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tEXas tailgatES talk
We welcomed the passing game to the 2001 season Saturday night at the erector set they call Robertson Stadium. As I watched the game from the stands, I heard some complaints from the Texas fans around me. I do not, and will not, ever understand how a team you support can be 3-0, winning those 3 games by an average score of 46-15, be ranked in the top 5 in both major polls, and be in contention for a national title, yet still have fans unhappy. Do I think the team played perfect Saturday night? No. Do I think they have things to work on? Yes. Was I ecstatic that Texas put half of a hundred on the scoreboard against an opponent on the road? You bet. Do I think this team is improving every week? Absolutely. 53-26 This game was like just about every game played this weekend- sloppy. Penalties and missed opportunities were present for both teams early. The superior talent and depth proved to be the difference in this game. The Longhorns simply are a better team than UH is right now, and that showed. Whatever you might think of the Athletic Department and Administration of UH (I'm right there with you), their football team is well coached and plays tough. Chris Simms looked like the man-child everyone was expecting from day 1. He finished the night a cool 20-35 for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was picked off once, put UH got nothing out of it. Some passes were dropped and another touchdown pass to Tony Jeffrey was ruled incomplete, but replays later showed it was a catch. He looked off receivers well, once on the 92-yard t.d. pass to B.J. Johnson, scrambled when he had to, and really only made 1 or 2 bad decisions. The passing game has arrived. It is widely known that the most improvement in a team is from game 1 to game 2. That was game 1 for the passing game. The I-Train was a wrecking ball. Williams had 103 yards and 2 touchdowns on 19 carries, and did not see the field in the 4th quarter. He gave way to Benson, who racked up 74 yards and a score on 14 carries. That's almost 5 ? yards per carry for the game. Most impressive was the 3rd and short yardage situations, where Texas fans have cringed in the past. Each time it was 2nd or 3rd and short, the 'horns lined up in their 2 tight end set, and everyone in the stadium knew what the play was and where it was going. It still worked. 5 ? yards per carry. Statistically, the defense has had better days. They gave up 432 yards and 26 points. Some points of concern are the lack of a consistent pass rush and some sloppy tackling, but the rest must be laid at the feet of UH. The Cougars had an excellent game plan for Texas, and had 2 weeks to implement it. This was their OU game. They had 2 games of film on Texas, who had only one (with no relevance, since it was of Rice and their wishbone atack, that Texas hasn't used in 30 years). Houston played lights out in the 1st half. Two things coaches must do are get their team prepared for the game and adjust to the opponent at the half. Texas led 20-14 at the half. At the end of the 3rd quarter it was 33-14. The Texas coaches fixed the immediate problem and stopped Houston when it had to. Like I said earlier, the biggest improvement for a team is from game 1 to game 2. This was game 1 for defending the wide-open offense. ________________________________________________________________ Texas Tech 6:00 pm Fox Sports This should be a fun one, folks. Tech has a chip on their shoulder because they think they let one get away last year in Lubbock when Texas walked out of their with a win, 29-17. Texas Tech comes in 2-0 after beating that bully North Texas, who they had previously split the last 4 meetings with. This is about as one sided a rivalry as it gets, with Texas leading the 50 games played 37-13. The Red Raiders have a solid quarterback in Kliff Kingsbury, and a great playmaker in safety Kevin Curtis. If they could block someone offensively and stop the run on defense, they could be pretty good. It's not happening here. Eat a big lunch, because the way these teams throw the ball, and the way Tech's offensive line blocks, expect a lot of incompletions and holding penalties. It's going to be a long night. INFORMATION FOR TICKET HOLDERS: Expect long lines and delays at stadium gates, which will open two (2) hours prior to kickoff in order to accommodate sellout crowds. Police officers are scheduled to patrol the stadium block the day and night prior to the games. An increased number of security officers are scheduled to man each gate. For more information about the new restrictions click here: http://www.texasexes.org/news.php3?id=52 Don't forget, the worlds largest Tailgate Party starts at 3:00 PM at the Alumni Center. _______________________________________________________________________ We are 1 week away from the Red River War. I will include all of the events that are happening in next week's email. The link to all of the Texas/OU weekend is below: http://www.dallastexasexes.org/ If you are interested in riding the bus from Austin to Dallas for the game, please click below: http://www.texasexes.org/news.php3?id=54 The tailgate for Oklahoma State is going to be (tentatively) in the parking lot near the stadium. The tailgate for Missouri is going to be (tentatively) at Spanky's Sports Bar in the Holiday Inn in Columbia. More information is on the way: http://www.texasexes.org/chapters/TexasTailgates.html ___________________________________________________________________________ News and Notes: * Kickoff has been set for the OU game. 2:30 pm on ABC. * Chris Simms' 92 yd touchdown pass to B.J. Johnson was the longest of Simms career. The previous best was a 70 yarder to Johnson last year (A&M). * Texas is 26-0 under Mack Brown when they out rush their opponent. * D.D. Lewis recovered the 9th fumble of his career in the 4th quarter against UH, tying him for the all-time lead with Tim Campbell (1975-79) and Oscar Giles (1987-90). * Look for Derrick Johnson to be starting soon. Bam Bam came off of the bench in the 3rd quarter and had an immediate impact, with 6 tackles/4 solo. He finished 3rd on the team in tackles for the game. * Texas is 3-0 for the 1st time since 1994. Around the Conference: * The Aggies pulled off the Red/White/Blue decks for the game against O.S.U. on Saturday. It was quite a site, and very impressive. They beat Oklahoma State 21-7, and host Notre Dame this weekend. * OU will end its 3-week layoff as they host Kansas State this weekend. The Sooners were off on September 22nd, and postponed their Sept. 15th game with Tulsa to Nov. 24th. It will be interesting to see how they come out. K-State seems to be hitting on all cylinders as they annihilated New Mexico State 65-0. They led 50-0 at the half. * Baylor is off to its best start since 1996. The Bears beat New Mexico in OT 16-13 on Saturday. They are 2-0. * Iowa State is also 2-0. The Cyclones beat Ohio 31-28 on Ennis Haywood's 219 yards rushing. They host Baylor this weekend. * The Big XII went 8-2 this weekend; with 2 teams idle (OU, Mizzou). The only 2 losses came in conference play, OSU to A&M, and Kansas to Colorado. The rest of the league went 6-0 in out of conference play. Take Care. See you all this weekend. Hook'em Trey McLean Texas Exes ______________________________________________________________________ Home, Business, Work, Yahoo... when you sign up for the free email forwarding service from the Texas Exes, you decide where your email goes, anytime. Sign up now, or change your preferences at: http://www.alumni.utexas.net/ ______________________________________________________________________ Do you want to advertise your business for free? 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