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The 2006 Texas Longhorn football team is representing the University of Texas in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team is coached by head football coach Mack Brown, who received the 2006 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year".. The Longhorns (also known as Texas or UT or the Horns) play their home games in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (DKR), which is undergoing some renovations to improve older sections as well as to add extra seating capacity.

The previous year's team won both the Big 12 Conference championship and the National Championship, which marked the fourth national championship for the Longhorns. It was their second Big 12 Championship (26 conference championships total, including 24 in the Southwest Conference), and fourth consensus national championship in football. Their championship victory in the 2006 Rose Bowl was also the 800th win for the program and the Longhorns enter the season ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage (.7143).

The game against Ohio State University in September was one of the most anticipated college football games of the regular season. As of November 12, 2006 the team is ranked in the AP poll as number 11th in the nation and number 13th in the BCS rankings, with an overall record of 9 wins - 2 losses, and a 6-1 record in conference games.

Pre-season

Texas' biggest loss was the decision by quarterback Vince Young, winner of the 2006 Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player award, to enter the 2006 NFL Draft, where he was the #3 over-all pick and first quarterback selected. The Horns' had three options to replace Young: redshirt freshman Colt McCoy, true freshman Jevan Snead, or true freshman Sherrod Harris. Prior to the season, Coach Brown announced that McCoy would be the starter with Snead also getting some game-time.

With the exception of Vince Young, David Thomas, Jonathan Scott, and Will Allen, Texas returned most of their key offensive players from 2005–2006, including fifth-year senior running back Selvin Young, true sophomore running back Jamaal Charles, receivers Quan Cosby, Billy Pittman, and Limas Sweed and lineman Lyle Sendlein, Kasey Studdard, and Justin Blalock. The defense lost starters Rodrique Wright, Aaron Harris, Cedric Griffin and Michael Huff.

In most early preseason rankings, Texas was listed in the top five. In the initial USA Today Coaches' Poll, which is part of the Bowl Championship Series formula for determining which two teams play for the National Championship, Texas was ranked number two. The same poll has Ohio State number 1, raising expectations that the 9 September 2006 game between the two teams could be a rare early-season meeting of the two most highly ranked teams in the sport.

See also 2006 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Stadium renovations

US$15 million have been allocated by the Board of Regents for stadium renovations. Stage one, which began on November 14, 2005, involves updating Bellmont Hall — which sits in the west end of the stadium — to meet newer safety codes set by the Austin Fire Department. Also included are water sealing the stadium and the expansion of both the Centennial Room and eighth-floor press box..

$8 million are being spent on audiovisual improvements, the centerpiece of which is a 7,370 square foot high-definition Daktronics LED scoreboard, aptly nicknamed "Godzillatron." At the time of its creation, Godzillatron was the first high-definition video screen in college sports and it was also called the largest high-definition video screen in the world, though it was quickly surpassed by a larger screen in Tokyo. It is still the largest high-definition video screen in collegiate sports.. Depending on how the measurement is made, it may be the largest high definition screen in the Western hemisphere. The Miami Dolphins have a high-definition screen with a larger diagonal measurement, but Godzillatron has greater square footage. The screen has a pixel resolution of 848 x 2064. Previously, two scoreboards were in place, one in the south end and one in the north end. The new scoreboard replaces the one in the south end. The north end currently does not feature a scoreboard as it has been removed in preparation for the addition of extra seats in the Phase 2 expansion, which is expected to conclude in 2008. The new scoreboard also required the removal of the six large flag poles that previously displayed the Six flags over Texas. These have been replaced by smaller flags.

One downside for fans is that the screen can be used to allow more obtrusive advertising to be displayed during games. It has been controversial among fans because more than 50% of the screen is being used for advertising. This has led to some fans calling the new screen "Adzillatron". Complaints have also been made about the scoreboard being too loud and about it broadcasting advertisements to those in the stadium, even over the top of the band playing in the stadium. In its first usage, the portion of the new screen that was typically used for showing replays and film highlights was approximately the same size as the old video screen. More recent games have featured a 16:9 format image centered in a ring of advertisement. Never-the-less, complaints continue about the advertising, with some fans shouting out "We won't shop/eat/bank there" when advertisements are played loudly in the stadium.

A new, temporary, bleacher seating section has been added behind the south endzone bringing the stadium's stated capacity to 85,123 for the 2006 season. In mid-July 2006, The University of Texas announced that they had completely sold out Memorial Stadium for the upcoming 2006 season. This announcement meant that for the first time in the history of the university, tickets would not be sold on an individual game basis.

Schedule

Game notes

North Texas

The college debut game of redshirt freshman quarterback Colt McCoy allowed him a quick entry into the scorebooks when 1 min. and 8 seconds into the game he threw a 60 yd. touchdown pass to Limas Sweed. McCoy threw 12 of 19 for 178 yards with 3 touchdowns through the air, two of which were to Sweed. McCoy also picked up 38 yards rushing including a touchdown run. The game would also be the college debut of true freshman quarterback Jevan Sneed who completed 3 of 7 for 20 yards and also threw his first interception. The offense had a 410 yard game.

The defense did its job holding the North Texas offense to only one touchdown. Defensive End Aaron Lewis recorded his first career forced fumble, fumble recovery, and touchdown in the same play. The defense held North Texas to 8 yard rushing and 87 yards passing.

The win extends Texas' streak to 21, which is currently the longest in the NCAA. The game's attendance was 85,123, a new school record and the 34th consecutive sellout.

Ohio State

The game against Ohio State University was one of the most anticipated college football games of the regular season. The two teams had combined for 1,576 victories in 231 total years of football prior to meeting with the Horns ranking third on the NCAA all-time victory list with 801 wins and the Buckeye's ranking sixth with 775.

As a result of Texas' win over North Texas and Notre Dame's lackluster win over Georgia Tech, the Longhorns moved up to second position in the Associated Press poll. They already held the number 2 position in the coach's poll, and Ohio State University remained at number 1 in both polls. Therefore, the 2006-09-09 game between Texas and Ohio State became a match-up of college football's #1 and #2 ranked teams for only the 36th time in NCAA history. The Longhorns were part of the 35th meeting of top-ranked teams when the 2005 Longhorns defeated USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl.

Ohio State is only the second top-ranked team to ever play as a visiting football team in Austin, Texas. The other was SMU when then-No. 7 Texas beat the Mustangs 23-20 on 4 November 1950. Ohio State has participated in two No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups in school history and holds a record of two wins and no losses (2-0). The most recent such win for Ohio State occurred when then No. 2 Ohio State defeated Miami University in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl to claim the National Championship. Texas has a (4-0) record in No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups with all four previous victories coming en-route to national championship seasons. The last time UT played in a No. 1 vs. No 2. regular season game was a win over the top-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks in one of the most famous games of the UT-AK rivalry. The game marked the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the regular season since 1996, when No. 2 Florida State beat No. 1 Florida 24-21. The September 9 meeting was the earliest for the #1 and #2 teams to ever face each other in any college football season.

On September 4 2006, five days prior to the game, two players and one former player were arrested in Austin and charged for marijuana possession, a Class B misdemeanor. The two current players, Tarell Brown and Tyrell Gatewood, were suspended from the team and did not play in the 9 September 2006 game against the 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team. Brown was also charged with a Class A misdemeanor weapons violation for being in possession of a firearm without a permit. Tarell Brown was listed as a starting cornerback and may have covered Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. in that game. Replacements included Ryan Palmer and Brandon Foster, neither of whom had started a college game. The former player, who was the owner of the handgun, is former UT linebacker Aaron Harris.

"I think it will be one of the most exciting games in the history of this school," said Texas coach Mack Brown. He said he had listed Ohio State at the top of his ballot in the coach's poll prior to the game. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel stated in a news conference that he cast his vote for Texas as the number one school coming into the game, but it was later revealed that his ballot listed Ohio State as number one.

Two United States Senators, Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, placed a wager on the game. If Texas had won, DeWine would have delivered his wife's homemade, chocolate-covered peanut butter Buckeye candies to Hutchison. If Ohio State won, Hutchison promised to give DeWine some Blue Bell ice cream, made in Texas. In sports book betting in Las Vegas, Nevada the day prior to the game, Texas was favored to win the game by 2 to 2 1/2 points.

Ohio State won the game 24-7. The attendance was 89,422, the most people to ever watch a football game in the state of Texas.

Texas's loss may result in their being eliminated from competition for the National Championship. Since the Bowl Championship Series was formed in 1998, 11 of the 16 teams were unbeaten going into the game. The only time the national champion has not been unbeaten during that stretch was in 2003 when LSU and USC claimed a share of the title as each finished with one loss. Ohio State tackle Dirk Barton said "There’ll probably be two undefeated teams at the end of the road and if you’re not one of them you’re probably not going to be playing for the championship. So you’ve got to treat every game like it’s the Super Bowl. You only get one opportunity."

Rice

Texas and Rice met in 2006 for the 89th time. The series, which began in 1914, is the fourth oldest (by number of games) in Texas history.

Texas and Rice were once conference foes in the Southwest Conference, despite the usual mismatch in ability on the field (66 Texas wins vs 21 wins for Rice, with one tie). This was alluded to by President John F. Kennedy when he compared the challenge of going to the moon to the challenge faced when Rice played Texas. In addition to renewing a traditional rivalry, playing Rice in a "home and away" series allows for Texas to play games in Houston, Texas, a city that is an important recruiting base for UT, along with having a significant Texas Exes alumni population.

The game was the first time for Rice offensive coordinator Major Applewhite to face his former college team, where he enjoys "cult legend" status. Applewhite was a quarterback for Texas from 1998 to 2001 and set 48 school records. Many of these still stand, including the longest pass play (97 yeards), most touchdown passes in a career (60), career yards (8,353), consecutive passes without an interception (156) and most yards passing in a game (473). At Rice, Applewhite has taken the team away from the "Wishbone" offense and moved them to a more modern, one-running-back formation similar to that used by Texas.

Rice won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, allowing Texas to start the game on offense. Texas' opening drive used 7 rushing plays (no passes) and just over 3 minutes to drive 65 yards for a touchdown. Texas followed up by scoring a touchdown on its second possession and a field goal on its third possession to earn a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Texas won the game 52-7.

Iowa State

Texas began conference play on 23 September 2006 vs the Iowa State Cyclones. This was the 6th match-up between the two teams and Texas had won all five previous matchups.

The first quarter saw scoring from both sides. Iowa State opened the game on offense but failed to gain a first down, going "three and out" and having to punt to Texas. Texas scored a touch-down on their resulting drive. On Iowa State's second possession, Texas again stopped them from making a first down. This time, as Iowa State went to punt, the ball went out of the back of their end zone, resulting in a safety for Texas. Texas scored another touch-down on their second possession. This time, Iowa State answered to make the score 7-16.

At the end of the third quarter, the officials called a delay due to lightning in the area. When the game resumed, neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

Sam Houston State

With the decision by the NCAA to allow teams to expand to a 12 game schedule, Texas elected to add Division I-AA Sam Houston State to their schedule. Because of the mis-match in opponent skill, the game was the first UT game since 2004 not to be televised nationally on broadcast or cable. The game was available nationally on pay per view from DirecTV and Dish Network, as well regionally on FSN pay per view. This was the first ever meeting of the Texas Longhorns and the Sam Houston State Bearkats and the first time for Texas to play a Division I-AA team in fourteen years.

Texas won the game 56-3.

University of Oklahoma

The Longhorns and the 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team met at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for their annual rivalry game known as the Red River Shootout. This marked the 101st meeting between the schools. Texas came into the game leading the series 56-39-5 overall and 44-35-4 at the Cotton Bowl. In 2005, the Longhorns broke a 5-year losing streak on their way to win the national championship.

Three days prior to the game, UT fans conducted the traditional Torchlight Parade and Rally, terminating on the South Mall of the UT campus. 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 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.

The teams alternate home and away each year, and this year the Sooners played host. They occupied the bench under the press box and wore their red home jerseys while Texas will wore their all-white road uniform. The stadium, as usual, was split down the 50-yard line with Sooner fans sitting on the south side of mid-field. The division is visually striking and the difference in crowd noise levels from one end of the stadium to the other almost always has a direct impact on the game. Beginning in 2007, the teams will alternate North and South ends of the field, thereby giving the home team fans the seats adjacent to the tunnel leading to both teams' locker rooms. The game is worth an estimated USD 21 million in direct spending to the Dallas economy. The UT ticket office controls 37,000 tickets for the game, 7,000 of which were assigned to student season ticket holders plus another 2,000 assigned to students through a lottery. On e-Bay, tickets were selling for over $500.

As intense as the rivalry between the schools is, there were many factors tying the programs together in 2006. Texas head coach Mack Brown was the Offensive Coordinator for the Sooners in 1984 (the Red River Shootout ended in a 15-15 tie that year). He is also the brother of UAB head coach Watson Brown, who lost to OU at the beginning of the 2006 season. Oklahoma Co-defensive Coordinator and defensive backs coach Bobby Jack Wright was an assistant coach at Texas from 1986 to '97. OU also had two Austin natives on their roster this season, QB Hays McEachern and WR Fred Strong. McEachern's father was the Texas quarterback in 1977 and 1978 and his mother was a Longhorn cheerleader.

Now that the two teams are together in the south division of the same conference, it is difficult for either team to win their half of the conference without winning this game. The winner of the game will most likely go on to be the Big XII South division champion and play in the Big 12 Conference championship game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The game often has national title implications as well. Since 1999, the winner in of this rivalry game has gone on to the BCS National Championship on 3 occasions, the Sooners in 2000 and 2004, and the Longhorns in 2005. Prior to the game, the sports line in Vegas caninos was 4 to 41/2 points with Texas the favorite.

McCoy got his first win over a ranked team as well as his first come-from-behind victory when he threw 2 touchdown passes and led the Longhorns to defeat Oklahoma 28-10. He threw 11 completed passes in 18 attempts for a total of 108 passing, with no interceptions.

The 2 touchdowns by McCoy give him 12 touchdown passes for the season, tied for third with Longhorn passer James Brown in the list of most touchdowns by a fressman. Despite a prediction by the UT student newspaper, Texas stayed with McCoy for the entire game and never used back-up quarterback Jevan Snead. The win gave Texas it's second win in a row vs Oklahoma and 17th straight conference win.

Oklahoma outgained Texas 333 to 232 in total yards, but the Sooners turned the ball over five times to none by Texas. Four of Oklahoma's turnover occurred in the second half. Texas' Aaron Ross was credited with three of those turnovers, as he intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. It was the first time since 1967 that Texas avoided making a turnover in the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma also suffered from penalties, committing 11 to the Longhorns' 3. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said after the game, "They made the plays and the turnovers, and we did not. Congratulations to them."

The attendance for the game, 76,260, was second highest for a Texas-OU game behind the 79,587 who saw the 2004 game. Fans in the Oklahoma end of the stadium were filing out to the State Fair of Texas with more than seven minutes left and they were practically all gone with one minute remaining as the Longhorn fans chanted "Poor Sooners" and soon after, sang the Eyes of Texas. After the win, defensive end Brian Robison donned the Golden Hat from the Red River Shootout winner's trophy. He also planted a Longhorn flag in the turf of the Cotton Bowl. When combined with the 2005 score, the Longhorns have outscored the Sooners 75-22 for the Longhorns' largest winning margin across a two-game stretch in the 101-game history of the rivalry.

Baylor

The Longhorns first played Baylor in 1901 and faced them annually during the days of the Southwest Conference. In the 96 meetings through 2006, Texas' record was 70 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. The morning of the game, the betting line in Las Vegas was Texas by 27 1/2 - 28 points.

Baylor scored a 67-yard touchdown on their first play as Baylor quarterback Shawn Bell used a play action pass to fool the Longhorn defense. Bell then ran down the field flashing the upside-down Hook 'em Horns sign. Baylor added a field goal to outscore Texas 10 - 0 in the first quarter. Texas responded by forcing 3 turnovers in the second quarter and scoring touchdowns off of each of them. Texas scored a fourth touchdown to take a 28 - 10 lead into half time. The two teams each scored 14 points in the third quarter while in the final quarter Texas scored 21 to 7 points by Baylor. The final score was Texas 63, Baylor 31.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy threw six touchdown passes in the game, the most ever by a Texas quarterback. The previous record of 5 touchdown passes had been held by James Brown (set vs Baylor in 1994) and Chris Simms (vs Oklahoma State in 2001). McCoy completed 21-of-32 attempted passes for a totoal of 275 yards, with one interception. The game moved McCoy from eigth to fifth in the list of quarterbacks by passing efficiency, and the 18 touchdown passes he has thrown this season are the third most in the nation. Following the game, McCoy was selected as the Cingular All-America Player of the Week.

Nebraska

Aided by an Auburn victory against Florida, Texas moved up one spot to #5 in the AP poll following the win against Baylor. The first Bowl Championship Series rankings of the year were issued on 15 October 2006. Along with the AP poll, the BCS rankings use the Harris Interactive Poll and a series of computer scores to rank teams. Texas had a number 5 ranking in both human polls, but a combined computer ranking of 15th meant that the Longhorns entered the BCS poll rankied ninth.

The 2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers entered the game against Texas ranked 16 in both human polls and 19 in the computer rankings, for a total BCS ranking of 17th. Coming into the game, Texas was the third winningest program in college football, with 806 wins. Nebraska was fourth, having won their 800th game the previous weekend vs Kansas State. Only four teams have won 800 or more games: Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, and now Nebraska. The game marked the first time for Texas to face a 800-win program since Texas broke through the 800 win barrier. The 2006 football season also marked the first time for four 800-win programs to face off against each other, with Notre Dame and Michigan having played each other earlier in the season.

In terms of winning percentage, Texas ranked third at 71.52% while Nebraska ranked seventh at 70.57%. The two programs claim four national championships apiece. The environment at Lincoln has been considered one of the most hostile for an opposing team, due in part to the noise of the crowd.

Austin American-Statesman columnist Kirk Bohls predicted that Nebraska might pull off an upset against the Longhorns. Among the reasons he gave were that "Texas isn't a great running team (only a good one).." that "Texas' pass defense is very suspect..." and that Longhorn kicker Greg Johnson had only kicked one field goal all year. Bohls also speculated that Nebraska might have more motivation because "Texas has had Nebraska's number for a while,... knocked off the Huskers in the inaugural Big 12 football championship game at St. Louis to deprive Nebraska of a shot at another national title in 1996." In 1998, freshman quarterback Major Applewhite led the Longhorns to a victory over the seventh ranked Cornhuskers, snapping their 47-home game winning streak. they also ended the Cornhuskers new, national-best, winning streak at 26 in 2002. Coming into the 2006 game, Texas was the only team in the Big Twelve Conference holding a winning record vs. Nebraska, with a 6-4 lead. Texas leads the series 5-1 since the formation of the Big Twelve, and they are 4-1 against Nebraska since Mack Brown came to Texas.

Prior to the game, the betting line in Las Vegas casinos was Texas by 5 1/2 points. The game set a new stadium attendance record crowd of 85,187, the 280th consecutive sell-out at Nebraska. Before the game, Nebraska honored Mike Rozier for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. The Nebraska players all touched a horseshoe as the entered Memorial Stadium, which was referred to by a writer from The Daily Texan as "perhaps the most poished in the Big 12." The game featured 36-degree temperatures, winds out of the north at 20 miles per hour, rain, and snow flurries

Texas got the ball to start the game and Quan Cosby returned the kick-off to within the Nebraska 10 yard line. The Longhorns were unable to score a touchdown and had to settle for a field goal. Nebraska scored a first quarter touchdown. Texas scored 14 points in the second quarter, but kicker Greg Johsnon had one of the two extra points blocked, so the score at half-time had Texas ahead 16 to 7. Johnson also missed 2 field goals during the game. Neither team scored in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter with Nebraska trailing by 6, Coach Callahan called what seemed to be a sweep play similar to ones they had used earlier in the game. However, when running back Marlon Lucky got the pitch, he stopped and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to an open Nate Swift in the end zone. The extra point gave Nebraska a one-point lead with 4:54 seconds left in the game. Texas safety Aaron Ross took responsibility for over-pursuing on the run; "It was my fault. The receiver did a great job pretending like he was blocking, I came down to force on the run, and they beat us deep."

After Texas was forced to punt, Nebraska only had to run out the clock to ensure victory. On first and second down, Brandon Jackson rushed twice, netting seven yards and bringing up a third down with three yards to go and 2:23 remaining on the clock. Sticking with the running game would help run out the clock but Texas' defense had limited Nebraska's running offense to only 36 yards, far less than their 207.7 average. Facing third-and-three on their own 36, Nebraska choose a passing play and NU receiver Terrance Nunn was able to pick up the first down. Had the play ended there, Nebraska would likely have been able to run out the clock since Texas had no time-outs remaining. Before Nunn went down, however, Aaron Ross tackled him with his head down and used his helmet to knock the ball loose. The fumble was recovered by Texas safety Marcus Griffin at the Nebraska 44 yard-line with 2:17 left.

Colt McCoy led the Longhorns through the snow flurries to the Nebraska 5. With less than a minute remaining, Nebraska leading by one point, and the Horns facing fourth down, Texas needed a field-goal to win. Johnson had already missed three kicks (2 field goals and an extra point) and he told Coach Brown late in the game that his leg was tightening up. Brown looked to walk-on Sophomore Ryan Bailey to attempt the kick. Bailey was not listed on UT's depth chart and coach Brown later admitted he wasn't sure whether Bailey had even been on the team as a freshman. Bailey had made only 10 kicks as a high-school kicker from Anderson High School in Austin, Texas and he had never attempted a kick for the Longhorns. The trip to Nebraska was only the second time he had ever been included in the travel roster, which is limited to 64 players. Before the kick, Brown told him "You're the luckiest guy in the world. You've got a chance to be Dusty Mangum on your first kick." Mangum had scored the game winning field goal as time expired to lift the Longhorns to victory over the Michigan Wolverines in the 2005 Rose Bowl.

Before Bailey could attempt the kick, Nebraska Coach Callahan attempted to ice the kicker by using his coach's challenge to have the officials review the preceeding third down play. The play was reviewed and allowed to stand as an incomplete pass, as called on the field. Brown gave Bailey a swat on the helmet and Bailey jogged onto the field and calmy made the kick. Nebraska had time for two shots at the end-zone but both passes were broken up, and Texas won the game by 2 points, 22-20. Bailey said afterwards, "Actually, the only thing I really remember about being on the field was when the offensive line turned around and said 'Let's just block for 1.3 seconds. Just give him a chance to get the ball off.'"

The win was Texas' 16th straight road game victory, extending a school record, and 19th consecutive win in conference play. The latter streak is the second longest in the country, following the conference game winning-steak of USC. The game was the first time for Colt McCoy to lead the Longhorns to a come-from-behind victory in the fourth quarter.

The Longhorns had several injuies during the game. Defensive starters Derek Lokey and Robert Killebrew both had to leave the game due to leg injuries. Cornerback Tarell Brown was seen limping badly after the game and kicker/punter Greg Johnson aggravated a previous injury on his fourth-quarter field goal.

Eric Ransom, a writer for The Daily Texan, dubbed the game "the comeback on the prairie" and declared the game an "instant classic". Former Longhorn quarterback Vince Young was on the sidelines for the first time since going to the NFL and he went to the Longhorn locker-room afterwards to congratulate the team on the win. Representatives from the Fiesta Bowl, the game that normally takes the Big 12 Conference champion, were also on hand.

There has been media speculation that Nebraska and Texas will win their respective conference divisions to play again in the Big 12 Conference Championship. This possibility was echoed in post-game interviews as both teams voiced respect for the other. Texas coach Mack Brown said, "Nebraska is back, For them to keep coming back and back and back — they made big plays throughout the game to put themselves in a position to win." He continued, "As soon as they back away from it, they'll see that their program is back on track, one of the best in the country. And they'll be excited about a chance to go play somebody in (the Big 12 championship game). Hopefully, if we can keep playing, it might be us." Nebraska cornerback Cortney Grixby said of Texas, "They kept their composure. That's the mark of a champion. And that's what they are."

Texas Tech

The Longhorns come into the game at Texas Tech with several injuries on defense. Five days prior to the game, the Longhorns anounced that starting defensive tackle Derek Lokey, injured in the Nebraska game, is out indefinitely with a broken left leg. Senior defensive end Tim Crowder said. "That's huge. He's the heart and soul of our defensive line. He didn't get a lot of credit, but he was the anchor." Lokey had 24 tackles and quarterback pressures and also spent some time at fullback. Luke Tiemann will take over Lokey's fullback duties while sophomore Roy Miller will start at Lokey's spot as nose tackle.

Roddrick Muckelroy, who started the first three games at linebacker, is still out indefinitely due to a ruptured finger tendon. Linebacker Robert Killebrew is questionable for the Texas Tech game. In addition, several defensive players have been playing with injuries. According to the Houston Chronicle these include twin-brother safeties "Marcus Griffin (ankle) and Michael Griffin (ankle), tackle Frank Okam (knee), cornerbacks Tarell Brown (toe) and Aaron Ross (hand) and end Brian Robison (ankle)". Linebacker Drew Kelson has also been suffering from an ankle injury. The 2005 national championship team only had one game missed by a defensive starter due to injury, but this years team has already had thirteen missed games due to injuries or suspensions.

During Mack Brown's time at Texas, he has only lost six road games in an opponent's stadium. The Red Raiders are the only team so far to have defeated the Longhorns twice in road games, and they have done so in four year increments with victories in 1998 and 2002. The 2002 game was lost by Texas 42-38, when defensive starters Derrick Johnson, Kalen Thornton, Marcus Tubbs and Nathan Vasher were all injured. Texas' coaching staff said that injuries are not an excuse to lose a ball game. Mack Brown said, "It's still a loss. Nobody cares. I used to talk about injuries all the time, and it does nothing good for your team. Some years you have them, and some years you don't... We've still got a chance for everything after eight games, and that's unbelievable." The most recent two Tech-Texas games had not been close score-wise, with Texas winning 51-21 in Lubbock in 2004 and 52-17 in Austin in 2005.

Texas Tech entered the game with a potent passing offense led by Sophomore quarterback Graham Harrell. He has completed 245 passes out of 356 attempts this year and he averages more than 313 passing yards per game. Just the previous week, he threw for 368 yards and career -high six touchdowns in a 42-26 win over Iowa State and the Red Raiders are averaging 48.6 passes per game.

On the other side of the ball, the Longhorns were ranked 84th in pass defense this season, giving up 221.8 yards per game. Tech senior defensive lineman Chris Hudler said Texas also possessed a powerful offense, "There is no room for error," he said. "Some teams you might be able to make mistakes and make up for them later. But they (Texas) have some of the best athletes in the country." Henry Melton, previously known as a tailback used by the Longhorns in short-yardage situations, ended up being used in the game at defensive end in an effort to give Texas more depth on defense.

Four days prior to the game, the betting line in Las Vegas casinos was Texas by 11 1/2 to 12 points. The game set a new attendance record for Texas Tech in Lubbock, with 56,158 in attendance.

Texas Tech got off to a quick start, outscoring the Longhorns 21-0 in the first quarter. Harrell compiled 364 passing yards and three touchdown passes against the Longhorn pass defense during the first half. That was more yards passing than Texas had previously given up during an entire game in the course of the 2006 season to date. Texas repsponed by outscoring Texas Tech 21-10 in the second quarter so that Tech led by 10 points at half-time.

By the end of the game, Texas Tech had completed 519 yards passing. This was only 14 yards short of the record for most-ever passing yardage against the Longhorns which was set by Jimmy Klinger of the University of Houston in 1992. Never-the-less, Tech found themselves trailing 35-31 with 4:24 left in the game and facing fourth down at the Texas 15-yard line. According to UT's Brian Robison, "We recognized from the splits that it was going to be a quarterback sneak," Texas stopped Graham Harrell to take possession of the football. Texas in turn was facing a third down and five yards-to-go with one and a half minutes left in the game. McCoy dropped back to pass but was under pressure from the defense. He first ran right and then revered direction to break into the open for a 34-yard gain before sliding down in the field of play. The clock started once the officials set the ball ready for play, and McCoy took a knee for the final snap to allow the clock to run out.

Playing with a busted lip since early in the game, Colt McCoy ended up with 256 passing yards and four touchdowns. He also contributed career-best 68 rushing yards, including the 33 yard scramble that helped seal the victory. The win may have had added significance for McCoy since he grew up only two hours from Lubbock, attended Tuscola Jim Ned high school, and is dating a Texas Tech student who serves as a recrutier for the Red Raiders football team. Although McCoy has now completed 24 touchdowns (2 shy of the UT single season record) he is known for shunning the limelight, preferring to give credit to his coaches and team mates. Former Texas wide receiver Roy Williams, who attended the game on the sidelines, said of McCoy "And you know what the scary thing is? He's not even good yet."

For Texas, coming back to win the game from a 21-0 deficit was the second biggest comeback win in school history and the biggest comeback ever in a road game. The Longhorns over came four turn-overs they committed during the win. For Texas Tech, the loss was only the third loss under Coach Leach when the Raiders held a lead at half-time. The 519 yards passing by Graham Harrell was a career-best. Wide receiver arrett Hicks had nine catches and the most receiving yards in the game at 156, but he left the game with an apparent head injury early in the second half. After the game, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal interviewed fans and reported "Many agreed that it was the most exciting game of the year, citing the big crowd and enthusiasm in the stadium."

After one pass interference penalty against the Red Raider, Tech defensive back Darcel McBath threw his mouthpiece towards the officials. After the game, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach implied that there may have been mistakes made by the officiating crew. He said, "There were some things that happened in the course of the game, in particular the second half, that were outside of our control that I'm not able to comment on that were very detrimental to our effort." Leach sent Big Twelve Conference officials a video tape showing 18 calls, no calls, or other rulings that were disputed by Texas Tech. The disputed play-calls include plays accounting for more than half of the penalty yardage assessed against Tech as well the spot of the ball following a 14-yard fourth down pass on Tech's penultimate drive of the game. The officals said that play came up less than a yard short of the first down marker, giving Texas the ball.

Oklahoma State

With the win over Texas Tech combined with the USC Trojans losing to the Oregon State Beavers, Texas moved up one spot to #4 in the Associated Press and Coach's polls. According to Fox Sports columnist Eric Moneypenny, "...we're gonna be left with Ohio State or Michigan against Texas. Maybe West Virginia can stay the course and somehow stay above Texas in the standings, but it seems doubtful should Texas run the table and win the Big 12." Texas got no boost in the BCS rankings however, as they passed USC but were passed by idle Louisville to remain at number seven in the BCS.

In each of the preceeding four games, Texas trailed their opponent for at least part of the game and managed to come back to win. This includes fourth quarter come-backs against Nebraska and Texas Tech. The win over Texas Tech was the biggest road come-back in UT's history, and the second biggest come-back ever. The biggest was against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 2004 in Austin.

The week prior to the 2006 game against Texas the Cowboys had scored 28 unanswered points in a come-from-behind upset of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Kansas State

Texas came into Manhattan, Kansas favored by 3 touchdowns against an unranked 6-4 Kansas State team, in a game they should of won but didn't. The Kansas State Wildcats upset #4 ranked Texas and were leading the Longhorns 42-21 in the 3rd quarter. The Longhorns, however, mounted a comeback, only to fall short 45-42 at the hands of the Wildcats. After the game a furious coach Mack Brown was seen screaming and yelling at his coordinators and assistant coaches, in particular his offensive coordinator Greg Davis. This win was not the first in Kansas State's history over a ranked team in the top 5 - as they depantsed #4 Nebraska in 2000 and slaughtered #1 Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game in 2003 - but it was the biggest win of Kansas State head coach Ron Prince's rookie season as a head coach. The Wildcats also won their third straight and guaranteed their first winning record since they won the Big 12 championship in 2003as the Wildcats improved to 7-4 overall. This defeat destroyed any chances of a repeat in the national championship game as Texas plummetted in the AP Poll to #11 and #13 in the BCS rankings .

Texas A&M

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