McCoy handles disappointment with class

Colt McCoy deserved much better than this. Anyone questioning his toughness after he left the BCS Championship game last night with an arm injury doesn't understand football. Not to say the Longhorns would have won last night if McCoy had remained at QB. But the game would have been much more interesting.

But McCoy didn't pout or make excuses. He was first class when interviewed after the disappointing end to an amazing career.



McCoy wanted nothing more than to give Texas another championship and cement his name and reputation right along Vince Young. Despite finishing second on the biggest stage, McCoy has nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, his performance last night may have been his best ever.

Bowl Preview: BCS Super Duper National Championship Game for all the Marbles in the Whole Wide World

BCS National Championship
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Ca.
Alabama vs. Texas
Date: Jan. 7
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: ABC
Line: Alabama -4

About Alabama (13-0): The Tide got here the old-fashioned Tide way - defense, boring offense and deal with Satan. RB Mark Ingram won the Heisman by being the dreaded most important player on the best team. This does not bode well for winning national titles. The big news of the week was that starting LB Rolando McClain ate a "bad taco" which in college football parlance usually means he spent a night getting shitfaced with his friends and hasn't recovered.

Intangibles:
First Heisman trophy winner: -2
Mike Shula (or was it David?): -2
Major Ogilvie: +2

About Texas (13-0): Colt McCoy. Jordan Shipley. Other guys. Texas is generally regarded as the team that lucked into getting to the title game thanks to their weak conference, downfall of a dreaded rival (Oklahoma) and some league officials determined to have the 'Horns play for another title. Good passing game. Running game? Eh. Defense? Eh.

Intangibles:
History of great college football players who suck in the pros: -1
This is college football who gives a crap: +4
Austin: +2
Rest of Texas: -4

Impact player: McCoy. Colt, that is. Great name. Better have a great game.

Bowl slogan: "We're not really a bowl. We're not really a playoff championship. We're just here and you can't do a damn thing about it."

Little Known fact: The aforementioned Satan, lord of darkness, watches Nick Saban and says "That guy is kind of an ass."

Watchability (1-5): 5

The Pick: Texas 23, Alabama 22

Podcast update

To all of our loyal podcast listeners, we will not have our customary Wednesday show. Instead, Phil and Tom are getting together Friday so we can break down the National Championship game as well as other important college football news. So come back Friday for your weekly update from An 'Eye and an 'Eer.

Are you looking to piss off Bama fans?

I have a few friends who are Alabama fans, and a few others who are Texas fans. So it's fun to sit back and watch them chirp at each other.

It's also fun to see which group of fans can out-do the other.

This T-shirt, which you can have for just $15 is a nice jab at the Tide fans. However, what I have learned about Bama's faithful ... don't mess with Bear Bryant.

Waiting now to see what Alabama's response will be.

(Hat Tip: College Gridiron 365)

AEAAE Top 25 (Week 10)

Apparently among our voters at AEAAE, TCU's victory last week was more impressive than Cincinnati's and it leapfrogged the Bearcats to No. 4. Pitt and Georgia Tech fell a bit following rivalry losses last week.

Team (LW) Record

1. Florida (1) 12-0
2. Texas (2) 12-0
3. Alabama (3) 12-0
4. TCU (5) 12-0
5. Cincinnati (4) 11-0
6. Boise State (6) 12-0
7. Ohio State (7) 10-2
8. Oregon (10) 9-2
   
9. Iowa (12) 10-2
   
10. Penn State (13) 10-2
    
11. LSU (23) 9-3
    
12. Oregon State (15) 8-3
    
13. Georgia Tech (9) 10-2
    
14. Miami (18) 9-3
    
15. California (20) 8-3
    
16. Pittsburgh (8) 9-2
    
17. Virginia Tech (17) 9-3
    
18. BYU (16) 10-2
    
19. USC (21) 9-3
    
20. West Virginia (NR) 8-3
    
21. Nebraska (25) 9-3
    
22. Stanford (NR) 8-4
    
23. Houston (NR) 10-2
    
24. Oklahoma State (11) 9-3
    
25. Wisconsin (NR) 8-3
    

Others receiving votes: Utah, Navy, Rutgers, Missouri

ESPN's creepy voyeurism

Was anyone else weirded out by ESPN's voyeurism during last night's Texas-Texas A&M game? Chris Fowler, Craig James and Jesse Palmer ... sorry The Bachelor were commenting on the lack of passion in some kisses, and applauded another student for having two dates.

In case you aren't familiar with the Aggie tradition. It goes something like this: When the team scores, everybody scores. Whenever the Aggies score points during the game, students kiss their dates.

Interesting fact: James' daughter is a student at Texas A&M. Wonder where she was in the stands?

AEAAE Top 25 (Week 6)

Florida and Texas play well this week, so both are now ahead of idle Alabama in the weekly An 'Eye and an 'Eer Top 25 poll. Similar to the national polls, Boise State was jumped by TCU, but the Broncos remain ahead of Oregon.

Team (LW) Record

1. Florida (1) 8-0
2. Texas (3) 8-0
3. Alabama (2) 8-0
4. Iowa (4) 9-0
5. Cincinnati (6) 8-0
6. TCU (8) 8-0
7. Boise State (7) 8-0
8. Oregon (12) 7-1
9. LSU (9) 7-1
10. Georgia Tech (10) 8-1
11. Pittsburgh (14) 7-1
12. Penn State (11) 8-1
13. Houston (18) 7-1
14. USC (5) 6-2
15. Ohio State (17) 7-2
16. Utah (15) 7-1
17. Miami (19) 6-2
18. Arizona (24) 6-2
19. Notre Dame (25) 6-2
20. Oklahoma State (13) 6-2
21. Oklahoma (NR) 5-3
22. California (NR) 6-2
23. Wisconsin (NR) 6-2
24. South Florida (NR) 6-2
25. Clemson (NR) 5-3

Others receiving votes: West Virginia, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Auburn, Central Michigan, Texas Tech, Boston College.

Podcast: Episode 46

Phil and Tom can't remember the last time we reached this late in the college football season without a clear-cut No. 1 team. Florida, Alabama and Texas can all make an argument for the position, but can you really count out Iowa, Cincinnati and TCU? We don't think so.

Speaking of the BCS, why are the analysts blathering on about who is where in October? It doesn't matter right now. Let the games be played and we'll see where everyone falls. Your podcast co-hosts also analyze the decisions by two high-profile quarterbacks this week (Sam Bradford and Tony Pike), as well as consider the possibility that Oregon could play in the BCS title game ahead of a 13-0 Boise State. Crazy!

AEAAE Top 25 (Week 5)

For the third consecutive week the top three stayed the same, but Iowa jumped to No. 4 from No. 6 after winning at Michigan State on the last play of the game. Appears our Big Ten members voted en mass this week to push the Hawkeyes up the rankings. The Big East voters let down Cincinnati as the Bearcats dropped two spots to No. 6.

Team (LW) Record

1. Florida (1) 7-0
2. Alabama (2) 8-0
3. Texas (3) 7-0
4. Iowa (6) 8-0
5. USC (5) 6-1
6. Cincinnati (4) 7-0
7. Boise State (7) 6-0
8. TCU (9) 7-0
9. LSU (10) 6-1
10. Georgia Tech (11) 7-1
11. Penn State (12) 7-1
12. Oregon (13) 6-1
13. Oklahoma State (14) 6-1
14. Pittsburgh (16) 7-1
15. Utah (23) 6-1
16. West Virginia (20) 6-1
17. Ohio State (19) 6-2
18. Houston (17) 6-1
19. Miami (8) 5-2
20. Virginia Tech (18) 5-2
21. South Carolina (24) 6-2
22. Central Michigan (NR) 7-1
23. Ole Miss (NR) 5-2
24. Arizona (NR) 5-2
25. Notre Dame (NR) 5-2

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas Tech, Clemson, Brigham Young

Video: All the Sooner fans

At first, I thought this was produced by some Texas fans trying to poke fun at Oklahoma. Then as I watched I realized these are serious Sooner fans who thought this was a good idea. Bad call guys. Really bad call.

Saturday thoughts Oct. 10

- Even though the score was only 13-3, it never felt like LSU had a chance to beat the top-ranked Gators Saturday night. Florida just ran the ball, controlled the clock and let their defense pick apart LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson.

- Rich Rodriguez just injected a quarterback controversy into a team that's lost two straight after the loss to Iowa. Rodriguez chose to yank a struggling Tate Forcier late in the game in favor of Denard Robinson. Robinson responded with a quick TD drive, but hit late-game interception when the Wolverines just need a field goal was an enormous mistake. Perhaps Forcier was hurt, but it's still going to bring up a lot of questions.

- Texas recovered after messing around with Colorado for awhile. Jordan Shipley for Heisman?

- Didn't see much of the day games as I was watching Ohio State blow out Wisconsin despite a pathetic offensive display. Two interceptions returns for TDs and a KO return for a TD were all OSU needed. Terrelle Pryor struggled badly and looked like he had seriously regressed. That defense is nails though.

- From the scores and highlights I've seen, I'm guessing Virginia Tech and Alabama were both impressive.

AEAAE Top 25

Welcome to the first An 'Eye and an 'Eer Top 25 poll. Since we despise the validity of preseason polls we waited until after the fourth week to gather rankings from our correspondents around the nation. We could still use reliable voters from Big 12 and Pac-10 country, but the knowledge and diversity of our voters makes this Top 25 better than that lame Harris Poll.

Team Record
1. Florida (4-0)
2. Texas (4-0)
3. Alabama (4-0)
4. Cincinnati (4-0)
5. LSU (4-0)
6. Boise State (4-0)
7. TCU (3-0)
8. USC (3-1)
9. Iowa (4-0)
10. Ohio State (3-1)
11. Oklahoma (2-1)
12. Virginia Tech (3-1)
13. Michigan (4-0)
14. Houston (3-0)
15. Missouri (4-0)
16. Kansas (4-0)
17. South Florida (4-0)
18. Auburn (4-0)
19. Oklahoma State (3-1)
20. Oregon (3-1)
21. Penn State (3-1)
22. Georgia (3-1)
23. Miami (2-1)
24. Wisconsin (4-0)
25. Nebraska (3-1)

Others receiving votes: Mississippi, BYU, California, Notre Dame

Picks of the Week: No. 3

If Stanford hadn't buckled in the second half, and if Texas didn't sleep walk through the first half 'Eer would have been 4-1. Instead the week wasn't as good as I had hoped. So this week I have to prove my mettle. Here we go.

Ohio State (-20.5) over Toledo
Jim Tressel is not known as a guy who runs up a score. But after last week's near-win against USC and the heat he's taken all week from the fans, Coach Tressel will try to show he can still call an effective game. This should be like a home game for the Buckeyes as most of the crowd in Cleveland Browns Stadium will be rooting for No. 11 OSU. Just Toledo will get the huge gate receipts.
Pick: Ohio State 42, Toledo 13

Texas (-17.5) over Texas Tech
How bad does No. 2 Texas want to avenge its only loss of 2008? Watch this game and you'll see. Colt McCoy and Mack Brown want payback and to keep the Longhorns on track for a BCS Championship showdown. Beside, Mike Leach and the Red Raiders don't fare well in Austin. Another interesting fact is since 2000, the Red Raiders have lost all four games played against ranked teams in August and September.
Pick: Texas 45, Texas Tech 21

Tulsa (+17.5) over Oklahoma
The 12th-ranked Sooners will win this game, but it's going to be much closer than 17.5 points. The Golden Hurricane are 2-0 and one of the top teams in Conference USA. This is Tulsa's best chance to win this in-state battle. Don't overlook the fact that Tulsa is road-tested this season with wins over Tulane (37-13) and New Mexico (44-10).
Pick: Oklahoma 38, Tulsa 28

North Carolina (-7.5) over East Carolina
The Pirates were everyone's early season darling in 2008. This year Skip Holtz' defense is a bit more porous as is evident in ECU's opening games against the Mountaineers (35-20 loss to West Virginia and 29-24 win over Appalachian State). Butch Davis' boys struggled at UConn last week, but returning to Chapel Hill and a focused week of practice is all the 24th-ranked Tar Heels need to win this week.
Pick: North Carolina 32, East Carolina 14

Upset of the Week
Georgia (-1.0) over Arkansas
Something doesn't seem right about this one. UGA is the underdog at Arkansas? OK. I'll bite. The Bulldogs got the offense going against South Carolina last week (wish I could say the Dawgs' defense looked better). QB Ryan Mallett is a nice player and could light up Georgia, but I'm going with the more talented team ... that's Georgia.
Pick: Georgia 32, Arkansas 24

Last Week: 2-3
Season Record: 5-5

Picks of the Week: No. 2

I'll take a 3-2 week, but wow was I off on the Notre Dame-Nevada game. Probably avoid the Irish until I get a better feel for Charlie Weis' team. Let's see if I can do a little better this week.

Texas (-33.5) over Wyoming
Clearly Texas is going to win this game, but by 33.5 points? Without a doubt. The Longhorns are the most talented team in the nation and Mack Brown has been known to run up a score to earn computer points. Colt McCoy will pick apart the Cowboys and Texas will roll big.
Pick: Texas 63, Wyoming 7

Vanderbilt (+14.5) over LSU
The Tigers were shaky in their win at Washington last week. The once-vaunted defense of LSU gave up 478 total yards of offense to the Huskies, who finished 0-12 last year. Les Miles says the defense will perform better this week. Maybe, but not enough to cover the spread. LSU will win though. The Tigers never seem to lose night home games.
Pick: LSU 27, Vanderbilt 21

USC (-7.0) over Ohio State
'Eye will probably be upset to see this pick, but if wants Ohio State in an upset then he should make these picks. This goes against everything I believe in, especially picking true freshmen QBs (Matt Barkley) to win in hostile environments at night. But the Buckeyes have lost five consecutive games against Top 5 teams. The Buckeyes will keep this much closer than a year ago, but USC will control the line of scrimmage and win back-to-back against OSU.
Pick: USC 31, Ohio State 17

Virginia Tech (-19.0) over Marshall
One thing Frank Beamer coached teams usually do well is putting tough losses behind them and focusing on the next game. The Thundering Herd are better this season, but not Hokies' good. VT will score at least one special teams TD and roll in the home opener and erase some of the bad memories of last week's nationally televised loss to Alabama.
Pick: Virginia Tech 36, Marshall 9

Upset of the Week
Stanford (+3.0) over Wake Forest
I'm not feeling a real upset this week. Maybe I'm gun-shy after last week's horrible pick. This would be a minor upset, but if Stanford could go across the country and win at Wake that would be a very nice win. I don't usually pick against Jim Grobe because he's the best coach in the nation (seriously, this guy wins with less talent). But Jim Harbaugh also does a fine job with the Cardinal and following Wake's loss to Baylor last week the Demon Deacons may be losing confidence.
Pick: Stanford 28, Wake Forest 24


Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 3-2

More summer filler

The Orlando Sentinel recently completed a look at the top teams from the past decade--just more summer filler for the sports section.

While I agree their choice of No. 1 (2001 Miami Hurricanes) is a solid selection, I was shocked to see the Florida Gators with Mr. Wonderful not ranked higher. The 2008 Gators were picked sixth.

I guess the one loss to Ole Miss kept the Gators out of the top spot. Even so, I'd definitely pick the 2008 Gators ahead of the 2000 Oklahoma Sooners (No. 5) and 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 4).

It is interesting to note that the SEC teams were dissed a bit as they occupied the final four spots in the rankings with 2007 LSU Tigers in ninth, 2003 Tigers at eighth and the Chris Leak-led Gators of 2006 at No. 7.

While I like the Hurricanes in the top spot I probably wouldn't put them there. I would actually put the Canes at No. 3, then the 2005 Texas Longhorns in second and crown the 2004 USC Trojans as the best of the decade.

Those three teams are a toss up as it would be easy to go with Vince Young and the Longhorns, who knocked off USC in one of the most exciting BCS title games ever. But there was just something unbeatable about Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll in 2004, especially when you consider the 2003 USC was co-champs and much more talented than LSU that season.

Guess it really doesn't matter. I'm just trying to fill some blog space on a Friday night.

Preseason: Big 12 rankings

Last season was a banner year for the Big 12 with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Missouri taking turns in the top five and OU playing for the national title. Okie State could step up this year, but unfortunately for the Cowboys they remain in the South Division with Texas and OU. In the North, Missouri will take a step back from recent years, but remain ahead of a competitive, if not very good, Division.

Big 12 South

1. Texas
Key returners: QB Colt McCoy, WR Jordan Shipley, LB/DE Sergio Kindle, LB Roddrick Muckelroy, FS Blake Gideon
The Longhorns have plenty of chips on their shoulder from 2008 to play in this upcoming season. Sure, Colt McCoy is back, but almost as important are the four returning OL starters. Texas needs to develop a running game outside of McCoy. The non-conference schedule is a snoozer.
Predicted record: 12-0

2. Oklahoma
Key returners: QB Sam Bradford, LT Trent Williams, TE Jermaine Gresham, DT Gerald McCoy, RB DeMarco Murray
I don’t have a good reason to think the Sooners will lose twice other than all the losses on the offensive line. As accurate as Sam Bradford is, in the rare time he was pressured last season, he struggled. You just have to wonder if the mental shock of the national title game loss and the accident that paralyzed WR Chris Wilson will take a toll.
Predicted record: 10-2

3. Oklahoma State
Key returners: QB Zac Robinson, WR Dez Bryant, RB Kendall Hunter, OT Russell Okung, LB Andrew Sexton
The Cowboys are a hot pick to surprise in the Big 12 this year. If they were in the North, it could be interesting – but they’re not. OSU will score a lot of points, but they just don’t match up with the depth of OU and Texas. They do get the Longhorns in Stillwater and that could be a huge game.
Predicted record: 9-3

4. Texas Tech
Key returners: LB Marion Williams, CB Jamar Wall, NT Colby Whitlock, OT Marlong Winn
The Red Raiders will return to form this season after suffering lots of losses on offense. Taylor Potts is the next huge-numbers-ignored-by-the-NFL QB. Lots of players are back on defense, but this is is Texas Tech – who cares about defense?
Predicted record: 8-4

5. Baylor
Key returners: LB Joe Pawelek, QB Robert Griffin, CB Trentston Hill, LB Earl Patin
Baylor is poised to move up after last year’s 4-8 season, even with some substantial losses on the offensive line. Griffin is a tremendous athlete at quarterback and coach Art Briles’ offense will keep up with the rest of the league. It’s on defense where the Bears must improve to reach a bowl game.
Predicted record: 6-6

6. Texas A&M
Key returners: QB Jerrod Johnson, OG Lee Grimes, S Jordan Pugh
The Aggies face a number of problems, but the biggest is this – poor play along both lines. There’s lots of experience on the offensive line, but it has yet to be determined if that’s good or bad news.
Predicted record: 4-8

Big 12 North

1. Missouri
Key returners: RB Derrick Washington, WR Jared Perry, OG Kurtis Gregory, LB Sean Weatherspoon, NT Jaron Baston
Lots of new faces for the Tigers as the Chase Daniel crew moves on. There’s talent, though, as Mizzou has upped its recruiting in recent years. It’s just young talent. Sophomore Blaine Gabbert will likely take over at QB and he’s got a terrific arm. But the Tigers offense is about decision making. Defensively, the Tigers have to be better than last year to match that record.
Predicted record: 9-3

2. Kansas
Key returners: QB Todd Reesing, WR Kerry Meier, WR Dezmon Briscoe Jr., SS Darrell Stuckey, DT Caleb Blakesley
Nobody gets more from less than KU coach Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks will definitely be in the running for the Big 12 North title this year. Reesing is short and slow and is as gutsy a quarterback as you’ll see. Meier is slow, but does nothing but make huge catches. KU will once again score points. Stopping people will be the key.
Predicted record: 8-4

3. Nebraska
Key returners: C Jacob Hickman, K Alex Henery, NT Ndumakong Suh, SS Larry Asante
The Huskers lost a tremendous amount of skill players from last year’s team, but in my mind, the further they get from Bill Callahan’s teams, the better. This is the Big 12, so everybody scores. With seven starters back on defense, maybe the ‘Huskers could win the division.
Predicted record: 8-4


4. Colorado
Key returners: QB Cody Hawkins, WR Scotty McKnight, WR Josh Smith, RB Darrell Scott
The Buffs have 10 players returning on offense, which should be good news since they struggled to score last year. Forming a decent running game will be Colorado’s best chance to improve. On defense, only five starters are back. That’s not good news in the Big 12.
Predicted record: 7-5

5. Iowa State
Key returners: QB Austen Arnaud, RB Andrew Robinson, S James Smith, DE Christopher Lyle
As rocky as Gene Chizik’s tenure may have seemed at Iowa State, he did upgrade recruiting. The Cyclones have some talent and Arnaud is a underrated quarterback. New coach Paul Rhoads might have more success than people will realize.
Predicted record: 4-8

6. Kansas State
Key returners: OT Nick Stringer, OG Brock Unruh, DT Daniel Calvin, DB Josh Moore
Bill Snyder returns to take over the Wildcats program that has lots of returning starters but a porous defense and an overall lack of talent. Ron Prince’s JUCO-only recruiting system never really seemed to pan out. It will take time for Snyder to put things back together, which is something administrators and boosters probably weren’t counting on.
Predicted record: 4-8

Video: Coach with the Roll

Another great production by LSUfreek. As college football fans were consumed with National Signing Day yesterday, this guy puts it into perspective. (Tip of the cap to EDSBS and Longhorns' fan Mark Schram).

Sooners don't cry ... or do they?

Found this funny video over at With Leather and just couldn't resist posting. Not as timely as it would have been 10 days ago. But still worth it. I can just feel the love between UT and OU.

Our Top 25 (Jan. 9)

School (LR) Record
1. Florida (1) 13-1
2. USC (3) 12-1
3. Texas (2) 12-1
4. Utah (6) 13-0
5. Oklahoma (4) 12-2
6. Alabama (5) 12-2
7. Texas Christian (13) 11-2
8. Penn State (8) 11-2
9. Oregon (18) 10-3
10. Ohio State (10) 10-3
11. Mississippi (20) 9-4
12. Virginia Tech (19) 10-4
13. Boise State (7) 12-1
14. Georgia (15) 10-3
15. Missouri (NR) 10-4
16. Texas Tech (9) 11-2
17. Oklahoma State (14) 9-4
18. Cincinnati (11) 11-3
19. Oregon State (NR) 9-4
20. Florida State (24) 9-4
21. Iowa (22) 9-4
22. California (NR) 9-4
23. West Virginia (NR) 9-4
24. Georgia Tech (12) 9-4
25. Nebraska (NR) 9-4

Other receiving votes: LSU, Michigan State

Is Matthew McConaughey retarded?

If you have watched the Texas Longhorns play a football game the past four years you know movie stud Matthew McConaughey is a huge UT fan. But have you ever watched him on the sidelines? He is either stoned or retarded. It's like he never stopped playing former Marshall coach Jack Lengyl in the movie "We Are Marshall."

You'll see in the video that he was at it again during the Longhorns' last-second victory over Ohio State on Tuesday.