This is a real laugher....not the right time to be making bold predictions. Just more hype coming from within the hype machine!
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/fb/fbc/2102088
Longhorns' mission: establish, defend run
By JEROME SOLOMON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
AUSTIN -- The question was a simple one.
The answer, after a momentary pause, was even simpler.
"Will this team run the table?"
"Yes."
One would expect nothing less from University of Texas senior Roy Williams, despite his being just two days removed from a nightmarish afternoon in which he and his fellow Longhorns were trampled by Arkansas 38-28.
But that doesn't make his answer any less bold.
Particularly for a team that has the likes of No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 6 Kansas State and No. 15 Nebraska on its schedule.
Williams and other team leaders met with the media Monday afternoon to guarantee the Longhorns would respond to their first loss of the season -- and first at home in the playing career of all but one player on the roster -- in grand fashion this week against Rice.
They hinted that the Owls, who host Texas at Reliant Stadium on Saturday, might be facing the Longhorns at the wrong time.
"Who isn't angry after they lose?" said UT senior receiver B.J. Johnson. "Whoever is left on our schedule has to feel our wrath from (the loss to Arkansas).
"That's what we have to do. We have no choice now but to win every game that we have left."
To do that, Texas has to be better at what many coaches consider the game's two most important fundamentals -- running the football and stopping the run.
Because the running games on both sides of the ball were the subjects of much offseason discourse among the team, the Longhorns are as surprised as anyone that they were unable to establish the running game in either of their first two contests and woeful against the run against Arkansas.
Head coach Mack Brown brought in a new offensive line coach and running backs coach to fix that side of the ball. And he said he has put his team through the most physical work in spring and fall practices of his coaching career to shore up the defense.
Arkansas didn't notice. The Razorbacks rushed for 265 yards and held Texas to 62.
Texas, 1-1 thanks to a season-opening win over New Mexico State, is ranked 82nd (out of 117 teams) in the country in rushing offense and 103rd in rushing defense.
While level of competition is an important factor in early-season statistics, this year the Longhorns will face several more teams that are run-dominant.
Rice has the No. 5-ranked rushing offense in the land (276 yards per game), and Big 12 conference foes Nebraska (third in the nation at 293 yards a game), Kansas State (11th at 242 yards) and Oklahoma State (15th at 228 yards) are off to good starts on the ground as well.
"I think it's beneficial to find out (the problems) so early," linebacker Reed Boyd said. "It's better than finding out midway through the season what your strengths and weaknesses are so you know what to work on."
Defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs said lining up properly and executing are things the team has to do better. Hustling to gang-tackle the ball carrier is something the team has to start doing, period.
"All the things that we didn't do good in this past game -- tackling and giving up long runs -- we definitely have to do that better," Tubbs said. "Especially the tackling. We can't have a game like that when it comes to tackling, because we emphasize that too much."
Offensively, the Longhorns feel they are close to getting the running game going.
The numbers look bleak, however, with Cedric Benson leading the team in rushing with just 67 yards on 25 attempts (2.7 yards per carry). At least he passed backup quarterback Vince Young, who has 61 yards on just five carries.
Young, who has shown himself to be one of the Longhorns' most elusive runners, didn't play against Arkansas.
"We should have played Vince Saturday," Brown said. "We planned on it. We were behind so much that we didn't put him in. I wish we had."
Young's running ability could help loosen up defenses, but starting quarterback Chance Mock has had several nice runs, and his work on a couple of draw plays against the Razorbacks were among the team's few decent running plays.
Whether Young gets more opportunities or not, UT needs production from its tailbacks. Selvin Young, who backs up Benson, has 20 yards on seven carries this season.
Mock said the Longhorns nearly broke several big runs that would have put the criticism of the running game to rest. The junior signal caller believes it's "very critical" for the Longhorns to get their ground game going, and he is sure they will.
"You can't understand how close we are," Mock said. "It's right there. It's like a rock sitting on the edge of a cliff. It's ready to fall; we've just got to give it that extra shove, and we'll be fine."
I think the beating the Pigs put on them has caused severe brain damage!
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/fb/fbc/2102088
Longhorns' mission: establish, defend run
By JEROME SOLOMON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
AUSTIN -- The question was a simple one.
The answer, after a momentary pause, was even simpler.
"Will this team run the table?"
"Yes."
One would expect nothing less from University of Texas senior Roy Williams, despite his being just two days removed from a nightmarish afternoon in which he and his fellow Longhorns were trampled by Arkansas 38-28.
But that doesn't make his answer any less bold.
Particularly for a team that has the likes of No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 6 Kansas State and No. 15 Nebraska on its schedule.
Williams and other team leaders met with the media Monday afternoon to guarantee the Longhorns would respond to their first loss of the season -- and first at home in the playing career of all but one player on the roster -- in grand fashion this week against Rice.
They hinted that the Owls, who host Texas at Reliant Stadium on Saturday, might be facing the Longhorns at the wrong time.
"Who isn't angry after they lose?" said UT senior receiver B.J. Johnson. "Whoever is left on our schedule has to feel our wrath from (the loss to Arkansas).
"That's what we have to do. We have no choice now but to win every game that we have left."
To do that, Texas has to be better at what many coaches consider the game's two most important fundamentals -- running the football and stopping the run.
Because the running games on both sides of the ball were the subjects of much offseason discourse among the team, the Longhorns are as surprised as anyone that they were unable to establish the running game in either of their first two contests and woeful against the run against Arkansas.
Head coach Mack Brown brought in a new offensive line coach and running backs coach to fix that side of the ball. And he said he has put his team through the most physical work in spring and fall practices of his coaching career to shore up the defense.
Arkansas didn't notice. The Razorbacks rushed for 265 yards and held Texas to 62.
Texas, 1-1 thanks to a season-opening win over New Mexico State, is ranked 82nd (out of 117 teams) in the country in rushing offense and 103rd in rushing defense.
While level of competition is an important factor in early-season statistics, this year the Longhorns will face several more teams that are run-dominant.
Rice has the No. 5-ranked rushing offense in the land (276 yards per game), and Big 12 conference foes Nebraska (third in the nation at 293 yards a game), Kansas State (11th at 242 yards) and Oklahoma State (15th at 228 yards) are off to good starts on the ground as well.
"I think it's beneficial to find out (the problems) so early," linebacker Reed Boyd said. "It's better than finding out midway through the season what your strengths and weaknesses are so you know what to work on."
Defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs said lining up properly and executing are things the team has to do better. Hustling to gang-tackle the ball carrier is something the team has to start doing, period.
"All the things that we didn't do good in this past game -- tackling and giving up long runs -- we definitely have to do that better," Tubbs said. "Especially the tackling. We can't have a game like that when it comes to tackling, because we emphasize that too much."
Offensively, the Longhorns feel they are close to getting the running game going.
The numbers look bleak, however, with Cedric Benson leading the team in rushing with just 67 yards on 25 attempts (2.7 yards per carry). At least he passed backup quarterback Vince Young, who has 61 yards on just five carries.
Young, who has shown himself to be one of the Longhorns' most elusive runners, didn't play against Arkansas.
"We should have played Vince Saturday," Brown said. "We planned on it. We were behind so much that we didn't put him in. I wish we had."
Young's running ability could help loosen up defenses, but starting quarterback Chance Mock has had several nice runs, and his work on a couple of draw plays against the Razorbacks were among the team's few decent running plays.
Whether Young gets more opportunities or not, UT needs production from its tailbacks. Selvin Young, who backs up Benson, has 20 yards on seven carries this season.
Mock said the Longhorns nearly broke several big runs that would have put the criticism of the running game to rest. The junior signal caller believes it's "very critical" for the Longhorns to get their ground game going, and he is sure they will.
"You can't understand how close we are," Mock said. "It's right there. It's like a rock sitting on the edge of a cliff. It's ready to fall; we've just got to give it that extra shove, and we'll be fine."
I think the beating the Pigs put on them has caused severe brain damage!
