Part 1 of 3 Parts

Jerry Scarbrough's True Orange
The Internet Newsletter for the True Orange Faithful

Volume 11, No. 21, August 27, 2001

 Longhorns Favored by 42 in Season Opener,
But New Mexico State Will Test Run Defense

Coach Mack Brown and the Longhorn players hope they are back among the
nation's elite teams, but they won't find out Saturday night when they
entertain the 42-point underdog New Mexico State Aggies.
The 6 p.m. game will be televised nationally by Fox, and the sellout crowd
and all those television viewers should see a Longhorn romp, and they also
will find out those new defensive tackles are shaping up.
Texas led the Big 12 Conference in rushing defense last year, allowing only
93.4 yards a game and 2.6 yards a carry.
New Mexico State won only three games last year and the Aggies started this
season on a losing note, falling to Louisville, 45-24.
But they outgained the Cardinals, 544-373, and lost primarily because they
fumbled twice deep in Louisville territory and both fumbles were returned for
Cardinal touchdeowns.
RB Kenton Keith, who rushed for 849 yards last season, had 22 carries for 137
yards and led the Aggies to a 24-23 halftime lead before the two long fumble
returns turned the game around in the second half.
The Aggies were No. 7 in the country in rushing last year and the year before
with their power-option attack, and they will give those new Longhorn defense
tackles an early test.
QB K. C. Enzminger also can run. He picked up 450 yards rushing last season
while passing for 1,457 more yards and 15 touchdowns.
The New Mexico State defense gives up lots of yards and lots of points when
it is on the field, but the Aggie offense, when it gets rolling like it did
in the first half at Louisville, can control the ball for long periods in the
game.
Sophomore Marcus Tubbs and the other young defensive tackles will bear a
major responsibility in handling the Aggie inside option.
They have looked good in practice, but facing an option attack is such a
rarity these days that it's difficult to practice for it.
Most of the top teams the Longhorns will play this year are pass-first,
run-second teams. In fact, some of them are pass-first, pass-second and
pass-third team who hardly ever run.
That's what makes this game so interesting, even if it should be a blowout,
because the one thing New Mexico State does well is run the football.
But that's enough on the opponents. Let's look at the Longhorns, their No. 5
national ranking, and their chances of keeping it.
No one in college football will have a receiving corps to match the
Longhorns, particularly when the wide receivers and tight ends are lumped
together.
The top three wide receivers and top two tight ends, all sophomores by the
way, are outstanding.
Few teams in college football have a defensive secondary to equal UT's, and
there probably isn't a better pass-blocking offensive line in the Big 12.
The defensive line lost outstanding tackles Casey Hampton, an All-American,
and Shaun Rogers, but it should again be very good with DEs Cory Redding and
Kalen Thornton leading the way.
Redding, a junior, and Thornton, a sophomore, both started and played very
well as true freshmen. Both are bigger and stronger this season, and look
ready to have outstanding seasons.
Tubbs played a lot last year as a redshirt freshman because Rogers had a
badly sprained ankle that limited his play for much of the year.
He played well then and has looked like a budding star in two-a-days.
The coaches say they are worried about the other defensive tackle position,
but good coaches always say they are worried unless their names are Steve
Spurrier or Bob Stoops.
But redshirt freshman Stevie Lee has been looking very good against the run
in recent practices, and senior Maurice Gordon is an outstanding pass rusher
who also plays the run pretty well.
Sophomore Adam Doiron, who is a good run stopper, also figures to see a lot
of playing time.
The offensive line has been working harder this spring on run blocking
because head coach Mack Brown says the Longhorns "have to be able to run the
ball when we want to run it."
He says a dependable running game makes it harder to stop the Horns' lethal
passing weapons, helps in running the clock when protecting a lead, and last
but not least, helps the defense by giving it more time to rest.
One constant in the Longhorns' three losses last season was the incredible
number of three-and-out possessions by the offense.
Against Oklahoma, for example, Texas had one first down when the Sooners
scored their sixth touchdown.
Even in the big victory over A&M, the Longhorns had just one first down in
the entire first half, and the stout UT defense obviously tired in the third
quarter, but it didn't matter because Texas scored four touchdowns in the
period to blow the game open.
That shouldn't happen this season. The line has worked harder on run
blocking, and the four returning line starters finally have enough experience
to function better as a unit.
It also shouldn't happen because the running back corps looks so much
stronger than it was last year when it started and ended with Hodges Mitchell.
Junior Victor Ike, one of the fastest backs around, is bigger and stronger
and determined to hold the starting job.
But 245-pound sophomore Ivan Williams, always a terror in the spring and a
bust in the fall, must be smelling spring flowers because he has been a
terror throughout two-a-day workouts.
And then there is true freshman Cedric Benson. I know now how Florida fans
must have felt when they first set eyes on Emmitt Smith. This young man is
something special.
He's lightning-quick to the line, and he has such great vision that he always
seems to find the soft spot. He also is hard to bring down.
In other words, he has a lot of the same assets that made guys like Ricky
Williams, Earl Campbell and Roosevelt Leaks such great Longhorn backs.
Williams and Campbell both won the Heisman Trophy and Leaks would have if he
hadn't suffered a devastating knee injury after finishing third in the
Heisman voting as a junior.
Ike will start Saturday night, but look for Williams and Benson to get a lot
of carries, too.
The coaches say QB Chris Simms, FB Matt Trissel and the linebackers are all
much improved over last season. Let's hope they are right.
That doesn't leave much except kicking and special teams, and those could be
problems this season.
Junior college transfer Brian Bradford has won the punting job and he always
gets great height and usually gets great length. I'd rather have the height,
because line-drive punts often lead to long returns.
As long as he doesn't get any blocked, the Horns should be fine in the
punting game.
Freshman walk-on Dusty Mangum of Mesquite has won the place-kicking job, and
he has been very accurate in practice up to 40 yards.
But if you watched Oklahoma Saturday, the Sooners didn't look as potent on
offense as last year, but they had a killer kicking game to go along with a
killer defense.
The Horns should have a good punting game and they probably will have pretty
good success in kicking field goals and kicking off.
But they had better dominate in other areas when they play teams that have
kicking games like Oklahoma or they will be in trouble.
Bobby Bowden has won two national titles at Florida State, and he would have
won twice that many if he had a kicker like Phil Dawson or Kris Stockton.
Remember "wide right" and those chip-shot misses that cost him two perfect
seasons?
Mangum could be a good kicker. He's a remarkable find for a walk-on, but
making kicks like Dawson and Stockton made is a lot to ask from any walk-on.
Brown plans to announce his starting lineups later today, but there is little
suspense with 17 starters returning and replacements already in place at most
of the other spots.
When you carry a No. 5 national ranking into the season, you obviously have a
lot going for you.
That is the case with the Longhorns, but they have some areas where
improvement is mandatory if they want to keep that lofty spot and possibly
improve upon it.
Junior QB Chris Simms led the Big 12 in passing efficiency last year, but he
also had a problem with interceptions.
The Longhorns couldn't run the ball when they had to in the big games they
lost last year.
What are the chances for improvements in those two areas?
Simms has looked better during the pre-season at throwing the ball away
instead of forcing it into a crowd. If he can improve his
touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio to 2-to-1 or even 3-to-1, this should be a
great season.
The increased emphasis on the running game and the bigger backs and the quick
way Benson has adapted to the college game will improve the  team in that
area.
The key here will be for the line to open more holes.
Defensively, the loss of the two tackles is the big problem and Tubbs and the
other three players mentioned earlier should be able to fill those holes.
Against passing teams, they probably will be better than last year's tackles
because Rogers was never completely healthy after the ankle sprain in the
Houston game and and Hampton was more of a run stopper than a pass rusher.
So, if Simms can be more consistent in big games, if the offensive line can
block better for the run and if the kicking game holds up, this Longhorn team
has a chance to be in the Rose Bowl playing for the national title in January.
But breakdowns in any of those areas could again break Longhorn hearts and
dreams.
If you want to know how I think it will all come out, I'm going to chicken
out. I think the Longhorns are going to be a top 10 team for sure, and I
think they have a chance to make it to the Rose Bowl.
But so do several other teams, including three or four others in the Big 12.
Texas will have to go 11-0 and beat Oklahoma to win the Big 12 South, then
topple Nebraska or Kansas State or whoever emerges in the North to make it to
Pasadena.
There are lots of other teams out there who also have legitimate shots at the
Rose Bowl, including Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas State, Florida, Miami and
Oregon, the Longhorns' conqueror in the Holiday Bowl.
Oklahoma was rated No. 19 at this time last year and the Sooners won the
national title, going 13-0 in the process and beating Kansas State twice.
A similar scenario could play out this year. The Longhorns have to take care
of business better than they have in a long time to make it to Pasadena.
But two teams will get there, and one of them could be the Longhorns. That's
what makes this season so interesting for all orange-blooded football fans.
The game this week won't answer many questions, but it will show us with of
the problem areas has improved and which of them are still problems.
All teams have some problems. The ones with the fewest usually wind up
playing for all the marbles.
Let's hope the Longhorns are problem solvers deluxe this season.

Important Notice

Next week's newsletter will be e-mailed on Tuesday because Monday is Labor
Day and is a postal holiday.
The bad news is it will be a day later than usual. The good news is it will
include coach Mack Brown's comments at his Monday noon news conference
following the season opener.

900 Number Updated Daily

I update my 900 number every day with football and football recruiting news.
The number is 1-900-288-8839. It costs $1.59 a minute. You must be 18 or
older to call.