San Diego ? Motivational ploys come in all forms.

Texas players and coaches plan to use lots of ploys today in the Holiday Bowl, where the fifth-ranked Longhorns (10-2) seek to wrap up another top-10 finish in the postseason polls while operating outside the glitz and glamour of the Bowl Championship Series.

Texas’ BCS dreams vanished when Kansas State knocked off Oklahoma, 35-7, in a Big 12 championship game that became a win-win proposition for both participants. Despite losing, Oklahoma (12-1) will play LSU (12-1) Sunday for the BCS’ version of the national-title game in the Sugar Bowl. K-State (11-3) earned its first conference title since 1934, secured a spot in the Fiesta Bowl and closed the door on Texas’ hopes for landing an at-large berth in one of the high-profile, high-dollar BCS contests.

So the Longhorns will take the field at 7 tonight at Qualcomm Stadium against No. 15 Washington State (9-3) without a chance to record Texas’ first victory over a top-10 opponent since 1999.

After talking of making a major splash in the postseason while awaiting word of their bowl opponent, the Longhorns concede this is not the dream scenario for making a season-ending statement to poll voters.

“If we lose this game, we’re going to have (grief) ragged on us,” said tailback Cedric Benson, reflecting on the Longhorns’ status as 91/2-point favorites. “Everybody’s going to think we’re sorry and played blase. So, there’s a lot of pride on the line for us. We have to take it out there and put it to them.”

Naysayers, the Longhorns admit, might accuse them of grasping at straws at the end of a season that began with lofty goals but will not include a league championship, a BCS game or a run at the 2003 national championship.

Beyond pride, Benson and teammates point to other sources of motivation. Among them:

l Members of Texas’ senior class have a combined record of 41-9, making them the winningest class in school history. The seniors seek to finish with 42 victories, making their victory total tougher to match.

l The Longhorns have a chance to post three consecutive 11-win seasons for the first time in school history.

l By finishing with an 11-2 mark and a seven-game winning streak, Texas’ underclassmen believe they will enhance next year’s preseason ranking and will be better positioned to make a national-title run.

l Benson and linebacker Derrick Johnson are pondering early entry in the 2004 NFL draft, meaning a strong showing in the Holiday Bowl could enhance their draft status.

“We don’t want to go into the Holiday Bowl half-stepping,” Benson said. “We’ve still got to look good out there.”

Whatever the source of motivation, Texas coach Mack Brown said he welcomed it.

“We’re not in the national championship game. But we’ve got a chance to do some things that haven’t ever been done around here,” Brown said. “If we win and things break right in the other games, we could finish in the top three in the final polls. That hasn’t happened at Texas in a long time.”

Not since the 1981 season, to be specific. That year, the Longhorns finished second to Clemson in the Associated Press poll with a 10-1-1 record. The past two seasons, Texas has finished fifth (2001) and sixth (2002) in the AP polls. Continuing that trend, said center Jason Glynn, could pay dividends next August.

“The way the BCS works, if you’re not in the top four at the end of the year, you’re not guaranteed anything,” Glynn said. “So, where you start the season in the polls really matters. The best thing is to start up there and stay up there. If we win this game, we should be ranked really high going into next year.”

It would also make a nice parting gift for this year’s senior class.