http://www.yardbarker.com/content/team/183 Recent articles about the Texas Longhorns en-us Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach break down three things that could have an impact on the Big 12 Conference race in 2008. Ivan Maisel 1. Texas may be trying to figure out who will run and catch the ball this fall, but the offensive line will be deep, deep, deep. That's great news for quarterback Colt McCoy, because the Longhorns finished next to last in the Big 12 in sacks allowed last season with 25. The line is a year older, stronger and smarter. 2. Michael Crabtree, despite what you may have thought, didn't have the only breakout year among Big 12 freshman receivers. Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State caught 43 passes for 622 yards and six touchdowns. Bryant is big (6-2, 210) and will be the go-to guy for Zac Robinson now that Adarius Bowman is gone. That is, if the Cowboys find someone who will do for him what he did for Bowman -- keep the secondary honest. 3. Kansas has three issues to overcome this season, in ascending order of difficulty: self-satisfaction after going 12-1 and finishing No. 7; being the hunted instead of the hunter; and a schedule that includes South Florida, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas, four bowl teams that the Jayhawks didn't play on their road to 2007 glory. Mark Schlabach 1. Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops wants his offense to play faster. It's hard to believe the Sooners can get much faster after leading the country with 80 touchdowns last season. But QB Sam Bradford will operate out of a no-huddle offense this coming season after throwing 36 TDs and only eight interceptions in 2007. 2. Kansas and Missouri came out of nowhere to contend for the Big 12 title last season. Will both teams be able to keep pace without several of their star players? The Jayhawks lost tailback Brandon McAnderson, All-America cornerback Aqib Talib and tackle Anthony Collins. The Tigers lost RB Tony Temple, center Adam Spieker and tight end Martin Rucker. Which team will adjust faster? 3. With QB Graham Harrell and WR Michael Crabtree returning, Texas Tech might be even better on offense than it was a year ago. Red Raiders coach Mike Leach believes a handful of juco transfers will make his defense up front, giving them a legitimate chance to compete for a Big 12 South title. Tue, 13 May 2008 15:09:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266536 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266536 Last month, Texas back-up QB John Chiles was a suspect in an "assault-by-conduct" incident in Austin. The University of Texas' student newspaper, the Daily Texan, reported this is their blog. The athletic department pounced on the paper, threatening the staff and calling the paper "untruthful." The department said now other news companies "realize how you do business now." It seemed to me that they were simply reporting that Chiles was a suspect, which was confirmed by the Austin Police Department. Unfortunately, reporters constantly seem to have to put up with this belittlement. Thu, 08 May 2008 23:30:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265068 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265068 Over 80,000 Husker fans poured into Memorial Stadium for the 2008 Red-White Game. It was the most well attended spring scrimmage in the nation. Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State and Florida each had over 60,000 fans in attendance and many schools saw their attendance climb from last year's spring game. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:42:08 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261100 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261100 As the 2008 NFL Draft is approaching the top 5 picks are becoming a more difficult read than the bible. The Dolphins are talking contracts with Jake Long, Michigan's monster left tackle, future superstar Darren McFadden is getting more hype than ever, and once again the New England Patriots hold the best position in the first round. A tad hungover from that Yankees/Sox battle in the Bronx last night; I'm going to attempt to put together a comprehensive top 5 selections for the fans. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:37:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/242886 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/242886 I had the pleasure of attending the Oklahoma Sooners spring game in Norman on Saturday. The weather was partly cloudy with winds continuously gusting to approximately 30 MPH. The winds made it tough on the QB's and Kickers. There were 6 INT's thrown by the QB's. 3 INT's by starter Sam Bradford. Bradford did throw a beautiful TD pass to TE Germaine Gresham , who made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch in full stride. Many passes were overthrown or underthrown because of the intense straight winds all afternoon. Freshman running back Justin Johnson from Gilmer, TX looks like he will be a good workhorse for the Sooners as he displayed some good power and speed during some of his runs. The offense is at a disadvantage this early in drills and the defense took advantage of that during the game. The game was attended by many former Sooners as well as Baltimore Ravens QB, Steve McNair and country music singer and big-time OU fan, Toby Keith. Former Sooners on hand for the game were Safety Roy Williams (Dallas Cowboys), Jamaal Brown (New Orleans Saints), Davin Joseph (Tampa Bay Bucs), Travis Wilson (Cleveland Browns), Reggie Smith (2008 Draft), DJ Wolfe (2008 Draft), Allen Patrick (2008 Draft) and a host of others dating back to the 1940's. I will post a couple of pics with me and Davin Joseph and Phil Loadholt(current All Big-12 offensive lineman. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:44:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/236267 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/236267 A lot of teams up north are only beginning their spring drills, but for Miami, Texas, Mississippi State, and Auburn, last weekend was finale for their 2008 spring campaigns with their spring scrimmages. For the most part these games are just glorified practices put on for us, the fans, as a way to drum up interest for the upcoming season. Rarely does a game like this tell anything about how the team will fair in the fall…but since it is the last day of March, and we haven't had football for almost two months, let's pretend like it matters. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:13:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/224985 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/224985 It's mock draft time. You can never have enough of these, right? My Top 5 1. Chris Long 2. Vernon Gholston 3. Matt Ryan 4. Sedrick Ellis 5. Jake Long Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:06:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/196982 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/196982 Now that the combine's over with, and we've had time to digest and dissect all of the numbers and info, here's a look at some of these guys to give us a reason to change our mock drafts once again - and we haven't gotten to the fallers and the free agents who will soon have new homes. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:06:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/173088 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/173088 SportProjections.com has released their first version of the college football bowl projections for next season. Where is your team bowling? Visit each team page to get the latest headlines from local newspapers and the best bloggers on the web. Remember to add a profile for other sport fans to discuss the picks. If you're a blogger, add your profile and website address to help your SEO and advertise your site. If you're a fan of a smaller school that doesn't have a group on our site please add your team and rss feeds for the team. If you have any questions how to create it please contact us at sportprojections@gmail.com Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:47:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/167407 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/167407 Going over the worst and easiest schedules played by BCS game participants from 2003 to 2007. I know for sure there's one on here SEC fans are going to freak about. The rest are most likely obvious to any college football fans, and are the main reason the BCS system sucks ass. Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:08:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/153438 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/153438 SportProjections.com has released their first version of the Top 25 for next season in college football. Which team is too high? Who is too low? Who should be in the top 25 or who should be knocked out of the rankings? Create an account on our new sport's social network to discuss the rankings. Click on each team to get the latest headlines from their local newspapers and bloggers. Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:02:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/151228 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/151228 Last year's crop of running backs contained only two truly elite prospects, Adrian 'Rookie of the Year' Peterson and Marshawn 'It don't get no better than solid' Lynch. This year's class is much, much deeper, with most of the top prospects juniors. So, start day-dreaming about a few of these top-notch tailbacks dropping below the first couple of rounds, because it's going to happen. Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:59:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/148845 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/148845 Looks like their could have been some recruiting shenanigans going on related to five-star running back Darrell Scott. Link stopped working so story is pasted below. Ten days after star running back Darrell Scott signed with Colorado, the recruiting coordinator of his high school was released from his coaching duties. Roger Sonsini, also an assistant coach at Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure High School, said he was terminated Friday but refused further comment. Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, confirmed Sonsini's release but offered no further comment because it is a personnel issue. Scott, rated the nation's top high school senior running back by Rivals.com, signed with Colorado following a heated battle with Texas. Sonsini questioned Scott's decision to pick Colorado over Texas in a story in The News on Feb. 7, the day after national signing day. He told The News, "Colorado came in on Friday [Feb. 1] and said and did something and offered something that Darrell and his mom couldn't pass up." The comment outraged Scott's mother, Alexis Scott, according to a posting on "The Quad," The New York Times' college sports blog. The mother told The Times she was upset about skepticism regarding her son's decision to attend Colorado. Alexis Scott and Sonsini met with St. Bonaventure officials last Friday. "I want to protect my child," Alexis Scott told The Times in her the blog post. "His decision is his decision, and Sonsini and whomever have nothing to do with that." Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:42:53 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/145736 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/145736 Ramonce Taylor had a very promising future. He was an outstanding Reggie Bush type player for the Texas Longhorns. Another promising athlete's career goes down the drain because of trouble with the law. Sad, but true. Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:32:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/145666 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/145666 The 2009 recruiting season is officially underway, and USC, fresh off of a 'down year' in recruiting, is already rolling towards the all-important recruiting championship. In other news, the chase for the 2009 version of Terrelle Pryor is in full swing. Let the madness begin! Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:22:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/140403 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/140403