It was a typically wacky game against Texas Tech.
In all of my years in Texas, I can't remember a game against Tech in Lubbock that wasn't bizarre in one way or another. Either it's a wild gunslinger's offensive display, or a weird penalty, or some strange faked-punt-for-a-touchdown. No matter what, it seems like the way it always when we play in Lubbock. Maybe it's the locale? Maybe it's the presence of Tech coach Mike Leach?
This year was no different.
Just when I thought that we'd seen the worst of our season - it got even uglier. At halftime, I was still waiting for the defense to show up. They must have been on the same bus as the running game, which also forgot that 7:00 pm was the start time.
In the first half, the Red Raiders put on a display. This is a well-coached team that dominated the Longhorns. By half time, Graham Harrell had put up something just shy of a thousand yards passing - or did it just seem that way? Of course, it's to be expected that Mike Leach is going to pass - and pass - and pass even at halftime in the locker room. And they did this, exposing the Longhorns defense over ... and over ... and over.
Much as I'd predicted last week, Colt McCoy was faced with a bad game. It's an inevitability. Well, he had a bad half, and we actually found ourselves still kinda-sorta in this game at the start of the third quarter. The running game, or something that resembled a running game, actually made a brief appearance. Colt found his game. The defense managed a few adjustments at halftime. And lo and behold, we were up 33 - 32 with 90 seconds left.
This is enough time for Tech to score 21 points, so I knew it wasn't over.
And it wasn't.
In the typical nature of this game, strange things were left to happen. Maybe the spirit of Halloween was still in the air. As expected, we all got to watch Harrell move the Red Raiders methodically down the field. But wait - one of his passes is tipped and falls into Blake Gideon's arms ... and ... he ... drops ... it. It was game over - but it wasn't. The ball was still in Tech's hands, and there were still eight seconds remaining.
An eternity for Mike Leach.
Especially when you have (what could be a true Heisman candidate) Graham Harrell and (what could be a true Heisman candidate and All-World wide receiver) Michael Crabtree.
The game was ours to lose - for 82 seconds. The deal was sealed and it was onwards to Baylor - almost. And with one tick left on the clock, Crabtree is in the end zone.
Guns up - the Red Raiders win. Another wacky game in Lubbock.
There were a few high points for the Longhorns. We got to see two stars in the making - Malcolm Williams and Fozzy Whittaker. We got to (again) watch Colt McCoy with a Heisman-esque game (at least after halftime). In the midst of all of this, he passed Major Applewhite for number one on the all-time passing yards list at Texas. Those were the good things.
But we were also exposed - frequently - by a well-coached team that was well-prepard in all facets of the game. They showed how suspect our defense is (for those doubting it, look at the rankings nationally as compared to last year - not a lot of difference). They showed how suspect our running game is. And they simply out-played, out-hustled, and out-everythinged us for the majority of the game.
We got to witness just how good the Big 12 South really is this year. I don't think that the Big 12 South will end up with an undefeated team. I think they will tear each other apart until the last possible moment - then whoever survives it all will destroy the North champion before heading on to a BCS game. I don't think the National Champion will be undefeated this year either - because I still think that the Big 12 will be in the final after all is said and done.
But for the Longhorns to be there, they will have to work on a lot of ugly issues - and fast.
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Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.