Loss to Oklahoma Forced Seniors to Adjust Their Goals

The team that kept Texas from a perfect regular season was archrival Oklahoma, which extended its winning streak over the Longhorns to five games with a 12-0 victory on Oct. 9.

For seniors such as running back Cedric Benson, the loss to the Sooners lingers because they know how close they came to playing USC in the Orange Bowl for the national championship on Jan. 4 instead of facing Michigan in Saturday’s Rose Bowl.

“You put so much energy into making it happen your last season,” Benson said about the Longhorns’ shutout loss to Oklahoma. “There just was so much talk about beating those guys.”

Over the last five seasons, Texas has lost only 11 games, but five of those defeats have been inflicted by Oklahoma. Losing to the Sooners had even more meaning this season because “you put so much work into executing and going undefeated the whole season,” Benson said. “It’s a very hard thing to do.”

Texas held Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson without a touchdown, but the freshman gained 225 yards and wore down the Longhorns’ defense in the second half.

Texas defenders plan to use that experience as motivation against the Wolverines.

“That game is in the past and we’ve moved on,” safety Michael Huff said. “But if we don’t win this one, that just adds on top of that loss [to Oklahoma].”

The Longhorns began the season with the goal of going undefeated and winning a national championship but “we’ve forgotten all about that [after losing to Oklahoma],” Huff said. “We’ve changed our goals and it’s all about Michigan now.”

*

Having a sound Rodrique Wright starting at defensive tackle will give the Longhorns’ run defense a boost Saturday. Wright, considered a high first-round pick by NFL scouts if he declares for the draft, has played much of the season despite an ankle injury.

But Wright’s OK now.

“I took on blockers pretty well, but [the injury] made me less explosive than I usually am,” said Wright, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound junior who had 36 tackles and only one sack this season after registering 80 and 7 1/2 in 2003.

“I couldn’t come off the blocks and wreak havoc,” he said. “I was more of a guy who took on people with a push. It affected my pass rush because I wasn’t able to push off.”

Wright has started 31 of 36 games in his Texas career with 181 tackles, including 28 for loss with 13 sacks.

*

Texas Coach Mack Brown on his new 10-year contract, worth about $25 million: “You know they say in Texas that if you get a 10-year contract and you lose a game, they kill you.

“But it’s unprecedented in modern-day football for an administration to step up and want to keep a coach for that long. I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished and proud that they’re excited about what we’ve accomplished.”