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The Longhorns Survive

The Texas Longhorns played their rivalry game this morning against Texas A&M and continued on their undefeated path to the Rose Bowl for the national championship game. The final score was 40-29, but the game felt much closer than that.

After an underwhelming performance in front of a national audience, Vince Young’s Heisman hopes are on life support. Entering the final week of games next weekend, the award is Reggie Bush’s to lose. That’s what happens when Bush has 513 total yards against Fresno State and Vince Young has 181 total yards against Texas A&M. Fresno State is a much better team than Texas A&M.

Here are some reasons I’m down. I don’t like our run defense. The Aggies ran straight up the gut, right through the heart of our defense, and we had no answer for that. Then they would run the option around the edges and turn up field for large chunks of yards. The defense did manage an interception and a fumble recovery, both of which were huge looking back on the outcome of the game. Getting obliterated on that half back pass was a rubbing of salt in our already exposed wounds.

USC saw the game today, and I can tell you they are one excited group of players. If a Texas A&M team that ranks last nationally in pass defense can keep their offense in the game through four quarters, imagine what USC’s defense must be feeling like. That SC defense is not a group of world beaters, but again, they are much better than the Aggies. The idea of us posing a real threat to their third straight national title took a big hit today.

Here are some reasons I’m not so down. It’s a rivalry game. The Aggies had nothing to lose, and they were playing at home. We were their season, and they’ve known that for several weeks now. If they win today, not only do they ruin our bid for a national championship, but they become bowl eligible. And I haven’t even mentioned state bragging rights. If Texas A&M gets blown out today, it’s no big deal. It’s expected. But if they put up a real fight, they only look better. On the other side of that coin, we had everything to lose. One loss removes us from the national championship picture, and Vince Young is still playing for the Heisman trophy.

The Longhorns will next play in the Big XII championship game on Saturday, December 3. That game will determine a whole lot. If we win, we go to the Rose Bowl and play for the national championship. If we lose, we go to some second-tier bowl, because we would not have even won the conference championship. I will also be curious to see how we look. A win with a second shaky performance will lead to the sports writers practically handing the national championship trophy to USC a month before the game is even played. A win with a dominant performance will lead to much more intrigue leading up to the Rose Bowl.

But we have to win that Big XII championship game first. I have watched us lose that game twice in person: once to Nebraska in 1999 in San Antonio; once to Colorado in 2001 in Dallas. A win in 2001 gets us into the national championship game. We didn’t win. Let’s not repeat that this year.