Then, you've got what happened at bonfire. We've got to be ready to play. Slocum said any effort by coaches or fans to use the bonfire tragedy as a rallying point for a football victory would be insensitive and possibly counterproductive. It goes without saying that they're going to want to play as well as they can play. Our biggest concern is the strain of dealing with this from now until Friday.
Emotional strain is worse than physical strain to deal with.
And it isn't going to go away. The pain of the bonfire accident was also felt in Austin, where the 9-2 Longhorns have already qualified for the Dec. 4 Big 12 title game. But it's really tough to get up to play a game like this when something that is traditionally a part of the game has caused such tragedy. That's where having faith and having each other comes in. That's where the concept of the team and concept of the family come in.