Tag: hookem horns

Texas Volleyball: No. 2 Longhorns beat No. 15 Washington in five sets

No. 2 Texas is on to the Elite Eight after a reverse sweep of No. 15 Washington.

After losing in the national championship game a season ago, Texas volleyball has revenge on their minds. The Longhorns took down Sacred Heart and Rice in sweeps during the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

That set up a Sweet 16 match up against No. 15 Washington.

The Huskies came out of the gates on fire. They took a commanding lead in the first set with an 11-0 run to go up 16-7. Washington would not look back and closed the first set 25-19.

Texas looked to have regrouped in the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead but Washington stormed back into it. A 6-1 run in the middle of the set helped Washington take set two. Jerritt Elliot’s squad had no answer for what Washington was doing early.

Just one set from elimination, Texas and Gregory gym woke up.

Set number three went back and forth before Texas grabbed all the momentum late, winning 25-22. The crowd erupted as Texas broke a 19-19 tie. Washington would not have another lead for the rest of the night.

Logan Eggleston and Skylar Fields found their rhythm for the Longhorns as Texas dominated set four 25-9.

Entering set five, the crowd was rocking and Texas hit their stride. A few Washington service errors gave Texas the lead early. Up 14-9, a Skylar Fields kill completed the reverse sweep, sending Texas to the Elite Eight.

Texas will look to clinch their spot in the Final Four against No. 10 Nebraska on Saturday night. It is a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight matchup where the Longhorns beat the Huskers in four sets.

Texas WR Xavier Worthy named freshman All-American by PFF

The accolades continue to roll in for Xavier Worthy.

Wide receiver Xavier Worthy broke out as a superstar for the Longhorns in his freshman campaign. Worthy did not enroll until the summer but quickly proved himself as Texas’ WR1.

The entire conference took notice of Worthy after his three-touchdown game against Texas Tech and his historic 261-yard performance against Oklahoma two weeks later.

The speedster finished just shy of 1,000 yards and hauled in an impressive 12 touchdowns, leading the Big 12 in both categories.

The accolades have already started pouring in for Worthy. He was named first-team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Freshman Offensive Player of the year. Worthy was the first Longhorn since Colt McCoy in 2006 to receive such honors.

On Tuesday, Pro Football Focus named Worthy to their 2021 All-True Freshman All-American Team. PFF gave Worthy a receiving grade of 80.3 on the season, tops among freshman wideouts.

Worthy has set himself up to potentially end his career as one of the best wide receivers in Texas football history. If the Horns have a bounce-back 2022 season, Worthy will be a major reason why.

Checkout Worthy’s 2021 highlight video curiosity of Texas football’s Twitter:

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Texas ex Kenny Vaccaro retires from the NFL after eight seasons

Former Texas safety Kenney Vaccaro retires from the NFL, announces the launch of a new gaming company.

After spending eight seasons with the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans, former Longhorns safety Kenny Vaccaro announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday.

Vaccaro was drafted by New Orleans in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. The safety spent five years with the Saints before signing a free-agent deal with Tennessee, where he played the last three seasons. Vaccaro totaled 110 starts, 10 interceptions and over 600 tackles in his professional career.

Upon his retirement, Vaccaro is also launching a new Esports organization called “Gamers First.”

Vaccaro explained why gaming has always been important to him in this statement.

“I’ve been a gamer for even longer than I’ve played football, and I’ve always thought of myself as a gamer first. So this is the realization of a long-term dream for me. And while football has been how many have defined me, G1 is evidence for other athletes as well that life doesn’t end just because you put down the helmet. You can reinvent yourself.”

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Marcus Carr leads No. 7 Texas past Sam Houston

No. 7 Texas takes down Sam Houston in its first game at Gregory Gym since 1977.

No. 7 Texas played a game at Gregory Gym for the first time since 1977. Over 3,000 students watched the Horns take down Sam Houston 73-57.

Texas guard Marcus Carr finally snapped out of his slump. Carr paced the Longhorns with 19 points, four assists and three rebounds. In his previous three games, Carr only had nine points on 4-14 shooting.

Carr was not the only Texas guard to play well. Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey each had 14 points of their own. The seniors have been a big part of the early success Texas has had thus far.

Timmy Allen had another double-digit scoring night. Allen was effective in getting to the free-throw line where he went 8-10 at the line. He finished with 12 points and a team-high seven assists.

The Longhorns will need better interior play if they want to compete against elite competition. The Bearkats were able to make some plays in the paint vs the Texas defense and even won the rebounding battle 29 to 27.

Notable stats:

  • G Marcus Carr: 19 points, four-assist and three rebounds
  • G Andrew Jones: 14 points, four steals
  • G Courtney Ramey: 14 points, two-assist
  • F Timmy Allen: 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds
  • Team: 11-22 from three and 14-18 on free throws

Texas will move back over to the Frank Erwin Center on Friday night to take on the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.

Texas Volleyball: Longhorns clinch No. 2 national seed

Texas volleyball set for another run at a national championship.

Jerritt Elliott has turned Texas volleyball into a national powerhouse during his 20-plus years as the head coach.

The Longhorns have reached nine Final Four appearances and five national championship games since Elliott’s arrival. The Horns won the national championship in 2012.

The 2021 Longhorns have continued the dynasty. Texas is 24-1 and won their fifth straight Big 12 conference title this season.

On Sunday night, the NCAA announced Texas as the No. 2 national seed for the NCAA tournament.

If they can keep winning, Texas will have the luxury of not having to play outside of Gregory Gym until the Final Four. Texas will host Sacred Heart, Rice, and San Diego this weekend for the first two rounds of the tournament.

The bracket sets up a potential rematch of last season’s national championship in the Elite Eight between No. 2 Texas and No. 7 Kentucky.

Texas won 15 of 16 matches against teams who qualified for the 2021 NCAA tournament. The only loss was to No. 5 Baylor in Waco.

View the full bracket here:

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Five things Texas Longhorns fans can be thankful for

Longhorns fans still have some reasons to be thankful.

The 2021 season has been one many Longhorns fans wish to forget. Continue reading “Five things Texas Longhorns fans can be thankful for”

Texas ex Colt McCoy leads the Cardinals to a 23-13 win over the Seahawks

Colt McCoy shines yet again.

Texas legend and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy is now 2-1 on the season in place of injured starter Kyler Murray. McCoy led the Cardinals to a 23-13 victory over division rival Seattle in Week 11.

McCoy’s play in place of Murray has kept the Cardinals atop the highly competitive NFC West race.

Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury felt bringing in one of the better backups in the league would pay dividends and he was correct.

The Cardinals opened the game with a 16-play, 72 yard touchdown drive in their first possession. McCoy capped the drive off with a slick shovel pass to tight end Zach Ertz.

Late in the fourth quarter, McCoy picked up a key third down with his legs. That play kept Seattle from getting the ball back and helped the Cardinals ice the game.

The victory marked the second year in a row that McCoy won a game in Seattle. McCoy started in the Giants’ 17-12 win over the Seahawks last season.

McCoy finished 35-44 for 328 yards and two touchdowns.

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Texas Football: Updated FPI and game-by-game predictions for Longhorns

Following their opening week win, the latest FPI rankings are favoring the Texas Longhorns moving forward. Could it be a magical season?

The latest FPI (Football Power Index) results are favoring the Texas Longhorns heavily in the Big 12. Previously they were ranked just outside of the top 10 teams. Following the 59-3 opening weekend win, Longhorns Wire takes a look at the newly updated numbers from ESPN.

The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily.- From ESPN’s website on what is the FPI

Updated FPI rankings per ESPN

FPI Rank 6wins % Win Conf Playoffs Win Natty
Updated 5 20.1 99.3 51.7 42.5 5.8
Last Week 8 19.0 97.1 39.6 29.4 3.5

Updated game by game predictions per ESPN

Opponent Win Prob Prev Win Prob Change
Texas Tech 91.5 79.0 +12.5
TCU 77.8 75.4 +2.4
Oklahoma 60 49.9 +11.1
Baylor 87 85.4 +1.6
Oklahoma State 63.4 60.3 +3.1
West Virginia 89.1 89.6 -0.5
Kansas 96.5 94.6 +1.9
Iowa State 90.1 81.1 +9.0
Kansas State 85.4 75.5 +9.9

Related: ESPN projects Longhorns record using win probability

After one week of Big 12 play where seven of the 10 took the field, the Longhorns saw a huge swing their way. At least when it comes to the ESPN computers. Despite the fact that Oklahoma also won big over the weekend, the Longhorns win over UTEP is valued much higher. In terms of the simulations ran for the updated FPI.

We are seeing the Longhorns go from a projected eight-win season to now looking at a perfect 10-0 record. Certaintly games are played on the field but the analytics are all pointing to the Texas Longhorns making a very strong push in the conference.

Even with the conference looking less than stellar over the weekend with a 4-3 record, they still have an opportunity to send a team to the College Football Playoffs. Provided either Oklahoma or Texas win out they will likely be in the playoffs. Question is can they finally get over the hump this year and take down Oklahoma twice? We will find out in just less than a month at the Cotton Bowl.

CFB Analyst Joel Klatt: Texas has a ‘great chance’ to knock off Oklahoma

Joel Klatt is confident that the stars are aligning for Texas to finally knock off Oklahoma as the Big 12 Champions.

The hype surrounding Texas football this season is real. Continue reading “CFB Analyst Joel Klatt: Texas has a ‘great chance’ to knock off Oklahoma”

Two Longhorns listed among college football’s top 50 players

Two Longhorns are listed within 247Sports’ top 50 college football players this season.

The 2020 college football season is rapidly approaching. Continue reading “Two Longhorns listed among college football’s top 50 players”