Posted on Mon, Sep. 08, 2008

Texas could be a TV hit this fall

Previous Columns

Jimmy Burch

• Colt McCoy leads Longhorns past UTEP
• Jimmy Burch: Big 12 openers reveal plenty of surprises, both good and bad
• Briles down after defeat, but all is not lost at Baylor
• Expect big things from Big 12 football teams and athletes in 2008
• Tour of the Big 12: Texas
• Texas Longhorns want backup QB John Chiles in the game
• Local Golf Insider: Fort Worth munis chip in for good cause
• Euless golfer’s first major test is avoiding Monster’s wrath
• Golf Insider: Ryder Cup could turn to young guns
• Tiger the patient must be patient for this comeback
• Golf Insider: Sorenstam would love to claim a fourth Open title
• Ex-Texas Tech golfer continues comeback at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open
• LOCAL GOLF INSIDER: Local group gets USGA grant to help juniors
• Golf Insider: Wishing for a Father's Day lesson from Mother Nature

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AP/VICTOR CALZADA

Redshirt freshman Fozzy Whittaker, who rushed for 72 yards in his debut, could see his workload increase at Texas. AP/VICTOR CALZADA

EL PASO — Somewhere in the second half at the Sun Bowl, as Saturday night gave way to Sunday morning in the Central time zone, the Texas Longhorns changed the programming option for TV viewers.

A late night re-run of The Cosby Show, featuring lots of catches and kick returns by veteran receiver Quan Cosby, evolved into a glimpse of the future in a 42-13 victory over UT-El Paso. If you turned in before midnight and tuned out the ESPN2 telecast, here’s what you missed:

A Three’s Company ground game unveiled its newest, and most promising, big-play threat when redshirt freshman Fozzy Whittaker rushed for a team-high 72 yards (6.0 per carry) in his college debut.

The pass rush, which went six-plus quarters without a sack to start the season, no longer seemed Lost in the second half. The Longhorns (2-0) dropped UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe twice, pitched a second-half shutout and scored a defensive touchdown.

The guys with some of America’s Dirtiest Jobs, the offensive linemen, kept quarterback Colt McCoy clean enough to run his season completion rate to 75.9 percent (44-of-58), with seven touchdown passes against one interception.

It’s too early to call coach Mack Brown’s latest production an unqualified hit. It is still September and the opponent, once again, was UTEP (0-2).

But the Longhorns’ latest effort proved good enough Sunday to boost Texas to No. 8 in the Associated Press rankings, up two spots from last week.

By the middle of October, we’ll know whether Texas has enough fresh wrinkles to become The Closer in the Big 12 football race, capable of taking down opponents such as No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 6 Missouri.

But in the wake of the team’s first road trip, the Longhorns look better than expected on the ground, thanks to Whittaker. And the defense, while still yielding too many yards (412 to UTEP), is putting up stop signs in the red zone that did not exist last season, when Texas set school records for yards given up (4,825) and opponents’ completion percentage (60.7).

Those are the two primary developments that came to light in the Sun Bowl. Both deserve more discussion, starting with Whittaker, who offers a "wow" factor that neither of his fellow members in Texas’ three-tailback tandem can match. That’s why Brown called Whittaker a player who "can help us quite a bit as the season goes along."

Translation: Don’t be surprised to see a change in the depth chart, or a redistribution of the carries, if Whittaker continues to strut his stuff as he did against UTEP. Texas’ three longest runs Saturday were by Whittaker, covering 15, 13 and 13 yards. All came during crunch time, with Brown citing a stretch where the Longhorns were "unsettled offensively" until three consecutive gains by Whittaker "got us going again."

The defense, led by linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy (team-high 14 tackles, fumble return for a touchdown), also had its moments — good and bad. With two freshmen starting at the safety positions, the unit remains a work in progress, like something you’d see on Flip This House.

But give this to new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp: Unlike last season, when the Longhorns surrendered yards and points in bunches, only the yards have come in huge hunks in the first two games. UTEP’s 412 yards produced only one touchdown and Texas is allowing a scant 11.5 points per game, well below last year’s pace (25.3).

Without question, UTEP’s Vittatoe (25-of-46, 267 yards) would have had more completions, including one fourth-quarter touchdown, if his receivers would have made more routine catches. That’s why Texas defensive tackle Roy Miller expressed frustration, not glee, after Saturday’s effort.

"We had a lot of mental breakdowns, a lot of things that didn’t go the way we wanted," Miller said. "You can find a lot of things to be satisfied about. But if you want to want to get better, you have to look at the things you need to work on."

Bottom line: Texas won by 29 points on the road, with contributions from a lot of Longhorns who were role players or non-factors last season.

"This should really help us at Colorado," Brown said, already looking toward the Longhorns’ next road trip (Oct. 4) for their Big 12 Conference opener. "That’s why you play a game like this. We made some good adjustments … and our young guys found ways to handle playing in front of a loud, excited crowd at night."

In other words, a night of solid progress rather than a lengthy highlight reel for SportsCenter. But it sure beats being stuck in The Twilight Zone.