2008 Texas Longhorn football team - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 2008 Texas Longhorn football team (variously "Texas" or the "Horns") represented the University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season

2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008, progressing through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 8, 2009, where the #2...

. The team was coached by Mack Brown

Mack Brown

William Mack Brown is head coach of The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn football team.Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs...

, who has a contract lasting through the 2016 season. The Longhorns play their home games in Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (DKR), which during 2006–2008 was undergoing renovations to improve older sections as well as to add extra seating capacity

Seating capacity

Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...

.

The team entered the season ranked 10th in the USA Today Coaches' Poll

Coaches Poll

The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams....

. They won their first four games to rise to number 5 in the national rankings. Texas began Big 12 Conference

Big 12 Conference

The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...

play on October 4, 2008 with a trip to Boulder

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...

, Colorado and a win over the Colorado Buffaloes

2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dan Hawkins and played their home games in Folsom Field.-Pre-season:...

. On October 11, 2008 they defeated the number-one ranked Oklahoma Sooners

2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2008-2009. It was the 114th year of season play for the Sooners. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, a two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year award winner, who has a contract...

at the Cotton Bowl, in Dallas, TX, in the 103rd Red River Shootout and Texas moved into the number-one spot in the polls the next day. One week later, defending the number-one ranking in a home game for the first time since 1977, the Horns beat the number-eleven ranked Missouri Tigers

2008 Missouri Tigers football team

The 2008 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in college football's 2008 season. The team was coached by Gary Pinkel, who returned in his eighth season with Mizzou, and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.Quarterback Chase Daniel returned for...

. The following day, Texas was ranked #1 in the first Bowl Championship Series

Bowl Championship Series

The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...

(BCS) rankings released during the 2008 season. The next week, the Horns beat previously undefeated Oklahoma State

2008 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

The 2008 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represents Oklahoma State University for the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision intercollegiate football season of 2008-2009.-Schedule:Source:-Washington State:-Houston:...

, who were ranked #6 in the BCS at the time.

Texas lost a close road game against Texas Tech

2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team

The 2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2008/09. The team was coached by Mike Leach. The Red Raiders played their home games at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. The football team competed in the Division I Football Bowl...

, who were undefeated at 8–0 and ranked #5 in the Coaches' Poll. As a result, the Horns fell to #7 in the Coach's poll while the Red Raiders rose to #3. Texas fell to #4 in the BCS Standings, keeping alive the possibility they could still play for the national championship if other top teams stumble. Next, the Longhorns won a home game against Baylor and a road-game against Kansas

2008 Kansas Jayhawks football team

The 2008 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas for the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision intercollegiate football season of 2008-2009. It was the school's 119th year of intercollegiate football...

, who were previously ranked but had fallen out of the polls since losing to Texas Tech. Oklahoma defeated Texas Tech, which returned Texas to a #2 ranking in the BCS and created a three-way tie (Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma) in the Big 12 South.

The final regular-season opponent for Texas was in-state rival Texas A&M

2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team

The 2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2008-2009 college football season...

, part of the Lone Star Showdown. The Longhorns won 49–9, the largest margin of victory in the rivaly for 110 years. Despite this victory, Oklahoma moved past Texas in the BCS rankings. The three-way tie was resolved by the fifth tie-breaker so Oklahoma advanced to the Big 12 Championship instead of Texas. This was controversial since Texas had beaten both Oklahoma and Missouri (the Big 12 North champion) during the regular season. Texas finished out the season with a 24-21 win over Ohio State

2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team competed in football on behalf of the Ohio State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio...

in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl

2009 Fiesta Bowl

The 2009 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns on Monday, January 5, 2009, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona...

Before the season

The Longhorns have enjoyed considerable success in recent seasons. Mack Brown's Longhorns

Texas Longhorns football under Mack Brown

William Mack Brown is head coach of the University of Texas Longhorn football team. Through 2008 the Texas Longhorns football team under Mack Brown have had a winning season for all eleven seasons since Brown took over the program for the 1998 season...

won at least 10 games in each of the previous 7 seasons (2001–2007); that is the longest active streak in the nation. The 2004 team

2004 Texas Longhorn football team

The 2004 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by head football coach Mack Brown and led on the field by quarterback Vince Young...

had the first Bowl Championship Series

Bowl Championship Series

win for any Texas team and the 2005 team

2005 Texas Longhorn football team

The 2005 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season, winning the Big 12 Conference championship and the national championship. The team was coached by Mack Brown, led on offense by quarterback Vince Young, and played...

won the National Championship (the fourth for the Texas football program). The 2006 team

2006 Texas Longhorn football team

The 2006 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head football coach was Mack Brown, who received the 2006 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year". The Longhorns play their home games in...

finished with 10 wins, 3 losses, including a victory in the 2006 Alamo Bowl

2006 Alamo Bowl

The 2006 Alamo Bowl Game was a college football bowl game, part of the 2006–2007 bowl season of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 2006 Alamo Bowl was played in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on December 30....

. They received a final-ranking of 13th in the nation by both the Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

AP Poll

The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...

and the USA Today Coaches' Poll

Coaches Poll

The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams....

Texas entered the 2007 season ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage. The 2007 team was ranked in the Top 10 by numerous pre-season polls. For instance, a pre-season ranking by ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

writer Mark Schlabach

Mark Schlabach

Mark Schlabach is an author and columnist for ESPN.com. Schlabach joined ESPN.com in July 2006 as a college football and college basketball columnist. He is notable during college football season for the weekly "Bottom 10" article....

had the Longhorns ranked eighth; Rivals.com had them at ninth. College Football News

College Football News

College Football News is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includes comparisons between teams, predictions of game outcomes and...

and Real Football 365 both had Texas ranked third in the pre-season. The Longhorns came into the season ranked fourth in both the Coaches' Poll and AP Poll. Texas started out 4–0, but with sloppy playing, edging out 4 unranked teams. Texas came particularly close to being upset

Upset

An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...

when the beat unranked UCF

2007 UCF Knights football team

The 2007 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach is George O'Leary...

, 38–35. Texas then suffered losses to Kansas State

Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State University's athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple, making Kansas State one of very few schools that have only one official color; white and silver are generally used as complementary colors.Kansas State participates in...

(41–21) and Oklahoma

2007 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 2007 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2007-2008, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship for the fifth time in eight years. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops...

(28–21). Texas then surged back, winning five games in a row. At 9–2, they were poised to gain a BCS bowl berth. However, a 30–38 loss to Texas A&M

2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team

The 2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2007-2008 college football season. The team was coached by Dennis Franchione, who had coached at A&M since the 2003 season, but resigned at the conclusion of the annual game with the University of Texas...

dashed these hopes. The Longhorns finished the season 10–3 with a victory in the 2007 Holiday Bowl

2007 Holiday Bowl

The 2007 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 27, 2007 in San Diego, California. It was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in the 2007-2008 bowl season. It featured the Texas Longhorns against the Arizona State Sun...

. The Longhorns were ranked tenth in the final AP poll and in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.

Five Longhorns were selected in the 2008 NFL Draft

2008 NFL Draft

The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...

: Limas Sweed

Limas Sweed

Limas Lee Sweed, Jr. is a former American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He played collegiately for the Texas Longhorns. On April 26, 2008 Sweed was taken 53rd overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2008 NFL Draft.-High school:Sweed attended...

(53rd pick), Jamaal Charles

Jamaal Charles

Jamaal RaShaad Jones Charles is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...

(73rd), Jermichael Finley

Jermichael Finley

-Green Bay Packers:Finley was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He battled Tory Humphrey in training camp to be the Packers' No. 2 tight end...

(91st), Tony Hills

Tony Hills (American football)

Anthony Tremaine Hills is an American football offensive tackle for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft...

(130th), and Frank Okam

Frank Okam

Franklin Nonyelu Okam, Jr. is an American football defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas.-Early years:...

(151st). In addition, Brandon Foster

Brandon Foster

Brandon Foster is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He most recently attended training camp with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2008...

, Marcus Griffin

Marcus Griffin

Marcus Kevin Griffin was born on January 4, 1985 in Austin, Texas. Griffin entered the 2008 NFL Draft, however he went unselected. Griffin was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings on April 28, 2008. Griffin was subsequently waived on June 30, 2008...

, Nate Jones and Derek Lokey

Derek Lokey

Derek Ray Lokey is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Texas....

agreed to sign free-agent contracts with NFL teams.

Both Jamaal Charles and Jermichael Finley skipped their senior year in order to enter the NFL early. The loss of Charles was a particularly hard blow to the Horns. Despite skipping his senior year, Charles ranks fourth on the list of total rushing yards by a UT player, behind Ricky Williams

Ricky Williams

Errick Lynne "Ricky" Williams, Jr. is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft...

, Cedric Benson

Cedric Benson

Cedric Myron Benson is an American football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears fourth overall in the 2005 NFL Draft...

, and Earl Campbell

Earl Campbell

Earl Christian Campbell , nicknamed The Tyler Rose, is a former professional American Football running back. He, Paul Hornung and O.J Simpson are the only people to have won the Heisman Trophy , were first overall National Football League draft picks and are in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame...

, with 3,328 yards. Williams and Campbell each won the Heisman Trophy

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...

in their senior seasons. With Charles' departure, quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Colt McCoy

Daniel "Colt" McCoy is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Browns in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft...

becomes the leading returning rusher for the Longhorns. Tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

Jermichael Finley

-Green Bay Packers:Finley was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He battled Tory Humphrey in training camp to be the Packers' No. 2 tight end...

also declared he would forgo his senior season to enter the NFL.

Texas entered the 2008 season ranked number 11 in the AP Poll

AP Poll

and number 10 in the Coaches' Poll.

Facilities and equipment

Following the final home game of 2006, construction workers demolished the north end of Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. This section was rebuilt to make the lowest seats closer to the field while adding luxury boxes and an upper-deck. The lower deck of the expansion was completed for 2007, and the upper deck and remaining renovations were ready for 2008. The modifications put the north end-zone seats thirty yards closer to the field of play. This results in several game day changes, such as Smokey the Cannon

Smokey the Cannon

Smokey the Cannon is an artillery piece used as part of the pageantry of college football games of The University of Texas Longhorns. Smokey is operated and cared for by the Texas Cowboys, a University student organization. Smokey is fired each time the Longhorns score, at every kick-off, and at...

moving to the south end-zone near Bevo

Bevo (mascot)

Bevo is the name of the mascot of the sports teams at the University of Texas at Austin, a Texas longhorn steer with burnt orange coloring. The shape of the Longhorn's head and horns gives rise to the school's hand symbol and saying, Hook 'em Horns...

. Texas worked with Bluetooth SIG to deploy Bluetooth

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

kiosks throughout the stadium. These kiosks will broadcast free game-day information to Bluetooth-enabled cell-phones in the stands.

For the second straight year in 2006–2007, Texas merchandise products were the top-selling products among clients of Collegiate Licensing Company

Collegiate Licensing Company

The Collegiate Licensing Company is an American collegiate trademark licensing and marketing company. Founded in 1981 by Bill Battle in Selma, Alabama, CLC is the largest and oldest collegiate licensing company in the United States and currently provides its services to more than 200 colleges and...

Coaches

In 2007 the University of Texas Board of Regents

University of Texas System

The University of Texas System encompasses 15 educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are academic universities and six are health institutions. The system is headquartered in Austin and has a total enrollment of over 190,000 students...

voted unanimously to raise head coach Mack Brown

Mack Brown

's salary by $300,000. This brings his annual compensation to $2.81 million and keeps him among the five highest paid coaches in the sport. The package also includes up to $3 million dollars in bonuses, including "$100,000 if he wins the Big 12 Championship and $450,000 if he wins this year's national championship, as well as bonuses based on the percent of players who graduate." Brown's contract is good through the 2016 season and includes buy-out clauses should another school attempt to hire Brown.

Greg Davis is the team's offensive coordinator

Offensive coordinator

An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

and quarterbacks coach; As of 2008 Davis is in his eleventh season at Texas. In 2007, Duane Akina

Duane Akina

Duane Akina is the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach for the Texas Longhorns football team.In 28 years of coaching football, Akina has coached three Thorpe Award winners in Darryll Lewis , Michael Huff , and Aaron Ross , as well as five finalists for the award, among them Chris...

was the defensive co-coordinator

Defensive coordinator

A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

along with Larry Mac Duff

Larry Mac Duff

Larry Mac Duff is an American football coach. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the Las Vegas franchise of the United Football League....

. Mac Duff left Texas at the end of the 2007 season and Akina was demoted to "Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs". The Longhorns hired Will Muschamp

Will Muschamp

William Larry "Will" Muschamp is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida. He is a native of Georgia and attended the University of Georgia, where he played for the Georgia Bulldogs...

as defensive coordinator; he will also coach linebackers in 2008. Muschamp was previously defensive coordinator at Auburn and will make a $425,000 salary at Texas. Running backs coach

Running backs coach

A running backs coach is a coach in charge of the running backs in gridiron football. The running backs coach typically operates under the team's offensive coordinator....

Ken Rucker transferred to a newly created position with the athletic department where he will act as a liaison to high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

athletic programs. On January 16, 2008 Texas replaced Rucker by hiring former Texas quarterback Major Applewhite

Major Applewhite

Major Lee Applewhite is the Co-Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs Coach for the University of Texas. Prior to Texas, Applewhite served as offensive coordinator at Rice University under Todd Graham in 2006, and at the University of Alabama under Nick Saban in 2007...

.

On November 18, 2008, The University of Texas announced that Will Muschamp would eventually succeed Mack Brown as head football coach. They agreed in principle to increase Muschamp’s salary to $900,000. There was no timetable set for Brown’s departure, and both Brown and UT said they expected Brown to stay a long time. Austin American-Statesman

Austin American-Statesman

The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....

commentator Kirk Bohls stated, "Muschamp's ascension conveys to fans and recruits that Texas values what it has now as one of the elite programs in the country and wants to maintain. This smart, bold move should bring coaching stability, sustained recruiting and possibly expanded recruiting into the Southeast and a continued framework for success."

Schedule

The primary source of schedule, attendance and box score information is the MackBrown-TexasFootball website.

Radio broadcast of Texas Longhorns football games is available on XM Satellite Radio

XM Satellite Radio

XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...

channel 241.
Denotes the largest crowd to watch a football game in the state of Texas, at a Big12 Conference Stadium, or in the Southwest region.
Denotes the largest crowd ever for the Sun Bowl Stadium

Sun Bowl Stadium

The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium, on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners of Conference USA , and the late December college football bowl game, the Hyundai Sun Bowl...

.
Originally scheduled for September 13, 2008, moved to September 27 due to Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike was the second-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States, the costliest hurricane ever to impact Cuba and the second most active hurricane to reach the Canadian mainland in the Great Lakes Region after Hurricane Hazel in 1954...

.
Denotes the largest crowd in the history of the Red River Shootout.
Denotes the largest crowd to watch a football game in the state of Texas or at a Big12 Conference Stadium (beating record set at DKR earlier in 2008).
Denotes the largest crowd to watch a football game in the state of Texas or at a Big12 Conference Stadium (beating record set at DKR earlier in 2008).
Denotes the largest crowd ever at Jones AT&T Stadium

Jones AT&T Stadium

Jones AT&T Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It is the home field of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team of the Big 12 Conference.-Planning and funding:Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium opened in 1947...

.
Denotes the largest crowd to watch a football game in the state of Texas or at a Big12 Conference Stadium (beating record set at DKR earlier in 2008).

Players

The Longhorns are led by junior Quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Colt McCoy

Daniel "Colt" McCoy is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Browns in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft...

, who was the starting quarterback for the Longhorns in 2006 and 2007. Rivals.com

Rivals.com

Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...

named McCoy one of the top-10 quarterbacks going into the 2007 season and he also made the Athlon Sports first-team All Big 12 McCoy has been the subject of much discussion regarding his chances of winning the 2008 Heisman trophy

Heisman Trophy

. With the departure of running back Jamaal Charles

Jamaal Charles

Jamaal RaShaad Jones Charles is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...

for the 2008 NFL Draft

2008 NFL Draft

, McCoy became the leading returning rusher

Rush (American football)

Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...

for the Longhorns.

McCoy has continued to be leading rusher in 2008; through the first 11 games of the season he rushed for a net 527 yards. The leading running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

s were Vondrell McGee (347 yards), Chris Ogbonnaya

Chris Ogbonnaya

Chris Ogbonnaya is an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft...

(333) and Cody Johnson (234), all of whom have played in all 11 games. Despite injuries limiting him to only five games, freshman

Freshman

A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

Foswhitt Whittaker

Foswhitt Whittaker is an American football player and currently halfback for the Texas Longhorns. He is from Pearland, Texas.-References:...

rushed for 226 yards. McCoy had 3134 passing yards for a total of 3661 total yards of offense, which also led the team. The leading receivers

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

through 11 games were Jordan Shipley

Jordan Shipley

Jordan Shipley is an American football player who currently plays wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League . He was drafted by Cincinnati in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft...

(897 yards), Quan Cosby

Quan Cosby

Quantwan Cosby better known as Quan Cosby is an American football wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns...

(872), Chris Ogbonnaya (458). The leading scorer was Hunter Lawrence

Hunter Lawrence

Hunter Lawrence Tried out for the job of placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at the University of Texas at Austin.-High school career:...

, the place-kicker. He had made 9 of 11 field goal

Field goal (football)

A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...

attempts and 52 of 52 extra point

Extra Point

Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...

s, for a total of 79 points contributed.

On defense, Roddrick Muckelroy

Roddrick Muckelroy

Roddrick Muckelroy is an American football linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals. Mucklelroy attended Hallsville High School. He graduated in December 2008 with a degree in corporate communications. He is cousin of former NFL player Joe King...

led the team in tackles

Tackle (football move)

Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....

with 63 solo tackles and 39 assists. Brian Orakpo

Brian Orakpo

-Washington Redskins:Orakpo was drafted by the Washington Redskins 13th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. On July 31, he signed a five-year deal worth $20 million, which includes $12.1 million guaranteed...

led the team in sacks

Quarterback sack

In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...

, with 9 sacks for 79 yards. Ryan Palmer led the team in interceptions

Interception (football)

An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...

with 3, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

Besides Whittaker, several other Longhorns missed playing time due to sickness or injury. Cosby and Orakpo were both injured in the game vs. Texas Tech. Safety Blake Gideon suffered a head injury in the Kansas game but was expected to be healthy for the A&M game. Cornerbacks Aaron Williams

Aaron Williams

Aaron Williams is an American former professional basketball player. He played at the power forward and center positions.-Basketball career:...

missed the Kansas game with the flu and cornerback Chykie Brown

Chykie Brown

Chykie Brown is an American football cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Texas at Austin.-External links:*...

missed three games due to injury. Tight end

Tight end

Luke Tiemann missed the season due to an ACL

Anterior cruciate ligament

The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...

injury. Starting center

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

Chris Hall

Chris Hall (American football)

Christopher Luke Hall is an American football offensive lineman. He attended the University of Texas at Austin from 2005 to 2009...

missed time due to a knee sprain.

One player was suspended, and another dismissed, for off-the-field infractions. Defensive tackle Lamarr Houston was suspended for one game (vs. UTEP) for driving under the influence

Driving under the influence

Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...

. Back-up center Buck Burnette was dismissed from the team for posting a racially charged message on his Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

page after the election of Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

as President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. Afterwards he issued an apology saying "That lack of judgment on my part has had devastating consequences. Those that know me understand that this is not a true reflection of my character. I sincerely apologize to everyone that I have offended. I have had the opportunity to apologize to my teammates and coaches and have received support from many of them in return." Burnette's dismissal coincided with the injury to Hall, so true freshman David Snow was called upon to start at center vs. Kansas.

Jordan Shipley was a senior in 2008 but has requested an extra year of eligibility due to playing time missed due to injuries. The NCAA has not yet ruled on the request.

Roster

Number	Name	Height (feet-inches)	Weight (pounds)	Class	Position	Hometown city (High School)
1	Philip Payne	6-2	207	So.-SQ	WR	Garland, Texas (South Garland)
1	Keenan Robinson	6-3	225	Fr.-RS	LB	Plano, Texas (Plano East)
2	Sergio Kindle Sergio Kindle -Baltimore Ravens:Although deemed a first-round talent by most analysts, many teams were scared off by Kindle's often-injured knee and his off-the-field incidents. Kindle fell into the second round and was ultimately drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, 43rd overall. He said in a press conference...	6-4	239	Jr.-2L	LB	Dallas, Texas (Woodrow Wilson)
2	Vondrell McGee	5-10	205	So.-1L	RB	Longview, Texas (Longview)
3	Curtis Brown	6-1	182	So.-1L	CB	Gilmer, Texas (Gilmer)
3	Chris Ogbonnaya Chris Ogbonnaya Chris Ogbonnaya is an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft...	6-1	215	Sr.-2L	RB	Missouri City, Texas (Strake Jesuit)
4	Aaron Williams	6-1	175	Fr.-HS	DB	Round Rock, Texas (McNeil)
4	Dan Buckner	6-4	213	Fr.-HS	WR	Allen, Texas (Allen)
5	Brandon Collins	6-0	170	So.-1L	WR	Brenham, Texas (Brenham)
5	Ben Wells	6-1	195	Fr.-RS	S	Beaumont, Texas (Ozen)
6	Mark Fisher*	5-8	160	Fr.-HS	DB	Carrollton, Texas (Hebron)
6	Quan Cosby Quan Cosby Quantwan Cosby better known as Quan Cosby is an American football wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns...	5-11	200	Sr.-3L	WR	Mart, Texas (Mart)
6	Justin Tucker	6-1	175	Fr.-HS	PK	Austin, Texas (Westlake)
7	John Chiles John Chiles John Chiles is an American football wide receiver who is currently a member of the Jacksonville Sharks. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football for the University of Texas at Austin.-Early years:Chiles attended Summit High School in...	6-2	215	So.-1L	QB	Dallas, Texas (Summitt)
7	Deon Beasley	5-10	175	Jr.-2L	CB	Orange, Texas (West Orange Stark)
8	Chykie Brown	6-1	185	So.-1L	CB	Houston, Texas (North Shore)
8	Jordan Shipley Jordan Shipley Jordan Shipley is an American football player who currently plays wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League . He was drafted by Cincinnati in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft...	6-0	190	Sr.-2L	WR	Burnet, Texas (Burnet)
9	Malcolm Williams	6-3	218	Fr.-RS	WR	Garland, Texas (Garland)
11	Jared Norton	6-3	230	Jr.-2L	LB	Rowlett, Texas (Rowlett)
11	James Kirkendoll	5-11	175	So.-1L	WR	Round Rock, Texas (Round Rock)
12	Colt McCoy Colt McCoy Daniel "Colt" McCoy is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Browns in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft...	6-3	210	Jr.-2L	QB	Tuscola, Texas (Jim Ned)
12	Earl Thomas	5-10	195	Fr.-RS	S	Orange, Texas (West Orange Stark)
13	Ryan Palmer	5-10	186	Sr.-3L	CB	Arlington, Texas (Bowie)
13	Ahmard Howard	6-4	248	Fr.-RS	DE	Brenham, Texas (Brenham)
14	Montre Webber	6-3	210	So.-1L	WR	Hearne, Texas (Hearne)
14	John Paul Floyd*	6-1	175	Fr.-HS	QB	Lubbock, Texas (Monterey)
15	Trevor Walker*	6-2	195	So.-SQ	QB	Mount Pleasant, Texas (Mount Pleasant)
15	Hunter Lawrence	6-0	185	Jr.-2L	K	Boerne, Texas (Boerne)
16	Ian Harris	6-4	250	Fr.-RS	TE	San Antonio, Texas (Churchill)
16	Ford Lakin*	6-1	195	Fr.-HS	QB	Houston, Texas (Klein Forest)
17	Trevor Gerland	6-2	195	Jr.-1L	P	Katy, Texas (Cinco Ranch)
17	Sherrod Harris	6-3	215	So.-SQ	QB	Arlington, Texas (Bowie)
18	Emmanuel Acho	6-2	220	Fr.-HS	LB	Dallas, Texas (St. Mark's)
18	Josh Marshall	6-4	235	So.-SQ	TE	Arlington, Texas (Martin)
19	Blaine Irby	6-3	235	So.-1L	TE	Camarillo, Calif. (St. Bonaventure)
19	Ishie Oduegwu	5-10	206	Jr.-2L	S	Denton, Texas (Ryan)
21	Blake Gideon	6-1	197	Fr.-HS	S	Leander, Texas (Leander)
21	Michael Summerville*	5-11	165	Fr.-HS	K	Garland, Texas (Naaman Forest)
23	Tre' Newton	6-0	193	Fr.-HS	RB	Southlake, Texas (Carroll)
23	Christian Scott	6-1	205	Fr.-RS	S	Dallas, Texas (Skyline)
24	Clark Ford*	5-10	185	Jr.-HS	DB	Richmond, Texas (B.F. Terry)
24	Antwan Cobb	6-0	215	So.-1L	RB	Pflugerville, Texas (Pflugerville)
25	Sam Walker*	6-0	175	Fr.-HS	DB	Mount Pleasant, Texas (Mount Pleasant)
25	Jeremy Hills	6-0	187	Fr.-HS	RB	Houston, Texas (Alief Elsik)
26	D.J. Monroe	5-9	165	Fr.-HS	WR	Angleton, Texas (Angleton)
27	Martin Egwuagu*	5-10	190	Sr.-SQ	DB	Austin, Texas (LBJ)
27	Nolan Brewster	6-2	210	Fr.-HS	DB	Denver, Colo. (Mullen)
28	Foswhitt Whittaker Foswhitt Whittaker Foswhitt Whittaker is an American football player and currently halfback for the Texas Longhorns. He is from Pearland, Texas.-References:...	5-10	190	Fr.-RS	RB	Houston, Texas (Pearland)
28	Ryan Zych*	5-10	175	Fr.-RS	WR	Plano, Texas (Plano East)
29	Jorge Martinez*	6-0	200	So.-SQ	DB	Brownsville, Texas (St. Joseph Academy)
30	Chris Wieland*	5-9	170	Sr.-SQ	WR	Cedar Park, Texas (Cedar Park)
30	Ryan Roberson	5-10	226	Fr.-HS	LB	Brenham, Texas (Brenham)
31	Cody Johnson	5-11	255	Fr.-RS	RB	Waller, Texas (Waller)
31	Cody Hill*	5-10	175	Fr.-RS	DB	Lubbock, Texas (Monterey)
32	Eddie Jones	6-3	255	So.-1L	DE	Kilgore, Texas (Kilgore)
32	John Stell*	5-11	170	Fr.-RS	WR	Richmond, Texas (Strake Jesuit)
33	Lamarr Houston	6-2	279	Jr.-2L	DE	Colorado Springs, Colo. (Doherty)
37	Henry Melton	6-3	260	Sr.-3L	DE	Grapevine, Texas (Grapevine)
38	Roddrick Muckelroy	6-2	235	Jr.-2L	LB	Hallsville, Texas (Hallsville)
38	Levi Gage*	5-10	187	Sr.-SQ	RB	Caldwell, Texas (Caldwell)
39	Ryan Bailey	6-2	205	Jr.-2L	PK	Austin, Texas (Anderson)
40	Alex Spears*	5-6	190	Sr.-SQ	FB	Houston, Texas (Katy Taylor)
41	Jamison Berryhill*	5-11	215	Fr.-HS	FB	Odessa, Texas (Permian)
42	Dustin Earnest	6-3	233	So.-1L	LB	Texarkana, Texas (Texas)
43	Chris Krychev*	6-2	250	Fr.-HS	RB	Danville, Calif. (Monte Vista)
43	Dravannti Johnson	6-2	220	Fr.-HS	LB	Nederland, Texas (Nederland)
44	Rashad Bobino	5-11	230	Sr.-3L	LB	La Marque, Texas (La Marque)
45	Nic Redwine	6-3	230	Sr.-1L	DE	Tyler, Texas (Lee)
46	Aaron Smith*	6-2	220	Fr.-RS	LB	Palestine, Texas (Palestine)
46	Drew Marcantonio*	6-1	205	Sr.-SQ	FB	Corpus Christi, Texas (Flour Bluff)
47	John Gold*	6-3	210	So.-SQ	P	Palestine, Texas (Palestine)
48	Jarrod Ochoa*	5-10	230	Jr.-SQ	LB	Abilene, Texas (Cooper)
48	Alex Zumberge*	6-0	245	Fr.-RS	DS	Houston, Texas (Houston Christian)
49	Luke Tiemann	6-2	240	Sr.-2L	FB	Pflugerville, Texas (Pflugerville)
50	Milton Sampson*	6-2	235	Fr.-HS	DE	Galveston, Texas (Ball)
52	Charlie Tanner	6-4	305	Jr.-2L	OG	Austin, Texas (Anderson)
52	Cory Michner	6-0	215	Sr.-SQ	DE	St. Louis, Mo. (Ladue)
53	Greg Smith	6-4	295	So.-1L	TE/OT	Montgomery, Texas (Montgomery)
54	Mark Buchanan	6-6	295	Fr.-HS	OL	Austin, Texas (Austin)
55	Rene Hinojosa*	6-2	255	Jr.-SQ	DT	Weslaco, Texas (Weslaco East)
55	Cedric Dockery	6-4	315	Sr.-3L	OG	Garland, Texas (Lakeview Centennial)
56	Tray Allen	6-5	310	So.-1L	OT	Grand Prairie, Texas (South Grand Prairie)
57	Andrew Carroll*	6-3	300	So.-SQ	OL	Montgomery, Texas (Montgomery)
58	William Harvey*	5-11	235	Jr.-1L	DS	Houston, Texas (Memorial)
59	Chad Kugler*	6-2	220	Sr.-SQ	LB	Richardson, Texas (Berkner)
63	Michael Huey	6-5	315	So.-1L	OG	Kilgore, Texas (Kilgore)
64	Kyle Hix	6-7	320	So.-1L	OT	Aledo, Texas (Aledo)
68	Drew Oldis*	6-4	285	So.-SQ	OG	Boerne, Texas (Boerne)
71	Chris Hall	6-4	300	Jr.-2L	OL	Irving, Texas (Irving)
72	Britt Mitchell	6-5	300	So.-1L	OG	Kilgore, Texas (Kilgore)
74	Adam Ulatoski	6-8	302	Jr.-2L	OT	Southlake, Texas (Carroll)
75	Steve Moore	6-5	300	So.-SQ	OG	Houston, Texas (Jersey Village)
76	Aundre McGaskey	6-5	290	Fr.-RS	OT	La Marque, Texas (La Marque)
77	Luke Poehlmann	6-7	257	Fr.-HS	OL	Brenham, Texas (Brenham)
78	David Snow	6-4	300	Fr.-HS	C/OG	Gilmer, Texas (Gilmer)
80	Daniel Orr*	6-0	186	Sr.-SQ	WR	Corsicana, Texas (Corsicana)
81	Sam Acho	6-3	258	So.-1L	DE	Dallas, Texas (St. Mark's)
81	C.A. Vergari*	6-3	205	Jr.-SQ	WR	Bronxville, N.Y. (Bronxville)
82	Joseph Davis*	6-5	215	Fr.-HS	WR	Somerset, Texas (Somerset)
83	Brock Fitzhenry	5-9	171	Fr.-HS	WR	Giddings, Texas (Giddings)
84	DeSean Hales	5-11	175	Fr.-HS	WR	Klein, Texas (Oak)
84	Foster Vimont*	6-4	230	Fr.-HS	TE	Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia (Stony Brook [N.Y.])
85	D.J. Grant	6-3	210	Fr.-HS	WR	Austin, Texas (LBJ)
86	Peter Ullman	6-4	260	Sr.-3L	TE	Austin, Texas (Round Rock)
87	Patrick McNamara*	6-4	200	Fr.-HS	WR	Lubbock, Texas (Monterey)
88	Mac McWhorter*	6-4	250	Jr.-2L	TE	Austin, Texas (Westwood)
89	William Ruefle*	6-2	243	Sr.-TR	TE	Mesquite, Texas (North Mesquite)
91	Kheeston Randall	6-5	275	Fr.-HS	DT	Beaumont, Texas (Kelly)
92	Ben Alexander	6-0	310	Jr.-2L	DT	Anderson, S.C. (T.L. Hanna)
93	Tyrell Higgins*	6-3	255	Fr.-RS	DT	Schertz, Texas (Clemens)
94	Michael Wilcoxon	6-3	285	Fr.-RS	DT	Aledo, Texas (Aledo)
95	Aaron Lewis Aaron Lewis Aaron Lewis, , is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and founding member of the rock group Staind, with whom he has released seven studio albums. He has since ventured into country music with his debut solo album, Town Line...	6-4	270	Sr.-3L	DE	Albuquerque, N.M. (La Cueva)
96	Jarvis Humphrey	6-2	290	Fr.-HS	DT	Cedar Hill, Texas (Cedar Hill)
97	Russell Carter	6-3	240	Fr.-RS	DE	Houston, Texas (Westbury)
98	Brian Orakpo Brian Orakpo -Washington Redskins:Orakpo was drafted by the Washington Redskins 13th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. On July 31, he signed a five-year deal worth $20 million, which includes $12.1 million guaranteed...	6-4	260	Sr.-3L	DE	Houston, Texas (Lamar)
99	Roy Miller Roy Miller (American football) Roy Miller is an American football defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buccaneers in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas.-Early years:...	6-2	295	Sr.-3L	DT	Killeen, Texas (Shoemaker)

Terms:

Fr.=Freshman = a first year player
So.=Sophomore = a second year player
Jr.=Junior = a player in his third year
Sr.=Senior = a player in his fourth year
HS.=High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, a player just out of high school. A player can sit out a year, in which case they have a redshirt
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...

.
1L, 2L, 3L = number of years the player has lettered in football

An * indicates that the player is a "walk-on" (a non-scholarship player)

Source:

Recruiting

Texas signed 20 overall recruits for the 2008 recruiting class. Twelve 4-stars (DeSean Hales, Jarvis Humphrey, D.J. Monroe, Aaron Williams, Mark Buchanan, Dan Buckner, Nolan Brewster, Derrick "D.J." Grant, Jeremy Hills, Dravannti Johnson, Kheeston Randall and David Snow), seven 3-stars (Emmanuel Acho, Antoine Hicks, Tre Newton, Luke Poehlmann, Ryan Roberson, Brock Fitzhenry and Justin Tucker) and one 2-star (Blake Gideon) according to Rivals' recruiting service, and two 5-stars (Aaron Williams and Dan Buckner), eleven 4-stars (David Snow, Dravannti Johnson, Nolan Brewster, Jarvis Humphrey, DeSean Hales, Ryan Roberson, Derrick "D.J." Grant, Luke Poehlmann, D.J. Monroe, Jeremy Hills and Mark Buchanan), six 3-stars (Emmanuel Acho, Brock Fitzhenry, Kheeston Randall, Blake Gideon, Antoine Hicks and Tre Newton) and one 2-star recruit (Justin Tucker), according to Scout's recruiting service. The class was ranked #14 on Rivals and #16 on Scout.

Texas originally also received a commitment from Southlake Carroll quarterback Riley Dodge

Riley Dodge

-High school career:Dodge prepped at Carroll High School of Southlake, Texas, where he was coached by his dad, Todd Dodge, and later Hal Wasson. Dodge played behind former Alabama Crimson Tide, and current New York Jets quarterback Greg McElroy...

, son of former Longhorns quarterback Todd Dodge

Todd Dodge

Todd Dodge is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh, a position he has held since January 2011. Dodge was the head football coach at the University of North Texas from 2007 to 2010...

, but Riley Dodge later chose to decommit and headed to North Texas

University of North Texas

The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...

to play under his father. Texas was also in the run for the nation's top running back prospect, five-star Darrell Scott

Darrell Scott (American football)

Darrell Scott is an American football running back. He currently attends the University of South Florida, where he redshirted the 2010 college football season after having transferred from the University of Colorado. Scott attended St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura, California...

of Ventura

Ventura, California

Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...

, California. Scott, however, picked the Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado Buffaloes football

The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,...

over the Longhorns on National Signing Day

National Signing Day

National Signing Day most commonly refers to a day in February, usually on the first Wednesday of that month, which is the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for college football with a school that is a member of the NCAA, the main governing body for...

Florida Atlantic

The 2008 game marks the first meeting between the Texas Longhorns and the Florida Atlantic Owls

Florida Atlantic Owls football

The Florida Atlantic Owls football team represents Florida Atlantic University, a mid-major NCAA Division I-A college football team, that competes in the Sun Belt Conference.-Overview and history:...

. Florida Atlantic first played football in 2001 and began playing football in the Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...

in 2005. The 2007 Owls won their conference and went on to play in the 2007 New Orleans Bowl

2007 New Orleans Bowl

The 2007 R+L CarriersNew Orleans Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game. Part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, it was played on December 21, 2007 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans....

. That set a record for the shortest amount of time between a school starting college football and being invited to a bowl game. The Owls won the game 44–27.

Texas began the season with a lack of experience in some positions, such as safety. The Longhorns entered the week of the game with many questions still remaining about the starting roster. On the depth chart

Depth chart

In sports, a depth chart is used to show the placements of the starting players and the secondary players. Generally a starting player will be listed first or on top while a back-up will be listed below...

released to the media, eleven positions still did not have definite starters. Brown said that he might wait until 48 hours prior to kickoff

Kickoff (American football)

A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...

to decide on key positions such as running back

Running back

and fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

, and that he may decide on the punter based upon who looks best in pre-game warmups.

Texas had one player listed on the injury list. Redshirt freshman

Redshirt (college sports)

Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...

running back Fozzy Whittaker suffered a knee injury Aug 16, 2008 and was listed as "questionable" to be able to play. He had been competing in the off-season for a starting spot with Vondrell McGee and Chris Ogbonnaya

Chris Ogbonnaya

Chris Ogbonnaya is an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft...

. Whittaker is a highly anticipated player for the Longhorns due to his holding the sixth best record for a Texas high school running back.

The University of Texas retired former Texas quarterback Vince Young

Vince Young

Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...

's jersey number 10 jersey during the pre-game ceremonies.
The morning of the game, Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

casinos favored Texas by 24 points. The weather forecast called for a high of 94 °F (34.4 °C) and a 20% chance of rain. The attendance of 98,053 set a new record for the most people to see a football game in the state of Texas.

Texas kicked off to start the game and the kick went out of bounds for a penalty, an inauspicious beginning to the season. Due to rule changes for 2008 that gave FAU the ball on their 40-yard line. On the opening drive of the game, the Owls drove the ball 45 yards, including two completions from Rusty Smith to fullback Willie Rose and wide receiver Chris Bonner for 22 yards and 16 yards, respectively. However, inside the red zone, the drive came to a halt when the snap was botched by center David Matlock, resulting in a 21-yard fumble and turnover. The proceeding drive for the Owls also reached the red zone, but resulted in another turnover when Rusty Smith threw an interception to Texas freshman defensive back, Earl Thomas

Earl Thomas (defensive back)

Earl Thomas is an American football safety for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seahawks with the 14th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas....

. The missed opportunities to turn successful drives into touchdowns set the tone of the game for the Owls, which would go on to turn into a blowout in favor of 10-ranked Texas.

Junior quarterback and preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Rusty Smith threw for 253 yards and completed 15 of 31 pass attempts. Along with his interception, he threw a touchdown to tight end Rob Housler on a 20-yard hook up. Kicker Warley Leroy kicked a 31-yard field goal. Receiver Cortez Gent and tight end Jamari Grant combined for 7 completions and brought in 59 yards and 93 yards, respectively. Smith threw for more yards than McCoy, who ended with 222 yards, McCoy threw for three touchdowns and zero interceptions. McCoy also ran for a touchdown. The Owls running backs ran for 37 yards combined, while McCoy ran for 103 yards.

In the post-game press conference Schnellenberger said, "I know one thing: they are a lot tougher than we are...I was hoping I could raise the level of consciousness on my football team (so the players) could be as physical as they could become. I don't know if my remarks helped (Texas). If they did, I apologize to my team." FAU's losing-streak against ranked opponents ran to five games as the Texas Longhorns beat FAU, 52–10. The Owls are now 0–5 all-time against ranked opponents. Mack Brown improved his record for season opening games to 10–1, including nine straight years.

At approximately 3:00am the night of the game, starting defensive tackle Lamarr Houston was arrested for DWI

Driving under the influence

Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...

. Brown says Houston would miss gave two against UTEP, but did not say if further disciplinary action would be taken.

UTEP

This 2008 game marks the first meeting between the Longhorns and the University of Texas at El Paso

University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...

Miners to occur in El Paso. Texas holds a 2–0 record against the Miners, with the most recent game occurring in 1933 when the school was known as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. Besides both being in The University of Texas System the two schools also share the same alma mater

Alma mater

Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...

, The Eyes of Texas

The Eyes of Texas

"The Eyes of Texas" is the alma mater of the University of Texas at Austin. It is set to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University sing the song at Longhorn sports games and other events....

. While the Longhorns have the Hook 'em Horns

Hook 'em Horns

Hook 'em Horns is the slogan and hand signal of The University of Texas at Austin. Students and alumni of the university employ a greeting consisting of the phrase "Hook 'em" or "Hook 'em Horns" and also use the phrase as a parting good-bye or as the closing line in a letter or story.The gesture is...

symbol, Miners' fans make a symbol called the "Pickaxe", with pinkie and thumb extended from a closed fist. Coach Mike Price

Mike Price

Mike Price is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso , a position he has held since 2004...

also followed the tradition of leading the team through the field carrying a large pickaxe.

The Miners opened their season with a loss to the Buffalo Bulls

Buffalo Bulls

The Buffalo Bulls are the athletic teams representing the University at Buffalo in intercollegiate athletics. The Bulls currently play in Division I , and are a member of the Mid-American Conference for all sports except women's rowing who is in the Cononial Athletic Assocition . They have been a...

42–17. Afterwards, Miners coach Mike Price

Mike Price

Mike Price is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso , a position he has held since 2004...

said of the upcoming game against the Longhorns, "Man, I hope they're not as good as Buffalo."

The kickoff for the game was set for 8:00pm local time (Mountain Time) which is an unusually late start and which translates to 9:00pm in Austin. Sports analysts have speculated that the Miners excitement for the game, the crowd noise, the distance traveled, and time may pose a problem for Texas. They have also compared the game to Texas' 2007 road trip to Central Florida, which was a very close win for Texas. Longhorn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said of the time slot, "Doesn’t matter where we play, who we play or what time we play, Texas defense is gonna show up and play." The game was one of the most anticipated games in UTEP history and "because season-ticket packages were available for $99, some Texas fans bought them in advance to avoid the hassle of a single-game purchase. The sales pushed UTEP to nearly 24,000 season tickets, a school record."

The morning of the game, Las Vegas sports books

Sports betting

Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome.-United States of America:Aside from simple wagers such as betting a friend that one's favorite baseball team will win its division or buying a football "square" for the Super Bowl, sports betting is...

favored Texas by 27 points. The weather forecast called for a game time temperature of 83 °F (28.3 °C) and mostly clear skies. The attendance was 53,415, the largest crowd ever for the Sun Bowl Stadium

Sun Bowl Stadium

.

UTEP got the ball to start the game and scored a field goal. Texas was not able to secure a first down and punted

Punt (football)

In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....

back to Miners, who scored another field goal to take a 6–0 lead. On their second possession, Texas drove 80 yards for a touchdown on a McCoy pass to Quan Cosby. The extra point gave Texas a 7–6 lead which they still held at the end of the first quarter.

The Longhorns scored again ten seconds into the second quarter, as McCoy threw a 12 yard touchdown to wide receiver Dan Buckner. The Miners' Jose Martinez attempted a 65-yard field goal, but it fell short and Quan Cosby returned it 65 yards to the UTEP 35 yard-line. Texas put John Chiles in as quarterback on the next series, and fullback Cody Johnson scored his second rushing touchdown of the season to make the score 21–6. With four minutes to go in the half, McCoy threw a touchdown pass to tight end Blaine Irby to make the score 28–6 with the extra point. UTEP scored a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the half, making the score 28–13 at half-time

Half-time

In some team sports such as association football and rugby, matches are played in two halves. Half-time is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match...

.

Texas got the ball to start the second half and drove to the UTEP 14-yard line when McCoy threw an interception in the UTEP end zone

End zone

In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...

; it was his first interception of the season. Neither team scored during what the Austin American-Statesman called a "sloppy" third quarter.

McCoy faked a hitch pass to Brandon Collins and instead threw downfield to Jordan Shipley

Jordan Shipley

to extend the lead to 35–13. On the very next play from scrimmage, Emmanuel Acho

Emmanuel Acho

Emmanuel Cinedum Acho is an American football linebacker for the Texas Longhorns.-Early years:Acho attended St. Mark's School in Dallas, Texas. As a senior, he had 15 sacks in addition to 107 tackles...

forced Tarrell Jackson to fumble and Roddrick Muckelroy

Roddrick Muckelroy

retrieved the ball returned it for a touchdown, making the score 42–13. UTEP missed a field goal to end their next possession. Texas punted on their next possession, and then took over on downs when UTEP was unable to score on their last possession. The Horns kept the ball on the ground and ran out the clock.

Rice

Prior to the 2008 season, Texas and Rice

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

had competed in football on 90 prior occasions. The series, which began in 1914, is the fourth oldest (by number of games) in Texas history. Like Arkansas, Rice once played alongside Texas in the Southwest Conference and the rivalry has continued (67 Texas wins vs 21 wins for Rice, with one tie). This was alluded to by President

President of the United States

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

when he admired the challenge faced by the Rice Owls

Rice Owls

The Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest.Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics and is part of Conference USA. Rice was a member of the Southwest Conference until its breakup in 1996. Rice then joined the Western Athletic...

when they play Texas in Austin. Rice coach David Bailiff

David Bailiff

- References :...

to used this speech to motivate his team. The coach distributed wristbands bearing the letters "BIH". The letters stand for the phrase "Because it's hard". Bailiff explains that Rice plays Texas for the same reason he intends to build Rice's expectations of winning. "Because it's hard," he says, "It is hard here. But it's not impossible." Over the 47 years since Kennedy made his speech, the Owls are 2–44–1 against Texas.

In addition to continuing a traditional rivalry, playing Rice in a "home and away" series allows for Texas to play games in Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, Texas, a city that is an important recruiting base for Rice as well as Texas, along with having a significant Texas Exes

Texas Exes

The Ex-Students' Association of The University of Texas is the association of former students of the University of Texas at Austin....

alumni population. The 2006 game was won by Texas, 52–7. Texas won the 2007 game 14–58.

The morning of the game, Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 29 points. Texas won the game 52–10, and Colt McCoy threw 4 touchdowns to achieve a total of 62 in his career at Texas. That puts him in first place in the Texas record book, ahead of Major Applewhite

Major Applewhite

(60) and Chris Simms

Chris Simms

Christopher David Simms is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas.Simms has also played for the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers...

(59).

This game was designated as the 2008 Alumni Band Day.

Arkansas

The Arkansas Razorbacks

2008 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

The 2008 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas in the 2008 football season. The Razorbacks played five home games at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas and one home game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas...

are coached by Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Arkansas, a position he has held since the 2008 season...

who was introduced as the new coach on December 11, 2007. Petrino follows the ten season tenure of Houston Nutt

Houston Nutt

Houston Dale Nutt, Jr. is an American football coach and former player. Most recently he was the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 2008 to 2011. Previously, he served as the head coach at Murray State University , Boise State University , and the University of Arkansas...

who resigned November 26, 2007 after a year marked by off-the-field turmoil. In 1964, the Razorbacks were the only team to go through the regular season and a bowl game undefeated, and they were awarded the Football Writers Association of America National Championship. The 1969 Razorbacks, led by challenged Texas for a national championship in the Game of the Century

1969 Texas vs. Arkansas football game

The 1969 Texas vs. Arkansas football game, dubbed The Big Shootout and sometimes referred to as the "Game of The Century", was a legendary college football game on December 6, 1969 in which the top-ranked Texas Longhorns visited the second-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium in...

. Texas won 15–14 to claim the national championship.

In the most recent match-up between the two programs, the 2004 Longhorns

2004 Texas Longhorn football team

achieved a 22–20 win against an unranked Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

team. Texas leads the series 55–21–0. The two schools were once conference foes in the Southwest Conference

The threat of adverse weather from Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike

postponed the football game between the two programs. The game originally was scheduled to be played on September 13, 2008 and has been rescheduled for two weeks later on September 27, 2008, an open date for both teams.

The morning of the game, Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 27 points. The temperature was 91 °F (32.8 °C) at kickoff, with mostly clear skies. The Longhorns won 52–10 in the most lopsided game in the Texas/Arkansas rivalry since the 1916 meeting. McCoy threw 3 touchdown passes and ran for 2 more to give him 75 in his career, third place in Longhorn history. In the fourth quarter, all the points were scored by the defensive units. Texas returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown, and Arkansas returned a fumble 80 yards in reply.

Colorado

Texas' most recent game against Colorado was in 2005 and they faced each other twice: once in the regular season, and once in the Big 12 Championship Game. In the first game, the Longhorns established a lead early in the game and never lost it; they led 35–10 at halftime and defeated the 2005 Colorado team

2005 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 2005 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The previous year's team won the Big 12 North Conference. That marked the third Big 12 North championship for the Buffaloes in four years...

by a final score of 42–17. Texas scored touchdowns on all five of their first half possessions. Colt McCoy had the best statistical performance of his career to date, completing 25 of 29 passing attempts for 336 yards and 2 passing touchdowns in addition to 58 yards rushing and 3 rushing touchdowns. His 86.2% completion percentage set a new single-game record for Texas, breaking his previous record of 85.7% set against Oklahoma State in 2004. After the game, Colorado Head Coach Gary Barnett

Gary Barnett

Gary Barnett is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College , Northwestern University , and the University of Colorado at Boulder , compiling a career college football record of 92–94–2...

said of Young's passing performance, "We can’t do that in practice against air”, meaning that his team would not have been able to complete 86.2% of their passes even if playing unopposed.

The championship game matched the Big 12 North Division champion against the South Division champion in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Despite losing the last two games of the regular season, Colorado retained the best record in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference. Texas won the 2005 Big12 Championship 70–3, the most lopsided score in any college football conference championship to date. Texas earned its second Big 12 football championship to make 27 conference championships total, including 25 in the Southwest Conference). The week after the game, Barnett was fired as Colorado's head coach and replaced by Dan Hawkins

Dan Hawkins (coach)

Dan Hawkins is a sportscaster and former American football player and coach in the United States. He served as the head football coach at Willamette University, Boise State University, and the University of Colorado at Boulder, compiling a career college football record of 112–61–1...

, the former head coach of Boise State

Boise State University

Boise State University is a public university located in Boise, Idaho. Originally founded in 1932 as a junior college by the Episcopal Church, the university became an independent institution in 1934, and has been awarding baccalaureate and master degrees since 1965...

. Entering 2008, Texas leads the series with Colorado 9–7–0.

The morning of the game, sports books favored Texas by 13 points. The weather forecast called for a game-time temperature of 64 °F (17.8 °C) and a 30% chance of rain, with isolated thunderstorms.

The Longhorns won 38–14. McCoy threw for two touchdowns and moved past Ricky Williams

Ricky Williams

into second on Texas' all-time list for touchdowns responsible for (passing, rushing, receiving). McCoy has 77 while Williams had 76 with the Horns; Vince Young is in first place with 81.

Oklahoma

The game against the 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team

2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team

marked the 103rd meeting of the Red River Shootout, which has been called one of the greatest sports rivalries. It is the second longest running rivalry for the Longhorns, behind the one with Texas A&M. Since 1929 the game has been held at the Cotton Bowl

Cotton Bowl (stadium)

The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...

in Dallas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, Texas typically in mid-October with the State Fair of Texas

State Fair of Texas

The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas, Texas . The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic Fair Park where it has been held since 1886. The 2012 State Fair of Texas will run from September 28th...

occurring adjacent to the stadium. Prior to 2007, Texas led the series 57–39–5, including the two consecutive wins. The 2006 match-up was a 28–10 Longhorn victory.

In the week prior to facing the Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners

The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...

, Longhorn fans conduct their traditional Torchlight Parade and Rally. The rally first took place in 1916 prior to a game versus Texas A&M, but since 1986 it has been an annual event held exclusively during the week prior to the Texas–OU game. Another annual tradition is the running of game balls by the schools' Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs. Each school's ROTC program uses a relay running system to run one game ball all the way from their respective campus to Dallas. Once there, they participate against each other in a football scrimmage, with the winner taking home a rivalry trophy and bragging rights.

Texas won this 103rd meeting of the Red River Shootout

2008 Texas vs. Oklahoma football game

The 2008 Oklahoma vs. Texas football game, played October 11, 2008, was the 103rd meeting between the University of Oklahoma and The University of Texas at Austin in a college football game. The annual game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners is called the Red River Shootout...

, 45–35. It was the highest scoring event in the history of rivalry, and it was seen by the most fans ever to attend the Red River Shootout - a record 92,182.

Missouri

The 2008 matchup was billed as a battle between two great quarterbacks, Colt McCoy of Texas and Chase Daniel

Chase Daniel

William Chase Daniel is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2009...

of Missouri having both been mentioned as possible Heisman trophy

Heisman Trophy

candidates. Texas was playing their first home game as a number-one ranked team since 1977. Missouri won their first five games of 2008 and had moved into third place in the nation before they were upset at home by the Oklahoma State Cowboys and fell to eleventh place. The Tigers came into the game with a 0-10 record against number-one ranked teams, and they had not won a football game in Austin since 1896.

To help ensure that the Longhorns did not dwell on the emotional victory over the Sooners, the Texas coaching staff called the team together and buried the game ball in the Texas practice field on the Monday before the game. The morning of the game the betting line on the morning of the game was Texas by 4½ points; the over/under was 65. The temperature was 72 °F (22.2 °C) at kickoff, with clear skies. ESPN College GameDay was in Austin for the game, which set a new attendance record (University of Texas, state of Texas, Big12 Conference) of 98,383.

Missouri won the coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff. They returned the ball to their 40 yard-line. On the first play from scrimmage, Missouri tried a reverse, but Texas dropped them for a loss and Missouri went three-and-out. Missouri had gone without a three-and-out for the whole season until having two during their loss the previous week against Oklahoma State. The Missouri punt rolled to the Texas 6-yard line. Colt McCoy led the Longhorns 95-yards for a touchdown.

Texas had the ball 5-times in the first half and scored a touchdown each time, taking a 35-0 lead. Missouri scored a field goal at the end of the first half to make the score 35-3. Texas was forced to punt on their first possession of the second-half and Missouri scored a touchdown to narrow the lead to 35-10. Texas rebounded with a touchdown and Missouri was never able to cut the lead to less than 25 points. The final score was Texas-56, Missouri-31.

McCoy completed the game with 337 yards on 29-of-32 passing with two touchdowns, rushed for two more and at one point completed a school-record 17 passes in a row. His completion ratio of 79% coming into the game improved as he completed 91% of his passes in this game. His four touchdowns put him alone in first place for the most career touchdowns scored at Texas (82), passing Vince Young (81). McCoy's performance helped propel him into the midst of the Heisman Trophy

Heisman Trophy

speculation for 2008. For example Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow

Timothy Richard "Tim" Tebow is an American football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft...

, quarterback of the Florida Gators

2008 Florida Gators football team

The 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 college football season...

has a vote as the 2007 winner. Tebow said after Missouri game that McCoy would have his vote at this point in the season.

ESPN's recap of the game said, "And when McCoy dribbled the ball on the ground only to pick it up and throw a strike that kept the last drive of the half alive, he created the 'Did you just see that?' moment of the season so far. With one half of near-perfect football, Texas buried not only the remnants of the Sooners and the Tigers, but any doubt about who deserves to be No. 1. For now." When the initial Bowl Championship Series

Bowl Championship Series

(BCS) rankings were released following the game, Texas was in the #1 spot.

Oklahoma State

Texas has played the Oklahoma State Cowboys football

Oklahoma State Cowboys football

The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and completes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are led by Mike Gundy, who is in his seventh year as...

(OSU) program 22 times and holds a 20–2–0 record from 1916 through 2007. Texas has a ten game active winning streak against OSU, with the Cowboys most recent victory occurring in 1997. The Longhorns have needed spectacular comebacks to win some of the games. They trailed by as many as 28 points in 2004 yet rallied to win. They erased a 19 point half-time deficit in 2005, tying the school record for a second-half comeback. In the most recent meeting OSU led by 21 points entering the fourth quarter but Texas scored 24 unanswered points to secure a 38–35 victory and set a record for the largest fourth-quarter comeback in Longhorn history.

The 2008 Cowboys

2008 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

have a high-scoring offense and they come into the game undefeated at 7–0, including a big win over then #3 Missouri. Oklahoma State was ranked #8 in the Coaches' Poll and #7 in the AP Poll and BCS standings. Oklahoma State is averaging 46.4 points a game and running for 283 yards a game, the fifth-best rushing attack in the nation. The Houston Chronicle

Houston Chronicle

The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...

reported, "For a program that’s never finished higher than third in the Big 12 South, the Cowboys are tied with Texas and Texas Tech for the division lead and remain in the national title discussion as one of only nine remaining unbeatens in Division I-A. The Cowboys also represent the most balanced offense Texas will face this season."

The morning of the game, Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 12½ points. The weather forecast called for a high of 84 °F (28.9 °C) and partly cloudy skies. Texas won the hard fought contest 28–24.

It was the third ranked opponent defeated by Texas in as many weeks. The last time a team beat three teams ranked in the AP top 11 was Auburn in 1983. ESPN's Beano Cook said, "What Texas is doing is unbelievable. If they go undefeated, they should go straight to the Super Bowl." When he was asked to recall a more difficult run, Cook replied, "the Marines in the South Pacific."

Texas Tech

The series with the Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...

began in 1928 and the Longhorns' record through 2007 was 43–14–0. In the 2006 contest, #5 ranked Texas barely came away with a 35–31 win over an unranked Texas Tech team. In the 2007 game #14 Texas won 59–43. During his post-game press conference, Texas Tech's Mike Leach used most of his time to rail against the officiating crew for incompetence and bias. He speculated that the officials may have favored Texas because the head official lives in Austin, because they are incompetent, or possibly because the conference wants Texas to appear in a BCS bowl because of the increased appearance fees that such a bowl generates for the conference. Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press wrote "Leach was upset officials disallowed two Tech touchdowns in the third quarter. The first was overruled when video replay clearly showed the receiver let the ball hit the ground. On the next play, a touchdown pass was negated by a holding penalty. Leach also wanted, but didn't get, a flag for roughing the quarterback." The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. It is owned by the Morris Communications Company.-History:The Lubbock Avalanche was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" was chosen due to his desire that the...

reported, "Big 12 policy prohibits coaches from commenting publicly about game officials, so Leach’s actions leave him open to reprimand, fine or worse." ESPN reported, "Leach's rant will likely draw a fine from the league and possibly a suspension." The Big12 fined Leach $10,000, the largest fine in conference history.

The morning of the game, Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 3½ points. The weather forecast called for a temperature of 72 °F (22.2 °C) and clear skies at kick-off. Students camped for a week to secure seating, and ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from Lubbock

Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...

, Texas for the first time in the program's history.

Texas Tech won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. The Longhorns forced a stop and the ensuing punt rolled inside the Texas 2-yard line. Offensive coordinator Greg Davis opted to line up in the I formation, an unusual formation for a team having trouble establishing a strong running game. The Texas running back was stopped in the end-zone for a two-point safety. Tech led the Horns for most of the game, by as much as nineteen points. Texas rallied to take a one-point lead with less than 1½ minutes remaining in the game. On the Red Raiders drive, Tech running back Baron Batch let a perfect pass slip through his hands and off his helmet, sending it spiraling into the air where a Texas defensive back missed an interception that would have sealed a Texas victory, letting the ball slide through his hands. In the final minute, down 33–32 with one timeout remaining, Texas Tech Heisman Trophy candidate QB Graham Harrell

Graham Harrell

Graham Harrell is an American football quarterback. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers and is currently on their scout team. He played college football at Texas Tech.-Early years:...

engineered a drive down the field by throwing for first downs which repeatedly stopped the clock in order to move the chains, and almost threw an interception that bounced off the hands of Tech running back Baron Batch and then fell through the hands of Texas defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

Blake Gideon that would have ended the comeback attempt. In this case, two negatives ended up making a positive. Harrell's final play was a pass to Heisman Trophy candidate wide receiver Michael Crabtree

Michael Crabtree

Michael Alex Crabtree is an American football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the 49ers with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football for Texas Tech, where he received recognition as one of the nation's...

, who caught the ball near the sideline and somehow amazingly, like his career, broke away from two Longhorn defenders to scamper in for the winning score with a second left to play. The extra point gave them a 39–33 lead with one second remaining. The Tech fans had rushed the field after the touchdown, and again after the extra point. Tech was penalized accordingly and had to kick off from the 7½-yard line. Texas took the squib kick and lateraled twice in an attempt to score on the kickoff, but Tech caught one of the laterals to end the game. Subsequent to the loss, Texas fell from #1 to #4 in the BCS Poll, and Texas Tech rose to #2, behind Alabama

2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 76th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 17th within the SEC Western Division...

Baylor

The Longhorns first played the Baylor Bears

Baylor Bears

Baylor Bears refers to the sports teams of Baylor University. Baylor's men's sports teams are nicknamed the Bears, and some women's teams are nicknamed the Lady Bears. Student athletes participate in the NCAA's Division I, and Baylor is the only private school in the Big 12 Conference...

in 1901 and faced them annually during the days of the Southwest Conference. In the 97 meetings through 2007, Texas' record with the Bears was 71 wins, 22 losses, and 4 ties. This is Texas' third-longest rivalry by number of games: only Oklahoma and Texas A&M have faced Texas more often on the football field. Texas won the 2006 game 63–31. The 2007 game was initially a close fought contest, but Texas outlasted the Bears for a 31–10 victory.

The morning of the game, sports books favored Texas by 27 points. The temperature was 69 °F (20.6 °C) at kickoff and the skies were sunny for the game.

Texas got off to a fast start with two touchdowns in the first quarter, but Baylor tied the score at 14–14. Texas then scored 31 straight points before yielding a late field goal to Baylor. The final score was 45–21. McCoy passed for 300 yards and five touchdowns. The Associated Press story commented, "And McCoy likely refueled his Heisman Trophy bid by completing 26 of 37 passes for his fourth 300-yard game this season, and eighth of his career, even without playing the final 12 minutes. The touchdowns went to four different receivers, though he did have two interceptions."

Texas had lost a close road game the prior week to Texas Tech, who were undefeated at 8-0 and ranked #5 in the Coaches' Poll. As a result, the Horns fell to #7 in the Coach's poll and #4 in the BCS Standings, keeping alive the possibility they could still play for the national championship if other top teams stumble. The same day Texas defeated Baylor, #3 Penn State lost their game and Texas subsequently moved up to #3 in the BCS rankings. The win over Baylor was the 829th win for the UT football program, which tied Notre Dame for 2nd in the list of college football's ten most victorious programs. Notre Dame lost later the same day, so the tie will last until at least November 15.

On November 11 (with UT holding an 8-1 record) Heisman voter Rodney Gilmore of ESPN.com had Colt McCoy listed third of five Heisman candidates. Gilmore said, "I love his numbers (78 percent completion percentage, 28 TDs, only 7 picks and 2,879 yards) and his gutsy second-half performance against Texas Tech. And I have not forgotten about his epic performance against Oklahoma just a few weeks ago. However, Harrell outplayed McCoy head-to-head in the showdown last week, so Harrell has a leg up on him for now, but McCoy is within striking distance."

Kansas

Coming into 2008, Texas held a 6–0 record against Kansas since the formation of the Big12. In order to win the 2004 game against the Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas Jayhawks football

The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....

, Texas had to convert a 4th-and-18 situation and complete a touchdown pass with only eleven seconds remaining on the clock. The 2005 game provided much less on-field drama, as Texas led 52–0 by halftime and defeated Kansas 66–14. The two teams did not face each other in 2006 or 2007.

The morning of the 2008 game, Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 14 points. The weather at kickoff was 37 °F (2.8 °C) and partly cloudy, with winds of 23–30 miles per hour. Snow flurries began near the end of the first half.

Texas won the 2008 game, 35–7; Notre Dame won vs. Navy the same day, leaving the Longhorns and the Fighting Irish tied for second place in all-time wins. It was Colt McCoy's 30th career win, which tied him with Vince Young for the school record. McCoy completed 24 of 35 passing attempts (71%) for 255 yards and 2 touchdown passes. He was also the leading rusher for both schools, rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing

Todd Reesing

Todd Reesing is a former starting quarterback for the Kansas Jayhawks.- High school career:Reesing attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas and was a good student and a letterman in football and baseball. In football, Reesing was named the Texas 4A Player of the Year as a junior...

, an Austin native, completed 25 of 50 passes for 258 yards and 1 touchdown. McCoy's two touchdown passes put him at 31 for the season, breaking his own school record.

The Longhorns also ensured their eight consecutive season with ten or more wins per season. That is the longest active streak in the nation and it ties them with Miami (1985–92) for the second-longest streak of all-time.

Texas A&M

This game marks the 115th meeting between Texas and the Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M Aggies football

The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...

and it will be the fifth year as part of a multi-sport rivalry called the Lone Star Showdown. The football rivalry began in 1894 and it is the longest-running rivaly for both the Longhorns and the Aggies and it is also the third most-played rivalry in Division I-A college football. Since the series began in 1900, the game has traditionally been played on Thanksgiving Day or Thanksgiving weekend. The 2007 game marked the twelfth straight game to be scheduled the day after Thanksgiving. The two schools have agreed to move the game back to Thanksgiving Day for the 2008 and 2009 contests.

Although Texas entered the 2008 contest with a record of 73–36–5, the Longhorns had lost the last two games to the Aggies. The 2006 meeting was the first time in eight years that both teams entered the game with at least eight wins coming into the match-up. That game came one week after Texas lost to Kansas State and the Longhorns suffered a 7–12 loss to the Aggies. Going back to 1999 when Texas lost the final three games of the season, the Longhorns had gone 87 games without losing back-to-back games. That was the longest active streak for any college or professional football team.

2007 was a turbulent year for the Aggies. A&M head coach Dennis Franchione

Dennis Franchione

Dennis Wayne Franchione , also known as Coach Fran, is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school was known as Southwest Texas State University, and resumed in 2011...

spent much of the season being criticized for his coaching performance. Criticism intensified in late September as it became known that Franchione had been selling a secret email newsletter to athletic boosters

Booster club

A booster club is an organization that is formed to support an associated club, sports team, or organization. Booster clubs are popular in American schools at the high school and university level...

who paid US$1,200 annually for team information that Franchione has refused to release to the public. The newsletter, called "VIP Connection", had been written by Franchione's personal assistant, Mike McKenzie, and included specific injury reports and Franchione's critical assessments of players. A bright spot was their defeat of the Longhorns, 38–30. At the beginning of the post-game press conference, Franchione announced his resignation effective immediately. Mike Sherman

Mike Sherman

Michael Francis "Mike" Sherman is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies football team. Prior to coaching the Aggies, he served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from the 2000–05 seasons. Sherman led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons from 2000–04 and three divisional titles...

was hired three days later, becoming the 28th head coach of the Texas A&M football program.

As a result of a 1999 accident that killed 12 students and injured 27 others, the Aggies can no longer hold a school sponsored version of their traditional Bonfire

Aggie Bonfire

Aggie Bonfire was a long-standing tradition at Texas A&M University as part of the college rivalry with the University of Texas at Austin. For 90 years, Texas A&M students—known as Aggies—built and burned a bonfire on campus each autumn...

but an unofficial "Student Bonfire" will burn on November 22, 2008. The Longhorns will hold their traditional Hex Rally

Hex Rally

Hex Rally was a pep rally at The University of Texas at Austin that occurred in the week prior to the annual football game between the Texas Longhorns and their in-state rivals, the Texas A&M Aggies.-History:...

November 24, 2008. The Aggies came into the 2008 game with a 4–7 record, assuring that they would have a losing season no matter the outcome of the game with UT.

The weather forecast called for a game-time temperature of 70 °F (21.1 °C) and a 40% chance of rain. Odds makers in Las Vegas predicted Texas would win by 35 points. The biggest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry occurred when Texas beat A&M 48–0 in 1898. Texas nearly equaled that record this year by producing a 49–9 victory, the second-largest margin of victory for this rivalry series.

The win was the 31st for Colt McCoy, setting a new school record. It was also the 200th career win for Mack Brown, and it set a new attendance record for UT, the State of Texas, the Big 12 Conference, and the southwest region. Texas entered the season trailing Michigan and Notre Dame in the list of all-time victories. With the win, Texas finished its regular season 11–1, bringing its all-time win total to 831. Notre Dame compiled a 6–6 regular season record, increasing its win total to 830. Thus, Texas passed Notre Dame and now holds the #2 spot as of the completion of the 2008 regular season.

McCoy threw ran for 2 touchdowns and threw for 2 more. He completed 23 of 28 attempted passes for a totoal of 311 yards. That yardage put him at 3,594 yards for the season - another school record. His longest pass of the evening, 68 yarder on a post route to Jordan Shipley late in the third quarter, ended up a yard short of being McCoy’s fifth touchdown of the evening.

Oklahoma and Texas Tech also won their final regular-season games, which left in place a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 south. The tie was broken in favor of the Oklahoma Sooners using a controversial ranking formula (see below). Thus, Oklahoma advanced to play in the 2008 Big 12 Championship Game

2008 Big 12 Championship Game

The 2008 Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game was held on December 6, 2008 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and pitted two of the divisional winners from the Big 12 Conference: the Missouri Tigers, winner of the North division against the Oklahoma Sooners, co-champion of the South...

and Texas waited for the results of that game to determine which bowl game would select Texas.

2009 Fiesta Bowl - Ohio State

After being passed over in the selection for the 2009 BCS National Championship Game

2009 BCS National Championship Game

The 2009 BCS National Championship Game, sponsored by FedEx, was an American football game played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on January 8, 2009. It was the national championship game for the 2008 college football season, and featured the second-ranked Florida Gators against the...

(see below), Texas accepted an invitation to play the Ohio State Buckeyes

2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

(OSU). The day the bowl bids were announced the sports betting line opened with Texas as ten-point favorites, the most of any of the 2009 BCS bowls. Texas and Ohio State have two of the longest-running programs in college football, but they have played each other only twice. Texas won the 2005 game

2005 Texas vs. Ohio State football game

Texas vs. Ohio State football game, played September 10, 2005, was the first-ever meeting between The University of Texas at Austin and The Ohio State University in a college football game. The two teams came into the game ranked No. 2 and No. 4, respectively. It was the second game of...

in route to winning their most recent national championship. In the 2006 game, which was won by Ohio State, OSU and Texas were ranked #1 and #2 respectively. It was only the 36th time that the top two teams in college football had ever faced each other.

With under a minute to play, Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy engineered a comeback, and capped off the drive with a pass to WR Quan Cosby. Cosby eluded 2 defenders and ran almost 35 yards to score a touchdown.
On the ensuing Ohio State drive which started with about 40 seconds on the clock, the Texas defense stepped up, and denied Ohio State from scoring. With a couple of seconds on the clock, Ohio State tried a hail mary, in vain.

Rankings and championship possibilities

Ranking Movement
Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Final
AP	11	10	8	7	7	5	5	1	1	1	5	4	4	4	3	3	4
Coaches'	10	9	8	7	7	5	5	1	1	1	7	5	4	4	3	3	3
Harris	Not released					5	5	1	1	1	6	4	4	4	4	3
BCS*	Not released								1	1	4	3	3	2	3	3

The BCS does not have an end-of-season ranking. It exists only to match up the top-two teams in a Bowl Game, and declares the winner of that team the BCS National Championship.

In order to have played in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game

2009 BCS National Championship Game

at the end of the 2008 season, Texas would have needed to have been ranked #1 or #2 in the final BCS rankings of the season. Texas rose to first place in the BCS rankings following their win over Missouri. They held that position for two weeks before losing to Texas Tech and dropping to fourth. The loss to Texas Tech on November 1 left the Longhorns dependent on the play of other teams to determine UT's fate for the season. Texas won the rest of their games, but so did Oklahoma. Texas Tech's only regular season loss was to Oklahoma.
Because the three teams finished in a three-way tie, the final BCS poll of the season served as the tie-breaker.

In the November 9 BCS rankings the Longhorns rose to third place due to a loss by Penn State

2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the 2008 college football season. The team is coached by Joe Paterno and plays its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.-Previous season:...

, who had been in third place. Alabama

2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

was in the top position, Texas Tech was second, Florida

2008 Florida Gators football team

The 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 college football season...

fourth, and Oklahoma fifth. The following weekend, Alabama, Texas, and Florida won while Texas Tech and Oklahoma did not play. The top five rankings remained unchanged except that Texas switched places with Oklahoma in the Coaches' Poll, moving up to fourth place.

When Texas only had its final game of the regular season, against Texas A&M, Texas Tech had two games remaining: against Oklahoma and Baylor. Besides Tech, Oklahoma still had a game pending against Oklahoma State. Alabama still faced Auburn

2008 Auburn Tigers football team

The 2008 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University during 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Tommy Tuberville served his tenth season as head coach at Auburn...

and then the 2008 SEC Championship Game

2008 SEC Championship Game

The 2008 Dr Pepper SEC Championship Game was played on December 6, 2008 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia to determine the 2008 football champion of the Southeastern Conference . The game featured the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Gators were classified as the home team...

against Florida. Florida faced The Citadel prior to meeting Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. That left a variety of scenarios possible for Texas' championship hopes, provided they won against A&M.

However, Texas could have played for the national championship without winning the Big 12 Conference or even the Big 12 South Division. This was possible because the BCS rules do not require a team to win their conference to play for the championship; the rules only require the team to be in one of the top two spots in the final rankings. A similar occurrence happened in the 2001 season

2001 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time.The Hurricanes were led by Larry Coker, who was in his first year as head coach after five years as Miami's offensive coordinator under Butch Davis...

and the 2003 season

2003 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in a split national championship. This was the first split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to eliminate....

. In 2001, Nebraska

2001 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 2001 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Frank Solich and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Schedule:...

did not play in the Big 12 Championship but went on to play for the national title. In 2003, the Sooners entered Big 12 Conference Championship ranked number one in the BCS rankings, but lost to Kansas State. They only to second place and went on to the BCS championship.

45–35 campaign and BCS controversy

On November 22 Oklahoma beat Texas Tech 65–21 in Norman, Oklahoma. The win dropped Texas Tech to #7 in the BCS and moved Texas and Oklahoma to #2 and #3, respectively. It also forced a three-way tie in the Big 12 South division between Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma. Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech each had one remaining regular season game. Texas played Texas A&M on Thanksgiving (November 27) and won 49–9. Texas Tech played Baylor on November 29 and won 35–28. Oklahoma played Oklahoma State on the same day and won 61–41. According to Big 12 Conference tie-breaker rules, when three teams finish tied, the highest in the BCS on December 1 goes to the Big 12 Championship Game. If Texas had finished #1 or #2 in the BCS, they would have gone to the National Championship Game even without going to the Big 12 Championship Game. BCS rules exist primarily to match up #1 vs. #2, and the rules prohibit three teams from the same conference making BCS berths.

Polls prior to final regular season games

According to the average rankings by Jeff Sagarin

Jeff Sagarin

Jeff Sagarin is an American sports statistician well-known for his development of a methodology for ranking and rating sports teams in a variety of sports...

, Texas was the top team in the country followed by Oklahoma. Sagarin's ELO_CHESS ranking is a portion of the BCS computer rankings and it does not consider margin of victory. UT scored 93.56% vs 92.32% for Oklahoma. Sagarin's PREDICTOR score does include margin of victory in its calculation, but it is not part of the BCS formula. In this score, Texas still ranked higher than OU (95.28% vs 94.79%) and Texas Tech (89.35%) but the top three teams were USC (99.94%), Florida (99.58%), and Penn State (95.34%).

Texas combined BCS point average was 92.09% and Oklahoma's was 91.25%, for a separation of .84%. The human voters in the Coaches' Poll and Harris Interactive Poll, which each comprise 1/3 of the BCS formula, had moved Oklahoma ahead of Texas despite the fact that Texas defeated Oklahoma 45–35 on a neutral field. Texas had a substantial lead over OU in the computer rankings (96% to 90%). However, the computer rankings factor in the ranking of opponents being played. OU faced OSU who was ranked 12th in the BCS, while Texas played an unranked Texas A&M. With both teams winning, the Sooners edged past the Longhorns.

45–35 campaign

Longhorn fans created a 45–35 campaign to remind voters in the AP and Coaches' polls that Texas beat OU 45-35 on a neutral field. Sophomore Austin Talbert created a Facebook

Facebook

group titled Texas did beat OU 45–35, lest we forget. and senior Matt Parks created a website titled Better Consider the Scoreboard. The campaign raised over $7,500 to have 20,000 45-35 signs printed for the Texas A&M at Texas game and to have a plane bearing the message Texas 45 OU 35 — settled on a neutral field fly over ESPN GameDay prior to the Oklahoma at Oklahoma State game. Excess proceeds were donated to the UT Orange Santa program and the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer research. The Daily Texan printed an additional 5,000 to 30,000 signs.

John Biano, UT's assistant athletic director for media relations, said that the campaign was done "independently" of the university.

The campaign was covered by the Austin-American Statesman, CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

, the Dallas Morning News, the Denver Post, ESPN

ESPN

, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...

, the Houston Chronicle

Houston Chronicle

, the Kansas City Star, KEYE-TV

KEYE-TV

KEYE-TV, digital channel 43 , is the CBS affiliate in Austin, Texas. It is owned by the Four Points Media Group, LLC Sinclair Broadcasting Group has announced a purchase of the the Four Points stations, and has begun operating KEYE-TV through a local service agreement in anticipation of FCC...

, the New York Times, the Oklahoman

The Oklahoman

The Oklahoman is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma and is the only daily newspaper that covers the entire Oklahoma City area.-Ownership:...

, and the San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Express-News

The San Antonio Express-News is the daily newspaper of San Antonio, Texas. It is ranked as the third-largest daily newspaper in the state of Texas in terms of circulation, and is one of the leading news sources of South Texas, with offices in Austin, Brownsville, Laredo, and Mexico City...

Texas Tech and Oklahoma fan response

In response to the 45–35 campaign, Texas Tech and Oklahoma fans created a 39–33 campaign to remind voters that Texas Tech beat Texas 39–33 in Lubbock. An anonymous individual also created a website titled The game that Texas Longhorn fans seem to have forgotten. Tech Alumnus Shane Walker and other Red Raider fans also raised money to have their own plane fly over ESPN GameDay at the OU at Oklahoma State game, with a banner carrying the website "www.39-33.com".

That campaign was covered by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...

and the Oklahoman.

Results

In the Coaches' Poll, Oklahoma lost 15 votes, but remained at #2 with 1,397 votes while Texas gained 26 votes to move up to #3 with 1,396 votes. In the Harris poll, Texas gained two votes to pass OU and move up to #3 while OU lost 29 votes to fall to #4. In the AP poll, Texas gained six votes to pass OU and move up to #3 while OU lost six votes to fall to the #4 position. In the Sagarin ratings, one of the six computer polls that makes up one third of the BCS rankings, one loss Oklahoma moved into the #1 spot, jumping undefeated Alabama. Texas moved up to the #2 spot.

Oklahoma and Missouri both went to the Big 12 Championship Game, so the game featured two teams that Texas beat by double digits. Oklahoma beat Missouri 62–21 and finished ranked #1 in the final BCS standings. Oklahoma would then go on to lose the BCS Championship to Florida, 24-14. Texas Tech also lost their bowl game to Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl. Texas would win the BCS Fiesta Bowl over Ohio State, 24-21.

External links

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