Ogbonnaya standing out among Longhorns’ many running backs
Colt McCoy doesn’t have to think much when he’s tossing passes to Quan Cosby, Jordan Shipley or Chris Ogbonnaya. He pretty much knows where they are at all times. Sometimes all he has to do is wink, and they make a move that breaks the game wide open.
When the Longhorns near the goal line, there’s no doubt about who is getting the ball. Cody Johnson, Texas’ 255-pound freshman, has become Mack Brown’s goal-line and short-yardage back and has the numbers to prove it. In just 58 rushes, Johnson has scored 10 touchdowns and owns a Texas freshman record with rushing scores in each of his first seven games.
Roy Miller chases quarterbacks all over the football field. The senior defensive tackle has seven sacks this season and was named to the Bednarik Award watch list. He gets plenty of practice at home, because he’s constantly chasing around his 8-month-old daughter Amiya.
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Kendall Hunter, RB In his first year as the Cowboys’ primary running back, the 5-foot-8-inch sophomore from Tyler has made an impression. After playing in limited time behind senior Dantrell Savage last season, Hunter currently leads the Big 12 Conference in rushing (955 yards) and is fifth overall in the country.
Jordan Shipley put it best after Texas’ 56-31 win over Missouri on Saturday. “There’s no prize for being 7-0,” Shipley said. It seems like this year, more than ever, the Longhorns are a team that won’t ever get complacent.
1. The Longhorns rode an impressive first-half performance to a resounding 56-31 victory over Missouri. Texas scored on all five first-half possessions, racing out to a 35-0 lead at one point. Quarterback Colt McCoy was nearly flawless in the win, going 29-of-32 for 337 yards and four touchdowns, two by air and two on the ground.
Texas was supposed to win, but not like that. The Longhorns put any doubt about the legitimacy of their No. 1 ranking to bed last week, going up 35-0 to a team that sported one of the nation’s more explosive offenses, making them look more like a mid-major squad than the No.
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1. Colt McCoy, Texas QB Last Saturday, as the No. 1 Longhorns took apart No. 15 Missouri’s defense, the chants of “Colt for Heisman” got louder after every completed pass. McCoy accounted for 337 passing yards, his highest yardage in a single game this season, against the highly rated Tigers.
Recession slowing down Pickens’ athelitic donation
Checked the gas station lately? Prices are down. Way down. And while the price at the pump may be helping the average American, it is drastically hurting one above-average donor at Oklahoma State. T. Boone Pickens, the biggest of all boosters, gave a record $165 million donation to Oklahoma State’s athletic department in 2005.
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Last season, Big 12 North teams won the regular season against the South for the first time since 1999, with Kansas and Missouri combining to win five of six crossover games. With their bowl victories, the Tigers and the Jayhawks finished as the Big 12’s top two ranked teams.
When talking about deep-threat receivers in the Big 12, much of the preseason hype centered on Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree and Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin. But one name has propelled itself into more than just an afterthought in the discussion of the best wide receiver, not only in the conference, but in all of the country: Oklahoma State sophomore Dez Bryant.
As Derrick Washington strolled untouched into the north end zone of Saturday night, he did more than just spare a few of Missouri’s blushes. Seven games into the season, Washington’s third-quarter score in a game well out of reach was the first time an opponent had breached the Texas defense running the ball.
Former Cowboy QB has team on pace for 10-win season
Aretha Franklin asked for a little bit of it, Rodney Dangerfield couldn’t ever get any, and now, Oklahoma State and head coach Mike Gundy have started to earn it. Respect. And it’s been a long time coming. Gundy has brought the No. 6 Cowboys a long way after his infamous tirade last season and has the 2008 squad looking more like the teams he quarterbacked in the late 1980s.
In recent years, the series between Texas and Oklahoma State has produced some of the wackiest games in Texas history. And somehow, the Longhorns have always managed to win and are going for an 11-year streak this Saturday. Usually, the second-half comeback is Texas’ trademark for winning road games.
Texas Advantages Quarterbacks Comparing any quarterback in the nation to Colt McCoy this year isn’t completely fair. McCoy has been out of this world this season, but the same can be said about No. 6 Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson, who has passed for 1,488 yards and rushed for an impressive 249 yards.
Colorado at No. 15 Missouri Licking their wounds from a hammering in Texas, Missouri returns home for another Big 12 clash. While the visit of Colorado won’t have the same fanfare as playing the No. 1 team, a conference loaded with talented teams and two losses on the season leaves the Tigers no room for error if they hope to retain their Big 12 North title.
Oklahoma at Kansas State Bob Stoops knows Manhattan, Kan. As a defensive assistant under Kansas State legend Bill Snyder for years, Stoops is familiar with the Little Apple. On Saturday he returns with his No. 4 Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) for the first time since Snyder retired and Ron Prince took over the Kansas State (4-3, 1-2 Big 12) program.
The week changes, but the situation doesn’t. The No. 1 Longhorns take on yet another highly ranked team with a high-octane offense. This week it’s the undefeated, sixth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Cowboys ride into town looking for another big upset.
