Brown's bust in BCS good news for Bo

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

NE Statepaper

 

Only a mother in a houndstooth coat could’ve loved the final statement of the 2009 college football season. The BCS national title game - Alabama’s 37-21 win over Texas - was a bust, in part because Colt McCoy’s arm went dead - we think - but mostly because neither staff could coach their way out of a paper bag.

 

Since you’re looking at two of the nation’s top five teams in 2010 - and possibly the top two, unless voters do Ohio State or USC a big, fat favor - take heart, Nebraska fans. You just saw the enemies, and they can be had.

 

The Longhorns and Crimson Tide were sloppy, nervous and so blissfully unaware of stuff like clock, field position and down and distance that I thought, for a second, the Rose Bowl had been invaded by gamers who secretly toggled stupidity into the headsets on each sideline. Alabama had the better offensive line, while Texas appeared to be the Tide’s equal on along the defensive line. Bama couldn’t cover UT’s receivers worth a salt, but the Longhorns compensated by dropping a ton of passes.

 

Bama, the prohibitive favorite by any measure, decided to select “Botched Bowl Punt Fake” from the Bill Callahan Collection on its opening drive of the game, throwing a pass, from its own 6-yard-line, on 4th-and-23. The Tide were lucky UT safety Blake Gideon intercepted it, instead of batting it down. Big Game Nick Saban? Eh - not exactly.

 

Had McCoy not received such an ill-timed shoulder stinger UT probably takes a 7-0 lead. As it was, with backup Garrett Gilbert, the Longhorns settled for a field goal, and one more later in the first quarter.

 

The Tide rattled off the next 24 points with considerable help from Brown and Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis.

 

Gilbert's shovel pass flip with 10 seconds left in the first half - intercepted off a carom by Marcell Dareus and returned for what turned out to be the deciding touchdown - was a decision worthy of demotion, an inexplicable call with no discernibly good purpose, other than potential meaningless yards. It ranked up there with the Washington Redskins’ boneheaded flare pass in the 1984 Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Raiders, also a Pick Six right before half. At least the Redskins had an excuse: The play had gone for a touchdown earlier in the year.

 

What was Texas’ excuse?

 

"We knew we were going to struggle with points, and we felt like we had 15 seconds left so we called the safest thing that might squirt,” Brown said afterward. “We called a little shuffle pass that I had never seen intercepted before, and I certainly hadn't seen it intercepted for a touchdown.”

 

Stunning. Stunning! Understand that, at that moment, Brown had no clear idea whether McCoy would return. The smart play wasn’t to try getting a cheap, unlikely three points, or throwing a Hail Mary for the end zone. The smart play was to get into the locker room, find out if McCoy could go in the second half, and tighten the score on UT’s opening drive.

 

Instead, Bama went to halftime with a 24-6 lead. It looked insurmountable, didn’t it? Shoot, I watched a few extra minutes of Dr. Drew’s “Celebrity Rehab” just for the yell of it.

 

Inside Texas’ locker room, McCoy wanted back in. Plenty of sources confirm this. Brown clearly declined the offer. Down 18, what was the use of getting the kid hurt even more?

 

Quickly in the third quarter, the story around McCoy’s injury seemed to change. Now McCoy couldn’t go at all. Now his arm was completely dead. While his post-game interview on ABC was a mixture of class, pain and grace, I also sensed something else: Incredulity. Frustration.

 

Texas fans will never get a straight, definitive answer on this issue. There will be the official side, and the whispers. It’s a shame. Last week, I watched Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Rothlisberger re-enter the game after his right shoulder had been unimaginably wrenched. He held his arm after every play. But he threw the ball and completed passes. A potential playoff berth was on the line.

 

A national title is on the line, and winningest, grittiest quarterback Texas has ever put on the field doesn’t even get a single snap? Not one shot? Nope. And, see, by halftime, Brown left McCoy no choice. Three scores on a dead arm?

 

Brown nudged the kid out of his final chance by mismanaging the end of the first half, and allowing Davis to blow a field goal try that would have brought Texas within 14-9 after the Longhorns forged their way inside the Bama 30. On a third-and-medium, Davis dialed up a crossing pattern for Gilbert right at the sticks instead of plowing ahead, getting a few yards, and letting Hunter Lawrence try a kick of similar length to the one he made in Dallas to beat NU.

 

Instead, Gilbert tossed his first of four picks, his first of two to Javier Arenas. Gilbert’s next “throw” was the Carom Six.

 

Two years in a row, the Big 12’s “elite” and best-paid coaches, Bob Stoops and Brown, badly mishandled key scenarios in the second quarter of the national title game. Chew on it. You think NU’s Bo Pelini lags so far behind these guys? No. Give Pelini this much: He had a respect for field position - for saving points by refusing to give up cheap ones - and it worked wonders for Nebraska over the last half of the season.

 

Pelini came within one second of beating UT with Zac Lee's torn up right arm and a bum ankle, a left guard with a torn pectoral muscle, a center with the bruise the size of a water cooler, a running back with half a shoulder. He beat Oklahoma with all of that plus Rex Burkhead's broken foot.

 

Alabama, ahead 24-6 and confident to lean on its running game, patiently waited for the roof the cave in. Gilbert popped a few big ones to Jordan Shipley - the best skill player on the field, either team - in the second half to draw Texas within 24-21. UT even got its shot at a game-tying or game-winning drive until Saban dialed up an aggressive blitz, linebacker Eryk Anders jarred the ball loose from Gilbert, Bama recovered inside the UT five, and Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram - who looked good, but no better than his freshman backup, Trent Richardson - scored from the one.

 

The Tide added two more picks and one more touchdown in the final three minutes.

 

It wasn’t Alabama’s best effort. Julio Jones caught a single pass. Ingram and Richardson had their way at the end of the first quarter and throughout the second, but not much otherwise. The Tide’s defensive line was good, but I still can’t fall for the 3-4 as a base defense that often forced Saban to commit five guys to rushing Gilbert, which usually left a UT receiver in single coverage.

 

Is that what Nebraska’s offense needs to resemble? I’d like to see more passing balance - something in between playaction deep and tunnel screen - but the running game is certainly commendable.

 

And yet - Bama was plenty human Thursday night. Super in the SEC Championship. Jittery, nervous and conservative on a neutral field for the marbles. Nebraska could have beaten the Tide Thursday night. Know that.

 

Bo already did.

[Street Novelist]

Mack Brown is overrated and this game proved it.

[carlfense]

Oof. That's got to sting a bit for both Tide and Horns fans. Hard to disagree with it though. It looked to me like if you gave Bo either team's talent he would coach circles around them.

[Enhance]

Mack Brown is overrated and this game proved it.

Couldn't agree more.

 

Consistent 10 win seasons does say a lot about him, but I tend to believe that it has more to do with the fact that his players are just physically more talented than the opponents half the time thus they get wins based off of their own physical abilities, and not Brown's coaching.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Oof. That's got to sting a bit for both Tide and Horns fans. Hard to disagree with it though. It looked to me like if you gave Bo either team's talent he would coach circles around them.

I think with the way our offense played in the Holiday Bowl, Bo could have coached circles around them.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Mack Brown is overrated and this game proved it.

Couldn't agree more.

 

Consistent 10 win seasons does say a lot about him, but I tend to believe that it has more to do with the fact that his players are just physically more talented than the opponents half the time thus they get wins based off of their own physical abilities, and not Brown's coaching.

You could say the same for Bob Stoops as well.

[junior4949]

You could, but he's won twice as many conference titles as Brown.

[WVhuskerXX]

Mack Brown is overrated and this game proved it.

 

Some of his decisions were terrible

[schuhbdoo]

Oof. That's got to sting a bit for both Tide and Horns fans. Hard to disagree with it though. It looked to me like if you gave Bo either team's talent he would coach circles around them.

 

 

"We knew we were going to struggle with points, and we felt like we had 15 seconds left so we called the safest thing that might squirt,”

 

WTF? Is he talking about a porno or a football play?

 

What a dumb@ss. One of many mistakes that cost them this game/title.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

You could, but he's won twice as many conference titles as Brown.

True, but Big Game Bob's record in BCS bowl games leaves a lot to be desired as well.

[skerfan1705]

Texas is the most successful college football team in Texas. Texas is the biggest football state...Texas should have the talent banging on their door to make them a contender for the NC every year....

 

 

Last night was a pathetic showing.

[junior4949]

I guess what it really comes down to is whether you'd rather be invited to the dance and dumped or would you rather never be invited at all? OU has played in almost twice as many BCS bowls as Texass.

[cscott2win]

Very poor coaching calls indeed on both sides of the ball. V tech fans thought the Huskers had a better d than Bama and I'm sure the Horns would say the same. Most of us have been pointing to 2010 and we are here!!!

[Fuzzy]

Ugh, that qoute about Callahan's botched fake punt call.

 

I will never forget that play, we were playing Auburn in the bowl game, as soon as i saw it, i changed the channel and didn't watch the rest of it. Stupid.

[Landlord]

Ugh, that qoute about Callahan's botched fake punt call.

 

I will never forget that play, we were playing Auburn in the bowl game, as soon as i saw it, i changed the channel and didn't watch the rest of it. Stupid.

 

 

Why? It was a good call, just terrible execution by one Andrew Shanle.