AN OBJECTIVE LONGHORN'S THOUGHTS ON THE GAME

Please welcome Dave, my guest blogger for the week. Below are his impressions of the Tech/UT game from a Longhorn's perspective. Do you agree/disagree with Dave's assessment. Feel free to post comments below.

Contrary to popular belief, there are Texas fans out there who actually attended and graduated from UT. I am one of those fans. Now, I'm as die hard a Texas fan as you'll find, but I happen to think I'm pretty fair and objective when it comes to recapping their play. I have many friends, including the best man at my wedding, who went to Tech that would attest to that. With that said, here are my thoughts regarding my Horns 34-24 victory over Tech on Saturday.

First, my Horns:
-Something is wrong with Colt McCoy. That's not to take away from the Tech defense (more on that later). There were stories out of Austin that Colt was sick all week with flu-like symptoms and didn't practice until Thursday. If Colt were a frosh, I may buy that as an excuse, but not here, he was just off. I've never cared too much for the Heisman, as I think its the most over hyped award in sports, but unless he lights it up every game the rest of the way out, including a decisive victory over OU, he can forget about winning the Heisman. I honestly couldn't care any less if Colt wins or not. Sure, it would be nice, but I'd rather Texas win all their games. Colt was throwing high all night (both picks were on him due to high throws, although you could argue the receivers still should have made those catches) and just seemed out of sync. I can only hope this is a fluke and not a trend, or Texas will be in trouble this year.

-Yes, they gave up over 400 yards. Yes they gave up 24 points. And as usual, the Tech offense made the Texas defense look downright stupid at times. But I haven't seen a defense from Texas that attacks the line of scrimmage this well since the championship season of '05. I love this defense. When you play Tech, you know you're going to get gashed through the air. But the big difference between this year and the classic last year was two things: stopping Tech's running game and getting pressure on the QB, both of which Texas did a great job of. In my opinion, the Texas D won the game.

-I'm still disappointed in Texas' running game, or lack thereof. However, I love this kid Tre Newton. We'll see if he can take the pressure off of McCoy, who was Texas' leading rusher last year (sadly).

Secondly, for Tech:
-The biggest shocker to me was Tech's D playing at the level they played at. They were the reason the game was as close as it was. I was one of those fans who thought this would be a 3 TD victory for Texas, but only because the Tech D line was coming into the game completely demolished. I was very impressed with how they stepped up.

-Taylor Potts is now my 2nd favorite Big XII QB. The one thing I hated about Graham Harrell, whether deserved or not, was that he didn't seem to take getting hit very well--meaning he would complain a lot. Perhaps not fact, but that's how I saw it. TP was getting destroyed by Texas' D linemen, and all he did was get off the turf, walk to the line, run the next play (usually for a 1st down, much to the chagrin of my Horns' D). No trash talk, no complaining, just all business. He's going to be fun to watch. I just hope he's sick for our game next year and can't play.

-If Tech wants to beat OU and other top teams, they need to find a consistent running game, and fast. Obviously, -6 yards isn't going to cut it, but the main reason Tech was able to pull off the upset last year was their presence of a competent running game.

-WAY too many penalties for the Red Raiders. Now, I know this is a touchy subject for the Lubbock faithful (more on that below), but most the penalties were things like false starts which are easily avoided.

-No need for the onside kick in the 3rd quarter. You're on the road and just scored a TD to get to within 7. With an offense as potent as Tech's, and the opponents Heisman candidate QB clearly struggling, coupled with the excellent play of your defense, there's no need to gamble and give a team like Texas starting field position at midfield.

Finally, the penalties (or the refs, depending on who you talk to):
As I said above, this is a very touchy subject for some TT fans. There are a lot of TT fans who are 100% convinced that every ref in a UT-Tech game is on Deloss Dodds' payroll. I don't have much to say to these people, I liken them to the 9/11 "truthers". Questionable calls are made in every game in both directions. In my opinion, fans that blame every loss on refs are not worth mentioning, much less arguing with.

With that said, I think the game was called well. Not perfect, but well. A lot of holding on Tech wasn't called. The offensive facemask that was called on Tech early was weak. The personal foul against Texas 2 plays before the Potts fumble was also weak. The call at the end of the half when Potts' knee never went down was actually correct--in college you can't simulate taking a knee like you can in the NFL. I will concede one horrendous call by the officials that went in Texas' favor - the offensive PI called on Tech's final drive when they had the ball 1st and 10 on Texas' 48. I've watched the replay 5 times and can't understand where the PI took place. That was a bad call. However, most Tech fans will point to what is becoming known as "The Hit":

I'm certainly not going to change anyone's mind, but I think it was a clean hit. A lot of Tech fans are decrying the hit, saying Kindle is dirty, etc., but if you see the replay closely, he does what every defensive player is taught to do, and that is to put your face on the opponent's chest or ball, then drive through them into the ground. It is unfortunate that Kindle's helmet ended up going into Potts' chin, but football is a violent sport. Of course, I'm glad it was a no-call, and I'd be livid if a flag was thrown, as it would in my opinion contribute to the "pussification" of football. But trying to convince some Tech fans that hit was legal is like trying to convince Barack Obama and Nancy Peolsi that nationalized health care will bankrupt the country.

All in all, the game was much closer than I anticipated, but it was an excellent game. Of course I'm glad the Horns won, but I expected more out of our offense. Defensively, if you would have told me Tech would score 24 points, I'd have taken that in a heartbeat. If Tech can play defense like that and find a running game, they're looking at another 11 win season, and likely BCS bowl. For Texas, if McCoy reverts back to last season's form, which I think he will, Texas should be in Pasadena come January. But somehow, some way, OU will find a way to take their spot. It's science.