Nov. 26, 2004, 12:27AM

Resurgent Aggies again threat to UT
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN — They were beaten by Baylor and battered by Utah. They collapsed against Oklahoma and needed a frantic rally to defeat Colorado.

They also defeated Clemson and Oklahoma State decisively.

They have gone into overtime in three of their last four games and won two of them.

They have proved again and again that they're smart and resilient, that they're as well coached as any team in the nation.

They've done more than even they expected to do.

But what the Texas A&M Aggies have really accomplished this season can't be measured in numbers.

They've made the Texas game relevant again.

They've convinced themselves the balance of power is shifting from Austin to College Station, that they might be the team more capable of playing with Oklahoma.


Rivalry revived
When the Aggies and Longhorns play for the 111th time this afternoon, there won't be a conference championship or perfect season on the line.

There's probably nothing more than second-tier bowls at stake.

What today is really about is A&M's chance to signal its re-emergence and make the Texas game about more than bragging rights.

Wipe that smirk off your face, Sooners fan.

Someday Bob Stoops is going to leave Oklahoma, and then what will you have?

Suddenly you're just another school with seven national championships, the country's best facilities and a huge, generous alumni base.

Oh, never mind.

Back to Texas and Texas A&M.

For the first time in recent memory, the two schools are both poised for greatness.

This is just the 10th time both schools enter the game ranked in the Top 25.

More important is that both finally have facilities as good as any in the country.

Both have coaching staffs with solid track records.


A lot to hope for
I'm hoping for a close game. I'm hoping this rivalry is reborn today.

I'm hoping Aggies quarterback Reggie McNeal throws for 200 yards and runs for 100.

I'm hoping Texas' Vince Young does the same.

I'm hoping it's decided in the final seconds and that fans leave Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium exhausted.

If nothing else, Texas will offer coach Dennis Franchione a progress report on his second season at Texas A&M.

Franchione might not have UT coach Mack Brown's magical recruiting touch, but he's as good as almost any coach in the country at devising and executing a plan.

Then again, it always has been easy to sell Brown short.

Sure, Texas fans whine about his never having won so much as a conference championship.

Would they trade him for Butch Davis? Urban Meyer?

The correct answer is: not on a dare.

All Brown has done the last five seasons is go 50-11 and win two of four bowls.

Because he has lost five in a row to Oklahoma, his other accomplishments have been marginalized.

An NFL talent evaluator told me this week that Texas is better than any Southeastern Conference team.

Of the teams he has seen this season, only Oklahoma and USC clearly are better than the Longhorns.

What Brown might never get enough credit for doing is rebuilding Texas football to the point it can win a national championship.

Take a look around Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium this afternoon.

The atmosphere is better than it ever has been, and a large chunk of that credit goes to Brown for his tireless lobbying of fans and fat cats.

Franchione is doing the same thing. Thanks to former Aggies coach R.C. Slo , A&M's facilities are as good as almost any in the country.

If Slo hadn't convinced his bosses to drive to Austin for a tour, it's unlikely anything would have gotten done, and A&M probably would have continued its slide from prominence.

Here's hoping Franchione understands the role Slo has had in his success.

A victory this afternoon would be the biggest of his career. Not only would it be the finishing touch on an 8-3 regular season, it would signal a seismic shift.

"We've taken a lot of steps," Franchione said. "We win, and I think we've taken a giant step from last year — maybe bigger than I was sure we could take in one year."

Franchione's biggest challenge will be competing in a division that has two top-10 programs (Texas and Oklahoma) and two other good ones (Texas Tech and Oklahoma State).

Franchione was asked this week about the challenge of building a program while playing Texas and Oklahoma every year.

"Can three of us sustain good programs?" he said. "I think so.

"I believe that. That's one reason I came here — there's great talent here close by, and there's great high school coaching here.

"You've just got to get your share of the players. And I think it can be done."

Today is the next step in that journey.