College Football Predictions

Will Texas be in the national title game? OU? Nebraska?

My wacky opinion: If Texas wins the UT/OU game, there will be a rematch between 12-0 Texas and 11-1 OU in the Rose Bowl. If OU wins, it'll be OU vs. Washington.

Fun TSN article -- hope its right :

http://www.sportingnews.com/voices/tom_dienhart/20010824.html

<B>Be afraid, be very afraid of Texas</B>

<I>You are a linebacker parked smack dab in the middle of the defense. It's first-and-10, the start of a new game, the start of a new season. You are aligning your troops, tapping a tackle on the hip to shift him over a tad and shouting at a cornerback to crowd the line. Then you look up and see the Texas offense breaking the huddle.

You should be afraid. Very afraid. That's because the Longhorns, The Sporting News' pick as the No. 1 team in the nation, are scary good. And that bright and shiny offense decked out in burnt orange and white jogging right at you is the main reason why you should quake in your cleats. That offense and an improved defense add up to this being the most feared team in the country. How is Texas going to be stopped?

Quarterback Chris Simms saunters toward the line and eyeballs you. He gives you one of those I-know-something-you-don't winks. Your heart starts beating a little faster . . .

This is Simms' time; this is Simms' team. At 6-5, 225, he looks like a big-time quarterback, acts like a big-time quarterback and wants to show he is a big-time quarterback. Simms knows it's time to fulfill the big-time expectations that have dogged him like a fire-breathing defensive end since he arrived in Austin in 1999.

His first two years mostly were filled with comparisons between him and Major Applewhite, now a senior with the ugliest knees on campus. The barroom banter on Sixth Street was incessant: Simms vs. Applewhite. Applewhite vs. Simms.

"That's last year's question," says Longhorns coach Mack Brown. "Chris is the starter."

So it's now just Simms vs. Simms, who is quick to acknowledge he's glad about that. Simms is eager to show that Texas isn't teasing again after underachieving its way through the previous 30 or so seasons. This is a program that last won a consensus national championship in 1969 and hasn't seriously contended since 1983, when Simms was 3.

"The last three games last year gave me more confidence," says Simms, who hit 67 of 117 passes for 1,064 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. "Last year, I was more up in the air in my abilities. I wasn't used to my surroundings but I felt I could play at a high level. That's why I chose a school like Texas. We are highly publicized and have a chance to have a great team."

Simms crouches behind center Matt Anderson. He looks right, toward receiver Roy Williams, and shouts something you can't decipher. Maybe Simms sees a weaknesses in your defense, an area to exploit. Williams nods and peers forward.

You feel your stomach tightening . . .

The scariest aspect of the Texas offense is its receivers. At 6-5, 210, with 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash, Williams is freakishly fearsome and looks as though he has been manufactured. He is powerful off the line, making it difficult for cornerbacks to knock him off his route. He's custom-built for fades, reaching high into the sky for passes while walling off defenders with his frame. And if foes try playing off him, Williams will run by them.

As a freshman last year, his 40 receptions for 809 yards (a 20.2-yard average), along with eight touchdown catches and two scores on reverses, were just a sample of his ample ability.

Then there's B.J. Johnson. He nabbed 41 passes for 698 yards, averaging 17 yards per catch with three scores. No two freshman wideouts gained more yards receiving in 2000. There's depth behind those phenoms in sophomore Sloan Thomas and junior Kyle Shanahan, who sat out last year after transferring from Duke. Shanahan is the son of NFL coach Mike Shanahan Sensing danger, you bark at your strong safety to slide over to offer the cornerback help on Williams.

On the other side of the field, that causes Johnson to yell at Simms, who looks over and nods his head in agreement on some secret communication. Simms starts the cadence. Something he commands sets tight end Bo Scaife in motion. More troubling thoughts enter your head. What does this mean? Who has him in coverage? You chomp a little faster and harder on your mouthpiece . . .

Scaife's 2000 season ended when he injured his knee in the first fall practice. As a freshman in 1999, Scaife still was feeling the effects of a high school knee injury, and he caught just three passes for 48 yards. Now, Scaife is ready to go. With receivers like Williams and Johnson to worry about, defenses may forget about Scaife. That's what Texas hopes.

Scaife had a coming-out party in the spring, when he and Simms developed a connection that took nonverbal communication to new levels. At 6-3, 245, Scaife is more receiver than sixth offensive lineman, and his unusual speed for a tight end allows him to stretch defenses.

Simms suddenly rises from under center and pivots around. He looks at running back Victor Ike and motions for him to move slightly to the left. You start to pace . . .

Ike is one of a number of running back options for Texas. On one series, sophomore Ivan Williams could be lined up behind Simms. On the next, it might be junior Kenny Hayter, sophomore Brett Robin or freshman Arturo "Sneezy" Beltran.

And there's an even better chance it could be freshman Cedric Benson, one of the most decorated running backs in Texas prep annals. At Lee High in Midland, the 6-0, 200-pound Benson was named Texas 5A offensive player of the year three times and finished with 8,423 career yards rushing. He also was a winner; he helped lead Lee to three consecutive state 5A titles.

A good ground game will help Texas control the clock. That in turn will help keep an underrated defense fresh. While the defensive tackle spots need to be shored up with Shaun Rogers and Casey Hampton gone, the ends, sophomore Kalen Thornton and junior Cory Redding, are formidable.

For the first time in the Brown era, Texas has the type of players at end it has been looking for -- athletic and fast. To that end, the entire defense has been souped up, as position changes were instituted in the spring to get more speed on the field. Senior Maurice Gordon moved from tackle to end. Junior O.J. McClintock from outside linebacker to end. Senior Lee Jackson went from safety to linebacker, and senior Ahmad Brooks and sophomore Nathan Vasher moved from cornerback to safety. The alterations are aimed specifically toward better dealing with spread offenses like the one at Oklahoma that ripped the Longhorns, 63-14, last season.

"Now with all of the athletes in place, the biggest thing we need to focus on is to continue to stop the run, get more pressure on the passer and change up our coverages in the secondary," says defensive coordinator Carl Reese, who has transformed the 85th-ranked defense he inherited in 1997 into one that finished seventh in the nation last year.

A new and improved defense added to a dangerous offense is a formidable combination. Throw in a schedule that doesn't include Nebraska or Kansas State and has just two games outside the state, and you can see why Texas' confidence meter is redlining.

There is one cause for concern -- an uncertain kicking game. Kris Stockton, the most accurate kicker in school history, has departed after handling the kicking and some of the punting chores last season. Redshirt freshman Matt McFadden is looking to replace Stockton, and junior-college transfer Brian Bradford is slated to punt. That means the Texas sideline will be the finger-crossing capital of the world on fourth downs. The kickers have potential; they just need to come through.

Simms turns back around. One last time, he glances to his right, then his left. He's confident setting up behind the sizable linemen. You wipe your sweaty palms across your thighs and swallow hard . . .

The Texas offensive line is as solid as the kicking game is uncertain. In fact, it will be among the Big 12's best, even without tackle Leonard Davis, who was a first-round pick in last spring's NFL draft. There are four starters back, including senior Anderson, senior Antwan Kirk-Hughes and junior Derrick Dockery, both guards, and senior tackle Mike Williams. The right side figures to be especially strong with Kirk-Hughes and Williams. And that's good, considering it's Simms' blind side.

Simms slips back behind Anderson and resumes his cadence. Hut one! Hut two! Hut three! The ball is snapped, and Simms quickly drops back. He sticks a fist in Ike's gut as he races by. Simms sets in the pocket, looks left and pump fakes. He quickly rotates right, cocks his left arm and fires a pass toward Roy Williams, who is streaking downfield.

Your worst fears have been realized. Touchdown, Texas.
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