Train wreck in Austin

[j_dog]

Train wreck in Austin to happen Saturday.

Link:

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/09/26/26texfoot.html

Newsflash! Sam Houston rolled by Longhorns!

[kaorder1999]

what's it about...i dont feel like registering

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
what's it about...i dont feel like registering

TEXAS LONGHORNS FOOTBALL

Why play Sam Houston State?
More and more teams like the Bearkats are appearing on the schedules of Division I-A teams.
By Suzanne Halliburton

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Talk about a tough assignment for Texas Coach Mack Brown.

The annual Oklahoma grudge date is so close the Longhorns can almost smell the corny dogs served on the State Fair midway.

Yet next on the schedule is Sam Houston State — the first NCAA Division I-AA foe Texas has played in 14 years. The 2-1 Bearkats aren't even considered an upper-echelon team in I-AA, yet they stand between Texas and its date with Oklahoma in Dallas on Oct. 7.

Brown has a ready motto for such games. "Play to a standard," he tells his players.

Ignore people who want to downplay the Bearkats, Brown says. Refuse to listen if someone tries to steer the conversation toward the Sooners.

"It is a regular Saturday," Brown insisted Monday. "Ask the teams that have lost to I-AA teams so far this year. The only way this one gets big is to not play well or to lose it. So we'll play as hard as we can, as well as we can, and we've got to continue to get better.

"What we will fight this week is media and fans not talking about the importance of the game, and our guys need to be more mature than that. We play every game exactly the same."

It's a game with little upside, other than some members of Texas' banged-up defense can use Saturday to heal the bruises and sprains. Oddsmakers haven't even established a point spread.

In its only other game against Division I-A competition, Sam Houston lost to Southern Methodist, 45-14.

Samson-Goliath matchups make headlines when the giants lose: Colorado drops a home opener to Montana State, or New Hampshire shocks Northwestern.

But playing such schools has become normal now that the NCAA has expanded schedules from 11 games to 12.

Texas last took on a Division I-AA team in 1992, when the Longhorns opened the season with a 33-15 victory over North Texas. That season, I-AA games didn't count for bowl eligibility, and the Longhorns missed the postseason with a 6-5 record.

The NCAA now allows one victory over a I-AA team per season to count toward a bowl invitation. And many schools are playing teams from the smaller division.

Oklahoma is the only Big 12 school without a I-AA team on the schedule this season. The Sooners added Middle Tennessee State as their 12th game. Middle Tennessee has been a I-A program since 1999.

In the past five years, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State have played a total of five I-AA opponents. Nebraska and Texas Tech have each scheduled four.

This season, 14 teams ranked in the top 25 have I-AA opponents on the schedule, including No. 4 West Virginia, No. 5 Florida, No. 10 Georgia and No. 11 Virginia Tech.

Brown has been quick to point out that neither he nor his team had any input on the scheduling.

The Sam Houston decision for this fall was made in August 2005. Butch Worley, the UT associate athletic director who puts together the football schedules, said the Longhorns were looking for a "buy" game, one in which they didn't have to return with a road appearance. The initial opening was for Sept. 23, but Worley could find no takers.

Texas and Iowa State then agreed to move their game to the 23rd to allow the Longhorns a bit more scheduling freedom. Still, no takers.

Worley said several Division I-A schools showed some lukewarm interest but wanted between $700,000-800,000 to play the Longhorns. With many Division I-A teams shopping for an additional game, financial guarantees started escalating.

"These (I-AA) schools felt like they had some leverage," Worley said. "They could go to the highest bidder."

The most the Longhorns have paid a home opponent is the $500,000 Louisiana-Lafayette received last fall. Sam Houston will receive $275,000.

Worley said Monday UT has no more plans to schedule a I-AA opponent. The Longhorns still need to find opponents for the season openers in 2007-09.

Texas players weren't shrugging off Sam Houston on Monday. No one mentioned Oklahoma.

They've heard enough preaching from Brown.

"We're going to approach it like any other Saturday," said wide receiver Limas Sweed. "On any Saturday, anybody can win."

shalliburton@statesman.com; 445-3954

[kaorder1999]

Mack Brown has his players focused on Sam Houston but the coaches are focused on another team North of Austin!

[Bull19]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by pirate4state
[B]TEXAS LONGHORNS FOOTBALL

"We're going to approach it like any other Saturday," said wide receiver Limas Sweed. "On any Saturday, anybody can win."

IM SURE HE WILL EXCEPT HE'LL PROLY GO OUT AND PARTY THE NIGHT BEFORE AND HE MIGHT EVEN BRING HIS ALGEBRA BOOK AND CATCH UP ON A LITTLE HOMEWORK DURING THE GAME.....FOR THE HORNS THIS GAME = A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

I'm happy for my BearKats! Glad they get to play Texas and maybe they get some extra exposure. No chance for a win but those guys that play there will be telling their grandkids..oh yes I remember back when I played against Texas and...

[Phil C]

Originally posted by Z motion 10 out on 2
I'm happy for my BearKats! Glad they get to play Texas and maybe they get some extra exposure. No chance for a win but those guys that play there will be telling their grandkids..oh yes I remember back when I played against Texas and...

It is what happens after the and that has me worried right now.