No. 2 TEXAS LONGHORNS

Texas, McCoy ready to avenge last season's slight

OK, Texas, that's enough. We all know you were screwed in 2008. You beat Oklahoma, yet weren't able to go to the Title game because of a three-way tie and one of the dumbest tie-breaker rules ever invented. And we're tired of hearing about it. You were screwed out of a shot at the title - so was 2000 Miami, 2001 Oregon, 2003 USC, 2004 Auburn, 2007 Georgia.

And now everyone's bowing down at your feet, giving you the inside track to the national championship. And why? Why are the Longhorns automatically given the spot over rival Oklahoma? Because of 45-35?

All of the teams listed above (outside of '04 Auburn) failed in some way, and if safety Blake Gideon holds on to an errant Graham Harrell pass in Lubbock, the Longhorns would have been in Miami facing the Gators. Instead, the Longhorns were sent to the Fiesta Bowl and (narrowly) beat Ohio State, giving UT and its fans an off-season of BCS complaints.

The Longhorns non-conference schedule is (again) a joke, and if Texas can navigate through the Big XII Championship, they'll be playing for a national title with a Heisman runner-up QB (Tebow and Co. will have to lose three games for the superhuman not to win his second Heisman). But the schedule doesn't play out nicely. After the Red River Rivalry, Texas has to travel to Missouri and Oklahoma State in back-to-back weeks. They'll drop one of those, giving them likely two losses in the Big XII before the end of October.

Mack Brown might have proven with 2008 that he didn't need Vince Young to compete for a national title, but 2009 will show that he'll need someone better than a (outstanding) Colt McCoy.

CFN 2009 Preview | ESPN Texas Page | CBS Texas Page

Part of a two-week long look into the 2009 Preseason Southern Fans' College Football Poll. New posts released each day, culminating with the No. 1 team later today.