USC 55 Oklahoma 19

In another bowl game that was not as close as the final score indicates, the USC Trojans absolutely laid the wood to the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS National Championship Orange Bowl game on Tuesday night.
In this previous post on November 7, I noted that OU’s defensive secondary was probably not good enough to beat USC, and that certainly turned out to be the case as USC QB Matt Leinart (18-35 for 332 yds; 5 TD’s; 0 Int) sliced and diced the OU secondary as if he was preparing a salad.
Meanwhile, OU’s offense could never find a rhythm against the speedy USC defense. OU QB Jason White (24-36 for 224 yds; 2 TD’s; 3 Int) finished a marvelous college career by throwing three interceptions and looking generally overwhelmed the entire game.
White’s first interception — the result of a brain fart decision of throwing into triple coverage while under pressure — was arguably the turning point in the game. It came at the end of the first quarter as OU appeared poised to tie the game at 14, and USC promptly took the ball and drove for a quick TD and a 21-7 lead. After an OU receiver slipped and White threw another interception on the next possession, the Trojans quickly scored another TD and the game was effectively over.
USC is now 34-3 over the past three seasons with one and a half National Championships and two Heisman Trophy winners. They are now indisputably the best program in college football at this time.

Browns 22 Texans 14

In an effort to compete with the Aggies for the most uninspired effort of the holiday season, the Texans laid an egg against the hapless Browns in the final game of the 2004 season. The loss prevented the Texans from achieving an 8-8 record in their third NFL season and left a sour aftertaste to a season of undeniable progress for the Texans.
The main flaws in the Texans’ squad were on full display in this one. The Browns’ pass rush manhandled the Texans’ offensive line, so Texans QB David Carr (15-25 for 114 yards; 1 TD; 0 Int) was running for his life most of the day. Moreover, inasmuch as Carr has below average recognition skills, the Texans could not combat the Browns’ fierce pass rush with short drops and passes to hot receivers. Consequently, the Texans’ passing game was rendered utterly ineffective in this game, averaging a full yard less per play than the Texans’ rushing attack.
Frankly, the Texans’ problems in the offensive line are not surprising given that the Texans’ management has made some particularly bad choices in this personnel area. The Tony Boselli deal was a bust, and then the Texans wasted a high draft choice in their second draft on tight end Bennie Joppru, who has not played a down for the Texans.
Partly as a result of these questionable decisions, the Texans are playing Seth Wand — an inexperienced second year player from a small college program — at the key left offensive tackle position. Although the Texans have veteran offensive linemen Steve McKinney (7 yrs), Todd Wade (5 yrs), and Zack Wiegert (10 yrs) playing regularly, a football team is only as strong as its weakest links in this area. And the Texans’ key offensive line draft picks — Wand, Chester Pitts and Fred Weary — have been weak links to date.
If the Texans had a top flight QB, at least some of the problems in the offensive line would probably not be so apparent. However, through three seasons now, Carr has established that he is only an average NFL QB at best. Carr is not a bust such as Tim Couch or Ryan Leaf, but he is simply not good enough to overcome the current limitations in the Texans’ offensive line.
Interestingly, the rest of the Texans’ personnel areas are in reasonably good shape. Oh, they could use a dominant defensive lineman (couldn’t every team?) along the lines of the Oilers’ Curly Culp from a generation ago. Similarly, another big wide receiver to take pressure off of the talented but underutilized Andre Johnson would also be helpful. But none of these other holes are as big as the ones on the offensive line. So, assuming that the Texans’ management can plug those, the Texans appear to be on track to be a playoff contender by their fifth season in the NFL.
By the way, I know that the Texans’ loss to the Browns was bad, but is that really a reason for this, particularly after this a couple of weeks ago?

Giants 28 Cowboys 24

In an absolutely appropriate ending to a miserable season, the Cowboys snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as they scored with 1:49 to play to take a 24-21 lead, and then allowed the Giants to march down the field and score the winning TD with 11 seconds left. The rebuilding job at Dallas looks to be so extensive at this point that I cannot see the Big Tuna lasting much longer as coach of the Pokes. Good thing that vote on the new stadium occurred in early November rather than early January.

Texas Longhorns 38 Michigan 37

In a hugely entertaining Rose Bowl game, the Horns’ Vince Young put on a show for the ages as UT kicker Dusty Mangum‘s 38 yard field goal as the clock expired won it for Texas. The win was the first for Texas in a BCS Bowl game, and at least loosened the hold of that big monkey on UT Coach Mack Brown‘s back that was mentioned in this previous post.
Michigan’s offense performed admirably against the Horns’ quick defense, efficiently using their 355 yards of total offense to score 37 points. Freshman Michigan QB Chad Henne (18-34 for 227 yds, 0 int) was very good, throwing four TD passes, including three to All-World WR Braylon Edwards.
Nevertheless, the Michigan defense simply could not contain Young, who glided like a gazelle through and around the Michigan defenders while scoring 4 TD’s, rushing for almost 200 yards, and generating just under 400 of Texas’ 444 yards of total offense. Young is simply the type of rare athlete who looks like he could dominate a basketball game or a track meet just as readily as a football game.
By the way, the videotape of this game is almost certainly destined to become one of the most effective tools in coaching circles for teaching how not to cover kickoffs. Between Michigan’s Steve Breaston and Texas’ Ramonce Taylor, the teams combined for over 420 yards on kickoff returns, averaging a remarkable 32.5 yards per return. Texas’ kickoff coverage was so bad that, by the fourth quarter, I was urging Coach Brown to direct his kicker simply to kick the ball out of bounds on kickoffs so that Michigan would be “backed up” to its 35 to start their next drive.
Also, the Iowa-LSU Capital One Citrus Bowl game that was on ABC immediately before the Rose Bowl game had an even more incredible ending as Iowa QB Drew Tate (from Baytown, just east of Houston on I-10) threw a 55 yard TD pass as time expired to pull it out for the Hawkeyes. Between that game and the Rose Bowl, ABC had an incredibly engaging eight hours of college football on this New Year’s Day.

Tennessee 38 Texas Aggies 7

In a game that was not as close as the final score indicates, the Volunteers had a 21-0 lead over the hapless Aggies with over 13 minutes to go in the second quarter of the 2005 Cotton Bowl. As with the Texans’ loss to the Browns, this was a disappointing ending to a season of decided overall progress for the Aggies.
Although the Aggies performed surprisingly well this season while playing one of the nation’s most difficult schedules, the last two games against Texas and Tennessee exposed the Aggies’ weakness vividly. Both Texas and Tennessee’s defenses were quick and strong enough to shut down A&M’s rushing attack while bringing pressure on A&M QB Reggie McNeal in a manner that kept him in the pocket while passing. Without an effective rushing attack and McNeal’s scrambling outside the pocket, A&M’s offense was rendered largely ineffective in their final two games this season. Eventually, turnovers in both games wore the Aggies’ defense down, and the Aggies were unable to make much of a game out of either contest.
Accordingly, as with the Texans, the Aggies need to make considerable off-season upgrades in their offensive line in order to continue this season’s progress against an equally difficult schedule next season.

Before the fourth ranked Cal Bears football team complain too loudly again about being passed over by Texas for the Bowl Championship Series Rose Bowl game, they need to compare this game with this game.
Indeed, the Pac-10 Conference is fortunate that USC was left out of the BCS Championship Game last season. In my view, that’s the only justification for choosing the undefeated Trojans for this season’s championship game over Auburn, which is also undefeated and played a far tougher schedule than USC.

The University of Texas announced Wednesday that the UT System Board of Regents has approved a deal in which UT football coach Mack Brown‘s current contract — which pays him $2.017 million annually — will be replaced with the 10-year deal that will pay him $2.159 million in 2005 and $100,000 more than that amount each year through the 10 year term of the contract.
The new contract is the fourth most lucrative one for a college football coach. Only Bob Stoops at Oklahoma ($2.3 million), the departing Nick Saban at LSU ($2.3 million) and Tommy Tuberville at Auburn ($2.28 million) make more than Brown. Due to one-time $1.6 million bonus he received on his 53rd birthday this past August, Brown was the highest paid college coach in 2004 with earnings $3.6 million.
Geez, just think what Brown could make at UT if he could ever manage to beat Oklahoma — to whom his teams have lost five straight times — or win a conference championship, something that none of his teams has ever accomplished during Brown’s 17 years of being a head coach on the major college level. Not to have won a conference championship at a school with the resources and talent of Texas is a major blemish on Brown’s resume.
Moreover, Brown’s Texas teams have had a history of playing poorly in big games. They have lost five consecutive losses to Oklahoma and Brown is clearly overmatched by his nemesis, OU Coach Stoops. Brown’s Texas teams have lost both Big 12 championship games in which they have played, including the galling upset by Colorado in 2001 that prevented that Texas team from getting a BCS bowl berth.
The bowl record of Brown’s Texas teams (3-3) is similarly tarnished. Last year’s 28-20 loss to Washington State in the Holiday Bowl was particularly awful, as Texas made WSU’s zone blitzs appear to be a new invention in football.
So, one certainly has to admire UT for keeping up with the compensation levels of the elite group of teams in college football, which is where UT aspires to be. However, a valid question remains as to whether Mack Brown deserves it.
In more troubling news for UT, assistant coach Dick Tomey, who is largely responsible for the development of the UT defense this season into an elite unit, will be departing the UT staff next season to take the head coaching job at San Jose State. Perhaps even more troubling from an emotional standpoint, Tomey is attempting to persuade UT graduate assistant coach and former QB great Major Applewhite to join him as an assistant on his San Jose staff.

Oregon State’s football team handed Notre Dame its seventh straight bowl loss last night in the Insight.com Bowl in Phoenix. However, for my money, the real story from that game is Oregon State’s kicker, a 19 year old freshman named Alexis Serna, who walked on the Oregon State football team before this season without a scholarship.
Four months ago, after having attended just a few classes at Oregon State, Mr. Serna was the goat of college football after blowing three extra points in a one-point loss to then number one ranked LSU. As SI.com columnist John Walters writes in this wonderful article on Mr. Serna:

So imagine waking up as Alexis Serna in Corvallis, Ore., on the morning of Sept. 5. You don’t have a scholarship. You’ve only dressed for one game in your college career and the entire country — yourself included — is blaming you for Oregon State’s loss the night before. And someone at ESPN refers to any missed PAT as “pulling an Alexis Serna.” You are 19 years old.

Remarkably, Mr. Serna overcame the humiliation of his first college football game to nail 40 of his next 41 kicks — including 16 of 17 field goal attempts — to make the second team All Pac-10 team. Late last month, Mr. Serna’s coach rewarded him by giving him an athletic scholarship. From my vantage point, Mr. Serna ought to be awarded Sportsman of the Year.

Texans 21 Jaguars 0

The Texans defense laid the wood to Jags’ QB Byron Leftwich in holding the Jags’ offense to 126 total yards and the Texans’ much maligned offensive line sprung RB Dominick Davis for 150 yards rushing and a TD as the Texans humbled the Jags in chilly Jacksonville, 21-0. The shutout was the first in Texans’ franchise history.
The Texans defense gave Leftwich a concussion early in this one, and the Jags QB could never get untracked as the Texans forced three turnovers and held the Jags to 54 yards passing. Meanwhile, the Texans offense generated 333 total yards behind another average but adequate performance by QB David Carr (14-20, 122 yds., 1 TD, 2 INT). Actually, Carr’s line would look better except that one of his interceptions came on a great play by Jags DB Dewayne Washington. Washington made a spectacular one-handed interception on a Carr pass that Andre Johnson probably would have taken to the house for his second TD catch of the game but for Washington’s incredible play. About the only phase of the Texans’ performance that was subpar on this day was the punt return team, which had one adventure after another while trying to cope with the absence of injured regular returner J.J. Moses.
The 7-8 Texans, who are clearly on a roll, could end the season with a .500 record with a win over the Browns at Reliant Stadium next Sunday. That would be quite an accomplishment for this third year franchise.

Cowboys 13 Redskins 10

Oh, how the might have fallen. In an excrutiatingly boring game between two teams with inept offenses, Cowboys QB Vinnie Testaverde somehow three a 39 yard TD pass to someone named Patrick Crayton with 30 seconds to go to pull out the win before a feisty crowd at Texas Stadium. The 6-9 Cowboys close this disastrous season next week at the Meadowlands against the Giants, and then the off-season process of revamping the Cowboys offense begins. It will not be an easy task.

Texans 24 Bears 5

In a game played in -10 wind chill conditions, the Texans’ defense beat up on an utterly incompetent Bears offense as the Texans beat the Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago. The sixth win is the most that the Texans have won in a season during their first three in the NFL.
The tale of this game was turnovers, as the Bears lost four and the Texans none. Neither team could do much offensively under the difficult conditions, but the Bears were particularly atrocious, managing barely 200 yards total offense. The Texans’ David Carr played reasonably well under the circumstances (13-28/208 yds/1 TD) and, most importantly, had no turnovers. Notably, Carr did a good job of throwing passes to wide receivers Jabbar Gaffney and Corey Bradford, which is the only way that the Texans are going to be able to force teams to loosen the now routine double coverage on the Texans’ star receiver, Andre Johnson.
The entire Texans’ defense was impressive, although this Bears offense is truly one of the worst of the past decade in the NFL. Particularly impressive for the Texans is rookie cornerback Dunta Robinson, who was one of the Texans’ first round draft picks in the 2004 draft. This young player plays like a seasoned veteran 14 games into his professional career and, barring injury, looks as if he will hold down one of the Texans’ cornerback positions for the next decade.
The Texans play the Jaguars at Jacksonville on the Sunday after Christmas Day and then play Cleveland at Reliant Stadium to finish up the season. Despite rather substantial problems in both the offensive and defensive lines, and a still unproven quarterback, it is a credit to the Texans’ coaching staff that they have this club in a position to break even on the season.

Eagles 12 Cowboys 7

In perhaps the best reflection of the state of the Cowboys franchise, the Pokes were able to take solace in the fact that they were at least able to keep it close against the Eagles this time, as opposed to the 49-21 Monday Night Football disaster of earlier this season.
What is truly amazing is that the Cowboys were in a position to win this game at all after mustering barely 300 yards total offense and coughing up three turnovers. But the Eagles scored with less than two minutes remaining to seal the win and place the Cowboys in distinct peril of finishing the season with a worse record than the third year Texans. The Pokes wind up the season with the Redskins at home next Sunday and then the Giants the following week at the Meadowlands before beginning what is sure to be an eventful offseason as this once proud franchise faces a formidable rebuilding project.

Twenty-five years ago, the University of Houston football team was preparing to play the University of Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl game on New Year’s Day. Houston won that entertaining game 17-14 on a last minute touchdown pass.
Thus, UH Athletic Director Dave Maggard‘s idea of scheduling a game between Houston and Nebraska at Houston’s Reliant Stadium to open the 2005 football season seemed like a good one. That is, until Nebraska pulled out of the game yesterday in order to schedule a home opener against that traditional college football powerhouse, Maine. Mr. Maggard is not pleased, as the Chronicle reports:

“This is the most unprofessional thing I’ve dealt with in my 30 years in this business. I’m very, very surprised by all this. This is something that doesn’t belong in Division I athletics. I’m very, very angry about this.”
“This is absolutely unprofessional in every way.” It’s gutless. Spineless. They’re going to have to live with it. I’ve lost a tremendous amount of respect for that program. I think that for college athletics, it’s shameful.”
“We’re going to figure out a solution, but they are developing a reputation for hanging people out to dry. I think it’s a sad commentary on the people running that athletic program.”

On the heels of this earlier incident involving a Nebraska football player, this latest development makes one wonder just how low the University of Nebraska football program must fall before it bottoms out?

As noted in this earlier post, the city of Jacksonville has a tough act to follow in hosting the 2005 Super Bowl. With only a fraction of the facilities that Houston used in hosting the 2004 Super Bowl, Jacksonville officials are scrambling to accomodate the NFL’s gargantuan requirements for putting on the biggest spectacle in U.S. professional sports.
However, despite the perk of hosting the Super Bowl, Professor Sauer observes that Jacksonville is not even a sure bet to keep its NFL team. Because of declining ticket sales, Jacksonville’s ownership is artifically reducing the number of seats in the team’s stadium. Professor Sauer notes:

In an open system of leagues, teams from smaller burgs occasionally get good, generate enthusiasm, and go on a run. In the US system of league monopolies, a town essentially gets a short term lease on a team, then it gets auctioned off to the next town starved for the sport.

Read the entire post.