Peter Bean, commander-in-chief of Burnt Orange Nation is a buys man, but not too busy to answer a few questions about our next opponent, the Texas Longhorns.
What can we expect out of the QB position on Saturday? Will Chiles get any time? How many bruises does Colt's brain have?
Colt played pretty well against Oklahoma, and didn't get thumped about like he did in Austin against Kansas State. The story with John Chiles is that there is no story as yet. The coaches haven't played him, other than mop up duty. Meanwhile, Texas has lost four-straight conference games. It's not terribly fair to McCoy, but Texas' offensive coordinator has proven much better at developing a potent offense around a mobile quarterback than a pocket passer. There are some of us who think it's time to see what John Chiles can do.
Is Charles still the stud that I remember from his freshman year?
Charles has had an up and down year. He's running as well as anyone in the country. But he's fumbling like a freshman who hasn't learned better yet. The fumbling problems have persisted to the point where people are starting to wonder whether it's worth playing him as much as we have. That's sad, because JC is a special talent. But it's reality: turnovers kill.
How has Texas fared against spread offenses this year?
Texas hasn't faced any great offenses other than Oklahoma's yet, but has struggled at times with the zone read and some spread looks from crappy teams. I do think the defensive unit's playing reasonably well right now, but there are personnel deficiencies at linebacker and cornerback. The solutions are all backups to less-talented veterans.
How much will the loss of Sweed hurt?
A lot. Sweed is Texas' only true deep threat, and McCoy's success is predicated on having that connection. I'm very concerned about how functional McCoy can be without Sweed distracting the defense.
Do you think any of the players or coaching staff are in any way concerned about Saturday?
I'm sure they are. For one thing, the fans will go bonkers if we lose - everyone's on edge already. For another, Gene Chizik knows Texas damn well. I can assure you that no one will take this game lightly. The only sense in which it's not a big deal lies in the fact that Texas is already 0-2 in conference. Most of the team's goals are already shot.
Does ISU have even the slimmest chance to win?
Can Stanford beat USC? Appy State over Michigan? Iowa State over Texas wouldn't be nearly as big an upset as those. Yes, they could win.
Over/Under on how many guys Crank That on the sideline before the game.
Like Bartleby, I would prefer not to (answer).
Thanks, Peter