Fantastic article from Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel on the pair of Longhorn quarterbacks who each suffered devastating nights against [tag]Alabama[/tag] in the BCS title game. The opening bit on Colt McCoy and his father really got to me…
Colt McCoy lined up about 7 yards from his dad, Brad. This was inside the Texas locker room underneath the Rose Bowl bleachers, the Longhorns quarterback missing the biggest game of his career, about to attempt the most important throw of his life.
Colt had the ball and was going to pass it to his dad as a slew of doctors and trainers watched closely. How many times had these two thrown a football back and forth, from their yard in little Tuscola, Texas, to the practice fields of Jim Ned High School, where the dad was the coach and the son was the star?
“Millions,” Colt said. “Millions of times.”
Colt had just lied to the Texas doctors and said that he was capable of returning to the BCS title game against Alabama. A hit by the Tide’s Marcell Dareus, on the fifth play of the game, had sent him to this locker room. He wanted back out there. So he tried to sound convincing despite the fact his arm felt “like a noodle.”
He hadn’t come this far to sit. Colt McCoy was going to lead Texas to the championship. He believed this. He’d always believed this. When he went down, he said, “We were about to dominate.” They weren’t going to lose, not where the Longhorns had last won a championship in 2005, not against a team against whom they’d never lost, certainly not 37-21, as the scoreboard would show after 60 minutes.
Yet on the TV in the corner, he had seen it all fade away in his absence. Alabama was rolling; Texas’ early lead was long gone.
So Colt gripped the ball, stared at his dad and thought, “It’s just a simple throw.” He threw. The ball went soft and wide. Everyone grimaced. “Give it to me again,” Colt demanded. Brad got the ball and gave it back to his son. The next throw was the same, bouncing harmlessly away. “Give it to me again,” Colt said, again. Brad did.
It was the same. It was over. Colt couldn’t throw it 7 yards to his own father. “My arm was dead,” he said. The dad hugged his son. The son broke down and cried.
“There’s no pain on my body,” Colt said later. “If I was a free safety, I’d go out there and make a tackle. I [just] have no strength to throw a football.”
reply to #1
Jason
January 8th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Damn……..that kills me
reply to #2
Louise Saxon
January 10th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Colt McCoy’s mature acceptance of a major negative event made him the consumate winner on January 7, 2010, at least in my book.
Alabama doesn’t get to enjoy their victory quite so much because of it.
reply to #3
Michael Frye
January 18th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Colt McCoy – a waste of a good nfl draft choice – the noodle arm.
reply to #4
Andy P
February 13th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Karma came back to bite the Horns and you all don’t like it. Never should have been in BCS Title game. Nebraska beat ut and only because the BCS and it powers that be were losing did UT get last shot at winning FG.
The BCS and ESPN weren’t about to allow a TCU or BSU in the BCS title game against Bama after all season listening to ESPN and all other media outlets tout the Bama/Fla winner vs ut/OU Big 12 Champion playing for the BCS Title.
No way in hell they let that happen. And that’s what was staring right at them when before ut was bailed out.
reply to #5
Brian
February 14th, 2010 at 10:50 am
@Andy P: Good try bud, too bad no one on the planet actually agrees with you. Every replay shown clearly proves the refs got the call right and that Texas still had 1-2 seconds left on the clock.
reply to #6
Andy P
February 14th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
SCREW texASS, mack brown, colt mccoy!
Nice try buddy..
Nearly every football game played ends in the same manner that the Big 12 Title game did. At least that is before the ADDED 0:01 to bail out ut, texASS, brown and mccoy after some truely bad game and clock management. What do I mean? Most football games that are within a 7 point margin in closing seconds, i.e. one team is behind, has ball and in last gasp attempt they are throwing the ball and that pass falls incomplete whether in bounds, out of bounds or a Hail Mary that falls harmlessly to the ground. And guess what.. They don’t get another try, but that last second ticks off the clock in the time it takes ref to see ball fall incomplete, his brain to function, signal incomplete, and clock operator to see signal from ref and hit that button. There is a human system involved in every play and every incomplete pass. What is that system? Well, Pass falls incomplete out of bounds or in bounds, referee sees pass fall incomplete, his brain synapses fire that message to his brain, he signals incomplete pass, the clock operator, who can not hit the button to stop play clock until he sees signal from the head referee. So, after ref signals incomplete pass, clock operator has to first see that, then synapses in clock operators brain fire and signal that information to his hand to hit button to stop clock. It is amazing that one sec only comes off the clock on every incomplete pass of game even after the ref signals incomplete. So, d bag. there were about 25 other incomplete passes during the Big 12 Title game. All, with one second coming off the play clock after ref signals and before clock operator can hit that button. That is the human system, so where was the other 25 replays? Where were the other 25 seconds after the other 25 or so incomplete passes?
If needed, the powers that be, would have made this a repeat of the way the 1972 USA men’s Olympic basketball team was robbed of the gold medal in Russia by corruption. And not to rob Nebraska, but to keep BSU and TCU out of their private little party for the big boys called the BCS Title game.
So, tell me. I have watched many many games end just like this with incomplete pass and last second clicks off the clock. Where are the “do-overs” and “second tries” for all the “incomplete Hail Marys”, for all the other thousands of games that end with a last second pass that falls to the ground from the team trying to come back in a close game? Where are the “do overs” for these teams ? That was terrible terrible clock management by mack brown and colt mccoy who were then bailed out by the BCS. you keep telling yourself that the end of that game was on the up and up.
Watch games next year or any time. Tell me how many games end in last 3-4 or 5 seconds with a last second incomplete pass from team that is behind in a close game. MANY MANY END JUST LIKE THAT! How many of these teams get a do over, a replay? How many of these game officials go to tv replay and ad a second to give team behind a do over? NONE! Never seen it before the Big 12 Title game and you won’t see it again.
And regarding mack brown and his comments after this game. I have never ever seen a more arrogant, worthless POS. not one mention or kudos to Nebraska for beating the shit out of the texas offense, No, from Mack, “We just didn’t play well, we didn’t execute.” No mack.. you just came across the best defense in the country, thats what the problem was!
And the excuse of “missing classes” regarding not wanting to play Nebraska on a Thurday night! BS! After the Big 12 title game brown wants no part of a rabid Nebraska team, and night time Memorial Stadium crowd, out for texASS blood, No way.. no how brown wants a piece of that!
You’re kidding yourself, if you don’t think that there aren’t people outside of texASS, people that have no rooting interest for ut and aren’t Nebraska fans, that think that the end of this game wasn’t quite on the “up and up” and was very very suspicious. Plenty of people.
And don’t tell me about ESPN talking heads saying it was the right call, ESPN and its LARGE TV contract are a large part of the BCS, so damn right they will wag their own tail.
screw ut
reply to #7
Bobby Beaudreaux
March 1st, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Andy P, you’re a complete moron. You have to be some loser from a crappy school who can’t win anything. Either that or you tried out at UT, but are just a puss white boy who can’t take a hit. You obviously have a crappy black and white TV that is so small you can’t see replays, you moron. Shut your pie hole.