I Am The 12th Man

Recruiting and Bowl Thoughts

2009-01-06T06:58:41Z

Watched the U.S. Army All American Game and the Under Armor All American game this weekend. Most impressive players I saw were Russell Sheppard who is headed to LSU and Bryce Brown the RB from Kansas (committed to Miami). Sulphur Springs QB Tyrik Rollison looked very good but he is likely not going to qualify. I expect him to end up at Oklahoma State next year a la Perish Cox and Dez Bryant. Christine Michael had a nice game in San Antonio. I believe he will be a Darren Lewis type back for us. He is not going to break 80 yard runs like Goodson did. However, he can carry the ball 30 times in a game and pound out 8-15 yard gains. He should be a nice complement to Cyrus Gray's slashing running style. As a program, we cannot allow athletes like Sheppard and Craig Loston to go out of state. We need to start keeping those kids in state. As I have said before though, the most important part of our program is developing the talent we bring in. I think we are brining in a lot of speed in this class. That is exactly what we need. However, we need to develop that speed into football players or we will be stuck in the same rut we have been in for the past 7-8 years.Matt Barkeley looked much better than when I saw him earlier in the year. He showed off a big arm. He has the tools to be the next great USC QB.

After watching tu come back to beat The Ohio State University, I have devided that they are simply a great passing team. They do not have a great defense. They have a poor running game. However, they have a great passing offense that the coaches have been able to ride to a one loss season and they deserve a lot of credit for that. Even in a down year for college football, this tu team is not a great team. They did overachieve however and I can appreciate that. Their whole was greater than the sum of their parts. I think Jim Tressel was too conservative in his play calling and it may have cost his team the game. However, a 10 win season with a true freshman QB and an injured Beanie Wells is more than respectable. Will be interesting to see when Tressel unleashes Pryor the way he unleashed Troy Smith as a senior. When he develops Pryor into a more polished passer and lets him run the spread, you will have a national championship team on your hands. Right now, I am hard pressed to think who I would rank #1 over Ohio State entering next season. If Wells returns (which I doubt) I think they should be the preseason number one team.

I still think that UF will beat OU because Philip Loadbolt cannot block speed rushers and UF will terrorize Bradford. Also, OU's running game is suspect when Demarco Murray is not 100 percent and for the second year in a row he is missing the bowl game. On the other hand, UF's passing game is very suspect and the OU defense might shut down the UF running game after being disrespected in the media leading up to the game. The way I see it is that UF has a great defense and special teams. OU has a great offense when Murray is 100 percent. UF is just a bad matchup for OU.

GameThread for North Dakota Fighting Sioux at Texas A&M Aggies

2009-01-06T00:00:07Z

BTHOnorth dakota!!!

Our "Motionless" Motion Offense

2009-01-05T21:17:39Z

I am continually frustrated by our basketball team's offense. Turgeon wants to run a motion offense, but we do more standing around than any motion team I've ever seen. When Turgeon screams "Motion!!", we move around and pass the ball a lot, and end up getting off a bad shot at the last second of the play clock because we don't seem to know what we're doing.

It seems to me that for the second year in a row, the team is struggling to pick up the intricacies of Turgeon's offense. If it takes over a season-and-a-half to learn an offense, either your system is too complicated, or you aren't a very good teacher. The other possibility is that players on this team haven't bought into the offense, but I'm not sure I buy that excuse. For one thing, you shouldn't have to wait four years to get all of "your" guys in to buy into your system in college basketball; you can turn a team around in one season in basketball; Billy Clyde Gillispie proved that. Another reason I am skeptical about that excuse is that if we have holdvers from BCG's time here who don't believe in Turgeon, they've had ample opportunity to transfer out now. If the players do not believe in his offensive system, Turgeon has done a very poor job of selling it to them and getting buy-in. If they do believe in his system, he has done a poor job implementing it. At this point in the season, I think we should look like we know what we're doing on offense. I still see signs of confusion on offense during games, even against the inferior opponents we've been playing lately.

Last season, Turgeon complained about having too many big men, which is a statement that still amazes me to this day, because I've never heard a basketball coach complain about having too many guys who are tall. Usually, basketball coaches crave as much height as they can get on the court. I think Turgeon wants more guards, though, because he is used to running his motion offense with shorter players, and taking advantage of their speed. Junior Elonu and Bryan Davis would be the square pegs trying to fit into the round hole of Turgeon's offense in this scenario. If Elonu and Davis were bad fits for Turgeon's offense, though, I think both would have transfered by now, so I don't think it is personnel.

We do have signs of encouragement, with the recent improved play of Dash Harris (9 assists, 1 turnovers in the last two games), and some improvement on defense. We're still struggling in transition defense, though, and giving up too many open shots.

We play North Dakota at 7 p.m. tonight at Reed (game on FSSW except where Spurs game is shown), which is our last game before we open conference play on the road against Oklahoma State. I'm really hoping we blow the Fighting Sioux off the court, and show that we're ready for conference play. Despite our gaudy 13-1 record, I am still not convince that this is a good team. I don't think we're as good as the team that went 8-8 in conference play last season, and that is very disconcerting.

Aggies Win Close Game With McNeese State, 57-52

2009-01-04T17:24:01Z

This game was every bit as close as the final score indicated, as A&M was lucky to pull it out at the end. Stellar play from Junior Elonu really helped, as did two crucial free throws in the final seconds of the game to seal the win. Elonu had 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks on the night, while Josh Carter was the only other player in double figures for the Aggies, with 13 points.

The Ags went through a stretch late in the second half where they went over six minutes without scoring; the scoreless drought allowed McNeese to come back from down 14 and tie the game at 52-all with 2:53 left. It wasn't that the Ags weren't taking the ball to the hoop, because they were getting some good shots, the ball just wasn't falling in. Josh Carter broke the drought with a basket at the 2:29 mark to give the Aggies the lead for good.

Key for McNeese State on both offense and defense was Kleon Penn, their 6'11 post, who had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 blocks. He dominated the paint in the second half, and many shots that he didn't block were adjusted to account for him. He was a monster inside, and he almost single-handedly led State to a win.

Our transition defense still needs work, and our offense is still shaky at times. I think we play down to the level of our opponent, which is not a good characteristic for a team to have. Mark Turgeon seems to agree:

The bottom line is our guys have to play better. We play well when we have to and I want them to play well all the time. Pretty soon we'll play like that and it's not going to be good enough. McNeese is pretty good. They lost by three at LSU and have some good players. We just didn't do our job.

I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record when I say this, and I'm still not happy with our quality of play, but I won't complain about a win. It is nice to win nine in a row.

Christine Michael Leads All Recruits At Army All-American Bowl In Rushing

2009-01-04T10:33:14Z

Christine Michael Leads All Recruits At Army All-American Bowl In Rushing

After making it official and committing to A&M, Christine Michael led all players in rushing on the day, averaging 7.9 yds per carry on 7 carries for 55 yds.

Aggie Women Defeat George Washington, 78-59

2009-01-04T03:01:47Z

Aggie Women Defeat George Washington, 78-59

Aggie women move to 12-0 on the season.

GameThread for McNeese St. Cowboys at Texas A&M Aggies

2009-01-04T00:00:05Z

BTHOmcneese state!!!!!!

As We Expected

2009-01-03T22:27:34Z

We here at I Am The 12th Man.com have been saying all year long that no one in the Big 12 plays any defense while no one in the SEC plays offense. This led to skewed stats in both conferences. Big 12 offenses looked great, while SEC defenses looked dominant. Texas Tech played an SEC team with similar talent to Tech and lost to a more motivated team. Amazing what happens when Tech faced a power running team who was motivated, on a field where the officials actually called holding. Meanwhile, Alabama faced a supposedly undermanned Utah team in a game between a BCS buster and a traditional power. Utah dominated the LOS the entire game, and beat Alabama at their own game. While I reserve some of my praise for Nick Saban because I think he cheats as blatantly as any coach in the country, I do believe he is one of the top defensive and gameday coaches out there, and any victory over his team is a good one. Utah's team and coaching staff deserve a lot of praise for their second undefeated season of this decade. It was humorous to watch the Utah players running circles around these SEC players who supposedly have elite speed. When it came down to it, Bama did not have the passing offense needed to keep up with the Utes. It will be interesting to see if Florida runs into the same problem against OU. I actually expect UF to win that game because I think the UF DL will be too much for OU to handle. UF also has a huge advantage on special teams. In what has been a down year in the college football world with no truly complete teams, it was very enjoyable to watch two top 10 teams get dominated in their bowl games yesterday.

Congratulations To The Utah Utes!!!

2009-01-03T19:43:46Z

Congratulations to everyone over at BlockU.com, and all other Utah fans on the Utes' blowout win over the Alabama Crimson Tide. The 31-17 scores is somewhat misleading, as Utah came out hot early on, building a quick 21-0 lead in the first quarter that forced 'Bama to play from behind all game long. Alabama would come as close as 4 points, whittling the lead down to 21-17, but Utah immediately scored again to make it 28-17, and put the game away, for all intents and purposes.

Brian Johnson finished with 336 yds passing with 3 TDs, and had several key runs in the 4th quarter to help run out the clock. This game has to put to rest the argument that the spread won't work against the speed of SEC defenses; Alabama has been soundly beaten in successive games by two teams running the spread single-wing offense, because the Tide's vaunted defense hasn't had an answer for this scheme. Conversely, the Tide's more "traditional" pro-set offense was stymied by the Utes' defense. Utah tallied 8 sacks, including a forced fumble and fumble recovery on 'Bama QB John Parker Wilson, and 2 interceptions.

This is Utah's second BCS bowl win and second undefeated season in the BCS era, but unlike the 2004 squad, this Utes squad was dominant on defense. The Utes gave up 289.2 yds per game, impressive an any season, but especially in the era of wide-open spread offenses that we are in today. Kyle Whittingham, the former Ute defensive coordinator who became head coach after Urban Meyer left for Florida following the 2004 season, is to be congratulated for this continued excellence. The Utes held Alabama to 208 total yards of total offense, stuffing Alabama's potent rushing attack, holding them to just 31 yards.

The bigger story to me, though, is the success of Utah's offense against Alabama's defense. The conventional wisdom in the SEC has been that spread offenses can't succeed in the SEC, because the team speed on defense is too great. Apparently, some SEC fans fancy themselves a minor-league NFL, because the same rationale is given by NFL apologists about the running the spread in the League (Incidentally, the 2007 New England Patriots proved this theory wrong, setting records for offense on the way to the only undefeated regular season since the League went to the 16-game schedule). The spread single-wing scheme gives an offense a potent passing game with a strong, power-based running game. I'm actually surprised more SEC fans haven't been quicker to embrace this scheme, given the love for power football in that conference. I guess it doesn't conform to their stereotype of "true football", where offenses need a FB and TB in the backfield, and playcalling is unimaginative and boring. The success of Utah against SEC powerhouse Alabama proves that this scheme is not only viable but can be incredibly successful in the SEC. After two consecutive games of their defense being torched by it, maybe now Alabama fans will believe it, too.

Upset Alert: The Cotton Bowl

2009-01-02T22:23:20Z

"Typical Tech" is rearing its ugly head again, as the favored Red Raiders of Texas Tech are losing to Ole Miss, 38-21. This wouldn't bother me if they weren't embarrassing the Big 12 in the process of losing the game. Dropped passes, poor playcalls (a QB sneak on 4th and 4? Really?), terrible blocking, poor tackling, just overall shoddy play.

Since Ole Miss is easily the third-best team in the SEC, if not fourth-best behind Georgia, this performance is embarrassing. The SEC is down this year, very down, and they are taking it to Tech.

I've always known that Ruffin McNeill's defense was overrated, and the credit he was receiving from the media was undeserved, because Tech's defense is still mediocre at its core, but their performance today has been pathetic.

Update: Tech just scored a TD to make it 38-28 with plenty of time to go in the 4th quarter. Maybe they'll make a game of it.

USC Beats Penn State, 38-24: Is This What We Have To Look Forward To?

2009-01-02T08:00:06Z

As I watched USC's offense march up and down the field against Penn State's hapless defense, I thought, "Is this what we have to look forward to?" I'm not a fan of the West Coast Offense, or the pro-set, which is what USC runs almost exclusively, and what Sherman wants to run at A&M.

I think USC does a very good job executing their offense, but it also helps to have a sizable talent differential over everyone else you play, and to face slow Big Ten defenses in your bowl games.

USC totalled 413 yds passing, but only 63 yds rushing against Penn State's defense. While USC's WRs were obviously faster than Penn State's secondary, State's front seven was able to control USC's running game. USC was able to run effectively enough to use play-action to gash State's defense.

While a balanced attack on offense can be enjoyable to watch, because it means the defense doesn't know whether to stop your running game or your passing game, and has to choose their poison, establishing such an effective offense at the college level can be challenging. Yuo need a talented offensive line, which can pass and run block equally well. It can take 2-3 years to put such a unit together. I'm not sure our fans have that kind of patience, and when you can put together a line to operate a prolific spread passing attack in only one season, why should they?

I also think USC is helped tremendously by playing in the Pac-10, a conference while really doesn't feature any solid defenses. The best defense SC plays may be when they face their own in practice. We don't have that kind of a luxury playing in the Big 12, especially playing in the Big 12 South. The pro-set uses 12 personnel almost exclusively, meaning it is easier for defenses used to facing four-wide sets with 10 personnel every week. They go from having to worry about 5 athletes spread all over the field to only 2-3 in any formation. While you can use the TE and FB in the pro-set, the reality is that they don't receive that many touches on a per game basis. I think there is a good argument to be made that FBs and TEs are underutilized in the WCO, which is one of my problems with that particular scheme.

While USC runs their pro-set WCO scheme to near-perfection, it doesn't mean we will experience similar success at A&M. Nebraska also runs a pro-set WCO scheme, and while they improved from a losing season to a bowl win this year, they also play in a weaker Big 12 North division. I'm not sure if their success in this scheme can hold up long-term, and remain unconvinced it can be viable scheme in the Big 12 for a prolonged period. While USC's success may gave us a foreshadowing of what we can hope for and even expect in a successful WCO scheme, it doesn't guarantee us any success in the Big 12.

Big 12 Basketball Rankings

2009-01-01T23:58:19Z

Most people make preseason rankings in order to predict how the teams will finish at the end of the season. Then, as the season wears on they become more of a statement of how a particular team is playing at that time. I believe the rankings should reflect how everyone is expected to finish which is why I still have Texas ranked number one despite their two losses. I still think OU is a two man team. I am not sold on Baylor. I think Mizzou is going to get better and better. A&M has a nice record but has not shown the ability to dominate anyone. Worse, they really do not have a go to scorer and struggle mightily on offense at times. On the other hand, they have shown a lot of heart in wins over Alabama and LSU. I would not be surprised at all to see OSU outscore A&M in the first conference game for both teams. Here are my rankings for this week:

1) tu 10-2

2) OU 12-1

3) KU 9-3

4) Mizzou 11-2

5) BU 12-1

6) A&M 12-1

7) OSU 9-3

8) NU 8-3

9) KSU 9-3

10) ISU 9-4

11) Tech 9-4

12 CU 7-5

New Year's Day Bowl Games Live Thread

2009-01-01T18:24:04Z

If you have any comments for the bowl games on today, have at it.

We have South Carolina vs. Iowa, Nebraska vs. Clemson, Georgia vs. Michigan State, Penn State vs. USC, and Cincinatti vs. Virginia Tech.

Happy New Year!!!!!

2009-01-01T06:00:08Z

Happy New Year to you and yours!!!

May the Aggies have a victorious and championship-filled 2009!!!

I hope all of you readers of I Am The 12th Man.com will have fun and be safe in celebrating the new year, and enjoy watching all of the bowl games on today.

Aggies Come Back To Beat Rice, 72-60

2009-01-01T03:31:40Z

Bryan Davis led the Aggies with a double-double, scoring 18 while pulling down 10 rebounds, and Junior Elonu had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks as the Aggies came back from a 34-29 halftime deficit to win the game, 72-60.

The big story of the game was the Aggies second half defense; after Rice shot a scorching 58% from the field in the first half, the Aggies held them to just 29% shooting in the second half. That is terrific defense. For the game, they held Rice to 45% shooting.

Donald Sloan and Josh Carter scored 10 and 11, respectively.

Dash Harris had 5 assists with no turnovers with 1 steal and 1 rebound as he contributed nicely in his 12 minutes on the floor.

Davis Loubeau scored 0 points and had 2 fouls in only 2 minutes of playing time. I thinking his two fouls really irritated Turgeon, enough that he wouldn't put him back on the floor.

This is the Aggies 8th straight win, as they start the season 12-1, the same record we had at this point last season. We're still not playing at the level we need to, but I'll take the win.

Bryan Davis had 18 points and 10 rebounds vs. Rice.

Well, That Didn't Take Long

2008-12-31T19:20:05Z

Seemingly minutes after I finisihed pontificating on how Bill Cowher's return to the NFL could be a good thing for A&M's Jorvorskie Lane, Cowher's agent told the Jets he isn't interested in the job. According to ESPN, Cowher is enjoying his break from coaching right now, and likes spending time with his family. The Jets were thought to be an ideal situation for Cowher because of the huge NY media market, and because it would allow Cowher to be near his two of his daughters, one who works and one who goes to school in that area.

Cowher has signed on for another year at CBS, so the thinking is that if he doesn't return to coaching this year, he will definitely be back in 2010.

Whoever does take the Jets job will have to deal with the Brett Favre soap opera, as he spends another off-season deciding if he wants to be play QB for another year.

It is being reported that another possible candidate for the Jets head coaching job is Bill Callahan, their offensive line coach this past season. That howling you hear is laughter coming from Nebraska Cornhusker fans.

Regarding Lane, I still maintain that if he performs well in the East-West Shrine Game and at the NFL Combine, there is a place for him in the NFL. As long as he can maintain his weight, he can be a solid NFL contributor.

Aggie Women Destroy New Mexico, 83-51

2008-12-31T18:56:36Z

Winning during a holiday vacation is always tough; your players are thinking about being home with their families while you have to get them to come out and play hard against a good team. You have to hope that fans will come out and watch them the team while the students are away from campus. Winning against a ranked opponent while you are on vacation is an achievement. Winning on vacation against a ranked opponent while having two players match your opponent's total score? Call it historic.

A&M's 83-51 blowout win over #25 New Mexico was a historic win, as A&M tallied their biggest ever win over a ranked opponent (32 point margin of victory). A&M was led by Danielle Gant (27 points) and Takie Starks (24 points), who combined to match New Mexico's scoring out put for the game.

After going into halftime with only a 6-point lead (36-30), A&M held New Mexico to 21 points in the second half. The Aggies ratcheted up the defensive pressure, forcing 26 turnovers by the Lobos in the game. The Aggies had a season-low 8 turnovers in the game.

A&M broke the game open for good in the beginning of the second half, leading it off with a 32-8 run to put the game away. To have a run like that against any team is good; to do it against a ranked team on their home court is awesome.

Gary Blair and the Aggie women are showing once again that they are worthy of their #3 national ranking. The Lady Ags will return to action on Saturday, as they face George Washington at 5 p.m. at Reed Arena.

NFL Coach Firing May Help One Aggie In Particular

2008-12-31T02:51:33Z

After firing Eric Mangini, the New York J-E-T-S, Jets!! Jets!! JETS!!! are talking to Bill Cowher about possibly taking over as their new head coach. Part of the conversation right now will be Cowher's role in personnel decisions, so this is far from a done deal. However, Cowher's return to the NFL as a head coach could be a big boon for one Aggie player in particular.

During his storied head coaching tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cowher was known for his love of a big, bruising, power-running game. In particular, Cowher loved big, battering-ram type running backs. Barry Foster and Jerome Bettis were the prototype of the big back Cowher favored. If Cowher becomes a head coach in the NFL again, Jorvorskie Lane is the perfect fit for the type of offense Cowher likes to run, and for the back Cowher likes to build his offense around. Cowher wants a steamroller who he can give the ball to 30-35 times a game, and Lane has that type of power-running ability. Lane was a washout as a fullback for the Aggies this past season, but he has always been an outstanding powerback. If Lane can control his weight and keep in shape, he could be the next big back for Cowher.

Cowher won't require Lane to work as a lead blocker or run block, which is his weakness. His only blocking assignments would be in the passing game, and he is just okay picking up the blitz. Lane can be used in the passing game as a receiver out of the backfield more in the pros, an area in which I believe he was underutilized at A&M. The only question for Lane would be if he can get himself into good enough shape to carry the ball 30 times a game. Obviously, Lane's performance in the East-West Shrine Game and at the NFL Combine will be key to his NFL future, but Cowher's return to the NFL bodes very well for Jorvorskie Lane.

Former Aggie DC Mike Hankwitz Shuts Down Missouri's Offense

2008-12-30T08:01:21Z

I enjoyed watching Missouri's 30-23 win over Northwestern, not just because it made the Big 12 Conference look good, but also because it was another opportunity for me to watch one of my favorite defensive coordinators at A&M, Mike Hankwitz.

Hankwitz was A&M's defensive coordinator from 1997-2002, leaving after RC Slocum was fired. Hired to replace Phil Bennett following the 1996 season, "Hank" took over the leadership of the Wrecking Crew. Under Hankwitz, A&M continued their tradition of outstanding defenses, the '98 and '01 squad being especially dominant. Hankwitz was a notable change from the fiery personality of Bennett. While Bennett was more aggressive, taking the attitude that "I'll put my best up against your best, and I'm gonna come after you" while refusing to adjust, Hankwitz was more conservative, unafraid to use zone coverage if the talent or personnel dictated it. More importantly, Hankwitz was very well-liked by his players, while Bennett's abrasive, in-your-face, sometimes abusive style on the field made some of his players dislike him. (Bennett later changed the way he related to players after the tragic death of his wife.) Hankwitz also was the owner if a remarkable collection of football helmets, which traced the evolution of the helmet throughout history, and an avid baseball fan; I used to see him out at Olsen from time to time watching the Ags play.

Hankwitz went to Arizona (2003), Colorado (2004-05), and Wisconsin (2006-07) before taking the Northwestern DC position. Under Hankwitz's tutelage, Northwestern shut down Missouri's explosive offense (average 497.5 yds per game in total offense, 340.4 yds per game passing), holding Chase Daniel to only 200 yds passing, and holding Missouri to 311 yds of total offense. Do-everything receiver Jeremy Maclin was held to only 39 yds receiving on 7 catches. Northwestern's defense, despite playing at a significant talent and speed disadvantage to Missouri, gang-tackled the Tigers all night, and kept the game close. If not for Maclin's special teams score and a botched blocking assignment on 3rd and goal, Northwestern might have won this game. As it is, Hankwitz's defense kept them in the game, and made it an entertaining night. That's really all you can ask for.

Aggies Beat Sam Houston State, 60-50

2008-12-30T06:27:32Z

I want to apologize for the lateness of this report: I was gone all day taking care of some family business.

Anyways....

Junior Elonu continues to show that he can become a real force for us when he wants to, with a double-double, 11 points and 11 rebounds on the night. Bryan Davis also had a nice night, with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

We played sloppy at times, showing that we were coming off of an extended break.

Our goal early on was to take advantage of our height, and we did that. We just failed to keep the effort consistent throughout the game, so we were not able to put together one big prolonged run and blow them out. You have to give Sam Houston State credit for sticking with it and keeping the game close.

The one thing I am happy with is our defense. We held them to 33% shooting from the field for the game, 24% from behind the arc, and we forced 20 turnovers. If we can do that against our conference opponents, we will win a lot of games.

The one thing that needs to be fixed is our rebounding; inexplicably, we were out-rebounded for the game, and that is just embarrassing. That should never happen, especially against a team we enjoy such a height advantage against. This gives Turgeon something else to focus on in practice, though.

We are 11-1, and while the win wasn't easy like I expected it to be, and we looked sloppy at times, I'll take it. We still have a lot of work to do to become a good team, though.