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Texas looks vulnerable in win over A&M

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Updated Nov 27, 2009 1:48 AM ET
     
 
The CFN writers break down No. 3 Texas' 49-39 win over Texas A&M on Thursday.

Texas D looked like it had too much turkey

Most people are going to talk about how Colt McCoy might have jumped into the lead in the Heisman race after his tremendous performance against Texas A&M, but the real story is how Florida spent Thanksgiving evening drooling over the possibilities of what it might be able to do against a Texas defense that looked like it was playing with two pounds of turkey and two plates of starch and nitrates in their bellies when trying to contain quarterback Jerrod Johnson.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know ... rivalry game. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know ... Texas struggled in 2005 against A&M and went off to Pasadena to ruin the defending national champion's (USC) hope of repeating, and the similarities are eerily similar this year. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know ... short week, tough to prepare, blah, blah, blah. Whatever. Texas A&M's zone-read, dive play, hand-off-or-keeper-up-the-middle, whatever you want to call it attack ripped apart the Longhorns, and there's a certain team in Gainesville that does that better than anyone else, and unlike A&M, has the defense to come up with a stop or three. I'm not going to suggest that TCU or Cincinnati automatically deserves to be more in the national title discussion because A&M's offense decided to work this week, but it's not fair to automatically give the 'Horns a free pass, either. They'll play in the BCS Championship Game no matter how they look next week against Nebraska — as long as they win. But after this week, in the theoretical discussion of what two teams deserve to play for the national title, now there's room for a wee bit of debate. Did Texas get exposed or was this an aberration? This week, the Texas defense was lousy against A&M. Next week the offense could be in for a nightmare of a game against a tremendous Nebraska defense. Texas keeps on winning, but it needs to do more than survive next week to get the SEC scared. — Pete Fiutak

Did McCoy wrap up the Heisman?

It took until Thanksgiving night, but we finally have a bona fide front-runner for the sport's major individual awards. Throughout the 2009 season, no one has really stepped up and grabbed control of college football's player of the year honors, like the Heisman Trophy or the Maxwell Award. Colt McCoy appears to have changed that trend in College Station. Yeah, he was facing a flimsy defense dotted with underclassmen, but that'll get lost in the wash among most voters, who rarely get granular in these processes. All anyone will remember is that the senior kept his 'Horns in the running for a national championship on a night when the defense was uncharacteristically generous. Texas needed all of its 49 points for a change, and every time Jerrod Johnson led Texas A&M down the field, McCoy was there to provide an answer. On national television. On the road. And against a chief rival. Five touchdowns, more than 300 yards passing, and a career-high 175 yards on the ground. It was, for many reasons, that heroic and meaningful performance that so many voters have been looking for from just about anyone all season. Anything resembling Thursday's effort against that stingy Nebraska defense next week could seal the deal for No. 12. On a different note, do not get too carried away by the play of the Texas defense. It'll wind up being an anomaly for a unit that's still among the best in the country. Plus, the 'Huskers don't have a quarterback as talented as Johnson or nearly as many athletic skill-position players. In order words, don't bank on a repeat effort out of the 'Horns next Saturday night. — Richard Cirminiello

Settle down, it's a rivalry game

1. This was a rivalry game. Anyone with a pulse and a few functioning brain cells knows that rivalry games have created chaos, unforeseen developments, improbable narratives, and multiple shocks to intellectual frameworks in the 140-year history of college football. If you use this game (and not Texas' whole season) to claim that the Longhorns don't deserve a shot in the BCS Championship Game, you don't understand this sport. Remember how a dominant Texas team, in 2005, struggled to fend off A&M at the very same Kyle Field? Vince Young produced a mediocre showing that afternoon in College Station, and many pundits were led to believe — based on that rivalry game, in which the Aggies (as was the case Thursday) predictably and passionately spilled the tank — that Texas wouldn't match up with USC in the Rose Bowl. We all know how accurate that line of thinking turned out to be. So, let's say it once more with feeling: This was a rivalry game. The object is to win and get out of Dodge alive, nothing more. Knocking Texas for the quality of this particular win is an act of extreme ignorance and breathtaking shortsightedness. 2. Zac Lee, if you and your receivers can establish good timing and make above-average plays on third down, you can give this injury-riddled Longhorns defense a run for the money Dec. 5. The ball's in your court; people in Fort Worth, Texas, and Cincinnati, Ohio, will be praying for you. — Matt Zemek
Tagged: Texas, USC, Cincinnati, Florida, Texas A&M, Nebraska

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