Henry Josey vs. the Longhorns: Missouri vs. Texas Is Now a Backfield Showdown

The Missouri Tigers and the Texas Longhorns have been known for their supreme talent at the quarterback position in recent years. In the past decade Missouri has been led by great passers like Brad Smith, Chase Daniel and Blaine Gabbert, all of whom are now living out their dreams in the NFL. As for Texas, Vince Young and Colt McCoy need no introduction. They both had illustrious careers at Texas; both competed in a National Championship Game and both barely fell short of Heisman trophies.

Unfortunately for the two schools, the quarterback play in 2011 has been sub-par, to say the least.

Yes, Missouri's James Franklin has put up decent numbers this fall. He's thrown for 16 scores with seven interceptions and 2,195 yard through the air. He's also been a force with his legs, running for 500 yards and ten touchdowns.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Franklin has been the Tony Romo of the Big 12 this year. Despite impressive numbers, Franklin has failed to make plays when his team needs him the most, in the fourth quarter. The games against Arizona State, Oklahoma and Kansas State are prime examples. Granted these were all away games, and Missouri's defense was not playing up to expectations, but Franklin must learn how to handle himself in clutch situations, whether it's putting teams away early or keeping drives alive at the ends of games. 

Franklin has the potential to be one of the nation's elite quarterbacks, but he needs to have a great offseason this year because the SEC defenses that he will be facing next year are nothing to take lightly.

As for the Longhorns, it's been a quarterback carousel in Austin this season. Mack Brown hasn't been able to make up his mind between Colt's younger brother Case McCoy and freshman David Ash. Fortunately Texas' defense has been impressive this year, because the offense has not lived up to expectations. Texas has the 91st ranked passing offense in the nation right now with the two youngsters under center, which is truly unbelievable to followers of the orange and white.

Luckily for both squads, they have been able to run the ball with tremendous success.

Sophomore tailback Henry Josey has been unbelievable for the black and gold this year. Leading Missouri to the 12th-ranked offense in the country, Josey's ran for 1,149 yards this year with nine endzone appearances. What's truly amazing is Josey's 8.6 yards-per-carry average.

These stats are especially impressive because Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel runs the spread offense out of shotgun formations. Every time Josey rips off a ten yard gain, he's actually running about 13 or 14.

Josey has the fourth most yards on the ground in the entire NCAA, behind only David Wilson of Virginia Tech, Ronnie Hillman of San Diego State and Bobby Rainey of Western Kentucky.

Texas comes into Columbia on Saturday with the nation's 11th-best rushing offense, featuring a three-headed monster of Joe Bergeron, Malcolm Brown and veteran back Fozzy Whitaker.

The two teams kick off at 12:00 ET at Faurot Field in Columbia, MO. 

Even though the game likely won't draw the national spotlight that it would in years past, fans of both teams should expect to see a tremendous game out of the running backs.

It's also the last time that these two great programs will face off during the regular season, with Missouri becoming a member of the Southeastern conference this summer. It's saddening to think of Missouri and Texas not playing each other, so hopefully Henry Josey, as well as the Longhorn backfield will make this a memorable showdown for both sides.