NASHVILLE — Reggie Bush, meet Kris Brown.

Brown is the formerly accurate kicker for the Houston Texans, whose commitment to securing the NFL's No. 1 draft pick reached a new low Sunday afternoon at The Coliseum.

Brown, who missed only three field goals in the first 12 games, was as far left as Ted Kennedy on a 31-yard field goal on the last play of the game, assuring the Tennessee Titans of a 13-10 victory.

It might be the most celebrated miss in the short history of the NFL's newest franchise.

This is no time for Texans fans to be lamenting near victories. They're more interested in the super Bush than the Super Bowl. What's one more loss when there's so much to be gained in the next draft?

The Texans are 1-12, a Kris Brown leg up on the competition in pursuit of the first pick of the 2006 draft. It's not just any first pick.

Bush, who won the Heisman Trophy in a landslide Saturday night, is regarded as one of the best college players ever. The Southern Cal running back is a dazzling consolation prize for a team enduring as dreadful a season as the Texans.

You can excuse Brown for not grasping the significance of his failure. Otherwise, he might have struck the Heisman pose. Instead, he was the consummate professional, gracefully taking the blame for the defeat.

"I flat-out missed it," Brown said. "It's on me.

"When your team needs you, you've got to be able to come through in the clutch. I've got no excuses. That's just the way it goes."

Brown, who made 20 of his first 23 field goals this season, also took the blame for a blocked field-goal attempt four minutes earlier.

"The trajectory was too low," he said. "Both of them were on me."

In fact, he missed the second one so badly, you might have wondered if he were president of the Reggie Bush Fan Club.

The Bush pick is still no cinch. As a junior, he has yet to declare for the NFL draft, although that's considered a mere formality for someone who already has won a Heisman, two national titles and is in the running for a third. What's left to accomplish or prove?

The Texans are less of a sure thing. The San Francisco 49ers are 2-11, only a game behind them in this backward race.

But you have to admire how the Texans perform when the Bush pick is on the line. Two weeks ago, they blew a 21-point lead before losing to the St. Louis Rams in overtime. Next, they lost to the Baltimore Ravens 16-15.

How's that for a draft run?

"In 20 years, I have never been through three weeks like we've been through," Texans coach Dom Capers said. "We've been in position to win all three games and we haven't done it."

The good news: a CBS poll revealed 71 percent of voters believe the Texans will get Bush.

Forgive Capers if he doesn't applaud. A team bad enough to get Bush is bad enough to get its coach fired.

If so, he shouldn't harbor ill will for a kicker who missed a 31-yard field goal by about 31 yards or kicked another one so low that 6-foot-3 Tank Williams could deflect it off course with a well-timed jump. This isn't just about a couple of kicks or last-second losses.

Take Sunday's loss, for example. The Texans established their inferiority long before Brown kicked the ball Bush's way. After three possessions, they had a minus-6 yards. By then, they also had reminded you why David Carr is at the top of the NFL's endangered quarterbacks list.

Carr was sacked six times by the Titans. For the season, he has been sacked 61 times, which is only 15 short of Carr's NFL record, set in 2002, his rookie season.

If the Texans could do that to a quarterback, what misery might they inflict on a rookie running back?

It's best that Bush not dwell on the answer. Besides, good blocking isn't everything. It's also nice to be wanted.

And the Texans are playing as though they really want him.