Mack Brown Monday Press Conference

This is a great week for the State of Texas. One that I think all Texans look forward to, even if you are not a Longhorn or Aggie fan. In fact, our three new coaches that came in, we are talking about how special the atmosphere is right now around town. I think especially because you have two weeks to prepare for this game. It is on the national scene so it is a chance for everybody in the country to see either the A&M stadium and campus and the atmosphere in their stadium, or the one here on Friday at The University of Texas. It's become a great game. It's one of the reasons that young people in this state stay in state and come to these two schools to play. It's a game that used to be on Thanksgiving and everybody in America would sit and eat turkey and watch it, and now what they do is sit and eat turkey on Thursday and watch the Cowboys and sleep late, when it is a 2:30 game like it is this year, and then get up and get to enjoy this ballgame. It seems like it's one of the harder tickets in the seven years I've been here for this game because the Aggies are so improved.

You look at their team right now. They were sixth in the country when we played them the first year. I think they were rated in the Top 25 two years after that. Within the last couple years, both teams have not been rated as high and Bill Little told me this is only the tenth time in the history of this game that both schools are rated in the Top 25. That makes this game even more special. It's a game where our fans will need to come with their A game on Friday, like they did with Oklahoma State because that was the loudest I think I've ever heard our stadium, maybe since Ricky Williams broke the national rushing record back in '98.

Reggie McNeal is playing as well as any quarterback in the country. Like Vince, he can hurt you with his feet. He is throwing the ball so well. Courtney Lewis is really a good running back. He is already over 1,000 yards. Terrence Murphy will be one of the first picks as a receiver in the draft next year. Their offensive line is really good, and maybe their most improvement is on defense. Carl Torbush has done a great job with their defense, and those guys are making a lot of plays, they are doing a great job stopping the run, they are giving up about 119 yards rushing a game. They are taking a lot more chances. They are blitzing about 40%, more than any other team we have seen blitz all year. I'm sure they are going to get after us and try to force us into some bad plays.

The other thing A&M has done such a great job of this year is protecting the football. They are number 2 in the country in turnover ratio and I think that will be a key in this game, as it is always. Both teams have the ability to make some big plays. Both teams have done a good job with the turnover ratio. Both teams have struggled some in the kicking game as of late. I really think that turnovers and kicking game will probably be the difference in the ballgame. Both teams will really be ready to play.

When people have asked the last couple of days about the BCS and the bowl situation, very honestly, this game is a lot more important to us than the BCS or the bowl situation. It is Texas A&M. It is The University of Texas. This is one you have to live with for the rest of your life. Even if we aren't successful Friday, then the BCS isn't a factor anyway. So what we've told our guys, is you better get ready to play. We need to play like we did in the second half against Oklahoma State.

You have to give Kansas credit. They came back and beat Missouri, 31-14 last weekend. Kansas has really improved here at the end of the year. Those guys are doing a great job. A&M will be a great test for us on Friday and it should be a lot of fun for everybody. The kids are jacked up about it. The A&M kids will be jacked up about it. It will be a fun game.

You look at the fights over the weekend. Whether it was pro basketball, whether was Clemson-South Carolina. We've had some talking before games, but both of these teams respect each other way too much to fight, and I don't foresee that being an issue at all. Dennis and his group are friends of ours. We compete each other but we don't fight. I think you will see there will be high spirits. There will be some talking back and forth because all of these kids know each other. Again, I really think you will see a clean and respectful game on Friday.

I did not realize we had one eleven straight Senior Days. It has been important for these guys to finish on a high note. This senior class has won 41 games. That ties the most in school history since freshmen started playing, with last year's group with 41 wins. They have a chance to win 43 games. I know that is very important to them.

You look at what Cedric Benson has done for our school. When he came in he was a guy that a lot of people compared to Ricky Williams and Earl Campbell. He was really scrutinized early and it was very difficult thing for him, and honestly now he's leaving with a legacy like they did. He will be remembered as one of the great running backs in the history of not only this school, but this game. I sure hope that people will see enough on Friday that will want to invite him to New York and give him a chance at the Heisman, because I think he is very, very deserving, not only for this year, but for his career. To see what he has been able to do, he has been so durable and he has protected the ball. He had 283 yards in this game last year and they are stopping the run so much better so you sure can't expect that on Friday. But he has done just a phenomenal job and he has also become such a great team leader.

Derrick Johnson, there are some great defensive players in America this year. I can't imagine anybody being better than Derrick Johnson. I know that none of the other players that are up for the awards he is up for have done as much for their football team because it would be hard to say that most of the others have more than two seniors on defense. Only he and Phillip Geiggar have played in a starting role for this defense. Both of them have done a great job, but if you start looking at what Derrick has done, he has just taken over ballgames. It is just amazing to see his ability to get there, his instincts to find the ball have improved so much, and then he will knock your head off when he gets there. Causing fumbles and tackles for loss, he has just been a special player. Texas fans get to see him two more times and we get to coach him two more times.

You can't replace either one of them. We are still looking for Ricky Williams, we are still looking for Roy. I see Shaun Rogers and Casey Hampton on TV. I saw Cory Redding get a safety yesterday. When you lose those guys, you lose them forever, so it will be fun to watch them Friday and in the bowl game.

(Reggie McNeal) is taking care of the ball better this year. Reggie has had a real high touchdown ratio to interceptions, and instead of throwing he ball into coverage, he pulls it down and runs it. He has done a great job. He is so fast. I think he ran 10.5 100 meters in high school. He was one of the fastest guys in the 100 meters in the state. That is phenomenal for someone as big as he is.

(Vince and Reggie) are both really athletic. These two guys played against each other in high school. They were two of the most highly recruited high school quarterbacks in the country. They are both guys who can make great plays with their feet. Vince is completing 60 percent of his passes, and people don't talk about his passing very much. He has grown so much this year in the passing game, especially in the last two weeks. What he did against Kansas in the end of the ballgame was just phenomenal. Both teams feel really good about themselves right now. They have won close games. We have won close games. A lot of that goes back to the leadership of Vince and Reggie. Reggie is a junior and Vince is a sophomore, but both are strong leaders on their football team.