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Editor's Note:
This is the first of three takes. I will be delayed about an hour on sending takes two and three because I have a doctor's appointment. Nothing series, but I have to go right now. Jerry * * * * Jerry Scarbrough's True Orange The Newsletter for the True Texas Longhorn Faithful Volume 12, No. 4, November 5, 2001 Horns Rip Bears; Passing Game Clicks, Benson Has 108 Yards, 2 TDs on Stacked Defense QB Chris Simms and his receivers had a great day against Baylor's man-for-man coverage Saturday and freshman RB Cedric Benson ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns. in a 49-10 rout. The Bears were determined to deny the Longhorns a running game and they stacked the line and dared Simms to pass. He did, hitting 15 of 29 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bears' strategy backfired against the run, too, because of Benson's fierce running and the line's strong blocking. With starting guard Antwan-Kirk Hughes out with a sprained ankle, the Horns were already running low on guards when Tillman Holloway went down with a neck and shoulder injury. But Beau Baker, who has worked at both guard and center, came in and played so well the Longhorns didn't miss a beat. The victory ran UT's record to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12, while Baylor fell to 2-6 and 0-6. Longhorn coach Mack Brown saluted the Bears for their effort. "They really played hard and they played well," he said. "We just had better players." "Baylor's defenses is one of the better defenses in the league," he said. The Longhorns' kick returnees had a field day. Nathan Vasher had 173 yards on seven punt returns, including a 60-yarder that set up the second touchdown, another for 44 yards deep into Bear territory and another for 24 yards that set up another touchdown. He also had a pass interception deep in Baylor territory that set up a short TD drive. Victor Ike only got to return one kickoff, but he did it in fine style, bolting 60 yards to the Baylor 37 to give the Horns a short field for their fifth touchdown drive. Sophomore WR Roy Williams had his best day of the season with six receptions for 147 yards, including a 36-yarder for the first score. Here, briefly, is how the game went First Quarter Texas won the toss and deferred. Baylor's Bobby Hart gave the Bears an early chance, bobbling a UT punt, then picking it up and returning it 42 yards to the Texas 43. The Longhorn defense held. Then Simms hit WR Sloan Thomas, but Thomas bobbled it right into the hands of Bear DB Derrick Cash. That set Baylor up at the Texas 38. The UT defense held again, with LB Tyrone Jones leaping high and blocking Baylor's attempted 43-yard field goal. After the blocked FG, UT drove 69 yards in six plays to take the lead. Simms connected with Williams for 36 yards and the TD. Benson carried twice for 10 yards and also caught a 15-yard shovel pass. Dusty Mangum's kick gave the Horns a 7-0 lead with 4:24 left. Baylor couldn't move and punter. Vasher ran the 55-yard punt back 60 yards to the BU 28. Simms connected with Thomas for 17 yards, then Benson carried twice for 10 yards before Simms got the touchdown on a 1-yard sneak. Mangum's kick gave Texas a 14-0 lead with 2:16 left. Second Quarter The Bears sacked Simms at the UT early in the period, giving them possession at the Longhorn 48 after Brian Bradford's strong 43-yard punt. QB Josh Zachry hit passes for 15 and 18 yards, then scored from the 10 on a QB draw to cut the UT lead to 14-7 with 12:29 left. Midway through the quarter, the Longhorns drove 84 yards in four plays for their third TD. Simms connected with Thomas for the final 31 yards, after a 46-yarder to Williams set it up. Mangum's give put UT on top, 21-7, with 5:18 left. On Texas' next possession, Simms hit Williams for 34 yards, but Mangum's 5-yard field goal try failed. Vasher's interception three plays later set the Horns up at the Bear 23. Simms connected with WR B. J. Johnson for 21 yards, then RB Brett Robin scored the TD. Mangum's kick made it 28-7 with 52 seconds left. Zachry hit four passes for 49 yards to get the Bears to the UT 11 and Adam Stiles kicked a 28-yard field goal on the final play to cut the UT lead to 28-10. Third Quarter Ike returned the kickoff 60 yards to the Baylor 37. Benson churned for 13 over right tackle, then Simms found Williams, who made a great catch at the 4. Benson got the TD on a 3-yard run. Mangum's kick put Texas head, 35-10, with 12:04 left. Vasher's 24-yard punt return to the Baylor 43 had the Horns on the move again as the quarter ended. Fourth Quarter Benson finished the drive with a 6-yard run. Mangum's kick made it 42-10 with 13:48 left. On the Bears' next possession, QB Davon Vinson was in the shotgun when the ball was snapped over his head. UT safety Dakarai Pearson recovered in the end zone. Mangum's kick made it 49-10 with 12:58 left. Texas, The BCS & The Bowls Coach Mack Brown talked last week to John Swafford, a top BCS official, and Swafford said the BCS rule prohibiting three teams being selected for the four BCS bowls from one league takes precedence over the BCS rule that the top four teams in the final BCS poll have to be chosen. That really simplifies things when figuring out how UT can qualify for a BCS bowl. First, the Longhorns have to win the rest of their games. Second, Texas has to finish in the top four in the final BCS poll on Dec. 9. Third, the Longhorns have to be ahead Nebraska or Oklahoma in the final BCS poll. Brown said the Longhorns just have to keep winning and see where they wind up. I think there is a fair chance Oklahoma will lose to Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Sooners were never great shakes on offense this year and their offensive unit is pretty banged up. If Tech does upset the Sooners, that would drop them out of the top four and clear the way for the Longhorns as long as they keep winning. The Sooners also might fall out of the top four if they win the rest of their regular season games and lose to Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game. One thing that would be fatal to the Longhorns chances of landing a BCS bowl berth would be for OU to win out, then beat Nebraska in the title game. With one loss each and those losses to each other, both teams would stay ahead of the Longhorns in the BCS ranking. Texas was fifth in last week's poll while Nebraska was No. 1, Oklahoma was No. 2. Miami was No. 3, Michigan was No. 4, Stanford was No. 6, Tennessee was No. 7, Florida was No. 8, UCLA was No. 9, Oregon was No. 10, Washington was No. 11 and Washington State was No. 12. No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Stanford and No. 9 UCLA all lost Saturday, giving them two losses each and effectively knocking them out of the BCS bowls. Some of the teams below the Horns will move up because their schedules are stronger and they might pass Texas until and unless they lose again. Which brings us back to my original premise: if the Longhorns win out, they are in good shape if Oklahoma loses another regular season game and maybe even if OU loses to Nebraska again. If the Horns win out and still finish below Nebraska and Oklahoma in the BCS poll or if they fail to finish in the top four, look for them to wind up in the Cotton Bowl. But I'm optimistic. If they win out, I think they will be in the Sugar Bowl, one of the four BCS bowls. Some of the other top teams will lose again, and one of them might be the Sooners in Lubbock. 900 Number Updated Daily I update my 900 number every day with football and football recruiting news. The number is 1-900-288-8839. It costs $1.59 a minute. You must be 18 or older to call. Coach's Corner Coach Mack Brown said Sunday the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings are so confusing that he has told his team to "keep working to be the best team it can be because good things usually happen for the best team." "What we do every Sunday is we meet with the team," he said. " We go over the film and talk about the good and the bad, and then I take time to go over the BCS." Noting that five undefeated teams lost the previous weekend and three top 10 teams - Michigan, Stanford and UCLA - lost for the second time Saturday, Brown said teams just have to concentrate on the only thing they control - winning. "We want to play as good as we can play every week," he said. "That's the only thing we can control. I've asked them to try to play to a standard, to try to get better on every play." He also said he has told them not to worry about the BCS because it will all work out for them if they keep winning their games. He also said that is one reason for the 11:30 a.m. kickoff Saturday for the final home game against Kansas. "They're kids and they are going to watch some scores," he said. "That's one reason I wanted the early kickoff. There aren't many scores to watch at 11:30 a.m." Brown said the team "played a complete game" in the win over Baylor. He said sophomore safety Dakarai Pearson was chosen as the defensive player of the game after scoring a touchdown with a fumble recovery and leading the team in tackles with nine. Sophomore WR Roy Williams was picked as the top offensive performer after catching six passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, and another sophomore, Nathan Vasher, was picked as the top special teams performer after returning seven punts for 173 yards. Brown also said QB Chris Simms has shown a lot of improvement in recent weeks and true freshman RB Cedric Benson "continues to play well and seems to improve every week." INJURY NOTE: Brown said he hopes injured offensive guards Antwan Kirk-Hughes, who has missed the last two games with a sprained ankle, and Tillman Holloway, who suffered a shoulder and neck injury during the Baylor game, will be able to play this week. He also said Beau Baker "played really well" at guard after Holloway's injury. Horns Fifth in Both Polls Texas is fifth in both major football polls this week. Miami is No. 1 and Nebraska is No. 2 in both polls, while Oklahoma is No. 3 and Florida No. 4 in the Associated Press poll and their positions are reversed in the USA Today/CNN poll. The Perfect Christmas Present For Horns Who Have Everything Else: A Gift Subscription to True Orange and/or the E-Mail/Fax A subscription to True Orange is the great gift you can give again and again. Sure beats Christmas shopping, birthday shopping or anniversary shopping. The only thing better is a gift of True Orange and the True Orange Fax - and you can give both for just $130 a year ($99 if they take both by e-mail). o I am enclosing $45 for a gift subscription ($35 e-mail) o I am enclosing $130 for a gift subscription to the newsletter and the fax ($99 e-mail) Name of Recipient Address (& fax no., if applicable) City, State, Zip Your Name Any Message You Want on Card
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