Scouting Missouri

Texas hosts Missouri Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in a game that will not be
televised.
The Tigers have been an unpredictable team this year, playing Nebraska and
Michigan State tough, and getting blown out by Kansas last week.
Missouri opened the season with a 50-20 win over Western Illinois, lost to
Clemson, 62-9, then played Michigan State down to the wire before losing,
13-10. The Tigers played Nebraska tough the next week before losing, 42-24,
then whipped Oklahoma State, 24-10, and lost to Kansas, 38-17.
Longhorn coach Mack Brown said he watched part of the Nebraska-Missouri game
"and I thought they had a chance to beat Nebraska in Lincoln while I was
watching it."
TB Zain Gilmore, a 6-1, 222-pound junior is the Tigers' top rusher. He is
averaging 55.3 yards per game rushing and has scored six touchdowns.
Freshman QB Darius Outlaw, 6-4, 193, is filling in for injured starter Kirk
Farmer and has completed 38 of 76 passes for 489 yards and three touchdowns.
But he also has been picked off seven times.
Defensively, the Tigers are led by All-Big 12 DE Justin Smith, a 6-5,
265-pound terror.
Coach Larry Smith has five offensive and six defensive starters back from a
4-7 team a year ago.
This is a game the Longhorns will be favored to win by at least 15 points,
and it is one they should win handily if they come out ready to play.

Here's how the teams compare statistically (national rank in parenthesis):

Texas                               Missouri
Offense
(98)     93.3        Rushing Avg.          (78) 120.7
(12)   292.3         Passing Avg.          (58) 210.5
(45)   385.6        Total Off. Avg.        (79) 331.2
(18)   34.7              Scoring Avg           (71)   22.3

Defense
(19)   101.5         Rushing Avg.          (77) 162.7
(29)   181.8         Passing Avg.          (82) 224.8
(12)   283.3        Total Def. Avg.        (82) 387.5
(41)     20.2    Opp. Scoring Avg          (41)   30.8

Big 12 Roundup

Oklahoma showed it is ready to challenge for the top spot in the Big 12 last
week by going to Manhattan and handing No. 2 Kansas State a 41-31 whipping.
The Sooners are firmly in the driver's seat in the Big 12 Southern Division,
while top-ranked Nebraska and Kansas State will meet later this season to
determine the Northern Division champion.
Conventional wisdom holds that two league losses eliminate a team from
championship competition.
If that is the case, then half the teams in each division have already been
eliminated, leaving Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M as the teams in the
Southern Division with legitimate title hopes and top-ranked Nebraska, Kansas
State and Iowa State as the teams witha chance to win the Northern Division
championship.
At least one of the contenders will fall by the wayside this week when Texas
A&M travels to Ames to take on surprising Iowa State.
Other interesting games this week include Colorado at Kansas, Texas Tech at
Kansas State and Missouri at Texas.

BIG 12 STANDINGS

SOUTHERN DIVISION
Conference          Season
W   L   PF    PA     Pct.      W   L    PF     PA     Pct.
Oklahoma        3    0  138     51   1.000     6    0   280     86    1.000
Texas           2    1    84     84     .667     4    2   208    121      .667
Texas A&M       2    1    76     41     .667     4    2   186     85
.667
Texas Tech  1    2    46      89    .333     5    2   147    115      .714
Baylor          0    3    17      87    .000      2   4     74     141
.333
Okla State      0    2    17      66    .000     2    3    82     120
.400

NORTHERN DIVISION
Conference              Season
W   L   PF     PA      Pct.     W    L   PF    PA     Pct.
Nebraska        3    0  147     54     1.000    6   0   265 104   1.000
Kansas State    2    1  127     75       .667    6   1   339   102     .857
Iowa State      2    1    91      93      .667    5   1   177   143      .833
Missouri        1    2    65     90       .333    2   4  134    185     .333
Colorado        1    2    61     91       .333    1   5  113   153     .167
Kansas          1    2    67   103       .333    3   3  149   154     .500

Last Week's Results
Texas 28, Colorado 14
Texas A&M 24. Baylor 0
Oklahoma 41, Kansas State 31
Nebraska 56, Texas Tech 3
Kansas 38, Missouri 17
Iowa State 33, Oklahoma State 26

This Week's Games
Missouri at Texas, 1:30 p.m.
Colorado at Kansas, 11:30 a.m.
Baylor at Nebraska, 12:30 a.m.
Texas A&M at Iowa State, 1 p.m.
Texas Tech at Kansas State, 1:10 p.m.

2000 Longhorn Schedule, Record (4-2)
Texas  Opp.
Sept. 9     Louisiana-Lafayette     52  10
Sept 16    at Stanford              24  27
Sept 23    Houston                  48    0
Sept 30    Oklahoma State           42    7
Oct. 7       Oklahoma (Dallas)      14  63
Oct. 14    at Colorado              28  14
Oct. 21    Missouri
Oct. 28    Baylor
Nov. 4      at Texas Tech
Nov. 11    at Kansas
Nov. 24    Texas A&M

Scoring by Quarters
Texas         12     75   55         66 -  208
Opponents     30      42      35     14 -  121

Recruiting Roundup

There have been a lot of people who have been saying the disaster in Dallas
will damage UT recruiting.
But the week between the disaster and the victory over Colorado was one of
the best of this recruiting season for the Longhorns.
The Texas coaches got commitments last week from a great JC punter, the
state's best QB and one of the top DE/LB prospects in the country.
The latest Longhorn pledge is DE/LB Eric Hall  of Clarksville, Tenn. He
actually plays quarterback and safety at Clarksville, but Texas, Nebraska,
Tennessee and Texas A&M were all recruiting him primarily as a defensive end.
He said he picked Texas because he was born in Texas and has always had a
fondness for the state and for its state university. "I really enjoyed my
official visit to Texas," he said. "I just decided it was the place for me."
Hall was the 19th commitment for the Longhorns. who also had picked up
pledges last week from QB Matt Nordgren of Dallas Bishop Lynch and punter
Brian Bradford of  Trinity Valley JC.
Nordgren is easily the top pro-type passer in Texas and Bradford has been
rated as the nation's top JC punter by at least one recruiting service.
Nordgren  chose Texas over LSU, Tennessee and Colorado. He also was recruited
by most of the top programs, but had narrowed his choices to those four
schools. He told me had had 21 scholarship offers.
"It was really a close call between Texas and LSU," he said, "but I decided I
wanted to play for the Longhorns."
Nordgren is a 4.0 student who also is a 6-6 high-jumper and 39.5 intermediate
hurdler in track. He also starts for the basketball team.
&It came down to a great list of schools," Nordgren said, "but I felt at home
at the UT campus. It,s a football program that I know I can help lead to a
national championship."
Trinity Valley JC coach Chuck Langston says Bradford, "will punt in the NFL
someday. He's the best one I've ever been around."
Langston, who played and later coached at Oklahoma, said, "He's better than
any of the ones we ever had at OU when I was there. He averages better than
43 yards and he gets tremendous hang time, in the 4.7, 4.8, 4.9 (second)
range, which is really outstanding. He really gets great height and great
distance."
Langston said Bradford "is our team's MVP. He's one of the those guys who
turns the field over. He really changes field position."
Bradford told me he has "always wanted to play for the Longhorns." He was a
full qualifier out of Lufkin High School and said he will transfer to Texas
in January so he can go through spring training with the Longhorns.
Bradford can be counted against last year's class because he will enroll at
mid-year.
What I really like about Bradford is his emphasis on hang time. "I
concentrate on kicking it high," he said. "I'd rather have a 40-yarder with
no return than a 55-yarder that might be returned."
It obviously works out because he is averaging 43+ yards per kick, and still
getting close to five seconds hang time.
Here's a list of the Horns' 19 early commitments:
Offensive Line (7)
Jonathan Scott, 6-7, 290, 4.9, Dallas Carter
Abe Robinson, 6-6, 270, 4.9, Jersey Village
Alfio Randall, 6-6, 300, 5.1, Blinn JC
Mike Garcia, 6-5, 280, 5.2, Galena Park
Will Allen, 6-5, 300, 5.2, Cypress Falls
Roman Reeves, 6-6, 295, 5.2, Livingston
Terrance Young, 6-6, 340, 5.5, Longview
Quarterback (1)
Matt Nordgren, 6-5, 225, 4.6, Dallas B. Lynch
Running Back (2)
Cedric Benson, 5-11, 200, 4.5, Midland Lee
Anthony Johnson, 5-11, 195, 4.4, Jefferson
Defensive End (1)
Eric Hall, 6-2, 240, 4.5, Clarksville, Tenn.
Linebacker (2)
Yamil LeBron, 6-2, 240, 4.7, Killeen Ellison
Lance McFarland, 6-1, 225, 4.6, Jefferson
Defensive Back (5)
Cedric Griffin, 6-1, 180, 4.4, San Antonio Holmes
Aaron Ross, 6-1, 182, 4.42, Tyler
Kendal Briles, 5-10, 175, 4.5, Wolfforth Frenship
Braden Johnson, 6-2, 200, 4.5, Euless Trinity
Brian Carter, 5-11, 180, 4.5, The Woodlands
Punter (1)
Brian Bradford, 6-1, 205, Trinity Valley JC
* * * *
The Longhorns, with 19 commitments already, will give at least three more
and, if things fall right at the end, as many as six additional ones.
There are five players ) LB Derrick Johnson of Waco, S Dewayne Brandon of
Temple, DL Kaelen Jakes of Valencia, Cal., and DE Jonathan Jackson and TE
James Moses, both of Galena Park North Shore ) who strongly favor Texas.
But all of them are highly recruited national prospects and I would be mildly
surprised if the Horns signed all five of them.
Then there are four great players the Horns are still recruiting very hard )
DT Tommie Harris of Killeen Ellison, FB James Buchanon of Cardinal Mooney HS
in Sarasota, Fla., and OLs William Winston of Houston Madison and Jami
Hightower of Jacksonville.
Texas has a pretty good shot at Harris, but the other three are not leaning
UT's way at this time.
Harris had a great junior year. I saw him play and he was awesome. But he has
a sprained ankle that has hampered his performance this year.
When the ankle was well last summer, he ran a 4.78 40 weighing close to 270
pounds. He's still a super prospect and one the Horns need desperately.

UT Basketball Women Start Practice

The Texas women's basketball team  had its first practice Saturday, and
coach Jody Conradt said she is so pleased with her recruiting class that
three or four of the newcomers will challenge for starting jobs.
The Longhorns are coming off last year's 21-13 season, a second-place finish
in the 2000 Big 12 Conference Tournament, and the program's 16th trip to the
NCAA National Championship.
Fans can get an early courtside look at the Longhorns at the annual
Orange-White game (intrasquad scrimmage) on Thursday, Oct. 26, beginning at 7
p.m. at the Erwin Center. Admission is free to the Orange-White Game, and
there will be an opportunity to purchase season tickets during that scrimmage.
Texas will play a pair of pre-season exhibition games, hosting
Spartak-Moscow-Russia on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. before facing Delta
Kosice from the Slovakia Republic at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 6. Both contests
will be at the Frank Erwin Center.
The Longhorns begin their regular season slate on Friday, Nov. 10  when they
host Wichita State in the first round of the Pre-season WNIT  Tournament in
Austin (7 p.m. tipoff).
The Pre-season WNIT is a 16-team, single-elimination tourney. If UT defeats
Wichita State, then the Longhorns will move into the WNIT second round on
Sunday, Nov. 12 to face the winner of the Tulane-Grambling State contest.
Season tickets and individual game tickets currently are available.  UT will
play a minimum of a 17-game home schedule, with more home  games dependent on
the Horns' advancement in WNIT Tournament play.
Reserved season tickets are priced at:  $108 per adult; $76 per senior
citizen, student or UT faculty/staff member; and  $54 for those holders on
the Longhorn All-Sports Package.
Longhorn  All-Sports Package holders have another option of drawing free
general admission tickets at the Erwin Center or at Bellmont Hall.  Single
game ticket prices range from $5-8.
For ticket purchase and  information, call UT Ticket Master at (512) 477-6060
or the UT  Athletic Ticket Office at (512) 471-333 or 1-800-982-BEVO. Tickets
also may be purchased in person at the UT Athletic Ticket Office on  the
ground floor of Bellmont Hall (west side of Memorial Stadium).

Eight Freshmen Have Played

Eight true freshmen Longhorn football players have played this year, and
three of them are starters.
Defensive end Kalen Thornton of Dallas St. Mark's has started the last three
games and wide receivers Roy Williams of Odessa Permian and B. J. Johnson of
South Grand Prairie were first-time starters Saturday in Colorado.
Other true freshmen who have played this year  are defensive tackle Stevie
Lee and safety Phillip Geiggar, both of Shreveport Evangel, wide receiver
Sloan Thomas of Klein, tight end Brock Edwards of Fort Worth Christian and
cornerback Nathan Vasher of Texarkana.

Men Hold First Practices

The University of Texas men's basketball team opened practice sessions for
the 2000-2001 season Saturday.
Texas starts its season with the annual intrasquad scrimmage at 7 p.m. on
Wednesday, Nov. 1, at Gregory Gym.  The Longhorns get their first action
against outside opponents when they host Australia Team EZY at 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 5, at the Erwin Center.  The Longhorns conclude their exhibition
schedule with a contest against EASports California All-Stars at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the Erwin Center.
Texas opens the 2000-01 regular season with a home game against Navy on
Monday, Nov. 13. in the opening round of the Pre-season NIT.  Tip-off for
theNavy contest is set for 7 p.m. at the Erwin Center. The game will
betelevised by UT's statewide syndicated network, with KVC Channel 13 in
Austinand KDFI Channel 39 in Dallas slated to broadcast the contest.
For season ticket information, please call 800-982-BEVO, or for individual
game tickets call 512-477-6060.
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Next Issue October 23

The next issue will be e-mailed on October 23 and will report on Missouri 
game, preview the home game the following week against Baylor and take a look
at the Big 12 championship races.
As usual, I'll have a lot of recruiting news, reports on men's and women's
basketball and lots of other stories on the Longhorns' teams in the various
sports.

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