Bevo owns the Cotton Bowl. NewsOK talks about the game.
Colt McCoy has beaten the Sooners every which way but on Sunday.
McCoy once was a safety in high school days in Tuscola, Texas. He’s beaten the Sooners with his passing and running. No reason to be surprised he beat the Sooners with his tackling.
"I was looking in the end zone ... saw a chance to score ... and I kind of saw him out of my peripheral,” Jackson said of McCoy. "He’s an athlete. Not many quarterbacks in the nation can run like he did.”
This says it all.
Colt McCoy's voice was nearly gone, as was the nail on his right thumb. On one of the final plays of the game, he even got knocked senseless for several seconds on a late hit before the cries of 96,000-plus screaming fans at the Cotton Bowl jarred him to attention.
McCoy endured one of his worst days in his career, yet the senior quarterback was punching the air and screaming in excitement just before he took the final knee to kill the rest of the clock.
Texas and McCoy survived No. 20 Oklahoma 16-13 Saturday, coming from behind in the second half to keep their national championship hopes alive and beat OU for the fourth time in the past five years.
Who would have guessed this would happen?
On Saturday, McCoy fumbled twice, took four sacks, threw a late interception, suffered a thumb injury of undetermined magnitude on the Sooners' Gerald McCoy's helmet and averaged barely three yards per pass attempt.
And, yes, somehow, McCoy led Texas to a very different looking kind of win over the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl.
Seriously, who had Texas beating Oklahoma 16-13 as a pregame prediction? Who projected Landry Jones as the leading passer for either team? Who saw McCoy possibly winning the game in the fourth quarter ... on a diving tackle of Sooners cornerback Brian Jackson?
"I knew I was going to make that tackle," McCoy said. "I was mad."
And who knew McCoy could tackle?
But who knew Colt McCoy could tackle? For the second consecutive season, the Longhorns' Tebow-in-Texas quarterback was the difference in the Red River Shootout with Oklahoma. For the first time in his life, McCoy likely won a game with a tackle.
Make that saved the season. One of the biggest plays he'll ever make came in one of the worst games he'll ever play. More on that later. The fact that Oklahoma cornerback Brian Jackson didn't score with what looked like a game-winning interception of McCoy in the fourth quarter is the difference in that God-fearing attitude right now, because the accuracy and talent seemingly deserted him in Texas' 16-13 victory.
"It's not going to be pretty every time," McCoy said smiling.
Bevo had the right idea.The Horns weren't looking for style points. They just wanted to win.
Bevo plodded to the 10, then the 5 … and as he reached the Oklahoma goal line, he starched his tail stiffly behind him and left a lovely parting gift on the crimson paint of the end zone.
It was bovine poetry in motion. It was an apt metaphor for this game.
Bevo's download marked just the second time all day that a Longhorn hit the end zone against the Sooners. Fortunately for the burnt orange, one touchdown and three field goals were enough to pull out a 16-13 victory over courageous but cursed Oklahoma.
The Horns are a second half team.
The annual Texas-Oklahoma grudge match had more than its share of thrills, spills and splattering hits, with 21 penalties, eight total turnovers and enough changes in heart-spiking momentum to prematurely age the 96,009 onlookers.
But in the end, the results were pretty much the same as before:
Sam Bradford's still hurt, this time maybe for good.
Move over Alabama. Texas' defense will put a hurting on you.
The Longhorns are still a second-half team — evidenced by all of their scoring Saturday, save a field goal, and the Sooners' three third-down conversions in 15 total attempts.
Marquis Goodwin has visions.
Marquise Goodwin doesn't claim to be a psychic. And he certainly isn't going to start trying to predict the future. Heck, he's not even superstitious.
But he wouldn't mind having visions.
Especially if they're like the vision he had before Saturday's Texas-Oklahoma game.
Goodwin, a freshman receiver who was a football afterthought and considered more of a track star when he arrived on campus, saw himself catching a slant pass for a touchdown at the Cotton Bowl.
Then, in the third quarter, Goodwin caught a 14-yard slant pass for a touchdown.
"It was exactly like I saw it in my head before the game," he said.
The marriage between the offensive and defensive coordinators seems to work.
Will Muschamp jumped into Greg Davis' arms after last year's Texas-Oklahoma game.
The defensive coordinator was ecstatic to get a 10-point win because Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford had blitzed his young secondary — minus injured cornerback Ryan Palmer — for 387 yards and five touchdown passes.
"I've had plenty of long days at the ballpark," Muschamp said. "We were fortunate last year to come up with a win and make some defensive stops, but we won that game because of our offense and Colt McCoy and Greg Davis calling a phenomenal game."
Dial it forward one year and that same defense was the one that saved a sputtering offense in a 16-13 slobber-knocker, which gave the Longhorns their fourth win in the past five meetings against Oklahoma.
At his age, Davis didn't do any jumping into his younger colleague's arms, but this marriage seems to be working, and a BCS honeymoon in Pasadena is still possible thanks to some playmakers on the other side of the ball.
We are very aware we have a great defensive coordinator.
A defensive performance like the one that Texas crafted against Oklahoma wasn’t just a result of having good players.
Sure, it helped. But the true genesis of the Longhorns’ 16-13 victory over Oklahoma blossomed when defensive coordinator Will Muschamp was convinced late last season to stay at Texas with a future promise of a head coaching job at the school.
It’s hard to believe the Longhorns could have performed with the intensity or with the defensive acumen without their leader staying in place for another season.
Sergio KIndle and OU's DeMarcus Granger. Two different paths. (This was written before the game. I just found the article and included it because it is worth reading.)
The road from Oak Cliff to NFL riches has been rocky for the two most highly rated Dallas ISD recruits in recent history.
Kimball's DeMarcus Granger and Woodrow Wilson's Sergio Kindle went opposite ways on Interstate 35 out of high school. Granger, a defensive tackle considered a top-10 national recruit by many services, was one of the jewels of Oklahoma's 2005 recruiting class. Kindle, a consensus top-five national recruit as a linebacker/running back, was the headliner in Texas' 2006 class.
Their experiences at the rival universities have been somewhat similar: huge expectations, slow starts, embarrassing off-field incidents and significant contributions to elite teams.
While Kindle will be in the spotlight during Saturday's game at the Cotton Bowl, Granger's name probably won't be mentioned during the national television broadcast.
Mack Brown cuts the politically correct talk.
After most of the cameras cleared out and the notebooks had moved on, Chatter asked Texas coach Mack Brown a big question that seemed not to interest most of the assembled literati. Where does he think Texas belongs in the first BCS standings scheduled to be released this afternoon?
Brown didn't hesitate. He didn't say "let's wait until today's games are all wrapped up." He didn't say that's not for him to say. Brown jumped right in with a response.
"I would think we belong No. 2," said the coach of the 6-0 Longhorns.
"We're not apologizing because we're 6-0," said Texas offensive tackle
Adam Ulatoski. "But at the same time, we've got a lot of work to do to
get where we need to be."
We are still No. 3, but beating Oklahoma may not really help us.
Last week, a number of pre-BCS rankings had the Longhorns at No. 3 for the first poll of the season. If that's the case, they're really at No. 2. With Florida and Alabama at the top of the rankings, one of those two heavyweights from the SEC is guaranteed to lose before the end of the season.
That means Texas, if it continues to win, will in theory find a way to the BCS national championship game. That is, if the loss -- uh, the win -- to Oklahoma doesn't trip them up again.
At least SI's Stewart Mandell believes the Horns still control their own destiny.
The Cotton Bowl is becoming a frequent source of frustration for the Sooners, which have now lost four of the past five Red River games (after winning five straight before that). Texas, on the other hand, can still attain all the goals it set this preseason -- even if the journey so far has been rockier than anticipated.
"We haven't played near our best game yet," said Brown. "That's what I like about this team. They're 6-0 and not even close to where we can be."
In one regard, the 'Horns are exactly where they want to be: still in control of their BCS destiny.
Before anyone beats up James Kirkendoll for this, just remember that Quinton Carter was the defensive back that got kicked out of an OU practice for aggressive behavior. Yes, you read that correctly. Bob Stoops actually kicked Carter out of a Sooner practice for aggression. And besides, that's quite an acting job by Carter. I'm giving our guy the benefit of the doubt. (Disclaimer: BDR thoughts and opinions of the author are not endorsed by, or reflect the beliefs of BON or its readers.)
For more on the game, see Saturday's BDR.
Barking Carnival has the good, the bad and the ugly.
There will be no Heisman trophy brought back to the 40 Acres at the end of this season. The fans can quit obsessing about it, the UT media relations folks no longer need worry about promoting any player for it, the coaches no longer need to be concerned about building anyone’s stats towards it.
Most importantly, Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley can simply remove the possibility from their minds. It’s over – now, they can just focus on winning football games.
BC's HenryJames has his thoughts on the game. He goes after everyone's favorite offensive punching bag. Guess who?
He has no feel for a game, and he calls plays with no concern for down and distance. His performance in the first half was one of his worst. Our first play from scrimmage was just the type of misdirection run that gives OU trouble. We pick up 16 yards and…don’t run it again. Miami destroyed them on a similar play, and we never ran it again. Our second drive we pick up 9 yards on two runs so on 3rd and 1 we go four wide, keep a back in to block and throw it . OU rushes three and sits eight in coverage. Incomplete. Fozzy Whitaker runs the ball twice on our next five drives. OU is blitzing the shit out of us, and we finally call a screen pass to John Chiles. On 3rd and 18.
The Sooners nailed our tendencies, and as usual it took us at least two quarters to do anything about it. They know what routes our receivers will run on 3rd and short. They knew as soon as McCoy lined up under center with Fozzy in the backfield that we were going to run option. Watch Keenan Clayton run up to the line of scrimmage before the snap. Marquise Goodwin was open on his touchdown reception because the Sooners ran a zone blitz and put three guys on Shipley. They almost got two touchdowns by jumping our short throws. Tendencies.
Some interesting stats on the Texas-OU game.
Truth be told, Oklahoma didn't have a chance to beat Florida in last season's BCS national championship game.Who says the Sooners had no shot at college football's national championship? History, that's who.Here's the deal: Between them, Oklahoma (seven) and Texas (four) have won 11 national championships, and neither school ever has won the title in a season when it lost a game at the Cotton Bowl on a State Fair Saturday.
Enjoy the trip.
There's not much to say other than Wildcats 62, Aggies 14.
Kansas State just devoured the Aggies.
How did the Wildcats do it? There is no easy way to sum up a blowout of such proportions, but more than anything they did it with defense.
The Aggies came to Manhattan averaging 37 points a game but could do nothing against K-State. They rushed for 13 yards, gained 301 yards total and didn’t score until K-State had built a 59-0 lead in the third quarter and coach Bill Snyder had pulled many of his starters from the game.
Senior defensive lineman Jeffrey Fitzgerald set the tone early. On the second play of the game he forced Texas A&M’s Jamie McCoy to fumble at his own 29-yard line, and K-State jumped on the ball.
Shortly after, Thomas scored the first of his four touchdowns. Texas A&M punted or turned the ball over on its next six drives before halftime. Facing short fields, Kansas State responded by scoring five first-half touchdowns and a field goal.
During that stretch, Fitzgerald continually got to the quarterback — recording 2 1/2 sacks by game’s end — and so did his cohorts on the defensive line. In all, K-State recorded six sacks, doubling its season total.
That's it for the Aggies today. I can't take any more.
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State beat Missouri 33-17.
The Pokes believe they can win the race for the Big 12 title.
A 33-17 triumph against Missouri was no different.
And yet it was.
This was more than a win. This was a statement.
The Cowboys are Big 12 title contenders.
Zac Robinson got an A on his weekly report card.
The Cowboy quarterback had his best game of the season. He threw it well, going 22-of-35 for 227 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He ran it well, picking up 39 yards on seven carries. All the way around, Robinson played solid and smart.
The Pokes do not miss Kendall Hunter at all.
Oklahoma
Something we can all agree on. Sam Bradford deserved a better ending.
Bradford called his latest setback "extremely frustrating" but wouldn't say much else. His demeanor said it all.
Most of the game, he simply paced head down. Trolling the periphery of sideline huddles, he'd occasionally lean in, then wordlessly retreat. For the most part, his teammates left him alone. Unlike the last two years, when he lifted the Sooners to national heights, winning a Heisman in the process, the brutal truth of it was that Bradford no longer was any good to them. Not if he couldn't play. Not if he couldn't look over Will Muschamp's defense and pick it apart. Not if he couldn't pinpoint passes that few college quarterbacks have ever thrown.
It looks as if his career at OU is over.
Sam Bradford looked and talked like a guy who had played his last college game.
If Bradford had not gotten injured, would the outcome have been different?
Crimson and Cream Machine is already looking ahead to 2010.
Sooners should never try to rap. An 11 year-old Texan can do better. Literally.
Pelini won't be handing out blackshirts any time soon. The Cornhuskers lost to Texas Tech and the controversies are starting.
"Don't worry about the Blackshirts," Pelini said. "Get over it. We didn't play well enough. It had nothing to do with black shirts or yellow shirts or white shirt or whatever the hell it is. We got our butts kicked. It's not about Blackshirts. It's about executing on game day, when we're out there in red and white. And we didn't do that."
Things are definitely looking up for the Raiders.
The weatherman nailed it Saturday. Here in the Midwest, the day dawned dreary and gray, but the afternoon forecast called for the opposite. Sure enough, as the latest Texas Tech-Nebraska tussle unfolded, the sky broke into bright sunshine. And standing on the sideline at game’s end, I noted not a cloud in the sky.
Sort of like Texas Tech’s season.
For all the clouds early, the Red Raiders flew home from Lincoln Saturday night with a 31-10 win and their prospects for the stretch drive suddenly bright. September losses to Texas and Houston didn’t define the arc of their season. A quarterback exchange seems not to have divided the team. The Raiders got past Brandon Carter’s suspension.
The Red Raider defense held the Cornhuskers to 285 yards.
In holding Nebraska to 285 yards, Leach said the Raiders’ performance ranked as one of his team’s best since he became coach in 2000.
"I think one reason it does is because when things weren’t really going our way — we were losing yards on offense as quick as we were gaining them for a period of time out there — our defense just stepped up over and over," Leach said.
Tech is now ranked at No. 21. Nebraska dropped out of the top 25. And those North vs. South discussions continue.
Really? Colorado beat Kansas. They had actually won, but an offensive pass interference call negated the touchdown.
"I’m still trying to figure out that pass interference call," Reesing said. "I don’t know what that was about."
The penalty pushed KU out to the Colorado 16, and the Jayhawks turned it over on downs. KU got the ball back with 59 seconds left at its own 25 and marched down the field. Reesing hit Briscoe for a 26-yard completion — one of many acrobatic connections between the two — that put KU at the Colorado 19 with 7 seconds left. Reesing missed Meier and then Briscoe, and it was over.
You are kidding. Iowa State beat Baylor.
Iowa State started the season by snapping a 10-game losing streak. The Cyclones then erased a 17-game road losing skid, and on Saturday night they rolled to their first Big 12 win since 2007.
Austen Arnaud threw for 166 yards and scored two touchdowns as Iowa State snapped an 11-game losing streak in Big 12 play by thumping Baylor 24-10 on Saturday.
Big 12 Sports summed up this weekend beautifully: Surreal Saturday.
ESPN's Tim Griffin hands out helmet stickers.
And finally...
A cure for depression. PSA for Sooners and Aggies.