Double Coverage Volume 5 Issue 13

11

THE DAILY TEXAN PRESENTS:

Nov. 24, 2010 Vol.5, Issue 13

L A S T C H A N C EFinal home game could decide legacy of Texas seniors | page 10

Wednesday, November 24, 20102

EDITOR’S NOTEThe Daily Texan’s Double Coverage is printed before every Texas football game.

Cover photo: Derek Stout, above: Derek Stout| Daily Texan Staff

Texas defensive end Sam Acho played the best statistical game of his career last weekend versus Florida Atlantic with six solo tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

CLASS ACTSam Acho helped right the Longhorns’ sinking ship with his leadership and learned a valuable life lesson from the experience.

page 4

HUNGRY FOR A WINEven though Texas will be playing during dinner time on Thanksgiving, players shared some of their favorite family recipes.

7

With Ryan Tannehill under center, Texas A&M has won five straight and moved back into the national spotlight.

8 AMAZING MR. TANNEHILL

Double Coverage Editor……………Will Anderson Design Editor…………………….Mustafa SaifuddinPhoto Editor……………………………Derek StoutPage designers................................Martina Geronimo Copy Editors.............Reese Rackets, Cristina Herrera....................................Elyana Barrera, Sydney FitzgeraldDaily Texan Sports Editor………………Dan HurwitzWriters……...................................Sameer Bhuchar,..........................Alexandra Carreno, Austin Laymance,......................................................Jordan Godwin, …………………........Laken Litman, Jonathan Parrett

THE DAILY TEXAN PRESENTS:

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 13 • NOVEMBER 24, 2010

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theLINEUP

‘‘I hate everyone we’re playing against. It’s easy for me to get up

every time I put on that uniform.”

— Blake Gideon,Texas safety

HE SAID IT... on page 3

2

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 3

Get in-depth coverage before every Texas game from:

By Jordan GodwinDaily Texan Staff

If you noticed head coach Mack Brown rubbing his derriere on the sideline last Saturday, he was touching a lucky coin in his back pocket that the military gave him.

“People probably thought I was weird,” Brown said.

If trends continue, he’ll be do-ing a lot of rubbing on Thurs-day. Texas is playing Texas A&M, a game the Longhorns almost al-ways mysteriously struggle with. Here’s why — Texas simply has too many key players from Dallas and not enough from Houston.

They grew up where Oklaho-ma jerseys and apparel are sold side-by-side with Texas merchan-dise. For them, Texas’ true rival is Oklahoma, and thus, Texas usu-ally owns Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. Those players don’t know what it’s like growing up in the eastern part of Texas, where maroon is the dominant color. Don’t believe me?

“That whole rivalry thing is for the media and the fans, I don’t re-ally get into that,” said Dallas-na-tive receiver John Chiles about this week’s contest. “We’re just going to have the same mindset.”

Please don’t. So much of win-ning football games is about com-petitive fire and passion, traits that the 2010 Longhorns will al-ways be remembered for not hav-ing. Watch the YouTube video Texas A&M put together before the Nebraska game to see that kind of desire.

“Our will to win will be far superior than anybody else out there. Do you understand that?” head coach Mike Sherman asks his locker room to a disciplined reply of “Yes, sir.” Sherman says, “Now let’s go get this thing — are you ready?” and the Aggies chant, “Hell, yeah,” several times.

The Aggie defense silenced one of the best offenses in the coun-try last weekend versus Nebras-ka. After Texas’ defeat of Florida

Atlantic, Brown asked his team to watch that game with pencil and paper and write down what they will each individually contribute to help beat Texas A&M.

“We were supposed to watch it, but I was tired,” Chiles said. “I think a few of us might’ve seen the highlights.”

This is the pervasive mentality of the Longhorns, but it’s certain-ly not all-inclusive. Safety Blake Gideon, one of the fieriest players on Texas’ roster, shouldn’t have any problems getting mentally ready to face the Aggies.

“I hate everybody we’re play-ing against,” Gideon said. “It’s easy for me to get up every time I put on that uniform.”

Gideon is also one of the few players that seems to truly under-stand what this game means for Texas. Defensive end Sam Acho called it, “their national champi-onship” of the season because if the Longhorns lose on Thursday, that’s the end of the season.

Starting a very youthful offen-sive line, Texas should be con-cerned with the Aggie pass rush that blitzes nearly two-thirds of the time. Von Miller ranks 29th in the nation with 7.5 sacks, and he’s due for two or 10 on Thursday.

“He’s a heck of a player,” Gil-bert said. “But I have a lot of con-fidence in my offensive line.”

And luckily for Gilbert, he’ll have a center that was raised in the East Texas town of Gilmer, hardcore Aggie country. With a thick Texas drawl, David Snow can tell you exactly what it means to beat Texas A&M. If he loses on Thursday night, he’s got friends and neighbors just waiting to dog him for it.

“Basically, everybody in my town loves Texas A&M,” Snow said. “All the old people are die-hard Aggies, and growing up, it was the game everyone was waiting for.”

If only he could tell it to his teammates.

8-3 (5-2 Big 12)last game: 9-6 win vs. Nebraska

5-6 (2-5 Big 12)last game: 51-17 win vs. FAU

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Senior defensive end is pride of Texas team

By Laken LitmanDaily Texan Staff

The first speech Sam Acho ever gave the Longhorns was dur-ing halftime of last year’s nation-al championship game after Colt McCoy went down. He told his teammates to stay confident and gave them encouragement to keep fighting.

Fast-forward nine months and Acho has given hundreds of speeches since that night at the Rose Bowl.

His most memorable talk came after Texas’ 28-21 loss to Iowa State. Before that game, head coach Mack Brown accused his players of play-ing with too much entitlement. Acho felt the same way and took matters into his own hands.

“He got everybody’s attention that night and the guys have sure kept their mouths shut and played hard since,” Brown said.

Every year the Longhorns lose seniors who lead the team on and off the field. And each season new seniors rise and fill those leadership

voids. Sergio Kindle stepped in when Brian Orakpo left and Acho took Kindle’s spot this year.

But the issue concerning Acho’s graduation isn’t about finding a leadership replacement, it’s mak-ing sure players and coaches re-member the mark he left on this football program.

“He’s about as perfect as a young man you could possibly be,” Brown said. “He works hard every day at practice. He’s upbeat every day of his life.”

Acho has shown the proper way to handle hardship through his work ethic. He may get blocked, double-teamed or tripped during games, but he gets back up and finds the ball.

Last weekend, for example, in Texas’ 51-17 win over Florida At-lantic, Acho played the best game of his career stat-wise with six tackles (all solo), three sacks for 33 yards, four tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Though his stats were praisewor-thy, the always-humble Acho said

that he could have been better.“He’s the face of Texas football,”

said linebacker Keenan Robinson. “He’s a guy we rely on to do a lot of things. He’s responsible, he’s a leader, he’s a playmaker. We’re go-ing to feel the loss of his presence in the locker room next year.”

The Longhorns are 5-6, but this team could be 0-11 and Acho would still have a broad smile stretched across his face every day. He’s mature enough to view this

type of adversity as one of the best learning experiences of his life and he realizes that there’s more to life than football.

“I’m learning so much about myself, about this team, about per-severing,” Acho said.

In his career at Texas’ Acho has racked up 147 tackles (97 solo), 37 for a loss, 23.5 sacks, eight fumble recoveries and eight forced fumbles.

“He’s more than earned his

scholarship at The University of Texas,” Brown said.

The senior defensive end will play his final home game — and possibly the last game of his college career if Texas loses — Thursday night against Texas A&M.

“Playing for Texas has meant so much to me,” Acho said. “I’ve been so blessed, and my brother and family has been so blessed these past four years. It’s something that I didn’t deserve at all.”

Since arriving on campus four years ago, Sam Acho has been one of the Longhorns’ most consistent performers. This year he’s stepped up as a leader, too.

Derek Stout Daily Texan staff

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Last Week: ByeSeason: 135/198 passing (68.2%) for 2038 yards, 21 TDs, 6 INTs; 1297 yards rushing, 17 TDsStock: SameThis Saturday’s showdown with Alabama could make or break Newton’s Heisman campaign. If he or the Tigers slip up, it could cost the junior a chance at the BCS title and the Heisman trophy.

Cam Newton, Auburn QB

ON THE CUSP:QB Andrew Luck, StanfordQB Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma St.QB Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State

Last Week: ByeSeason: 225 carries for 1422 yards (6.3 ypc), 17 TDs; 10 receptions for 149 yards, 1 TDStock: SameJames will be going up against a formidable Arizona defense that ranks 11th in the country in rushing yards allowed (1,133) and 12th in scoring de-fense (18.1) and needs a solid game to remain in the race.

LaMichael James, Oregon RB

Last Week: (48-14 W @ Kansas): 10 receptions for 130 yards, 1 TDSeason: 94 receptions for 1,560 yards, 17 TDsStock: UpIt’s a shame that wide receivers don’t have much value in Heisman voting because Blackmon is having an incredible year. He’s had at least 100 yards and a touchdown in 10 straight games, one shy of the NCAA record.

Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma St. WR

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Last Week: (51-0 W vs. Fresno State): 27/38 for 333 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INTSeason: 201/280 passing (71.8%) for 2921 yards, 28 TDs, 5 INTsStock: SameMoore threw 38 passes last week against Fresno State, the most he has all season. The Broncos should be tested this week against Nevada, so Moore will have a chance to show voters he can lead his team to a win over a quality opponent.

Kellen Moore, Boise St. QB

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The Texas wideouts had a break-out game a week ago, with James Kirkendoll leading the way with 123 yards, but the Aggies’ Jeff Fuller and Ryan Swope have been consis-tent contributors all season long, teaming up for 127 catches for 1,719 yards and 15 scores. Give A&M’s pass catchers the edge in this one because of their weekly produc-tivity but look for Texas’ talented secondary to challenge them.

Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill has as many touchdowns in his first three games in the lineup as Texas’ Garret Gilbert has had all season. While Gilbert finally turned in a solid all-around performance against Flor-ida Atlantic last week, he will be facing much better athletes in the Aggie second-ary Thanksgiving night. Tannehill has led the Aggies’ late charge and is unbeaten as a starter.

MATCHups— By Austin Laymance | Daily Texan Staff

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QUARTERBACK RUNNING BACK RECEIVERS OFFENSIVE LINELonghorn tailback Cody Johnson broke out of his slump with 124 yards and a score against FAU, but he will face a tougher test in this game as he faces the No. 1 rush defense in the Big 12. A&M’s Cyrus Gray and Christine Mi-chael have formed a formidable duo in the Aggie backfield, combining for 1,441 yards and 15 touchdowns, although Michael will miss the rest of the season after breaking his leg on Oct. 30 versus Texas Tech.

The Aggies are last in the Big 12 in sacks al-lowed with 33 and will have a tough task ahead of them as they will line up against the best pass rush in the conference. Texas is on the other end of the spectrum, and the o-line has surrendered only 15 sacks on the year but struggle to open running lanes. The Longhorns’ linemen must bring their A-game as the Aggies are extremely tough against the run.

While Texas allows almost 80 yards less through the air on average than Texas A&M, the Aggies have the more efficient pass defense and have intercepted more than twice as many passes as the Long-horns. Senior safety Blake Gideon made a great play on a first-half interception last week but will need to make even more plays this game against an Aggie offense that is running on all cylinders.

Defensive end Sam Acho should have a field day in his last game under the lights at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium as he and the rest of the Longhorn pass rushers face an Aggies line that has surrendered the most sacks in the Big 12. Texas A&M’s pass rush has produced only three fewer sacks than the Longhorns’, but the Aggies don’t have the luxury of facing an overmatched offensive line.

Von Miller and Michael Hodges will make plays from sideline to sideline and all over the field for the Aggies’ vaunted rush de-fense. Texas junior linebacker Emmanu-el Acho will look to build on a clutch perfor-mance last week against FAU, finishing sec-ond in tackles and returning an interception 57 yards for a score. Miller and Hodges have stopped opposing tailbacks all year and should continue the trend in this game.

The Longhorns are dead-last in the Big 12 in kickoff returns, but place kicker Justin Tucker has been the most accurate kicker in the con-ference this season. Aggie return man Cory-ell Judie has taken two kicks back for scores and Dustin Harris also returned a punt for six points for A&M. The Longhorns must stay in their lanes on kick returns, otherwise they could find themselves chasing the dangerous Aggie returners.

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By Sameer Bhuchar | Daily Texan StaffWhile much of the country will be filling its belly with succulent turkey,

savory stuffing and fluffy mashed potatoes Thursday night, the Texas football team will be battling the Aggies on the gridiron.

Though most of the players said they are pushing their turkey day to Friday, many of them will get a chance to relive old traditions that have defined their families’ version of the holiday for years as well as indulge in their favorite foods. Perhaps you can take a page out of the Longhorn football players’ recipe book and make their favorite treats for your family this holiday season.

APPETITESTEXAS-SIZED Kheeston Randall’s

Three-Cheese Macaroni

Randall’s family will join him in at his apartment in Austin for Thanksgiving dinner the day after the big game.

Randall said that he traditionally helps with the cooking on Thanks-giving, something none of the oth-er players interviewed admitted to.

To add to your feast fit for a king, or maybe more importantly, feast fit for a defensive tackle, try the much homier mac and cheese, Randall’s most treasured side dish on the Thanksgiving table.

Ingredients12 ounces dried elbow

macaroni (2-2/3 cups)1-1/2 cups milk1/4 cup butter, melted1/2 teaspoon ground

white pepper1/4 teaspoon salt8 ounces American cheese, cut

into 1/2-inch cubes8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese,

shredded (2 cups)2 ounces mozzarella cheese,

shredded (1/2 cup)20 rich round crackers, crushed

Directions1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. • In a large pot, cook macaroni

according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.2. Add milk, melted butter, • pepper and salt. Stir in chees-es. Transfer to a greased two-quart casserole.3. Bake uncovered for 15 min-• utes. Carefully stir mixture. Sprinkle with crushed crack-ers. Bake five minutes more or until crackers are browned and mixture is just heated through (don’t overheat or mixture will curdle). Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes eight to 10 side-dish servings.

Full recipe provided by Better Homes and Garden

Garret Gilbert’s Deep-Fried Turkey

MORE ON PAGE 18

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Gilbert plans to celebrate his Thanksgiving on Friday with his family before going to watch his brother play football in the high school state playoffs. He says that one of his favorite Thanksgiving traditions is playing in his family’s annual football game.

“A little tradition we have is to play in the yearly ‘Turkey Bowl,’” Gilbert said.

He wouldn’t reveal what his re-cord was in the Turkey Bowl.

Gilbert’s favorite food is his family’s deep-fried turkey, which he said he doesn’t help to cook, but certainly helps to eat.

Ingredients3 gallons peanut oil for frying,

or as needed1 whole turkey, neck and

giblets removed1/4 cup Creole seasoning1 white onion

Directions1. In a large stockpot or turkey •

fryer, heat oil to 400 degrees. Be sure to leave room for the turkey, or the oil will spill over. Layer a large platter with food-safe paper bags. 2. Rinse turkey and thorough-• ly pat dry with paper towels. Rub Creole seasoning over tur-key inside and out. Make sure the hole at the neck is open at least 2 inches so the oil can flow freely through the bird. 3. Place the whole onion and • turkey in drain basket. The turkey should be placed in basket neck-end first. Slow-ly lower basket into hot oil to completely cover turkey. Main-tain the temperature of the oil at 350 degrees and cook turkey for 3 1/2 minutes per pound, about 45 minutes. 4. Carefully remove basket • from oil and drain turkey. In-sert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; the internal temperature must be 180 degrees. Finish draining turkey on the prepared platter.

Full recipe provided by Allrecipes.com


By Austin LaymanceDaily Texan Staff

The double switch is a move generally reserved for baseball, but that’s not the way Texas A&M sees it.

It wasn’t enough for the Ag-gie coaching staff to simply move quarterback Ryan Tannehill from his position as a slot receiver to the man taking all the snaps, they also moved him into the starting role Oct. 30 after Jerrod Johnson — the Big 12 Preseason Offensive MVP — struggled with turnovers and lost three in a row.

But with the converted wide receiver running the show, Texas A&M has reeled off five straight wins and has rolled over the com-petition. With Tannehill at the helm, the Aggies have cured their early season woes as the junior has fixed the team’s turnover is-sues, something Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has noticed on film.

“They’ve done a better job of ball security and taking care of the ball [with Tannehill in],” Mus-champ said.

Johnson’s turnover-prone play during the Aggies’ rut — he had nine interceptions in a three-game span in which A&M went 1-2 — opened the door for Tan-nehill, the man Johnson used to throw to. Tannehill made an im-mediate impact, throwing for a school-record 449 yards and four scores in his first start, an Oct. 30 victory over Texas Tech.

The last time Texas junior

linebacker Emmanuel Acho faced Tannehill, the Aggie’s new QB was running routes and catching balls from Johnson — he had four grabs for 54 yards and caught a two-point conversion in last sea-son’s loss to the Longhorns. But Acho understands the spark Tan-nehill has brought to A&M and isn’t underestimating the some-what untested quarterback, who is making just his fifth start.

“They’re riding the hot arm; he’s been hot,” Acho said. “To come in midseason and have success is even more impressive.”

Tannehill’s wild career boasts an impressive stat sheet filled with milestones. He’s had a 200-yard re-ceiving game, a double-digit re-ceptions performance, a 400-yard passing day, over 100 career catch-es, more than 1,500 career receiving yards and punted a ball that was downed inside the opponents 20-yard line.

But Tannehill admits his suc-cess, and conversely the success of the Aggies, hasn’t been easy and says there has been a steep learn-ing curve for him since taking over the starting duties.

“It’s definitely been a learning experience,” Tannehill said. “Get-ting in my first few games, it was a different situation than I had been in in a long time. I hadn’t played a full game [at quarterback] since high school.”

But it certainly doesn’t seem that way as Tannehill has beat-en the likes of Oklahoma, Bay-lor and Nebraska.

Nick de la Torre | Associated Press

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, right, started his first game for the Aggies on Oct. 30 against Texas Tech and has thrown 10 TDs.

Former receiver leading Aggies into postseason

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 9Games2watch 9

— By Jon Parrett | Daily Texan StaffGAMEStoWATCH

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Last year ’s Iron Bowl came down to the final two minutes and Auburn failed to thwart the Tide’s run at a national championship. The roles are switched this year, as it’s Alabama’s turn to play spoiler. Auburn’s offense is nearly un-stoppable, but its defense has been less than stellar — the Tigers are giving up al-most 25 points per game and rank 11th in the SEC in passing defense.

Alabama is one of many teams that has failed to live up to expectations this sea-son but could alleviate some of the pain by keeping its rival from playing for a na-tional championship. Quarterback Greg McElroy has the fourth-best passer rating in the Football Bowl Subdivision needs to have a big day against the overmatched Tiger secondary if Alabama intends to put up a fight.

With two games remaining, the Ducks only need one win to repeat as Pac-10 champions, and two if they want a chance to be national champions. Run-ning back LaMichael James is coming off his worst performance of the season and will need to get back on track if Oregon hopes to avoid being upset.

Arizona’s defense has had two weeks to put the debacle against USC behind them, when the Trojans ran for more than 200 yards in Tucson. Wildcat quarterback Nick Foles has had a great season thus far, but Arizona will need to be more than one-dimensional on offense against an underrated Oregon defense. With only Oregon State left on the Ducks’ schedule, the Wildcats are most likely the last team with a real shot of knocking Oregon out of the national title hunt.

Nevada is Boise’s last test of the season, so the Broncos will look to impress poll-sters on national television. Boise State is second in the country in scoring offense and scoring defense but hasn’t faced a running attack like Nevada’s all season.Still, Kellen Moore and his nation-leading quarterback rating should be favored in this WAC showdown.

Nevada’s offense goes through quarter-back Colin Kaepernick, but the 6-foot-6-inch senior isn’t the Wolf Pack’s only star. Running back Vai Taua has run for more than 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns and is deceptively strong for his size. If Ne-vada can run the ball and control the clock, the Wolf Pack have a chance at the upset. However, with it’s 103rd-ranked passing defense, things could get ugly if Nevada doesn’t come out hungry.

The latest installment in the Bedlam ri-valry is arguably the most important ever, as the winner will play in the Big 12 cham-pionship game. Oklahoma State has 10 wins in the regular season for the first time ever, and the Cowboys have Big 12 and BCS title aspirations. The Pokes have a three-headed monster on offense with quarterback Brandon Weeden, receiver Justin Blackmon and running back Kend-all Hunter, but their defense will need to play better than ninth best in the Big 12.

Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones is quietly having a great season, ranking third in the country in passing yards and tied for second in touchdowns. The Soon-ers should be able to score, but it’s been their defense that has been suspect this season, allowing a combined 69 points in two losses.

No. 21 Arizona vs. No. 1 Oregon No. 4 Boise St. vs. No. 19 Nevada No. 13 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Oklahoma St.

D E F E N D I N G 10 11

THEIR TURF

By Laken LitmanDaily Texan Sta�

There would be no better way for the seniors to end their careers at Texas than with a win over Texas A&M and a trip to a bowl game.

“Nothing would be sweeter,” said senior receiver James Kirkendoll. “Having a winning record and � nishing strong with a win against A&M would make our year.”

Even with the way the Longhorns’ season has trans-pired, it’s not to be forgotten that this year’s senior class has been a part of Texas’ winning tradition for the past four to � ve years.

Texas’ � fth-year seniors have a record of 50-14, and the fourth-years are 40-11. Collectively, they’ve been to three bowl games, two of which were BCS games (one was a win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in 2008 and the other a loss to Alabama in last season’s national championship) and have won a conference title.

“We’re proud of our seniors,” said head coach Mack

Brown. “This year hasn’t been an easy one for them, but they’ve hung in there and kept the kids � ghting. They haven’t given up.”

Despite all the positive things this senior class has been a part of, the current negativity of a 5-6 season eclipses the good.

“But if you look at their full body of work over four years, they’re winners,” said junior safety Blake Gideon. “Not one senior has ever fell short on the e� ort or heart that it takes to be a part of a winning team. All of them have been here from the start, willing to lead this whole team and bring young guys along. I think it’s fair to say they’ll be remem-bered as winners.”

There’s a lot hanging on Thursday night’s game — a win-ning season, bowl eligibility and the fact that it could be the last time the seniors put on their Longhorn uniforms — but most of all, the seniors feel that a win would make the former part of their � nal season at Texas irrelevant. Two more wins would de� ne this class’ legacy as one who found a way to � ght back and overcome adversity.

“Anytime you beat A&M or Oklahoma, a lot is forgotten,” Kirkendoll said. “Whether you win a lot of games or lose a lot of games [beforehand], I think honestly those are the

two key games of the year. They mean more than anything. They’re the type you go to school for.”

Defensive end Sam Acho was asked where he’d place this game in relation to playing in the national championship and other bowl games.

“Oh, it’s on that same scale, if not bigger,” he said. “Obviously the national championship game is huge, but this game is our national championship game. For us, it means a lot because we need to keep our winning tradition alive.”

The seniors would be heartbroken if they had to end their careers with a losing record and the rest of the team and coaches understand that and are going to do everything they can to win Thursday.

The graduating class to be honored Thursday night con-sists of defensemen Acho, Eddie Jones, Curtis Brown, Chykie Brown, Dustin Earnest and Jared Norton; and o� ensive players Kirkendoll, John Chiles, Kyle Hix, Michael Huey, Britt Mitchell, Greg Smith, Blaine Irby, Steve Moore and specialists John Gold and Michael Summerville.

“It goes by so fast. I feel like I just got here,” Kirkendoll said. “This last game is going to be special. My last time playing here in Memorial Stadium in front of all the fans with that atmosphere … There’s not any place like it. We’ve gotta win.”

By Jordan GodwinDaily Texan Sta�

In its � nal stages at Texas, the senior class has slowly become nonexistent.

Believe it or not, this class had big expec-tations a few years ago and even at times earlier this season. It’s almost eerie to look back on the team’s hopeful but oblivious mentality after beating Nebraska.

“The seniors and the leadership,” said Garrett Gilbert. “Those guys have stepped up and really done a great job of helping the rest of the team understand, and I think it really feeds the team.”

Of the 2006 star-studded recruiting class, there are two contributors on the current depth chart. Defensive end Eddie Jones was No. 22 on the ESPNU 150 when he

was brought to Austin, and No. 2 at his position. After four miserable years where he has had more surgeries than sacks, he’s � nally getting his chance to play and has shown glimpses of what he was once expected to be.

Linebacker Dustin Earnest was No. 42 on that list, ranking third among inside linebackers. Despite being ranked ahead of Brandon Spikes, who won two national championships and two � rst-team All-American honors at Florida and now starts for the New England Patriots, Earnest had one career start entering this season.

“I think there are a lot of guys on the team that have played a lot of games and won a lot of games, so the con� dence level is not an issue here,” Earnest said. “The season has de� nitely not gone the way I expected my senior year to go, but I still love my team and my coaches, and I still get to play football.”

The rest of the 2006 class is just depressing — quarterback Jevan Snead

transferred to stardom at Ole Miss; Sergio Kindle and Lamarr Houston now play in the NFL; offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb transferred and now starts for the Chicago Bears; quarter-back Sherrod Harris and receiver Phillip Payne quit; guard Buck Burnette was kicked off the team for racist remarks; Vondrell McGee was ruled academically ineligible; and Chykie Brown is now out for the season. These were all heralded recruits coming out of high school.

The common theme is that a large majority of them either got fed up with Texas or didn’t play up to their potential in the system.

Moving on to the imports of 2007, it gets a little better. Defensive end Sam Acho and cornerback Curtis Brown have certainly played up to their potentials and seem to have NFL futures. Offensive tackle Tray Allen was Texas’ top recruit that year but has missed all of this season with injury. Safety Ben Wells transferred, and Michael Huey and Kyle Hix have often looked confused in their position changes and have missed most of the second half of the season with injuries.

But the biggest tragedy has been John Chiles. After coming in as one of the top recruits in the country, he was forced to switch to receiver, where he has had to scrap for any kind of success. Chiles has had a rough time at Texas, having to crawl out of the shadow of Colt McCoy to con-tribute however he could, and he often reminisces on the promising days of his freshman year.

“I can remember coming in and staying in the dorms,” Chiles said. “We had so much fun back then, building camaraderie and learning how to rely on each other. Those were fun times.”

Acho is the biggest bright spot of the seniors from the class of 2007. So, along with Kindle and Houston, the common theme seems to be that defensive linemen prospects have the best chance of success at Texas.

Who is ultimately at fault for all of these shortcomings?

“Coach Dean Smith once told me, ‘Players win games; coaches lose them,’” said head coach Mack Brown. “They’re kids, and it’s our job to get them ready to play.”

Seniors re� ect on success, � nal season as Longhorns while preparing for Aggies

Derek Stout | Daily Texan file photo

Senior defensive linemen Eddie Jones, left, and Sam Acho celebrate after Jones sacked Baylor quarterback Robert Gri� n. Jones, who came to Texas in 2006, has 48 total tackles and six sacks this season.

Derek Stout | Daily Texan � le photo

Senior receiver James Kirkendoll goes up for a catch against Baylor on Oct. 30. He didn’t come down with the ball and � nished with

three receptions for 57 yards against the Bears.

Players hoping to close out DKR Stadium with a win against resurgent Texas A&M

D E F E N D I N G 10 11

THEIR TURF

By Laken LitmanDaily Texan Sta�

There would be no better way for the seniors to end their careers at Texas than with a win over Texas A&M and a trip to a bowl game.

“Nothing would be sweeter,” said senior receiver James Kirkendoll. “Having a winning record and � nishing strong with a win against A&M would make our year.”

Even with the way the Longhorns’ season has trans-pired, it’s not to be forgotten that this year’s senior class has been a part of Texas’ winning tradition for the past four to � ve years.

Texas’ � fth-year seniors have a record of 50-14, and the fourth-years are 40-11. Collectively, they’ve been to three bowl games, two of which were BCS games (one was a win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in 2008 and the other a loss to Alabama in last season’s national championship) and have won a conference title.

“We’re proud of our seniors,” said head coach Mack

Brown. “This year hasn’t been an easy one for them, but they’ve hung in there and kept the kids � ghting. They haven’t given up.”

Despite all the positive things this senior class has been a part of, the current negativity of a 5-6 season eclipses the good.

“But if you look at their full body of work over four years, they’re winners,” said junior safety Blake Gideon. “Not one senior has ever fell short on the e� ort or heart that it takes to be a part of a winning team. All of them have been here from the start, willing to lead this whole team and bring young guys along. I think it’s fair to say they’ll be remem-bered as winners.”

There’s a lot hanging on Thursday night’s game — a win-ning season, bowl eligibility and the fact that it could be the last time the seniors put on their Longhorn uniforms — but most of all, the seniors feel that a win would make the former part of their � nal season at Texas irrelevant. Two more wins would de� ne this class’ legacy as one who found a way to � ght back and overcome adversity.

“Anytime you beat A&M or Oklahoma, a lot is forgotten,” Kirkendoll said. “Whether you win a lot of games or lose a lot of games [beforehand], I think honestly those are the

two key games of the year. They mean more than anything. They’re the type you go to school for.”

Defensive end Sam Acho was asked where he’d place this game in relation to playing in the national championship and other bowl games.

“Oh, it’s on that same scale, if not bigger,” he said. “Obviously the national championship game is huge, but this game is our national championship game. For us, it means a lot because we need to keep our winning tradition alive.”

The seniors would be heartbroken if they had to end their careers with a losing record and the rest of the team and coaches understand that and are going to do everything they can to win Thursday.

The graduating class to be honored Thursday night con-sists of defensemen Acho, Eddie Jones, Curtis Brown, Chykie Brown, Dustin Earnest and Jared Norton; and o� ensive players Kirkendoll, John Chiles, Kyle Hix, Michael Huey, Britt Mitchell, Greg Smith, Blaine Irby, Steve Moore and specialists John Gold and Michael Summerville.

“It goes by so fast. I feel like I just got here,” Kirkendoll said. “This last game is going to be special. My last time playing here in Memorial Stadium in front of all the fans with that atmosphere … There’s not any place like it. We’ve gotta win.”

By Jordan GodwinDaily Texan Sta�

In its � nal stages at Texas, the senior class has slowly become nonexistent.

Believe it or not, this class had big expec-tations a few years ago and even at times earlier this season. It’s almost eerie to look back on the team’s hopeful but oblivious mentality after beating Nebraska.

“The seniors and the leadership,” said Garrett Gilbert. “Those guys have stepped up and really done a great job of helping the rest of the team understand, and I think it really feeds the team.”

Of the 2006 star-studded recruiting class, there are two contributors on the current depth chart. Defensive end Eddie Jones was No. 22 on the ESPNU 150 when he

was brought to Austin, and No. 2 at his position. After four miserable years where he has had more surgeries than sacks, he’s � nally getting his chance to play and has shown glimpses of what he was once expected to be.

Linebacker Dustin Earnest was No. 42 on that list, ranking third among inside linebackers. Despite being ranked ahead of Brandon Spikes, who won two national championships and two � rst-team All-American honors at Florida and now starts for the New England Patriots, Earnest had one career start entering this season.

“I think there are a lot of guys on the team that have played a lot of games and won a lot of games, so the con� dence level is not an issue here,” Earnest said. “The season has de� nitely not gone the way I expected my senior year to go, but I still love my team and my coaches, and I still get to play football.”

The rest of the 2006 class is just depressing — quarterback Jevan Snead

transferred to stardom at Ole Miss; Sergio Kindle and Lamarr Houston now play in the NFL; offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb transferred and now starts for the Chicago Bears; quarter-back Sherrod Harris and receiver Phillip Payne quit; guard Buck Burnette was kicked off the team for racist remarks; Vondrell McGee was ruled academically ineligible; and Chykie Brown is now out for the season. These were all heralded recruits coming out of high school.

The common theme is that a large majority of them either got fed up with Texas or didn’t play up to their potential in the system.

Moving on to the imports of 2007, it gets a little better. Defensive end Sam Acho and cornerback Curtis Brown have certainly played up to their potentials and seem to have NFL futures. Offensive tackle Tray Allen was Texas’ top recruit that year but has missed all of this season with injury. Safety Ben Wells transferred, and Michael Huey and Kyle Hix have often looked confused in their position changes and have missed most of the second half of the season with injuries.

But the biggest tragedy has been John Chiles. After coming in as one of the top recruits in the country, he was forced to switch to receiver, where he has had to scrap for any kind of success. Chiles has had a rough time at Texas, having to crawl out of the shadow of Colt McCoy to con-tribute however he could, and he often reminisces on the promising days of his freshman year.

“I can remember coming in and staying in the dorms,” Chiles said. “We had so much fun back then, building camaraderie and learning how to rely on each other. Those were fun times.”

Acho is the biggest bright spot of the seniors from the class of 2007. So, along with Kindle and Houston, the common theme seems to be that defensive linemen prospects have the best chance of success at Texas.

Who is ultimately at fault for all of these shortcomings?

“Coach Dean Smith once told me, ‘Players win games; coaches lose them,’” said head coach Mack Brown. “They’re kids, and it’s our job to get them ready to play.”

Seniors re� ect on success, � nal season as Longhorns while preparing for Aggies

Derek Stout | Daily Texan file photo

Senior defensive linemen Eddie Jones, left, and Sam Acho celebrate after Jones sacked Baylor quarterback Robert Gri� n. Jones, who came to Texas in 2006, has 48 total tackles and six sacks this season.

Derek Stout | Daily Texan � le photo

Senior receiver James Kirkendoll goes up for a catch against Baylor on Oct. 30. He didn’t come down with the ball and � nished with

three receptions for 57 yards against the Bears.

Players hoping to close out DKR Stadium with a win against resurgent Texas A&M

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The Cornhuskers are red with anger after last game. The team committed a school-record 16 penalties amounting to 145 yards against them, and Taylor Martinez’s status is questionable.

Their regular season ended with a loss to Oklahoma last weekend. With a bowl game ensured, the Bears will take a little time off before getting back to work. Some predict they will make the Texas Bowl.

The Tigers handled their business against Iowa State on Saturday, meaning they have an outside shot of winning the Big 12 North title if they beat Kansas and Nebraska is upset by Colorado.

Landry Jones is having his way with secondaries this year. He has thrown for more than 3,400 yards and 30 touchdowns. If the Sooners want to take the South, Jones will have to be the one to deliver it against their in-state rivals.

The maroon-hot Aggies won a true defensive battle in College Station versus Nebraska last week, giving up only six points. They are officially back in the national spotlight.

The Cowboys are sitting pretty on top of the Big 12 South after they spanked Kansas last weekend. However, with Oklahoma on the horizon, they certainly aren’t safe. A loss would trigger a chaotic tie-breaker scenario.

They had their shot but failed. Instead of preparing for a bowl game, the Cyclones ended their season with a loss and a deeper notch in the growing chip on their shoulder.

The Jayhawks were slammed by Oklahoma State, losing 48-14. Now they have to end their embarrassing season with a game against top-caliber Missouri.

Two wins in a row and all of a sudden the Buffaloes have an outside shot at securing a bowl. This comes after they started the season at the bottom of the barrel, but a win will be tough to get against the angry Cornhuskers.

Texas got the win it needed on Saturday. The Longhorns are now tuned up both offensively and defensively to have a fighting shot against Texas A&M.

Their poor defense caught up to the Wildcats again this season, only this time it was against a lowly opponent. Kansas State gave up 44 points to Colorado, bringing the team down in the rankings.

The Red Raiders could barely win in the Big 12, so they took their talents elsewhere. They dismantled the Big Sky conference’s Weber State 64-21 on Saturday. They take on Houston in their final game.

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Gray has been on-fire lately, registering more than 100 yards on the ground in each of the Aggies’ last five games — one of the main rea-sons Texas A&M has won all five. The junior tail-back from Desoto has found the end zone 10 times in 11 games this season and exploded for four scores against Baylor on Nov. 13 on the road in Waco. Gray is the Aggies’ leading rush-er with 810 yards. He is seventh in total yards in the Big 12, averaging more than 133 yards of of-fense per contest. Gray has carried a heavy load in the Aggies’ last three games, taking the ball 25 times on average over that span. The shifty runner is a multi-dimensional back and is a le-gitimate threat in the passing game out of the backfield. Gray hauled in a season-high nine balls last week in the Aggies’ upset of Nebras-ka and can turn a short throw into a long gain. Gray is a load to bring down and the Longhorns will need to gang tackle him.

Cyrus Gray, RB

Texas A&M’s best pass-catcher and Tannehill’s favorite target, Fuller has been slowed in re-cent weeks by an ankle injury but has none-theless put up some big numbers in his ju-nior season. The McKinney native has a team-high 11 touchdowns but has not found pay dirt in three weeks. Fuller is no stranger to the end zone though, with 27 TD catches in three years in an Aggie uni-

form. The sure-handed wideout can break-out at any moment with three 150-yard-plus receiving days and a 121-yard performance, as well. Fuller is third in the Big 12 with a 87.2

receiving yards per game average. In last sea-son’s Thanksgiving day matchup, the Long-

horns had no answer for the speedster as Fuller grabbed six balls for 132 yards and three scores. Fuller’s success against

Texas in 2009 was no fluke — he had five catches for 81 yards and a TD against the Long-horns in a loss his freshman season and is poised for even bigger stats this year.

Pelini’s sideline outburst draws chancellor’s ire

Once again Bo Pelini was mad, and this time he spread his rage around to the officials and his own quarterback during last weekend’s loss to Texas A&M.

And after all the yelling at oth-ers, Pelini will get a stern talking to himself.

“I think it was very unfortu-nate,” said Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman. “And I think it’s something we’ll have to ad-dress with Bo. Bo has a lot of pas-sion for his football team, and there is a strong upside to that. But again, overall, the conduct was unfortunate last night.”

While receiving treatment on his injured ankle, Taylor Marti-nez was ripped by Pelini. The Nebraska head coach declined to comment on why he was yell-ing at his player. But the be-rating didn’t stop there. ABC showed Pelini in a number of camera shots yelling at the offi-cials for what he thought were unfair calls.

Pearlman is not sure why Peli-ni was enraged with Martinez.

“There is a part of the culture of intercollegiate athletics that involves coaches talking strong-ly to players,” Perlman said. “That’s unfortunate it had to happen on national television. I think that probably occurs in a lot of programs.”

Nebraska was penalized a school-record 16 times for 145 yards during the contest.

Pelini apologized for his behav-ior in a press conference Monday.

Colorado’s interim coach proving he’s up to the job

With Colorado searching for a permanent head coach, interim coach Brian Cabral is proving he may be the man for the job.

While the school has a search committee in place with possible head coach candidates emerging nearly every day, Cabral is 2-0 since taking the reigns from Dan Hawkins.

Cabral’s players are taking no-tice of his strong leadership skills.

“Coach Cabral is a guy that when he walks into the room everyone knows who he is and knows what he’s done and just respects him just because of what he’s done in the past,” said

junior tight end Matt Bahr. “The guy knows how to win. That’s all he did his whole life. That’s just instant respect from players.”

When Cabral took over the Buffaloes, they were 3-6 off a stunning collapse to Kansas. Now his team is 5-6 and on the verge of bowl eligibility, a situa-tion few could have predicted a mere three weeks ago.

“[The season] could have gone the opposite direction,” Bahr said. “[Cabral] is just pulling out the tradition that he learned being here 21 years. He knows what all the previous champi-ons have done and he was here for all of that. He’s just doing ex-actly what those guys were do-ing back then.”

KSU faces choice at QB after tough loss to Buffs

The Wildcats’ quarterback situa-tion became more hectic than ever after Saturday’s loss to Colorado.

Collin Klein started the game and scored on Kansas State’s first two possessions, but the of-fense was missing-in-action af-ter that. Klein was later pulled from the game in place of the Wildcats’ original starting quar-terback Carson Coffman. Coff-man ended up with 270 yards and two late touchdowns.

With one game left in the sea-son, the Wildcats have a big de-cision to make with their im-pending bowl game, whatever it may be.

Klein has thrown for 138 yards this season and rushed for 399 more and has scored six to-tal touchdowns. Coffman is a more traditional pocket passer with 1755 yards and 11 touch-downs through the air in nine starts versus Klein’s two.

Next week’s nonconference test against the University of North Texas will likely be the game that decides who will be under center in the postseason.


PLAYERStoWATCH

Je� Fuller, WR

Since taking over the QB duties from the incum-bent Jerrod Johnson — and preseason Big 12

MVP — Tannehill has rejuvenated the Aggie at-tack and rallied the team for five-straight wins. Tan-nehill, a converted wide receiver, immediately justified his increased playing time in his first chance, running the show Oct. 23 against Kansas with three touchdown passes and a rushing score. In his four starts, the strong-armed junior from Big Spring has seven TD throws with just three interceptions. Tannehill has brought consis-tency to the Aggie offense, something they struggled with in Johnson’s time under center. Tannehill is strictly a pocket passer but has the footwork to avoid defenders and the accuracy to stick any throw — he’s completing a blistering 68.6 percent of his passes. He already has a 400-yard, four-touchdown performance to his name in just four starts. Tannehill is dangerous when given time and has been as solid as a rock during the Aggies’ turn-around.

Ryan Tannehill, QB

— By Sameer Bhuchar | Daily Texan Staff

BIG 12notebook

North— By Austin Laymance | Daily Texan Staff

BIG 12 NORTH CONF. OVERALL

1. Nebraska 5-2 9-2

2. Missouri 5-2 9-2

3. Kansas St. 3-5 6-5

4. Iowa St. 3-5 5-7

5. Colorado 2-5 5-6

6. Kansas 1-6 3-8

STANDINGS

17 players2watch


For web exclusive stories, videos, photo galleries and more, go to dailytexanonline.com

David Snow’s Chocolate Pudding Pie

Need a dessert for the table? Junior center David Snow has a suggestion. His favorite dish on Thanksgiving, in addition to his family’s smoked turkey, is the Snow family’s chocolate pudding pie.

Snow credits the pie for help-ing him transition into the player he is today.

“The chocolate pudding pie is probably what made me into an offensive lineman,” he joked. “When you can eat a whole one of those pies at one time, it’s quite a few calories there.”

Ingredients1 pkg. chocolate instant

pudding 1-1/2 cups cold milk 1 Oreo Pie Crust (6 oz.) 2 cups whipped topping

Directions1. Beat pudding mix and milk; • spoon half into crust. 2. Stir one cup whipped top-• ping into remaining pud-ding; spoon over pudding layer in crust. 3. Top with remaining • whipped topping. Refrigerate three hours. 4. (Optional) Sprinkle two tbsp. • toasted pecans onto bottom of crust before adding filling.

Full recipe provided by kraftrecipes.com

From page 7

18

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OSU in prime positionto knock off rival Sooners

Years of winless seasons against in-state rival Oklahoma could finally come to an end Sat-urday for Oklahoma State.

From the preseason, when me-dia members picked OSU to finish fifth in the Big 12 South, the Cow-boys have instead risen to the top of the division with a record-set-ting offense. Last Saturday’s win over Kansas marked OSU’s 10th consecutive win for the first time in the program’s history.

“We’ve been playing foot-ball for 110 years and have nev-er been able to accomplish that,” said coach Mike Gundy. “So these players were able to accom-plish something that no other team ever has.”

The Week 11 win also gave the Cowboys a share of the Big 12 South title, their first champion-ship of any kind since 1976.

But Saturday’s matchup against the Sooners will pose a final hurdle for the Cowboys, as the Bedlam game will decide the representative for the Big 12 South. A win for Oklahoma State will book the team a ticket to the Big 12 Championship on Dec. 4.

“There have been a lot of sig-nificant games in the Bedlam series,” Gundy said. “They just concern themselves with the next game.”

South race comes down to final week in Big 12

With the final week of the regular season here, the Big 12 South title race has come down to the wire.

Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M each won their games last Saturday, keeping each team’s Big 12 Champion-ship hopes alive.

The possibility of a three-way tie looms as the Sooners travel to Stillwater to take on the Cowboys and the Aggies head to Austin for the annual Thanksgiving match-up against an ailing Texas squad.

“It’s all about OU,” Cowboy defensive end Richetti Jones said of the Sooners. “All week, that’s all we are going to do — eat, sleep, drink OU.”

But if Oklahoma wins and Texas A&M beats the Long-horns, all three teams will fin-ish in a three-way tie at the top

of the Big 12 South standings at 6-2. The Big 12 would then turn to a tie-breaker where the high-est ranked team in the final BCS standings would determine who heads to the title game.

“We feel real good after this win,” said Sooners receiver Ryan Broyles. “We were clicking on all cylinders. We’re looking forward to the challenge [Saturday].”

Oklahoma getting ready for big-time season finale

All week Oklahoma has been preparing both mentally and physically for Saturday’s impor-tant matchup against Oklahoma State. Returning two players who left last week’s game with inju-ries will be equally crucial for the Sooners’ preparations.

Middle linebacker Austin Box left the Baylor game in the sec-ond quarter. He has battled a back injury all season, but head coach Bob Stoops was reserved in answering whether or not Box’s leaving the game was due to his back.

“I’m not discussing what anything is when guys are go-ing to play,” Stoops said. “If guys are going to play, there’s no sense dialoging and being specific with what’s bothering them and what isn’t.”

Meanwhile running back Roy Finch also left last Saturday’s game after a hard hit rendered him mo-tionless for a few minutes.

Arriving in Stillwater with a full arsenal is vital for the Soon-ers, who enter the Bedlam series with the opportunity to win the Big 12 South for the ninth time in 11 years.

“We’re very optimistic,” Stoops said. “Both guys (Sunday) test-ed out very well. This morning, same thing. They’re actually go-ing to do some limited work to-day. We feel very optimistic that they’ll be ready to play.”


BIG 12 SOUTH CONF. OVERALL

1. Oklahoma St. 6-1 10-1

2. Oklahoma 5-2 9-2

3. Texas A&M 5-2 8-3

4. Baylor 4-4 7-5

5. Texas Tech 3-5 6-5

6. Texas 2-5 5-6

STANDINGS

— By Alexandra Carreno | Daily Texan Staff

BIG 12notebook

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Any Oil Changeand Filter

$10OffSave thru 11/30

Your choice: Standard,High Mileage SyntheticBlend or Full SyntheticWe’ll install new oil filter, refillup to 5 quarts Kendall GT-1with Liquid Titanium motoroil, lubricate chassis (if appli-cable). Most vehicles. Savingsoff regular price.

InterstateBattery

$20OffSave thru 11/30

75 or 85-month batteriesthat offer long life and reliablestarting power. Installed, sav-ings off in-store regular price.Subject to availability. Seestore for copy of nationwidewritten limited warranty.

We’ll test your battery for Free.

Shop supply charges in the amount of 6% of labor charges will be added to invoices greater than $35. These charges will not exceed $25 and represent costs and prof-its. Shop supply charges not applicable in CA or NY. Non-mandated disposal or recycling charges, if any are disclosed above, may also represent costs and profits. Specificproduct offerings and tread designs may vary. Prices, warranties, car service, credit plans and other offers available at Firestone Complete Auto Care; see affiliated deal-er for their competitive offers and warranties. *If you do not achieve guaranteed mileage, your Firestone retailer will replace your tires on a pro-rated basis. Actual treadlife may vary. All warranties apply only to original owner on originally installed vehicle. See retailer for details, restrictions and copy of each limited warranty.

MON.-FRI. 7:00 A.M.- 7:00 P.M. SAT. 7:00 A.M.- 7:00 P.M. SUN. 9:00 A.M.- 6:00 P.M.

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Documents

Double Coverage Volume 5 Issue 13