I found it interesting that on Monday’s press conference, a few Longhorns mentioned the Oklahoma State game being on Halloween when they discussed the reasons to be wary of Oklahoma State. Of course they mentioned the traditional reasons, such as: not wanting to be upset, playing at Oklahoma State isn’t easy, they have a good offense, this series has been close in the past (see my story earlier this week), but Halloween was an interesting point.

Then I thought about it. Crazy things happen in the Big 12 on Halloween weekend. Think about in 2003, when Baylor beat Texas A&M thanks to a two-point conversion. I remember running around, yelling “It’s a Halloween miracle for Baylor!” I’m not saying I was funny. I’m just recalling Halloween. Then, there was last year, when on November 1, (close enough) the Texas Tech game happened. And this year, Texas was on the road again, playing on Halloween, against an orange and black team.

 No problem, apparently. Though the Longhorns lost Aaron Williams for the game, that seemed to be their only significant loss tonight. The defense remained amazing again, with a near shocking force of five turnovers. The offense suffered a turnover, but with 14 of Texas’ points coming off the defense, it didn’t seem to matter. Additionally, Colt McCoy’s numbers were solid. 16/21 for 171 yards and a touchdown. He was the Longhorns’ leading rusher with 34 yards as well.

This was certainly the strong road game against a strong opponent Texas needed to prove to pollsters they at least deserve the number three ranking, if not higher.

Not to be forgotten– my blog-ending shout-out: Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon, who I covered in my Texoma days when he played for Plainview High School. He caught a touchdown today. Blackmon was always a great kid to interview and he was a tremendous leader on his team. I’ll never forget the time I interviewed him during the fall break a few years ago after he caught a few touchdowns in a game, and he had dyed his hair lemon yellow. Good to see you doing well Justin, you deserve it.

I said it in 2008 (search earlier entries) and I’ll say it again. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

 The weather is finally starting to cool down, baseball playoffs, high school football gets serious, and of course, the Red River Shootout (or Rivalry, take your pick). The more of these games I cover, the more I like what I see.

I’ll reference a blog I posted a few weeks ago that caused some discussion about whether or not it was good for Texas when OU lost to BYU. I didn’t think OU would have two losses on its record when the Sooners came into the Texas game. Where does that leave me on my pregame thoughts?

Sam Bradford is back. Period. Paragraph.

Jermaine Gresham is not. You may recognize that guy from previous years. #18, pointed the horns down in the end zone a few times… His absence makes a huge difference in any game Oklahoma plays.

The Longhorns’ 46 rushing yards against Colorado is a concern because of Oklahoma’s strong defensive front. If the run is not established, Texas becomes one-dimensional and therefore easier to defend.

Oklahoma’s offensive line is not the wrecking crew they brought to the 2008 game, and is still anchored by Trent Williams, but has holes. Holes I think Sergio Kindle, Lamarr Houston and Sam Acho would like to see.

Does this leave me with a pregame prediction? Absolutely not. I am reminded of Brian Orakpo’s postgame thoughts from last year, and how they still apply to Saturday. “Everyone was playing as hard as they possibly could, because nobody wanted to lose.” I am not doing this quote justice because the way he said it said it all. It was with urgency and passion, and when he said “nobody,” he meant, “not a single person on either team.”

The passion and the swagger and the pride which these two teams exhibit on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl is something to see. When you watch the spectacle of the half burnt orange, half crimson and cream crowd, watch the facial expressions of the players. Watch how they look at their surroundings. Last year, we got a great shot of Chris Hall after the 45-35 win, before the team sang “The Eyes of Texas.” He was on one knee, looking up, and taking it all in, appreciating what was around him. These guys have control of the outcome of the game, and they always talk about their favorite memories of the atmosphere.

My favorite memory will probably always be from my first game, where I was stuck in the tunnel with the Texas band marching to a drum cadence, while the Oklahoma captains walking up the tunnel and got yelled at by the band, and looked stone cold as they headed toward the locker room. There was so much energy in such a small place, it felt like being in an atom smasher.

The players on the field make time to appreciate what is around them. We should too. And then hate, scream, yell, Hook, Boom, and do whatever you need to do. But you’re doing yourself an injustice if you don’t appreciate it first.

According to the Big XII website the Colorado-Texas game on October 10th will start at 6:15.  The game will be televised by either ESPN or ESPN2.  Buffs need a win at West Virginia to avoid a 1-3 non-conference record.  Texas takes over the top spot in scoring offense in the nation at just under 50 points per game.

On the same day Mack Brown announced Fozzy Whitaker was back at practice and could see his first action of the season Saturday, he also said he would like to trim down his rotation of running backs and go with the the “hot hand”.  Right now that means Tre Newton is the first option.  Since Newton is also their 3rd down back in passing situations, that means he’ll spend a lot more time on the field as long as he’s producing.  Cody Johnson is their short yardage back with just three carries in the last two games, but 4 rushing touchdowns overall.  Vondrell McGee was the starter but has been bothered by an ankle, Whitaker is the explosive, but just can’t stay healthy.   Last year he appeared in seven of their 13 games and ran for 306 yards on 64 carries.  Then there is D.J. Monroe, the redshirt freshman burner who can take it the distance any time he touches the ball.  Monroe is a change of pace guy who will also be featured in the “wild Horn” package when they line John Chiles up at quarterback.  What they don’t want Monroe to have to do is pass protect, at about 170 pounds, Browns says Monroe could try to take on linebackers and defensive ends, but might end up in Colt McCoy’s lap.  So saturday will prove interesting as the running back situation sorts itself out before a  week off.

The Texas Stars opened training camp Tuesday at the new Cedar Park Center.  This marks the return of pro hockey to central Texas after a one year absence.  The Austin Ice Bats played at the Expo Center and then Chaparral Ice Center from 1996-2007.  With no disrespect to the Bats, these is a huge upgrade in the level of hockey.  The Stars are to the Dallas Stars what the Express are to the Astros.  Playing will be coming and going from Dallas to Cedar Park and vice versa all season.  To make the product even more appealing is the facility.  The Cedar Park Center will hold 6800 for hockey and the expression “no bad seat in the building” is actually true.  The Stars will play in the American Hockey League and have built-in rivals in San Antonio (Rampage) and Houston (Aeros).   First chance to the see the team is Sunday the 27th against San Antonio at 3:00pm.

Here’s your friendly reminder that a student-athlete is still a student. Longhorns sophomore linebacker Emmanuel Acho threw his brother, junior defensive end Sam, under the bus when he said Sam quotes Shakespeare.

Being a writer, I not only sympathize with Sam’s love for Shakespeare and football, I suport it. And apparently, so do many of you on Twitter.

When I posted the information that Sam quotes Shakespeare, here are some of the responses I received:

TAning: “To sack or not to sack.” There is no question…

The1darknight had several…

 So does Acho say, “Et tu, Brute?” after a sack? How about “As You Like It”,”The Play’s the Thing!”….. or “It is a tale told by an Idiot. Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing!”

What’s in a name? That which I call a sack would smell as sweet!”

Or Sam could say after a sack: “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” –Henry IV (Part II)

To a sacked QB: “Then happy low, lie down! Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

This from kenhitch:

“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast”. W. Shakespeare

And then a few from yours truly:

Sam could say during a sack: “Get out of my face! Thou dost infect my eye.” -King Lear

Maybe when he sacks he says, “A pox on your house!”

The moral of the story: Shakespeare can apply to anything, similar to football analogies. Finding themes and connections between two things is called “knowledge.” Acho is a great example of how being a student athlete brings out the student in all of us, ergo…

He who reminds us of Shakespeare while sacking the quarterback is revered.

As a member of the media, I will preface this by saying it is my responsibility to have no bias when covering college football. As a member of the media covering the Longhorns, it is my solemn and fun responsibility to pay attention to Big 12 teams during both their non conference and conference schedules. As a reporter covering the Longhorns, it’s a plus when, like last year, Texas and Oklahoma face off undefeated and in the top five teams in the country. And as a reporter who tries to know her audience, this is where I say Oklahoma’s loss to BYU isn’t as good for Texas as many fans think.

1. Winning the Big 12 does not guarantee an appearance in the BCS Championship Game.

Meaning, if this loss is OU’s way of losing the tiebraker, pending both Texas and OU go undefeated from here on out and Texas were to win the Big 12 Championship. Strength of schedule matters. Strength of conference matters. And an OU loss to BYU could be the little factor either with computers or pollsters that could put Texas and the Big 12 out of the running for the BCS. Also, consider the fact that the BCS Championship tends to favor conferences which do not have a championship game. (Ahem, Big 10 and Pac-10.)

2. For the sake of the game, didn’t you kind of want these two teams undefeated?

From what I’ve seen on both sides of the Red River, fans tend to be that much more gratified when his/her team beats the other when both are undefeated. It’s a “no excuses” mentality to the win. For example, when Texas beat OU last year, it was an outright win over an outright equal opponent, hence the passion behind the 45-35 campaign. That portion of the schedule was clear: Texas beat OU on a neutral field when the two teams were equal leading up to the contest. No excuses.

3. It’s also a good measuring stick of the conference.

Let’s face the ugly truth: No team can win the Big 12 South without beating both Texas and OU. No team can win the Big 12 unless they beat either Texas or OU (or at least that’s what’s expected). When one of the conference’s best goes down early, this dilutes the strength of the conference, and thereby the strength of schedule for opponents, and fellow conference teams.

4. Schadenfreude.

Sour grapes. Bad kharma. Call it what you want, but savor the loss in a way that doesn’t mess up your UT, Baylor, Texas Tech or North Texas (ha, that’s me) mojo. I’m just sayin’.

Bottom line: OU’s loss to BYU is still shocking. This isn’t how most of us predicted the first week in college football would go. I for one, thought Texas and OU would steamroll into Dallas undefeated, and the fantastic drama that played out in the Big 12 last year would perhaps be replicated.

Perhaps this will still be the case. Perhaps not. There’s no time to savor, no time to think, just enough time to see how the Sooners will rebound, and how the Longhorns will fare atop the highest point in college football: Laramie, Wyoming. Food for thought, anyway.

The great Allen Iverson once said, “We’re not talking about a game; we’re talking about practice.” But finally, eight months to the day after their Fiesta Bowl win, we are talking about a game. The season is here.

Even though the media has asked a lot of questions to players, coaches and fans, there’s still questions to be answered on the field. Let’s start with the field. How will players perform on the new surface? Will the fans like it? Will it be 20 degrees hotter than a natural playing surface? There’s three, and we haven’t even gotten started.

How will Vondrell McGee handle starting running back duties? Who exactly will step up at tight end? How will the WR change go? Jordan Shipley is expected to play less slot, as Dan Buckner is taking more of the slot role. How will the defensive line perform without Brian Orakpo and Roy Miller?

We think we know the answer to most of these questions, but you never really know until you see for yourself, and come Saturday, we will finally see. It’s a great thing, really. Will Muschamp said earlier this week it’s like Christmas, because you “want to see what the team is going to do under the lights, and how they’re going to be able to respond.” A fair assesment, especially when the excitement can easily be compared.

The moral of this story:

It’s football time. Your questions will be answered (at least for a game), your excitement will be satisfied, and you’ll get to see how the team responds, not to mention your response to the game and the team. It’s almost here. Enjoy the anxiety while you can.

Life is full of signs telling you where to go; how to get there; what you can do; what you can’t do, but very seldom is there a clear cut sign that will navigate you through the really tough decisions you make in life. Nathan Thornhill thought he had made the perfect decision. Nathan was injured on the football practice field last year, came back from injury and because a dominate pitcher for the Cedar Park Timberwolves and caught the eyes of college coaches everywhere. The one college Nathan had his eye on, The University of Texas, happened to be looking back at him. The UT baseball program offered and Nathan verbally committed to become a longhorn. Now that your caught up, this is the point in life that I met Nathan at the Austin High track training for baseball and leaving football behind. Push ups, sit ups, medicine ball, running cones, backward, forward, you name it and his trainer was making him do it all in an effort to get in tip top physical condition for the upcoming baseball season. I knew his trainer and so we chatted for a while and leaving football behind was at the time what everyone thought was the best decision. the chances of injury go down and he would be able to concentrate full time on baseball and maybe even catch the eyes of pro scouts. I mean every young talented player dreams of playing in the bigs on day and Nathan was no different. The ‘decision’ then started to weigh on him and the tought of watching from the stands on Friday nights got Nathan to thinking — I need a sign. he prayed about it and asked God for a sign — should he play or really what was the best path for him to follow. One of his summer coaches JD Smart had told him if he didn’t want to get injured to lock himself in a room because anything can happen at any time, after all, his football injury came on the sidelines and had never been hurt “playing” football. His freak accident happened on the concrete that ironically as we did this interview today, thwere removing from the Cedar Park practice fields. So, all of these decisions and not a single true sign of what to do — until he was sitting in Church on Sunday. I will let him tell you the true sign because since that sign, and our first meeting way back in August, you can tell how much he loves the game. The old saying of you never know how much you liked something until it was gone — well, these hot summer days are nothing for Nathan. he almost didn’t get to experience it and says he would’ve regretted it the rest of his life. I don’t want to spoil the interview attached but I would say that of all the signs Nathan has received from the sideline coaches calling plays to the catcher calling the next pitch — the ultimate sign came in the form of a blessing. A blessing that was just a nudge from upstairs saying “go for it” cause you only live once. I told him today that Mother Teresa had a good saying for times like this…..may you have faith that the path you have taken is exactly what God had in mind for you……whether this path takes him to a state championship ring like his Dad remains to be seen, but he will never have to ask himself……what if? Nathan’s first game is this friday night against Westlake and he officially signs with UT on November 11th.

Wednesday is the last day of Big 12 Media Days and the confrence saved Texas for last. We at KXAN got a sneak peek of what Mack Brown might say when we interviewed him at the THSCA Division I coaches’ panel June 19. Brown talked about the need to find leaders on the team for 2009, and the emergence of some younger players who are going to fill those gaps.

Here’s some food for thought: What about his success stories of 2008? At the beginning of last season, the young secondary was one of the biggest concerns on the team. Now they have the chance to be one of the most cohesive groups in the Big 12. Greg Davis talked to the writers at media day in 2008 and said he thought he piled too much on Colt McCoy’s plate in 2007. How did the reflection and the adjustment work in 2008? Good, if you consider a 76.7% completion rate and a Heisman Trophy nomination successful.

Like any other team there are always going to be questions. The running back question is up for discussion again. The loss of Brian Orakpo and Roy Miller is a concern on the defensive line. The chemistry needed to reproduce a 2008 season is also a question. But maybe here’s a time where we evaluate a year later, and think, “hmm… that was pretty dead on.”

 As for Cowboys camp, I am glad to see it back in San Antonio. It’s a great atmosphere, even if the air temperature isn’t. Roy Williams said he was looking forward to seeing as many as 40,000 people at the team’s practices. Fans cheered Tony Romo and Jerry Jones as they arrived at the team hotel.

Jones and Wade Phillips gave the annual “state of the team” address this afternoon. My favorite quote? “It’s football time,” Phillips said.

Oh yes, it’s football time. Let’s roll.