Sunday, October 15, 2006

Hunting For Bear With a Six-Shooter


63-31. That looks like a pretty lopsided victory, but I'm sure everyone who watched this game knows it was a lot closer than what the final score conveys. Some might call it good defense, but I tend to think of fumbles as dumb luck--Baylor lost four. Granted the Horns capitalized on all of them, but take turnovers away, and I'd argue this game would have looked quite a bit different.

The Texas defense was looking like their old selves--they dominated the rush, but left some holes for the Bears to take advantage of in the secondary. 320 yards is too much to be giving up in the air, even if they only got 27 on the ground. But let's not get too negative. This was a win, after all. Despite an ice-cold start, the offense got it in gear. Colt McCoy is looking more and more impressive every week, which gives me hope that the Longhorns can "run the table" for the rest of the season.

I've pretty much given up hope that Texas has a shot to get to Glendale, though. The Florida loss today teased me. USC looks very vulnerable--with Oregon, California, and Notre Dame still on their schedule, I don't see them holding together their perfect season. But that still leaves Ohio State, Michigan, West Virginia, and Louisville. It's interesting that these four undefeated teams are all a bit intertwined, with head-to-head matchups guaranteeing only two will be left with perfect records. It'll all come down to the BCS computer, and Texas' schedule just doesn't look that strong. Someone really should have rethought setting up that game with Sam Houston State...

ESPN's take of tonight's game:

It was over when... Texas' offense came alive in the second quarter. Baylor jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but wouldn't score again in the first half.
Gameball goes to... Colt McCoy, the redshirt freshman QB who threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to put the game out of reach -- and then threw three more, just because he could.
Stat of the game... 30: If anyone was worried about the Horns' veteran defense, don't fret too much. Baylor gained just 30 yards on the ground and turned the ball over five times.

1 comment:

Swany said...

Hold on! Auburn loses to unranked Arkansas, and they're fourth on the BCS poll? Meanwhile, the only Texas loss comes to the still top-ranked team in the nation, and the computer ranks us a piddly ninth? I'll say it again--knowing everything is about the BCS computer these days, who was the bonehead that put Sam Houston State on the schedule?