Just like it did last year, Texas, like it usually does, walked off the field a winner over Kansas.
Unlike last year, the Longhorns didn’t need a last-minute touchdown pass from Case McCoy to beat the Jayhawks. Instead, despite McCoy getting picked off twice without scoring a touchdown, Texas picked up a relatively easy 35-13 victory over last-place Kansas.
“This was a true trap game,” head coach Mack Brown said. “Everybody talks about the struggles of Kansas all week, and that’s all the kids hear. Everybody is bragging on them and I did tell them during the week… They came out and I thought they did well to handle what they needed to win the game decisively.”
For the most part, Brown is right. All anyone talked about leading up to the Kansas game was how bad the Jayhakws, who are still trying to snap a 26-game losing streak against Big 12 opponents, were and how great the Longhorns, 5-0 in Big 12 play now, were.
But last week’s game against Kansas was not a “trap” game. Not nearly as much as this week’s contest in Morgantown against West Virginia is a “trap” game.
A traditional “trap” game is one where a team overlooks an overmatched opponent because of a big game the following week. In Texas’ case, it has THREE big games to look forward to after facing West Virginia. The Longhorns host Oklahoma State two Saturdays from now, then host Texas Tech on Thanksgiving before going to Waco to play the only other team in the Big 12 still unbeaten in conference play – Baylor.
“We have as good a chance as anybody to win the next four games,” Brown said. “We’ve just got to do it one game at a time.”
It won’t just be easy to overlook West Virginia, but the Mountaineers can make the Longhorns pay for overlooking them. West Virginia comes into this game with a losing record at 4-5 and is fighting just to become bowl eligible this year.
But Texas is making its first trip to Morgantown in school history. As a head coach at Syracuse, current Longhorns defensive coordinator Greg Robinson made two trips there, losing both times.
“It’s a great atmosphere, especially at night,” Robinson said. “It’s a good football town. It really is. They’re all about their program and they’re going to let you know it.”
It will face a team that was shut out by Maryland and allowed 73 points to Baylor earlier this year, but also handed Oklahoma State its only loss this season and nearly knocked off Oklahoma the same day Texas was blasted by BYU.
So don’t sleep on the Mountaineers. Don’t fall for the “trap” Texas’ game against West Virginia presents. Because they might creep up on Texas and snatch an unexpected victory from the Longhorns’ grasp and burn that couch you’re sleeping on.
