One of the annual rites of each year’s upcoming Texas Longhorns football season is the release of the Preview Magazine from Inside Texas. I won’t comment on the advertisement for grape flavored vodka, but as usual, Clendon and the guys have put out a quality product.

With Urban Meyer’s announcement yesterday that he is stepping down after Florida’s bowl game, I’ll confess that I was a bit concerned about Will Muschamp being offered the job. I expect Florida wants a defensive minded coach with experience in the SEC. Texas’ defensive coordinator certainly fits that description.

And if the Gators came a’calling, I don’t see how Muschamp wouldn’t answer. I’m one of the biggest Longhorn homers in Austin, but even I can’t convince myself that head coach of Texas sometime in the future is better than head coach of Florida now.

However, the more I think about the situation, the less worried I become.

A statement game.

That’s what the Texas Longhorns needed, and that’s what they delivered, beating the Oklahoma State Cowboys 41-14, with two touchdowns coming from the defense. Texas moves to 8-0 on the season, and remains in the driver seat to go to Pasadena for the National Championship game.

Over the summer, I had tonight’s game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater was one to worry about. It has all the signs of a trap game. Road game at night. Against a team who is solid but unrespected. We had a good chance of going into it undefeated. And it’s one year after that horrible night in Lubbock last season.

The season started and the Texas Longhorns didn’t do anything to make me feel better about the game. The offense appeared to be barely a shadow of last season’s powerhouse. Making it to Halloween undefeated looked like a long shot.

Then the Goon Squad began to assert itself.

As always, the Texas Longhorns coaches and players walked into Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium through the north gate two hours before yesterday’s game against the Colorado Buffaloes.

To change things up, the Wife shot video while I took stills (to be posted later today or tomorrow).

Many Texas Longhorn fans still see the play in their nightmares. Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell throws the ball to Michael Crabtree, who tosses off a tackle from Earl Thomas and outruns Curtis Brown to the endzone to put the Red Raiders ahead with only a second remaining in the game.

It doesn’t help that one can’t watch anything involving college football without seeing the play every two or three minutes.

Tonight, after ten long months of waiting, Texas and Texas Tech finally meet again on the football field. Only this time, it’s Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, in front of a record Texas crown that should approach 102,000.

I’ve been going to Texas Longhorns football games for quite a few years now, and I can’t remember a season opener with such comfortable weather. The temperature was mild, and the little bit of rain we got felt nice and wasn’t enough to actually wet anyone down.

Prior to the game, the Wife and I watched the Longhorn players and coaches enter the stadium. Then it was up to the University of Texas Club for some pre-game food.

With just hours, I mean minutes, left until Signing Day, let’s take a quick look at the list of those expected to join the 2009 Recruiting Class for the Longhorns.

Heading into the 2008 season, most pundits penciled the Texas Longhorns down as a three or four loss team. I personally thought we would see at least two losses. Instead, the unrespected, underrated Longhorns went 12-1, with a solid win over Oklahoma and dominating wins over Arkansas and Texas A&M.

By any reasonable measure, this is the second or third best season in the last twenty years.

Let’s look back at some of the highlights…

Order was restored to the universe Thursday evening, with Texas defeating Texas A&M by the largest margin of victory in the series since the 19th century, Mack Brown getting his 200th career win, and the Longhorns taking sole possession of the record for the second most winning program in NCAA football.

Was it enough to hold off Oklahoma in the BCS chase? Maybe. Maybe not. It was a impressive victory, and Mack Brown was able to maintain his classiness by calling off the dogs early in the fourth quarter. From here, we just have to let the chips fall where they may.