Big 12 Notebook: Texas' Tre Newton Earns Starting Job on the Run

It was of little surprise Monday when Texas coach Mack Brown named redshirt freshman running back Tre' Newton as the starter for Saturday's UTEP game.

Newton gave the second-ranked Longhorns everything they had been looking for in a tailback for the last two seasons during Saturday's win over Texas Tech, picking up difficult yards and moving the chains. Filling in for injured starter Vondrell McGee in the second half, Newton rushed for 88 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.

His 18 carries for 81 yards in the second half proved pivotal in keeping Texas Tech's explosive offense off the field as the Longhorns escaped with a 34-24 win. It was the inability of the Longhorns backs to pick up critical yards late that paved the way for their upset loss to Tech last season.

"He was like he has been every time we've seen him," Brown said. "We've just got to keep playing him more."

Coming into fall camp, Newton and redshirt freshman D.J. Monroe seemed to take a backseat to proven tailbacks Cody Johnson, Fozzy Whittaker, McGee and even true freshman Chris Whaley. But Newton has stepped up with McGee and Whittaker continuing to struggle to stay healthy.

Starting out the second half after McGee tweaked his ankle Saturday, Newton made an impact on the opening drive with carries of 6 and 7 yards before he burst through the line for a 19-yard touchdown run that put the Longhorns ahead 17-3.

That was all the UT coaches needed to see to keep running him for the remainder of the night.

"Tre' has good patience, good vision," said UT offensive coordinator Greg Davis. "We had a couple guys who were (banged) up and we just felt like he was healthy and playing well."

Newton, the son of former Dallas Cowboy great Nate Newton, was excited after receiving his first extended opportunity Saturday night.

"It felt good," said Newton, who leads the Longhorns backs with 178 yards in three games. "Going into the game I was backing up Vondrell, just ready to do whatever they asked me to do. I just try to make sure I'm always ready for when the opportunity comes."

A learning experience for the Cornhuskers

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini couldn't hide his frustration on the sideline Saturday afternoon as Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed an 11-yard touchdown with 21 seconds remaining to rally the Hokies to a 16-15 win over the Cornhuskers.

The Cornhuskers came so close to the signature win the program needs. But two big plays -- the 11-yard touchdown pass and then a 76-yard kickoff return run that set up a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter -- were really all that denied Nebraska its biggest win in years.

Pelini was a little more philosophical Monday than he was on the sideline Saturday after the 11-yard touchdown pass.

"You have to finish things off and you have to execute for four quarters and unfortunately we didn't do that and it cost us," he said. "That's what we are working towards, getting that aspect fixed.

"I've moved on, we've moved on. It doesn't change whether we stopped them on that last drive or not. There is a lot of things we need to get fixed and it shouldn't have come down to that anyway. We had plenty of opportunities to put that game away on both sides of the ball and on special teams. Everybody contributed to us not finishing that game off."

Still, Pelini realizes the value in such a game even in loss. The Cornhuskers went into a hostile environment against a top-25 opponent and played better in all facets, except the final score.

"Playing in a game like that helps you get ready for conference play because you've been tested, you've been in a tough environment and we know we are going to face that once we get into conference play," said Pelini, whose team dropped down to No.25 in the latest AP poll. "So I think we will be a better football team because of it."


Fuller out for 4-6 Weeks at A&M

It wasn't much of a shock when Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman confirmed Monday that star sophomore receiver Jeff Fuller will miss four to six weeks after cracking a bone in his leg.

But what was a little surprising was to hear that doesn't mean backup quarterback/receiver Ryan Tannehill will necessarily see his workload increase at receiver. Tannehill, a sophomore, showed he was a true natural last season at receiver.

He competed with Jerrod Johnson for the starting quarterback spot, as promised by Sherman, during spring and fall practices but lost in his bid to unseat Johnson. Tannehill views himself as a quarterback who can play receiver though his heart is really at quarterback.

His value to the Aggies is at receiver, but Tannehill's desire is to be a college quarterback. Certainly Sherman finds himself in an awkward situation.

"You have to really appreciate Ryan to see him practice and throw the football to realize he really is a quarterback," said Sherman, whose team hosts UAB on Saturday. "But he keeps playing receiver, I'm sure from the outside looking in and even from my standpoint, he's equally adept at both. It's a very unique combination. I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like it."

Tannehill has thrived as a receiver, who doesn't put in the work meeting with the receivers and rarely practices. Yet goes into the games and excels with limited work.

"He sits with the quarterbacks, he doesn't meet with the receivers, he doesn't practice receiver a lot, just certain plays at certain times," Sherman said. "It's just amazing to me what he does with the limited amount of time. You can argue both sides of the coin but to appreciate him as a quarterback you have to watch him in practice."

So instead of seeing Tannehill's reps increase and introducing more risk to the No.2 quarterback spot, Sherman said you can expect to see more of freshmen Brandal Jackson and Kenric McNeal along with an increased workload for Uzoma Nwachukwu and Terrence McCoy to fill Fuller's void.

Baylor's run defense gets exposed

Two weeks after a feel-good road win at Wake Forest, Baylor seemed like the same old Bears during Saturday's deflating 30-22 home loss to UConn.

The Bears allowed UConn to run the ball down their throats the entire game in front of 40,147 at Floyd Casey Stadium. The Huskies picked up 235 yards of their 382 total yards on the ground, while winning the time of possession battle 39:44 to 20:16.

Andre Dixon led the way for UConn with 149 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries while Jordan Todman accounted for 103 yards, marking the second time the duo had both eclipsed the 100-yard barrier in the same game.

"It was embarrassing as a defense to get the ball run down our throats like that," Baylor safety Jordan Lake said to the Waco Tribune. "We knew they were going to run the ball, but we didn't come out with the energy we needed to stop them up front. They did a good job of using their big line to push the ball downfield, and then Dixon would pop out and get four or five more yards."

Baylor coach Art Briles and his staff will likely have to restore a lot of confidence in his defensive front before having to face the likes of Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma State's Kendall Hunter or Missouri's Derrick Washington during the Big 12 season.

"As far as the defensive line and stopping the run, that's something you've got to be able to do," Briles said. "That's something each week is an opportunity to get better at. We know what we need to do now we need to go out and do it. We'll have that opportunity this Saturday."



Stoops could have QB quandary

With a bye coming this week, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said Monday he doesn't want to begin speculating about the availability of Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford for the Oct. 3 mega non-conference showdown at Miami.

Bradford has been out since opening week when he suffered a shoulder injury.

"No updates on Sam but he continues to do well," Stoops said Monday. "But we are not getting into any speculations about when."

The way redshirt freshman Landry Jones is playing could be a reason Stoops doesn't have to worry about his quarterback position. Jones is coming off one of the best performances of any freshman quarterback in NCAA history.

Jones threw six touchdowns in the Sooners' 45-0 win over Tulsa on Saturday, the second most touchdown passes in a game by a freshman in NCAA history. He was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after also completing 25-of-37 passes for 336 yards against Tulsa.

"I feel good. I think if it is Landry he's handling it really well," said Stoops, whose team jumped up to No. 10 in the AP poll this week. "He's been nothing but consistent and solid. I think more than anything it's the players around him and in the last couple of weeks the players around him have played better. Regardless of who is in that position, the players around him have to protect that position. You have to protect him, you've got to be able to run the ball, you have to be able to get open and catch it when you have the opportunities.

"But as far as his part, he's doing a really good job."

Muckelroy honored

Middle linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy showed up big for the Longhorns Saturday night, constantly harassing quarterback Taylor Potts and serving as virtual shadow to Texas Tech running Baron Batch all night.

Muckelroy finished the night with seven tackles, which including two tackles for loss, and one sack while playing a major role in the Longhorns limiting the Red Raiders to minus-6 yards rushing.

Muckelroy was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

"I've been very proud of his progress, he's started all three games for us at the Mike (middle linebacker)," said UT defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. "He's a guy you enjoy to coach in the way he approaches the game. He certainly showed up (Saturday) an awful lot and played well."