LAST TIME OUT

At least a few eyebrows were raised Thanksgiving night when Texas A&M not only took Texas deep into the fourth quarter, but hung 39 points and 532 total yards on the Longhorns. Aggies quarterback Jerrod Johnson did a lot of the damage with 342 yards passing and four touchdowns against UT's third-ranked defense. However, Texas had its answer with senior Colt McCoy, who passed for 304 yards and four TDs with a career-high 175 yards rushing — only the third player in NCAA history to eclipse 300 passing and 150 rushing yards in a game. Nos. 2 and 3 Texas improved to 12-0 and 8-0 in the Big 12 with the 49-39 win in College Station. The Johnson and McCoy duel went to halftime with Texas leading 28-21, though it required 398 yards of total offense by the Longhorns and an interception in the end zone by safety Earl Thomas. The last of three TD passes from Johnson to Jeff Fuller cut Texas A&M's deficit to 42-39 with 7:10 left. The play of the game followed as Marquise Goodwin returned the Aggies' kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Malcolm Williams caught nine passes for 132 yards and freshman tailback Tre' Newton added a career-best 107 rushing yards for Texas. Roddrick Muckelroy led the Longhorn defense with 15 total tackles.

THE REAL MCCOY

McCoy might be among the Heisman Trophy favorites now, but that designation could have been argued midway through the season. The senior threw for 1,537 yards in his first six games, but with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. That included mega-struggles against Oklahoma, when he was 21 of 39 for 127 yards and lost two fumbles. In the past six games, McCoy has turned it around by passing for 1,791 yards with 16 TDs and only two interceptions. To be sure, the numbers have been mind-boggling since he replaced Heisman runner-up Vince Young after the 2005 season. McCoy set an NCAA single-season record by completing 76.7 percent of his passes in 2008 — and is at 70.6 percent for his career. Overall, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Tuscola, Texas, has thrown for 13,060 yards and 112 touchdowns. He also has rushed for 1,591 yards and 19 scores. Is he on a roll for Nebraska? Before torching the Aggies, McCoy threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns against Kansas.

KICK AND COVER

Texas will present some real problems every time the Huskers kick or punt. The Longhorns finished the regular season leading the Big 12 in kickoff returns (28.3 yards) and ranking second in punt returns (13.4). Most dangerous is freshman D.J. Monroe, who is averaging 35.8 yards on kickoff returns and has returned two for touchdowns. Goodwin added the Longhorns' third return for a score against Texas A&M. On punt returns, Jordan Shipley is averaging 13.3 yards with two touchdowns, and the Longhorns also have turned two blocks into scores. Nebraska leads the Big 12 in kickoff coverage, but opponents are averaging 12.5 yards on punt returns. The wild card is NU junior Alex Henery, who is starting to regularly place punts deep in opposing territory.

BEWARE OF THIRD DOWN

Nebraska would be advised to stay out of obvious passing situations against Texas. The Longhorns are tied for second in the Big 12 with 37 sacks, led by defensive end Sam Acho with eight and defensive tackle Lamarr Houston with seven. Houston also leads the team with 20 tackles for losses. Creating pressure also is the forte of senior Sergio Kindle (three sacks, 17 TFLs), a linebacker-end hybrid who has been utilized effectively by defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Out of 172 third-down attempts, UT opponents have converted just 49 for a 28.5 percent success rate that ranks fourth nationally.

REPRESENTING THE SOUTH

For all of Mack Brown's success at Texas, he has just one Big 12 championship to his credit since taking over in 1998. That came in 2005 when the Longhorns punished Colorado 70-3 and followed by winning the national championship. Previously, Brown also took Texas to Big 12 finals in 2001 (39-37 loss to Colorado) and 1999 (22-6 loss to Nebraska). The Longhorns' only other Big 12 championship came under John Mackovic in 1996. Brown does own a 6-1 record against Nebraska, but five of the wins have come by four points or fewer. — Rich Kaipust

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