Now that the BCS Bowl Selection dust has settled and we’ve had a little more time to somewhat come to terms with all that took place in the Big 12 title game, it’s time to start looking ahead to January 7.

But in looking forward, I can’t help but look back.  It has been discussed high and low how the Longhorns will play the title game at the Rose Bowl, facing the Heisman Trophy-winning running back, just as they did in 2005. But if you dig a bit deeper – and what the hell else do we have to do before bowl season starts? -  the parallels that we are seeing between the 2005 national title Longhorns squad and the ’09 team are kind of freaking me out…

The 2005 Story  

The undefeated, Big 12 Champion Texas Longhorns are ranked #2 in the BCS standings as they head to Pasadena’s Rose Bowl as a prohibitive underdog to play undefeated, #1 ranked University of Southern California (led by failed NFL coach Pete Carroll) for college football’s national championship.

On offense, the Horns are led by AP First Team All-American quarterback Vince Young. Young was a Heisman finalist, only to lose the award to his BCS Title Game opponent, running back Reggie Bush. But Young didn’t come away empty-handed from awards season, winning the Maxwell Award for the most outstanding college player and the Davey O’Brien Award for the top quarterback in the country.

Defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, who joined the Longhorns after coaching at Auburn, has masterminded the #8 scoring defense in the country this year, led by AP First Team All-American safety and Thorpe Award Finalist Michael Huff.

The Longhorns put themselves in position to play for the title by building on their success from the year before. Texas finished last season with only one defeat, and capped off the year with a dramatic, last-second, come-from-behind win in the BSC Rose Bowl over Big 10 opponent Michigan.

The Horns entered 2005 season with high expectations, ranked #2 in the pre-season poll behind last year’s BCS Champion, USC.  

The 2009 Story

The undefeated, Big 12 Champion Texas Longhorns are ranked #2 in the BCS standings as they head to Pasadena’s Rose Bowl as a prohibitive underdog to play undefeated, #1 ranked University of Alabama (led by failed NFL coach Nick Saban) for college football’s national championship.

On offense, the Horns are led by AP First Team All-American quarterback Colt McCoy. McCoy was a Heisman finalist, only to lose the award to his BCS Title Game opponent, running back Mark Ingram. But McCoy didn’t come away empty-handed from awards season, winning the Maxwell Award for the most outstanding college player and the Davey O’Brien Award for the top quarterback in the country.

Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who joined the Longhorns after coaching at Auburn, has masterminded the #8 scoring defense in the country this year, led by AP First Team All-American safety and Thorpe Award Finalist Earl Thomas.

The Longhorns put themselves in position to play for the title by building on their success from the year before. Texas finished last season with only one defeat, and capped off the year with a dramatic, last-second, come-from-behind win in the BSC Fiesta Bowl over Big 10 opponent Ohio State.

The Horns entered 2009 season with high expectations, ranked #2 in the pre-season poll behind last year’s BCS Champion, Florida.

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The good news: Texas won the Big 12 football championship tonight, our defense is awesome again, Elisa didn’t wake up the kids screaming when Hunter kicked the field goal, and Texas likely will go the the national championship game.

The bad news: Pretty much everything else.

I’m in shock over the offensive game plan (assuming there was one — I’m not really convinced at this point). My Christmas list now includes a new offensive line, running game and offensive coordinator. That was pathetic. Props to Nebraska, but holy hell that was painful to watch.

Chris Hall, who somehow was named 1st team All-American but only Honorable Mention All-Big 12, started off both halves with 15-yard chop block penalties. Michael Huey and Kyle Hix should walk back to Austin after that performance. Maybe Colt was suffering post-concussion syndrome on that last play after being sacked eight times.

Let’s be honest. Colt lost the Heisman tonight. I just hope he still gets a free trip to New York.

Here’s the question: Is there any way the Harris Poll voters and coaches drop us below TCU or Cincinnati, which could knock us out of the championship game? The knee-jerk reaction to that kind of performance – one in which we needed instant replay to have a chance at the winning kick – might be to do so.

I imagine we’ll see a lot of media pushing the underdog Horned Frogs or Bearcats over the next 24 hours, saying that Texas didn’t play like a national championship contender. And you know what? They’d be right on that point. But the key is to consider the entire season. Texas plays in the Big 12 and went undefeated. And I’m sorry, but the Big East and Mountain West just don’t compare, even in a down year.

This was a night for Texas in which seemingly everything went wrong: turnovers, penalties, blocked punts, poor kick coverage, a brainfart by Goodwin on our own one-yard-line, James Kirkendoll forgetting how to catch when he had the easiest 70-yard touchdown opportunity of his career, clock mismanagement, inexplicable sacks that took us out of field goal range. We even lost the freaking coin toss. And you know what? We still won.

Texas won their 3rd Big 12 title. Mack won the second of his career. Colt and the seniors won their first. At the end of the day, no matter how it happened, that’s pretty flippin great. Congratulations.

One final note: After a few drinks and the stress of a last-second win, I seem to use a lot more “we”s when discussing the Horns. I’m not apologizing.

HOOK ‘EM!!!

BIG 12 CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!

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The implications of Saturday night’s game in Dallas are surprisingly familiar. As history shows us, when Texas plays in the Big 12 Championship Game, a trip to the BCS Title Game is usually on the line for one of the teams.

At least, that’s how it’s played out three of the four previous Texas appearances.

The problem is that two of those three ended in upsets. And we don’t want so see that happen this year. But those who do not learn from mistakes of the past are doomed to the Sugar Bowl…or something like that.  Let’s start by looking back at the inaugural Big 12 Championship in 1996.

“Roll Left”

Words that will forever put a smile on any Longhorn fan who was around in the mid-90s. Nebraska vs. Texas in St. Louis. Nebraska entered the game at 10-1. They were the two-time defending national champions and a win over the Longhorns would allow them to defend their title in the Sugar Bowl. Texas had won five in a row after starting the season 4-3. The Cornhuskers were three touchdown favorites. Behind the running of Priest Holmes, Texas kept the game close and even led by three with two minutes remaining. Then, this happened:

An underrated aspect of that play – tight end Derek Lewis looking up and watching himself on the Jumbotron while running downfield after the catch. You’ll notice that when he gets to about the 20 yard line, he covers the ball up with both hands because he could see the Nebraska player gaining on him and didn’t want to be stripped of the ball. So awesome.

The Meltdown

The 2001 title game was the Yin to 1996’s Yang. Texas came into the game at #3, but had just learned that Tennessee had upset #2 Florida. Mack Brown’s first path to a national title game was officially paved. The Horns matched up against Colorado, a team they had soundly beaten a few weeks earlier. But what followed was an epic meltdown that would unfortunately taint Chris Simms’ legacy at Texas. After taking an early 7-0 lead, Simms turned the ball over four times in the first half and gave Colorado a 29-10 lead before Major Applewhite came in to replace him following a finger injury. Applewhite lead the Longhorns back in heroic fashion, but just fell short, 39-37. Nebraska, who didn’t even play in the conference championship, snuck into the BCS Title game instead. That was a fun trip down memory lane, huh?

The Blowout

Finally, we come to 2005 – the biggest blowout in conference championship game history (any conference…probably any sport). It’s hard to imagine that a 70-3 game wasn’t even as close as the score indicated, but that was the case. Texas didn’t score a single point over the last  22 minutes of the game, and that took some imaginative play calling. The game, along with some scandal, ousted Gary Barnett from Colorado and pretty much coaching in general. And this was the guy we almost hired over Mack Brown? Anyhow, the title game ended with roses all over the field as Texas earned their way into the BSC Title game for the first time. They would face the best team in the history of college football, led by two Heisman winners. Trying to remember how that whole thing turned out.

2009 – #3 Texas vs. #22 Nebraska, Saturday, 7 p.m.

Texas will look to avoid adding another huge upset to the Big 12 Championship history books.

They will do so against a Nebraska squad led by the potential #1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Ndamukong Suh. Suh, who joined Colt McCoy, Earl Thomas and Chris Hall on the American Football Coaches Association’s All-America team, will make plays. There is no way around it. It will be up to Greg Davis to devise a way to minimize his disruption and keep Colt off the turf at JerryWorld.

Future NFL Pro Bowler = Colt being extra nice to his linemen this week.

Nebraska is considered to have two advantages over Texas, but they aren’t by as much as you might think – defensive line and running backs. Suh and fellow tackle Jared Crick anchor the #1 scoring defense in the conference. But the Blackshirts have fewer sacks and turnovers caused than Texas. Nebraska’s running backs Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead are better known than Tre Newton and Cody Johnson, but Texas averages 16 more yards rushing per game and has scored nine more TDs on the ground this year.

It can be argued that Texas is in better shape at every other position on the field. But none more so than quarterback. Zac Lee threw for six touchdowns and four interceptions in conference play this season. He was replaced at midseason (temporarily) by a freshman. Will Muschamp will do everything in his power to put the game in Lee’s hands by stacking the line to stop the run. I don’t think Lee or his receivers can beat Texas’ cornerbacks. For all the problems they had last week against A&M, this is not Jerrod Johnson we’re dealing with here, and these certainly aren’t the Aggie receivers.

I don’t believe Nebraska will have the ability to consistently move the ball against Texas. If you recall, their only offensive scoring drive against Oklahoma was 1 yard (the result of a turnover by their defense). That’s the scenario Texas will have to avoid – turnovers. The Cornhuskers are counting on them to win.

I expect to see a pretty conservative game plan on offense for Texas. We should see a lot of quick passes and roll outs to offset the pressure up the middled by Suh and Crick. And I think Texas will be able to run the ball a little. Surprisingly, Nebraska ranks only 5th in the conference against the run, giving up nearly twice the yardage as the Longhorns.

It will take some strange circumstances for Nebraska to pull off the upset Saturday night. But weird things happen sometimes. It’s supposed to snow in Houston tomorrow. I hope that’s not a sign.

Hook ‘em!

The Line: Texas (-14)  The Prediction: Texas 35 Nebraska 13.

Last week against the spread: 3-2

2009 season: 55-36-1

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