Holland Crew Football

Texas Escapes

I guess this is what can happen when you catch a bipolar football team in their “manic” state. Jerrod Johnson was awesome. The Aggie receivers (Fuller, Tannehill, Morrow, Nwachukwu) didn’t drop a single pass and went out of their way to make great catches. Christine Michael may have a girl’s name, but he has a man’s game. Wait, that sounded less awkward in my head.

Most years, Texas should and likely would have lost this game. Luckily, we have Colt. I’ve never seen him play a better game. It rivals Vince Young’s Rose Bowl victories and Major Applewhite’s Holiday Bowl as the best performance by a UT quarterback that I’ve seen. But the cool thing was that he didn’t do it all himself. We saw James Kirkendoll, Tre Newton and Malcolm Williams turn in maybe the best games of their careers as well. It didn’t seem to matter that Jordan Shipley caught zero passes in the second half.

As for the defense, well I’m not sure what to say. They have been officially humbled. When their blitzes were burned early, they seemed to lose their confidence. They were confused much of the game. The much-hyped secondary got flat out beat time after time. The defensive line couldn’t get to the quarterback most of the game. There were missed tackled everywhere – most embarrassingly on Michael’s TD run in the fourth quarter. They won’t be facing an offense capable of beating them through the air this week against Nebraska, but if the tackling issues aren’t resolved, the Cornhuskers’ running game will allow them to keep Colt off the field and shorten the game in their favor.

My Heisman Finalists

At this point, I can only see three guys taking home the trophy on December 12 – Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, or Toby Gerhart. In a season where no candidate would step up to take control of the race, these three produced big time in their final regular season games (all three of which happened to be nationally televised). The name missing from my list is obviously Mark Ingram.

The cover jinx strikes again, Mark. The Tide somehow rolled on without you.

I’ve felt for some time now that Alabama’s sophomore running back was the “rabbit” of the race, out in front only because other candidates were waiting to make their move. Well, that finally happened this weekend and the rabbit fell back into the pack with a 30-yard performance in the Iron Bowl, where he was replaced by a more effective freshman for much of his team’s game winning drive. This simply does not happen to the best player in the country.

Ingram has been, for most of this season, the best offensive player on one of the best teams in the country. That’s enough to have your name in the mix, but it certainly doesn’t merit an invitation to New York, much less the ultimate individual trophy. Of course, if he runs for 200 yards and 4 TDs in a win over Florida on Saturday, he’ll be right back in it. I just don’t see that happening.

I have been sceptical about Gerhart for much of the season, but this month he has played out of his mind. In November games against Oregon, USC and Notre Dame (possibly the three biggest games of Stanford’s season), Gerhart ran for 606 yards and nine touchdowns. That’s more yards in three games than Texas’ leading rusher has all season. He even threw a touchdown pass if you need it. I’m a believer.

Tebow has flown weirdly under the Heisman radar all season, mostly because his stats, no matter how good, will always pale in comparison to…his own stats. Consider this: Tebow has passed for 17 touchdowns and run for 13 touchdowns (more than Ingram by the way). He’s led his team to 22 straight wins. But when you consider that in his 2007 Heisman year he threw for 32 touchdowns and rushed for 23, it doesn’t seem all that impressive.

One of his “problems” has been similar to Colt’s – Florida has a great defense. That means Tebow hasn’t been asked to carry his team to victories. He’s managing games, doing what’s needed, not taking unnecessary risks. I think it will take a monumental effort for him to become the second two-time Heisman winner. But he rose from the dead and cured cancer, so I guess anything is possible.

BSC Predictions

It is possible (and quite probable) that half of the 10 teams selected for BCS games will be undefeated going into their contest. And if the Fiesta Bowl picks any combination of TCU, Cincinnati or Boise State, it will mark the first time a non-championship BCS game will feature two undefeated teams. As big of a Big 12 guy as I am, I’m relieved that Oklahoma State will not be going to the Fiesta. Oklahoma did the college football viewing public a big favor by going all Elin Nordegren on the Cowboys, who wound up bloody and semi-conscious on the streets of Norman, mumbling incoherently about finding the end-zone.

Reflecting on their season, Oklahoma State’s most impressive victory was against Georgia, who was preseason #13 at the time. For week one, it seemed like a big deal, but now we know the Bulldogs were average at best, finishing with a 7-5 season record. If Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter would have been with the team all year, it’s probably a different story. But they didn’t deserve to go over an undefeated Boise State team.

Here are my early predictions for the BCS match ups:

BCS Championship – Florida vs. Texas

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Ohio State

Fiesta Bowl - Iowa vs. Boise State

Sugar Bowl – Alabama vs. Cincinnati

Orange Bowl - TCU vs. Georgia Tech

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