the 2005-2006 Texas Longhorns

[TDforTatum26]

Can the Longhorns compete for the Big 12 title and maybe a National Championship without Cedric Benson and Derrick Johnson?


and who will replce those two?

[BuffSoldier]

As long as the WRs from last year have gotten better, VY will have at least a little bit of a better passing game, so that will help, plus hopefully Selvin Young doesnt get hurt again and is as effective as he was when he backed up Cedy. Rod Wright will step up as defensive leader as of the horns. The torch always get passed from Jamer to Vasher to DJ to Wright.

[ArlingtonTexan]

This may be there best chance to get by Oklahoma, because the sooners lost so much. The rumors I have heard are that none of QBs have been outstanding, but of course, there is that Peterson guy.

[keyfro]

OU seems to always be in the top 5 nationally with recruiting so i doubt they'll drop off...just like miami they are always in the national championship contention...now this could be the year UT gets pass them but will UT really fight for a national championship i doubt it...USC with Leinart and bush back are my favorites to win it...this is really gonna be a interesting year for college football...cause with how weak the PAC-10 is i'm guessing USC will be there again...it'll be a mad race to see who goes to face them...the Big-XII has definetly been weakened by this past draft...texas tech, a&m, nebraska, and missouri are all solid teams that will hurt either UT or OU to the point where they might drop to the 5th overall position...i look for an ACC team like miami or va. tech to go face USC...the SEC is weaker this year with georgia loosing so much talent along with LSU and Auburn...and in the Big-10 i see Iowa running the show again

[Huge]

Robert Killebrew (quite possibly the greatest college football name, ever) will replace Johnson at WLB. I think Aaron Harris will become the leader of the defense. If not, a combination of Harris, Rod Wright and Michael Huff will provide more than adequate leadership.

Selvin Young, Ramonce Taylor and possibly Jamaal Charles will replace Benson at RB. Whether or not they can replace his production (highly unlikely) remains to be seen.

OU lost 3 of their 5 starting OL, their top 3 WRs as well as their 6th year QB. Anybody else think defenses are going to be gearing up to stop Peterson? And with losing that much support, I think teams are going to have more success than last year (although no team will shut him down).

Their defense has lost 3 of their starting 4 in the secondary. Their DL lost 3 of 4. But I still wouldn't say they've got "holes". Their recruiting has been as good as anybody in the country. They're just going to have inexperience against them...not a lack of talent. By the time the Big 12 schedule rolls around, I'd expect them to be ready.

But have they lost enough to drop to 5th in the conference? Not even close. At worst they'll be 3rd (and that's only because they'll finish behind the North champ by default).

USC will be one of the teams in Pasadena. Their schedule is too easy and their talent is too great. The other will be Texas, OU, Michigan or Ohio State.

And since one of those four will be left out, there will be controversy again.

[keyfro]

yeah this year the way to stop OU is by putting 9 guys in the box since they will have unproven a QB and unproven WR's...not to mention only one of the returning O-lineman is worth mentioning...but OU again has been in the top 5-10 in recruiting for the past 6 years so the guys coming in are good...just inexperienced

as for UT kinda the same story as OU except their o-line is still there and so is their QB...i'm sorry but i didn't see anything last year from their recievers that would make me worry about them...and runningback committee will be something new or longhorn fans...on defense they have a lot to prove this year...i think defensively they can do it...i'd be worried about their offense though

[Huge]

At worst, UT's receiving game will be as good as it was last year (considering David Thomas is still here along with all the WRs). Hopefully with a healthy Jordan Shipley and a matured Quan Cosby it'll be much improved.

Texas also has one of the top 3 OLs in the country. Hopefully that'll make up for the loss of Benson. The sooner they adapt to a different style of running from the RB (nobody on the roster runs like Benson) the better.

FB could be a concern. Gone is Will Matthews. Albert Hardy was inline to take his spot 'till a neck injury forced him to quit football. Now we have a former Marine walk-on and a converted LB filling the spot. Should be interesting but there's only one game that I'm worried about the offense.

Defensively they've "only" lost Derrick Johnson and Phil Geiggar. Their entire DL is back as well as the addition of Mike Williams (academically ineligible last season). Replacing Geiggar may be a blessing as many project Michael Griffin to be a better player.

[texasguy346]

Didn't UT lose one or two of their TEs from last season? I'm certain Scaife is gone, and I'm probably wrong about the other TE being gone. In most of the UT games I watched it seemed as if the TEs were consistently targeted by Young. Might take him a bit to get a feel for his new safety valve.

[Huge]

Scaife was drafted. David Thomas (the leading receiver from last year) is still there. Thomas' back-up is Neale Tweedie who is the blocking TE of the bunch. True freshman Jermichael Finley is more like Thomas (and might be a better basketball player) but I don't expect to see him play next year. I would expect him to redshirt.

[keyfro]

huge...you are abosutely right UT does have one of the best o-lines in college football...i think iowa, ut, usc, lsu, georgia, and miami probably the top 6 o-lines in the nation depending if everyone stays healthy...with michigan, ohio state, virgina, and minnesota ending the top 10

defensively yes UT should be fine...DJ was a critical part of their defense but it's easier to replace one player than 5 like OU needs to...the recieving corp for UT will be the deciding factor on how good they are...cause i don't see a runningback from UT dominating again...the o-line should be able to give vince young plenty of time to get the ball out but the question is his mechanics...has he gotten better or stayed the same?

anyways...good luck to the longhorns...i for one not being a UT fan am tired of seeing OU dominate all the texas schools and are ready for all of them to return the favor...my dream season for this year would be for tech, ut, a&m, and baylor to beat the sooners...granted i said DREAM year...let's face it baylor isn't gonna pull that upset

[DRIFTAWAY]

Originally Posted by keyfro

huge...you are abosutely right UT does have one of the best o-lines in college football...i think iowa, ut, usc, lsu, georgia, and miami probably the top 6 o-lines in the nation depending if everyone stays healthy...with michigan, ohio state, virgina, and minnesota ending the top 10

defensively yes UT should be fine...DJ was a critical part of their defense but it's easier to replace one player than 5 like OU needs to...the recieving corp for UT will be the deciding factor on how good they are...cause i don't see a runningback from UT dominating again...the o-line should be able to give vince young plenty of time to get the ball out but the question is his mechanics...has he gotten better or stayed the same?

anyways...good luck to the longhorns...i for one not being a UT fan am tired of seeing OU dominate all the texas schools and are ready for all of them to return the favor...my dream season for this year would be for tech, ut, a&m, and baylor to beat the sooners...granted i said DREAM year...let's face it baylor isn't gonna pull that upset

then again no-one predicted the upset over A&M last year, and with all the departures, I'd say OU this year is about the same strength of A&M last yr.

[texasguy346]

Originally Posted by keyfro

anyways...good luck to the longhorns...i for one not being a UT fan am tired of seeing OU dominate all the texas schools and are ready for all of them to return the favor...my dream season for this year would be for tech, ut, a&m, and baylor to beat the sooners...granted i said DREAM year...let's face it baylor isn't gonna pull that upset

I, too, have a dream. I have a dream that one day... Baylor will topple teams like UT and OU regularly. OK so maybe my dream is a little bit more unrealistic than most, but I think it's well within Baylor's capability to become a force similar to NorthWestern in the Big 10. Maybe not a powerhouse, but capable of beating the bigger state schools every now and then. We've made steady improvement over the past few years, and although we may not topple both UT and OU next season we very well may upset them in one of the next few seasons. Baylor went from beating Colorado to beating Texas A&M. Hopefully we'll see a couple upsets this season, and I definately wouldn't mind one of them being OU.

[ComstockLode]

Originally Posted by keyfro

huge...you are abosutely right UT does have one of the best o-lines in college football...i think iowa, ut, usc, lsu, georgia, and miami probably the top 6 o-lines in the nation depending if everyone stays healthy...with michigan, ohio state, virgina, and minnesota ending the top 10

defensively yes UT should be fine...DJ was a critical part of their defense but it's easier to replace one player than 5 like OU needs to...the recieving corp for UT will be the deciding factor on how good they are...cause i don't see a runningback from UT dominating again...the o-line should be able to give vince young plenty of time to get the ball out but the question is his mechanics...has he gotten better or stayed the same?

anyways...good luck to the longhorns...i for one not being a UT fan am tired of seeing OU dominate all the texas schools and are ready for all of them to return the favor...my dream season for this year would be for tech, ut, a&m, and baylor to beat the sooners...granted i said DREAM year...let's face it baylor isn't gonna pull that upset

UT should have the best offensive line in the nation next year. And are ranked that way by a couple publications including Phil Steele's. I dont know how a runningback cant be successful behind the big bruisers we got up there.

[TexansCanes]

i am looking forward to the osu ut game. i think this is the toughest d vince will face all year and i think they have the ability to stop his running so we can see if his passing can beat a good team. i think they have the talent but i don't know if they can make it to the mnc game, we will see.

[Panther5407]

Originally Posted by ComstockLode

UT should have the best offensive line in the nation next year. And are ranked that way by a couple publications including Phil Steele's. I dont know how a runningback cant be successful behind the big bruisers we got up there.

I thought the National Champions had all there line coming back. UT has one of the top lines but if I remember right, USC has the best, or thats just what I think.

[awtysst]

Originally Posted by ComstockLode

UT should have the best offensive line in the nation next year. And are ranked that way by a couple publications including Phil Steele's. I dont know how a runningback cant be successful behind the big bruisers we got up there.

When do the polls start up? We need to start high if we want a chance at the Natl championship.

[TexansCanes]

Originally Posted by Panther5407

I thought the National Champions had all there line coming back. UT has one of the top lines but if I remember right, USC has the best, or thats just what I think.

i think that usc probably has the top line, but when these guys do their postiton rankings they don't want to put usc #1 for all of the offensive categories (atleast that is what athlon did this year) so they will instead put them at 2 or 3. anyway i think their are about six teams, as keyro said, that are better than the rest. as for the polls they come out about a month before the season just to get the controversy started, but i will stand by the fact that they are flawed and if the bcs is ever going to work they have to wait and have the polls come out 4 weeks or so after the season has started.

[wiley2002]

I just hope there isn't another Red River Shutout. Different people from Texas A&M have been making jokes about that for a while. I know someone here on the board who'll hate to hear about this.

[awtysst]

Originally Posted by wiley2002

I just hope there isn't another Red River Shutout. Different people from Texas A&M have been making jokes about that for a while. I know someone here on the board who'll hate to hear about this.

Isnt a red river shootout a given? I thought we had to play every team in the Big 12 South?

[Reddevil63]

Originally Posted by awtysst

Isnt a red river shootout a given? I thought we had to play every team in the Big 12 South?

Re-read, Red River Shutout