(Sports Network) -
2007 SEASON IN REVIEW: Texas head coach Mack Brown has enjoyed a highly
successful first decade in Austin, amassing an impressive 103-25 record and
winning a national championship. That said, the 2007 season was one of guarded
optimism as there was certainly talent on the UT roster but there seemed to be
lacking that certain something that has labeled the Longhorns as perennial
favorites to capture the Big 12 South title just about every year.

Narrow wins over Arkansas State and UCF were sandwiched around routs of fellow
Lone Star State schools TCU and Rice so it was difficult to gauge just how
good Texas was. The Longhorns opened conference play with back-to-back losses
to Kansas State and Oklahoma, making it evident that this simply wasn't going
to be their year. To their credit, the 'Horns rallied to post five straight
wins but a 38-30 setback to rival Texas A&M in the regular season finale
relegated them to lower-tier bowl status as they took on Arizona State in the
Holiday Bowl. Texas would come out victorious in that tilt, 52-34, and while a
10-3 record would be deemed a dream season by many, it was something of a
disappointment for coach Brown and his team.

2008 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: Led by junior QB Colt McCoy, the Texas offense is once again expected
to produce the gaudy numbers fans have to come expect since Brown's arrival.
Last year, the Longhorns averaged 37.2 points and 462.9 total yards per
contest, both ranking the team in the top-15 nationally.

McCoy completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,303 yards and 22 TDs.
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 this fall should be senior WR Quan Crosby,
although senior Jordan Shipley could play a huge role as well. Coach Brown
will likely go with a tailback-by-committee approach 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.

DEFENSE: 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 time around, 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.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Senior Ryan Bailey is back as UT's kicker after nailing 18-
of-22 FG attempts last season, his longest being from 52 yards. The Longhorns
will break in a new punter, likely to be freshman Justin Tucker, but the real
strength of the special teams will be the return game which features the
talents of Crosby, the speedy wideout who has the ability to take it the
distance every time he touches the ball.

OUTLOOK: Despite some winnable games during the non-conference portion of the
schedule, Texas has as tough a road as anyone in the Big 12 this year. The
'Horns open at home against Florida Atlantic, play at UTEP and then back home
for two more against Arkansas and Rice. The league slate kicks off on October
4th at Colorado then moves into a difficult stretch with back-to-back games
versus Oklahoma and Missouri. November bouts with Texas Tech, Kansas and rival
Texas A&M could make or break the Longhorns' season. Whether this is a
successful campaign or not depends on many factors, not the least of which is
whether or not the ground attack can produce and the defense can hold its own.



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