AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- With 49 consecutive starts, Texas
offensive lineman Justin Blalock has seen, done and won just about
everything at Texas.
He's blocked for Vince Young. He has two wins and two losses to
Oklahoma, won a Big 12 title and won two Rose Bowls. In January, he
stood and watched confetti rain down after a 41-to-38 win over
Southern Cal for the national title.
Tomorrow'ss game against Texas A-and-M will be his school-record
50th straight start. A win would bring him another milestone -- a
perfect record against the Aggies.
A third-team All-American and first-team all-Big 12 selection
last season, Blalock could have left school early for the N-F-L as
a junior. He didn't announce his plans to return for this season
until the post-national championship celebration at Royal-Memorial
Stadium in January.
But he has no regrets about staying. He says he's excited about
graduating in a couple of weeks.
Blalock will get his degree in youth and community studies --
but a career in the N-F-L is likely in his future. A dominating
tackle, Blalock is projected as a guard in the N-F-L. He has played
both positions this season as injuries forced some adjustments on
the line.
On Tuesday, he was named one of three finalists for the Outland
Trophy awarded to college football's best interior lineman.
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SENIOR DAY: Texas will honor its 26 seniors before their final
home game with introductions of players and parents to the crowd in
a cermonony that always draws a few tears.
But hold the blubbering, boys. There's still a game to play.
In 23 years as a head coach, Brown says he's learned not to ramp
up the emotions too much too early. It could make for an emotional
aftermath of a loss. In his words -- "Don't cry twice."
The senior class is 43-and-six going into tomorrow's game. If
they win three more -- against A-and-M, the Big 12 title game and a
bowl game -- they'll set a new school record for the most wins by a
single class. The seniors of 2005 set the mark with 45.
The seniors include 12 starters on offense, defense and special
teams.
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COMING HOME: A-and-M senior receiver Chad Schroeder was raised
in Austin by two Texas graduates, went to games at Royal-Memorial
Stadium as a boy, starred at quarterback for the local high school
-- and still he was hardly recruited by U-T.
So, yeah, he's got plenty of motivation to play well against the
Longhorns tomorrow.
Schroeder played quarterback for his father at Austin Westlake
High School and led the team to the Five-A Division Two state title
game as a senior. He lost that game on Texas' home field.
Texas told him he could walk on, but no scholarship offer would
be coming. He opted for A-and-M instead and became a full-time
receiver. He leads the Aggies with 36 catches for 561 yards and
three touchdowns in 2006. He's caught eleven touchdown passes in
his career, tied for fourth in school history.
He'll play his last regular-season college game in his hometown,
in front of numerous friends and family members. It'll be his last
chance to beat his "home" team.
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GONE STREAKING: Texas is coming off a 45-to-42 loss at Kansas
State that snapped a 21-game winning streak in the Big 12.
The bad news for the Aggies is that the Longhorns have lost
consecutive games since 1999 when A-and-M started a three-game
Texas skid with a 20-to-16 upset in College Station.
Texas coach Mack Brown says the loss to the Wildcats, which
knocked the Longhorns out of contention for the national
championship, was among his most disappointing losses.
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TURNCOAT: A-and-M defensive coordinator Gary Darnell can't wait
to see Texas' sparkling new football facilities.
Darnell was the Longhorns' defensive coordinator under former
coach John Mackovic from 1992 through '96 -- when renovations to
Darrell Royal-Memorial Stadium and a new fieldhouse were only
blueprints.
Darnell says he finally gets to see those facilities that were
still blueprints when he left.
Darnell's days in Austin were rough -- the Longhorns ranked no
better than 55th nationally in total defense during his tenure. But
Darnell still makes regular return visits to see his brother,
Austin businessman Fred Langley.
When Darnell started coaching at Texas, the Aggies and Longhorns
were still members of the Southwest Conference. The Big 12 began in
1996 and created new rivalries for both teams that were almost as
fierce.
But only almost.
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EXTRA POINTS: A-and-M's four-and-oh on the road. The Aggies
haven't finished unbeaten on the road since 1994, also the last
season they defeated Texas in Austin. ... A-and-M freshman Mike
Goodson has averaged 101 rushing yards and ten-and-a-half yards per
carry over the Aggies' last three games. ... A military flyover is
scheduled before the game with three A-H-One Cobra helicopters from
the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron based in Atlanta. ...
The Texas-Texas A-and-M rivalry has been a Thanksgiving weekend
tradition since 1901. The game was played on Thanksgiving 60 times
and has been on the Friday after the holiday since 1994.
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QUOTABLE: "This game is all about the seniors: it's their last
home game. You want to send your seniors out on the best note
possible." -- UT freshman quarterback Colt McCoy.
"When it gets right down to it, it's about sweating and
stinking and blowing snot bubbles." -- Darnell on the A&M-Texas
rivalry.