Drink Discussion: Realistic expectations for the 2010 Texas Longhorns
You can start this with another drink discussion, sure to fire up the masses: if Colt McCoy doesn't go down in the BCS title game last year, does Texas win? Even with frosh (now starter) Garrett Gilbert out there (more on him in a second), they looked alright and kept it close 'till the wee stages.
Personal contention: They still lose, but by six.
Drink discussion No. 2 in this, summer (i.e. late-20something wedding season). Is this song cool as hell or what?
Alright, let's talk Horns' football in 2010. There are 12 games. Let's go after it in four doses of three games each. Seems manageable, no? Here's the schedule.
First three are a joke: Rice, Wyoming, Texas Tech. Now, Rice and Texas Tech are road games -- although you can argue (I can argue, specifically, since I've lived there) that Houston has more Longhorn backers than Rice backers. Wyoming in Austin is just a disgusting rout. That was scheduled solely and completely for the cheddar. What does Mack Brown say to the Wyoming coach out there before the game? "Sup pardner, hang in there, gonna go beat your arse blue now." TTU could be an interesting one. Tommy Tuberville could use a statement win in his first month in Lubbock, and he gets the Horns there -- but they don't have enough, I don't think. Texas should open 3-0. Lubbock is a house of horrors for 'em, though.
Next three: UCLA, Oklahoma (Red River), Nebraska. This is make or break. UCLA is in Austin; should be a win and that would mean 4-0. Oklahoma in Dallas is the game of the year to that point (first game of the year will be LSU vs. UNC, then Boise vs. VT, then Miami vs. OSU, etc., etc. -- ND vs. Michigan might sneak in there for a second too). If Texas wins, nice. If Oklahoma wins, well, Landry Jones has a cool pornstache, and you gotta root for men like that to succeed in this world. Let's say Oklahoma wins (I'm a homer, I like them). Nebraska next week is tough. It's in Lincoln, Nebraska's D is still nasty, and they cannot be happy about the last time they played Texas.
Let's call that a loss too. I currently have UT at 4-2 through six.
Next three: Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas State, with only KSU on the road. That should be 3-0. Robert Griffin is pretty sick (Baylor's QB) but the team, overall, doesn't have enough to stop a Texas. ISU and KSU should be routs. 7-2 through nine.
Back three: Oklahoma State (rebuilding year), Florida Atlantic (what the wha?), and Texas A&M. The first two should be walks. 9-2 through 11. A&M is an interesting game, though. Jerrod Johnson is nasty (QB) and so is Von Miller (DE). Game's in Austin, though. Hmm. Not sure how to call it. On the one hand, if Texas beats Oklahoma in Dallas and survives Lincoln, this game is essentially for a trip to the national title game; in that case, they ain't gonna lose it. If they're reeling -- maybe a surprise drop to TTU or UCLA -- this game is semi-meaningless; people call A&M vs. Texas a "rivalry" and in many senses it is, but over the last decade, the game -- THE GAME -- that matters if you're a Horn is the fracas in Dallas. Let's say they beat A&M.
I currently, thus, have Texas finishing 10-2. This could rather easily swing to 8-4 or 12-0. Jeezus, we may well have a Texas vs. Alabama rematch in the BCS title game. Next week, for the flip side of this discussion, we'll do the Oklahoma Sooners.
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