Texas 21, A&M 7

TEXAS 21, A&M 7

"Do you believe in Miracles?"

Not since the Thanksgiving when Darrel Royal figured out the "wishbone"he was pulling on was more than just a piece of useless cartilage, have the Longhorns had so much to be thankful for. First Texas dispatched instate rival Texas A&M 21-7 on a picture perfect day in College Station. Even with an inept offense, the Aggies were able to keep the issue in doubt until the fourth quarter. If you thought the game should have been more of a blowout in Texas'favor, you haven't been to Kyle Field on gameday. There isn't a tougher place to play in the Big XII. It was so loud I couldn't see because of all the noise pollution. The crowd kept the Texas offense out of synch most of the day. Fortunately for the Horns, the defense came to play and the Aggies offense couldn't move the ball with a U-Haul. And even though Cedric Benson didn't get the 105 yards he was hoping for, he proved to be the difference maker with two rushing touchdowns in the final quarter. When it comes to A&M, we'll take any win we can get. There are few things in this life more satisfying than hearing the silence of a dejected Aggie crowd as they depart Kyle Field after a rare loss at home. But just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I sat down in front of a television just in time to see the Buffaloes put a spanking on the Cornhuskers that would make a porn star stand up and say "damn!" And if that 62-36 thrashing didn't wake you from your turkey-induced haze, Oklahoma State's conquest of the Norman-D must have. Either God truly does love the Longhorns or Mack Brown just made the biggest deal with the devil since Bill Gates traded his slide rule for a window with a view of the future. Ironically, the same pass play that OU broke up to preserve their perfect season last year, sealed the win for OSU this year. Even with the Sooner offense struggling, it's still hard to explain how the 3 and 7 Cowboys strolled into Norman and stole won. Undoubtedly this is the biggest upset in Oklahoma State history and the break Texas so badly needed to jump back into the National Championship race. And if the race ends in Pasadena, it starts in Big D at Texas Stadium with the....

GOING TO THE BIG XII CHAMPIONSHIP

Well they say out with the bad and in with the good. Goodbye Huskers and Sooners, hello Longhorns and Buffaloes. This Saturday, Texas will play Colorado for the second time this season. The Horns won the first meeting in dominant fashion, but I wouldn't expect a repeat performance. Colorado's QB, Bobby Pessavento seems to have come into his own and the Buffaloes keep sending in one great running back after another. First Cortlen Johnson went down with an injury, then Bobby Purify came up lame. So what did the Buffs do, they put in back-up Chris Brown and all he did was score six rushing touchdowns against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The first key for Texas will obviously be stopping Colorado's vaunted running game. This will force Pessavento, who is nursing a sore shoulder, into throwing the ball more often thus making himself more susceptible to taking hits from the Longhorn pass rush. But take heart, Texas doesn't have the top rated defense in the land for nothing. On the other side of the ball, getting Cedric Benson started early will be crucial. CU must respect the Texas running game before the passing lanes will open up. The failure to establish the running game early against A&M caused havoc on Chris Simms and his ability to throw the ball most of the game. One thing, that won't be a factor, is the wind. Texas Stadium is practically a dome and I can't wait to watch the speed of UT's receivers on the turf. Hopefully their legs are fresh because this game may turn into a track meet and fast. Again, turnovers will probably determine the winner. Colorado actually outplayed Texas in the first half of the game in Austin, but the score wasn't representative because of 3 costly Buffalo turnovers in Longhorn territory. Either way this game will probably be one for the history books and after what happened last weekend, nearly impossible to predict. But what the hell, let's give it a shot anyway with the always unpopular....

UNPREDICTABLE PREDICTION

Bevo and Ralphie were grazing on the North Texas 40 a few days before the Big XII Championship. Bevo said "hey Ralphie, you gettin' worried old son?" Ralphie just looked up with a pain in his eyes and said "Big Tatonka, no fart." "Well hell" Bevo said, "you're in Texas now, quit eating that grass and go get yourself a big bowl of red beans down at the BBQ Pit." So Ralphie did. Next day, same thing "Big Tatonka, no fart." "Well then" Bevo said, "throw a little tabasco in your beans this time. So Ralphie did and sure enough he came back and said "Big Tatonka, still no fart." Finally it's the day before the big game and Bevo can see that Ralphie really is in a heap of trouble. So he walks over and says "Ralphie, I'm down to my last idea, go get yourself two bowls of red beans, a case of Miller Lite and one fresh, green jalapeno." So Ralphie did as he was told. The next day Bevo was looking all around Texas Stadium for Ralphie, but he couldn't find him anywhere. Finally he spotted one of Ralphie's handlers and he asked where the beleaguered buffalo had gone. The handler just looked up with a tear in his eye and said "Big fart, no Tatonka." Texas 45, CU 17

TAILGATE UPDATE

Finally ("it's happening to me"), a game that doesn't start before noon (burnin' day light). Kick-off for the sixth annual Big XII Championship (co-south champs, not) is set for 7pm (welcome to primetime, Bevo), but we'll be in the parking lot (dude, where's the bar?) right outside Texas Stadium (thunderdome) around lunch time ("what's the soup du jour?"). You'll need a blue parking pass ($20 donation to Jerry's kids) to park near the stadium, otherwise you can just walk (or mosey) across the bridge (look out for the troll) from the outer lots (send me a post card). Thanks to a new law (more like a loop hole), we can now bring a grill (ohhh, show me Hibachi) for cooking hot dogs, burgers and whatever else we want to throw on the fire (bison). BYOB (ya cheap bastard) as usual and hopefully we'll see you (CU, rock me) there.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Co-south champs? He (Mack Brown) can say whatever he wants, we're going to Dallas." - Oklahoma Sooner Head Coach Bob Stoops