Photo Attribution: US Presswire
Ah, we were always headed here, weren’t we?
This is just fantastic.
Mack Brown has ditched his dream to become Alabama and is headed down the Oregon/Oklahoma State/Baylor path of “run as many plays as possible and get the oxygen ready for our defense.”
Here’s what he had to say in the Austin American-Statesman the other day:
We’re not going to be the option type team that Oregon is, but we are going to run Oregon’s tempo. But we still gotta (become) physical. We are not changing our offense; we are changing our tempo.
So where does the Oklahoma State comparison come in? How about here:
I thought Todd Monken did as good a job staying physical and running no huddle as anybody. We’ll head in that direction.
Texas actually wasn’t terrible on offense last year. They averaged 6.34 yards per play (22nd in the country) and they finished 23rd in the nation in points per game — the problem with that is that there were six (!) Big 12 teams that finished ahead of them in points per game.
Texas also averaged 2.99 points per drive last year, OSU averaged 3.21 so there’s evidence that Texas could actually pull this up-tempo move off quite seamlessly.
Here’s the Horns’ dirty little secret though (well, besides Major Applewhite’s dirty little secret) — they weren’t very good on defense.
They gave up MORE total points than OSU did, despite being on the field for 145 fewer plays.
OSU defense – 1034 plays – 367 points given up
Texas defense – 889 plays – 380 points given up
So while the new offense in Austin might work just fine, I’d be careful about tossing a defense that repeatedly got torched last year out there for 10-12 more plays a game.
But I also don’t make $5 million/year like Mack.
Nice column. Bravo! (not Bevo)
But I gotta admit I was at first flattered, then a little nervous. Seems like Texas has EVERY advantage in this league (more money, more influence, more star recruits, more hot chicks, and their own network,), so when they want to take away or neutralize the few advantages OSU has (tough-guy Air Raid, Paddle People, Joe Wickline, Mike Gundy), I feel more than a little uptight.
It’s no wonder OU fans hate them more than us.
You’re worried about the Shorthorn Network and their 900 subscribers?
They are getting paid even if nobody watches. That’s more than we are getting.
Tech k state and Osu have hotter chicks than Texas
Uh NO!!!!!! : D You should walk around UT campus before that proclamation.
Do you wonder why the conference office was moved to Texas. LOL the people on the Left coast call it the Texas conference or the Bevo Bunch. They know this really pulls my chain as a loyal Cowboy. Yet maybe there is a germ of truth in their vision of hte Big 12.
It’s probably why the other Big XII schools should’ve found a way to get Texas to leave…it would be a better conference w/ Nebraska, Mizzou and A&M still in and UT gone. They still have the power to blow the Big XII up IMO.
I think they should stick to trying to be Alabama, hahahahahhahaha. No one does a worse job w/ all (players, facilities, budget, fan base, etc) at their disposal than UT but let’s all hope Brown stays another decade.
Anyway, that was a quick flip-flop in direction, so now they are going back to the spread?! They have the personnel but I’m more confident in our three QBs than their first two, the RB comparison is probably even and oSu has better receiver corp. O-line we can’t really say because we need to see how each team’s replacements work out but there isn’t a better O-line coach than Wickline!
I would say, without Joe Wick, good luck running a physical spread.
I would not attribute that success to Monken
Very much agree, we’re one of the best running teams using the spread around and way before Monken got here. Another oversight by Mack, LOL!
Monken is gone so the compliment won’t leave the UT fan base as butt hurt. I saw it as a weak attempt to not give OSU/Gundy credit.
Very good point but Wickline deserves as much credit as anyone in the scheme of being able to run the ball.
No reason to worry. It’s not easy to run the Air Raid as it’s made out to be. I welcome their shot at trying the Air Raid. They may have all the $$$ but they don’t have Mike Gundy and the coaches he hires. Mike Gundy has done more (except winning a NC) with less.