Texas Longhorns Bring Their ‘A’ Game

ABC News On Campus reporter Joseph Millares blogs: When I arrived at the University of Texas at Austin four years ago, one thing was certain from the start:  Football is king.  I’m sure anybody on any campus can make a valid argument for why football rules the school, but I must admit that here on the 40 Acres we’re a tad bit spoiled when it comes to our football team. 
This weekend marked the first time since 1984 that Texas was ranked No. 1 in the polls during the regular season.  "The thing we are seeing in college football each week is that if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game, you’re going [to] get beat," Texas head coach Mack Brown said. Rest assured, I’ve been to a lot of football games here.  I’ve seen dominating performances:  from the Vince Young era during my freshman year, to the bitter losses by Big XII North foes, such as last year’s game against Kansas State.  From my seat in the press box, I watched both the No. 11 Missouri Tigers and the top-ranked Longhorns warm up. Call it a cliché, but something was different in the air.  The crowd seemed louder. Something about the energy was surreal.  During the next hour and a half I watched probably the most flawless first half of football I had ever seen.  The Longhorns scored on their first five possessions exploding into a 35-point shutout until the last second of the half when Missouri scored a field goal. "We just came out strong, we came out ready to play and that’s important for us every week, that helps the defense out, and it helps us get rolling," Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy said.
McCoy finished the game as close to perfect as a quarterback can get, connecting on 29 of 32 passes with no interceptions for 337 passing yards.  "Give credit to the offensive line tonight," McCoy said. "I was able to sit back there and deliver."
Some credit should also go to the Texas receiving core, which showed the most improvement as a unit. Younger players — including Brandon Collins who caught six passes for 76 yards and Malcolm Williams who connected with John Chiles for a 51-yard bomb for a score – stepped up.  The young guys helped take the load off seniors Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley. "They’re very capable of making plays, and they showed you tonight," Cosby said. The final score was 56-31, and I saw something that I’d never seen during my years at Texas.  With seconds left on the clock, most of the 98,000 fans were still in their seats. Typically with a score like that everybody has relocated to another location to start drinking in celebration midway through the third quarter. They stayed for the singing of "The Eyes of Texas," a surreal moment considering this team carried a lot of uncertainty during the preseason.  Could McCoy shake the slump?  Would the secondary be able to cover receivers?  Was this difficult schedule going to eat the Longhorns alive? Yes, yes and not yet so far.  This team seems to only be getting better every week.  And with a showdown with BCS No. 6 Oklahoma State this weekend followed by No. 8 Texas Tech the next week, the competition only gets better, and the Longhorns will have to fight to keep the top spot. 
The season is not yet over, and memories of 80,000 (the stadium was smaller for all you fact-checkers) stunned in silence after a loss to Kansas State are a recent, but faint memory.  There is a new fire for football here at Texas.