No one said it would be easy
Longhorns continue run of top-notch competition
Their run through the rankings is almost over. One more game, one more test of character and skill, and the No. 1 Texas Longhorns can exhale. Next week's opponent will be an unranked, sub-.500 (3-5) Baylor team that may create problems of motivation for Texas coach Mack Brown. But that is next week's challenge.
For now, Brown has no problem with motivation. All he has to do is mention the name of the next foe. This week it's unbeaten and No. 6 Texas Tech. A week ago, it was unbeaten and No. 7 Oklahoma State. A week before that, it was once-beaten and No. 11 Missouri. And a week before that, it was unbeaten and No. 1 Oklahoma.
When did the Big 12 turn into the NFC East?
Four games in four weeks against ranked opponents. Thus far, the Longhorns are 3 for 3 in those challenges, which is the reason they have been a unanimous No. 1 selection in the rankings the last two weeks.
"The label of No. 1 is hard to get and it's really harder to keep," said Brown. "We won't know for sure about this team until the end of the season."
We had a pretty good idea after the Longhorns won a shootout against Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry meeting in Dallas. We learned more when they fought off the natural letdown the week after a rivalry game and rolled to an easy win over Missouri. And we received even more information when they grinded their way to a tense win over Oklahoma State. Texas is good, very good, perhaps even great, which is a label no one is quite ready to embrace.
Now they are hitting the road to the land of "Friday Night Lights" in West Texas, where the Texas Tech faithful are calling this the biggest game in school history.
For the third time in four weeks, ESPN's "College GameDay" crew will be on hand, as if a battle between No. 1 and No. 6 needed any more hype. Throw in the presence of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, who is the Heisman front-runner, and Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell, who has Heisman-like numbers, and you have the complete package.
A year ago, Texas won a 59-43 shootout against the Red Raiders in which McCoy and Harrell combined for 785 passing yards and nine TD passes.
This year, McCoy has completed an astounding 81.8 percent of his passes, thrown for 2,285 yards and 21 TDs, and rushed for 412 yards and 7 TDs. Harrell has thrown for 28 TDs and 3,147 yards, and rushed for 6 scores.
Small wonder the anticipation for this game is reaching epic proportions. And it is why Brown feels his team is ready for its next challenge.
The "letdown" factor would be a concern for any team that has to have its "A" game ready so many weeks in a row. Brown, ever the master motivator, is attempting to use Tech's rankings as a plus.
"I think we're fortunate that Tech is so good," said Brown. "We're fortunate that it will probably be the their largest crowd in school history and that the people are considering it their biggest game in school history."
The Longhorns are used to being almost everyone's biggest game every time they arrive in town. Even in down times - which have been almost nonexistent in Brown's tenure in Austin - the Longhorns have a swagger that suggests they are ready for anything.
This stretch of games has been exceptional, however. Few college teams have to deal with such a sustained stretch of quality competition.
The odds are still against the Longhorns. A road game at Kansas in a few weeks is a potential pothole, although the Jayhawks were manhandled by Texas Tech, 63-21, last week, and there is the traditional rivalry game against Texas A&M, but the Aggies are in a down cycle. And then the Big 12 title game in Kansas City lurks, which has been the graveyard for title hopes in the past. Missouri looks like the most logical candidate for a rematch. And no one thinks that tomorrow night's encounter with Texas Tech will be anything close to easy.
It can be argued that Texas has earned a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game, even with one loss.
Until someone beats them, the Longhorns should be secure in their identity as the best team in college football.
Globe Top 10
1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma
5. Southern Cal
6. Texas Tech
7. Florida
8. Georgia
9. Oklahoma State
10. Utah 