Longhorns Around the Web

Each Friday, we'll be offering up a sampling of Longhorn- and Big 12-related sports coverage making its way around the Web.

First things first: ESPN will be on hand Saturday to broadcast its College GameDay program live from the UT campus. ESPN's press release may state that the show will be filmed at an "undisclosed location", but that's just code for the South Mall. Taping begins at 9 am, but plan to arrive sooner if you hope to get your painfully witty sign on national TV.

Officially, the spread for this week's game is about 17.5 points, depending where you place your (hypothetical) bet. But, on what grounds? Both teams have beaten two nobodies in the past two weeks. And scores in the series over the past three years? 39-33, 59-43, and 35-31. Certainly the absence of Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree have something to do with it, but as Mack Brown said of Taylor Potts this week, "He's the same guy. Just change the numbers." With a considerable home-field advantage, nobody will be surprised to see Texas cover, but it seems like the more rational bet could be on Tech.

You have to go back six seasons to find a time when Big 12 Conference play opened earlier in the season than it will this year. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It isn't nearly as significant now as it was during the conference's infancy, but it's no secret that more and more emerging programs in emerging conferences are tinkering with their schedules in order to position themselves for greater national exposure.

One highlight in last week's not so inspiring first half against Wyoming was the emergence of redshirt freshman Tre Newton. Newton's performance will likely earn him some touches this week. Colt McCoy wasn't subtle in his praise of Newton on Monday: "Tre came in at a time where we were wearing them down, and he came in and just played lights out. He caught a couple of balls. Two of them were brought back because of penalties, but he came in and ran the ball well and really provided a spark for our offense. Tre’s a play-maker. He does that every day in practice. He knows that when his number is called, he’s going to go out there and make plays, and we have full faith and confidence in him."