Texas Longhorns

Texas Longhorns (8-4) vs. Oregon State Beavers (9-3)

Dec. 29, 6:45 p.m. ET, San Antonio (ESPN)

Texas take from LonghornNation's Carter Strickland: The Longhorns stumbled down the stretch, losing their last two games to finish the regular season third in the Big 12.

While most projections called for Texas to finish right around third in the conference -- second was a possibility but thought to be a distant one -- the 8-4 overall record is looked at as a disappointment because of who the Longhorns lost to and how they lost.

Oklahoma and Kansas State, the top two teams in the Big 12, beat Texas by a combined 60 points, but the fact that the Longhorns most likely were going to lose to both of those teams had been accepted prior to the start of the season.

The other two losses -- to TCU and West Virginia -- were seen more as swing games. Texas lost those two by a combined 10 points. That both losses were at home didn't exactly thrill the fan base.

Now Texas is at a loss as to which quarterback, David Ash or Case McCoy, should lead the team. Ash started the first 11 games but was pulled twice due to inconsistent play and turnovers. McCoy started the final game against Kansas State and threw for 314 yards with 17 straight completions at one point. But McCoy had two costly interceptions as well.

On defense, Texas was one of the most porous in both the conference and the nation. But a month of bowl practice may help heal defensive end Alex Okafor and build confidence in replacement linebackers Tevin Jackson and Peter Jinkens.

Texas needs one more win to finish one game better than last season's record of 8-5. If the Longhorns can do that it might lend slightly more credibility to Texas coach Mack Brown's continued stump speeches about the Longhorns having improved from last year.

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Oregon State take by Pac-12 blogger Kevin Gemmell: Oregon State head coach Mike Riley has a decision to make. OSU's regular-season finale against Nicholls State was as much an open quarterback tryout between Sean Mannion and Cody Vaz as it was a quest for a ninth win. Both have had highs and lows throughout the season, so it will be interesting to see which way Riley goes in the postseason as the Beavers look for their first Bowl win since a 3-0 victory against Pittsburgh in the 2008 Sun Bowl.

Both quarterbacks looked outstanding against Nicholls State -- granted, it was against a one-win FCS team. Yet both made their cases with efficient performances.

But the true stars of Oregon's State's team this year have been seniors Markus Wheaton (receiver) and Jordan Poyer (cornerback). They were catalysts for one of the best turnarounds in college football in 2012. Last season, the Beavers were 3-9 and many questioned whether Riley's job was secure.

Wheaton is one of the most dangerous, yet underappreciated receivers in the country. He's not only made his quarterback better with his sure hands and blistering speed, but his presence also helped give rise to up-and-coming receiver Brandin Cooks. The duo went for more than 1,000 receiving yards each, so they'll test the Texas secondary.

Across the field, Poyer, an All-American, comes in with a Pac-12 best seven interceptions. He's supported by an outstanding defense that was second only to Stanford in points allowed per game. Scott Crichton (nine sacks, 15 tackles for a loss) headlines a front seven that was one of the tougher groups in the conference this season.

Texas linebacker Jordan Hicks has not been ruled out for the remainder of the season, but he will not play against Texas Tech this weekend.

The junior outside linebacker was not listed on the Longhorns depth chart on Monday for the first time this season. He suffered a groin injury against Ole Miss on Sept. 15 and has not appeared in a game since.

According to a UT spokesperson, Texas has not made a determination on whether Hicks is done for the year.

“He’s really trying hard to get back,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “Obviously we thought it would be two to three weeks, and now we’re going on seven or eight.

“He wants to play. He was out there running with [strength coach] Bennie [Wylie] yesterday trying to see if he could get back, and they did not think he’d come far enough to play this Saturday.”

If he doesn’t play another game, Texas will seek a medical redshirt after the season for Hicks, a third-year junior. He would have two more years of eligibility. Hicks is expected to qualify for a medical redshirt because he played no more than three contests or 30 percent of this season.

Texas’ run defense has struggled considerably since Hicks went down, and the Longhorns have relied on sophomores Kendall Thompson and Tevin Jackson in his place. His absence has been significant from a leadership standpoint as well.

“He’s our defensive leader,” cornerback Quandre Diggs said. “He’s been that guy to get us going all the time. He goes out and he makes plays and he makes everyone feel a whole lot more comfortable. We have guys that have got to step up.”

Brown also said Monday that running back Malcolm Brown’s status for Saturday’s game against Texas Tech hasn’t been decided and will be evaluated depending on if he practices. Brown has missed Texas’ past four games with an ankle injury.

The bye week comes at a relatively good time for the Longhorns from an injury standpoint. After a fall camp of little to no injuries, Texas will use this week to rest and re-evaluate three key players in linebacker Jordan Hicks, running back Joe Bergeron and kicker Anthony Fera.

Hicks was knocked from the Ole Miss game in the second quarter with what was called a hip injury. Bergeron was banged up and had to come out in the second half. Fera, a transfer from Penn State, pulled his hamstring prior to arriving in Austin.

“The health of Anthony Fera, Jordan Hicks and Joe Bergeron will be limited this week and we will know more on Sunday. They will be limited this week,” head coach Mack Brown said.

All three players are vastly important to Texas’ success. Hicks, for one, is the foremost-experienced linebacker and one of the leaders of the defense. When he went out against Ole Miss the defense admittedly “panicked.”

If he is limited or unable to go against Oklahoma State next week the Longhorns will have to rely on the relative inexperience of backups Kendall Thompson, Tevin Jackson and freshman Dalton Santos.

“That’s what the next three days will be for,” Brown said. “We will look at some different guys there this week and see who has improved the most. Santos has a banged up calf too so he will be limited a little bit even though he will be out there some. We have to find some guys there.”

Brown did say that Texas would be in more nickel coverage over the next few weeks because of the pass-heavy Big 12, so the Longhorns could mask his absence with another defensive back.

Fera is a player that Texas would really like to have back in time to play in the type of hostile environment that Stillwater will be. The Longhorns have been woefully inconsistent in field goals this season, having to rely on freshman Nick Jordan.

“We haven’t done anything with Anthony since he pulled his groin three or four weeks ago,” Brown said. “We haven’t even seen him kick. So we will reevaluate those guys on Monday.”