Early Look at '08

Allright sportsfans, here is an early look at the Big 12 in '08. Mainly, we will be looking at the number of returning starters on offense and defense, and then we will take a look at Texas' schedule to make some early projections. Unlike most people, I don't think there is any such thing as way too early predictions. Just make them early, and revise as necessary. Here we go, with the first number representing returning starters on offense, and the second number being the returning starters on defense:

Texas 6, 4
OU 8, 6
ATM 4, 5
TTech 10, 7
OK St. 7, 5
Baylor 9, 6

Missou 6, 8
Kansas 7, 9
Nebraska 5, 6
Colorado 7, 8
Kan. St. 7, 4
Iowa St. 8, 6

The early part of Texas' schedule is not too bad. They should dispose of Fla. Int'l. without much trouble, and follow that up with a win at UTEP. Things get interesting in week 3 against Arkansas, who returns 6 starters on offense and 4 on defense. New coach Bobby Petrino is a heck of an offensive coach, but it will take time to install his system. Arakansas was an all-run team last year with McFadden, which makes Petrino's pass-happy game more difficult to install. If this game was to be played in Fayetteville, I would be a little worried. However, I think Colt plays well at home and puts up some big points on a defense that returns only 4. Week 4 is at Rice, which is basically a recruiting trip for Texas. Let's call it 4-0 at this point without much discussion needed. Game 5 is at Colorado (returns 7 on O, 8 on D). Cody Hawkins looked pretty good at times last year, and just ask Oklahoma whether or not Boulder is an easy place to play. Expect D. Scott to play in this game, which could be a challenge to whomever our interior D-linemen turn out to be. However, with 4 games under their belts I expect our defense to be getting used to Muschamp's scheme. I think Muschamp blitzes frequently to harrass Cody and make him beat Texas with his arm. This game is close, but Texas should get the win. Next up on the slate is OU (who, by the way, still sucks). With OU returning 8 and 6 respectively, against Texas' 6 and 4, OU gets the nod in experience. However, Texas played a lot of guys last year who were not starters, so this number is probably a little skewed. Having split the last 4 games in the series with 2 wins each, the game looks to be close (as usual). There is also an interesting coaching situation with these teams. I think Texas did have the better team in 05' and 06' (games they won), but 07' was different. Last year was the first time I felt that Texas had a better game plan than OU on both sides of the ball. But for Charles' fumble near the goal and his tipped pass for a pick, Texas probably wins that game. This year OU returns their entire O-line, which is huge. However, a couple of key injuries could change the look of the whole team (see Texas' O-line last year). This one is a total toss-up, but if Mack really has figured out something in coaching against OU then look for Texas to win this one. But, if Texas turns the ball over like last year, then no game plan will be good enough to win. We will have to see which team comes into this game healthy, but I still think Texas can win this one. That puts the horns at 6-0 at the season's midpoint. Tune in tomorrow for a look at the second half of the season. And before you ask, no, I do not think Texas gets through the year unbeaten.