FROM THE REAL ART SPORTS DESK

It was a big day for me in the world of big time college football, so without any further ado, here's what was big.

From the Austin American-Statesman:

Texas routs Kansas 66-14
Horns claim South Division, earn first
Big 12 championship-game berth since 2001

Whether the trash talk was real or imagined, the Texas offense shared a perception Saturday afternoon that Kansas didn't hold them in such high esteem.

The Longhorns believed that the Jayhawks, who had been the best defense against the rush in the country, assumed that they would have an easy time mashing the Texas runners. In the Longhorns' eyes, there was too much back-patting coming out of Lawrence this week.

By game's end, in a 66-14 Big 12 Conference whitewash of a victory, the No. 2 Longhorns pointed to a powerful stat that was indicative of the one-sided nature of the contest.

Of Texas' 617 total yards, 336 came on the ground. Kansas had been limiting opponents to 64 yards — three Longhorns runners individually eclipsed that average and a fourth came within seven yards.

Click here for the rest.

Okay, very nice, very nice. I guess the game itself, with it's utterly lopsided score, isn't as interesting as the fact that the 'Horns are finally going back to the Big 12 championship game. It's been a frustrating, Oklahoma dominated, last few years, but Texas is back and this current roster is probably better than any team in school history. Of course, there's one last bit of bidness to take care of before winning the conference: Texas now must embarrass the hell out of those chest-beating militarists in College Station. The Longhorns are going to Kyle Field in a couple of weeks, which is where the Aggies are at their strongest. Beating them there, beating them bad, will be glorious. I can't wait!


Courtesy of the Statesman: Vince Young throws against the Jayhawks

From ESPN:

LSU survives battle of wills with Bama

Destiny is a wonderful idea, but it won't put groceries on the table. Nor did Alabama sign an exclusive contract for it. The Tigers have had problems. They had their lives torn asunder by Hurricane Katrina, their games made close by their own penalties and turnovers. Not only did they survive, they thrived.

"These were two very will-driven football teams," LSU senior defensive tackle Kyle Williams said after the game. "You can see the will in the games we've won. You can see the will in the games they've won. It was a battle of wills. I feel fortunate for us to have won."

LSU (8-1, 5-1) needed overtime to do it. JaMarcus Russell, a native of Mobile, threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe to knock the Tide (9-1, 6-1) out of the national championship race, 16-13. The Tigers, with the victory, took control of the SEC West. Victories at Ole Miss and against Arkansas will put LSU in the SEC championship game.

Click here for the rest.

This was tricky television viewing for me. The game started at 2:30, but I had to be at the theater at 6:15 to get warmed up for tonight's show. "No problem," I thought, "I'll have a half hour to spare." But this battle of defenses seemed to take forever, and it seemed like the clock was stopping every five minutes for review by replay officials. I found myself standing at my front door, car keys in hand, still glued to the TV set at 6:10. The score was 10-10 at that point, LSU had just missed it's fourth field goal of the day, and the clock was at 54 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Duty called, so I left. Fortunately, when I got to the theater the game was blaring loudly on the radio, so I quickly learned that the game was going into overtime. But then we had to turn it off to start our vocal warmups. Agony! In the end, it all worked out okay: some undergrad techies who were listening to the game in the dressing room declared the victory for us a little while later.

Yeah, at LSU even the theater people are into Tiger football. It's that big of a deal here. And this was a HUGE game. Indeed, the streets were all but deserted here in Baton Rouge when I drove to the theater; everybody was at home watching the game. Yes, huge. The Tigers now control their own destiny in the SEC West--there's a very good chance that they will win the conference, barring bizarre injury or other mishap. God, I love college football!


Courtesy of ESPN: JaMarcus Russell throws against the Crimson Tide

You know, there is now an off chance that, if USC should stumble before the season's end, LSU could play Texas for the national championship in the Rose Bowl this January. Who will I be yelling for? No contest. I've got burnt orange blood. If Texas plays LSU, I want to see Tiger meat smeared all over California. Otherwise, go Tigers!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$