THE CURE, Part Two
Much of football-loving Texas will be focusing on Houston instead of Austin this weekend, but for the Burnt Orange Nation, hosting their cousins from the most western regions of the state is just what the doctor ordered.
Colt McCoy shouldn't be suffering any remaining symptoms of the flu, and as long as he didn't spread it too much around the team (or even if he did), the Longhorns will be digging deep into the Miners' defense for the mother lode of offensive statistics. Sorry about that, but I'm looking forward to about 400 yards in offense from Colt's passing arm and running legs.
And that doesn't even count Tre' Newton, who has come literally out of nowhere (not on the depth chart), to help take the pressure off of Colt. Or the newly named "Wild Horn" (last year's "Q Package"), where now wide receiver John Chiles lines up in the backfield, Colt goes out wide or stays put and who knows what will happen next. That play generates a lot of excitement, not only with the crowd, but with the players as well. I think it went a long way in building momentum back against the Red Raiders last weekend. Hopefully, we'll see that play a half dozen times or so against UTEP as the 'Horns fine-tune it for down the road.
And, of course, there's roomie Jordan Shipley, who is as reliable to McCoy as Jason Witten is to that Cowboys quarterback, what's-his-name. Throw in receiver Dan Buckner, who has become another nice target from the "flex" position, and No. 12 should have that "big game" people have been talking about.
There may not be 100 passes thrown - as there will be later Saturday night in Houston - but this should be an entertaining game. I'll be watching.