Texas and Big 12 Football Capsules: Big 12 offenses sputter without star QBs
NORMAN, Okla. — Colt McCoy remembers the Year of the Quarterback in the Big 12 last season. It’s no mystery to him why the league’s offenses haven’t been able to keep up the blistering scoring pace this year.
"Graham and Chase graduated and Sam got hurt," McCoy said, outlining the star quarterbacks lost from last season’s record run of scoring.
Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell and Missouri’s Chase Daniel finished their careers as the most productive players in terms of total offense in the 14 seasons of the Big 12. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford took home the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 50 touchdowns last season and he missed most of this year with a shoulder injury.
With only McCoy back from the foursome that placed among the top five vote-getters in the Heisman balloting — Bradford, McCoy, Harrell and Tech receiver Michael Crabtree — the shootouts are kind of back to normal in the Big 12.
"Every year is going to be different. It’s not normal to have a year like last year," said McCoy, whose Longhorns rank second in the nation in scoring. "I think we had four or five guys we were talking about the Heisman every week, all in the Big 12. That’s rare in any conference."
After last season, when teams scored a Big 12-record 35.6 points per game, production is down by 6.2 points per team per game this year.
Nine of the league’s 12 teams have seen their scoring averages fall, and eight of those have dipped by at least 4 points.
No team has had a bigger drop-off than Oklahoma, which set an NCAA record with 716 points last season and has seen its scoring average go down by 17.8 points per game. The Sooners lost not only Bradford but tight end Jermaine Gresham, a second-team All-American who’s second in school history with 26 touchdown catches, to injuries while four offensive linemen and three top receivers moved on.
The no-huddle offense that averaged 51.1 points last season has been bogged down by poor execution by inexperienced players.
"Last year, you had some more talented players playing. With Bradford and Gresham and those guys, you’re probably — in our world — scoring a few more points," offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said.
"With graduation, we lost some good guys. I’m sure that’s a little bit a part of it. ... Other than turnovers, I think our lack of production has been with the increased number of penalties we seem to have that get us in first-and-20 and 15 more than I remember in years past."
Missouri and Kansas State have also seen their production slow by double digits after losing star quarterbacks. The Tigers are scoring 13.3 fewer points per game without Daniel and 2008 Biletnikoff Award finalist Jeremy Maclin, while K-State is off last year’s pace by 10.1 points per game without first-round NFL draft pick Josh Freeman.
Nebraska (9.2), Oklahoma State (7.7) and Texas Tech (5.9) are also scoring about a touchdown less per game.
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel also suggested that defenses are adapting to stop spread offenses since they are so common now. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy agreed.
"Throughout the country, I think defenses are starting to catch up with what offenses had (after) a pretty good run for four or five years," Gundy said. "Last year was somewhat different because there was tremendous quarterback play in this league, and there’s still good quarterback play — but there was tremendous quarterback play in this league.
"If you follow the game really close, you’ll see that teams that are having success and winning games — in most cases — have good quarterbacks that have experience and can make plays."
Kansas coach Mark Mangino, whose Jayhawks are scoring 4 fewer points per game through some struggles by quarterback Todd Reesing, said he started noticing adjustments to the spread midway through last season.
"More and more teams in our conference are slowly but surely fading out of the spread offense," said Mangino, who brought the spread to Kansas from Oklahoma just as Mike Leach took it to Texas Tech.
"I think it goes back to the old adage that coaches want to run the ball, control the clock and play great defense. What did Woody Hayes say? ‘When you throw the ball, a lot of bad things can happen."’
More so now that defensive gurus in the league are loading up on speed.
At Oklahoma State, Andre Sexton moved from safety to a position called "star" where he’s essentially a linebacker that’s expected to also cover wide receivers when needed. Oklahoma and Kansas State also have former defensive backs playing linebacker, while Texas A&M has a former receiver at the position.
Missouri and Kansas simply use nickel coverage as their base defense.
"I think defenses are starting to convert more safeties down, to put them at outside linebacker so they can match the speed when they try to spread you out (and) just have guys that are used to making those plays in open space," Sexton said.
"That’s what we did a couple years ago, and it’s been working out good for us."
The only Big 12 teams to buck the trend are A&M, Baylor and Colorado. The Aggies have easily the biggest improvement, scoring 8 points more per game. The Bears and Buffaloes are less than 2 points over their 2008 average, despite Baylor losing quarterback Robert Griffin III for the season and Colorado switching between Tyler Hansen and Cody Hawkins.
Both still rank in the bottom third of the league in scoring.
"I won’t be surprised if in a year or two a couple teams pull out the wishbone, and I’m not saying that jokingly, either," Mangino said. "It’s like old clothes. Hold on to ‘em, they’ll come back in style. Don’t throw them away."
Thursday's Game
Third-string QB Weeden leads No. 12 Cowboys to win
STILLWATER, Okla. — Drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round, Brandon Weeden was a starting pitcher all the way.
After giving up baseball, the strong-armed right-hander earned perhaps his biggest win as an ace reliever.
Weeden, the third-string quarterback for No. 12 Oklahoma State, threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the second half to lead the Cowboys back from an 11-point deficit for a 31-28 win against Colorado on Thursday night.
"Right when we came out from halftime, I just kind of got a couple snaps, threw about five or six passes and I was throwing fire," Weeden said. "I like that. I really do. I think that’s fun."
With starter Zac Robinson injured and backup Alex Cate ineffective, the Cowboys (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) turned to Weeden to spark the offense.
His 28-yard touchdown pass to Justin Blackmon with 8:11 remaining proved to be the winner, keeping pressure on No. 3 Texas in the Big 12 championship race. The Longhorns would have clinched the Big 12 South with an OSU loss.
"We kept on giving him the 1-ball, and he kept throwing the heater, and finally we made a catch or two — and he made some plays with his feet, too," offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer said.
Colorado got out to a 21-10 lead against the one-dimensional Cowboys before Weeden finally provided a viable passing threat. He went 10 for 15 and threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Keith Toston.
Weeden had to give up baseball when he started having problems with his pitching shoulder and he can’t explain why it doesn’t affect him nearly as much when throwing a football.
The lessons the 26-year-old learned during five years in the minor leagues — never rising higher than Class-A — paid off in his first big chance on the college football stage.
"Not necessarily my age but I think baseball really helped me out. Being 18 years old and basically you’re just thrown in the fire," Weeden said. "Move halfway across the country and they said, ‘Here’s a baseball. Go throw it.’ Really and truly.
"Just having to grow up and learn that on the fly on my own, I think that’s helped me not only in football but in life."
The Buffaloes (3-8, 2-5) had one final chance to go for the win after stuffing OSU on fourth-and-short for the third time in the game with 3:14 remaining but decided to punt after Tyler Hansen threw three straight incomplete passes. The Cowboys, the Big 12’s top rushing team, ran the final 2:45 off the clock.
Oklahoma State wore black uniforms for the first time since 1994 — a miserable 3-7-1 season — and they didn’t seem to be a good luck charm in the team’s first Thursday night home game since 1995.
Cate, who had attempted only five passes in his career, started in Robinson’s place but went 0-for-9 with an interception in the first half — and it could have been worse. Colorado players had chances for at least two more picks, but let the ball slip through their hands.
Weeden came on in relief and connected on his first pass before throwing three straight incompletions for a three-and-out. When he completed back-to-back passes on OSU’s third drive of the third quarter, the crowd of 50,080 let out Bronx cheers.
Two plays later, Toston finished that drive with a 45-yard touchdown run through a huge hole on the right side of the line to cut the deficit to 21-17.
Colorado had a chance to stretch its lead, but Aric Goodman’s 50-yard field goal try caromed off the right upright and coach Dan Hawkins then opted to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the 29-yard line instead of sending Goodman out to try a 46-yard kick.
"We all knew as a team that if we got that fourth down, we were going to score and seal the game. There was no hesitation, we were going for it," said Hansen, who threw incomplete to Riar Geer on the play. "I was going to the sideline saying we’re going for it."
Oklahoma State came right back on its next possession to take the lead on Toston’s 47-yard touchdown catch. Toston released out of the backfield, ran between two blitzing defenders and caught a short pass from Weeden before racing into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Brian Lockridge answered with a 98-yard return for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff to put the Buffaloes back ahead with 11:11 remaining, but Weeden responded with two big completions on third-and-long before finding Blackmon in the end zone as he scrambled to the right.
"Obviously, he’s blessed by his arm or he wouldn’t have been in pro baseball. He delivered some balls and we made some plays," Brewer said.
It was only the second win for OSU against Colorado in the teams’ last eight meetings in Stillwater. Both teams ended up playing switcheroo at quarterback, with Cate getting a 7-0 head start when Perrish Cox brought back Matt DiLallo’s first punt 67 yards for a score.
OSU’s defense then sacked Hansen on back-to-back plays to force a three-and-out, but Toston took a handoff from Cate on the Cowboys’ first offensive snap and fumbled for the first time in 287 carries — a span of more than two years since he’d been benched for fumble problems in September 2007.
Hansen capitalized with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Scotty McKnight before leaving briefly with a thumb injury. Cody Hawkins, the former Buffaloes starter and the coach’s son, replaced him and threw a 5-yard score to Geer to put Colorado up 14-10 at halftime.
-- Jeff Latzke
Colorado QB Hansen returns after thumb injury
STILLWATER, Okla. — Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen has returned after leaving the Buffaloes’ game at No. 12 Oklahoma State with a right thumb injury.
Hansen went to the locker room for X-rays midway through the second quarter, but came back to start the second half. After a muffed punt by Oklahoma State’s Perrish Cox, he threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Markques Simas to give Colorado a 21-10 lead.
Hansen broke the thumb during Colorado’s spring game when he slammed it into another player’s helmet.
Cody Hawkins, the Buffaloes’ starter at the beginning of the season, replaced Hansen in the second quarter and led a go-ahead scoring drive capped by his 5-yard touchdown pass to Riar Geer.
QB Cate starts for No. 12 Cowboys vs. Colorado
STILLWATER, Okla. — Junior Alex Cate made his first career start at quarterback for No. 12 Oklahoma State on Thursday against Colorado in place of injured starter Zac Robinson.
Cate had thrown only five passes in his career at Oklahoma State before being called on to replace Robinson, the school’s career record-holder in total offense, passing and touchdown passes.
Robinson left last week’s victory against Texas Tech after a big collision with safety Jamar Wall with less than 2 minutes remaining.
Cowboys coach Mike Gundy had indicated he expected Robinson to start against the Buffaloes, although the team’s medical staff was still performing tests on him through the week.
Features
Former players say Kansas coach is abusive
LAWRENCE, Kan. — University of Kansas officials are willing to talk with former players about allegations of abusive behavior by football coach Mark Mangino — and two former players had plenty to say on Thursday.
Former Jayhawks receiver Raymond Brown recalled how in 2007, after his younger brother was wounded in a shooting near his home in St. Louis, teammates gathered around and warmly pledged their support.
A few days later, Brown said, an angry Mangino ordered him to the sideline during practice and made a shockingly insensitive comment.
"He went off on me yelling, which is fine," Brown told The Associated Press. "I kept saying, ‘Yes, sir, yes, sir,’ to everything he was saying. A teammate asked me what happened. Then he started on me again and I said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and he said, ‘Don’t you ‘yes sir’ me. I’ll send you back to St. Louis where you can get shot by your homies."’
Brown and another former player also told the AP that Mangino made insensitive comments about a player’s father being an alcoholic.
Mangino declined to return calls Thursday but defended himself later Thursday night on his weekly radio program, saying there were "people who are embarrassing this program just for their 15 minutes of fame."
"More than anything some guys might be a little bitter because we have structure and discipline, because I’ve asked them to represent the football program and the university in a class way," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of our guys have done that. They have been great. I’ll be honest with you — some of this stuff is flat-out embellished and not true. Just not true."
The university this week confirmed that it is investigating allegations of verbal and emotional abuse by Mangino, the 2007 national coach of the year.
The probe by associate athletic director for risk management Lori Williams began Sunday after senior linebacker Arist Wright complained to athletic director Lew Perkins that Mangino had poked him in the chest while chewing him out.
None of the players interviewed by the AP had been contacted by the school, but they likely will.
"Lori Williams will talk to whomever she feels she needs to talk to to conduct this review," associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said Thursday. "It will be thorough."
Mangino maintains he has done nothing wrong and is fully focused on getting the Jayhawks (5-5, 1-5 Big 12) ready to play at No. 3 Texas on Saturday.
"I have not done anything that’s inappropriate," Mangino said after practice Wednesday night. "I have been in this conference for nearly 20 years, and what I can tell you is that our coaching intensity does not largely differ from the other Big Eight and Big 12 teams that I have observed. We have handled this program in terms of intensity and holding players accountable the same since 2002 to today."
Nevertheless, a rising tide of criticism seems to be threatening Mangino’s job just two years after he received a raise and contract extension for going 12-1 in 2007 and beating Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. While some players voiced support for their coach, many former players have bitterly recalled instances where they say his comments went over the line.
Brown and former wide receiver Dexton Fields said a player was having a bad practice one day when Mangino became exasperated. They said they did not want to embarrass the player by naming him.
"He wanted to be a lawyer," Brown said in a telephone interview from his home in St. Louis. "He messed up, and Mangino said to his face, in front of everybody, ‘You want to be a lawyer? You’re going to be an alcoholic just like your dad."’
Fields, speaking from his home in Lawrence, said he was present.
"We all knew his father had a drinking problem," he said.
Mangino also said on the radio interview that some of the problems stemmed from players’ parents.
"I can’t do the work of some parents, what they should have done before they got to me. And some of those guys are bitter. And some that’s the problem. And I can’t do anything about that."
After starting 5-0 and rising to No. 16 in the AP poll, the Jayhawks have lost five in a row. Mangino indicated this week that the investigation was related to the losing streak.
"I’ve seen some instances where he said some pretty mean things to people," Fields said. "Did that motivate guys to play hard? Yes and no. It got you mad. So when you went out onto the field you had to do whatever you needed to do to take your anger out. But I don’t think it makes you a better player. The negative outweighed the positive."
Senior quarterback Todd Reesing, a Mangino supporter, noted the program was in shambles when Mangino arrived in 2002.
"He’s always been very stern in his resolve," Reesing said. "He came here to a team that was undisciplined and a program that lacked it and he established discipline and got guys to work hard and believe in themselves. He’s done a lot of good things. The way he’s approached football is the way a lot of coaches approach it."
-- Doug Tucker
Stoops stands by ex-assistant Mangino
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is sticking by his former assistant — Kansas coach Mark Mangino.
Mangino is facing an internal investigation by the school over an undisclosed personnel matter.
Mangino has conceded he’s lost the support of some people but says he has not lost his players.
Stoops says Mangino has always been close to and concerned about his players.
Mangino was OU’s offensive line coach in 1999 and the Sooners’ offensive coordinator in 2000 and 2001 before become head coach at Kansas.
Nebraska’s Lee re-establishes hold on QB job
LINCOLN, Neb. — When Nebraska's Zac Lee was benched for a game and the first quarter of another, he soothed himself by remembering the words of an old pro he knows.
"My dad told me when I first started playing quarterback that you're not a true quarterback until you're run out of at least one place," Lee said. "So taking that to heart, and really hearing that for as long as I've heard that, it's just part of the deal. You have to be prepared for it."
Lee is the son of Bob Lee, who played for three teams in a 12-year NFL career. The young Lee has rebounded quite nicely since re-establishing his grip on the job after losing it briefly to freshman Cody Green.
Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has put in some new wrinkles to tailor the system to Lee's strengths. All signs point to the junior keeping the job the rest of the way.
Lee will lead the Huskers (7-3, 4-2 Big 12) on Saturday as they play for the Big 12 North title against Kansas State (6-5, 4-3).
"Zac had a chance to sit back and evaluate the situation he was in," Watson said. "He wanted to play. Given his opportunity, he came back and grasped what we've been trying to get him to grasp. It's just managing the game of football. Start there and grow from there. He's done a nice job the last two games of just managing wins."
Watson kept things simple after Lee took over for Green in the second quarter against Oklahoma two weeks ago. Lee essentially handed off the ball to Roy Helu Jr. and mixed in a handful of passes. The defense did the rest in a 10-3 win.
Helu was the focus again in last week's 31-17 win at Kansas, but Lee ran nine times for 59 yards and passed for 196 yards. Lee brought back memories of the Nebraska offenses of the 1980s and '90s by throwing play-action passes off the triple-option look.
Coach Bo Pelini said Lee's confidence was shaken in October, with fans and critics calling for Green.
"The negativity and controversy, that will affect anybody," Pelini said. The coach said he saw Lee's "swagger" return against the Jayhawks.
With the tweaked offense, Lee said, his choices are limited in the passing game, and that's a good thing. If his first or second reads are not open, he can take off running.
"Earlier, I was thinking about trying to make plays passing the ball and just wasn't reacting and going," he said. "Holes close pretty quick. Now it's 1-2, and if it's not there, let's duck and run."
Lee started the first seven games, but Green took over after embarrassing back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Iowa State. After Green quarterbacked the 20-10 win at Baylor, Lee reclaimed the job in the second quarter against Oklahoma after Green failed to make a first down on five series.
Watson said Lee never pouted while he was on the sidelines.
"I don't think he liked it," Watson said, "but he understood what was being asked of him, and what he needed to do to improve. I think he took it to heart."
Just like he took those words from his dad to heart.
"You realize there are going to be some valleys and peaks," he said. "It's like being a closer in baseball. There are going to be times you give up a homer to lose a game. You have to have a short memory and move on."
-- Eric Olson
Nebraska’s Suh is Nagurski award finalist
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh is a finalist for the 2009 Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
The award is sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club and the Football Writers Association of America. It’s given to the nation’s top college defensive player.
The four other finalists: Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer, Tennessee safety Eric Berry, Alabama nose tackle Terrence Cody and TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes.
Nagurski was a star fullback and defensive tackle at Minnesota, 1927-29.
Nose tackle Suh has 56 tackles so far this season, including 13 for loss and five sacks.
He’s a finalist for the Lombardi Award, a semifinalist for the Lott and Bednarik trophies and is one of 15 "players to watch" for the Walter Camp National Player of the Year honor.
Two injured expected to return for Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. — Things appear to be on the upswing on the injury front for Nebraska.
Coach Bo Pelini says tight end Mike McNeill and freshman running back Rex Burkhead are expected to play on Saturday when the Cornhuskers take on Kansas State in Lincoln.
McNeill suffered a hit to the ribs in last week’s game against Kansas. Burkhead has been out since Oct. 13 with a broken foot bone.
Pelini said both did well in Thursday’s two-hour practice as the Huskers finish preparations for the Wildcats.
Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m. Saturday, with television coverage provided by ESPN.
OSU to honor senior players
STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State will honor 22 senior football players at their final home game.
OSU hosts Colorado starting at 7 p.m. Thursday in Stillwater.
The 22 include 15 starters — although it has not been announced whether senior quarterback Zac Robinson will start. Robinson took a hard hit from Texas Tech cornerback Jamar Wall late in Saturday’s win over the Red Raiders.
