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Texas and Texas A&M will hook up for the 116^th time in their storied series Thursday night at Kyle Field.

The No. 3 Longhorns are hopeful of taking another step to the BCS National Championship Game. And their most bitter traditional rivals would like nothing more than to stop their trip.

Here are three keys for each team heading into Thursday’s game.

Texas

• Get the running game started: The Longhorns have sputtered all season trying to move the ball on the ground. They’ve shown some flashes in recent weeks as Tre’ Newton has gotten healthy and assumed the featured back role. And offensive coordinator Greg Davis also has Cody Johnson and several others ready to contribute depending on game situations. If Texas can run the ball well, it will get them into favorable down-and-distance situations where Colt McCoy can pick apart a leaky A&M defense that ranks 82^nd in pass efficiency defense and 110^th in pass defense.
• Tackle better in space: Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp was angry after the Longhorns’ victory over Kansas because nine missed tackles led to 97 yards of extra yardage. Texas A&M will hit the Longhorns with an even more talented group of athletes including Jeff Fuller, Uzoma Nwachukwu, Jamie McCoy, Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael. All are capable of burning Texas for big plays if given the chance. The Longhorns’ strong defense needs to take care of something as basic as tackling if they want to fulfill their championship aims. Thursday’s game will be a good test.
• It’s a rivalry game. Deal with it: Texas will be facing its biggest challenge in a true road game this season when it travels to Kyle Field. Texas has lost eight of the last 12 games at Kyle Field in the series, including a 2007 game where they inexplicably couldn’t cover A&M’s seldom-used passing attack. The crowd will be howling from the start of the game. It will be important for Texas to play like a championship team, taking control early and silencing the Aggie fans with a strong start.

Texas A&M

• Attack on defense: The Aggies will come into the game decided underdogs with one of the conference’s youngest defenses trying to contain Colt McCoy and Texas. Even with that decided disadvantage, the Aggies can’t be passive. They need to take the fight to the Longhorns from the beginning of the game, particularly on defense. Getting Von Miller around mammoth Texas tackle Adam Ulatoski will be important. McCoy has been susceptible to turnovers in the past, particularly against the Aggies. The Aggies would love to rattle him early -- again.
• Don’t blink because of the television cameras: The Aggies are 6-0 in games that have not been televised this season and 0-5 in games that have been telecast. But with this being a rivalry game with the nation watching, expect the young but developing Aggies not to be nearly as shy. A sellout crowd at Kyle Field will help them fight through any timidity.
• Make the special teams special: Texas has struggled covering kickoffs all season and were blistered for a 98-yard return for a touchdown last week by Kansas’ Dezmon Briscoe. Cyrus Gray is a threat every time he touches the ball with a 25.5 yard average ranking third in the conference. A big play would provide the Aggies with a surge of confidence they desperately need.

Texas backup safety Ben Wells will miss Thursday's game at Texas A&M with an injury to his right ankle.

Texas head athletic trainer for football Kenny Boyd also said that wide receiver John Chiles is doubtful with a right ankle injury.

Starting cornerback Aaron Williams has been cleared to play after being hobbled by a right knee injury. Williams, who started Texas' first eight games this season, has been replaced by Chykie Brown in the Longhorns' starting lineup.

Mike Sherman likes boxing analogies.

The Texas A&M coach who showed his team video of the George Foreman-Muhammad Ali fight earlier this season to spark an upset victory over Texas Tech is looking to another pugilistic reference to describe his underdog team’s chances against Texas on Thursday night.

“This is Rocky Balboa versus Apollo Creed,” Sherman said. “It’s one of those types of deals, where we have a chance to play against a top-notch team that certainly has not stumbled one time this year. They've played very well in every ballgame. It's going to be quite a challenge for us, but it's one we're looking forward to."

The Aggies have proved to be difficult for the Longhorns over the years -- particularly at Kyle Field.

A&M has won eight of the last 12 games over the Longhorns there, including the most recent meeting in 2007.

In that game, Dennis Franchione’s team rediscovered the forward pass too late to save his job, but not before beating the Longhorns, 38-30.

The year before that in Austin, the Aggies physically punished the Longhorns in another striking upset, claiming a 12-7 triumph in a game in which they knocked the Longhorns out of the Big 12 South title chase and Colt McCoy out of the game.

Those memories and others through the years have A&M players excited about playing the South Division championships, despite the fact that most prognosticators don’t give them much hope.

“One of our motivations every year is beating Texas along with every other team,” Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson said. “But for me to say this game doesn’t have a little bit more meaning than the rest, I’d be lying to you. Whatever they do after us, I wish them the best. But when they play us, we definitely like our chances and we’re going to go out there with all we have.”

The 6-5 Aggies qualified for their first bowl game since 2007 with a victory over Baylor last week. But their season has been marked with remarkable inconsistency. They have won games by 35, 37, 22, 25 and 35 points. And they’ve lost games by margins of 28, 48 and 55 points.

But despite that wild variation in performances from game to game, the Aggies are convinced they will be ready for the 11-0 Longhorns.

“Texas is a really good, solid team, but every year when we play them, we feel like it’s even,” Texas A&M defensive end/linebacker Von Miller said. “This year, it’s no different. We’ve got some young guys, but they don’t act like young guys. It’s Texas week, everybody is up for the game and it’s the biggest game of the year for us.”

The Aggies are the only Big 12 South team to have a winning record against McCoy during his career with the Longhorns. Those two earlier losses have marked him with determination to even his mark against the Aggies in Thursday’s game.

“We've got a lot of goals ahead of us and we haven't taken care of business like we wanted to in the past in this game,” McCoy said. “We don't really talk about '06 and '07. We don't like to think about that. We talk about being the best we can be and finishing what we started. That's enough motivation for us. We've got a lot at stake.”

Since 2000, the Aggies are only 56-52 and have fallen far behind the Longhorns and Oklahoma in the Big 12 South’s pecking order. In recent years, even Oklahoma State and Texas Tech have lapped them.

But Sherman is making progress in his second season. He’s already played 19 freshmen and six redshirt freshmen this season, including prime playmakers like running back Christine Michael and wide receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu. Johnson has developed into one of the most statistically proficient quarterbacks in the nation.

“To their credit, these guys have responded to the challenge,” Sherman said. “That speaks volumes. I wish we didn’t have to deal with all of the ups and downs this season has presented to us. But I think they’ve done a great job of handling the adversity they’ve faced in the context of the season.”

Texas coach Mack Brown relishes playing in what he calls one of the most historic rivalries in college football.

“It's great," Brown said. "It's loud. It's a rivalry. They've got great fans and I'm sure it's going to be a great environment."

Other Texas teams have tripped up in that environment, even as heavy favorites.

But senior defensive end Sergio Kindle said this Longhorns team is excited about the challenge of staring down the Aggies in their own backyard.

“Playing at Kyle Field, that 12th Man is serious. And when they get going, A&M starts feeding off of it,” Kindle said. “But we’re ready. We’re looking at that game as the only thing that’s in front of us now.”

With his team tucked tight against its own goal line, Christine Michael just wanted to do what he could to get Texas A&M out of a daunting hole.

But after coming back to the huddle, tight end Jamie McCoy told the freshman tailback to be ready to sprint to the other end zone, providing he could deliver a clearing block against a Baylor defense bunched to stop an inside run.

“Jamie told me that he would get the block and I should be ready to run the distance,” Michael said. “And that’s exactly what he did. He told me he would get the first guy who came in and I should be able to outrun the rest of the defense.”

Michael’s record-setting 97-yard touchdown run against the Bears came with some surprising physical exertion. If he hadn’t been glancing up at Kyle Field scoreboard, he never would have known that Baylor safety Jeremy Williams was closing on him at about the Baylor 15-yard line as he approached the end zone.

“Honestly, it’s kind of hard running 97 yards,” Michael said. “I got tired at the end and almost started slowing up until I looked up at the Jumbotron and saw the guy coming up. I saw that and knew I would have to finish.”

The touchdown run sparked the Aggies’ 38-3 victory which boosted them into a bowl game for the first time since 2007. It also catapulted them into the annual rivalry game against Thursday night with some unbridled confidence in their hopes of notching their third victory in the last four seasons against the No. 3 Longhorns.

Michael has helped spark an emerging running game that has helped the Aggies develop one of the strongest offenses in the nation.

The Aggies have scored at least 31 points in every home game this season and will have confidence they can dent the Longhorns’ No. 1 ranked rushing defense.

“It all comes down to one game,” Michael said. “We can win if we play good football. We’re going to give them our best and see what it leads us to. We’re not going to be intimidated by them, not at all.”

Earlier in the season, Texas A&M defensive end/linebacker Von Miller had a unique description of Michael’s running style.

“He’s like a 210-pound rabbit on steroids, with the speed of a cheetah,” Miller told reporters. “He’s like a hybrid, mutant running back.”

Michael said he took Miller’s unique description as a compliment.

“I felt it was kind of funny,” said Michael, who was A&M’s first consensus five-star recruit since Martellus Bennett. “I like to make sure I never stop moving and keep going forward. I want to do what I can to finish runs off.”

Some of that movement hasn’t always enthralled A&M coach Mike Sherman, who has been concerned about Michael’s habit of making spin moves. One red-zone fumble killed a scoring drive against Baylor.

But he’s growing more comfortable with the play of Michael, who leads all Big 12 freshmen with 684 rushing yards and ranks seventh nationally among freshmen with an average of 68.4 rushing yards per game. He’s topped 100 yards in two of the Aggies' last five games.

Some of his growth has coincided with the recent development of A&M’s offensive line. The Aggies produced a season-best 375 rushing yards against Baylor, helping boost them to No. 25 nationally in rushing.

The emergence of the running game has helped A&M galvanize one of the nation’s most balanced and productive offensive attacks. The Aggies are the only team nationally ranking in the top 25 in scoring, rushing, passing and total offense.

“Those guys have blocked and worked hard,” Michael said. “They give us their best blocks possible. I feel they have come along like the rest of us. We’ve had our ups and downs and we’ve tried to bounce back and do what we can to finish the season strongly.”

The 5-foot-11, 206-pound Michael is one of the most talented athletes in A&M's program. He sometimes shows that by doing standing back flips -- in full football gear -- during mundane practices.

“That’s just me being hyper,” Michael said. “I’m always moving and always playful in what I do. It’s something I’ve done for a long time.”

And if the Aggies pull off a stunning upset, Michael has promised more gymnastics later this week.

“I’ll do a bunch of those if we win on Thursday night,” Michael said.

The Texas defense went back to work this week with an unaccustomed chip on its collective shoulder.

There were enough concerns about missed tackles and defensive busts in the Longhorns’ otherwise impressive victory against Kansas that gave Will Muschamp plenty of teaching points.

And even before the fiery Texas defensive coordinator broke down his team’s struggles last week, his defense knew what to expect.

“He had it in big black letters about all the missed tackles we had,” senior defensive end/linebacker Sergio Kindle said. “But before he said anything, our guys all knew what the deal is. And because of that, we’re going to make changes ourselves to get ready for the game.”

Texas’ sporadic tackling in space against the Jayhawks caught the attention of Muschamp and Texas coach Mack Brown.

“We missed nine tackles that gave them about 97 yards after contact. There were three big plays,” Brown said. “It was a real concern.”

The unexpected defensive struggles were out of character for a Texas defense that still leads the nation in rushing defense, ranks third in total defense and seventh in scoring defense.

But against an A&M offense that has produced has improved steadily under mobile, multi-faceted quarterback Jerrod Johnson, the Longhorns defense must rebound if it hopes to continue its perfect season in its quest for the BCS title game.

“We’ll have to go back and do a better job,” Brown said. “Our defense has been bragged on so much that we’re really lucky that Will and our coaches have their attention now.”

The remedial defensive lessons started at a 6 a.m. practice Monday and will continue at those pre-daylight hours for the rest of the Longhorns’ preparations for the Aggies.

“I think this is coming at a great time and it will definitely get our coaches and our team’s attention,” Brown said. “You can see it with how we are practicing this week. It’s not like we laid down out there but we were just facing a tough offense in Kansas. This is a defense with a great amount of pride and I’m sure the kids will respond.”

For his part, Kindle thinks the tackling difficulties were a sporadic instance that could be explained by Kansas’ collection of strong skill-position people.

“We know we have to get to our goal,” Kindle said. “And if somebody gets to the play and can’t make a tackle, they just need to hold the guy until the rest of us get there. We have to do a better job running to the ball and helping each other out.”

Muschamp’s defense didn’t respond in the second half, allowing an 88-yard scoring drive on Kansas’ first second-half possession. The Jayhawks also produced drives of 42 and 41 yards later in the game.

"We didn't tackle well in the second half," Muschamp told reporters after the game. "We missed tackles, and we hadn't done that all year. That allowed for chunks of yardage down the field."

The defensive front help spark the strong effort against the Kansas running game and produced six sacks, 10 tackles for a loss and an interception. But Muschamp was frustrated by the lack of much production from his linebackers and secondary that struggled at times trying to check Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing and his deep collection of receivers.

Some of Texas’ struggles came when Muschamp dared the Jayhawks to beat them on the flanks with repeated use of cornerback blitzes. Reesing did that to the tune of 256 passing yards – the most against Texas since the Oklahoma game. And Kansas’ point total tied for the second-most points that Texas has allowed this season behind the 24 points yielded to Texas Tech on Sept. 19.

Those struggles are a real concern as the Longhorns prepare for a Texas A&M offense that ranks seventh nationally in scoring, 17th in total offense and has scored at least 31 points in every one of its five home games this season.

Additionally, the Longhorns will be facing their quickest turnaround in 16 years after playing on Saturday night and then playing again Thursday night in College Station.

But Kindle said the Texas defense is excited more excited to make amends than worrying about their lack of recovery time or the hostile Kyle Field crowd.

“After last week,” he said, “I wish we could play today.”

The worth of a quarterback can’t be measured solely on statistical data.

But one of the league’s most underrated players has had the kind of season that should be placing him in the mix for a berth as the All-Big 12 quarterback if not arguably the league’s player of the year honors.

Let’s take a look at two sets of numbers, before we later examine whose name goes with what set of statistics.


Here’s what makes the description so interesting. One of the players is considered among the favorites for the Heisman Trophy. The other is not.

Player X is Colt McCoy, the Texas senior quarterback who will finish his career as one of the top quarterbacks in college football history. For many reasons, McCoy is considered by most to be among the leading candidates for Big 12 offensive player of the year honors after leading the Longhorns to a perfect 11-0 record so far.

And Player Y is Texas A&M junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who helped his team become bowl eligible by beating Baylor last week.

McCoy

Johnson

McCoy is presumed to be the top candidate for many national quarterbacking honors.

But the numbers seem to indicate that Johnson has had just as strong of a season statistically as McCoy -- or any other quarterback in the league.

Johnson is set back by his team’s 6-5 record. And McCoy’s success in leading his team to the South title has to account for some of his expected success as a Heisman challenger.

But when looking at numbers alone in a blind comparison of those quarterbacks -- who will meet Thursday night at Kyle Field -- McCoy and Johnson appear very close in their production totals.

I'm curious what my readers think about this.

Which quarterback has had the best season statistically?

And which one would you rather have playing as your starting quarterback if you were coaching a team?