Texas had to learn what life was like without the all-world Vince Young in 2006, and they found out that things weren't so bad. The Longhorns gutted out a 26-24 victory over Iowa in the Alamo Bowl to finish 10-3 on the season.
Freshman quarterback Colt McCoy stepped right in and played great, especially as the season wore on. McCoy did get injured and missed a couple games toward the end of the season, but spent the offseason bulking up to prevent future injuries.
McCoy also spent time strengthening his arm and apparently is throwing the ball further and with more velocity. With more experience going into his second season, expect big things from McCoy and the Texas offense.
Helping McCoy will be running back Jamaal Charles, who had an outstanding junior season. He rushed 831 yards and had seven touchdowns while splitting time with Selvin Young, who has since graduated.
As for the defense, they were solid but not spectacular last season, giving up just under 18 points per game. However, Texas managed to win each game by an average of almost 19 points per game, although a lot of that came from running up the score against weak out of conference opponents.
Texas has a cupcake out of conference schedule in 2007 but will have some tough games in the Big 12. They play Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas Tech at home but will have tough games at Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.
The Longhorns have become a national power ever since Mack Brown left North Carolina to become the head coach at Texas. He does a terrific job recruiting in one of the top football states in the country and already has a national championship to show for it.
Texas should be powerful on offense and very good on defense. They should beat out Oklahoma and win the Big 12 championship and could be a possible dark horse for the national championship.
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