After last night's defeat many of my fellow Aggies may be feeling the hangover effects of that disappointing loss. Some may be asking themselves, if we can't beat Auburn, how could we possibly beat tu? The Auburn game is over. In fact, any other disappointments that we have had this season are in the past. My hope is that the team learns the lessons of those defeats as well as the lessons of their victories and applies those lessons going forward. Any disappointments or doubts must be cast aside because the week that many of us have been waiting for is finally here. As we prepare for this week's game, the only thing that matters about the first eleven games of the season are the lessons that our team has learned that can help them win this week, for the hated texas longhorns are coming to College Station for a game that has more meaning than most can fathom. Amazingly, everything is still in front of us.

The purpose of this post is to make sure that everyone's head is in the right space this week. Much has been said about how complete a team the longhorns are, and how talented they are at the skill positions. But let's understand one thing that may be lost to some of the college football talking heads...The longhorns do not have enough talent to win on talent alone. If they want to win this game they better button up their chin straps and get ready for a war because that is what our Aggies are going to give them next Saturday.

The sports betting world and many college football analysts may look at different statistics in making their pick and setting the spread for this game. If they are looking at stats and thinking about how highly ranked texas' defense is, or how dynamic some of their playmakers are and comparing that against our strengths and weaknesses, they should take my advice and throw it all out. There is only one number that matters this week in determining who will win the battle royale at Kyle Field next Saturday night. That number is 13.

It has been 13 years since we walked off the field after having the officials essentially give texas a victory in what was our last match up as part of the Big 12. For most rivals, after suffering a frustrating loss like that, you have to wait in agony for a whole year before getting a chance at redemption or to right a grievous wrong. We have had to wait THIRTEEN years for this opportunity. Let me say that again...It has been thirteen YEARS since our last game. Not days, weeks, or even months,, but thirteen YEARS! That is a long time to wait for this opportunity and our boys will not waste it.

To our team let me say a few words. In the SEC there is a slogan that it just means more, but even though EVERY single SEC game matters, this week's game with texas just means MORE than the rest. It is the longhorns. This is the kind of game that you were born to play in and it is the kind of game that you have dreamed about playing in for longer than you can fathom. Every hit, every block, every push for extra yards after a catch or during a run mean more this week than any other game that you have ever played in. The effort and the execution WILL be there this week because this game is not merely about talent and ability it is about who you are as individuals. It is about your character and heart, because THAT is what wins rivalry games. Who wants the game more will determine who wins and there can be no doubt that you all want this win more than the longhorns. They will put up a fight, and the Lord knows, that there is a lot at stake, but they have not been waiting 13 years for this game like we Aggies have and that cannot be lost on you as you practice and prepare this week. Do not worry about a trip to Atlanta or the CFP. Let the horns stress over that, for if you do not beat texas you don't deserve to go to the championship or the playoffs anyway, even if it were the only loss we had. This week is about beating texas, nothing more. You all have the ability. If you play to your potential, play with heart and play with the understanding of how long it has been since we have had a chance to beat the longhorns in football and how much it means to us as Aggies, then you will not lose this game.

For the 12th man I have this to say...Over the last thirteen years we have played the horns in other sports and all of those games have mattered and showcased a glimpse of what this rivalry means. That being said, THIS game is different. Maybe it is the fact that we only get one chance per year to play the horns in football, but winning this game means more than any other victory in any other sport. For those of you that are first generation Aggies, or maybe only began paying attention to them when Johnny Manziel was here , you are about to understand the difference between playing Alabama and LSU and playing tu. The 12th man was amazing during the LSU game, but that was kid stuff compared to this game. You need to protect your voice this week because those of us that can't be there are counting on you to yell for us every bit as much as you yell for yourself and support our boys. You must effect this game positively AND... when it is over and you feel the urge to storm the field after we win, don't. The longhorns don't deserve that treatment. Our boys are every bit as good as tu and belong on that field with them. When we win Saturday night, it will not be because of luck, or because tu did not play up to their potential. It will NOT be an upset. We will win because our boys will go out there and take it. Your support will ensure that happens. Never give up on them as they have proven that they will not quit. They wiil fight and they need to FEEL the kind of support that only the TRUE 12th man can give.

Thirteen years is a long time to wait for this game. It should be front and center in the mind of ALL Aggies this week as we prepare to unleash Hell upon tu. After the game with McNeese State back in September I posted that THIS season was not about 1939 when we won our last natty. THIS season was all about 2011 and getting back on the field with texas. It is not the horns fault that the Big 12 refs gave them that game in 2011, but that loss has left a bitter taste in the mouths of all of the former students who were at A&M then, or who had been a part of this rivalry during their time on campus and were watching at home like myself. I graduated from A&M almost exactly 30 years ago on December 16th, 1994. During my four years there we beat tu EVERY year and won EVERY SINGLE game at Kyle Field. I cannot tell you how good that felt. I wish ALL of my fellow Ags would get the chance to experience something as special as that was. Beating the Hell outta tu next Saturday night would be a damn good start. Let's get it done. GIG EM AGGIES!! BTHO tu!!