Austin, TX (Best E Casino) - The 11th-ranked Texas Longhorns are set to begin the 2008 season with a non-conference clash against the Florida Atlantic Owls.
The 2007 campaign was a historic one for Florida Atlantic, as the Owls won a share of their first Sun Belt Conference title and in the process earned a bowl bid. In fact, FAU reached a bowl game faster than any start-up program in the history of college football and much of that credit belongs to head coach Howard Schnellenberger. The legendary coach joined the FAU staff in 1998 and began his quest to build a football team from scratch. With a total of 17 starters back on offense and defense, the Owls are both experienced and confident heading into this opener.
As for Texas, it lost its first two Big 12 games a year ago, and the team failed to accomplish its yearly goal of winning the conference title. The club finished with a 10-3 record, and while most programs would be happy with a similar showing, Mack Brown and his staff expect more from themselves and the players. With a decent number of starters back on both sides of the ball, Texas figures to be formidable once again.
The Longhorns have never met the Owls on the gridiron.
Florida Atlantic Quarterback Rusty Smith is among the long list of offensive returnees for the Owls. The reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year completed 59 percent of his tosses for 3,688 yards and 32 touchdowns last season, and the 6-5, 215-pound junior has his sights set on an even better campaign this time around. "We have set our goals high for this season. We accomplished a lot last year, but we want to take that next step."
With a solid group of returning players on the offensive line and some of the top talent at the skill positions, Smith is not short on options when he drops back to pass. Standout receiver Cortez Gent is back in place and figures to draw plenty of attention from Texas defenders. The 6-2, 170-pound junior hauled in 64 balls for 1,082 yards and nine scores in '07 and he finished the campaign by posting four 100-yard games in the final five contests.
The one area the offense could stand to improve upon is the ground attack. The Owls averaged a modest 126 rushing ypg last season, but with defenses focusing on their potent aerial attack, expect the run game to improve. Senior Charles Pierre, a 5-9 speedster, led the team in rushing with 782 yards last season and he will put his best foot forward as he looks for a 1,000-yard campaign. The offense was dealt a major blow in the offseason, as senior Jason Harmon was lost for the year with a torn ACL. He posted 63 receptions for 625 yards and five touchdowns a season ago.
FAU did a tremendous job forcing turnovers last season, but struggled greatly to make plays behind the line of scrimmage. Injuries up front were partly to blame for the team's mere 16 sacks, and an improvement in that area would make the rest of this experienced unit that much better. Senior defensive end Robert St. Clair led the team with four sacks last season, but he is listed as doubtful for this opener with a knee injury. Jervonte Jackson will once again be counted on to plug up the middle from his tackle spot.
At linebacker, Frantz Joseph is one of the premier talents in the SBC and is coming of a 2007 campaign in which he posted a team-high 131 tackles. The senior, who started his career at Boston College, has the skills that could easily land him the SBC Defensive Player of the Year award. In the secondary, the Owls possess one of the league's best corner tandems in Corey Small and Tavious Polo. Small, a 5-10, 170-pound senior, recorded 103 tackles and five interceptions last season and is one of the most versatile players at his position. Polo, a 5-10, 160-pound sophomore, was a pleasant surprise for FAU last year and a serious playmaker, racking up a team-high seven interceptions.
Last year, the Longhorns averaged 37.2 points and 462.9 total yards per contest, both ranking the team in the top-15 nationally. Led by junior QB Colt McCoy, the Texas offense is once again expected to produce the gaudy numbers fans have to come expect since coach Brown's arrival. McCoy completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,303 yards and 22 TDs in 2007. Unfortunately, he also threw a career-high 18 INTs and was sacked 25 times. No longer able to rely on RB Jamaal Charles (1,619 yards, 18 TDs) to carry the load out of the backfield, McCoy will likely do more running after carrying the ball 114 times for 492 yards and four scores last season. Brown plans to let McCoy free a bit more saying, "Colt probably runs 4.5. He's so much faster than perceived, and one of the problems is he followed Vince (Young) who was faster than anybody chasing him. It's just one of those deals. We never knew how fast Vince was, but nobody caught him. He was fast in uniform, and Colt's the same way."
McCoy's go-to guy down the field in this opener may be senior WR Quan Crosby, although senior Jordan Shipley figures to play a huge role as well. Brown will likely go with a tailback-by-committee approach against FAU, as several talented players try to fill the void left by the departure of Charles. Sophomore Vondrell McGee and freshman Foswitt "Fozzy" Whitaker will both get their chance to shine. The return of four starters up front will help ease the concerns Brown may have about a lack of a proven runner, and senior OG Cedric Dockery and junior OT Adam Ulatoski appear to be the best of the bunch.
The Texas defense took a step backward in '07, yielding 25.3 points and 371.2 yards per game. The Longhorns controlled the run just fine (93.4 ypg), but were particularly lax in pass coverage, allowing 277.8 ypg through the air, a stat that ranked them 109th in the nation. This season, the line and linebackers should be solid with impressive players like senior DE Brian Orakpo and junior LB Sergio Kindle setting up shop. Big things are also expected from DTs Lamarr Houston and Roy Miller.
The secondary has just one returning starter in senior CB Ryan Palmer who finished second on the team last year in tackles with 80. He led the club in PBUs with 14 and was among the leaders in TFLs with six. The 'Horns will have a lot of fresh, young faces in the defensive backfield so it is paramount that the front seven apply the pressure necessary to help in defending the pass.
