Ghosts of last season motivating Longhorns

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By Barker Davis

Texas looks to be one good poke away from Pasadena.

The No. 3 Longhorns (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) travel to No. 18 Oklahoma State on Saturday to face the final ranked team on their schedule. Survive what promises to be a raucous Halloween night at Boone Pickens Stadium, and Texas will have one hand on the college game's ultimate treat: a ticket to the BCS title game Jan. 7.

"We have a great window of opportunity," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "I've told them not to take that for granted. We've also told them that you have to handle the situations that are ahead of you. Your legacy will really be determined by what you do in the next six, seven games. It will not have anything to do with what you did behind you. ... It's a fun time for us. We're in the national mix here two years in a row."

The Longhorns were in precisely the same position last season, charging toward a berth in the BCS championship game before a 39-33, last-second loss at Texas Tech stripped the reins of destiny from their hands. Following that loss in Lubbock, Texas was the odd man out in a controversial BCS mess involving one-loss teams that included the Longhorns being spurned for an Oklahoma squad they defeated at a neutral site.

Brown and his staff remind the Longhorns of that stumble and resulting slight on a daily basis. And this season's bunch is determined to leave no doubt.

"It's the same situation as we were in last year going up to Lubbock," said Texas Heisman Trophy candidate Colt McCoy, a senior who is 39-7 as a starter and needs four more victories to pass Georgia's David Greene for the most wins by a quarterback in Football Bowl Subdivision history. "We have to learn from that. Coach Brown challenged us in the team meeting. We are in the same position. Everything is working out where all our goals can still be accomplished if we just take care of business this weekend."

Indeed, if Texas tops Oklahoma State, the national-championship picture becomes much clearer. Ranked third in this week's BCS standings, the Longhorns then would close against Central Florida (4-3), three Big 12 teams (Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M) with a combined 2-7 league record and a Big 12 championship game opponent from the far weaker North Division.

On the other side of the ledger, three SEC teams (No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Alabama and No. 9 LSU) all control their own fate in an SEC championship race almost certain to provide the BCS title game's other selection. Unbeaten Iowa (8-0) could provide some anxious moments for the Longhorns should the Hawkeyes run the table in the Big Ten and post a resounding victory at Ohio State on Nov. 14. But the Longhorns still have a massive lead on the Hawkeyes in both human components of the BCS formula, the Harris poll and USA Today coaches poll.

Back at the start of the season, the Longhorns' trip to Stillwater looked like a major roadblock. But that was before the Cowboys dropped a semi-stunner to upstart Houston 45-35 and lost All-American receiver Dez Bryant to a suspension and All-American running back Kendall Hunter to an ankle injury; Hunter is questionable for Saturday.

Senior running back Keith Toston has spelled Hunter with some success, averaging better than 108 rushing yards in the Cowboys' last three games. And playing behind one of the nation's better offensive lines, mobile quarterback Zac Robinson has been sacked just four times, matching the FBS low. The Oklahoma State offense should have some success against Texas, which ranks second in the nation in total defense at 235.6 yards a game.

But the Longhorns have a massive edge in the game's other principal matchup. Texas leads the nation in scoring offense at 41.9 points, while the Cowboys counter with a somewhat pedestrian defense (No. 56 in FBS).

Oklahoma State has routinely scared the Longhorns in Stillwater, erupting to 21-6 and 21-0 leads in 2005 and 2007, respectively. But Texas rebounded to win both of those games, and Brown boasts an 11-0 record against the Cowboys in his tenure at Texas.

"It really is another crazy night game. Everybody's hyped-up," Texas guard Charlie Tanner said. "I think our team is more mature this year, and I think we realize what happened to us last year. We were one game away from playing for it all. We don't want that to be the case this year. We will do everything we can this week to prepare and get things done."