Scouting the Longhorns
Right: Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, speaking to reporters during media day on Friday, threw for 3,445 yards and had a team-high 576 yards rushing, this season.
(AP Photo)
The third-ranked Texas Longhorns enter Monday night’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl one play away from playing in the Big XII title game and possibly a shot at BCS national championship game, while the 10th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes are a few plays and one lopsided loss from making their third straight trip in quest of that crystal football.
Back on November 1 in Lubbock, Texas, the Longhorns were just seconds away from posting their ninth win this season when Tech quarterback Graham Harrell found Michael Crabtree along the far sideline, who snuck pass a defender and scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass with one tick left on the clock that gave the Red Raiders a 39-33 win and knocked off then No. 1 Texas.
Both Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma finished in a three-way tie in the final Big XII South standings, but since the Sooners were ranked higher than the Longhorns, OU went on to play in the conference championship game. Never mind the fact that Texas had defeated Oklahoma earlier in the season on October 11, 45-35, in front of a record crowd of 92,182 fans at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
The only other team that gave Texas fits during the season was Oklahoma State, who nearly knocked off the top-ranked Longhorns, 28-24, in Austin.
The Cowboys had one last chance for the upset with under three minutes left in the ball game, but on a fourth-and-6 at the OK State 30, Zac Robinson’s pass to Dez Bryant lost two yards, giving the ball back to Texas on downs with 2:39 remaining.
But out of Texas’ other nine games during the course of the 2008 campaign, no other team came close. The Longhorns notched impressive wins over Florida Atlantic (52-10), UTEP (42-13), Rice (52-10), Arkansas (52-10), Colorado (38-14), then-No. 11 Missouri (56-31), Baylor (45-21), Kansas (35-7) and Texas A&M (49-9).
Texas is led by 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior quarterback Colt McCoy, who has completed 77.6 percent of his passes (291-of-375) for 3,445 yards with 32 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, numbers good enough to place him second in the Heisman Trophy award balloting.
McCoy is also his team’s leading rusher, gaining 576 yards on the ground in 128 attempts with 10 scores. Vondrell McGee, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound sophomore running back, is second in rushing picking up 376 yards on 88 carries and four touchdowns. Cody Johnson, a 5-foot-11, 255 pound fullback is third on the Texas’ roster with 336 yards in 73 attempts and a team-high 12 rushing TDs.
McCoy’s favorite targets have very similar statistics, meaning he doesn’t lock in to just one receiver. Jordan Shipley, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior, has 79 receptions for 982 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Quan Cosby, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior, has caught 78 balls for 952 yards and eight TDs. Chris Ogbonnaya, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound running back, is the Longhorns’ third leading receiver, hauling in 42 passes for for 484 yards and three scores, plus has rushed for 331 yards on 63 carries and four more scores.
Defensively, Texas is led by 6-foot-2, 235-pound junior linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy, who has recorded 106 total tackles. Brian Orakpo, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior defensive end tops the Longhorns’ roster with 10.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Ryan Palmer, a 5-foot-10, 186-pound cornerback, has a team-high three interceptions.
