Game Thread Game Two: #1 Ohio State 24, #2 Texas 7 (9/9/06)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Texas confident in young QB
Tuesday, September 5, 2006 [FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]

Texas redshirt freshman quarterback Colt McCoy was 12-of-19 for 178 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers against North Texas on Saturday. Things get tougher this week as he makes his second start Saturday against top-ranked Ohio State. ​

The redshirt freshman rolls clichés off his tongue like he’s making poetry. He was born and raised a coach’s son and speaks like one when the world is watching.
Right now, Colt McCoy, the University of Texas’ 20-year-old quarterback, is having the time of his life.
He speaks of Ohio State’s No. 1-ranked football team with Texan respect, practically an “Oh, shucks, they’re great” reverence. He repeats compliments — again and again — almost making sure not to say anything that might find its way into a headline.
McCoy is the chosen one, the fair-skinned baby-faced redshirt freshman tasked with filling the shoes Vince Young left, and he will start at quarterback for the Longhorns on Saturday night, when the country’s top two teams in the USA Today coaches’ poll meet at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Just because McCoy comes from Tuscola, Texas — population 714 — and played at little Jim Ned High School, don’t think for a minute he is intimidated by his responsibility. In McCoy’s mind, he is in the role he was born to play.
He is just two years removed from playing in front of hundreds on Friday nights. When the Buckeyes visit Saturday, the largest crowd in Texas history and a national television audience will watch.
Texas Head Coach Mack Brown isn’t worried.
Brown knows the story behind Colt McCoy. He was born on the wrong side of the Texas-New Mexico border. His father, a high school football coach, drove to Texas and scraped a handful of Texas dirt in his pocket. He put it under the boy’s pillow the first night he slept. He might not have been born in Texas, but by God he would sleep on it.
“Colt is a little bit different, and the state is a little bit different. There are really good small high school football teams in this state,” Brown said during a conference call Monday with Ohio State writers. “Every school, like Ohio, shuts down on Friday nights. Colt was raised by a coach. He’s been to every clinic, every came. He’s been prepared to be the quarterback at Texas.”
McCoy looked the part this past weekend against outmatched North Texas. On his third play, he hooked up with Limas Sweed for a 60-yard touchdown pass. Sweed, Buckeye fans may remember, caught the game-winner in Columbus from Young.
How does a 20-year-old without experience replace Young, who won a national title?
Simply.
He doesn’t.
“Like Ohio State, this program has had guys go to the NFL every year,” Brown said. “We lost Ricky Williams and Roy Williams. ... You don’t replace anybody. You step up and try to get your own identity.
“We ask our guys not to put that pressure on themselves. The same thing is true with Colt. ... He’s mature. He’s watched Major Applewhite and Chris Simms and Vince Young. He’s been watching our quarterback situation here since he was able to watch TV. He thought about being the Texas quarterback when he was in the seventh, eighth, ninth grade. I think he anticipated this.”
McCoy completed 12-of-19 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns in his debut against North Texas. He ran for a TD as well.
McCoy was in Ohio Stadium last year. He was a doe-eyed freshman who watched Young’s every move. He said it was so loud in Ohio Stadium, “I couldn’t hear the guy standing next to me.”
He wasn’t supposed to be thrown into the fire this soon. Young wasn’t supposed to leave for the NFL. After Texas beat Southern Cal for the national title, Brown said he thought Young would return for his senior year.
That didn’t happen.
It pressed McCoy into action, and he could find himself in the same situation Troy Smith did last year. Brown did not discount using back-up Jevan Snead.
“The first thing I did when I heard Vince was leaving is I went to talk to Vince,” McCoy said. “I wanted to know for sure. Is this true? He told me a lot of things that boosted my confidence, and I was ready to go. I was excited. This is what I came here for.
“Vince played as a freshman. Major Applewhite did it. Chris Simms did it. Plenty of guys played here as young quarterbacks. They all gave me insight and confidence. They said to go out and play your game and be who you are.”
The Longhorns aren’t buying into the notion that Ohio State will bring a young, untested defense. Brown said he still expects the Buckeyes to blitz at least 40 percent of the time.
“They’re like we are. ... You don’t replace players at Ohio State or Texas. When one leaves, you’re ready for the next All-American to step up,” Brown said. “They looked good to me.”
Brown laughed when asked if Ohio State would blitz McCoy more because he is young.
“Ohio State blitzes the old quarterbacks, too,” Brown said. “They blitzed Vince. ... It’s something you have to handle regardless of your age.”
The pressure will be on McCoy on Saturday. The atmosphere will be unlike any he’s played in. The stakes are higher. Defending a national championship — or derailing one — is on the line.
McCoy acts oblivious to it all.
This is, after all, the position he was born to be in. Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: [email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

OHIO STATE | TEXAS NOTES
Young, first TD ease jitters for Texas QB McCoy


By Doug Harris
Staff Writer


Tuesday, September 05, 2006


COLUMBUS — Redshirt freshman Colt McCoy had heard reports that Texas quarterback Vince Young was leaving early for the NFL after last season, but wanted confirmation from the man himself.
"The first thing I did was talk to Vince and said, 'Is this for sure? Is it true?' " McCoy said in a phone interview Monday. "He told me a lot of things that boosted my confidence. I was really excited to get a shot to start. That's what I came here for."
Young's parting words to his successor were to disregard pressure and suck all the enjoyment he could out of playing. And in a season-opening win Saturday over North Texas, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound McCoy had more fun than a kid spending the day at Chuck E. Cheese's.
He fired the first of three scoring passes on the team's third snap and finished with 178 yards in a carefree outing.
Asked his feelings after his initial touchdown, McCoy replied: "I said, 'I'm done — the jitters are out. Let's keeping playing and find the end zone again.' "
McCoy became the fourth freshman to start at quarterback in Texas coach Mack Brown's nine seasons, joining Major Applewhite (1998), Chris Simms (1999) and Young (2003).
"Colt is further ahead throwing the ball (than Young)," Brown said. "But there's no one like Vince down here running the ball, although Colt runs a 4.7 (40-yard dash). He can make plays with his feet, and he's going to have to do that Saturday."
Brown has a policy of taking all QBs on road trips. And although he was redshirting last season, McCoy was on the sidelines when the Longhorns overcame a raucous atmosphere to win at Ohio State.
"I honestly can't remember any place that loud," he said. "When we were down on the 15-yard line coming out of the game, I couldn't even talk to the guy next to me."
The Buckeyes, of course, had better brace themselves for a similar reception Saturday at 85,000-seat Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas cornerback arrested
Texas cornerback Tarell Brown was arrested on misdemeanor drug and weapon charges Monday, leaving his status in question for Saturday's game.
Brown, a senior starter, was arrested with Tyrell Gatewood, a backup junior linebacker and special teams player, and former Texas linebacker Aaron Harris.
Brown was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon, a loaded 9 mm handgun, and possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana. Gatewood and Harris were charged with the same drug misdemeanor.
Smith named co-offensive player of the week
OSU quarterback Troy Smith was named the Big Ten co-offensive player of the week Monday after going 18-for-25 passing for 297 yards and three scores against Northern Illinois.
He shared the award with Minnesota's Alex Daniels, who rushed for 155 yards with three TDs on 24 carries against Kent State in his debut at running back.
The 6-foot-3, 255-pound sophomore — a Columbus native who was heavily recruited by the Buckeyes — played linebacker last season before agreeing to a position switch.
Turnovers still issue
The Buckeyes had a dismal minus-9 turnover margin last season — the next-to-worst mark in the Big Ten.
After losing two fumbles and causing just one Huskie turnover, they may need a reminder that negative numbers are only good in golf.
Both programs produce
Ohio State has had 10 first-round NFL draft choices since coach Jim Tressel arrived in 2001, while Texas has had 13 under Brown, including 10 since 2001.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

OHIO STATE AT TEXAS Saturday, 8p.m., WEWS Ch. 5
Texas really holds 'em


Tuesday, September 05, 2006 Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus
- Compared to Ohio State, the Texas coaching staff has one less thing to think about as the teams pre pare for Saturday's showdown in Austin, Texas. A difference in geography and philosophy means the Longhorns already have gone big in recruiting, with 23 oral commitments for their 2007 class, while Ohio State prefers to wait, its class currently at eight.
"We have 20 million people in this state and 1,200 high schools that play football," Texas coach Mack Brown said Monday. "A lot of the youngsters growing up want to come to Texas, but because other schools have stressed getting them as juniors, it forces our hand earlier than we might like it to be."
Brown has used the depth in Texas to his advantage. All but three of the 2007 commitments are in-state, and in the previous four classes, 72 of 76 signees were Texas kids.
"Mack Brown is very honest with them," said Jeremy Patterson, the Southwest recruiting analyst for the Internet recruiting service www.scout.com. "He tells them, 'If you want to be part of this, you'd better jump on board early, because if you don't want to be a part of it, we'll find somebody who does.' "
Texas hasn't been the only school to employ this tactic in the past decade. Penn State's Joe Paterno helped create the early commitment trend, and it's big in the Southeast as well - Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Auburn each have between 13 and 15 commitments.
But no one does it quite like the Longhorns. Patterson said Brown was burned two years ago when quarterback Ryan Perrilloux pledged to the Longhorns early, then switched to LSU just before the February signing day. The Longhorns wound up with quarterback Colt McCoy in the 2005 class instead, and he will start for them Saturday. But Patterson said that just reinforced the Texas desire to lock recruits down. Winning only made it easier.
"Texas is just one of those unusual situations," rivals.com national recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree said. "This year, Texas is the most talented state in the country, and they're just coming off a national championship, so the gravy train started early."
Obviously, the Longhorns are basing their evaluations on what players did on the field as juniors. Ohio State recruiting coordinator John Peterson said the Buckeyes more often prefer to wait and see what a player does as a senior.
"Kids naturally change as they get older, so the philosophy of going after them and offering early and filling up [a recruiting class], you may miss some kids on the top end of their senior year," Peterson said. "Some schools use a high-pressure sales tactic, and that's not what we're all about. We don't want to twist a kid's arm."
The Buckeyes aren't turning down players who want to give them their word now, but they are far less likely to set a deadline and move on if a player isn't ready. Even though Ohio is fertile recruiting ground, nothing matches Texas, so the Buckeyes are competing for a few more out-of-state players than the Longhorns.
"They can draw their border at Texas and really narrow things down and go after kids pretty hard," Peterson said.
Does one method work better than the other?
Crabtree thinks Penn State's recruiting turned around the last couple years only after the Nittany Lions stopped sealing their classes so early. Southern Cal has topped the rivals.com recruiting rankings the last three years without filling its classes early.
But getting 2007 done gives Texas a jump on 2008.
"Both ways do work," Crabtree said. "You just have to make sure you do what's best for you, and make sure you do it best."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4479

 

[ScriptOhio]

Texas CB Brown faces drug, weapon charges

Associated Press

http://log.go.com/log?srvc=sz&guid=...rce=ESPN_ROS_146x46_Football_YesYouDo_Fantasy


AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas senior starting cornerback Tarell Brown was arrested and charged early Monday with misdemeanor drug and weapon charges, leaving his status in question for the No. 3 Longhorns' matchup with top-ranked Ohio State.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Senior cornerback Tarell Brown faces misdemeanor weapon and drug charges in Travis County, Texas, according to a media report.





Brown, a senior starter, was arrested with Tyrell Gatewood, a backup junior linebacker and special teams player, and former Texas linebacker Aaron Harris.


Brown was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon, a loaded 9 mm handgun, and Class A misdemeanor, and possession of under 2 ounces of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.

Gatewood and Harris were charged with the same drug misdemeanor.
The attorney for Brown and Gatewood said Gatewood legally purchased the gun earlier this year and that neither of them smoked the marijuana found in the car.

The gun charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. The drug charge carries a maximum of 180 days in a jail and a $2,000 fine.

Brown and Gatewood were released on personal recognizance bond Monday afternoon and Harris was released later in the day.
Coach Mack Brown said he met with both players and was "holding them out of all team functions as we gather as much information as possible before making a team decision."

Texas (1-0) and Ohio State (1-0) play in Austin on Saturday night.
Defensive co-coordinator Gene Chizik said the team remains "very focused."

"One thing that's awesome about the University of Texas, you have opportunities to have great depth," Chizik said.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Travis County deputies, the three were in a car Harris was driving on Interstate 35 about 2:50 a.m. A deputy pulled the group over after watching the car weave erratically and nearly strike another car.

According to the report, Harris got out of the car when pulled over and Brown and Gatewood were asleep. Harris passed a field sobriety test but told the deputy he had been smoking marijuana and there was "some" in the car.

When deputies approached the vehicle they saw Brown, who was sitting in the back seat asleep, with his hand on a gun in his lap.
Under state law, a person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his person a handgun, illegal knife, or club.

The officers also reported finding a marijuana "blunt" under the front seat and charged all three with possession. Only Brown was charged with a weapons violation.

Attorney Jamie Balagia said Gatewood bought the gun at a store and left it in the car after going to a shooting range a couple weeks earlier.

Balagia said Brown picked up the gun only after it slid out from under the front seat and intended to bring it inside when the players got home.

"It was in his lap but he was not intentionally violating the law," Balagia said. "Tarell does nothing to suggest he's doing anything illegal or intentionally violating the law. I think what we have is a misunderstanding."

Balagia also said Brown and Gatewood underwent urine tests at school Monday to prove they didn't smoke the marijuana.

If Brown is suspended, it could be a huge blow to a defensive unit considered the team's strength this season. Brown was likely to draw the assignment of covering Buckeye wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr., one of Ohio State's top playmakers.

The Longhorns could start junior Brandon Foster or sophomore Ryan Palmer. Foster has played in 22 games and Palmer in 10 last season. Neither has been a starter.
Brown has 127 career tackles and three interceptions. He broke his arm in the second half of the Rose Bowl last year and had six tackles in a 56-7 win over North Texas.
Gatewood was a former wide receiver before switching to linebacker this season. He made one tackle on special teams against North Texas.

Several Longhorns players declined comment at the team's weekly news conference.

Mack Brown has suspended a starter charged with a misdemeanor in the past.

In 2003, standout running back Cedric Benson was charged with criminal trespassing and missed a game at Baylor.

Before the Rose Bowl, running back Ramonce Taylor and defensive back Cedric Griffin were questioned by police in an assault investigation but neither was ever charged. Both played in the game and played key roles in the 41-38 win over Southern California.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2573024

 

[osugrad21]

Link

LONGHORNS FOOTBALL
Texas-Ohio State: The view from elsewhere

Today's view: AP on Ohio State's memories.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 No motivational speeches are needed for Ohio State's game against Texas on Saturday night. One year certainly hasn't erased all recollections of the last meeting.
"We remember last year," defensive lineman David Patterson said grimly.
"We've got to win," center Doug Datish said. "It's going to be a great atmosphere."
A year ago, the second-ranked Longhorns met the fourth-ranked Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium, also in week two of the season. Before a loud and raucous Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,565, Texas quarterback Vince Young threw a 24-yard go-ahead touchdown to Limas Sweed with 2:37 left in a 25-22 victory.
"A lot of us remember that feeling," said Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis.
"It's going to be a great experience," said quarterback Troy Smith. "They got out of here last year with a win. It's a great team with great tradition. I just wish Vince was still there."
Antonio Pittman, who rushed for 111 yards and a TD on Saturday, said he welcomed the chance to finally get around to the rematch.
"This is something we have waited for a year. Now we need to go to their house and take one back," Pittman said.
— Associated Press

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Texas beckons after Ohio State wins opener
Print this | E-mail this | Comments on this article: 8

Posted: September 4, 2006

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It wasn't long after Ohio State's season-opening win that quarterback Troy Smith started looking forward to a trip to Texas. One year certainly hasn't erased the memories from the Buckeyes' last game against the Longhorns.
"It's going to be a great experience," Smith said. "They got out of here last year with a win. It's a great team with great tradition. I just wish Vince (Young) was still there."
A year ago, the second-ranked Longhorns met the fourth-ranked Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium, also in week two of the season. Before a loud and raucous Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,565, Young threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Limas Sweed to put Texas in front with 2:37 left in a 25-22 victory.
"A lot of us remember that feeling," Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis said.
The top-ranked Buckeyes beat Northern Illinois 35-12 Saturday, building a 28-0 lead in just over a quarter and coasting to the finish.
"We took a step -- now, the next step is higher, we understand that -- but we took a step," coach Jim Tressel said.
The Longhorns kept up the drumbeat of wins after their trip to Columbus last year, beating Southern California in the Rose Bowl to capture their first national championship since 1969. The Buckeyes have spent the last 360-plus days thinking how their own 10-2 season might have taken a similar route had they been able to beat the Longhorns.
"We remember last year," Ohio State defensive lineman David Patterson said grimly.
Texas whipped North Texas 56-7 Saturday to set the stage for another showdown. Ohio State's Antonio Pittman, who rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown against Northern Illinois, said he welcomed the chance to finally get around to the rematch.
"This is something we have waited for a year. Now we need to go to their house and take one back," Pittman said.
Ted Ginn Jr., who caught four passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns against the Huskies, said it hurt to watch Texas go on to win the national championship last year, boosted by the landmark win in Columbus.
"We lost last year and that says it all," he said. "Next week, just like last year -- what a great game it should be."

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Colt McCoy silences critics as Longhorns roll over North Texas

By Ryan Killian

Media Credit: Brian Hollingsworth
Freshman quarterback Colt McCoy runs during Texas' 56-7 victory over North Texas. McCoy threw for 178 yards and three touchdowns.

Media Credit: Brian Hollingsworth
Redshirt freshman linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy helps gang tackle Mean Green running back Evan Robertson on Saturday.

All the talk about Texas' drop off in athleticism and leadership at the quarterback position can be put on hold - at least until this Saturday.

Colt McCoy led the Longhorns to a 56-7 opening day win against the University of North Texas and demonstrated both traits throughout the game. The redshirt freshman's third snap resulted in a 60-yard passing touchdown to Limas Sweed.

In Vince Young fashion, he set the bar for the day's longest run - a 27 yard scamper in the second quarter.

"Once again, the opener was exactly what we needed," Texas head coach Mack Brown said.

He couldn't have asked for much more. Texas' blazing defense seemed fueled by the mid-day sun beating down on the field, and they limited the Mean Green to 95 yards of total offense. Despite being pitted against 2004's NCAA rushing leader, Jamario Thomas, they held the offense to .3 yards per carry, and Thomas to 38 yards on 14 tries.

"We were very pleased with production overall," defensive coordinator Gene Chizik said, later adding, "I thought that you saw a lot of great physical play."

The offense also had their way as seven players combined to give Texas 216 rushing yards, and McCoy and true freshman Jevan Snead added another 198 through the air.

The very first play of the game was a 13-yard completion from McCoy to wide out Quan Cosby in the flat. The play was called with the express purpose of getting McCoy's first collegiate completion out of the way, and it worked like a charm.

Two plays later, McCoy hooked up with Sweed on a post, and Sweed outran the defenders to the endzone.

"It felt pretty good. I won't lie to you," McCoy said. "It felt really good ... It is a dream, isn't it?"

McCoy remained remarkably poised in his college debut despite the 85,000 roaring fans and the world's largest video screen looking down on him. He said the butterflies vanished as soon as he ran through the tunnel. That simple dash brought the "dream" he's living into focus.

"I did it last year, but it didn't have any of the same meaning that it has this year," he said.

Another dash from McCoy brought fans to their feet and images of his predecessor to mind. On second and 10, after finding no viable passing options, the 6-foot 3-inch, 205-pound McCoy decided to use his feet to make the play.

"I just found a little crease in the defense and tried for the first down," he said. "It turned into a little more than that."

The 27-yard run led to Selvin Young's second touchdown of the game - a shovel pass from McCoy - and made the score 28-0, which it remained until the end of the half.

McCoy also had a rushing touchdown on a keeper from the one yard line, and Jamaal Charles and Henry Melton each added rushing touchdowns in the second half.

The start of the second half of play ushered in Texas' only lackluster defensive series. Thomas rushed five times as UNT marched 80 yards down the field in nine plays, scoring on a well-thrown pass from junior quarterback Woody Wilson to Brandon Jackson.

"You can't go out and dominate every drive," Chizik said, but he added that he was happy with how the squad reacted after giving up the score.

And it was the only score the Mean Green could muster. They missed a chance early after Aaron Ross fumbled a punt deep in Texas territory. Denis Hopovac's 27-yard field goal attempt was blocked as Brian Robison put his 40-inch vertical leap to good use and tipped the ball off course.

While Snead made his collegiate debut fresh out of high school, the receiver who caught his first completion has waited since 2004 for his first reception. Sophomore Jordan Shipley and Snead hooked up for a five-yard gain midway through the second quarter - a routine screen play that signaled a beginning for each player.

Between the long run by McCoy, the 60-yard reception from Sweed and Robison's field goal block, it looked like business as usual at Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium, but all that could change next week against No. 1 Ohio State.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

What should happen to Tarell Brown?

By Eric Ransom | Daily Texan Columnist

Is Texas becoming the next bad-boy college football team?

Head coach Mack Brown faces a tough judgment call in the week leading up to the Texas game with No. 1 Ohio State.

The actions taken on two football players' recent arrest may go a long way toward answering that question.

Does he risk a lesser chance of winning by suspending the two players, or does he send a bad message by letting the pair play?

Starting cornerback Tarell Brown and backup wide receiver Tyrell Gatewood were arrested early Monday morning for possession of marijuana - a Class B misdemeanor.

Brown was also hit with a Class A misdemeanor for possession of a nine-millimeter handgun, according to the arrest affidavit.

Also arrested was former Longhorn linebacker Aaron Harris, who failed to catch on with an NFL team after starting in the Rose Bowl last season.

Harris reportedly admitted the marijuana belonged to him, according to the affidavit.

To be clear, neither player have been charged with either crime, but arrested.

Several factors go into whether the players will be allowed to play, suspended or even kicked off the team.

From a football standpoint, the Longhorns have plenty to lose if one of their starting cornerbacks misses the game.

Tarell Brown is arguably Texas' best pass coverage player, though the same argument could be made for his fellow corner, Aaron Ross. Before the incident, Brown and Ross would be the leading candidates to cover Ohio State's top wide receiver, Heisman candidate Ted Ginn Jr.

If Brown doesn't play, Texas' scheme against the pass-strong Buckeyes changes for obvious reasons. You don't lose a starter without paying a price, especially in the defensive back-heavy nickel and dime packages. The replacements would likely be Ryan Palmer or Brandon Foster, neither of whom have started a game.

The Longhorns might have even more to lose if he plays.

The precedent for arrested players under Mack Brown comes with Cedric Benson's criminal trespass arrest three years ago. Brown suspended Benson for a week, and the running back missed the Longhorn rout over Baylor.

Ramonce Taylor's incident in May may not factor into Brown's decision, but it will in the program's image.

Taylor was arrested for possession of over four pounds of marijuana outside of Belton. By that time, however, Taylor was off the Longhorn team due to academic problems.

The timing, severity and message sent from this case will echo past this season, but it also translates into a University issue. It also doesn't help that Texas was recently named the No. 1 party school.

Some of the biggest faces associated with the university - Ricky Williams, Matthew McConaughey, even Willie Nelson - all have ties to marijuana. At the very least the University of Texas faces a sticky, icky image problem.

At the very least, the two players miss Saturday's game. From there, who knows.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

A chance for redemption

COLUMBUS (AP) — No motivational speeches are needed for Ohio State's game against Texas on Saturday night.
One year certainly hasn't erased all recollections of the last meeting.
"We remember last year," defensive lineman David Patterson said grimly.
No. 1 Ohio State dispatched Northern Illinois 35-12 on Saturday, building a 28-0 lead in just over a quarter and coasting to the finish.
That was enough to allow the Buckeyes to finally acknowledge that they have the No. 3 Longhorns on their minds.
"We've got to win," center Doug Datish said. "It's going to be a great atmosphere."
Last year remembered
A year ago, the second-ranked Longhorns met the fourth-ranked Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium, also in week two of the season. Before a loud and raucous Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,565, Texas quarterback Vince Young threw a 24-yard go-ahead touchdown to Limas Sweed with 2:37 left in a 25-22 victory.
"A lot of us remember that feeling," said Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis.
The Longhorns kept up the drumbeat of wins, beating Southern California in the Rose Bowl to capture their first national championship since 1969. The Buckeyes have spent the last 360-plus days thinking how their own 10-2 season might have taken a similar route had they been able to beat the Longhorns.
Texas whipped North Texas 56-7 on Saturday to set the stage for another showdown. The Buckeyes say they can't wait.
Smith is ready
"It's going to be a great experience," said quarterback Troy Smith, who completed 18-of-25 passes for 297 yards and touchdowns of 5 and 58 yards to Ted Ginn Jr. and 15 yards to Anthony Gonzalez in the victory over Northern Illinois. "They got out of here last year with a win. It's a great team with great tradition. I just wish Vince was still there."
Antonio Pittman, who rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, said he welcomed the chance to finally get around to the rematch.
"This is something we have waited for a year. Now we need to go to their house and take one back," Pittman said.
The Buckeyes built a 28-0 lead and then squandered several prime scoring opportunities against Northern Illinois. They missed two field goals and lost two fumbles inside the opposing 10-yard line.
"We'll have to step it up a lot, we learned today," Pittman said Saturday.
Ginn caught four passes for 123 yards and the two touchdowns, adding two punt returns for 44 yards and two kickoff returns for 25 more yards.
He said it hurt to watch Texas go on to win the national championship last year, boosted by the landmark win in Columbus.
"We lost last year and that says it all," he said. "Next week, just like last year — what a great game it should be."
Opener left questions
An opener provides a chance to gauge a team's progress while determining what problem areas require the most additional work. In that regard, the victory over Northern Illinois was an unqualified success. The Buckeyes have lots of work to do on their kicking game and run defense.
At the same time, the Buckeyes recognize that the first game won't necessarily prepare them for what they'll encounter on Saturday night.
"We took a step — now, the next step is higher, we understand that — but we took a step," coach Jim Tressel said.
Last year's loss provides all the incentive the Buckeyes need.
"Hey, they're the national champs," defensive lineman Vernon Gholston said. "They're sitting on top of the world."

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Big donation gets OSU band bound for Texas
250 marchers, helpers to make pricey trip
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
John Maher
COX NEWS SERVICE

OSU Marching Band Director Jon Woods said that the university brings all its band members or none at all to away games.


AUSTIN, Texas — Ohio State football coaching legend Woody Hayes famously figured that the school’s band was worth three points on the road and seven points at home.
But the Buckeye band, famous for its Script Ohio routine, complete with an "i"dotting sousaphone player, was nearly omitted from Ohio State’s travel plans for Saturday’s big game against Texas. The band received $225,000 from a benefactor and raised $25,000 more to pay its way to Austin.
Ohio State, the first university to top $100 million for its athletic budget, typically takes its band to only one or two road games a year, including every Michigan game. This year’s scheduled trip was to Michigan State. No money was earmarked to take the band to Austin.
Last year for the trip to Ohio State, Texas took more than 150 band members, a fraction of the band’s 400 members.
Typically, the entire Longhorn band will travel to football games within reasonable driving distance. For plane trips, the band usually is limited to about 100 members.
"We like to have a presence at every road game," said Ed Goble, associate athletics director for business at Texas.
Texas originally planned to take about 100 band members to Columbus last year until Ohio State Athletics Director Gene Smith told his counterpart and friend DeLoss Dodds that a 100-piece band wouldn’t sound like much with more than 100,000 fans in Ohio Stadium. Smith urged Dodds to bring more of the band.
"We ended up taking about 150 or 175 band members," Goble said. "It cost us about $100,000 last year."
Ohio State will bring its full band. Director Jon R. Woods said that at Ohio State, like at most Big Ten schools, bringing the band is an all-or-nothing proposition. (The school doesn’t have pep bands.)
The Buckeye band numbers 192 on the field and playing in the stands at any game, but 225 musicians compete for those spots, and all of them make the trip. In addition, about 25 student support members come along, a total of 250 people.
At the stadium, not only does each band member take a seat; a sousaphone or drum set might occupy one as well, making a sizable dent in the 4,000 seats that Ohio State has been allotted at Texas’ Royal-Memorial Stadium.
The Buckeye band’s fundraising started a year ago for the Austin trip and got a quick boost from Columbus resident Walt Dennis and his wife, Jane. Neither is a former OSU band member. He went to Bowling Green; she went to the University of Wisconsin.
"He’s been doing several things at Ohio State," Jane Dennis said. "We’ve become big Buckeye supporters."
Walt Dennis, who owns an automobile accessory business and whose name graces a learning center at Ohio State, contributed $225,000 for the trip to Austin. The band continued to do some other fundraising, which turned out to be a prudent decision.
"We found out we have a gas surcharge of about $6,000," Woods said of the flight to Austin. "But, with what he was able to give us, we more than have the trip covered."
The band will practice at Texas’ Burger Center on Friday. Then, on game day, it will be at Texas’ Erwin Center performing its famous Skull Session for fans in the afternoon before heading to the stadium.
"Coach (Jim) Tressel was very pleased we were coming," Woods said.
The band should look particularly sharp in Austin, at least at the start of the day. For the first time in 20 years, members have all-new uniforms, but in Buckeye tradition, the black pants and jackets are designed for Big Ten weather. They’re wool. "We’ll be pretty warm," Woods said.

Dispatch

A game of what-ifs
After tough loss to Longhorns, second-guessing is only natural
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

CHRIS RUSSELL DISPATCH

JEFF HINCKLEY DISPATCH

JEFF HINCKLEY DISPATCH


The dinner table in coach Lee Tressel’s home is where the secondguessing took place after particularly tough Baldwin-Wallace losses in the 1960s and ’70s.
Jim Tressel remembers the scene well, like that Saturday evening in the mid-1960s after a blown 12-6 lead and a loss to arch-rival Wittenberg. Tressel’s father wanted to know why, and he searched for answers.
"I remember him sitting at the dining room table when we got home that night, and when I got up to do my paper route the next morning, he was still sitting at the dining room table looking at the play-by-play," the Ohio State coach said. "You know, still looking at it.
"That’s what you do (after a tough loss). You remember those things."
Which is why, a year removed from Ohio State’s 25-22 loss to Texas, Tressel still has situations from that night in his head. It might be a tough memory, but he doesn’t want to forget the lessons learned from a game that catapulted the Longhorns toward the national championship and shoved the Buckeyes aside.
"Always the games where you don’t succeed stick with you," Tressel said as top-ranked OSU prepares for the rematch at No. 3 Texas on Saturday night. "You can remember those play by play. Sometimes you remember the big wins play by play, but there is something about the tough losses, especially where you keep going back over in your mind, ‘Oh, man, we could have done this.’ "
Fans remember a few obvious replays, like the bobble in the end zone by wide-open tight end Ryan Hamby midway through the third quarter. The Buckeyes settled for a field goal and a 22-16 lead on the next play. A touchdown would have pushed the lead to 10.
With quarterback Troy Smith coming off a two-game suspension, Tressel used him and Justin Zwick at different times all night. Fans remember that, too, and wonder if it kept either quarterback from gaining a hot hand.
"I didn’t think about it that way," Smith said. "It’s a team game the whole way around. Justin — people forget, we bobbled a pass in the end zone — that was a pass he threw. If we catch that ball, the game is over. It’s over."
Instead, Texas quarterback Vince Young threw a pass that Limas Sweed bobbled and then grabbed in the end zone as OSU safety Nate Salley was hitting him with 2:37 left.
A lost fumble by Zwick on the first play of the ensuing OSU possession sealed the Buckeyes’ fate.
But those were obvious gaffes. Tressel has contemplated the more subtle what-ifs, such as:

• What if the Buckeyes had been able to convert either one or both of the second-quarter turnovers grabbed by A.J. Hawk into touchdowns instead of Josh Huston field goals? As it was, a 16-point outburst in the quarter put them back into the game.

• What if someone had tackled Texas running back Jamal Charles a little sooner on that flip pass he turned into a 36-yard gain to set up a Texas field goal just before halftime?
"I think that was one of the turning points of the game," OSU safety Brandon Mitchell said. "I was in on that play and we just didn’t give good effort."
Instead of being up 16-10 at the break, OSU led 16-13.

• What if, after reaching the Texas 29 midway through the fourth quarter with a 22-16 lead, the Buckeyes hadn’t gone backward? There was a stuff of Antonio Pittman for no gain on first down, a 4-yard loss on a deflected pass from Zwick to Pittman on second down, and a highand-wide pass to a wide-open Roy Hall on third down. Indeed, Hall might have scored had the ball been there.
"And all of a sudden we’ve got too long of a field goal," Tressel said of a near-miss from 50 yards by Huston, who had already made five field goals that night. "If I had it to do over again, I’d have run two quarterback sneaks. But you try to go win."
That’s what Texas did on its next possession, which Young capped with the touchdown pass to Sweed.
A lot of hidden plays play major parts in big games, something Mitchell said defensive coordinator Jim Heacock reminds the players.
"He always tells us that every play is a game," Mitchell said. "A lot of people talk about wining the game, but we have to worry about winning the first play. Then after the first play, we need to worry about winning the second play.
"If we worry about things that way and taking care of fundamentals, we’ll win."
If they don’t, they’ll be going over what could have been ad infinitum.

Ken Gordon contributed to this story .

[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Everything about Texas, Ohio State revolves around size
Tuesday, September 05, 2006

TODD JONES

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AUSTIN, Texas — Size does matter down here where the state university’s advertising campaign a few years ago was, "We’re Texas."
As if nothing else needs to be said.
Of course, fans of THE Ohio State University football team might beg to differ in regards to excess.
Ohio State knows a thing or a thousand about size. The Buckeyes spent $10 milllion on a track and field stadium even though humans generally don’t like to watch humans run in a circle unless an Olympic gold medal is on the line.
OSU and Texas will settle their differences about who has the biggest, largest, most enormous football program in all the land Saturday when the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes and No. 3 Longhorns square off in what feels like an early September bowl game.
Final score be damned, Texas will awake the next day feeling all proud and boastful about one thing, no argument necessary: It has the biggest scoreboard in all of college football.
That scoreboard is 134 feet by 55 feet for a total square footage of 7,370.
It could replace Pluto as a planet.
One-third of that scoreboard consists of the Daktronics video board, dubbed "The Godzillatron" by Texas fans. Homer Simpson’s dream TV cost $8 million and was used for the first time in a game three days ago, when the Longhorns stomped North Texas 56-7 in their season opener.
"A lot of guys’ eyes were glued to it," Texas receiver Limas Sweed said. "Some of them got in trouble because they weren’t focused on the field."
The scoreboard, towering over the new, 4,000 bleacher seats in the south end zone, provides a stream of advertising and also an apt metaphor for an underlying theme of Texas vs. Ohio State: Size does matter, especially in Division I-A college football.
If this game screams anything, it’s that if you want to consistently compete for a national championship in the age of the BCS, you better have a deep cookie jar of coins.
Ohio State-Texas is a savory showdown between two storied programs, and also a clash between the haves and the haves — the two biggest money-saturated athletic departments in all of college sports.
The OSU athletic department, which receives no university funding and contributes millions to the school’s general fund, raked in $101.5 million in proceeds ($2.9 million of that a surplus) during the 2005-06 fiscal year that ended June 30. The Texas fiscal results for that time period aren’t available but are expected to total approximately $94 million.
Football drives the engine at both schools. OSU had $35.9 million in revenue and a surplus of $27.3 million in that hallowed sport in 2005-06.
The financial success of football at OSU is why the university can afford to have 36 sports providing scholarships for approximately 900 athletes, more than any other school. The cabbage also helps the Buckeyes stay up with college football’s demands for success, such as shiny facilities to net stud recruits.
Ohio State spent $210 million to renovate Ohio Stadium in the 1990s. Texas spent $90 million in the late ’90s to upgrade and expand its own football stadium, and in February the university’s regents approved another $150 million to remodel and expand the stadium.
While Texas and OSU set the pace in the facilities arms race, few schools can keep up. An analysis by The Indianapolis Star revealed that in 2004-05, only 9 percent of 164 public universities in Division I had athletic departments that supported themselves financially.
Such a statistic contrasted last week with the scene during the Texas game against North Texas. About 200 fans packed the stadium’s gift shop. Eight temporary registers were set up outside to meet demand, and still 20 people waited in line to purchase all manners of Longhorns memorabilia.
Texas, buoyed by national titles in football and baseball, led the nation in licensing revenue with $8.2 million in royalties from 2005-06. OSU reportedly earned $5.7 million last year in licensed royalties.
To the champions go the spoils: more money to distance them from the vast pack of pretenders.
You don’t need an $8 million scoreboard to know who really is winning in college football.

Todd Jones is a reporter for The Dispatch .

[email protected]

 

[osugrad21]

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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Texas QB passes first test, awaits a bigger one vs. OSU[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BY JIM NAVEAU - Sep. 5, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]AUSTIN, Texas – Maybe it was the pressure, or all the swirling emotions or just getting his first chance all day to sit down and unwind that did it.
Or maybe it was the 97-degree temperature at game time that sapped Colt McCoy’s strength.
But the first-year Texas quarterback, who had more reason than most of the Longhorns to celebrate after a 56-7 win over North Texas last Saturday, probably did less of it than almost any of his teammates.
He was tired. So tired he dozed off about 8 p.m. while hanging out with some teammates.
No. 1 Ohio State (1-0) hopes it can wear McCoy out around that same time on Saturday night when it takes on No. 3 Texas (1-0) in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (8 p.m. EDT, ABC-TV).
McCoy threw for three touchdowns, ran for another, didn’t throw an interception and wasn’t sacked in his first college start against North Texas. He was 12 of 19 for 178 and tossed a 60-yard TD pass on his third college snap.
Oh yeah, he also replaced a guy named Vince Young, who led Texas to the national championship in January.
McCoy, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound redshirt freshman beat out true freshman Jevan Snead for the starting job.
“I was excited, I had looked forward to it my whole life,” McCoy said about his successful first starting assignment at Texas during a Monday teleconference. “Finally getting out there was a dream come true and I’m glad the score turned out like it did. ”
McCoy came out of a small Texas high school of around 350 students where his father Brad was the football coach. He passed for nearly 10,000 yards and ranks second in state high school football history with 116 touchdown passes in his career.
Texas coach Mack Brown thought he was going to have Young back this season until the junior QB led the Longhorns to the national title, turned pro and was the thirdselection in the NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans.
McCoy was projected as the backup and the plan for Snead was to redshirt him before Young’s draft stock rose and he chose to leave Texas.
Brown is confident his untested quarterback can handle the pressure in the big games, not just against the ones against opponents the caliber of North Texas.
“Colt has been around these atmospheres before. He’s been at our games for two or three years. He stood on that sideline every game last year and watched. He knows what it will be like Saturday night,” he said.
“Colt is very confident. He’s really mature. He only lost two games in high school. He was a 4. 0 student. He’s tall and athletic. He played for a state championship in high school and was a point guard who scored up in the 20’s in basketball. We just felt like he was a leader and a winner, a guy who could make things happen on the field.”
Brown pointed out that in nine seasons at Texas, he has started three other freshman quarterbacks — Major Applewhite, Chris Simms and Young. McCoy has talked with all of those former Longhorns
McCoy was on the sidelines when Texas came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Ohio State 25-22 last Sept. 10 at Ohio Stadium. The go-ahead score came on a touchdown pass from Young to Limas Sweed with 2 1/2 minutes to play.
Saturday night’s game could show if that experience prepared him to face a team like Ohio State. But he knows it at least got him ready for the decibel level that will be in the stadium.
“I honestly can’t remember any place that’s ever been that loud,” McCoy said about Ohio Stadium a year ago. “When we were backed up on our 15-yard line coming out at the beginning of the game it was so loud I couldn’t even talk to the guy next to me. ”
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[osugrad21]

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Drug, weapon charges filed

By JIMMY BURCH

Star-Telegram STAFF WRITER

T. Brown

AUSTIN -- Tarell Brown, Texas' starting cornerback, was arrested Monday on misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and unlawful carrying of a weapon, making it unclear if he will be available for Saturday's game against top-ranked Ohio State.
Brown and teammate Tyrell Gatewood, a reserve safety, were arrested at 2:48 a.m. Monday in the 7700 block of Interstate 35, along with former Longhorns player Aaron Harris. All three were charged with marijuana possession of two ounces or less, a Class B misdemeanor, according to the arrest report issued by the Travis County Sheriff's Office.
Brown, a senior who has started the past 13 games for the Longhorns, also was charged with a Class A misdemeanor for unlawful carrying of a weapon. All three were released on bond.
The weapons charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Maximum punishment for the marijuana charge is 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Texas coach Mack Brown issued a statement Monday, saying that Tarell Brown and Gatewood will be held out of "all team functions as we gather as much information as possible before making a team decision" on internal disciplinary actions. In 2003, Coach Brown suspended tailback Cedric Benson for one game when Benson was charged with criminal trespassing during the week of the Baylor contest.
If Tarell Brown is not in the lineup when the third-ranked Longhorns seek to extend college football's longest active winning streak (21 games), his place probably will be taken by either Brandon Foster or Ryan Palmer. Foster and Palmer played at Arlington Bowie High School.
Jamie Balagia, an attorney representing Tarell Brown and Gatewood, said he is optimistic his clients will be cleared when all facts of the case are presented. Balagia said Harris told the arresting officer that the marijuana belonged to him. The 9 mm handgun found in Tarell Brown's lap belongs to Gatewood, who has a permit and uses it for target shooting, Balagia said. In addition, Balagia said Tarell Brown and Gatewood took voluntary drug tests Monday to confirm there was no marijuana in their systems.
Gene Chizik, Texas' defensive coordinator, said he expects "a very focused team" against Ohio State regardless of whether Tarell Brown is one of the Longhorns available to cover the Buckeyes' All-American receiver, Ted Ginn Jr.
"One thing that's awesome about being at the University of Texas is you do have...great depth," Chizik said. "We really don't have to address those issues very often, and we feel the same way right now."
Strong safety Michael Griffin said Texas players are used to performing at a high level in big games "regardless of distractions" and that he expects Monday's arrests to have "zero effect" on Saturday's bottom line.
Monday's arrest was triggered, according to the arrest affidavit, when an officer spotted a car driven by Harris swerving from lane to lane northbound on I-35. The other passengers were asleep at the time. After the vehicle was stopped, Harris passed three field sobriety tests but volunteered that he'd been smoking marijuana.
Upon check-in at the jail, officers found an additional .7 grams of marijuana in Harris' front pocket.

 

[osugrad21]

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Longhorns face drug, gun charges
Coach brown holding players from team functions until more information comes out

By Kathy Adams and Maggie Sharp
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Tarell Brown
Cornerback charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon, after allegedly sleeping with a loaded handgun in his lap

Tyrell Gatewood
Wide receiver charged with possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor

The Longhorns' starting cornerback Tarell Brown, backup wide receiver Tyrell Gatewood and former linebacker Aaron Harris were arrested and charged with possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor, Monday, according to an arrest affidavit.

Brown was also charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon, a Class A misdemeanor. All three were released from jail Monday.

The football coaching staff has suspended Brown and Gatewood from all team functions, but did not comment specifically on whether they would be allowed to play in Saturday's game against Ohio State University - a game which is expected to have national championship implications.

The three UT students were arrested at around 3 a.m. Monday after a Travis County Sheriff's Department deputy pulled their vehicle over for swerving in and out of traffic and neglecting to use a turn signal.

According to the arrest affidavit, Harris was driving north when he was stopped in the 7700 block of Interstate 35. Both Brown and Gatewood were asleep when the officer pulled Harris over. Harris passed field sobriety tests, but told a deputy on the scene that he had smoked marijuana.

Brown had a loaded 9 mm handgun in his lap, according to the affidavit.

Brown and Gatewood's lawyer, Jamie Balagia, said the gun was in the vehicle because Gatewood had used it at an indoor shooting range a few weeks ago and forgot to put it back in his house afterward. He said Brown noticed the gun when it slid out from underneath the seat as the three men drove home Monday morning. Gatewood then asked Brown to grab the gun so he could put it away when they got home, he said. Brown then "secured" the handgun in his lap so it wouldn't slide around the vehicle's floor, Balagia said.

When the police officers noticed the gun in Brown's lap, they woke him and Gatewood and arrested the three men, said Balagia, a lawyer who specializes in defending people who have been charged with driving while intoxicated. He said Brown and Gatewood were unaware that Harris was in possession of marijuana.

After detaining Brown and Gatewood, deputies located a marijuana "blunt" cigar that weighed 1.1 grams under the front seat of the vehicle. After searching Harris, deputies found an additional .7 grams of marijuana in his front pocket, according to the affidavit.

"[Brown and Gatewood are] certainly concerned, initially because it looked like they were in possession of drugs by the mere fact of the charges," Balagia said. "And then you mix in guns with drugs, that doesn't look good."

Brown, Gatewood and Harris were released from Travis County Jail on Personal Recognizance Bonds Monday, according an e-mail interview with Roger Wade, spokesman for the Travis County Sheriff's Office.

The maximum punishment for a Class A misdemeanor is up to one year in the county jail and a $4,000 fine. The maximum punishment for a Class B misdemeanor is up to 180 days in the county jail and a $2,000 fine.

Brown and Gatewood underwent drug tests administered by the University Monday afternoon, Balagia said. He said the results should be out this afternoon, and he said he expects the two will return to practice today.

"They felt badly for any reflection upon the team that this really accidental behavior has caused on their part because nothing intentionally was done by them and they certainly didn't want to smear the team or the coaching staff or the school in any way," he said.

Another former UT football player, Ramonce Taylor, was charged with a state felony possession of marijuana in May. A 40-caliber round of ammunition was also found in Taylor's vehicle. Taylor is no longer a part of the UT football team.

When former UT running back Cedric Benson was charged with criminal trespassing in 2003, he was suspended from playing in the football game that week. Brown and Gatewood could face similar punishment, depending on the results of their drug tests.

Brown is expected to play an especially important role in Saturday's game, covering Ohio State receiver Ted Ginn.

"It's a distraction, but it's gonna be a very minimal distraction because we're gonna get right back up on our feet and we have, they have, total faith in the coach and the team and they'll be there playing Saturday," Balagia said.

UT football Head Coach Mack Brown issued a written statement on the incident Monday.

"We're working closely with the young men and the authorities," said UT football Head Coach Mack Brown in a written statement. "At this time, we are holding them out of all team functions as we gather as much information as possible before making a team decision."

 

[osugrad21]

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Pressure off for rematch

By JIMMY BURCH

Star-Telegram STAFF WRITER

STAR-TELEGRAM/KHAMPHA BOUAPHANH
Mack Brown, right, said his players will not feel pressured this time to win a big game for their coach.

AUSTIN -- For a second consecutive season, Texas and Ohio State will meet in a September game with national title ramifications.
But this season, the third-ranked Longhorns (1-0) will not enter with lingering questions about whether coach Mack Brown can win the big game. Texas put those doubts to rest with last year's national championship.
By doing so, Brown said that should take pressure off his team heading into Saturday's 7 p.m. showdown in Austin against the top-ranked Buckeyes (1-0).
"Coaches get too much credit and too much criticism," Brown said Monday. "The game is really about the players.
"It's nice that they don't have to answer that question this week and feel pressure to go out there and do something for me. It's better this way because it takes the pressure off the kids."
History lesson
Top-ranked Ohio State will be the highest-rated visiting team to play in Austin since No. 1 SMU fell to No. 7 Texas, 23-20, on Nov. 4, 1950. Regardless of which poll you look at (Texas is ranked No. 3 by The Associated Press, No. 2 by the coaches), Saturday's matchup involves the two highest-ranked opponents to collide at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Price of fame
Colt McCoy, Texas' redshirt freshman quarterback, said his Saturday dinner with friends and family members was interrupted by "about 20 people who came up to get autographs." It marked a personal high for McCoy, who said he gladly obliged after his successful college debut.
"Things change when you play quarterback here," McCoy said. "Now, it's like, everywhere I go, someone looks at you funny."
Branching out?
Texas offensive tackle Justin Blalock said he expects to see more action this week at guard, considering the strength of the Ohio State defense rests with defensive tackles Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson. Blalock worked equally at both positions during fall drills but not in the opener.
"I only played one series at guard against North Texas," Blalock said. "I anticipate playing more [guard] than that this week, but it really doesn't matter to me."
Greg Davis, Texas' defensive coordinator, said Blalock will play more guard as the season unfolds. But not necessarily against Ohio State.
"We like Blalock positioned on the edge, for pass protection," Davis said. "The speed of the game is not going to catch him off guard. We'll start him out that way again this week and go from there."
ONLINE: texassports.com
GAMEDAY
No. 1 Ohio State at No. 3 Texas
7 p.m. Saturday, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial
Stadium
TV: WFAA/Ch. 8
Radio: KSKY/660 AM
Records: Ohio State 1-0; Texas 1-0