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2009 Big 12 Champ. Preview - Texas vs. Neb
Pete Fiutak
CollegeFootballNews.com Dec 4, 2009
In 2001, Texas had a shot to go play for the national title served up on a platter. All the things that needed to happen, did, and out of the mix was a Nebraska team that was unbeaten and, arguably, the best team in the conference before getting flattened by Colorado. But Chris Simms couldn’t quit giving the ball to the Buffaloes, Major Applewhite’s comeback fell short, and the Buffs pulled off a 39-37 shocker. Since then, Texas has only been back to the show once, with Oklahoma winning the Big 12 South’s bid in six of the last seven years, and in that time the Big 12 Championship has been one giant suckfest.
The 2001 game marked the last time the Big 12 title was decided by fewer than two touchdowns, with the winning team, 6-1 in the South’s favor, outscoring the loser 297 to 65, or by an average score of roughly 42 to 9. Merry Christmas to all if this one stays that close.
It’s fashionable to suggest that Nebraska could pull off the huge win to ruin what could be a historic night for Colt McCoy and Texas football. The defense is phenomenal, all the pressure is on the Longhorns, and last week, Texas A&M might have exposed a UT defense that had little problems in a miserable year for the Big 12. And Bo Pelini’s squad might have enough tricks in the bag to at least keep this from getting ugly. But recent history dictates otherwise, and if everything goes according to plan for the Longhorns, this will mark the end of a long year of waiting to finally erase the taste of 2008 out of its mouth.
It could’ve been Texas playing Florida in the 2009 BCS Championship, and it would’ve been if not for a quirky tie-breaker that put Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship against a frightened Missouri that showed up for the free meal and the cases of Dr. Pepper. But instead, the Longhorns went on to beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl to launch an impressive 2009 with only one game, the 16-13 win over Oklahoma, that was a true problem (no, Texas A&M didn’t really have a shot at winning). But like Florida and Alabama, who are playing in the other part of the national championship playoff, Texas spent the season trying to get to this point. While the production was there, the Longhorns were helped by a miserable non-conference schedule and a horrendous post-2008 crash from the Big 12. Also like the Gators and Tide, the question is whether or not Texas can flip on the switch and be the killer everyone was expecting from the start, and was statistically, or is this simply a coldly efficient team that comes up with wins because it’s far and away the best team in the conference? Nebraska will try to apply the test, at least defensively.
If last week was about seeing if Texas could handle a fully-focused, dangerous offense like Texas A&M’s, then this week is about seeing if the team can deal with a defense like Nebraska’s. The Huskers might not be pretty to watch, and the 9-3 record might seem underwhelming compared to the 12-0 Longhorns, but they were really, really close to being 11-1. It took two miraculous pass plays for Virginia Tech to win at home in a 16-15 thriller, and it took eight turnovers, with a few coming around the goal line, for Iowa State to pull off a 9-7 jaw-dropper in Lincoln. There was also a blowout loss to Texas Tech, but other than those three games, the Huskers haven’t had too many problems because of their great defense.
The offense had one big fourth quarter against Missouri, and had its way with the three (yes, three) Sun Belt teams on the slate, but that was about it for the production. Even so, the Huskers have managed to win five straight, answered the challenges against Kansas, Kansas State, and Oklahoma, and now they have a shot at their first Big 12 title since 1999.
It’s a chance for Texas to get back to the national championship for the first time since 2005. It’s a chance for Colt McCoy to cement a Heisman. It’s also a chance for Nebraska and the North to say they’re tired of being pushed around, and it’s not going to take it anymore. It’s the 2009 Big 12 Championship game. After the last several years, we’re owed a good one.
Players to Watch: One player might end up being honored as the best player in college football after this game, another might end up being honored with tens of millions of dollars as the first pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. Either way, it’s showcase time for, arguably, but best offensive and defensive players in college football.
Forget about all the computer models and mock Heisman votes; this is Colt McCoy’s to lose. The Unitas Award winner became the all-time winningest starter in NCAA history with 43 victories, and because he could’ve won it last year and no one would’ve squawked, and because he has been everything to the Longhorn offense since taking over for Vince Young, and because he’s a good guy with a career worthy of spending the rest of his life as Heisman Winner Colt McCoy, he’ll be holding the hardware next Saturday night if he’s merely average in a win over the Huskers.
For all the numbers and for all the good things he has done, this is the year that he has finally put it all together to lead his team to the Big 12 championship game, and while his numbers might not be as good as last years’, they’re not bad. For any other quarterback, throwing for 3,328 yards and 27 touchdowns to go along with 368 rushing yards, including 175 last week against A&M, would be tremendous, but all that matters now is getting one more win to get to Pasadena. That’s how he’ll be judged, otherwise there will be a big “yea, but” attached to his career. Ndamukong Suh hopes to ruin his party.
If Suh isn’t the No. 1 player on everyone’s early draft board, he’s No. 2. With the prototype combination of size, quickness, athleticism and explosiveness, he’s the rare inside presence who can play in any scheme at the next level. A dream end in a 3-4, he instinctive enough and quick enough to get into the backfield or drop into pass coverage, he’s the one the tremendous Husker defense works around as both an anchor and a playmaker with a whopping 200 career tackles (that would be a great career for a linebacker, much less a defensive tackle) with 19.5 sacks and four interceptions. The attention focused on him opens things up for Jared Crick, a 6-6, 280-pound sophomore tackle who leads the team with nine sacks to go along with 67 tackles.
Sergio Kindle gets most of the publicity on the Texas defensive front, but he’s been more of a dangerous threat than a big-time playmaker in the Brian Orakpo mold this year. The team’s leading sacker is junior Sam Acho with seven on the year, including three in the last four games, to go along with 45 tackles. More like a big linebacker than a big end, he’s a speed rusher who needs to be accounted for on every play with Kindle likely to need double teaming on the other side.
Nebraska will win if ... : Zac Lee plays out of his mind. The junior quarterback was benched for a stretch after a disastrous performance against Iowa State, but he came back to be a tight, efficient leader of the offense over the last three games completing 35-of-54 passes for 435 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He might have to put up those same numbers in this game. Texas is beatable against a downfield passing game that isn’t afraid to trade away a few mistakes for some big plays, and if Nebraska believes its defense is good enough to hold the Longhorns down when challenged, Lee might be allowed to take a few shots down the field. He’ll have to, but they have to come on first and second downs. If Nebraska is in several third-and-long situations, Mr. Kindle and Mr. Acho will spend time sitting on Lee’s head.
While the Husker offense has to be effective, the chance to pull off the upset will come from the defense, particularly on the inside. Suh and Crick had to be dominant and they have to be patient. It’ll be tempting to try to get to McCoy on every play to try to hurry up the timing of the Longhorn offense, but they can’t get caught blowing upfield and whiffing on the inside running game. But getting to McCoy is a must, and if the tackles can’t do it, Texas shouldn’t have any problems.
Texas will win if ... : It scores early. Nebraska’s offense has managed a mere 19 points per game against the BCS teams and it doesn’t have the sophisticated passing game to mount a big comeback. Nebraska is going to try to win by running the ball, relying on its defense, and hoping to win the turnover battle, but it’ll be over if Texas can stun with a few quick scores and by not giving the ball away. Nebraska picked off three passes last week against Kansas State and picked off five Landry Jones passes in the win over Oklahoma. In the three losses against Virginia Tech, Iowa State, and Texas Tech, Nebraska forced three turnovers, while on the flip side, the D took it away 21 times in the nine wins.
Texas can’t lose if it doesn’t screw up. The run defense leads the nation, Nebraska will want to try to run Roy Helu at least 20 times, and the Texas offense should be balanced enough to and patient enough keep the chains moving. It’s not about making a big statement and it’s not about style points; a win should be enough to get into the national title (but a close Florida loss might make the final BCS numbers interesting). Texas just has to play its game offensively, be ultra-conservative, and rely on a defense that’s even better than Nebraska’s.
What will happen: Nebraska will hang around for a quarter as the defense comes up with a few nice stops on decent Texas drives, but the Husker offense will go nowhere. The focus will be on McCoy and the Nebraska defense, but the star of the show will be a Texas D that will play at another level after struggling last week against the Aggies. Nebraska’s third down conversion percentage will be a disaster, McCoy and the UT offense will come up with just enough scores to take a lead, and then things will open up late as Nebraska starts to make mistakes leading to a Longhorn win and a trip to Pasadena.
CFN Prediction: Texas 26 … Nebraska 10 ... Line: Texas -13.5
2009 Big 12 Champ. Preview - Texas vs. Neb
Pete Fiutak
CollegeFootballNews.com Dec 4, 2009
In 2001, Texas had a shot to go play for the national title served up on a platter. All the things that needed to happen, did, and out of the mix was a Nebraska team that was unbeaten and, arguably, the best team in the conference before getting flattened by Colorado. But Chris Simms couldn’t quit giving the ball to the Buffaloes, Major Applewhite’s comeback fell short, and the Buffs pulled off a 39-37 shocker. Since then, Texas has only been back to the show once, with Oklahoma winning the Big 12 South’s bid in six of the last seven years, and in that time the Big 12 Championship has been one giant suckfest.
The 2001 game marked the last time the Big 12 title was decided by fewer than two touchdowns, with the winning team, 6-1 in the South’s favor, outscoring the loser 297 to 65, or by an average score of roughly 42 to 9. Merry Christmas to all if this one stays that close.
It’s fashionable to suggest that Nebraska could pull off the huge win to ruin what could be a historic night for Colt McCoy and Texas football. The defense is phenomenal, all the pressure is on the Longhorns, and last week, Texas A&M might have exposed a UT defense that had little problems in a miserable year for the Big 12. And Bo Pelini’s squad might have enough tricks in the bag to at least keep this from getting ugly. But recent history dictates otherwise, and if everything goes according to plan for the Longhorns, this will mark the end of a long year of waiting to finally erase the taste of 2008 out of its mouth.
It could’ve been Texas playing Florida in the 2009 BCS Championship, and it would’ve been if not for a quirky tie-breaker that put Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship against a frightened Missouri that showed up for the free meal and the cases of Dr. Pepper. But instead, the Longhorns went on to beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl to launch an impressive 2009 with only one game, the 16-13 win over Oklahoma, that was a true problem (no, Texas A&M didn’t really have a shot at winning). But like Florida and Alabama, who are playing in the other part of the national championship playoff, Texas spent the season trying to get to this point. While the production was there, the Longhorns were helped by a miserable non-conference schedule and a horrendous post-2008 crash from the Big 12. Also like the Gators and Tide, the question is whether or not Texas can flip on the switch and be the killer everyone was expecting from the start, and was statistically, or is this simply a coldly efficient team that comes up with wins because it’s far and away the best team in the conference? Nebraska will try to apply the test, at least defensively.
If last week was about seeing if Texas could handle a fully-focused, dangerous offense like Texas A&M’s, then this week is about seeing if the team can deal with a defense like Nebraska’s. The Huskers might not be pretty to watch, and the 9-3 record might seem underwhelming compared to the 12-0 Longhorns, but they were really, really close to being 11-1. It took two miraculous pass plays for Virginia Tech to win at home in a 16-15 thriller, and it took eight turnovers, with a few coming around the goal line, for Iowa State to pull off a 9-7 jaw-dropper in Lincoln. There was also a blowout loss to Texas Tech, but other than those three games, the Huskers haven’t had too many problems because of their great defense.
The offense had one big fourth quarter against Missouri, and had its way with the three (yes, three) Sun Belt teams on the slate, but that was about it for the production. Even so, the Huskers have managed to win five straight, answered the challenges against Kansas, Kansas State, and Oklahoma, and now they have a shot at their first Big 12 title since 1999.
It’s a chance for Texas to get back to the national championship for the first time since 2005. It’s a chance for Colt McCoy to cement a Heisman. It’s also a chance for Nebraska and the North to say they’re tired of being pushed around, and it’s not going to take it anymore. It’s the 2009 Big 12 Championship game. After the last several years, we’re owed a good one.
Players to Watch: One player might end up being honored as the best player in college football after this game, another might end up being honored with tens of millions of dollars as the first pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. Either way, it’s showcase time for, arguably, but best offensive and defensive players in college football.
Forget about all the computer models and mock Heisman votes; this is Colt McCoy’s to lose. The Unitas Award winner became the all-time winningest starter in NCAA history with 43 victories, and because he could’ve won it last year and no one would’ve squawked, and because he has been everything to the Longhorn offense since taking over for Vince Young, and because he’s a good guy with a career worthy of spending the rest of his life as Heisman Winner Colt McCoy, he’ll be holding the hardware next Saturday night if he’s merely average in a win over the Huskers.
For all the numbers and for all the good things he has done, this is the year that he has finally put it all together to lead his team to the Big 12 championship game, and while his numbers might not be as good as last years’, they’re not bad. For any other quarterback, throwing for 3,328 yards and 27 touchdowns to go along with 368 rushing yards, including 175 last week against A&M, would be tremendous, but all that matters now is getting one more win to get to Pasadena. That’s how he’ll be judged, otherwise there will be a big “yea, but” attached to his career. Ndamukong Suh hopes to ruin his party.
If Suh isn’t the No. 1 player on everyone’s early draft board, he’s No. 2. With the prototype combination of size, quickness, athleticism and explosiveness, he’s the rare inside presence who can play in any scheme at the next level. A dream end in a 3-4, he instinctive enough and quick enough to get into the backfield or drop into pass coverage, he’s the one the tremendous Husker defense works around as both an anchor and a playmaker with a whopping 200 career tackles (that would be a great career for a linebacker, much less a defensive tackle) with 19.5 sacks and four interceptions. The attention focused on him opens things up for Jared Crick, a 6-6, 280-pound sophomore tackle who leads the team with nine sacks to go along with 67 tackles.
Sergio Kindle gets most of the publicity on the Texas defensive front, but he’s been more of a dangerous threat than a big-time playmaker in the Brian Orakpo mold this year. The team’s leading sacker is junior Sam Acho with seven on the year, including three in the last four games, to go along with 45 tackles. More like a big linebacker than a big end, he’s a speed rusher who needs to be accounted for on every play with Kindle likely to need double teaming on the other side.
Nebraska will win if ... : Zac Lee plays out of his mind. The junior quarterback was benched for a stretch after a disastrous performance against Iowa State, but he came back to be a tight, efficient leader of the offense over the last three games completing 35-of-54 passes for 435 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He might have to put up those same numbers in this game. Texas is beatable against a downfield passing game that isn’t afraid to trade away a few mistakes for some big plays, and if Nebraska believes its defense is good enough to hold the Longhorns down when challenged, Lee might be allowed to take a few shots down the field. He’ll have to, but they have to come on first and second downs. If Nebraska is in several third-and-long situations, Mr. Kindle and Mr. Acho will spend time sitting on Lee’s head.
While the Husker offense has to be effective, the chance to pull off the upset will come from the defense, particularly on the inside. Suh and Crick had to be dominant and they have to be patient. It’ll be tempting to try to get to McCoy on every play to try to hurry up the timing of the Longhorn offense, but they can’t get caught blowing upfield and whiffing on the inside running game. But getting to McCoy is a must, and if the tackles can’t do it, Texas shouldn’t have any problems.
Texas will win if ... : It scores early. Nebraska’s offense has managed a mere 19 points per game against the BCS teams and it doesn’t have the sophisticated passing game to mount a big comeback. Nebraska is going to try to win by running the ball, relying on its defense, and hoping to win the turnover battle, but it’ll be over if Texas can stun with a few quick scores and by not giving the ball away. Nebraska picked off three passes last week against Kansas State and picked off five Landry Jones passes in the win over Oklahoma. In the three losses against Virginia Tech, Iowa State, and Texas Tech, Nebraska forced three turnovers, while on the flip side, the D took it away 21 times in the nine wins.
Texas can’t lose if it doesn’t screw up. The run defense leads the nation, Nebraska will want to try to run Roy Helu at least 20 times, and the Texas offense should be balanced enough to and patient enough keep the chains moving. It’s not about making a big statement and it’s not about style points; a win should be enough to get into the national title (but a close Florida loss might make the final BCS numbers interesting). Texas just has to play its game offensively, be ultra-conservative, and rely on a defense that’s even better than Nebraska’s.
What will happen: Nebraska will hang around for a quarter as the defense comes up with a few nice stops on decent Texas drives, but the Husker offense will go nowhere. The focus will be on McCoy and the Nebraska defense, but the star of the show will be a Texas D that will play at another level after struggling last week against the Aggies. Nebraska’s third down conversion percentage will be a disaster, McCoy and the UT offense will come up with just enough scores to take a lead, and then things will open up late as Nebraska starts to make mistakes leading to a Longhorn win and a trip to Pasadena.
CFN Prediction: Texas 26 … Nebraska 10 ... Line: Texas -13.5
