No team has been to the College World Series more times than Texas. The Longhorns are making their 33rd trip to the CWS, which crowned its first champion in 1947.

For all the non-math majors, this is the 63rd CWS. With 33 appearances, Texas has made the sport's final weekend about once every three years.

Considering that the Longhorns' last trip to Omaha came in 2005, Orangebloods were certain that after three seasons of falling short, this year's Texas team would make it through the regional and super regional pressure cookers. And never mind that the '05 team brought home the team's sixth national championship.

In his 41 seasons that have produced 1,714 victories, Texas coach Augie Garrido has seen enough and done enough to understand what fans expect is best left to the media, talk radio and message boards.

"The team really didn't think that way," Garrido said after his team defeated TCU 5-2 in a super regional elimination game. "The expectations belong to the people around us. We can't play to that. The whole idea of what we're trying to do is control the things we can control and that's the performances and that's hard enough to do."

Texas, the Big 12 regular season and postseason champions, started the NCAA tournament as the overall No. 1 seed. That was another layer of expectation on the Longhorns' psyche. Garrido, though, can laugh off the pressure of producing.

Asked how he handled the rumblings and grumblings in Austin after three consecutive postseason disappointments, Garrido told the Omaha World-Herald, "Witness protection.

"I relocated," he continued between chuckles. "Actually, there is an old saying that ignorance is bliss. So, if you don't read the papers and you don't listen to the radio, it wasn't that hard to handle.

"But I know it was there in every article that was written and it was being talked about. I know that the watermark was set for this program long before I got here. It's up to me to keep it filled up. When I don't, there's going to be a backlash."

Texas will face Southern Miss at 6 p.m. Sunday in Game One of Bracket Two, which also includes North Carolina and Arizona State. The Golden Eagles are the Cinderella team of the 2009 CWS. The Longhorns will be expected - there's that word again - to open with a victory.

The Longhorns' last four victories that enabled them to travel to Omaha came about in wildly divergent manners. A 25-inning victory ... an eight-run bottom of the ninth rally ... a late-game surge in Game One of the super regional followed by the win-or-go-home defeat of TCU in Game Three.

"We won these last four games in four different ways," Garrido said. "Four different ways that tested all of our character, our willpower, our belief and our spirit. We've done it a lot of ways.

"What we've experienced has revealed to the players that we have the right talent on this team and that we're capable of doing anything. I saw that as I watched Fresno go through that thing last year. You saw that team getting better inning by inning. They went from being a normal Division I team into supermen."

Garrido can be a Zen master when it comes to college baseball. He believes that the team that wins the CWS this season will win because of an unexpected factor. The Longhorns are known for their pitching but in Garrido's mind, what will bring home another championship trophy will wind up being a surprise.

"The season starts now, man," Garrido said. "This is the beginning of what we're about. You have to know how to win the race, and the race is on."

CWS Bracket Two Capsules
These four teams will play each other in a double-elimination format. When three teams have two losses, the fourth remaining team will advance to the CWS National Championship finals against the survivor from Bracket One.

Texas Longhorns
NCAA bid: Automatic from Big 12 Conference.
So far: The Longhorns won the Austin Regional, defeating Army, 3-1; Boston College, 3-2; and Army, 14-10. Texas then won the super regional in Austin, defeating TCU 10-4, losing 3-2 and then winning 5-2.
CWS history: 33rd appearance, 6 titles, 78-53.
Record: 46-14-1.
Coach: Augie Garrido.
Top hitters: 1B Brandon Belt (.336, 8 home runs, 40 RBI); 3B Michael Torres (.304, 4 home runs, 32 RBI); SS Brandon Loy (.294, 26 RBI, 24 sacrifice bunts); OF Kevin Keyes (.305, 7 home runs, 40 RBI).
Top pitchers: Chance Ruffin (10-2, 3.02 ERA); Austin Dicharry (8-2, 2.40 ERA); Taylor Jungman (8-3, 2.27 ERA); Austin Wood (5-1, 2.19 ERA, 37 games, 15 saves).
You need to know: This is Texas' first trip to the CWS since 2005; the Longhorns won the national championship that year. ... UT coach Augie Garrido, who also guided the Horns to the 2002 national title, has won five national championships and his making his 13th trip to the CWS as a coach. ... Texas' first CWS foe is Southern Miss, which has won 12 of its last 15. However, the Longhorns have been just as successful down the stretch, winning 17 of 20. ... Texas will try to become the first team since Miami (Fla.) in 1999 to win the CWS as the overall No. 1 seed in the bracket. ... In six NCAA tournament games, junior outfielder Kevin Keyes is 8-for-20 with four doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and six runs scored.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles
NCAA bid: At large from Conference USA.
So far: The Golden Eagles won the Atlanta Regional by eliminating host Georgia Tech. They won the super regional by defeating No. 8 seed Florida two games to none.
CWS history: First appearance.
Record: 40-24.
Coach: Corky Palmer.
Top hitters: OF Bo Davis (.371, 13 home runs); 1B Joey Archer (.311, 50 RBI, .505 slugging percentage); DH Corey Stevens (.330, 15 doubles, 8 home runs, 59 RBI).
Top pitchers: Todd McInnis (9-4, 3.61 ERA);
You need to know: Senior shortstop Brian Dozier, who has been out since mid-April with a broken collar bone, has been played on the team's 25-man CWS roster. A .394 hitter, Dozier is expected to be limited to DH or pinch-hitting duty. ... Southern Miss is playing in its first CWS. ... After 33 seasons (12 at Southern Miss), coach Corky Palmer announced that he would retire after this season. ... The Golden Eagles are the only No. 3 seed still playing. They're just the 17th No. 3 seed (out of a possible 176) to reach the CWS. ... In going 5-1 in NCAA play, Southern Miss is hitting .323 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI while slugging .571. None of the other seven CWS teams has hit more than 15 HRs. ... For the season, the Golden Eagles are hitting .489 (45-92) with the bases loaded. ... Sophomore Todd McInnis, who'll be working with seven days rest, will start against Texas. McInnis, who is 9-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 17 starts, relies on off-speed pitches.

North Carolina Tar Heels
NCAA bid: At large from Atlantic Coast Conference.
So far: The Tar Heels are 5-0 in the NCAA postseason and all of the victories came in Chapel Hill. North Carolina won the regional with a 12-1 victory over Kansas and defeated East Carolina two games to none to win the super regional.
CWS history: 8th appearance, 13-15.
Record: 47-16.
Coach: Mike Fox.
Top hitters: 1B Dustin Ackley (.412, 22 home runs, 70 RBI); 3B Kyle Seager (.386, 24 doubles, 59 RBI); C Mark Fluery (.315, 19 doubles, 12 home runs, 59 RBI).
Top pitchers: Alex White (8-4, 4.13 ERA, 109 strikeouts in 98 innings); Adam Warren (9-2, 3.23 ERA); Matt Harvey (7-2, 5.35 ERA).
You need to know: North Carolina is playing in its fourth consecutive CWS and is the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to reach Omaha for four straight seasons. ... North Carolina also became the first ACC school to reach the College World Series, a bowl game and the men's basketball Final Four in the same season. ... North Carolina joins Kansas (1992-93, Aloha Bowl), LSU (1985-86, Liberty Bowl) and Texas (2002-03, Cotton Bowl), as the only other schools to reach these three prestigious events in the same academic year. ... The Tar Heels have outscored five opponents 50-12 in the NCAA regionals and super regionals. ... First baseman Dustin Ackley and pitcher Alex White each were first-round selections in Tuesday's Major League Baseball draft. Ackley was picked No. 2 overall by the Seattle Mariners; White was chosen 15th by the Cleveland Indians. ... Ackley's .410 career batting average is the best in UNC history; he's hitting .412 this season with 22 home runs and 70 RBI. ... The UNC pitching staff has totaled an NCAA-best 636 strikeouts.

Arizona State Sun Devils
NCAA bid: Automatic from Pacific-10 Conference.
So far: The Sun Devils are 5-0 in the NCAA tournament and all the victories came at home. Arizona State defeated Oral Roberts twice to win the regional and beat Clemson twice to capture the super regional.
CWS history: 21st appearance, 5 titles, 59-34.
Record: 49-12.
Coach: Pat Murphy.
Top hitters: OF Jason Kipnis (.385, 20 doubles, 16 home runs, 71 RBI); C Carlos Ramirez (.349, 18 home runs, 72 RBI); DH Johnny Ruettiger (.356); OF Matt Newman (.315, 54 RBI).
Top pitchers: Mike Leake (16-1, 1.36 ERA); Josh Spence (9-1, 2.33 ERA); Mitchell Lambson (8-3, 2.77 ERA).
You need to know: Arizona State has made the CWS three of the past five years and 21 times overall. ... Junior right-hander Mike Leake (16-1, 1.36 ERA) is expected to start against North Carolina. Leake was the third college pitcher taken in the Major-League Baseball draft Tuesday, No. 8 overall behind San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (No. 1) and Vanderbilt's Mike Minor (No. 7). ... Leake was chosen college baseball's Academic All-American of the Year. ... Lefty Josh Spence, who is from Australia, is 9-1 with a 2.33 ERA and along with Leake gives the Sun Devils one of the best pitching duos in the CWS. ... In five NCAA tournament victories, Arizona State has outscored its opponents 44-16. ... Arizona State decided to fly to Omaha on a commerical flight instead of share an NCAA-provided charter with Cal State-Fullerton. ... Arizona State had a school-record 15 players drafted last season had had the least returning experience of any team in a major conference.