AUSTIN – For those wondering if a great weight has been lifted from Mack Brown's shoulders since the Rose Bowl, you might be right.

But most of it appears to have come from farther south.

Good news: Success has not gone to Brown's head or hips. In fact, after undergoing knee replacement surgery, he's lost 30 pounds and is now below his playing weight at 190.

Bad news: He's also lost 230 pounds of prime NFL-quality QB, and it's not a good look.

Not that it seems to bother voters in the coaches' poll any. Maybe they just haven't noticed Vince Young doesn't live here anymore.

You know how football coaches are. Talk about focus. Many of them still don't know they're divorced.

Anyway, Texas loses one of its greatest players ever, maybe its best offensive lineman last season, its best defensive player and a guy who scored 15 touchdowns.

And the Longhorns still come out No. 2 in the coaches' poll? Makes you wonder if they hold something against Mack.

Of all people, you'd think coaches understand the heat this prediction causes. Didn't Texas lose some pretty serious players? Wasn't one national title enough?

Can't Mack just go 10-2 and spend the holidays in San Diego like the old days?

Not if Brown has his way, apparently. And not if this season plays out like it's setting up.

Said Brown: "I think we're in the perfect spot."

Here's the thinking: Starting out No. 2, you don't have to do anything to move up. Just don't do anything wrong, a formula that worked pretty well for Texas last season.

Of course, it won't be easy. Especially come Sept. 9 when the Buckeyes show up in Austin for a battle of one-versus-two.

Ohio State should be better settled on offense than it was when the Longhorns won at The Horseshoe last season. But the Buckeyes lost some great players on defense, particularly at linebacker. And Texas' defense could be significantly better.

"We honestly do feel we could be the best defense that's ever come through Texas," senior defensive end Brian Robison said.

He's probably stretching the point. But the front seven is deep. In the secondary, Michael Griffin takes over for Michael Huff. He doesn't have Huff's knack for finding the ball, but he's a big hitter. Nothing ignites a defense like the sparks from a big-time collision.

But here's the best recommendation for Texas' defense: Gene Chizik is back to run it.

He's got the longest winning streak in football after coming over from Auburn. He could have ridden it to a head coaching job but didn't get the offer he wanted.

Yeah, you say, but who replaces Vince Young? No one. But Colt McCoy certainly will give it his best shot.

He's got the edge on Jevan Snead because he's been around for a year, he knows the system and he's officially been crowned "a faster Major Applewhite."

A sports culture primer: Always be wary of a coach who suggests that a raw, unproven player reminds him of someone with an impressive resume. This came to me long ago when a Houston coach said a freshman named Rickie Winslow would make me forget Clyde Drexler. What he should have said was something helpful such as don't forget your mother's birthday or that you were supposed to pick up your mother-in-law at the fabric shop. Even if it's not as if she couldn't have called a cab, for cryin' out loud.

Sure, Texas still has questions to answer, starting at quarterback. But so do the rest of the top contenders in the Big 12 South.

And if the Longhorns beat Ohio State again, a feat that cemented Texas' legitimacy last season, it could set up another run in what appears to be a weaker national picture.

Or at least that's how it looks at the moment. Does it mean Texas beats Oklahoma now that Rhett Bomar's out? Not necessarily. Could be an even tougher game with Texas Tech in Lubbock, for that matter.

But the national picture's not as dire without Vince Young as Texas fans might have thought, right Mack?

"The only thing I regret," he said, "is all the pictures taken at the national championship game, and I'll always be fat in them."

Better a fat, happy face than the shock on Pete Carroll's mug.

E-mail ksherrington@dallasnews.com