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Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech Red Raiders posted the 500th win in program history against the Longhorns in November in what was one of the most-viewed matchups in ABC’s history. With an 11-2 season, Raiders maintained their record of posting a winning season for 13 years since the conference’s creation. A 65-21 loss to Oklahoma and the Cotton Bowl defeat to Ole Miss marred what was otherwise a fantastic season for Mike Leach’s team who took the Raiders to a Bowl match every year since 2000. Scoring at least 35 points in every won game, Texas Tech proved potent in offense and are expected to be a force come the new season – highlights of 2008 included road victories over rivals A&M and Kansas. Raiders’ key concerns are for junior quarterback Taylor Potts who has performed inconsistently and suspended Brandon Williams and McKinner Dixon who might not return in time for the new season.
Texas A-M
Posting their first losing record for three years in 2008, Texas A&M Aggies have a very important year ahead in coach Mike Sherman’s second season in charge. Consecutive conference losses to Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas Tech ended any hopes of a Bowl game and a disappointing end to the season saw consecutive losses at Baylor and Texas. The Aggies only managed to restrict the losses to less than 40 points once in 2008 – in the season opener against Arkansas State – and defense will again be a problem this year with injuries restricting the team’s options. A young side with little experience, Aggies will have to come up with something special to avoid posting another losing season.
Texas Longhorns
Mack Brown’s Texas Longhorns enter the 2009 season with the second highest number of wins after surpassing Notre Dame with 832 wins towards the end of 2008. Texas ended up with a 12-1 record, losing only to rivals Texas Tech 33-39. Upsetting Oklahoma and Oklahoma State on the way, the Longhorns triumphed at the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State winning their fifth consecutive Bowl game. With three of the four defensive line starters lost to the 2009 NFL draft, the big question is whether Texas can mount a serious challenge with only senior tackle Lamarr Houston returning as a starter. Former linebacker Sergio Kindle moves to end and is expected to contribute significantly.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State Cowboys had a similar 2008 to their state rivals. After going 7-0 for the season, they were narrowly beaten 28-24 by Texas before bouncing back with a thrashing of Iowa State. But defeats to Texas Tech and the Sooners meant that Cowboys finished the regular season 9-3. That ensured a bowl game against Oregon in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, but Cowboys lost 42-31, finishing the season empty handed. Coach Mike Gundy has since signed a new contract till 2015 and that will add stability to the program which has already seen big improvements since Gundy’s appointment four years ago. With the defense ranking bottom in sacks last year, improvement is needed if the Cowboys are to build on last season’s results and complement the offense that posted 50+ points in five of the team’s nine wins.
