On this holiday many families gather for the traditional Thanksgiving meal and begin the full holiday season. In sports Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the end of the football season. It is also the period when the wheat separates from the chaff....when the cream rises to the top and when we separate the men from the boys. (Got any other cliches that would fit?)
The teams that will ultimately be playing in BCS games know they absolutely cannot lose another game. In the NFL the clubs that will make the post season are in the same boat. Normally the better teams come through.
There is one major college football game that doesn't quite have the same level of success on the line, but still could wind up as the most entertaining of the weekend. That is Texas A&M at Texas.
The Longhorns who have battled for mythical national championships in recent years are now battling to make a bowl game--any bowl game. If they lose or tie the Aggies their bowl run will be over. They won't qualify with only five victories. In the meantime the Aggies have a chance to finish 9-3. They are all but mathematically eliminated from the Big 12 Championship game due to the tie breaker used. They CAN tie Oklahoma and Oklahoma State for first place, but because both OU and OSU are ranked ahead of the Aggies in the BCS poll and the winner of the OU-OSU game will certainly still be ranked higher no matter how impressive the Aggies might be against Texas, one of the Oklahoma schools will rep the Big 12 South.
So Texas A&M wants to win and get the best bowl they can. Of course, I am assuming something that should never be assumed in the Aggie-Longhorn game. The best--or highest rated-- team does not always win. And even when they do they quite often have quite a struggle. Some say they sense an un-deserved cockiness among some Aggie fans going into the game. Nothing shakier than a club that has struggled for a few years having a good year and automatically thinking they are now among the best in the league or nation.
Sustaining success is what proves a program to be among the elite. The Aggie players and coaches know that. Texas A&M is definitely a stronger club than the Longhorns this season. But that does not guarantee a win today or a run of outstanding seasons after this year. Everything has to be earned...week to week and year to year.
The Longhorns down season this year has shown that to the Texas faithful. Nothing is automatic. The Aggies up season has to do the same at Texas A&M. It is just so hard to do when your team is winning. One loss is all it takes to derail the excitement train.
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