This is the fourth in a series of re-posts of classic columns that I've done through the years. We'll do this leading all the way up to the BCS National Championship Game on January 7th. Part IV: Texas fans were tired of hearing of it by the time they arrived at Reliant Stadium in Houston for the 2005 Big 12 Championship game: Mack Brown had never won a conference championship. The Longhorns went out and scored enough points to win 3 or 4 conference championships in a 70-3 rout of the Colorado Buffaloes, and the Horns were headed to Pasadena to play for the national championship...
What we learned last week: LSU is the worst 1 loss team in the country...if Georgia is the SEC champion it tells you how far that conference has fallen...Hey Bobby Bowden, you might want to get out of that golf cart a couple of times a practice and find out what the hell happened to your powerhouse program...Colorado's student section throws better than Joel Klatt...Adrian Peterson allowed OU fans to grapple at one moral victory...and even though A&M played their best game of the season and Texas played their absolute worst, the margin of victory was enough where people were clearing their fridges of leftovers by the mid 4th quarter.
Anyhow...
This is what I posted in this space 52 weeks ago:
Texas will go to a BCS Bowl.
Don't worry yourself with how, or why, or at whom's expense. Just know that it will happen....
Now, our BCS chances at this point are out of our hands. That is up to the human voters and the computers. We need a small combination of some odd pollsters from both polls to give us the needed boost. But do you want to count this team out?
Some things just seemed destined to happen, whether it be Ohio State staging miracle win after miracle win on their way to the national championship, Boston getting a magical lift from David Ortiz, Derek Fisher hitting a miracle shot to bury the Spurs in last year's NBA playoffs.
It happens, and you just look around and go, "uh oh".
Something will happen on Saturday that will make you go, "uh oh". And that something will drastically change our New Year's plans.
My my how things change in a year's time.
Texas fans sat on the edge of their seats as they tuned into Ron Franklin broadcast a game from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Most were on their couch, but a few ventured up to the University of Southern Mississippi and watched the Golden Eagles (?) face the California Bears.
Cal fell on their faces that night and narrowly escaped Mississippi with a win, allowing some voters to vote in Texas. The Longhorns, of course, went on to win the Rose Bowl while Cal lost to Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl and their pansy-ass quarterback was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, who have won exactly 2 games thru Thanksgiving.
Karma, holla!
Now it wasn't as exciting this season as last year, when we had to hope and pray for other teams to lose so we could jump in their spot, but it's just as sweet, if not sweeter.
We had help from Miami, sure, but this Texas team rode a wave of high expectations into this season and did what no other recent Texas team has done...
They not only met them, they exceeded them.
And now we are one game away from where we want to be. From where we need to be.
A fan base that has endured Cotton Bowl runs followed by 46-3 losses in said Cotton Bowls followed by disappointing seasons the year after, followed by losses to Rice and TCU, followed by losses to winless Oklahoma teams and five straight Oklahoma teams. A fan base that has endured losses to teams like Oregon in bowl games and NC State in season openers. A fan base that saw their team get lucky to beat North Texas and lose in the South Plains of Lubbock to ruin promising seasons.
One game away.
The past couple of years we had the Top 5 teams's schedules memorized and knew exactly who needed to lose and how many BCS points we needed to overtake said team. Last year I used this space to plead my case on why we were going to make the Rose Bowl and everyone just shook their head at me like I was the sad kid waiting up for Santa Claus on a cold Christmas Eve night. We slammed Cal-Berkeley message boards with trash talk and stayed up late to watch Utah Utes game and hope they lost.
One game away.
That one game is monumental. It would be Mack Brown's first ever conference title. Our first as a team in 9 years. Colorado is a fine opponent who knows a thing or two about playing in this game and others like it and winning that game.
But enjoy it, Texas fans. For we control our own destiny. We don't have to research the best defenders on the Southern Mississippi roster or the playmakers on the BYU offense.
Soak it up, take it all in, because as Nebraska and Oklahoma have shown, it can go away as easily as it can come to you.
If we do come out on top Saturday, raise your Horns for the Eyes of Texas and think about where we've been and where we're going.
And when we do come out on top on Saturday, take the next 32 days and enjoy the hell out of it. Because the view from the top is sweet.
As Tom Hanks says in a movie about a battle infinitely more important than the one that takes place on Saturday but fits here for the quote I would like to use...
I'll see you on the beach!
unjinx
On to the games:
Louisiana Tech @ Fresno State -21.5:
Fresno State almost pull the upset of the year narrowly losing to USC in LA, but then last week came out and lost to Nevada. Louisiana Tech finished strong after early season blowout losses to Florida and Kansas.
FSU just had a letdown game last week. Pinegar will have a big game and the Bulldogs (Fresno, not LA Tech) will get things together on D to pull it out.
Fresno State 45 Louisiana Tech 21
ATS - Fresno State
SU - Fresno State
Army @ Navy -6.5:
I think I used this joke last year, but I'll use it again. If you bet on this game, you have a serious gambling problem.
But since this column is for entertainment purposes only (thank God with my win/loss record), expect Navy to put it to Army (again). Navy has the best rushing offense (statistically) in the nation, while Army's offense looks more like the France offense.
Navy 27 Army 16
ATS - Navy
SU - Navy
Florida State v. Virginia Tech -14:
Florida State has lost their last two games by a combined score of 69-21. There is something wrong in Tallahassee.
Drew Weatherford is horrid and Lorenzo Booker leads the team by averaging 47 yards rushing a game. Virginia Tech's defense isn't one to get healthy against, either, as they are ranked #1 in the nation.
The Hokies have no trouble with this Florida school.
Virginia Tech 34 Florida State 17
ATS - Virginia Tech
SU - Virginia Tech
LSU -2 v. Georgia:
Georgia might be a DJ Shockley injury away from being undefeated, while LSU continues their trend of stuggling against teams halfway decent.
So naturally LSU is favored.
Both teams have good defenses and special teams, but Georgia forces turnovers and that's what wins these games against evenly matched teams.
Georgia 27 LSU 20
ATS - Georgia
SU - Georgia
UCLA @ USC -20.5:
This game features a Los Angeles quarterback that leads the nation in passing efficiency and a running back that has 17 touchdowns on the year and is the nation's leading punt returner as well.
If you guessed USC, you would be wrong.
Drew Olson and Maurice Drew form a great backfield for the one loss Bruins. Add in TE Mercedes Lewis and this offense is up there among the best in the nation.
But unfortunately we have to talk about the defense eventually. The run defense is horrid, ranking 115th in the nation. Oh yeah, they are facing Reggie Bush and LenDale White this week.
The UCLA linebackers are fine, but the defensive line has too many holes.
But...
Drew Olson has had 3 weeks to look at tape of the USC secondary that has been ripped by the likes of Sam Keller, Brady Quinn and Paul Pinegar this year. Can they pull off the upset?
Maybe if their defense didn't look like Oklahoma in the 2005 Orange Bowl.
USC 47 UCLA 40
ATS - UCLA
SU - USC
Texas -27.5 v. Colorado:
You know the trends. You know the back stories. You know how Texas whipped Colorado 42-17 mere weeks ago.
You know how Texas hasn't won a conference title in 9 years and how Mack Brown has as many conference titles as you and I. You know how Texas hasn't even sniffed a chance at a national title in more than 20 years.
You know how Texas with Mack Brown at the helm is 0-2 in trying to go 2-0 against a team in a given season. You know how the winner flips back and forth between divisions and it's the North's turn. For good measure Colorado is wearing their black uniforms just like they did that night in 2001.
You know how the Buffs ruined Texas's chance at going to the Rose Bowl on that fateful night and how they did this despite losing to Texas 41-7 mere weeks before in Austin.
None of it matters.
Because Vincent Young is coming home.
And this man has led drives in the famed Horseshoe to do something no man has ever done before, quarterback a winning opposing team against Ohio State at night. He destroyed an Oklahoma team that will end up in the Holiday Bowl. He saw his team down by multiple scores in Stillwater and came out and ran 80 yards for a touchdown and never looked back on his way to 500 yards. He heard the whispers, no, the yells that he couldn't throw and used his arm to beat Colorado and Texas Tech. He ran for 22 yards on 4th and 18 to beat Kansas. He led his team back from a three touchdown deficit to beat Oklahoma State. And he made himself at home in the Rose Bowl by accounting for 5 touchdowns and leaving a nation in awe.
He isn't going to get beat in his own house. And then it's time to go to the beach house for New Year's.
Texas 48 Colorado 20
ATS - Texas
SU - Texas
For entertainment purposes only. Save your money for Treasures.
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