A&M, Texas to decide title

By CHIP BROWN / Associated Press

AUSTIN - It was more of a stumble than a race, but the Big 12 South will be decided on Friday by Texas and Texas A&M, just like everyone predicted.

Well, sort of.

While it's true that A&M will help decide the southern division representative, the Aggies themselves are out of contention. And few predicted that Texas (6-4, 5-2 Big 12) and A&M (6-5, 4-3) would both have records barely over .500.

So the Big 12 South comes down to this:

If Texas beats A&M on Friday, the Longhorns will represent the southern division in the inaugural Big 12 title game against either Nebraska or Colorado in St. Louis on Dec. 7.

If the Aggies win, Texas Tech (7-4, 5-3), whose regular season is over, would go to St. Louis. A&M also has to win to qualify for a bowl bid.

Texas-Texas A&M is always a fierce rivalry, even when no title is on the line. The Aggies make a bonfire three stories high for the Texas game. Texas holds a hex rally to call on mystical ghouls and goblins to help them beat the Aggies.

"We were both picked to do a lot more than we did this season," said Texas fullback Ricky Williams. "But I think we have more to lose. We had high goals and let everyone down. We can redeem ourselves with a win."

Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum said Monday that his team has to overcome the disappointment of not being in the Big 12 title game hunt. That chance was taken away when Tech beat Oklahoma 22-12 on Saturday.

"I thought there was a real potential for problems if we put all our emphasis on the Big 12 game when it could be taken away from us," Slocum said.

"We took the approach that we were playing Texas, a big rivalry game. That in itself is motivation enough. And we have the added motivation of needing to win to go to a bowl game," Slocum said.

Texas coach John Mackovic said Friday's game "will be our toughest test because of the emotion." The A&M game is the only matchup the normally reserved Texas coach has ever painted his face for.

"They'd probably like to knock us out of the Big 12 championship game," Mackovic said. "I'm sure that will be a big thing with them, to rain on our parade. I know if it were reversed, we'd be saying, 'Let's knock them out of the Big 12 title game.' "

Texas linebacker Tyson King, one of 27 Longhorn seniors playing their final home game, said he wants to be able to reflect positively on Friday's outcome.

"They say you're only as good as your last game, so if I go out there and lose this game, I'll hear about it and remember it for the rest of my life, and I can't handle that," King said.