 "Photo: May-Ying Lam, Daily Texan Staff")
The weather forecast for Saturday in Lawrence, Kan., calls for temperatures in the 30s and 15- to 25-mile-per-hour gusts. But Texas coach Mack Brown told the players he didn’t want to hear any complaints.
“If they want to play in the NFL, they’ll have to play in cold weather, so I do not want to hear it, period,” Brown said. “If it starts in the 30s and they are out on the field running around and get cold, they are probably not running hard enough.”
Last time the Longhorns played at Kansas they came out ice cold. In 2004, the Jayhawks led 23-13 with 7:41 left to play and seemed like they were on their way to crashing No. 6 Texas’ dream of going to a BCS game.
That’s when Vince Young took over. The quarterback put Texas back in the game with a touchdown run to make it 23-20, and then converted a fourth and 18 on Texas’ final series to set up the 21-yard, game-winning touchdown to Tony Jeffery with 11 seconds left.
“I was watching the replay of that game last night, and by the time it got late in the fourth quarter I still thought we were going to lose it,” Brown joked. “Kansas did not have a very good team that year. We stunk. We can’t come out and play that way again.”
No. 4 Texas (9-1, 5-1 Big 12) might not get so lucky this time around, so that’s why Brown wants the team to take control from the onset when they travel to Kansas (6-4, 3-3) Saturday.
That won’t be as easy as it sounds. The Jayhawks have won 13 out of their last 14 home games.
“We’re expecting the type of atmosphere and attitude from their players that we saw at Tech a couple of weeks ago, and it should be a great game,” Brown said. “It’s been remarkable what Kansas has been able to do the last two years.”
As has been the case every week, the Longhorns will face off against another prolific quarterback. Kansas’ Todd Reesing has thrown for 2,942 yards and 23 touchdowns this year.
Reesing threw for a school record 3,486 yards last season along with 33 touchdowns, which was another school record. Like Colt McCoy, Reesing has the ability to make plays while scrambling from pressure.
This isn’t just another game for Reesing, who played for Lake Travis High School. Listed generously at 5 feet 11 inches, Reesing was overlooked by pretty much every Texas school because of his size.
“I grew up watching the ‘Horns, so I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t a little bit bigger for me,” Reesing said. “You got to try to not make it as big to yourself, but it is going to be fun.”
The young Texas secondary, which could be without starter Chykie Brown yet again, will get another test against a dangerous receiving corps. Six-foot-3-inch Dezmon Briscoe has 60 catches for 976 yards and former quarterback Kerry Meier has 69 catches for 794 yards.
“It seems like we’re going against NFL wide receivers every week,” said senior cornerback Ryan Palmer. “He reminds me of the bigger guys like a Dez [Bryant] or a [Michael] Crabtree. He catches the ball real well and he runs well, runs go routes.”
The Longhorns also will test their depth due to all the recent injuries. Starting left tackle Adam Ulatoski left the Baylor game on Saturday with an elbow injury, and Lamarr Houston left with an apparent leg injury. Brian Orakpo missed the Baylor game because of a sprained knee. Starting receiver Quan Cosby played against Baylor despite a back injury. Texas has not released any status regarding who is available for Saturday and who is not.
“Adam played last year with a hurt elbow and hurt knee, and it’s just amazing what he’s been through,” Brown said. “He’s already told us that he is going to play. I think his injury report will be different from [head trainer] Kenny’s [Boyd], but I don’t think he cares because that’s the attitude he’s got.”
Whether the forecast calls for it or not, we will see Snow on Saturday. Starting center Chris Hall is out with a sprained knee and his backup, junior Buck Burnette, was kicked off the team after posting a racial slur on his Facebook page. That means freshman David Snow, who has played some at guard this year, will get the start at center. Greg Smith, the starting tight end, will be Snow’s backup.
“We’ve told them that there are no rookies anymore, so they’re going to have to get ready to go,” Brown said. “Thank goodness David has gotten some work at center. He’s been a good player for us.”
Usually having a new center causes problems for the quarterback-center exchange. Brown doesn’t think that will be a problem since Texas takes almost all of its snaps out of the shotgun. The only time the Longhorns are under center is when they are in goalline or short-yardage situations.
“It’s not like what all of us thought it would be five years ago before spread offenses and having to deal with snap counts on the road,” Brown said. “We’re not using snap counts very much anymore and David practices shotgun snaps every day at practice. Nothing will be different.”
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