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Texas faces Colorado with Oklahoma looming

Oct 4, 2008 - 10:06 AM (5) Texas (4-0) at Colorado (3-1), 7:00 pm EDT

BOULDER, Colorado (Ticker) -- After going 9-0 in Big 12 Conference openers under coach Mack Brown, Texas stumbled in its first conference game last season. The Longhorns suffered a 41-21 loss to Kansas State, handing Brown his worst home defeat in 10 years at Texas.

The fifth-ranked Longhorns hope to avoid a similar fate Saturday when they head on the road to face Colorado in this year's conference opener.

Texas also will try not to look ahead to next week's annual Red River Rivalry game against top-ranked Oklahoma, which could have national championship implications.

"I've talked a little bit to this team about last year's team, and it's a totally different team this year with a different mindset and a different attitude," Brown said. "They've been fun and competitive. We will coach them this week like they lost the game last weekend."

In a statistical oddity, Texas (4-0, 0-0 Big 12 South) has won three games by the identical score of 52-10 this season, including last week against Arkansas.

The Longhorns have faced a suspect schedule, also beating Florida Atlantic, Texas-El Paso and Rice, and Brown feels the team is still trying to prove itself to its critics.

While the competition has not been the best, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy is the top-rated signal-caller in the Big 12, slightly ahead of Oklahoma's Sam Bradford. McCoy has completed 80 percent of his passes while throwing 14 touchdowns and just one interception.

"People have been very critical of this team coming into the season," Brown said. "They say we've been under the radar and we have question marks. Those question marks are still all there and the competition picks up this week.

"What they have proven each week, is that they have dominated, not just beaten, the opponent each week, which is good. But now, we start with a higher level of competition with better caliber teams."

Colorado (3-1, 0-0 Big 12 North) is coming off its first loss of the season, a 39-21 defeat at Florida State in which the Buffaloes could not take advantage of 12 penalties by the Seminoles. Rodney Stewart, the fourth-leading rusher in the Big 12, ran for 107 yards in the loss.

In their previous home game, the Buffaloes upset then-No. 24 West Virginia, 17-14, in overtime to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2004.

Texas is facing Colorado for the first time since the Vince Young-led team crushed the Buffaloes, 70-3, in the 2005 Big 12 championship game. The Longhorns went out to defeat Southern California, 41-38, in the BCS title game.