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: Houston's Clear Thinkers

2008 Weekly local football review

By Tom Kirkendall

(AP Photo/Harry Cabluck; previous weekly reviews are here)

Texas Longhorns 49 Texas Aggies 9

As predicted in the previous weekly review, the Longhorns (11-1/7-1 Big 12) hammered the Aggies (4-8/2-6 Big 12), but still ended up behind Oklahoma (11-1/7-1 Big 12) in the Bowl Championship Series standings, so the Sooners will represent the Big 12 South in the Big 12 Championship Game next Saturday against Missouri (9-3/5-3 Big 12) in Kansas City.

If Mizzou pulls off an upset in that game, then the Horns would be a virtual lock for the BCS Championship Game against the winner of the Alabama-Florida SEC Championship Game. But if OU wins as expected, then the Horns will have to settle for another BCS bowl game, probably the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe against Ohio State (10-2) on January 5th.

As usual, QB Colt McCoy (23-28/311 yds/2 TD's/0 INT/11 carries/49 yds/2 TD) was the star for the Horns, but what was most interesting about this game was how uncompetitive the Aggies were. First-year Aggie coach Mike Sherman certainly did not distinguish himself this season and his dubious decision-making in this game raises questions as to whether he has what it takes to rebuild the Aggie program.

For example, Sherman's decision to have the Aggies kick a 2nd quarter field goal was close to coaching malpractice. Faced with a 4th down and less than 1 yard with under 2 minutes left in the half, Sherman had what seemed to be an easy decision.

One one hand, he could have had the Ags go for it. If they made the first down, then the Aggies would have continued the drive, which would have ended in a FG attempt, a TD or a turnover. Regardless of the outcome, if the Ags had made the 4th down, then Texas probably would not have gotten the ball back with enough time to do much of anything. Thus, a successful 4th down attempt meant, at worst, the Aggies would have gone into the locker room down 14- 7, 14 - 3, or 14 - 0.

On the other hand, by kicking the field goal, Sherman gave the Longhorns enough time to drive for another TD before halftime, which is precisely what they did, putting the Aggies down 21 - 3 and placing the momentum squarely with the Longhorns.

Inasmuch as A&M already has the poorest-performing football program in major college football relative to the size of the football budget, the Aggies don't need poor coaching decisions piled on top of their other problems.

Rice 56 Houston Cougars 42

Again, as predicted in the previous weekly review, the Owls (9-3/7-1 C-USA) had too much offensive firepower for the Cougars (7-5/6-2 C-USA).

Neither team's defense could stop the other's potent offense, so the game was essentially determined by turnovers. The Coogs lost a fumble and an interception on a tipped ball, plus had a short TD pass dropped on a 4th down play. On the other hand, the Owls recovered all three of their fumbles (all of which were inside the Rice 20 yard line), so the Owls prevailed.

Despite the Owls victory and fine season, my sense is that the Cougars are in a better position for continued success going forward. Rice loses the amazingly productive QB-WR combo of Chase Clement and Jarrett Dillard, which will be very difficult to replace. On the other hand, the Cougars' potent offense remains largely intact. So, if first-year Cougars coach Kevin Sumlin can correct UH's deficient recruiting of defensive players over the past several years, then the Cougars appear to be in a position to continue contending for the C-USA title.

Although bowl arrangements will not be finalized until next week, Rice appears headed to the Armed Forces Bowl in Ft. Worth on New Year's Eve against Air Force (8-4), while the Cougars will probably play either Fresno State (7-5) or Western Michigan (9-3) in the Texas Bowl at Reliant Stadium on December 30th.

The Texans (4-7) host the Jaguars (4-7) tonight in Monday Night Football at Reliant Stadium before going on the road to the frozen tundra of Green Bay to face the Packers (5-7) next Sunday.

Full post as published by Houston's Clear Thinkers on December 01, 2008 (boomark / email).