Jamaal Charles Is Real Fun

Two weeks running, the Texas Longhorns have won in dramatic fashion with unlikely back-to-back comebacks. A week ago against Nebraska, the comeback was made possible by a 216-yard, three touchdown fourth quarter performance by tailback Jamaal Charles. Yesterday, against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Charles went off for over a hundred yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, fueling a 21-point come-from-behind win.

Twice in yesterday's game, the 'Horns fell behind by 21 points. They started the contest by digging themselves a 21-0 hole, managing to close the gap to 28-14 by half. In the third quarter, the porous Texas D gave up another big touchdown to make it 35-14, and that is where the score stood going into the final stanza. That's when the Texas defense woke up and began to get some stops and the Texas offense unleashed Hell's fury on the poor Cowboys (Hell's fury being, of course, Jamaal Charles.)

One could argue that if Texas were the elite team many thought they would be at the beginning of the year, they wouldn't have to keep pulling rabbits out of hats and wins out of their butts to defeat pedestrian programs like OK State and lowly Nebraska. But maybe it is time for the Longhorn Nation to realize that they are what the are: not quite as good as last year, and not remotely as good as two years ago, when they hoisted the National Championship trophy.

This Texas team had to replace nine players who last year wore burnt orange and white and this year populate NFL rosters. Filling the holes they left is no small order. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that this might be a rebuilding year? And if you can win, say, ten games and get a nice bowl victory in a down year, what's wrong with that?

Whatever the outcome of the final weeks, it has been some fun watching the rise of the most electric Texas tailback since Ricky "Bag O' Weed" Williams. It's been real, and it's been fun. Might even say, if Charles keeps this up, it's been real fun.

Did The Longhorns' Old Dogs Learn A New Trick Saturday?

The Texas Longhorns narrowly escaped another upset(ting) loss Saturday, this time to the lowly Nebraska Cornhuskers. The escape artist's name? Jamaal Charles.

Charles came within a few yards of setting a new NCAA record for yards rushing in one quarter when he went off on the Huskers in the fourth quarter for 216 yards. The fleet back had a total of 290 yards on 33 carries, the most ever gained by any back against the storied Huskers' Blackshirts defense, and the fourth most ever by a Texas running back.

For three quarters, things looked as bleak as ever for the struggling running back and his underachieving teammates. Going into the final stanza, the Horns trailed 17-9 and Charles had only rushed for 74 yards on 20 carries. But then offensive coordinator Greg Davis began mixing in the zone read shotgun option offense that had worked so famously during the Vince Young era, and Jamaal began breaking off long runs, three of them for touchdowns.

What Saturday proved to me was that the Shotgun Option offense is a nice change-of-pace attack for the current offensive personnel. It should not be the featured package, but sprinkle it in here and there and you catch the defense flat-footed or headed the wrong direction. That's when the world-class speed of a Jamaal Charles becomes a game-changer.

You have to believe that when upcoming opponents break down the game film from this contest, they will conclude that sneaking eight, or sometimes nine, men into the box might be prudent. Imagine what that will do for Texas' talent-laden receiving corps. They might actually become the scoring machine they ought to have been all along.

Of course, this offensive epiphany comes a couple losses too late for this season to be anything special. But hey, Greg Davis and Mack Brown are what they are...and you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks.

Colt McCoy Backs Me Up!

For two years, I have been calling for the Texas Longhorns' offensive coaches to wake up and realize Vince Young has gone to Tennessee and he ain't coming back. The shotgun option attack the 'Horns employed for Young and running back Jamaal Charles was a thing of exquisite beauty. But it worked because of Young, not Charles.

Because the defense had to account for Young's incredible running skills, Charles found himself slicing and dicing opponents' defenses, despite running from a set that was not best suited to him. The shotgun option has Charles running parallel to the line of scrimmage rather than hitting the hole quickly and popping into the defensive secondary, where the speedburner's quick feet and blinding speed are most effective.

Now, Chip Brown of the Dallas Morning News quotes the Longhorns' quarterback, Colt McCoy, who, in effect, admits that I am a football genius and the Longhorns' offensive braintrust is neither brainy nor trustworthy:

"Jamaal's going to be fine. He knows he hasn't done as well, but we've got
to play to Jamaal's strengths," McCoy said. "I think we've got to get him up
inside a little bit more instead of running him sideways.

"We've got to spread him out and let him catch the ball. ... He knows
he can run the ball. He's just got to get his confidence back up."

Thank you very much.