Texas Longhorns coach Mack Brown always has been a man with a plan, and in the final week of a tiring four-game stretch, he may be doing the best work of his career.
With wins against then No. 1 Oklahoma, then No. 11 Missouri and then No. 6 Oklahoma State in three consecutive weeks, No. 1 UT can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Brown's job is to make sure that light stays vibrant, as if it is reflecting off the crystal football sitting atop the AFCA National Championship Trophy.
"We've really got to be careful that we don't make such a statement to our players this week that this game is so important when you have three others left," said Brown, whose Longhorns face No. 6 Texas Tech at 7 p.m. Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in certainly the biggest game in Tech history. "So what we're doing is saying instead of 'this is the last of a four-game stretch,' we're calling it the first of a tough four game stretch to end the season."
Before moving on to Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M, Texas (8-0, 4-0 in Big 12 Conference play) will need to survive its biennual trip to Lubbock. The Longhorns have won five straight against Tech (8-0, 4-0).
"Just us playing well, we just need to be the best we can be and worry about what we do," Tech coach Mike Leach said. "We need to be the best at what we do we, can't control what they do."
Brown acknowledged this season's game is different, which is obvious for Tech fans, who received a treat when ESPN "College GameDay" announced it would make its first-ever trip to Lubbock.
But for Brown, the success of Leach's defense and running game this year make the game all the more competitive, he said.
The combination of an experienced offensive line and playmaking running backs Shannon Woods and Baron Batch have produced an average of 138.5 rushing yards per game, the most since 1999. On top of that, the offensive line has given up only three sacks in 391 pass attempts this year, which ranks second nationally.
"They're giving you more problems than they have in the past offensively," Brown said. "Even as good as they've been in their past."
Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill has instilled an intensity no defense under Leach has ever showcased, and the results have done something not many ever thought could happen in Lubbock: field a defense comparable to Leach's incredibly productive passing offense.
At 8-0, Tech has its best start since 1976 and has the nation's longest winning streak at 10 games dating back to last season. Against Kansas last week, Tech made a national statement with a 63-21 pounding of the Jayhawks. The win kicked off Tech's own version of UT's four-game stretch. The Red Raiders play Oklahoma State and No. 4 Oklahoma after Texas, and if Tech wins Saturday, it will undoubtedly take its highest ranking of all time into next week's game.
Tech defensive ends McKinner Dixon and Brandon Williams have combined for 15 of the team's 20 sacks on a unit third in the Big 12 in total defense (347 yards per game) and second in scoring defense (21 points per game) in the Big 12. As a result of added pressure, Tech's secondary has nabbed 14 interceptions this year - good for third in the nation.
"He's done an amazing job of taking a system that you wouldn't think would work out. You wouldn't think it'd work in the wind, and he's made it work," Brown said. "I've got to give him all the credit in the world."
The Longhorns lead the Big 12 with 29 sacks. Defensive end Brian Orakpo has 8.5 of them, which has helped the progression of Texas' young secondary. UT's defense will need to put Tech quarterback Graham Harrell on his back in hopes of relieving pressure off UT's secondary.
The secondary is giving up the ninth most passing yards per game in the nation at 265.5 yards per game. Harrell, who leads the nation with 3,147 passing yards, has thrown for 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions, leading the nation's second most potent offense with 556.9 total yards per game - second nationally.
Orakpo said there is no set number of points Texas' defense will try to hold Tech's offense to, just as long as UT's undefeated record remains intact.
"The acceptable number is a 'W,' if that makes sense," Orakpo said. "That's all that really matters."
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