WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
1st Quarter (15:00) WTH Lonestar?! The largest crowd ever (60,879) came out to see the new Under Armor uniform which was a shout out to the Lonestar State. It might be a little early to claim the state title with that type of uniform while only beating Texas State and TCU. Maybe the Red Raiders want to replace the Aggies on the State Farm Lonestar Showdown.
2nd Quarter (15:00) WTH Zoro?! It looks like Zoro is going to have to find a new horse. The Masked Rider’s horse Midnight Matador was retired before the start of the 2nd quarter. Ten years as the mascot for the Red Raiders is a pretty good run. Enjoy your time as a stud!
2nd Quarter (13:46) WTH Six Shooter?! Magic Mike Davis may need some etiquette lessons on drawing your weapons. David Ash connected with Davis for a 75 yard bomb to take control of the game. Yosemite Sam may need to give Mike a gun safety course. Hey wait, if you cannot draw your guns, can opposing teams still do the Horns down?
2nd Quarter (5:03) WTH Dagnabbit?! Coach Tommy Tuberville and Coach Duane Akina had a fit with the officials when a phantom late hit call was not enforced. Akina and Tubbs both looked like they were going to have an aneurysm on the sidelines. Tubbs gets extra points for throwing down his plastic play card sheet twice.
2nd Quarter (1:14) WTH Ice Ice Baby?! The Horns did a great job of confusing the Red Raiders on defense. It spilled over on to their head coach. Dummerville decide to use a precious commodity by calling a timeout to ice Anthony Fera who ended up making the 42 yard kick.
4th Quarter (13:37) WTH Vortech?! The Vortech is a Texas Tech creation that simulates a tornado. The tornado that got away was Johnathan Gray whose Dad once wore the black and red. Gray started the fourth quarter with an impressive set of first down runs to finish with his second straight 100 yard game.
4th Quarter (5:14) WTH Hands?! Carrington Byndom had a tremendous day using his hands by swatting a crucial 2pt try by the Raiders and knocking down a field goal attempt that would have made it a one possession game. Great game turned in by the defense.
4th Quarter (:28) WTH Bear Hug?! Coach Brown saved his biggest hug for AD DeLoss Dodds who had just seen a tremendous effort and fight by the Longhorns to record its fourth straight win over the Raiders.
Next up for the Longhorns is a home date with the Cyclones in Austin on November 10th.
Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at @40AcresSports or follow me at @Horns1991. HOOK EM!!
A statement from Mack Brown on the death of Texas head coach and legend Darrell Royal:
“Today is a very sad day. I lost a wonderful friend, a mentor, a confidant and my hero. College football lost maybe its best ever and the world lost a great man. I can hardly put in words how much Coach Royal means to me and all that he has done for me and my family. I wouldn’t even be at Texas without Coach. His council and friendship meant a lot to me before I came to Texas, but it’s been my guiding light for my 15 years here.
“Coach gave so much more to the State of Texas and college football than he took away. He forgot more football than most of us will ever know, including me. His impact on the game, the coaches and players, the community and the millions of lives he touched, is insurmountable. He will be missed in so many ways.
“I lost my Dad when I was 54, and Coach filled a real void in my life and treated me like family. Sally and I gained a lot coming to Texas and being a part of this tremendous program but no more than our relationship with Coach and Edith. They were our closest of friends. Our heart pours out to Edith and the family and our thoughts and prayers are with her and the family. We will always be there to lend any and all support that we can as she and Coach always did for us.”
Well, the rivalry is over…at least for some time. The tussle between the Aggies and the Horns ended this year which also put to rest the State Farm Lonestar Showdown between both Universities. The made for internet contest was 19 events across women’s and men’s sports where the teams competed head to head for a possible 19 points for a trophy as big as Texas (it was a gaudy trophy at that). If the schools tied at the end of the year (which happened twice), the team that won the series championship from the previous year would be awarded the trophy. Check out the complete history at lonestarshowdown.net.
The contest went from 2004 until 2012 (8 years) where the Horns won 6 of these series over the Aggies. The two years the Aggies won were 2007-08 and 2008-09. Here are a few stats from this contest.
The biggest margin for the Aggies was 2 points in 2007-08
The biggest margin for the Horns was 10 points in 2004-05
Here are the teams that dominate during this 8 year span:
Texas Volleyball 6-2
A&M Women’s Indoor Track 6-2
Texas Men’s Cross Country 6-2
Texas Women’s Swimming 6-2
Texas Men’s Swimming 8-0
Texas Women’s Tennis 6-2
Texas Baseball 7-1
A&M won the following head to head battles during the 8 year time frame.
Soccer – Women’s Basketball – Women’s Indoor Track – Men’s Golf – Women’s Golf – Women’s Outdoor Track – Men’s Outdoor Track
Texas won the head to head battle on the following sports.
Volleyball – Men’s Cross Country – Women’s Swimming – Men’s Swimming – Men’s Basketball – Men’s Indoor Track – Men’s Tennis – Women’s Tennis – Baseball – Football
The two teams tied with a 4-4 record in Softball and Women’s Cross Country
A&M should feel proud about their sports program during this period because the program collected 8 of their 12 national championships during this time. (1) Men’s Golf (3) Men’s Outdoor Track (3) Women’s Outdoor Track (1) Women’s Basketball
Compare that to the Longhorns who secured 5 of their 48 National Championships during this series. (1) Baseball (1) Football (1) Men’s Swimming (1) Women’s Outdoor Track (1) Women’s Indoor Track
The Aggies will be quick to point out to that their football program since 1975 finished with a record of 19-18 against the Horns. We all know how the final game of this series ended to help Texas establish a decisive 76-37-5 record. During the Lonestar Showdown timeframe the Horns held a 5-3 record over the Aggies.
Isn’t it when you really want something bad enough, aren’t you suppose to get it? Many Aggies may have said that I need it, I really want it and I have to have it. You can possibly say that the Aggies wanted it more this year than the Horns, but as it turned out THE UNIVERSITY of the state took home the state title. Just don’t tell Baylor.
Last night we were treated to a show in Ames, Iowa when the Longhorns came in and started from the onset of annihilating the Iowa State Cyclones. It was a steady dose of passing and running throughout the game. While most Longhorn fans were confident that this would be a sure victory, after last season’s fiasco, there had to some within the Longhorn family that was nervous and worried, because this Iowa State team had pulled an upset that nobody saw coming already this season. This was going to be a nice challenge for the Horns before their annual rivalry game with Oklahoma.
Most fans would have been happy to see a team with a consistent movement and be able to show a chance at making some big plays. What Longhorn fans were treated to was somewhat of an offensive clinic from Case McCoy and David Ash. Both Quarterbacks showed a pocket presence that would go beyond their youthfulness, and showed some flash of excitement as the starting quarterbacks. While they are young and inexperienced, they have shown the ability that keeps both of them getting snaps and alternating in the offense.
While Iowa State is not an Oklahoma caliber team, there is a lot of hope building within the fan base that the Longhorns will be able to steal a big win in Dallas next weekend. A win like this is just a building block for a young team that should help lay the foundation for the future. The only puzzling question is going to be who will win the starting position outright?
At the Start of the season, I was figuring Texas was looking to bounce back with a solid 8 win campaign and I had them being 2-1 after the first three games, but that was the best case scenario. Fast forward to the season and the Longhorns just had their way with UCLA and are now 3-0. This is a surprising revelation for any fan, even the most optimistic and diehard fan had to figure that a 3 -0 start wasn’t in the cards for this team.
Given the fact that Garret Gilbert was the starting quarterback, there wasn’t any sign of hope for this to happen.
Thankfully Mack and the coaching staff came to their senses and decided to hand over the starting job to Case McCoy and David Ash. This is why the Longhorns left Los Angeles with a victory. These two quarterbacks are an exciting combination and have energized the offense and will help this young team build on an already magnificent start. Nobody thinks this team will go undefeated and compete for a championship, but with each game and another win, something special could happen. This is where the coaching and youth need to find a happy medium, but the youth can mature this season, and start building the foundation towards something special in the future.
Right now Texas is 3-0, but with some luck and preparation, they could easily make it to the October showdown in Dallas with an undefeated record. But that is still a ways off, and nobody should start looking ahead. The fans and the team need to take it one game at a time, one series at a time and let the momentum build to where the football gods will let it go. There are some exciting things happening on the 40 acres, and as long as the coaches let the team learn and build, things will fall into place. Who expected this to happen after the disaster from last year?