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Looking forward to the UT-tOSU game! (long)

EngineerHorn

No todo alli
Howdy Buckeyes

Football season is over. Dammit. But we have 8 months to talk about the best non-conference matchup next year between UT and tOSU. GameDay will almost certainly be there. I'm already making my travel plans.

Anyway, I've browsed a few threads and saw a few requests for some Longhorn input. So I registered.

First let me say y'all deserve a top 5 ranking next year. Outside of USC, I don't think anyone finished the year as well. Ted Ginn is a scary dude. And based on how bad Breaston made us look in the Rose Bowl, I hope we don't kick to him. Ginn>>Breaston. Speaking of the Rose, that was fun! :) Awesome atmosphere. I'm jealous that the Big 10 has the tie-in and not the Big 12. Great stadium and great tailgating, even if it was in the middle of a bunch of Californians. I know you won't agree with me here, but I thought the Meeeechigan fans were great for the most part.

Other than Ginn, I don't know much about your squad next year though. Is Smith coming back? Defense should be a top 5 unit as usual, correct? As long as Tressel is your coach, I guess it'd have to be. The one thing I DO know is y'all are very young and have been recruiting VERY well. So once again, a top 5-10 ranking is deserved in my opinion.

I'm sure some of you may already know some about our team, and I'm sure you'll read a whole bunch between now and September, but I'll go ahead and be the first.



OFFENSE

Offensive Coordinator: Greg Davis. You will not find a single Longhorn alive that likes this guy. Sure, some find him passable, but most despise him. He is unimaginative and stubborn. Watching our offense against OU is beyond frustrating. He goes too conservative and climbs into a shell. Some blame him for Vince Young's lack of development as a passer (he's also our QB coach). To his credit though, he did put in some plays that played to VY's strengths this year and last. Just not until after the OU game.

QB: Vince Young. Probably saw him in the Rose Bowl. If he plays like that all of next season, he wins the Heisman running away. But that's the problem. He doesn't always play like that. See the OU, CU, and Mizzou games. He was just off and made a bunch of stupid mistakes during those games. Greg Davis can take some of the blame for this though, especially against OU, when all of a sudden he tried to make Vince a pocket quarterback. You know about his running skills (1000 rushing yards two years ago, 1100 last year). You probably question his passing skills, and I can't blame y'all for that. His delivery is, well, ugly. But it gets the job done. I expect a huge improvement next year as we won't be quite as one dimensional. Bottom line: my prediction is he'll be in NY for the Heisman ceremony, but won't win it.

RB: whoa boy. We lost a good one. We'll probably use 3-4 running backs next year. Combined though, they won't be as good as Cedric Benson was by himself. We've still got some good ones though. Selvin Young will be the starter. He's more of speed back than Benson was but not as powerful or durable. But I expect him to get 1000+ next year. Blue chip recruit Jamaal Charles will get some carries as well.

WR: Very little production last year. Our leading wideout only had 400 receiving yards as the tight ends took most of the receptions. The WR corp is talented, but unproven and very young. SO Limas Sweed will be the go-to guy. Loads of potential and showed flashes of greatness last year. The other guys are all sophomores and redshirt freshman (we're in on the #1 receiving prospect in the country right now, but that's no guarantee). Needless to say, this position is still a big question mark, but I expect production will be much higher.

TE: David Thomas is an excellent receiver and good blocker. Should earn All-Conference honors next season. We'll still throw to the TE's a bunch.

OL: Big, talented, veteran group. Several pro prospects. This is our strength. 4 of 5 starters return.

We'll still run a bunch of shotgun, but I definitely wouldn't call the UT offense a spread. I'm hoping to see some 2-back sets, but I don't think Greg Davis has the mental capacity for that. We'll run a bunch of I-formation and 2TE Ace sets as well. We'll still primarily be a run-oriented offense ( probably a 65-35 run-pass distribution) with lots of option (zone read, speed option out of the gun, power option out of the I, QB draws out of every formation) Look for a bunch of play action and bootlegs.




DEFENSE

Defensive Coordinator: Gene Chizik. He was Auburn's DC last year, and I'm VERY excited to get him. Other than the fact that he won the Broyles Award last year, I don't know much about him. I have no idea what type of defense to expect. Hell, neither does Gene Chizik. He's barely had a chance to meet the players. But I think it's safe to say our D will be pretty damn good next year.

DL: Probably will be the strength of the defense. Our starting DT's, Rod Wright and Larry Dibbles, both flirted with going pro early. Their backups are young, but very talented. Ends Crowder, Robison, and Williams are solid to good.

LB's: It is never a good thing to lose the Butkus winner. Derrick Johnson was beyond awesome last year. As a unit, they probably won't be quite as good, but there's another probable Butkus candidate returning, MLB Aaron Harris.

Secondary: This unit at times was our weakness last year. I don't know if that had to do with coaching or what. We lost our free safety from last year, but returned everyone else on the two-deep. SS Michael Huff is the star of the group.

Even with the loss of DJ, I fully expect this defense to be a top 10 unit by year's end.


Head Coach: Mack Brown. I'm sure his reputation is well known to you folks. To some extent, it's deserved. But I definitely wouldn't go so far as to call him a bad coach. Bad coaches don't win 91 games over a 9 year span (70-19 in 7 years at UT). Head to head, I'd probably give Tressel the nod as a game day coach, but not by much.



Horribly early prediction: 21-20 Horns. Yeah, I'm a homer, and I'm well aware of your record against non-conference teams at home. But I do guarantee this game will be close.

Fire Away!
 
Welcome EngineerHorn!

We have a lively board and really enjoy interacting with opponent boards and seem to get on particularly well with the Big 12. If you guys are anything like the Oklahoma State guys, then this will be a lot of fun. Anyone who beats UM (commonly referred to as ScUM in these parts) gets an automatic "get out of jail free" card with most of the board. Looks like a great home and away series the next two years between two of football's most storied programs.

A rule of etiquette. The ESPiN attack on Ohio State has been a source of particular irritation with us. It has been unwarranted, the charges made have almost entirely been investigated already by the NCAA and proven false and many of us have simply stopped watching or surfing to ESPiN stations or sites, until they apologize for their disgusting behavior.

As you might guess, we are not too keen to have ESPiN GameDay at the game. They weren't at tOSU-UM this year because it was pretty clear that their security could not be assured, according to some reports. Certainly, they would have seen a lot of "ESPiN sucks" signs!

So, while it ain't all that certain ESPiN GameDay will be at the game, it is certain that two top 5 teams will be. Welcome to the board and may the best team win! Oh, and don't worry, after you beat Oklahoma this year, you'll still get into a BCS bowl with one loss!
 
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Welcome to BP's forums EngineerHorn! Like Steve19 said these guys had a great time with the Oklahoma State fans up to and after the Alamo Bowl game and we sure hope to have the same experience with Texas fans. To answer some of your questions regarding our team I think you should check out the thread regarding surprise players for the '05 season. That should also explain why a lot of the guys on this board are getting so anxious and giddy with excitement for the '05 season to start. I haven't been here too long so I'm by no means the board's statistician (I'm sure one of them is bound to reply to this thread, maybe make a sticky on next years roster *wink* *wink*) so I can't go into detail as to our offense and defense, but do some searches with the names that come up in that thread and you'll get plenty of information.

Enjoy your stay here, I'm sure you'll find this place fun(ny) and informative!
 
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Howdy back E-Horn,

I'm a long time Austinite 20 years, but I bleed scarlet & gray. It doesn't get much better than OSU <vs> UT. We are similar football programs that have gone through some similar ups and downs. And I can attest first hand that both states are "DieHard" high school football fanatics. I can back up E-Horn on the fact that most UT fans wouldn't shed a tear if Greg Davis left the program. People down here are "Fed-up" with Davis's poor "O" play calling and he gets the majority of the blame, along with Mac Brown (in my opinion UT's John Cooper) for UT's loses to OU. However, listening to the local air waves the "Folks" down here don't give the Big Ten much respect. Especially after they beat TSUN. The Big Ten still has that image of being big and slow et... We've heard it before and Miami paid dearly for thinking that.

UT is going to be very solid on the "O" line. We all know about VY. He's a "player" but a much better WR than QB. VY doesn't have TS arm but he is bigger and faster than TS. VY is prone to fumbling the ball as well as throwing the INT when he's in trouble. But as TSUN found out he's a deadly weapon in the open field. With Benson graduating the cubbard isn't bare but it is lacking experience. Selvon Young is a speedster with some experience but was injured most of last season. The RB to look out for is Ramonce Taylor. That kid has some moves! However, neither SY or R. Taylor are power backs. The Orange bloods will miss Benson. E-Horn mentioned D. Thomas (TE), Yes, he's good but the other (TE) was better and I'm glad to mention that Bo Scaife is graduating.

UT returns a very fast "D" but the good news for OSU is that fact that DJ is graduating. I agree to some extent with E-Horn with regards to LB A Harris, but in no way does he compare to AJ, Carpenter or Schlegal. I honestly believe that teams focused so much on DJ which gave A. Harris more opportunities. The strength will be UT's front four. I was hoping to no avail that Rod Wright would opt to leave early, but that didn't happen. He and true freshman Okam are two of the best DT's in the NCAA. UT was very young this past year at DE. The DE's took there lumps but they're pretty solid. Keep your eye out for Dribble!. As E-Horn stated UT's DB's are good but not their strength. UT's "D" has been known in the past for being "Soft" and being poor tacklers. However, This past season their 1 year "D" coordinator Greg Robinson changed that. They were much improved tackling "D" this past year. Now that Robinson left for the Syracuse job let's hope they revert back to their old ways!

I believe OSU wins the game 21 - 13. UT will under-estimate OSU's speed (Ginn, Gonzo, Wells) and the "D" will contain VY and force him to commit errors. Gosh let's hope so, for I will never hear the end of it, if we loose

GO BUCKS!
 
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Great post, and welcome, Engineer.

A few quick takes of my own:

Young vs OSU Linebackers = preseason matchup of the year. No further explanation needed.

The undercard for this matchup will be the Texas DL vs the Ohio State OL. It will be interesting to see if Ohio State's improving offensive line will be able to continue the trend and hold off the stud DLs from Texas. That 2002 Texas recruiting class must've had about 35 5-star defensive linemen, and they'll be a big challenge for the Buckeye blockers.

Pulling in Chizik was a great move, but as is the case with any new coordinator, it may take some time for him to break in. We are lucky to catch these guys at the beginning of the year, because the DC and the players will sync up more and more as the year goes on (Buckeye fans need to look no further than our own DC for evidence to support that.)

Anyone in Texas who thinks they'll roll on the Buckeyes because they beat M*ch*g*n is sadly mistaken. Ohio State is gonna come much stronger than that. It's gonna be a great game.

Texas really needs to worry about their kickoff coverage. Fortunately for them, Ginn probaly won't be returning kickoffs, but it may not matter. The Buckeyes have several others capable of running one back on the kickoff. Their coverage unit made Breaston look like, well, Ted Ginn. Fortunately for Texas, our defense is way better than M*ch*g*n's, so they won't be kicking off to us as often.:wink2:
 
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Our Defense and LB's especially will shut down Vince Young!

I can say that will the utmost confidence...it hasn't failed in how many years in the shoe when a top notch offensive player in the country comes in and get his ass handed to him and his heisman hopes diminished or totally lost!

HAYN
 
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hawaiianbuckeye said:
I can say that will the utmost confidence...it hasn't failed in how many years in the shoe when a top notch offensive player in the country comes in and get his ass handed to him and his heisman hopes diminished or totally lost!

HAYN
corn breed ohio speed willl do that to you...like id want that miami speed
 
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jimotis4heisman said:
corn breed ohio speed willl do that to you...like id want that miami speed
Well, I have heard that Miami Speed is some good shit :pimp:



Time to give EngineerHorn a Texas Icon to start our conversations with Texas fans.

It will be very interesting next year for sure in how this game will matchup. The game will come down to how VY does escaping the pocket and running. I am confident that your young backs will not be ready to do anything against the best linebacking corp in the nation. Plus I see VY as a Vick type QB. He is at his best when under pressure and has to run. I hope our Defensive coaches saw the Eagles gameplan against Vick this past Sunday because I can see that being the perfect defense against VY.

Dare VY to beat you by using his arm and I like us winning.
 
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Welcome aboard E-Horn!! Bring some other serious and articulate Horns over to the BuckeyePlanet--the best Buckeye site on the web. What a great early season contest. Great that it's early season so the loser can still make a BCS bowl.

Lots of great matchups in this game. 1) VY vs LBs. VY was scary good against scUM. But you say he's not consistently that good--so which VY shows up? Our LBs are so good and deep that if we didn't have Hawk, Carpenter, and Schlegel people would still be talking about our solid LB corps. If D'Andrea is back to full health, he's good enough to be another Butkus candidate. I think Piney's got the right idea on containing VY. 2) your DL vs our OL. Our OL, started last year shaky but finished strong, needs this early season test against perhaps the premiere DL in the nation. This matchup may well define our chances at making the national championship run. 3) our WRs vs your DBs. This one favors us and may be the key to our winning the game. 4) Buckeye fans vs ESPiN GameDay. Advice to Horn fans on this one: either join with us or stay out of our way.

A few question marks for our Bucks. 1) RB. Whoever it is will be young and without much game experience. 2) TE. We're not weak here, but no one has emerged as a real weapon yet. 3) Kickers and Punters. We've been spoiled by a string of all-Americans. Who will fill the void? 4) Some would list QB as a question mark, but I don't. Whether it's Zwick (my guess) or Smith, we'll be fine here.

Can't wait for Horn fans to discover that there's no better place to be on God's green earth than Columbus, Ohio in the fall.
:osu:
 
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Allow me to be the first to throw a stat out for the B12 faithful who have no respect for the B10. Last 10 years this is the head to head record between the 2 conf's(B10 first in case it isn't clear).

1995-2004 Overall record:
29-17 (.630)

Bowl Games:
10-5 (.667)

OSU in particular has beaten the B12 champ in a bowl game 1998 and 2003 as well as Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in 2002 and 2004 respectivly. None of those games were close and a familiar theme has resurfaced in each.

If the B12 folks think a last second FG over scUM is a guarantee for success against us at home they are in for the rudest of suprises.
 
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Thanks, folks, for the nice welcome.

A few other things:

DiHrd, nice to see another Austinite on here. That was an excellent supplement to my post. You seem just as educated about the 2005 Longhorns as most diehard UT fans. Although that VY to WR thought will rub many Texas fans the wrong way, accurate or not. But I do agree, if he doesn't make it to the NFL as a QB, he will most definitely be a helluva wideout.

Piney- that Texas icon would be awesome! Good idea, I'd like that.

There's a reason I didn't mention anything about possible NCAA troubles. I'm aware of the allegations, but I don't think it's right to say anything about them until the situation is resolved. So I'll leave it at that.

About the southern schools' underestimation of tOSU and the rest of the Big 10, I regret to say that it is alive and well. I have never understood that considering the Big 10 schools recruit many of the same players that the big southern programs do. I do believe most true fans of the game realize that the stereotype is false (Exhibit A is Ginn). Lingering effects from a trend in the 60's, perhaps?

Gosh, I was under the impression that most of your linebackers had graduated. That's a scary thought having all of them back.

Anyway, I'll be around until the game (and probably afterward) so I look forward to a bunch of good football discussion!

EH
 
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