Boulder – Texas coach Mack Brown isn’t worried about his 11-0 team handling the pressure of Saturday’s Big 12 championship game in Houston, but he acknowledges it is all on the Longhorns.
“We will have a lot more pressure on us than Colorado,” Brown said. “No one will expect Colorado to win this week, except Colorado. What we’ve got to do is play a one-game season to get to Pasadena.”
Texas, which with a win would advance to play for the national championship in the Rose Bowl, is a 27 1/2-point favorite over the Buffaloes (7-4).
“What you’ve got to do is when you’re in the role we’re in, you have to handle the pressure,” said Brown, who never has coached a conference championship team. “Because everybody is taking their best shot.”
CU buckled under the pressure in consecutive games of being able to qualify for the Big 12 title game with a win. The Buffs lost to Iowa State 30-16 and then to Nebraska 30-3.
It is CU’s hope that now, in the role of the underdog with nothing to lose, the result can turn in its favor.
“I hope so,” senior tight end Joe Klopfenstein said. “We really couldn’t play worse than the last two games. We really don’t have anywhere to go but up.”
Longhorn healing
Texas freshman running back Jamaal Charles, slowed by a sprained ankle, is healing and should be ready to contribute Saturday, Brown said.
“He is probably not 100 percent,” Brown said. “He has some soreness, but it is well enough that he can play. We feel like Jamaal will play and play well on Saturday.”
Charles didn’t play much against CU on Oct. 15, getting only 8 yards on three carries. But he has been superb overall, rushing for 782 yards (7.3 per carry) and nine touchdowns.
Footnotes
CU has been designated the home team for the game at Reliant Stadium and will wear black jerseys and gold pants. … This is the second time in its history that CU will play the No. 2-ranked team three times in a 12-month span. This time it was Oklahoma in last season’s Big 12 championship game and Texas twice this season. The other time it happened was from 2001-02, when CU played Nebraska, Oregon and Oklahoma.
