Longhorns have bowling potential

AUSTIN - As the Longhorns continue to try to erase the memories of last year, a major step toward that goal could be reached Saturday.

"This step gives them an opportunity to do something last year's team didn't do," head coach Mack Brown said.

The difference between a five-win and a six-win season is a bowl game. It sounds simple enough, until after 12 straight years, it didn't happen in 2010.

"Last year was a little eerie feeling just because we didn't get to do that," senior tight end Blaine Irby said. "And so the sixth win is a bowl game and that's what our goal is right now."

As important as earning the sixth win of the year is to the team, players said it's not the main goal this season, just part of something larger.

"We don't want to stop at six wins," senior safety Blake Gideon said. "That wouldn't be too successful of a season to stop at that victory, but at the same time it is huge to become bowl-eligible and something we failed to do last year, so that is one of our goals obviously, is to go to a bowl game and to get this win, and then really move past that to decide how good the bowl is."

Senior linebacker Emmanuel Acho echoed that sentiment.

"It's one of the goals of ours, but we weren't breaking out of the huddles earlier this season with, 'Let's make it to a bowl game,'" he said. "It's not a big-time goal. Yeah we want to get there, but our goal is to get better every week and win each week and that's what we're going to do. Not because it's win number six, but because they're the next opponent. They're in our way and they're impeding our progress from our goal."

But it helps to reach the postseason in the process.