Message-ID: <26947915.1075857354614.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 04:34:00 -0700 (PDT) From: truorange@aol.com To: truorange@aol.com Subject: True Orange, October 23, 2000, Part 2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ANSI_X3.4-1968 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-From: TruOrange@aol.com X-To: TruOrange@aol.com X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Clint_Dean_Dec2000\Notes Folders\Info X-Origin: Dean-C X-FileName: cdean.nsf Part 2 Scouting Baylor Texas hosts Baylor at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in a game that will be televised = by the Fox Network. The Bears (25) have really struggled this season. Their only victories are over North Texas State, 20-7, and South Florida, 28-13. They have been shut out in their last three games, falling to Texas Tech, 28-0; A&M, 24-0, and Nebraska, 59-0. Their other losses were to Minnesota, 34-9, and Iowa State, 31-17. The Bears had counted on former UT QB Greg Cicero to give them a good passi= ng attack, but he went down with a season-ending injury and they have had one = of the least productive offenses in the country. There are 114 teams playing Division I football and Baylor ranks 104th in rushing, 94th in passing, 111th in total offense and 110th in scoring. The Baylor defense is a little better, but not much. The Longhorns should be able to name their score in this one, even if they = do show up a little flat. Here's how the teams compare statistically (national rank in parenthesis): Texas Baylor Offense (88) 110.3 Rushing Avg. (104) 85.3 (12) 290.9 Passing Avg. (94) 159.1 (35) 401.2 Total Off. Avg. (111) 244.4 (10) 36.3 Scoring Avg (110) 10.6 Defense (26) 107.7 Rushing Avg. (107) 223.9 (19) 181.0 Passing Avg. (48) 202.3 (14) 288.7 Total Def. Avg. (102) 426.2 (29) 19.0 Opp. Scoring Avg (78) 28.0 UT's Bowl Outlook The Longhorns have to win their four remaining regular season games to have= a chance to defend their Big 12 Southern Division title, and, unless Oklahoma loses twice, starting Saturday against Nebraska, that wouldn't get them int= o the league title game. But a 9-2 regular would guarantee them a good bowl game. The Big 12 champion is guaranteed a spot in one of the big four BCS bowls, and the runnerup could wind up in one of the BCS bowls, too. The Cotton Bowl gets the second pick, the Holiday Bowl in San Diego gets third choice and the Alamo Bowl gets the fourth pick. By winning out, Texas would be likely to wind up in either the Holiday Bowl or the Alamo Bowl. If the Big 12 lands two teams in the BCS bowls, a 9-2 Texas probably would wind up in San Diego. If only one Big 12 lands in the BCS bowls, San Antonio is a more likely stopping spot for the bowl season. If the Horns don't go 9-2, they still will qualify for a bowl by beating Baylor Saturday and they will will go bowling somewhere. Big 12 Roundup The big game this week is in Norman where top-ranked and unbeaten Nebraska takes on undefeated and third-ranked Oklahoma. Kansas State travels to Texas A&M in another big game that will trim the li= st of contenders for the two division titles to four. The Wildcats and Aggies already have one loss in conference plays and a second would be fatal to their title hopes. BIG 12 STANDINGS SOUTHERN DIVISION Conference Season W L PF PA Pct. W L PF PA Pct. Oklahoma 3 0 138 61 1.000 6 0 280 96 1.000 Texas 3 1 130 96 .750 5 2 254 133 .71= 4 Texas A&M 3 1 106 48 .750 5 2 212 92 .7= 14 Texas Tech 1 3 69 117 .250 5 3 170 143 .625 Okla State 0 3 43 99 .000 2 4 108 153 .33= 3 Baylor 0 4 17 142 .000 2 5 74 196 .2= 86 NORTHERN DIVISION Conference Season W L PF PA Pct. W L PF PA Pct. Nebraska 4 0 206 54 1.000 7 0 324 104 1.000 Kansas State 3 1 155 98 .750 7 1 367 125 .875 Iowa State 2 2 98 122 .500 5 2 184 173 .7= 14 Kansas 2 2 90 118 .500 4 3 172 169 .57= 1 Missouri 1 3 77 136 .250 2 5 146 231 .2= 86 Colorado 1 3 76 114 .250 1 6 126 176 .14= 3 Last Week's Results Texas 46, Missouri 12 Texas A&M 30, Iowa State 7 Kansas State 28, Texas Tech 23 Nebraska 59, Baylor 0 Kansas 23, Colorado 15 This Week's Games Baylor at Texas, 11:30 a.m. (Fox) Nebraska at Oklahoma, 11 a.m. (ABC) Texas Tech at Kansas, 1 p.m. Oklahoma State at Colorado, 1:30 p.m. Kansas State at Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m. (ABC) Missouri at Iowa State, 6 p.m. (Fox) 2000 Longhorn Schedule, Record (5-2) Texas Opp. Sept. 9 Louisiana-Lafayette 52 10 Sept 16 at Stanford 24 27 Sept 23 Houston 48 0 Sept 30 Oklahoma State 42 7 Oct. 7 Oklahoma (Dallas) 14 63 Oct. 14 at Colorado 28 14 Oct. 21 Missouri 46 12 Oct. 28 Baylor Nov. 4 at Texas Tech Nov. 11 at Kansas Nov. 24 Texas A&M Scoring by Quarters Texas 19 85 63 87 - 254 Opponents 33 51 35 14 - 133 Recruiting Roundup The Longhorns actually went through an entire week without getting a commitment, so they are still at 19, with a few slots left to fill. One player who would fit one of those remaining spots very nicely =01) safe= ty Dewayne Brandon of Temple =01) was one of the recruits who came to the Texas-Missouri game Saturday. The only other top recruits at the game were three who already are committe= d to Texas =01) CB Aaron Ross of Tyler John Tyler, WR/DB Brian Carter of the = The Woodlands and DB/LB Braden Johnson of Euless Trinity. Ross and his Tyler Lions are having a fine season. They are 5-1 overall and 2-0 in their district. Ross is playing running back and wide receiver, in addition to the defensive backfield. He has scored one touchdown as a receiver and three as a running back. He said only five passes have been thrown his way all year. "I intercepted one of them, one was completed and I knocked the other three down," he said= . The Longhorns will give five to seven more scholarships, and most of them will be filled from a group of nine players. They are Brandon, LB Derrick Johnson of Waco, DL Kaelen Jakes of Valencia, Cal., and DE Jonathan Jackson and TE James Moses, both of Galena Park North Shore; DT Tommie Harris of Killeen Ellison, Athlete Joseph Addai of Houston Sharpstown and OLs William Winston of Houston Madison and Jami Hightower of Jacksonville. Super DT Paul Broussard of Blinn JC is another possibility, but he has some academic hurdles to clear. The Longhorns are in good shape with Brandon, Johnson, Jakes, Jackson and Moses. They have as good a chance as anyone with Harris, but the trouble there is that the Killeen Ellison star has a lengthy list of schools he is considering, and he recently added Oklahoma to the mix and says he is wide open. FB James Buchanon of Cardinal Mooney HS in Sarasota, Fla., is still considering Texas, but he is a long shot. * * * * RECRUITING NOTES: Galena Park North Shore is 7-0 and Jackson and Moses are having great years. Moses doesn't get a lot of passes thrown his way, but h= e has very good hands, good speed and he is a tremendous blocker. Jackson, wh= o switched from linebacker to defensive end this year, is an outstanding pass= ru sher, due to his 4.56 40 speed and big frame. Jackson's early college favorites give a strong indication he'll be playing in Texas or Florida. Hi= s top five are Texas, A&M, FSU, Miami and Florida, but I'll be surprised if both these blue-chippers don't join former teammate Cory Redding at Texas .= . . Midland Lee star Cedric Benson isn't getting as many carries as he did la= st season and he's running behind an all new and undersized line, but he's sti= ll lethal when he gets a chance. He hit Abilene Cooper for 335 yards and five touchdowns on 36 carries Friday night in Midland in a key District 4-5A gam= e. He's a Longhorn commitment and he's on everybody's national top 100 list. H= e won't have the great statistics he had on last year's 15-0 state title team= , but he looks even bigger and faster this year. Top Girls Basketball Stars Visit Coach Jody Conradt has already corraled a great recruiting class for her Longhorn women's basketball team, but things could get even better because she got visits last weekend from the nation's top junior and one of the state's top three seniors. The top junior is 6-2 guard/forward Ann Strother of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and the top three Texas star is Niki Newton, a 6-1 forward from Crowley. Strother is visiting several schools unofficially this year to decide which schools she wants to seriously consider next year. Contadt already has commitments from two national top 50 players =01) 6-2 Heather Schreiber of Windthorst and 6-2 Kala Bowers of Woodward, Okla. They are the top prospects in their respective states. Schreiber is rated as the nation's No. 26 prospect and Bowers is ranked No. 41 by the All Star Girls Report, a national rating service. Horns Back in AP Rankings The Longhorns regained the top 25 in the Associated Press rankings this wee= k, coming in at No. 22. They are No. 20 in the coaches' poll. That hasn't always been good news in recent years. It seems like every time the Horns get a good ranking, they get beat. Is it complacency or overconfidence or just the fact they lose to a better team? I'm not sure, but I do know that's why they haven't finished in the t= op 10 since 1983. They've been in the top 10 several times, but they haven't been able to stay there. Kick Returns Picking Up Coach Mack Brown's announced goal of improving the kick return teams this season is paying big dividends. Victor Ike is No. 2 in the country in kickoff returns, averaging 30.5 yards on 11 returns, and Hodges Mitchell is No. 25 nationally in punt returns, averaging 12.3 yards on 25 tries. Unbeaten List Shrinking Only five Division 1 teams still have perfect records and the list will shrink by at least one this weekend when No. 1 Nebraska (7-0) and No. 3 Oklahoma (6-0) meet. The other teams with perfect records are No. 2 Virginia Tech (7-0), No. 5 Clemson (8-0) and No. 11 Texas Christian (6-0). 4 True Freshmen Will Start Tight end Brock Edwards will start against Baylor Saturday, giving the Longhorns four true freshmen in the starting lineup. Edwards joins defensive end Kalen Thornton, who has started the last four games and wide receivers Roy Williams and B. J. Johnson, who have started t= he last two games. Edwards was pressed into the starting lineup when Mike Jones, the team's starting tight end, suffered a lick on his knee early in the Missouri game. Coach Mack Brown said Edwards "did a good job" against Missouri. Two other redshirt freshmen have been starting. Marcus Tubbs has been worki= ng as the starter at defensive tackle while Shaun Rogers works his way back fr= om an ankle sprain, and Dakarai Pearson has won the starting free safety position. Rogers is getting better each week and might reclaim his starting job this week. Barring any late changes, the Longhorns will start two seniors (TB Hodges Mitchell and OT Leonard Davis), four juniors (QB Major Applewhite, LT Mike Williams, RG Antwan Kirk-Hughes and C Matt Anderson), two sophomores (LG Derrick Dockery and FB Matt Trissel) and the three true freshmen (Williams, Johnson and Edwards) on offense Saturday. Defensively, they will start three seniors (tackles Rogers and Casey Hampto= n and SS Greg Brown), four juniors (LBs Everick Rawls, D. D. Lewis and Everic= k Rawls and CB Quentin Jammer), two sophomores (DE Cory Redding and CB Roderi= ck Babers), one redshirt freshman (Pearson) and one true freshman (Thornton). Baseball Stars Commit to UT The Longhorn baseball team got commitments from two more top recruits last week, including a right-handed pitcher who has been clocked as high as 96 m= ph with his fast ball. The pitcher is Kole Strayhorn, 6-1, 185, of Shawnee, Oklahoma, who had offe= rs from many schools, but who picked Texas over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Cal State-Fullerton and Baylor. He was 8-1 last year with a 0.97 ERA. He struck out 99 in 60 innings and said he gave up about 15 walks and about 25 hits. He has been clocked as high as 96 mph, and he is consistent around 90. He plays shortstop when he isn't pitching. The only problem with Strayhorn is that pitchers who can hit 96 mph and who have good control frequently wind up getting drafted so high that they get = a lot of money to go pro immediately. The other recruit is shortstop Seth Johnston, 6-3, 190, of Boerne. He also = is the quarterback for Boerne's football team. Johnson hit .507 last season and picked the Longhorns over Texas A&M and Houston. Simpler Is Better Coach Mack Brown says he thinks the Horns will fare better now that the coaches have simplified the offense. Brown said he also thinks the two-back offense is better for Texas for several reasons. He said having two backs behind the quarterback improves t= he pass protection. When teams rush eight defenders, he said the five linemen, the tight end a= nd one running back are outnumbered. When two backs are there, he said there a= re enough people to block everyone, even in a maximum blitz. It also is a better power-running formation because of the extra blocker, h= e said, adding that success in the running game causes the other team's safeties to creep up to help stop the run, which helps the passing game. "When you can run and pass, it creates some problems for the defense," he said. "We plan to keep working on being able to do both." True freshman WR B. J. Johnson went along with the simplification idea, whi= le having some fun with the rerporters on hand. Johnson said when he first got to Texas and "heard the coaches talking about cover 6 . . . I didn't even know they had six coverages. When someone asked him if he knew all the defensive coverages now, he said, "I don't even know all the plays, to tell you to truth. You should see our playbook." A True Orange Subscription Is The Gift You Can Get Every Year for Your Longhorn Friends A subscription to True Orange is the perfect gift for any occasion for a Longhorn who has everything else. It's only $45 ($35 by e-mail) and I'll send an attractive card announcing your thoughtful gift. The only thing better is a gift of True Orange and the True Orange Fax = =01) and you can give both for just $130 a year ($99 if they take both by e-mail= ). o I am enclosing $45 for a gift subscription ($35 e-mail) o I am enclosing $130 for a gift subscription to the newsletter and the fa= x ($99 e-mail) Name of Recipient Address (& fax no., if applicable) City, State, Zip Your Name Any Message You Want on Card Next Issue October 30 The next issue will be e-mailed on October 30 and will report on Baylor gam= e, preview the big road game the following week against Texas Tech and take a= =20 look at the Big 12 championship races. As always, I'll have a lot of recruiting news, reports on men's and women's basketball and lots of other stories on the Longhorns' teams in the various sports. Tell Your Friends About True Orange If you like True Orange, be sure and tell your Longhorn friends about it. I can always use more subscribers. The more subscribers I have, the more resources I have to call recruits and coaches and do all the other things that give you an inside view of Longhorn sports. SUBSCRIPTION FORMS I want to subscribe. I am enclosing $45 for the next year, which will inclu= de 26 issues. A two-year subscription is $85. For a one-year subscription via E-Mail, send $35. Name Street Address or Box Number or E-Mail Address City, State and Zip Code Remit to True Orange, P O Box 26530, Austin, TX 78755 Foreign Rates Available on Request. Phone 512-795-8536 E-Mail Address: truorange@aol.com I want to give a gift subscription to True Orange. I am enclosing $45. Please send an appropriate gift card. For a gift subscription via E-Mail, send $35. Name of Person Receiving Gift Street Address or Box Number or E-Mail Address City, State and Zip Code Your Name