Texas quarterback Colt McCoy speaks to reporters during the Big 12 Football Media Days. McCoy and the Longhorns were part of the third and final day of the media event Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City, Mo. ? He knew the question would come sooner or later.

As he sat on the second floor of the Marriott Downtown on Wednesday, hands folded in his lap, Colt McCoy felt quite certain that the dreaded “sophomore slump” inquiry eventually would find its way into the steam of questions being hurled his way by members of the Big 12 Conference football media.

Of course, that didn’t keep him from cringing a bit when it did.

“I hate that term,” said McCoy, shaking his head.

And with good reason.

Following one of the most productive freshman seasons in conference history, during which he tied the NCAA record for touchdown passes by a freshman (29), McCoy, the University of Texas quarterback, struggled in a 2007 sophomore year in which the Longhorns lost to conference afterthoughts Kansas State and Texas A&M.

Although he managed 3,303 yards passing (the second-highest single-season total in UT history) and 22 touchdowns in ’07, he also threw 18 interceptions and struggled to execute at key times.

“Personally, going through your sophomore year, sometimes you just feel too comfortable,” said McCoy, a junior this season. “(The key) is just going back to basics, taking one play at a time, understanding what you’re going to do every time. Those things are so important, and you can’t get away from that. (But) at times, it’s easy to when you feel comfortable, and you feel like you know everything.”

Even after last season’s struggles, however, McCoy enters the ’08 season with a revived spirit, confident that a re-dedication to the craft will pay dividends on the field.

“We spent hours upon hours (this summer) studying and watching and learning, saying, ‘Why’d you go here with this, you know to go here,'” McCoy said. “And I’m watching and thinking, ‘What an idiot; what are you doing? You know that.’

“It just takes time,” he added. “It takes time in the film room, taking a piece of paper and a pen and writing down each thing that you know, even though you’ve been through it 100 times, just so it’s cemented in your mind.”

In Austin terms, McCoy and the Longhorns are at a bit of a crossroads. Since 2005’s national championship season – engineered by former quarterback Vince Young’s 467-yard performance in the title game – Texas has failed to advance to a BCS bowl, despite entering each of the past two seasons ranked in the top 5 nationally.

And while a two-year absence from one of the country’s best bowls might not scream “trouble,” remember: This is Texas, where everything is bigger, including expectations.

“There’s always high expectations for us,” said McCoy. “We play at the University of Texas, so we know what to expect. We’re just focused on ourselves. We’re focused on making sure that we do the things right now. If we do that, we’re confident that we can be pretty good.”