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| TCU has flirted with BCS at large bids over the past few seasons, but making the bowl game has eluded them. What has not eluded the Horned Frogs is success against the Big 12 Conference. TCU is 4-0 in their last 4 games against Big 12 opponents including top 10 win over Oklahoma in Norman and last year against Texas Tech where they held Mike Leach's Red Raiders to one of his lowest offensive outputs in his career. This season the stakes are high again as they travel to Austin to take on the Longhorns, but does TCU really have what it takes to come out with a win? Greg Scoggins, Ryan Hankins, with Casen DeLucia give you their take as well as other hot topics in college, pro and private school football in "Viewpoint!" Photo credit: David Fuller |
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| College Football 1) Will Missouri take the Big 12 North Division given their schedule? Missouri's Big 12 Schedule: Nebraska, @ Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Iowa State, @ Colorado, Texas A&M, @ Kansas State, Kansas [at Kansas City] Nebraska's Big 12 Schedule: Iowa State, @ Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, @ Texas, @ Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado Greg: Nebraska is poised to reassert their dominance in the Big 12 North Division. Bill Callahan has had time to bring in his type of pl ayers, and this should be the year that Nebraska's offense begins to dominate games. Their defense is getting closer to returning to the "Black Shirt" days, and they should be able to beat Missouri in Columbia in early October. Despite a difficult Big 12 schedule [Oklahoma State, at Texas and A&M], I see the Huskers and Tigers tied for the top spot and Nebraska holding the head-to-head tiebreaker edge. Ryan: I believe that Missouri will take the north with their only loss at Oklahoma. Kansas State may be a trap game. Nebraska will lose to Missouri and Texas. Casen: Missouri will take the North. The Tigers offense will be the edge when Nebraska comes to town. No slipups this year. 2) September 15 - Southern California at Nebraska. What will happen? Greg: Although Nebraska is improved over last season, the mighty Men of Troy will be too much in Lincoln on a likely warm September day. If the game was being played in November, I might give the Huskers the edge. USC will be playing well early in the season with John David Booty returning, and they win by 7. Ryan: OK so I know that Nebraska is a "tough" place to play, but this is gonna be a cakewalk for the Trojans. Casen: I disagree with Greg. I think playing USC early in the year is better than later, however Nebraska has a huge question mark at QB. Inconsistencies and lack of excecution will do Nebraska in. They score some points after the game is out of reach. 3) September 29 - Rhett Bomar and Sam Houston play at Oklahoma State. Thoughts? Greg: Some OU fans might make the drive 90 minutes north to Stillwater just to watch Rhett get sacked hard like he did in the Cotton Bowl in 2005 against Texas. I'm still surprised Bomar kept getting up that October day as Texas repeatedly drilled the freshman QB. Oklahoma State will score 50 points, but Bomar and the Bearkats will get 24. Ryan: Well, I would say if it were at OU it would be something to watch...but at the end of the day, it's still Sam Houston State playing at a pretty good Big 12 teams house! I say Okie State wins big, 49-7... Casen: Bomar gets harrassed pre game, game, and post game. He will find that he needs to work at quite a few more car dealerships if he wants to bring in enough supporting talent to help his Bearkat team. 4) Predict Oklahoma State's Big 12 record. Can they finish third in the Big 12 South Division? Oklahoma State's Big 12 Schedule: Texas Tech, @ Texas A&M, @ Nebraska, Kansas State, Texas, Kansas, @ Baylor, @ Oklahoma Greg: Although OSU's defense will be improved with a new attitude brought in by their new defensive coordinator Tim Beckman, they still must prove they can contain powerful Big 12 South offenses. Their offense will score points in bunches, but I believe they will get fourth in the south behind Texas, Oklahoma, and A&M. Ryan: Oklahoma State will get fourth behind Texas A&M with losses to A&M, Nebraska, Texas, and Oklahoma. Casen: I think OSU will beat A&M in the 4th quarter and escape College Station with a win. They have also proven they can take it to the Horns in Stillwater (and give up huge leads as well). Being able to finish the deal will give OSU 3rd place in the south. 5) September 8 - TCU at Texas. Thoughts? What will happen? What should happen? Greg: This will be very interesting. TCU loves these opportunities to play against the Big 12, and lately they seem to take advantage of them. I see Texas winning late in a fierce defensive struggle, 27-17. If the Horned Frogs could frusterate Colt McCoy into making poor decisions and put pressure on him consistently like they did Graham Harrell and Texas Tech last season, the game could be close into the 4th quarter. In the end, Texas is too strong and too deep for TCU. I love the swagger that Gary Patterson and the Frogs play with, and it is the dream of TCU alums and fans to get a shot at the Longhorns. Ryan: Well what should happen is Texas should blow them out and what will happen is a close game at halftime, but then the Longhorns wake up and put it to them. Texas 38, TCU 17. Casen: I think if this game was played last year, TCU wins, even in Austin, but McCoy is a year better and he has Jamaal Charles, Limas Sweed, Quan Cosby, Billy Pittman, and Jordan Shipley. TCU loses RB's Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merrill, top WR Quentily Harmon and QB Jeff Ballard on offense. Close until mid to late 3rd quarter and Texas pulls away. 6) Who has the best offensive 1-2 punch in the Big 12 and why? - QB Bobby Reid and WR Adarius Bowman of Oklahoma State - QB Stephen McGee and RB Jovorskie Lane of Texas A&M - QB Colt McCoy and WR Limas Sweed of Texas - RB Allen Patrick and WR Malcom Kelly of OU - QB Chase Daniel and TE's Chase Coffman and Martin Rucker of Missouri - QB Sam Keller and RB Marlon Lucky of Nebraska - QB Bret Meyer and WR Todd Blythe of Iowa State Greg: A healthy Bobby Reid running and throwing to WR superstar Adarius Bowman is probably the best 1-2 punch in the Big 12. Bowman is a big time reciever with NFL star potential, and the other weapons OSU has and the style of play they run will keep teams from double teaming him. He should have a monster season, and Lindy's scouting service just tabbed him as the top WR prospect int he 2008 NFL Draft. Allen Patrick is a hard charging runner, but the Sooners are particularly excited about their redshirt freshman running back DeMarco Murray from Las Vegas. The 6'0, 191 pound Murray was dazzling during the Sooners spring football game, and he should be spectacular this fall. Combine the two runners with the Spiderman-like hands of Malcolm Kelly, and you have a potent force that is sure to give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares. Ryan: I will go with A&M's combo of McGee and Lane. They will terrorize the Big 12 this year with the option. Lane is a horse and is hard to bring down while McGee is a hardnosed QB and will go up agains any linebacker in the country. Missouri has the best passing attack in the country and Coffman and Rucker will get a lot of catches because of Daniel's precision accuracy. Casen: Adarius Bowman is the top reciever in the Big 12 and Reid will be that much better this year. All eyes will be on Bowman as last year he was able to fly under the radar a bit since teams usually double-teamed D'Juan Woods. Can Bowman and Woods carry the entire team this year, week in and week out? We shall see. Reid will be there next season, but Bowman will not. McGee with a tandem of Lane and Mike Goodson will roll over almost any team in the country. Sadly though, any of these top 1-2 punches or trios with Mizzou and A&M, would get stomped by USC. Trojans have 10 starters returning on defense. They will be salty. 7) Will SMU finally end their bowl drought this year? Predict their record. Greg: SMU just lost their all conference linebacker, and the rebuilding Ponies won't be able to overcome that on defense. Phil Bennett has done an admirable job instilling a winning attitude, but it will take more athletes to bring a bowl team to the hilltop. Greg's prediction: [6-6] Texas Tech [L], North Texas [L], @ Arkansas State [W], @ TCU [L], UTEP [W], @ Southern Miss. [L], Tulane [W], @ Tulsa [W], @ Houston [L], Rice [W] Central Fla. [W], @ Memphis [L] Ryan: Not at all. Ryan's prediction: [4-8] Texas Tech [L], North Texas [L], @ Arkansas State [L], @ TCU [L], UTEP [L], @ Southern Miss. [L], Tulane [W], @ Tulsa [W], @ Houston [L], Rice [W] Central Florida [L], @ Memphis [W] Casen's Prediction [7-5] The Ponies will beat North Texas in OT. 8) Todd Dodge's first game as Head Coach of North Texas is at Oklahoma. Does he try and get a feel for his team and search for an identity, or does he abandon conservative play calling in hopes of a quick strike? Greg: From talking with Coach Dodge this spring at some Southlake Carroll track meets, he plans to be agressive and play to win right now. I look for the Mean Green to go "Boise State" during their season opener in Norman, and pull out all the stops. Look for North Texas to be unconventional against the Sooners and perhaps play a competitive first half. In the second half, the lack of depth and the young starters for UNT will be exposed and OU will roll to victory, 45-17. Ryan: OK. Todd Dodge has never been conservative and won't be during this game, even the best teams in the country can't play conservative against OU and expect a win [i.e. Boise State]...this game won't be close, but Dodge is gonna turn that program around. Casen: Dodge puts it all on the line with disasterous results. Stoops & Company have enough answers to keep UNT out of the endzone except for 1 touchdown. 9) Predict North Texas's 2007 record. Greg's prediction: [7-5] @ Oklahoma [L], @ SMU* [W], Florida Atlantic [W], @ Arkansas [L], @ La. Lafayette [L], La. Monroe [W], @ Troy [L], Middle Tenn. [W], Navy [L] @ Arkansas State [W], Western Kentucky [W], Florida International [W] * UNT pulls a shocker and gains valuable recruiting momentum against local rival SMU. Ryan's prediction: [4-8] @ Oklahoma [L], @ SMU* [W], Florida Atlantic [W], @ Arkansas [L], @ La. Lafayette [L], La. Monroe [L], @ Troy [L], Middle Tenn. [W], Navy [L] @ Arkansas State [L], Western Kentucky [W], @ Florida International [W] * Good game but Dodge shows why SMU should have gone after him... Casen's prediction: [5-7] UNT will beat Louisiana Monroe at home. 10) 5 years from now, assuming Dodge is still at UNT and he's able to run his offense...playing above average...contending for the Sun Belt Championship every year, what kind of recruiting classes do you expect them to have? Can he cater to a specific way that may be Mack Brown, Dennis Franchione, Bob Stoops and Mike Gundy may not have? Greg: If Dodge is still at North Texas in 5 years [and that's a huge "if"], he will be getting some of the skill position players that the big name schools are after. His style of offense will be music to the ears who love to play wide open. He will also recruit some of the undersized recievers who get passed over at the larger schools and UNT can probably afford to take academic risks more than Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, etc. Ryan: I think that Todd Dodge will turn this program around and get it to a lot of bowl games, but he will be drawn away by a large program soon! As far as recruiting goes, I think he will get a lot of north texas high school players due to his relationship with high school coaches and he might hurt some big texas programs because of it! 11) Texas A&M at Miami. Thoughts? Greg: Texas A&M will catch new Miami Head Coach Randy Shannon and the Hurricanes while they are still a tropical storm and beat Miami at the Orage Bowl 24-13. Jovorskie Lane will pound the Canes, Mike Goodson will use his speed to break some long runs and A&M will be able to match Miami's athleticism. Look for former Arlington Gace Prep star Lance Leggett to have a breakout season, as he finally reaches his potential. Ryan: Well, this isn't the Miami of old and I expect the Aggies to win this game! Miami doesn't have what it takes to stop McGee and Lane for four quarters! Casen: Miami may not be the Miami of old, but rarely has A&M come through in big games in the last 15 or so years. Count on one hand. A&M certainly has the upper hand on the ground game, but turnovers will do them in. Miami in a close one. 12) Texas at Texas A&M. Thoughts? Greg: The Aggies have reason to sing this year, as they showed they were only a few points away from a Big 12 South title last season. Stephen McGee will have to become a consistent QB for the Aggies to reach the next level, as he must be able to win the close games late by making the great throws in the clutch. The Aggies running game is in good hands with powerful Jovorskie Lane and speedy Mike Goodson. The A&M defense has returned its "Wrecking Crew" status and the Aggies will be stingy on defense. I believe A&M will finish 9-3 this year, with losses against Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Ryan: I think Texas will stumble at this game. McGee and Lane will once again run through this defense and prevail in the 4th quarter. A&M 24, Texas 21. Casen: A low scoring, ball controlled game. A&M wins and makes plans for San Antonio, while Texas makes plans for Dallas. 13) Predict the Big 12 North and South Final standings and Championship Game. Greg: South: Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Baylor; North: Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas, Colorado Championship: Oklahoma defeats Nebraska in a rematch of last year's Big 12 Championship game, 27-24 Ryan: South: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Baylor; North: Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas State, Kansas Championship: Oklahoma 35, Missouri 28 Casen: South: Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor; North: Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas State, Kansas Championship: Oklahoma over Missouri. 14) Predict the Big 12 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year. Greg: Offense: Texas QB Colt McCoy, Defense: Oklahoma DB Reggie Smith Ryan: Offense: Missouri QB Chase Daniel, Defense: Iowa State LB Alvin Bowen Casen: Offense: Oklahoma State WR Adarius Bowman, Defense: Nebraska LB Bo Rudd 15) Predict the Heisman Trophy Winner. Greg: Arkansas RB Darren McFadden Ryan: USC QB John David Booty Casen: Arkansas RB Darren McFadden. Hard not to go with Steve Slaton. Seems like he and Pat White have been at West Virginia forever. 16) Predict the BCS National Championship game. Greg: USC will defeat Florida. Ryan: USC will romp West Virginia 42-21. Casen: Michigan over West Virginia. USC has that great defense, but the PAC-10 could be the 2nd toughest conference this season. Another can of worms right there. |
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| Greg Scoggins as Kirk Herbstreit Title: Colleyville Covenant Asst. Track & Field Coach Favorite School: Oklahoma |
| Ryan Hankins as Lee Corso Title: Rockwall Christian Boys Head Basketball Coach Favorite School: Texas |
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| Casen DeLucia as James "JB" Brown Title: TxPS Webmaster Extraordinare Favorite School: Texas Tech |
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| Oklahoma State Wide Reciever Adarius Bowman |
| Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy |
| Texas Tech Quarterback Graham Harrell |
| Oklahoma Running back DeMarco Murray |
| Texas A&M Running back Mike Goodson |
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| In our next edition of "Viewpoint!", we will see how our predictions are coming and discuss the Red River Rivalry! |
| 1) Name one TAPPS football team that will surprise everyone by making the playoffs. Greg: Dallas First Baptist Ryan: Frisco Legacy Casen: Dallas First Baptist 2) Name one TAPPS football team that will surprise everyone by NOT making the playoffs. Greg: Arlington Grace Prep Ryan: Fort Worth Calvary Casen: Muenster Sacred Heart 3) Midland @ Denton - Early Picks Greg: Denton [Argyle Liberty]. This might also be the year they break through in the state finals, too. Ryan: Midland. Casen: Denton. Don't they always win during the regular season? 4) Out of Houston St. Pius, Midland Christian, Austin Regents and Colleyville Covenant, who has the best shot at repeating? Greg: Houston St. Pius X - They were the cream of the 6A crop last season, and they should be this year, too. Ryan: Houston St. Pius X Casen: Houston St. Pius X - Don't be fooled by who they lost. They have a lot coming back, too. 5) Predict the TAPPS champions for each division. Greg: Houston St. Pius X, Argyle Liberty, Grapevine Faith, Colleyville Covenant Ryan: Houston St. Pius X, Argyle Liberty, Waco Reicher, Muenster Sacred Heart Casen: Houston St. Pius X, Midland Christian, Grapevine Faith, Hallettsville Sacred Heart. SPC Bonus - Houston St. John's, Fort Worth All Saints Pro Football Dallas seemed to lose a lot of close games last season. The Cowboys have to play at Chicago and Buffalo as well as hosting New England and the NY Giants in the first 6 weeks of the season. Do you expect them to struggle and will they make the playoffs under Wade Phillips in his first season there as head coach? Greg: I believe Wade Phillips will improve the defense by taking the constraints off, and letting his playmakers make plays. I think you will see DeMarcus Ware and Roy Williams become more dominant players, as they are turned loose from responsibilities where they are not as strong, allowed to disrupt their opponents and create big plays for the defense. Tony Romo will still make mistakes, but I think you might see him be more consistent with less bad decisions. Terrell Owens will still make the news, but if Wade Phillips can keep him from truly distracting the team, the Cowboys will win a playoff game for the first time in over a decade, make it to the NFC Championship game and lose to the Saints. Ryan: I don't think hiring Wade Phillips was a "bad" move, but I think he is going to reap what Parcells has sown. They have a great group coming back and I think a monkey could be the head coach and get the Cowboys to at least the first round. Casen: Changing out coaches, IMO was not the way to go to fix the problems of the team. Bill Parcells was the right man for the job. The team obviously had internal problems even before acquiring Terrell Owens. Keep pointing fingers, and I may be in the minority, but Dallas is farther away from winning a Super Bowl than not. Did Houston make the right decision in cutting ties with David Carr or should they have tried to better themselves at a different position? Greg: I think Houston had given David Carr plenty of time to progress into a quality NFL starter. Given that he had a poor offense around him for most of his years with the Texans, I think he has lost his confidence and wasn't ever going to be succeeded in Houston. Given a second chance elsewhere, he may be able to be a serviceable quarterback. The question is whether the Texans have invested tens of millions of dollars in the next unproven quarterback bust, or the next young superstar QB. I tend to think Matt Schaub will be a better fit than Carr, but the Texans offensive line will need to provide some protection for Schaub or he may suffer the same fate. Barring injury, Schaub will be a solid, but not great, quarterback for the Texans. Ryan: I think Houston has made one bad decision after another and they are using Carr as their way of trying to show the fans they want to "get better". He is a scapegoat and a quote I've heard is "the problem is never the problem..." This situation stinks for Carr because no one could have been a " pro bowl" quarterback with no offensive line and one reciever in Andre Johnson. They had bad offensive schemes as well. Bringing in Schaub isn't going to solve their problems, but they were not ever going to go anywhere with Carr and they knew that! I think Schaub will be ok, but what other options did Houston really have? They weren't high enough in the draft to grab a superstar and anyone else they took would have been about the same potential as Schaub, so they took a guy that has at least been around an NFL system. Casen: I'm still waiting for Houston to have that breakout season, but I'm getting the feeling that it won't be the 2007 season. I guess I don't understand why Carr has to be the scapegoat here. The organization was going to build the franchise around him after they got him. It seems like that part wasn't fufilled by the organization. Plugging in a new quarterback doesn't logically seem like the answer. Did Brett Favre make the right decision by coming back to Green Bay for another season? Greg: Brett Favre made the right decision to come back for one more season. The Packers should be improved this year, and I think Favre whould like to go out with a playoff team. Not sure the Pack will make the playoffs, but they should be above .500. Ryan: I think Brett still has a little left in the tank and will play decent football, but it won't be anything special, like a Pro Bowl selection or something. Casen: How many seasons has this been going on? Seems like the last 3 or 4 years. I really don't know what else he has to prove. He has Super Bowl rings and is top cheese in cheeseheadland, why not go out while on top or at least high like he is now, as opposed to a possible upcoming losing season? |
| Big 12 South Division Offensive Highlight Reels |
| [In reference to games where Texas Tech has come back to win after being behind] "I can think of game after game. I can think of several against the Aggies. I can think of one against Texas. I can think of one against Mississippi. I can go right down the list. I can think of one against TCU where we had one unanswered touchdown after the next. And that was the identity of the school that you guys selected and that is the legacy that is created here. OK so what are you guys going to do? Are you going to be part of it? Or are you going to be part of the one that quits because you didn't like the way the stuff went. Or because this was a bad play so I am discouraged and so I am going to hang my head and pout. Cause that plane ain't leavin, that bus ain't leavin, until that clock says zero, zero, zero." "How do you make the comeback? Do your job. Do your job. Be great at doing your job. We need to block better than them, we need to tackle better than them, we need to do our job better than them. Most important thing is blocking and tackling. What are they doing better than us? Blocking and tackling. This is a team that is going to come out this second half and they are going to try and use the clock, so defense it's important for you to get 3 and outs and make them punt and get the ball back. Offense, it's important to do your job. We need to no-huddle, but we don't need to go at some break-neck pace. You just go make routine plays, one after another after another, finish drives, kick off and do it all over again. And ultimately how is it going to come out? Well, I don't really know except that I know that is the identity of this place and I also know that we have won a whole lot of games by doing that when other people did not have the guts to do that. Now what kind of a team are we? We're going to find out this half." - Excerpt of halftime speech by Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach at the 2006 Insight Bowl. Down 38-7 midway through the 3rd quarter, Texas Tech mounted the largest comeback in bowl history winning 44-41 in overtime. |
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