I was treated to a football cornucopia on Saturday.  The high school where my son attends defeated the nationally ranked Oscar Smith Tigers (Chesapeake, VA) in a state semi-final matchup.  I say treat because I came home, toes nearly frozen, and witnessed the great Horns victory the very same evening. 

Now, most of you will not care too much about this story because it's not Texas High School playoffs.  But let me tell you, I've been to my share of games (S.A. Robert E. Lee (Tommy Kramer) v. Wichita Falls Rider; Highland Park (McIlhenney) - Plano; Dallas Carter - Odessa Permian; etc.) and this was the best H.S. playoff game I have witnessed live to date.  And you all know the stories of the great players the Virginia tidewater area produces so I do not need to explain when I say how impressive the victory actually was.

And the cherry was to see the raw enthusiasm of players, students, their families and friends rush that mudhole of a field after the final TD was made.  Thrilling!

You can read the game recap here.

And you can see the game slideshow here.

[Update] Another great site posting video highlights of game here.

Thomas Dale coach Vic Williams is confident in his club:

"This team is mature. They work hard and they do what they need to do," Williams added. "What we talked about all year is being able to put our equipment away on our own terms, instead of letting somebody else decide. We can do that now."

I am posting this to ask if it is any kind of omen that the Oscar Smith all-american QB Phillip Sims, who will be attending the University of Alabama next fall, was the losing QB.  I feel for a team that finally gets run after a 27 game win streak but he will not make it in the SEC playing like he did Saturday.  A very raw talent.  So is it an omen that I got to witness a highly touted athlete fall to an opponent that was basically given no chance of winning who in turn was given a Bama scholarship?   Hmmmmmmm.........

In any event, the Thomas Dale Knights ascend to the Virginia State Championship game next Saturday at UVA Scott Stadium. 

Congratulations to Coach Vic Williams for leading a scrappy bunch of kids to a championship game. 

All in all, a very satisfying day.

I used to not have any problems...sleeping.  Go to bed at 10ish every night.  Wake up to alarm about 5:45.  Like clockwork. All that changed a few years ago.  Now, I can't get to sleep and when I do, it's only 3-4 hours. And it is not regular, either. Like tonight.  Re-watched the UT-Kansas game for the sixth time.  Fell asleep in the Lazyboy about the time Colt was pulled from the game and wide awake at 2:30.   I'm not sure if I will ever be able to sleep like a baby again.  And to make matters worse, I know exactly when and why my sleep pattern changed.

The problem started shortly after I turned 40.  This lanky kid from Houston started playing a game of football that had not been witnessed since the days of Roger Staubach during my birh year. 

Man, was it possible that we had found our ticket to the promised land?  We kept a watchful eye and every week that rolled by we were left eye-gawking and open-mouthed at his talent.  We talked at the coffee pot on Monday about the young man's heroics and fantasized about championship opportunities.

His junior year delivered on everything the preseason predicted.  It was such a fun ride save for yet another loss to OU.  But Coach Brown was able to out-PR the smokin' lefties from Berkley and the coming out party in Pasadena was my reward.  Posted previously, my boy got one of the all time great souvenirs as a youngster.  We even got the the VIP treatment with tickets, pavilion passes, and Tournament of Roses Parade bleacher seats from a friend of a customer who did business with this guy who new the Executive V.P. of Operations who reported to the CEO of Nike, etc. etc.  I could not imagine at the time it could possibly get any better.

Chip off the old block, right there.

But wait, it did.  Our golden boy from Houston was just getting started.  His, "We'll be back" commentary was quaint and "in the moment".  We all wanted to believe.  Believe that we were starting our journey back to the throne of CFB.  After all the almost opportunities and waste of talent the previous 30 years it was very difficult to go "all in".  Human nature has whatcha call a built-in mechanism know as self-preservation or something like that.  I think we all know what I'm talking about so no comments from displaced longhorn, please.  We were glued on the edge of our seats watching every move of the '05 team.  Every waking moment was spent thinking of next week's game, how would we keep our BCS slot, and please do not allow any one of our playmakers suffer injury.  It was indeed, ahem, a dream season.

Once we ascended the mountain and won that MNC, it was finished.  The ride was over...but not really.  Little did we know, or possibly could we know, that a small kid from a small west Texas town in the middle of nowhere who redshirted in obscurity during that championship season would somehow compete with the '04-'05 ride.  But that scrappy kid has over achieved beyond our wildest imagination.  And what a ride we have had the last 4 years.  Here we are on the next to last tread with one foot on the landing.  Just wow!

All well and good, right?  But that is not why my sleep pattern changed.  It changed because of this damn blog.  I do not recall exactly how I discovered this site or why this one above others caught my attention, but it is definitely the root of my sleeping problems.  Either I am reading all postings and thinking of responses or calculating thoughts I want to initiate and share with others.  It.has.become.the.10000.pound.gorilla in my world.  I will say I have been lucky that my non-sportsfan wife of almost 22 years supports my habit and both of my kids are HUGE fans so I do not have to worry about nagging family issues.

My boy...Warrior Longhorn Fan!

So here we are on the precipice again.  One more win and it's back to where the ride started 6 years ago.  Too nervous to even breathe.  I can only imagine what is going through Coach Boom's and Coach Applewhite's minds right now.  Two of the best young-gun coaches in CFB right there and I'm sure they are like two kids back in college all knotted up.  Damn it's good to be a Horn fan.

But I will take less sleep and more Horns.  Just keep bringing it.  I'm not sure I speak for everyone who participates on this board but from the bottom of my heart, just want to take a time-out to say thanks to PB, along with Awiggo and GBR, who birthed this baby and nurtured it along to the blog beast it is today.  And also to the other contributors who should be writing for a living (maybe you do).  A very special thanks to dime who keeps us current with the daily comings and goings.  If there was a Pulitzer for blog participation you get my vote.  I can honestly say with all the free content on the interweb, I would gladly subscribe to this board if called upon.  A big-hearted THANKS to all here who have made this going on 6-year ride all the more memorable.

But all the same, I could use a little more sleep.

Now, let's go pop some corn.

Hook 'Em.

Win and your in.  That's what they tell you.  TCU and Cincinnati are outside looking in due to the human condition.  And thank goodness if you are a Horns fan as the voters (those that count) have continued to rank us 2nd since our road win in Stillwater. 

If I were a voter (or a CBS Sportsline Blogpoll participant) I would be focusing on some key metrics.  Below are a few that are about as good a barometer as any.

O.K. so Florida can't score as consistent as the other undefeateds.  They have the holy one and the win streak. 

No wonder the Longhorns are at the top of Matt Hinton's and Samuel Chi's Blogpoll ranking when looking on both sides of the ball...

Offensive power:  Potent.  Too bad we are pulling the 1's in the 3rd quarter otherwise our SPG would be off the chart.  In spite of the national media's incessant over-the-top reporting of how "inconsistent" our offense has been, our SPG and RZS stands above the others.  BTW, where were they this week in reporting about our sorry running game?  chirp, chirp, chirp.

Red Zone:  An interesting statistic.  If the Longhorn first team defense played as much as Florida's and Alabama I would surmise our number here would be on par, if not better, than theirs.

Scoring defense:  While not as high as Florida or Alabama, we have been fortunate to be able to play our scout squad in the 4th quarter of all but one game this year.   I'll take fresh legs in January over this stat.  And I'll take a 29 point APD, too.

Our lone game on grass in the Cotton Bowl was perhaps the best game all year as it showed the moxie and heart of the team to fight until the end.  It's good the team got into a scrum like that playing 4 quarters of ball.  They may need to call upon that experience in Pasadena.

Speaking of grass, interesting that we will have played on one natural turf field all year. That will be an obscure stat heading into the Rose Bowl.

Texas' schedule:  Hmmm.  Notice anything interesting here?  We are tied with Florida for 60% of wins vs. teams with winning records.  This compares to Alabama with only 30%.  Damn computers.

Texas v. TCU:  This is not the correct argument.  It should be Florida v. TCU, IMO.  And notice TCU has the most wins vs. ranked opponents.  That is strong.

Cincinnati: Their defense does not compare to the other undefeated teams.  Coach Kelley knows this and leaves them out of the discussion.

Early risers.  Saddle up.  Time to take stock of signs, maligns, and times.  All posters welcome.  Tailgate is now open for business.

GAME DAY - screw 'em all.  Cowboy posers.

Already we have heard from the ESPN corporate mouth, Chris Fowler, opening the question up to Texas losing today.  Corso and Herbstreit shut it down.  If Texas slips up.  If Texas slips up?  R U kidding me!  What a joke. 

And speaking of Chris Fowler, you suck.  We all remember you throwing the upside down horns sign in Lubbock last year.  You are officially on the S*** list.  I don't care how much you like Austin, yankee.

Very slow start to the talking points today.   Bama or FL have a better chance of slipping up.  Give me a break.

Let's bring the smack strong today.  Art Briles SUX!

Sorry, but if you are reading this for another insightful X's and O's entry then you have come to the wrong place.  However, if you have come here to release your inner dahmerjacktherippermrhydemayhemdemonmonger - mismanedangervengeance then this is the place for you.

I appreciate the incredible amount of paralysis of analysis ad nauseum all you BON'rs are throwing around but can we start getting our OU hate on? Don't we remember last year?  They stole our championship...just like a bunch of land thieves.  You can't convince me otherwise.  So don't try.  

And, while I'm at it, let's throw a little retribution kindling on the fire.  Do ya'll remember the woodshed a** beatings of 2000 and 2003?   How did you feel after those games?  Feeling the hate-burn yet?

Them over at Crimson and Cream are getting their hate on so we have some catching up to do.

It is time to stow the dry erase board for some karmic mojo and positive reinforcments.  All I see from you guys is self loathing, IMHO.  Really.  It's time to get behind the team.  I'm sure you are going to fire back at me but let's get fired up and start some hating.  This is the one time of year we can, and should, let loose.  No more mamby-pamby friendships and good will.  Throw the NCAA sportsmanship crap out the window.  This is a damn rival!  Let's start acting like it.

OU SUX! THE WHOLE DAMN OU NATION SUX!  THEY ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL SO LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND DEAL WITH IT RIGHT NOW!