9/8/04

Two Minute Drill: Cedric Benson

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Senior running back Cedric Benson entered 2004 as the nation's top returning rusher, having compiled 3,706 yards in his career. He opened the season with 181 yards rushing and two touchdowns versus North Texas. Benson is a member of the 2004 Preseason All-Big 12 Conference Team and is seeking to become just the sixth player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards in four straight seasons. The Midland, Texas native is on the watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award (nation's top running back), and he recently took time to run the Two-Minute Drill with MackBrown-TexasFootball.com.

On the match-up with Arkansas:
Those guys have the respect right now. That's kind of what we're playing for. They're a tough team and it'll be a tough test for us in our second week of the season. It'll be fun. I'm excited and looking forward to see how crisp we are on offense and how good we really are.

On UT having a power-football mentality entering the game against Arkansas:
It is exciting to go in with the power-football mentality, knowing that's part of UT's offensive strategy week-in and week-out. I don't know if we're going to prove what we can do, I think that's been done before. We're just going to try and get a victory and come back home.

On playing at Arkansas:
I always love playing on the road. It's fun to play in rivalry games like this one. I think hostile crowds add a little spice to the game.

On revenge after last year's loss to Arkansas:
I look forward to playing this team again, you always want to better your performance. Although they don't have the same players or may not run some of the same packages, you always want to come out better than you did in the past and make a mark. I think it's about respect. You can't go out there seeking revenge, we've got to go out there seeking respect for our team.

On Texas being ready to be "tested":
We are. Having a tough opponent so early in the season is a good way to challenge ourselves and see how we react to adversity. We didn't really have a chance to face adversity on Saturday, because we didn't leave an opening for any to pop up. But, I'm sure we will have some this Saturday in Fayetteville.

On his personal accolades:
It's wonderful having your name mentioned, especially at a place like Texas. But I'm focusing on the victories. My high school coach taught me to just focus on putting points on the board and stats will come with it.