Scouting Missouri

Texas will play at Missouri Saturday in a game that will start at 1 p.m. and,
despite prior announcements, will not be televised - not even on a pay per
view basis.
The Longhorns, ranked No. 7 in both polls, are 6-1, while the Tigers are
unranked at 3-3.
Missouri opened the season with a 20-13 loss to Bowling Green, then thumped
Southwest Texas, 40-6, before getting mauled by Nebraska, 36-3.
Then the Tigers beat Oklahoma State, 41-38, in a triple overtime, before
losing to Iowa State, 20-14, and then outscoring Kansas 38-34.
Tiger QB Kirk Farmer has had a hot hand in recent weeks, and he kept both
teams in the game last week, blistering Kansas with 246 yards and three
touchdowns passing, plus another 82 rushing yards. But he also had two
interceptions run back for touchdowns.
Farmer, a 6-5, 210-pound junior, has completed 73 of 147 passes for 804 yards
and 8 touchdowns, but he was very productive in the Tigers' three most recent
games.
He also is a slippery runner who is a great scrambler.
WR Justin Gage, a 6-5, 205-pound junior, is one of the nation's most
productive pass receivers. He has caught 45 passes for 518 yards and 3 TDs
and ranks second in the Big 12 in receptions per game with a 7.5 average.
RB Zack Abron, a 5-10, 230-pound sophomore,  is the main threat on the
ground. He has rushed 94 times for 453 yards and 5 TDs. That's an average of
4.8 yards per carry.
New coach Gary Pinkel inherited eight offensive and six defensive starters
from a 3-8 team, and he has shifted players around, particularly on defense,
to try to get more speed on the field.
I had to use Big 8 statistics in my team comparisons this week because the
NCAA defensive statistics and rankings were not available at press time.
As you can see from the statistics below, the Longhorns appear to be far
superior to the Tigers.
This is a game the Longhorns should win and will win if they:
1. Avoid costly turnovers
2. Keep on running the ball to provide more offensive balance
3. Get their usual great defensive game.

Here's how the teams compare statistically (Big 12 rank in parenthesis):
Texas                    Missouri
Offense
(5)     165.9        Rushing Avg.          (6)   165
(2)     237.1        Passing Avg.          (8)   176.2
(4)     403     Total Off. Avg.        (8)   341.2
(2)       38.4       Scoring Avg           (9)     24.8
Defense
(3)      88.7        Rushing Avg.          (8)    180.8
(5)    172.6         Passing Avg.          (3)   158.3
(2)    261.3        Total Def. Avg.        (7)   339.2
(2)      13.1    Opp. Scoring Avg          (9)   25.7

Big 12 Roundup

The Big 12 is down to two teams with perfect records and one of those will
fall Saturday when Nebraska plays host to Oklahoma.
Both unbeaten powerhouses struggled in their games last week, undoubtedly
because their thoughts kept drifting to the big showdown in Lincoln.
Iowa State travels to Texas A&M in another key conference game because both
clubs are 3-1 in league play.

SOUTHERN DIVISION STANDINGS
        Conference        Season
        W   L   PF    PA     Pct.      W   L    PF     PA     Pct.
Oklahoma    4    0 123     67   1.000      7    0  245    107   1.000
Texas       3    1 131     45     .750      6    1  269      92     .857
Texas A&M   3    1   89     72     .750      6    1  179    119     .857
Texas Tech  1    3 107   136     .250      3     3  191    180     .500
Baylor      0    4   34   138     .000      2    4    74    154     .333
Oklahoma State  0    4   76   135     .000      2    5  139    175     .286

NORTHERN DIVISION STANDINGS
        Conference        Season
        W   L   PF     PA      Pct.     W    L   PF    PA     Pct.
Nebraska        4    0  173     55   1 .000      8    0   311    89   1.000
Iowa State  3    1  103     76     .750       5    1  179   104    .833
Colorado        3    1    81     84     .750       5    2   195  137     .714
Missouri        2    2    96   128     .500       3    3   149  154    .500
Kansas      1    3    94   134     .250       2    4   135  185    .333
Kansas State    0    4    86   123     .000       2    4   160  129    .333

Last Week's Results
Texas 41, Colorado 7
Texas A&M 31, Kansas State 24
Nebraska 41, Texas Tech 31
Oklahoma 33, Baylor 17
Iowa State 28, Oklahoma State 14
Missouri 38, Kansas 34
This Saturday's Games
Texas at Missouri,1 p.m.
Oklahoma at Nebraska, 11:30 a.m. (ABC TV)
Iowa State at Texas A&M, 1 p.m.
Texas Tech at Baylor, 2 p.m.
Kansas at Kansas State, 1 p.m.
Colorado at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m.

2001 Longhorn Schedule, Record (6-1)
                                    Texas  Opp.
Sept. 1 New Mexico State      41      7
Sept. 8 North Carolina    44    14
Sept 22 at Houston        53    26
Sept 29 Texas Tech        42      7
Oct. 6      Oklahoma (Dallas)       3   14
Oct. 13     at Oklahoma State     45    17
Oct. 20     Colorado          41      7
Oct. 27     at Missouri
Nov. 3          at Baylor
Nov. 10     Kansas
Nov. 23     at Texas A&M

Scoring by Quarters
Texas         59    84  53      73  -   269
Opponents     24    35    7 26  -     92

Buckman Close to Decision

Brad Buckman, the 6-8 Austin Westlake forward who is the object of the big
recruiting battle between Texas and North Carolina, is very close to making
his choice.
In fact, two North Carolina internet sites claim he has already made it and
the Tar Heels are the winners.
Buckman isn't saying. He says he has always been a Texas fan, but really
likes North Carolina and the ACC because basketball is so important in that
area.

Top Women Visit

Center LaToya Davis, 6-2, of Houston South Houston, took her official visit
to Texas last weekend after visiting Texas Tech the previous week.
Davis, the state's top uncommitted player, has narrowed her choices to those
two schools and is expected to make her decision this week.
Three top juniors also took unofficial visits to Texas the same weekend. They
are Kalee Carey, 6-5, of Canyon, 6-1 Destiny Drew of Crosby and 6-0 Emily
Niemann of Houston Westbury Christian.


UT Men, Women Picked 5th

The Longhorns aren't getting alot of respect in basketball.
The Texas men and women were both picked to finish fifth in a poll of Big 12
coaches last week.
The men's coaches picked 6-8 Chris Owens to the All-Big 12 first team and
tabbed 5-11 freshman point guard T. J. Ford as co-newcomer of the year.
The women's coaches didn't name any Longhorns to their honor teams, which
probably was a mistake because the Longhorn women were headed toward a very
good season last year when a rash of injuries destroyed their chances.
With an outstanding group of incoming recruits, the Longhorn women will have
much more depth this year.

Turnover Troubles

Texas is 6-1 and Colorado is 5-2. You knew that, didn't you?
But did you know that in the two games Colorado lost, the Buffaloes suffered
nine turnovers (five against Fresno State and four against Texas) and did not
cause a single one?
 And did you know that in the game the Longhorns lost they gave up four
turnovers against Oklahoma without gaining a single one?
What that statistic proves is that going 0-13 in turnovers is a really
sure-fire formula for going 0-3 in games.

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Next Issue October 29

The next issue will be e-mailed on October 29,  and will cover the game at
Missouri and preview the road trip to Waco to meet the Baylor Bears.
I'll also have a lot of recruiting news.
I'll also have progress reports on men's and women's basketball practice and
fall baseball practice.

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