Texas / Colorado preview

[The Ancient Enemy]

Growing up in the Dan Hawkins household must have been a real adventure for young Cody. Mainly because his father reminds me of 'Billy Jack'. Dan Hawkins seems like he spends his free time on a rock someplace, no shirt, war-paint, and pondering all of life’s great mysteries. He’s a warrior-poet. Hawkins is known to have taken world philosophy into college football, probably throwing out quotes from Sun Tzu and Voltaire and Chief Joseph when the Buffs break the practice huddle. He's going to need help from all his little buddies this week, when Will Muschamp comes to town to take on a sluggish offense.

My, what a difference an offseason can make. UT is breaking in two new coordinators, and they went to the SEC for both of them. Muschamp made his bones as a defensive genius that needs no introduction. Major Applewhite, former UT quarterback, studied afar in Tuscaloosa, where he saw first-hand how a master motivator demands, and gets, full effort.

UT has not played the stiffest of competition as yet. Arkansas is arguably the worst team in the BCS. Recently, skeptics labeled UT as borderline uninspired. Now, the intensity level has risen on both sides of the ball.

Every day is a holidaze in college football, and it is a classic trap game heading into Boulder. Last year, Oklahoma ignored Admiral Akbar’s warning and fell victim in the lovely college town. This Colorado team plays better in front of their own live, studio audience. On the road last week against an FSU squad that returned 5 defensive starters... That's a tough game for anyone to win. Colorado, however, at home defeated a West Virginia team who had gone back to the run-game and was executing it well. CU freshman RB Rodney Stewart, a relative unknown, had a marvelous game and has already shown a lot of promise in his early career. Stewart currently ranks 4th in the conference in rushing.

The aforementioned Cody Hawkins has also managed games well this season. Hawkins is not going to beat Texas with his arm, but is a tough kid and has what coaches and geeks like to call "intangibles". His QB rating puts him at 55th in the nation, and he is 63rd in the country in yards, with 808, 9 TDs and 4 INTs. The nice thing Hawkins does is spread the ball to multiple receivers. The Buffalos run game has only put 3 TDs on the board… 2 of which by Hawkins. It is not from lack of effort, however. Stewart has twice as many carries as UT’s leading back.

On the other sideline, Colt McCoy is right now probably the most underrated quarterback in the nation, looking like a different player than a year ago. McCoy’s QB rating is 209.71, putting him 2nd in the nation. He also ranks 31st in yards, with 1,018 with an unbelievable TD/INT ratio of 14:1. McCoy also leads the team in rushing, with 278 yards and 4 TDs. It is generally not a good thing for the QB to lead the team in rushing, and this run-game has got to find a way to get going. But McCoy, like Hawkins, has also spread the ball well to a number of receivers. The two Seniors, Cosby and Shipley, have accounted for a satanic 666 yards and 9 TDs. Cosby leads in yards, while Shipley leads in scores.

Defensively, UT is responding well to Muschamp. But still, the defense has only 2 players with a recorded INT this season. Things are only getting tougher for the secondary. Up front is where Texas is strong, with Senior DT Brian Orakpo already having a monster season. Orakpo has a dominating 6 sacks, 8 tackles for losses, and 2 forced fumbles. As a unit, the UT defense has 9 players with at least one sack, one of which is local hero Sergio Kindle, who, finally healthy, has 2 sacks and 2 tackles for losses.

The Colorado defense is deceptively good, but not great. Leading the charge up front is star DT George Hypolite, a kid who will be playing on Sundays a year from now. When Hawkins took over, Gary Barnett had this program smelling like something that fell out of Ralphie. Hawkins is slowly getting his players in place to make a nice run in the North, but this defense has trouble with speed on the ends. Still though, as opposed to UT’s 2, Colorado has 5 players with recorded interceptions. For the first time in 2008, McCoy will be tested by an athletic secondary.

There are two interesting notes about this matchup. First, one of the players in the UT secondary is true Freshman Blake Gideon, a 2-star prospect with his only offer being to Texas. Mack Brown is glad the kid was so overlooked. Speaking of Mack Brown, the second interesting note is a Junior QB on the Buffs roster: Mack Brown. Think that kid got hassled at all this week?

It’ll be the stiffest test the Horns have faced so far this season, and likewise for the retooling Buffalos, but at the end of the night, it is a battle of unbeatens next week in the Shootout. Like Sun Tzu said: “The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade.” I don’t know what the hell that means, but I’m sure Dan Hawkins does.

[deliverance]

Nice article, TAE. You do good work.

[vman]

too long...no pictures

[vman]

jk...good stuff....don't want any aspiring super scribes' ego bruised

[The Ancient Enemy]

I DONT JOKE ABOUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!

8)

[deliverance]

vman, I hope that you do realize TAE does have a great knowledge of college football. I have done the same of being very critical of his knowledge and still will be at times. I mean he did call Mack Brown an "idiot" and I will never forgive him for that, but he does know what he is talking about the majority of the time. He likes to stir some things up and that is good for this site as we don't get too many open minds on here. The best part you bring to this site, vman, is that you back up your statements with a lot of facts. I like that. Keep up the good work.

[vman]

Vman (besides part time sheriff duties) is the Joe Friday of this board....JUST THE FACTS!