College Confidential

Happy Longhorns

Another no-kidding headline from me. Sorry, folks. It's late and everything's coming in pretty scattered right now.

Mack Brown had this to say following the game:

"I knew it would be a game like this -- defense, special teams. I was disappointed in some of the special teams breakdowns we had. But what a credit to these kids. They've won 25 of 26 games. They know how to win. We did what we needed to do in the end to win."

And on there being time remaining on the clock: "I knew there was a second left. Colt snapped the ball and he knew what he was doing. He thought there were 2 seconds left instead of one."

And this from a very happy Hunter Lawrence: "I was trying to stay focused and tried not to get too nervous (on the final kick). It was a great feeling when it went through."

Countdown talk: No.12 Arizona State

Quick take: A friend of mine watched the Sun Devils in the spring and wasn't impressed. There is some risk with ranking them so high, especially with Georgia on the schedule, but three things - 1.) Dennis Erickson is a great college coach, and teams usually improve in a coach's second year, 2.) Oregon and Cal are both having to replace ultra-talented stars, and UCLA will need a couple of years before they're serious contenders (which should make Arizona State the toughest test for USC) and 3.) If Rudy Carpenter can get protection from the offensive line, expect his numbers to explode.
My player to watch: QB Rudy Carpenter (6-3, 225). Just call him Mr. Reliable. Carpenter begins 2008 with the second most consecutive starts in the nation at 31, and is on the Walter Camp Award watch list. In 2007, Carpenter threw for 3,202 yards and 25 touchdowns, and leads all Pac 10 quarterbacks in four major offensive categories, including career passing yards (7,998).

Thoughts, comments? Agree, disagree? Share your opinion.
-Trae Thompson