A Sooner's Advice to the Aggies.

OK, Mikey, baby, sit down.

Yeah, you too, Jerrod, and the rest of you Aggies, sit yourselves on down.

Yes yes, I know Stephen McGee's gone. I know, I know. Trust me, we're gonna miss Sam when he leaves, I can bet you any amount of money on that.

No, guys. I'm not gonna make good on that bet. Who do you think I am? Franchione?

OK, yeah, you're right, that was uncalled for, and I do apologize. We shouldn't be bickering, you and I. We should be pooling our efforts together.

After all, we do have a common enemy. The Texas Longhorns.

Trust me, we want to beat them just as much as you do. However, I'm afraid that, with the way things look right now, I think we have a much better chance of beating them than you do.

That's not an insult! I'm just saying. You guys went from stomping them into the ground for two years and then you get your butts handed to you several times over in Austin last season.

Don't look at me like that, you know it's true. Why did it happen? Well, it took the 'Horns two years to figure out that Colt needed to bulk up and they needed to realize that he's just not Vince Young and that other teams ARE in fact better than them. Once they got that under their skin and got one heck of a better defensive line, then they figured out the secret formula.

Unfortunately, all the times things were going right for them, all the wrong things were happening to you.

You lose Dennis, get a new head coach who, while coaching college in the past, was fresh off the NFL, and you had one of the youngest squads in the Big 12 last season, only comparable to Baylor.

And the thing that hit the final nail in the coffin, you just happened to be in the toughest division of a conference in the NCAA last season, the Big 12 South.

However, next season is a level playing field. Well, a little more so.

Tech is rebuilding with the loss of their two golden boys, Texas' secondary will be much weaker as well as their D-line, and we just lost several weapons on offense as well as pretty much our entire O-Line.

So, in light of that and the comradery we share through the hatred we share of the same team, here's some keys that I think will help you guys majorly next year.

First off, you got a couple of promising runners coming up. Jay Tolliver and Cyrus Gray. Guard them well. Also, Jerrod, you're really starting to come into your own in a conference full of some of the best QBs in the country, and who knows? Next year could be your break-out season and you could show Robert Griffin what for.

Your O-line, like ours, will pretty much need to be re-built, but it's not hopeless by any means. Watch out for pass protection, we can be a pass-happy league at times.

We'll see how the defense holds under the experiences of cornerbacks Justin McQueen and Terrence Frederick, and it'll be interesting to see how Chevar Bryson does as a converted wide receiver. You guys definitely need some stronger and sturdier hands at that position just like us.

All in all, you'll build yourselves back up again. Like Nebraska up in the North. I've got a feeling the playing field is gonna change next year. I don't think Mizzou will dominate the North for much longer and we may see a very different South next year, perhaps a South where Baylor can beat Tech and maybe Okie State can take it all (God Forbid).

Play your cards right, and I think you'll surprise your hated in-state rival, and maybe even get to a non-BCS bowl when you're done.

My point is, keep the faith. Sometimes it's all you got. I know the Sooner Nation will be pulling for you when face off against Texas.

Boomer Sooner and we'll see you guys in Norman.