FROM THE REAL ART SPORTS DESK
TEXAS POUNDS MISSOURI TIGERS,
LSU TIGERS EDGE SOUTH CAROLINA

From the AP via ESPN:

McCoy, No. 1 Texas ride 35-0 lead past No. 11 Mizzou

Using a stunning first half, Texas raced to a 35-point lead before cruising to a 56-31 victory Saturday night that left little doubt these Longhorns plan to be No. 1 for a while.

Colt McCoy passed for a 337 yards and two touchdowns, ran for two more and set a school record with 17 straight completions in the kind of nearly flawless performance that he's starting to make look routine.

And

For Texas, the Longhorns are just halfway through a brutal stretch of games against ranked opponents. In the next two weeks, they play No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Texas Tech, both of whom are undefeated.

"When you believe you're No. 1," linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy said, "that's when bad things happen."

More here.

And again from the AP via ESPN:

No. 13 LSU ekes past South Carolina with second-half rally

The No. 13 Tigers held South Carolina to minus-7 yards in the fourth quarter and sacked first-time Gamecocks starter Stephen Garcia six times in a 24-17 victory Saturday night.

With LSU (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) down by seven at halftime after allowing two touchdowns in the last 3 minutes of the second quarter, end Kirston Pittman said the defense resolved to stiffen and not collapse like it did in allowing Florida to score 31 second half points in a 51-21 loss last week.

"We just put it in our minds that they couldn't score any more," Pittman said.

And the defense did just that, holding South Carolina (5-3, 2-3) to just 42 yards in the second half, forcing Garcia into a fumble and forcing an interception with 3:57 left that sealed the game.

And

South Carolina had only one first down in the fourth quarter, and it pushed the ball into LSU territory. But Taylor broke through on third down, sacking Garcia for an 11-yard loss and prompting Spurrier to drop his headset on the ground and kick it.

More here.

Okay, Saturday night was great fun. I mean, I'm sure that football fans who aren't Texas or Missouri supporters turned it off after the first half because, you know, it was a blowout and all, but this is exactly how I like my Longhorn football: embarrassingly big. The five first half touchdowns Texas scored, while Mizzou scored nothing, were a great joy to me. Just beat the shit out of them. I fucking love it.

Of course, as everybody keeps saying, the season is far from over. Both Tech and Oklahoma State are quite capable of upending Texas on any given Saturday. I'm always especially nervous about Tech. Obviously, the 'Horns need to keep up their businesslike approach to bigtime football.

I had a fabulous acting teacher in grad school who, after we had all turned in a particularly fantastic run through of a show during rehearsal, made a wise statement. "Remember guys, if you had some great pizza last week and want to eat it again, you don't get it by remembering how great the pizza was: you get it by doing again what got you to that pizza in the first place--you follow the directions to the restaurant, bring your money, order the right thing, etc." That is, if you want to repeat greatness, you don't bask in that greatness. You do what made you great in the first place.

The Longhorns obviously understand that. They didn't beat the Tigers by remembering that they had beaten Oklahoma last week. They repeated what it was that allowed them to win. Now all they have to do is keep on doing that.

LSU, on the other hand, would do well to follow UT's example. I didn't get to see this one because it was on at the same time as the Texas game - I did tape it, however, and plan to watch later tonight or tomorrow - but given the way they didn't get their shit together until the fourth quarter, it's clear that Les Miles era inconsistency is still a problem. I mean, don't get me wrong. An SEC win is an SEC win, and that's something, especially when it inspires football asshole Steve Spurrier to descend into his classic loser headset kick. But the Tigers have a shot at returning to the top 5 if they can win the conference, which I belive they are capable of doing.

They just need to be more businesslike.

Really, I need to watch the game. Maybe they're playing better than I assume. Man that Florida loss still hurts.


Texas back Chris Ogbonnaya (3) runs past Missouri defenders Hardy Ricks (4)
and Tommy Chavis (48) during the third quarter of their NCAA football game
in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008. Texas won 56-31.
(AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)


LSU running back Charles Scott (32) scores the first of
his two touchdowns as Herman Johnson (79) celebrates
(photo courtesy of the Baton Rouge Advocate).

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