Looking at the game film of the Texas Longhorns, Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino might have caught himself watching in awe instead of jotting down notes.
“You do really look at them and say, ‘Wow, this is a really talented team. A really good football team,'” Mangino said. “But it kind of makes you want to dig deeper, and find out what can you do? How can we do this? How can we stop this?”
Problem is, no other coach in college football can help Mangino.
Undefeated Texas and 5-4 Kansas face off at 2:30 p.m. today at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium, with the Longhorns a 33-point favorite against one of the country’s most punishing defenses.
Something doesn’t seem right … right? Did Las Vegas oddsmakers goof, or has Texas proven enough through nine games to give Vegas a significant reason to believe today’s showdown will be a blowout, no matter the accomplishments of KU’s top-five D?
“That’s probably about right,” safety Rodney Fowler said with a laugh. “We’re always underdogs, though, so we don’t pay attention to that anymore.”
True, Kansas beat Missouri and Nebraska when Vegas said it wouldn’t happen. But Texas is a different beast. Ranked second in every major poll behind the USC juggernaut, debate has swirled over who really is more talented — the Trojans or the Longhorns.
Barring a pothole in the road — which the Jayhawks are aiming to be — the question will be answered in early January in Pasadena, Calif., home of the 2006 Rose Bowl.
That’s still three games away, though — which means three more opponents will try to throw a wrench just right to cause the giant Texas machine to crumble.
“We have to be determined, make plays and do everything we’re supposed to do,” Fowler said, “and let everything else work itself out.”
Same ol’ attitude
Kansas isn’t new to facing the country’s best. KU faced two top-10 teams last year — No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 6 Texas — and took the Longhorns to the wire before falling, 27-23, on a last-minute touchdown.
“It was a game we thought we could’ve won and a game we should’ve won,” linebacker Kevin Kane said. “We were a couple of plays short. It’ll definitely remain in the back of our heads.”
Oklahoma, meanwhile, beat Kansas, 41-10, and were whispered to be one of the top college football teams ever during its recent Jason White-led run. No national titles put the talk to rest, but the point is, the Jayhawks know what they’re getting into today.
“You have to mix it up against them,” Kane said of Texas. “We have to keep their offense off the field, and we have to keep ours on it. We have to stop their offense from making big plays and gaining any momentum.”
A fleet of playmakers, though, make that job daunting. Vince Young is considered a Heisman Trophy candidate and is one of college football’s most exciting players. His skill-player supporting cast includes running backs Selvin Young, Jamaal Charles and utility player Ramonce Taylor.
In addition, an All-America defensive tackle in Rodrique Wright and a blistering-fast secondary makes Texas one of the country’s best both offensively and defensively.
Texas has hung 40 in eight of its nine games this season, including a 62-0 victory Saturday over Baylor.
“They deserve to be the No. 2 team right now,” linebacker Nick Reid said. “They have been blowing everybody out.”
Unblemished
But can it continue? And where would that place the Longhorns’ legacy?
Ten years of Big 12 Conference football will have elapsed after this season, and only two teams ever have had an undefeated run: Nebraska in 1997 and Oklahoma in 2000.
Mangino was offensive coordinator on the 2000 Sooners. Speaking from experience, if the Longhorns can win their next four, they’ll earn even more of Mangino’s respect.
“To win every game you play during a season is a remarkable feat,” Mangino said. “Teams that can do that, I tip my cap to them, because I know how difficult that is.”
The Longhorns’ road isn’t smooth sailing, though: Kansas, Texas A&M, the Big 12 championship game against Colorado and, likely, the Rose Bowl against one of the top two teams in college football.
KU, for one, has its wrench ready to throw, hoping to disrupt a critical gear on the Longhorns’ roaring machine.
If that were to happen, the Jayhawks would be the first to do it.
“You get everybody’s best shot, and you need a few bounces of the ball,” Mangino said. “There’s a lot of things involved. To win every game you play in an entire year, that means that it is a really special football team.”