6B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2006
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Marquee match-up begins this weekend for national title
Longhorns must boost defense to master 'Huskers
Harry Cahbuck/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The defending national champion Longhorns couldn't help but be a bit surprised to find themselves all the way down at No. 9 in the season's first Bowl Championship Series standings released this week. Texas wide receiver Quan Cosby here attempts to excite the crowd during the pre-game warm-up before his team's 63-31 victory over Baylor in a football game Saturday in Austin, Texas.
The Big 12's marque match-up will be in Lincoln, Neb., this weekend as Texas and Nebraska face off in a battle for Big 12 supremacy. Alex Blair wrote this article for Tuesday's edition of The Daily Texan.
TEXAS UNIVERSITY
Now that the Baylor scare is behind them, Texas has to get ready for the big-
year: No. 17 Nebraska.
Ohio State was big, but not as important as the result Saturday. The Longhorns are still in the national title picture, even with a loss to the Buckeyes. They won't be if they lose this weekend in Lincoln, Neb.
And with the Longhorn pass
defense what it is, a loss to the Cornhuskers is a distinct possibility.
Though Baylor couldn't keep the Longhorns out of the end zone, they still passed all over Texas and scored 31 points. It was only the sixth time that the Bears scored more than 30 against Texas since 1950 and the first time in 12 years. Baylor threw for an incredible 320 yards. That's more yards than the Bears threw for against TCU, Washington State, Army, Kansas State and Colorado. When Texas couldn't rush the passer, Bell was able to find his open receivers, who were Legion.
The game might have been a laugher at the end, but the Longhorns were exposed as a team who can't defend the pass.
Ohio State showed that to be true. The Buckeyes only collected
79 rushing yards, but threw for 269. Troy Smith bolstered his Heisman chances by throwing for 10.3 yards per pass and two touchdowns.
The Longhorns have had no relief from the bombardment in conference play. Besides Baylor's aerial display, Iowa State's Bret Meyer threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Two weeks ago, Oklahoma's Paul Thompson threw for 209 yards, with a 7.7 yards per pass average. Who knows? If the Sooners hadn't been so dedicated to Adrian Peterson and called more pass plays, the outcome might have been different.
It's obvious at this point that the one starter from last year's squad that Texas misses the most isn't Vince Young, but lockdown coverman Michael Huff. And that spells trouble against senior quarterback Zac Taylor and Nebraska's West Coast offense.
The Cornhuskers are averaging 240 yards per game through the air and are averaging almost a first down every time they throw. As if that's not enough, Nebraska is also balanced. The Cornhuskers are also the Big 12's top rushing team, averaging more than 200 yards per game. A good ground game fuels the success of Taylor's aerial attack.
Not to be overlooked is the Huskers' vaunted Blackshirts defense. Nebraska is first in the conference in scoring defense, second in turnover margin and fourth in rush defense
Suffice to say, Nebraska is easily the toughest opponent left on Texas' schedule. Texas Tech, who Texas travels to next weekend, has lost to Missouri, TCU and - worst of all - Colorado. Texas A&M got beat by Texas Tech, then had a win handed to them by Mizzou.
For Texas, the road to the Big 12 Championship and a third BCS berth in three years runs through Lincoln. And the Longhorns have got to be concerned.
ask listen solve
The Tigers did not sniff the end zone after that. All hope was lost after Tony Temple was tackled short of a first down on an option play called on fourth and two (another questionable play call).
Coaches often say that you learn a lot more about a team after losses. We certainly learned a lot about the Tigers on Saturday. They have obvious weaknesses in stopping the run and turning the ball over. The fact that they have no ability to run the ball in between the tackles could also be considered a problem.
Tigers coach bungles play, hands victory to Aggies
Missouri lost its first game of the season on Saturday, falling to Texas A&M. Shawn Garrison wrote this column for Tuesday's Maneater.
ball team's coach.
from the bench. It simply defies logic.
It's now important to keep things in perspective. Despite Pinkel's vintage performance, he is still the favorite to win Big 12 coach of the year, and the Tigers are still capable of winning a conference championship. But next week's Homecoming game against Kansas State will be a defining moment of this season for Missouri.
Tiger fans were given a not-so-friendly reminder on Saturday that Gary Pinkel is still the Missouri foot-
Despite three backbreaking turnovers, the Tigers had the ball in the Texas A&M 5-yard line in the fourth quarter and were looking to take back the lead and momentum. Quarterback Chase Daniel was conveying images of Tom Brady and John Elway, as it appeared that despite his team's poor effort, he was going to do whatever was necessary to carry his team to victory.
Then Pinkel took over. He inexplicably decided to take a delay of game penalty on fourth-and-goal from the Aggie 4-yard line. Then he made the mind-blowing decision of having his team attempt a fake field goal, and wide receiver Brad Ekwerkwu was tackled well short of the end zone.
Now, I could write a thesis about what's wrong with this play calling, but I'll try to just hit some of the major flaws. First off, if you're going to go for it on a fourth down, whether it is with your offense or a trick play, you cannot take a delay of game penalty. That's common sense, and I hope that it was some sort of miscommunication, which is still inexucable when you have timeouts remaining.
The biggest problem I had with this decision was the fact that the ball was taken out of Daniel's hands for the biggest play of the game. If this had happened earlier in the game it would be one thing, but this was a fourth-and-goal during the fourth quarter in which the all-important momentum was about to swing one way or the other.
Whether the team comes out reasserting its dominance with a convincing victory or has another lackadaisical performance will set the stage for the rest of the season and ultimately determine whether the hype surrounding this team for the past few weeks was justified.
This is the point in the game where you call a play you're comfortable running, give the ball to Daniel and hope for the best. Daniel had a record as a starter of 37-1 going back to his high school days for a reason. He knows how to make the plays that win ball games.
This would be like NBA coach Phil Jackson drawing up a play for Ron Harper while Michael Jordan watched
KANSANCLASSIFIEDS
CLASSIFIEDS@KANSAN.COM
SERVICES
Fashion, beverage, food, music or other topic of pop/modern culture critics and experts wanted. Contact letsgettrica@gmail.com for more information.
life support
$3500-$5000 PADDY. EGG DONORS + Expenses. N/moking. Ages 19-29. SAT+1100 ACT/<42>GRA=3.0
sat-to: info@eggdondercenter.com
785/841-2345
free, 24/7
www.hgcc.lawrence.ks.us
SERVICES
Name your own price. Anything/Anytime cleaning. Amanda at 785-224-4972 hawkchalk.com/120
Looking for some good people who want to let all that goodness come out. Musicians call 913 461-1931.
hawkchalk.com/117
Spring Break 2007
Spring Break Bahamas - 5 Days /4 Nights from $199 per person - Includes Cruise Transport & Resort in The Bahamas - Other Packages also Available - Book Toll-Free - 1-888-85-BEACH (1-888-8523) www.CBahama.com
20周年 anniversary w/ SunSplash
Free Trip on 12 before Nov. 1, Free Meals
& Parties, Group Discounts on 1
800-426-7710 www.sunplushours.com
Quality Jewelers Since 1880
Fast, quality jewelry repair custom manufacturing watch & clock repair 817 Mass 843-4266 markinsc@swbell.net
1800-754-9453
www.ubski.com
JOBS
"CALLCENTER"
15,842 FREE cash grants. Never Repay!
FREE grant money For School, Housing,
business, Real Estate. For listings
I-800-509-6956 extension 802.
No sales, collections or customer service
Weekly paycheck. Apply now for shifts
M-F day or evening. Even if you've never
done call center work you can do this job
it's easy to do and we'll train you so CALL
US 913-844-9494 www.vipresearch.net
Assistant needed in busy doctor's office, part-time, both morning and afternoon shifts available, Monday through Saturday. Call 749-1303. Advantage Medical Group. 1104 E. 23rd St.
Baby sitters needed - PT/ Flexible schedule,
competitive pay. Contact: Sunflower Sitters
Referral Services, LLC @ 830-8381,
or visit www.SunflowerSitters.com
Baby-sitter needed for 2 kids, ages 6 and almost 2, PT beginning Nov. Looking for someone dependable, fun, and nurturing Driver's licensure/car req. for transportation to school. $7-8/hour dep. on exp./refs. Please e-mail tmdb@gmail.com with qualifications, hrs avail, and 2 refs.
BARTENDING. UP TO $300.DAY.NO
EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.TRAINING
PROVED. 800-965-6520 EXT 108
BUSINESS INTERNSHIP! College Pro is a student development company. We coach, train and teach students how to manage a business while in school. Resume builder, valuable skills, competitive money. i.m.ac婴医pro.com to apply.
See Yourself Here For The Holidays
See yourself getting a head start on the holidays by joining the team at the Target Distribution Center in Topeka, KS. We're adding Seasonal Warehouse Worker positions to get ready for the holiday rush, and if you love the thrill of working in a fast-paced environment, this is the place to be.
Seasonal Warehouse Workers
- Receive and贮存 cartons and/or pe
* Move pallets through the warehouse
- Check and maintain carton count accuracy within the warehouse
- We're looking for:
- Ability to operate all power equipment safely
- Ability to lift up to 47 lbs and occasionally up to 80 lbs.
- Requires successful completion of the Physical Test.
See the rewards:
- Competitive pay
- Comprehensive benefits
Apply in person:
- Target discount
- Target Distribution Center, 1100 SW 57 St, Topeka, KS
Target is an equal employment opportunity employer and is a drug-free workplace
© 2003 Target Stores. The B.S.U. Drug is a registered trademark of Target Brands. All rights reserved.
CLASSIFIEDS