Yeah, that'll be a hard game...and the one I'll be the most comfortable with UT losing at this point.
Boy, UT owes ou for the last two years, but KSU has manhandled the Horns in the last...3 games? BTW, guess mduke was serious about not posting here anymore?
The only disagreement I have is VTech. Their defense is NOT one of the best in the nation. Prior to last weekend's games, the VT pass defense was ranked 100th in the country.
That's what happens when you, shut down the run so well, and force the other teams to pass from the 2nd to 4th Q. As well as the fact that they played Marshall. VT is 74th in passing yards allowed, which is an overrated stat. They allow 225 passing yards per game... Also, a better stat (if there's such a thing) that's more indicative of pass defense is the pass effiency defense, which doesn't get skewed by the fact that they VT forces teams to throw the ball a lot, which then inflates the passing yardage. VT is ranked 31st overall in that category. http://www.ncaa.org/stats/division1 football/national rankings/IA_teamdefpasseff.html If you've watched VT play, then you know that they are one of those teams who allow you to get 7 yards on 3rd and 8.
The only disagreement I have is VTech. Their defense is NOT one of the best in the nation. Prior to last weekend's games, the VT pass defense was ranked 100th in the country. Part of this is that no one can run on them (1.5 yards per carry), so people just keep passing the ball. VATech currently is #1 in the nation in Scoring Defense, just ahead of Texas, A&M, K-State, and OU, all of which have played crap schedules. They are also currently #1 in Rush Defense, #11 in total defense (Yards), #31 in Pass Efficiency Defense (accounts for the above factors), #52 in Pass Defense. I'm not sure what your definition of "one of the best in the nation" is, but #1 in scoring-against when you've played one of the toughest schedules of any of the good teams qualifies for me.
This is the year Texas gets it done. Simms is much improved this year, Benson is one of the best runningbacks in college football, our wr's are dynomite. Nebraska will get smoked by us and I dont think OU will be able to hang this year, as they will miss Roy Williams and Rocky Calmus, plus their offense sucks. K State concerns me, but we can take em. A&M in austin poses a small threat, as does Tech in Lubbock. The only thing concerning me is Roy's hammy, but Sloan has really stepped up. Anyways, to Astrorocket and Mduke and any other Boomer Sooner fans: In a week and a half OU will go down and I will be there to witness it. I predict a Texas-Miami NC, with UT coming out on top(I can't go against my boys now) with OU and VaTech in the 3rd place game, or Tennessee if they upset Miami could get in the big game
Damn, I forgot that Miami still plays @ Tenn... They should win by 2-3 TDs anyhow... UT would be in for a rude awakening against Miami. I just don't see anyone hanging within 10 pts of Miami in the Fiesta (where you know Miami won't overlook the opponent).
Kidrock, I am not so sure. Miami hasn't played anyone the caliber of UT in the last year, Va Tech wasnt that good, UF didnt start last year and FSU and NU werent themselves. We will learn more about miami vs Va Tech this year and Tennessee. And if their is one team with the speed, talent and athletes to match up with the Canes it would be Texas.
Miami would throttle the Horns if we played today. The teams are somewhat close in talent, but the Horns' offensive line would be a major liability. This would neutralize Ced, and Simms would be forced to throw too much. Also, Dorsey is the kind of heady QB who can rip apart a young secondary that includes 2 freshmen. Frank Gore is a bad man. Right now there's a huge gap between #1 and #2, and, frankly, I don't think that Greg Davis could call a good enough game to beat the Canes. In order to win a game with Miami, we would have to play a near perfectly executed game.
No. Top to bottom, speed and size, Miami and UT are at the top. OSU fits in with Tenn., OU, UF, FSU. Close, but I think most would agree that Miami and UT do seperate themselves in terms of pure talent.
Kidrock, I am not so sure. Miami hasn't played anyone the caliber of UT in the last year, Va Tech wasnt that good, UF didnt start last year and FSU and NU werent themselves. We will learn more about miami vs Va Tech this year and Tennessee. Texas hasn't beaten anyone nearly as good as Miami in the last year either. The two true top-5 level teams we played, we got our asses kicked (OU 2000, OU 2001). Miami is simply a well-oiled machine right now. They've won something like 25 or 26 games in a row now with wins over multiple top 10 teams over the last two years. We haven't beaten a top-10 caliber team since 1999, I believe. Texas certainly has the talent to match up with anyone. The question is whether we have the schemes, attitude, and execution. We'll find out a bunch about this team in the next month, with OU, @KSU, @NU, and Iowa State at home.
Baqui, I would agree right now, but I don't care what kind of roll Miami is on, they are being overhyped and they play in the Big Least. We can take them, we are way better than NU was last year, or Fla this year. Major, 2000 OU: No doubt, I agree with you. 2001 OU: I disagree, it was a game that could've gone either way and we did not play like crap in my opinion. As of right now, Miami is defending national champs, but I think if we play like we can, we present challenges they haven't seen before, and vice versa. I truly think we can do it by the end of the year.
2000 OU: No doubt, I agree with you. 2001 OU: I disagree, it was a game that could've gone either way and we did not play like crap in my opinion. I have a problem with the way we played that 2001 game. The truly great teams - the Nebraska teams of the 1990's, Spurrier's Florida teams, the FSU teams of the 1990's, etc - all have a certain attitude. It's basically a "we're better than you, and we're gonna kick your ass" attitude. They come in, go all out and try to destroy their opponents. We played that 2001 game as though we are scared of losing. We did the same against A&M last year. It's like we ask our team to just not mess up and then hope we can make a few plays to win the game. Instead of playing to win, we're playing not to lose - sort of like the prevent defense. I just have philosophical issues with that type of play, and I think top teams will feast on that.
Oh, I definitely agree Davis is not the offensive coordinator we need, but the aggie game last year was a lot wind related. Mack seems to be establishing a power running game this year and I like how our special teams, usually a weakness, is a big strength this year outside of Dusty. Of course, this could all be wishful thinking on my part.
Reasons for Miami beating UT. #1- Miami has the big-game pedigree, UT hasn't thus far. #2- This kind of ties in with #1, in that Miami has experience and success in big-games. UT plays maybe 1-2 "big games" as in national exposure games. #3- Mack Brown and Simms history in big games aren't good. Now to X's and O's... #4- Miami's DL is the best I've seen since the FSU 96 line with Boulware, Wilson, Wadsworth, and one other DT who I think is in the NFL. They have the ability pressure the QB without blitzing. This means they can rile Simms, while being able to double team Roy and Sloan. We all know what happens when Simms loses his composure... #5- Health of Roy Williams. If he is not 100%, then UT's slim chance of beating Miami is thrown out the window. #6- Kicking game. Mangum is so-so, and Bradford is good I guess. Miami has one the best kickers in the nation in Sievers. I don't know much about their punter, as they rarely need to punt the ball. #7- Texas doesn't get much of a pass rush without blitzing. Scheme or not, UT's front 4 is incapable of rushing the QB. The key to beating Miami is to get to Dorsey (like all other teams). If UT has to rely on blitzing to get to Dorsey, then Andre Johnson more than likely will rack up huge chunks of yardage. Not to mention that screen passes become 30 yd gains off of LB blitzes. #8- Up the gut on offense and defense. UT's weakness on offense and defense lies up the gut. FB Matt Trissell is so-so, and the C Jason Glynn or whoever it is average. On defense, Tubbs is good, Wright is highly touted, but is just a frosh. At MLB, Reed Boyd is average. And at safeties, you have RS frosh Huff, and a pretty good Dak Pearson. All in all, UT is obviously strong on offense and defense, but there are glaring holes up the gut on offense and defense, which is the worst place to have ? marks. #9- UT plays too much like Miami. In the sense that they like to outspeed/outathlete their opponents. However, I think Miami is better at what they do than UT, just slightly. IMO, a team like VT or OU would pose more problems to Miami than UT, simply because they are more physical, and can play an ugly style, that could pose problems for Miami, who is used to an uptempo style. #10- If the wheels come off for Simms, who is to replace him? The Major was able to nearly come back against CU in the B-12 game, and then he brought UT back from improbable odds in the Holiday Bowl. Once Simms messes up, it's over. Chance Mock (who should be a DB) will not be engineering any comebacks. In summary, my main reason against UT in a Miami matchup is mainly because the Miami DL is so damn though. I'm a firm believe that games are won in the trenches, and no OL can come close to matching up with Miami. Not only does Miami have quality, they have quantity, using 8-10 DLs a game. This means their DLs stay fresh, while UT's notoriously overweight OL could be fatigued after a while... For UT to win, they would need Redding to rush Dorsey like there's no tommorow. This would obviously go a long way in allowing UT to focus on pass coverage. Also, Benson would have to eat up huge chunks of clock. I really think the only way to beat Miami is to get into a 17-13 type game. When teams try to play Miami's style, they get smoked, look at Fla. Fla has the same kind of style as Mia, it's just that Miami is better at it. The same thing would happen to UT, if they don't do something drastic, strategy-wise. Is Kalen Thornton not playing? He is a must for UT, to muster a pass rush within the front 4. THough I've heard good things about Dibbles.
Again I think you put UT up too high. Noone is in the class of Miami. OSU's D is as strong and as fast as anyone's in the Nation (outside of Miami). We have the best safety combo in the Nation in Doss (All-American) and Nickey (4 year starter). 7 D-linemen who all are effective (Tim Anderson is a possible All-American, Will Smith is as probably a better choice since he gets more sacks at DE, and Simon Frasier is just a freak). In the middle Matt Wilhelm is always around the ball and makes plays. Scary thing about OSU is out 4 freshman LBs could (and possibly will) start for us and not miss a beat. THese guys are amazing to watch play on the kickoff team, they flat out fly and love contact! So again I'm not going to make any National Championship predictions but assuming the UT-OK winner can walk in there is tough. Personally I will be rooting for UT, just because their schedule is much more difficult (A&M at home which is a rivalry game, KSU on the road, and although Nebraska is weak you can't probably discount them). So we'll try and take care of business her in the Big 10, and we'll see who is left standing in the end!
kidrock, Your last post summarized a lot of good points, but you left out one other thing: Willis McGahee. This guy WILL be the greatest running back to play at Miami. He is 6'3" 225 lbs, runs a 4.28 40, benches like 375 lbs, and has a 42 inch vertical. He singlehandedly beat Florida and Boston College. IF Texas gets to play Miami (and there is no guarantee that will happen), their only chance of winning, IMO, is to stop the Miami running game which means stopping McGahee. If McGahee gets over 100 yards rushing, then Miami is extremely hard to beat and that has not been recently but ever since the '80s. One thing to keep in mind....the Miami offensive line for this season is a better run-blocking unit this season than the one with McKinnie, Gonzalez, Bibla, etc. of last season.
