All On The Line for Texas

This is supposed to be the year it all comes together for the Texas Longhorns. After appearing in their first BCS bowl in January the Texas bandwagon has been growing since Vince Young ran over the Michigan defense one night in January. Sports writers across America and bloggers alike have anointed Texas king of the Big 12 Conference and the only hope for a national title shot. This year’s big game for the Longhorns is not in Dallas, rather it’s in Columbus, OH. It’s not the second weekend in October, it’s the second weekend in September. It’s not against hated foe Oklahoma, it’s against an Ohio State team that they have never played before.

Everyone is saying that this game has Rose Bowl implications and no doubt the winner has the inside track and the loser will be on the outside looking in when it comes to one of those top two spots in the BCS rankings.

I guess this would be a bad time to bring up Mac Brown’s record in big games. It wouldn’t be a good time to mention the fact that he has never even won a conference championship. It probably wouldn’t be appropriate to rehash that he sacrificed a championship season and Major Applewhite to Chris Simms (Gary Barnett and the Colorado Buffs are still thankful for that). Lastly, it may seem wrong to talk about the Longhorns’ five year losing streak to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Well, actually it’s not wrong at all to bring up all of Mac’s shortcomings because a win in Columbus would erase all of it. If the Longhorns beat the Buckeyes it would be one of the greatest redemption stories in college football history. Brown would have finally won the big game when it mattered. He and the Longhorns would be a heavy favorite over the Sooners and that would put them in the driver’s seat to an undefeated season and a Conference Championship. Oh yeah, and a chance to go back to the Rose Bowl where this year’s dream started that night in January.

So, sleep tight tonight Longhorn fans your shot at the big time starts tomorrow night at 7:00 central.