Texas has dropped to 3rd in the latest BCS rankings, but with two SEC schools ahead of them (Alabama and Florida) that will play each other on December 5th, the Longhorns still control their own destiny in the race toward Pasadena.
The Longhorns are 9-0 for only the 9th time in school history and just the second time since 1983.
The UT defense is now ranked #1 in the nation. Mack Brown says that maybe more importantly, the Horns are leading the country in 3rd down efficiency on defense. Opponents convert on 3rd down just 23% of the time.
Colt McCoy says he and Cody Johnson don't like scary movies. But Cody Johnson is putting a scare in other defenses. He has 55 rushes this year, and 9 of those have gone for touchdowns.
Mack Brown has never lost to Baylor in his tenure at Texas and is quick to point out the advantage his team has. "I'm on our 4th Baylor coach. When you think about that, they haven't had continuity. And that really affects your recruiting."
Mack says Art Briles is turning the corner with the Bears. "What Art has done is to upgrade their skill level and their speed."
James Kirkendoll is back at the forefront of the receiving mix for Texas. Mack Brown says the junior from Round Rock hit a bit of a wall after the Wyoming game and is afraid the summer heat during workouts drained him. Kirkendoll disagrees, saying he's felt fine all year.
Baylor has changed its offense since the loss of quarterback Robert Griffin. The new starter is former 3rd string Nick Florence. The freshman from South Garland threw for 400 yards in the upset win at Missouri. "Obviously when you lose an impact player like Robert you go into a little shock," says Mack, "and all of a sudden they've done a great job in finding their niche here two weeks before we've played them."
There has been Longhorn lore about the "Bruceville-Eddy triangle", as former coach David McWilliams called it, because it was so tough to get a win in Waco. The Longhorns lost games there in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, and 1992. That's only two wins (1982 and 1990) in a 20 years span. But Texas hasn't lost in Waco since John Mackovic's last season of 1997. The teams used to play in Waco in even years, but when they switched to the Big 12 schedule, Texas got to play in Austin in back to back years in 1995 (the last year of the SWC) and 1996 (the first year of the Big 12).
