No. 2 Texas started getting ready to face No. 1 Alabama for the national championship without a game plan or a depth chart.

At least not yet.

With the BCS title game against not being played until two weeks from Thursday, coach Mack Brown is taking his time.

Brown figures it's too early for players to delve into specifics about the Crimson Tide, so his practices thus far, and for the next few days, are focused mostly on fundamentals. He calls them similar to summer two-a-days, except that these workouts are full contact. Brown believes in a lot of hitting to keep guys sharp during the long layoff between games.

Brown has used a similar plan for many years and it's easy to see why. Texas has won five straight bowl games and seven of its last eight, a run that includes the national championship in January 2006.

Well, there is one new wrinkle this time. That whole thing about no depth chart.

Unhappy with the way his offense played in the Big 12 championship, and still upset with the defense's performance against Texas A&M in the game before that, Brown decided to really make practices interesting by threatening everyone into thinking their job is on the line.

"What we're doing is we're going back and being really, really hard on the guys," Brown said Monday. "We're having a lot of tough, physical drills and we're changing the depth chart daily."

Colt McCoy's job is certainly safe. But the guys who got him sacked nine times against Nebraska are among those who probably better be sharp _ or else.

"There's always the possibility there will be some changes there, yes," offensive coordinator Greg Davis said. "At 13-0, we're not going to reinvent ourselves in a month. But I do think we have to be smart enough to tweak some things."

McCoy hasn't chewed out his line because he still believes in them. Besides, he has a simple answer for anyone who says they played lousy against the Cornhuskers.

"We found a way to win," he said. "We understand we struggled a little bit. We've come through a lot. Now we're in the national championship. That's where we wanted to be when we started the season and we're going to do everything we can to play our best."

McCoy is among seven Texas players who were on the sideline in jerseys and jeans watching Vince Young lead No. 2 Texas to an upset of No. 1 Southern California in the Rose Bowl four years ago. Brown has talked to the team about the similarities between that game and this one, from the rankings to the setting.