BIG GAME
We're going to call the game up in Stillwater this Saturday a BIG game, as in big hurdle.
Not the last hurdle, of course, that stands between the Longhorns and Pasadena, but perhaps the biggest.
And after what the Aggies did to Texas Tech (and how A&M almost beat Oklahoma State earlier), you can't exactly rule them out.
But first things first.
The Oklahoma State game will have a lot of pressure attached to it. A win there and that pressure subsides a bit for weeks until the aforementioned regular season finale with the farmers.
The Horns and the Cowboys are a lot alike. And OSU would be even more like UT if not for some fortuitous bounces of the ball for Houston - meaning OSU should be undefeated as well. Offensively, they are almost the same - OSU averages 38.4 points and UT's number is 41.8.
The Burnt Orange defense is a little better in averages, only allowing 13.5 per game, while OSU is giving up 18.5.
And, of course, the two teams have great quarterbacks.
Colt McCoy holds the edge in numbers with a better completion percentage (71.6% to 65%), total yardage (1,806 to 1,547) and TD passes (14 to 12) than Zac Robinson, but the Cowboy hurler has fewer picks (3 to Colt's 8). Plus I have a feeling he's getting a little tired of always being second banana in the publicity surrounding this game.
Texas is better than Oklahoma State, but the better team doesn't always win in college football. The home field is a big advantage. Just see last year's Tech game or the 2007 Aggie game for reference.
The Halloween night game is considered a little scary for the Burnt Orange faithful, but I have a suggestion for the team for it to turn out "treatish" instead of a "trickish."
Just treat it like the Oklahoma game.
That's some big-time pressure as well, for which Colt and other Longhorns seem to answer the call. And this season, the OSU game is actually bigger than the OU one.
So, just pretend they're the Sooners and keep repeating the mantra "we control our own destiny."
Early prediction: UT 33, OSU 17.