A loss in the Little Apple
Nov. 11 2006 --
Texas lost their chance to play in their second consecutive national title game in three minutes and six seconds at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. During that span, in which the Wildcats scored three touchdowns due to two Longhorn fumbles and a blocked punt, Texas fell behind 42-21.
Despite steady improvement from Jevan Snead throughout the game, Texas eventually fell 45-42, with a 51-yard field from Jeff Snodgrass proving to be the difference.
For only the second time in head coach Mack Brown's tenure at Texas, the Longhorns lost after outrushing their opponents. Jamaal Charles rushed for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Selvin Young chewed up 41 yards of turf on his own and scored a touchdown. Colt McCoy and Chris Ogbonnaya also scored rushing touchdowns, and the team finished with 143 yards of rushing. The Wildcats rushed for 23 yards total.
Michael Griffin's performance might have won him the Lott Trophy, while Colt McCoy, Aaron Ross and Justin Blalock likely lost their chances to take home individual awards.
Griffin had an interception he returned for 22 yards, as well as a blocked punt that lead to an early Texas touchdown. He made another big play on special teams, bringing down the Kansas State punter, Tim Reyer, 26 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a fake.
After the game, Griffin demonstrated class by opening with an apology for not shaking hands with his opponents. Instead, he comforted his twin brother Marcus. Marcus had a bad game and took the loss hard, crying afterward as his brother laid an arm over his shoulder.
Snead said after the game that he didn't have any internal reaction to getting the call after McCoy got hurt on the touchdown quarterback sneak.
"I knew I had to be ready, start warming up," he said.
While Snead's performance has been ridiculed, his numbers weren't bad. He threw for a touchdown and 190 yards. More importantly perhaps, he didn't throw a single interception, nor did he fumble.
"I'm proud of him," Brown said. "I think everybody sees the player he can be."
It didn't help that receivers, especially his tight ends, made big drops.
Perhaps the biggest drop though was Limas Sweed's. With Texas trailing 42-28, Cosby took a handoff from Snead, vaulted a fallen Texas lineman and heaved the ball as he got hit. The ball hit an open Sweed right in the hands as he stood far downfield, but it appeared that he started to turn upfield to soon and the ball slipped to the turf.
Brown didn't want to talk about how the loss affected the team's national title hopes. Instead he shrugged off the unfortunate timing.
"At Texas there's never a good time to lose," he said. "Ohio State wasn't good timing either."
A couple random thoughts I had during and right after the game:
Stopping Freeman is like trying to stop a .50 bullet with your chest. It's going to hurt and you won't stop it anyway.
I don't understand why fans chant "overrated" after pulling off an upset. Doesn't that just detract from the magnitude of your team's win?
Look at it this way: would you rather vanquish a Greek god, or someone who just plays one on TV?
Texas lost their chance to play in their second consecutive national title game in three minutes and six seconds at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. During that span, in which the Wildcats scored three touchdowns due to two Longhorn fumbles and a blocked punt, Texas fell behind 42-21.
Despite steady improvement from Jevan Snead throughout the game, Texas eventually fell 45-42, with a 51-yard field from Jeff Snodgrass proving to be the difference.
For only the second time in head coach Mack Brown's tenure at Texas, the Longhorns lost after outrushing their opponents. Jamaal Charles rushed for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Selvin Young chewed up 41 yards of turf on his own and scored a touchdown. Colt McCoy and Chris Ogbonnaya also scored rushing touchdowns, and the team finished with 143 yards of rushing. The Wildcats rushed for 23 yards total.
Michael Griffin's performance might have won him the Lott Trophy, while Colt McCoy, Aaron Ross and Justin Blalock likely lost their chances to take home individual awards.
Griffin had an interception he returned for 22 yards, as well as a blocked punt that lead to an early Texas touchdown. He made another big play on special teams, bringing down the Kansas State punter, Tim Reyer, 26 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a fake.
After the game, Griffin demonstrated class by opening with an apology for not shaking hands with his opponents. Instead, he comforted his twin brother Marcus. Marcus had a bad game and took the loss hard, crying afterward as his brother laid an arm over his shoulder.
Snead said after the game that he didn't have any internal reaction to getting the call after McCoy got hurt on the touchdown quarterback sneak.
"I knew I had to be ready, start warming up," he said.
While Snead's performance has been ridiculed, his numbers weren't bad. He threw for a touchdown and 190 yards. More importantly perhaps, he didn't throw a single interception, nor did he fumble.
"I'm proud of him," Brown said. "I think everybody sees the player he can be."
It didn't help that receivers, especially his tight ends, made big drops.
Perhaps the biggest drop though was Limas Sweed's. With Texas trailing 42-28, Cosby took a handoff from Snead, vaulted a fallen Texas lineman and heaved the ball as he got hit. The ball hit an open Sweed right in the hands as he stood far downfield, but it appeared that he started to turn upfield to soon and the ball slipped to the turf.
Brown didn't want to talk about how the loss affected the team's national title hopes. Instead he shrugged off the unfortunate timing.
"At Texas there's never a good time to lose," he said. "Ohio State wasn't good timing either."
A couple random thoughts I had during and right after the game:
Stopping Freeman is like trying to stop a .50 bullet with your chest. It's going to hurt and you won't stop it anyway.
I don't understand why fans chant "overrated" after pulling off an upset. Doesn't that just detract from the magnitude of your team's win?
Look at it this way: would you rather vanquish a Greek god, or someone who just plays one on TV?
posted by BurntOrnge at 7:46 PM
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