Sept. 28, 2005

Journal Week 4,

This week there has been a different feeling in the air. We are coming off a productive off week, beginning Big 12 play, and its Texas A&M week. We used last week to rest our bodies and recharge for conference play. We had a couple of short, physical practices last week and were off for much of the week.

I think that when we came back to practice on Monday night a lot of us just missed being out there on the field and around our teammates. It's strange that when you get used to seeing someone every day and you have three days away from them you miss them. We had maybe our best practice of the year Monday night, and returned for another good practice on Teusday afternoon.

This game with A&M has become a kind of rivalry game, and I'm not sure if it is because we beat them last year or if we simply revived a rivalry that had been one-sided for a little while. I have been asked a lot if we have been focused on this game since the game last year, and we of course want to beat them again, but our goals are bigger than this one game. We can, however, accomplish some of those bigger goals with a win, such as a road win in the Big 12. I believe we have a veteran team that can handle going into College Station and play well. I know that we won't get rattled, and I am personally looking forward to the challenge of playing in front of such a large, hostile crowd. We are always appreciative of the great support that we have received from all of our dedicated fans, so if you can't make it to the game make sure to watch it on Fox Sports Southwest at 11:30 AM. Sic `Em Bears.