Joey Johnston

According to all the polls and the BCS computers, the Texas Longhorns are the nation’s second-best team. No one knows what data those computers will be spitting out come December. But let’s say this about the unbeaten Longhorns: They are impressively taking care of business.

They won at Ohio State.

They exorcised an omnipresent demon with a beat-down of Oklahoma.

They are rolling.

If you believe the Longhorns should be playing for their first national championship since 1970 — an inevitable date with the top-ranked USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl — you might actually get a sneak preview of sorts. It’s another chance for Texas to make a statement, one that could reverberate through the land.

Pay very close attention to Saturday afternoon. It’s the Big 12’s game of the year. And it may reveal more about Texas than any of its other significant victories. 

What will the Longhorns do with the flying circus of No. 10-ranked Texas Tech?

Coach Mike Leach’s Red Raiders are averaging a nation-leading 53.7 points per game. They are No. 2 in total offense at 572 yards per game.

“What they are doing offensively is phenomenal,’’ Texas coach Mack Brown said.

Texas Tech changes the way you think.

The Longhorns were pretty pleased last week when quarterback Vince Young carved up Colorado with 336 passing yards. Then came word of Texas Tech’s 59-20 romp against Kansas State. Cody Hodges, the Red Raiders quarterback, passed for 643 yards, the fourth-highest total in Division I-A history, and five touchdowns.

Six-hundred and forty-three yards!

“That’s unheard of,’’ Young said. “That’s just ridiculous.’’

POSSIBLE UNBEATEN MATCHUPS LEFT Date Game Oct. 22 Texas Tech at Texas Dec. 3 UCLA at USC Dec. 3 SEC title game in Atlanta* ???? Bowl games * If Alabama and Georgia remain unbeaten

That’s Texas Tech — stop the Red Raiders if you can.

Texas Tech, of course, is not in USC’s league.

The Trojans have won 28 consecutive games and are chasing history, a shot at their third national title. They have a pair of legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates (Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush) and, just as legitimately, are being compared to the best teams in college football history. On many occasions, their offense looks unstoppable.

That’s the comparison.

How do you stop the Red Raiders? Heck, how do you slow them down?

If Texas flexes its defensive muscle against the Red Raiders, that will mean something. Down the line, it could mean something really special. Because if this season is to be anything other than a coronation for USC, there must a championship opponent that can put pressure on Leinart and have enough speed to answer the array of playmakers.

On paper, the Texas defense is up to that task. The Longhorns, in fact, are the only team with top 10 rankings in total defense (third) and total offense (eighth).

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Let’s see how it does — in reality — against the Red Raiders.

Count me among the multitude that views Texas Tech’s early schedule with disdain. The Red Raiders beat up on Florida International, Sam Houston State and Indiana State before sweeping through a trio of Big 12 games. So this game also will be revealing for Texas Tech.

But there are things you can’t deny about Leach’s program.

The Red Raiders will score points. They will pass you silly. No matter what, they will have a productive quarterback.

Leach, the rebel, doesn’t believe in rebuilding or even retooling. He simply plugs in another QB, and away they go.

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His first Tech QB, Kliff Kingsbury, set 17 NCAA passing records. Following Kingsbury, fifth-year senior B.J. Symons then threw for 5,833 yards, an NCAA single-season record, in his only season as starter. Last season, another fifth-year senior, Sonny Cumbie, passed for 4,742 yards (sixth all-time in NCAA history) and capped his career with a 520-yard game in a pasting of No. 4-ranked California at the Holiday Bowl.

Now here comes Hodges, another fifth-year senior.

What has Hodges done? Oh, not too much. In six games, he has 2,461 passing yards and 22 touchdowns. He’s completing 71.6 percent of his passes.

“It doesn’t look like it matters [who plays quarterback for Texas Tech],’’ Longhorns defensive tackle Rod Wright said. “Any quarterback they put back there always seems to break the records of the previous quarterback.’’

“The most successful thing Mike [Leach] has been able to do is convince quarterbacks to come and sit for four years to play for one,’’ Brown said. “It's hard to get quarterbacks to do that. He's saying, ‘If you stay with me for four and learn the offense, you'll have one great year.’ They're doing that, and it's working for them.’’