “Hook Em Horns”, the world’s largest drum(Purdue disagrees). The Eyes of Texas are now upon
us. It doesn’t get much bigger than
this.
As we get ready for what is
2005’s biggest non-conference game anywhere, let’s keep a few things in
mind. This is our third most important
game. As much fun as this will be,
beating Iowa and the Weasels will ultimately matter more. And
unlike the Weasels there are few things about Texas you should like.
Such as:
Bevo – you gotta like a
mascot you can eat, which the Texas team has done at their team banquet on occasion.
Mack Brown – Best recruiter this side of Mohhamed,
Coach February has never won even a conference championship anywhere,
ever. Has lost to their biggest rival five
times in a row and they still love him in Austin. Even John
Cooper couldn’t pull that one off.
Cheerleaders who dress like cow girls – so very 1950
– think Dale Evans.
A band with uniforms I can’t quite describe. Sort of a cross between Wyatt Earp and the guy from the Broadway play Music Man (Harold
Hill, I looked it up). If the Village People ever expand, they should include
this group.
The wishbone offense. UT assistant coach Emory Ballard is given
credit for this innovation, though Barry Switzer’s Sooners
may have perfected it.
Chicken-fried streak – Trust me, northerners should
not even be allowed to attempt this SW delicacy.
The Alamo – the state’s most famous battle, they had recruited
a vast array of American heroes to fight, but lost and lost big to visiting the
Mexican team.
All fun aside, the talent
level Texas brings to the line of scrimmage will surpass anything
we have faced since the National championship game. Texas also has excellent team speed. Buckeye mistakes on defense, particularly in
the secondary, will likely lead to touchdowns. The Horns have NFL caliber
talent on both offensive and defensive lines. Up front they are good, very good, and
experienced. Running backs are new, but
fast. They have talent and speed at wide
receiver, but not like they did two years ago with Roy Williams. Last year so much of their attack was geared
to Cedric Benson, now of the Bears, it is hard to gauge the talent level of the
Horns receivers, but they are fast.
Their 60-0 blowout of poor UL-Lafayette proved nothing. Oh yeah, did I mention that they have a guy
named Vincent Young at quarterback.
If we can contain Young, and not make mistakes with their receivers,
we win. Pretty simple, but not easily
done (note the large “if”).
We don’t have to get a lot of
sacks or knock-downs, but just keep Mr. Young on his side of the LOS and let
our backers and DB’s play against their receivers. The Texas O-line will make it difficult to get much pressure on
Young with our front 4. That means that
we have to blitz DBs and LBs. Blizting
leading to man coverage does not bother me, I think we
have the athletes to do that. What
concerns me is that blitzing eliminates a second level of defense, meaning if
Young crosses the LOS, he may have a huge play, not just a first down. I prefer the approach of stuffing the run and
keeping Young in the pocket and making him throw. I like the match up of our DBs and LBs vs Texas receiver and Young the pocket passer. The tough part may actually be stuffing the
run. I expect Texas to win the battle up front. It may come down to Jim Heacock’s ability to
confuse Young with
different looks and the home crowd to mess with their audibles. We need to
create negative plays, without selling out entirely. If the Horns O-line dominates and they get
Selvin Young and the running game cranked up, we could be in trouble. I’m counting on Buckeye pride and intensity
to keep that from happening. This will
be very much like a Weasel game with the talent on both teams, but I don’t
think the Horns will give it 60 minutes at full intensity. They are known for being arrogant and
considered “Tea sippers” by others in the southwest.
OSU QB situation – Justin
played well (oh yeah, we did have a game last week), but not great. He should start and be replaced if we fall behind. Put Troy in a situation where he can win the game but cannot
lose it. I’m really torn on that
one. Is Troy as good as he looked the last time we saw him? In his previous games he had played well, but
nothing spectacular. Then he gives us a
historic performance against the Weasels.
Potential problems:
Our
O-line being overwhelmed. The Texas D-line is good and huge. We cannot afford to put
either of our QB’s in too many 3rd and
long situations. While our defense can
handle Texas we cannot ask them to be on the field all day. The offense has to move the ball. Play to our strengths, spread the ball around
to the skill guys and let them make plays.
Our
D-line being overwhelmed. We need to
give them 3rd and eight or 3rd and 12, not 2nd
and 2. The more resources we have to
commit to stopping Selvin Young the more dangerous Vince Young becomes.
Officials – will they be from the Big 12? Anyone recall the NC State game in Columbus with the ACC crew?
Breathe on the receivers and get called for interference. This could be big.
Sports Illustrated jinx – Teddy is on the cover this week, yikes!!
Reasons Bucks will win:
Home crowd – Night game in the Shoe. I know Texas plays OU, but that is in Dallas (my Oklahoma friends say “only a Texan would think Dallas is a neutral site).
I don’t think Texas is going to be ready for this atmosphere. Silver Bullets – too
good and too fast. Come on
D-Line, grow up and show up. We need a
Fiesta Bowl-like performance out of these guys.
Jim Tressel vs Mack Brown – now there is a match up I
really, really like. Tress has been
extraordinary in games in which he has several weeks to prepare. You cannot tell me that he and the staff have
not been working on Texas since about January 4. The only big game Brown can claim to have won
was a nail-biter against an overrated Weasel team in the Rose Bowl.
Kicking game – Josh Huston looked a lot like Nuge
last week. Texas kicker was only 4 for 7 on PATs
last week.
This will be very much like a
Weasel game with the talent on both teams, but I don’t think the Horns will
give it 60 minutes at full intensity.
Last week – I thought the Buckeyes were very efficient in
dispatching Miami in the game no one wanted to overlook, but no really
cared about. The offense did what they
were supposed to only perhaps lacking some big play fireworks. The defense was stifling. Time will tell if they beat a good team or
not, but they were dominant and emerged healthy.
Elsewhere – the Domers took a huge step toward respectability with their win
over Pitt. If Va Tech’s win over NC
State and FSU’s defeat of Miami
are any indication defense is the IN thing this year. I like that!
What happened to the Sooner Schooner in Norman? I know they
lost a lot talent and had looked bad the last time we saw them, but still,….. losing to TCU at
home? Has Coach Stoops lost Sooner
Magic? Tennessee looked pretty pedestrian in slipping by UAB. I know I’m biased, but did anyone think the
Weasels, in beating Northern
Illinois, were impressive
enough to be the #3 team in the nation?
This week – Can the Weasels beat the Irish at home?
The Irish looked very tough last week, but who knows how good Pitt
is. I see the Weasels pulling it out in
a squeaker, but hope I’m wrong. In a
rare departure from scheduling girls schools, Minnesota, plays Colorado State and will get win number two. LSU travels to Arizona State in what had been a LSU home game. Given that and the unbelievable distractions
facing the Tiger players and coaches, this is a much tougher game than it
seemed a few weeks ago. Look for LSU to
rally the troops and begin the Les Miles era with an emotional win.
Trev Alberts has been fired at ESPN His career at
ESPN lasted longer than his NFL career did.
I just heard Tress on his
radio show Tress ask
the home crowd to “Make a difference.”
Welcome to the Shoe, Bevo. You’re what’s for dinner.
Buckeyes 24 – Horns 14. Pass the
barbeque sauce.