Uh, Yeah...I'm Gonna Have To Go Ahead And Disagree With You There...
Sometimes, I wish Bill Lumbergh could be a sports commentator. He'd be perfect as a deadpan response every once in a while to the blathering drivel of Brent Mushmouth during a game. He'd especially be perfect right now as a response to those texas fans who think they should actually receive some consideration for the Associated Press national title after their come-from-behind win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.
texas was a 9 point favorite in this game; they were expected to win. To need to come from behind in the 4th quarter to win a game you are favored in is sad. To need to come from behind in a game against the team that is the closest thing to a sure-fire win in a BCS game is just pathetic. To need to come from behind in a game where Jim Tressel is doing all he can to hold his offense back to try to keep the game close is incomprehensible. And you think you deserve to be considered the number one team in the nation? You think you're the best team in the land? What texas fans should be doing is thanking sweet 6 lb 8 oz baby Jesus they weren't facing Utah or USC in the Fiesta Bowl, because both of those teams would have blown them out and humiliated them on national television.
Of course, Ohio State almost embarrassed texas (and the Big 12, by extension) by nearly wnning the game, so I guess I should be happy for Tressel's incredibly conservative gameplan. It was obvious from the beginning of the game that the Ohio State defensive staff feared the speed of texas' receivers, because they were playing off them in zone coverage. They became a little more aggressive and played some man-free in the second half, but their conservative play is a major reason why they only led by a field goal despite completely dominating the first half of play. It is scary to think about what would have happened if Jim Tressel had unleashed Terrelle Pryor, and actually let him try to make plays. Pryor played much better than I ever thought he would, and despite some mediocre passing numbers, he had his team in position to win the game.
Tressel's use of the two-quartback package with Boeckman at QB and Pryor at WR was masterful; the TD pass to Pryor was a terrific read by Boeckman combined with a horrible decision by texas DC Will Muschamp. With a game that close and the opposition that close to pay dirt, you don't call a cornerback blitz. I understand Muschamp's thinking, because he was gambling that Pryor was a decoy, so risking the CB on that play was a safe bet, but it blew up in his face.
If texas' defense couldn't handle Terrelle Pryor, I shudder to think how they would have made Big 12 defenses look if they had faced Utah's Brian Johnson.
In the end, texas pulled out the miracle win with the TD pass to Quan Cosby, and the Big 12 Conference was off the hook. But AP national champions? Not this year.

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"To need to come from behind in the 4th quarter to win a game you are favored in is sad. To need to come from behind in a game against the team that is the closest thing to a sure-fire win in a BCS game is just pathetic."
Do you think that if Florida has to come from behind tomorrow, it will be even sadder and more pathetic? Florida is a favorite to beat Oklahoma (by 4 points). In addition, OU has been a much more sure fire BCS win at 2-4 with 4 straight losses than tOSU at 4-2 with 2 straight losses (both in the NCG).
And I would argue that Texas’ game plan was much more conservative than tOSU’s, much to Texas’ detriment. I think Greg Davis just called another screen pass.
by Texas Wahoo on Jan 7, 2009 1:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
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It’s not pathetic because Florida would be coming from behind over the second best team in the country, rather than a down Big 10 team that lost to Penn State. That’s a pretty big difference.
by FuturePants on Jan 7, 2009 3:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
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Florida is a favorite to beat Oklahoma (by 4 points). In addition, OU has been a much more sure fire BCS win at 2-4 with 4 straight losses than tOSU at 4-2 with 2 straight losses (both in the NCG).
texas was a bigger favorite over Ohio State (9 points) than Florida is over Oklahoma. Since you are talking about the #1 and #2 teams in the country facing off for all the marbles, no, a comeback win would not be pathetic.
The difference between OU and Ohio State is that OU has had games where they were competitive and lost b/c of poor playcalling (LSU) or b/c the opposing team made a series of incredible plays (Boise State). Ohio State has gotten skull-f*cked in their last two BCS games, and this squad was the worst of the three teams.
BTW, I blame Gene Chizik and your defense more than I blame Davis for your poor play. Your offense wasn’t a machine, but they did get the job done, and Davis did what he could trying to win with no running game and no real TE to speak of.
by Beergut on Jan 7, 2009 3:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
You're forgetting that OU lost to a WVU team coached by a terrible head coach (with only a couple of weeks experience)
And they got crushed by USC in their current string of BCS losses.
I guess you’re much more impressed by losing to a WVU team that lost their head coach than losing big in the NCG? Enough so to make one pathetic?
by Texas Wahoo on Jan 8, 2009 4:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
not forgetting anything
but that fact is, Ohio State was not competitive in their last two BCS games preceding this season; OU was only non-competitive in one game the last two years, the West Virginia game.
Instead of refuting my point by brining up the West Virginia game, you’re only proving it.
by Beergut on Jan 8, 2009 11:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Gene Chizik = Will Muschamp
thanks for the correction
by Beergut on Jan 8, 2009 11:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I think you mean Muschamp.
The tu play calling was not conservative. Davis called the same game he called all year. Short, safe passes that McCoy could complete a high percentage of the time. The difference between Ohio State and the Big 12 teams that tu faced was that the DB would tackle the tu receiver immediately and not give up any YAC. In the Big 12 the defenses were so poor this year that a completion almost always meant a first down for tu. You should be thanking God that Davis was able to develop an offense this year that was capable of scoring points and winning game without any kind of running game.
by miketag on Jan 8, 2009 12:52 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Are you seriously
trying to Compare Brian Johnson with Terrelle Pryor? Isn’t Terrelle drawing comparisons to VY? Well…so was JJ but I digress. Brian Johnson is a good QB who is mobile and makes smart decisions, but he has no big play ability like Terrelle does. I know Brian personally. I grew up with him, played peewee sports with him and went to HS with the guy. He’s a hell of an athlete but he is not an elite ATHLETE like Pryor is. Not even close. Honestly, before this year, did you even know about Brian? Homedude squeaks by NM 13-10, a team even ya’ll beat. You can say all you want about UTAH being a better team now than they were against Mich and NM….but at the same time you have to concede that tOSU is better than they were when USC destroyed them. Don’t get me wrong, if I had a vote, I would put UTAH number one but only because they are undefeated and they beat a good Bama team. But not because they would beat UT. They wouldn’t. USC could but the Utes won’t. Seriously Beergut, get your defensive coordinaters together. Chizik is at Auburn now. You might want to remember Muschamp, because you will be hearing about him for quite some time. Cheers!
MusCHAMP is the reason why we were in the game. For us to play so offensively on the offense during the first half…for us to only be down 6-3 at the half. Wow. Kudos to that man and his wife.
And to to reply to Miketags comment: Davis was hit or miss this year. I guess thats a step up from last year. His playcalling in Missouri/OU/TAMU (notice I capitalized it?…yeah Its a respect thing) was quite aggressive. The second half against Tech was great. Then some games he goes into the fetal position sucking his thumb, such as tOSU, OSU, UTEP, Baylor. Secondly in most Big 12 games, when we threw, we rarely got YAC because the DB’s here in this CAN tackle very well. (With the exception of our freshman DB’s) Its the LB’s who can’t tackle in space worth a shit. tOSU’s DBs constantly gave up YAC especially with Ship and Cosby in the 3rd quarter. We stayed away from Malcolm and James, and went to Anderson as much as possible and it finally started to work. This credit goes to Colt, not Davis for making these quick reads.
Regardless of who was the favorite to win the game by X amount of points…Texas won the game. Anyways Ags…good luck this year during Basketball season and Baseball. I wish y’all the best until you play UT. Also congrats on landing Christine. I hope he can keep his grades up. I’d love to see him suit up against our D come November
by kriess on Jan 8, 2009 10:23 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
If you think the DBs in this league can tackle then you obviously did not watch many conference games this year. The Big 12 had very poor defenses across the board this year which was proven in the bowl games. tu was in the Fiesta Bowl at the half because of Tressel’s conservative play calling, and the fact that Ohio State really was a one dimensional offense this year that was not very good. Muschamp’s histrionics on the sideline do not impress me. Nor does his pass defense. The only thing that has impressed me about the man has been his ability to identify talent and put it on the field in a place to succeed. Starting Gideon was ballsy, and moving Kindle to DE was a good move. COurse, I wonder why the guy I saw in HS who had incredible natural instincts as a LB but no idea how to break down and tackle, could not be taught some fundamentals by the tu coaches the past two years. I expect him to be back as I do not think the NFL wants too many 6’3 239 DEs but I could be wrong.
by miketag on Jan 8, 2009 11:32 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
While Texas was unimpressive over an average Ohio State team you still have to give them credit for getting the “W.” They won their game unlike ‘Bama or OU so we can’t really gripe and laugh at them. It wasn’t like they were playing Boise St. or Hawaii where they would have been in a lose lose situation. Ohio State may not be that great but it still is a name program with a great tradition and a win isn’t that great anymore over them, its still worth something.
I was really impressed with Colt McCoy again. He made plays again and put his team on his shoulders and led them to victory. If he actually had a running game and a tight end they would be pretty tough to beat.
by PrimeTime2012 on Jan 11, 2009 2:28 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

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