Mack Brown is blowing smoke up Troy Smith's ass.

I am a little troubled by a quote I've seen from Texas coach Mack Brown, "Troy Smith to Ohio State is what Vince [Young] has been to us. He's a leader. He's a senior. He's a guy who can make plays with his feet, but he has a great throwing motion and he's very, very accurate. "

Now I fully understand Brown saying something like this in the press...to me it's pure gamemanship. But this line of thinking has actually been circulating a lot in the media during the build-up to this game. That's what gets me. People can't actually believe this can they? I understand the parallel of Smith being the senior leader on a team with national title hopes. I understand that on a very base level, he has a similar skill set to VY (not to get all Scoop Jackson on you, but so does Drew Tate). But shit, Vince Young? The same Vince Young who became one of the all-time great college QBs by singlehandedly willing his team to wins for two seasons? The same Vince Young whose team ran an offense that bascially gave him the option on every down to do whatever the hell he wanted? Sorry, I just don't buy it.

I've seen a lot of Troy Smith. I think he is a great player. I think he's very important to OSU's chances (isn't any starting quarterback?). Despite his convincing opening-week performance against the gridiron powerhouse that is Northern Illinois, I think Troy Smith is no Vince Young. Maybe today he proves me wrong. Maybe he rolls Texas for three scores in the air and two more on the ground. I'm all for that. I just don't see it coming. That's not to say I don't think OSU will win the game. I think they have a great chance, but I don't see it being solely because of Troy Smith. Smith is a great QB. Vince Young is a college football legend. We shouldn't toss the comparison around so easily...unless of course we're Mack Brown and want to play mind games.

Update: Just in case you want to know the outcome in advance. Solid performance from Smith.