'HORNS DON'T NEED THIS RIVALRY.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF 

Right after Texas coach Mack Brown was hired in 1998, he wanted to boost interest in Longhorns football by renewing one of the school's storied rivalries.

Texas had about 39,000 season-ticket holders and was 4-7 the year before, so Brown scheduled Arkansas for 2003.

Today, Brown doesn't really need to play the Razorbacks. Texas sells 66,500 season tickets, and it's almost a lose-lose situation playing a bitter former Southwest Conference opponent.

``When I first got here, people talked about our fans coming late to games and leaving early,'' Brown said. ``I thought a game against Arkansas would be a good one to stir things up. So I had a lot to do with that game getting scheduled. But these days, every game stirs things up around here.''

Brown doesn't regret the move, but Arkansas has tied for two Southeastern Conference West titles and made five bowl appearances under coach Houston Nutt.

Even though the Longhorns are favored this weekend, Brown isn't above trying to motivate his players.

Inside the Longhorns' locker room was a large photograph of Nutt performing the ``Hook 'em Horns'' gesture pointed downward. The photo, snapped during the Razorbacks' postgame celebration after beating Texas 27-6 in the 2000 Cotton Bowl, is displayed near a counter where players stop each day to pick up fresh practice gear.

``I've seen fans do that all the time. But that was the first time I'd seen a coach do it. That surprised me,'' Brown said.

``I'm sure he'll use that as motivation,'' Nutt said. ``I would, too.''

--University of Nike: Oregon's new yellow Nike uniforms, which make the team look like human highlighters, aren't the only example of the shoe company's influence over nearly every detail at the school. According to sources, Nike owner Phil Knight listens to conversations on the coaches' headsets during home games.

--Foreign language: North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato put a gag order on questions about the Wake Forest loss halfway through his news conference this week.

When the request was broken on the very next question, Amato said, ``Am I speaking Italian up here?''

--Power outrage: You can trace Baylor's problems in its loss at North Texas to the start of the game, when power was cut off on the Bears' sidelines, leaving the coaches' headsets inoperable.

Then at halftime, they had to move to smaller, auxiliary rooms when power was out in the visitors' locker room.

``Queensberry rules say (the North Texas coaches) should have taken their (headsets) off, but they didn't,'' Baylor coach Guy Morriss said. ``I asked the official, `What makes you think that the power just went off inadvertently? Maybe they unplugged our power.' ''

--Music fan: The music industry's pledge to stop the downloading of its artists' work resulted in the filing of 261 federal lawsuits Monday, and among those named was Colorado football player Matt McChesney.

McChesney discovered his name on the list after practice Monday.

``Oh man, are you serious? Are you serious?'' he said before quickly retreating to a ``no comment'' mode.

--Woods update: Oregon cornerback Rodney Woods of Littlerock High is playing second-string for the Ducks and saw about a third of the snaps against Nevada last week.

Woods served jail time for an assault conviction at the site of a high school party in which another youth died during an assault that was determined to be separate from Woods'. There had been discussions from victims' advocates groups about picketing Autzen Stadium for Oregon home games, but it never materialized in the home opener.

``I think this will follow me for the rest of my life,'' Woods said. ``It will always come up, at least as long as I'm playing ball and going to school.''

--Roll Irish: Referring to Notre Dame's 26 consecutive points last week, Washington State offensive coordinator Mike Levenseller said, ``The tide started rolling. You perceive every call is going against you.''

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(1) FOOTNOTES

By Scott Wolf

(2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS