Texas vs. Nebraska

[Vinay Bhaskara]

Guys, this is a copy of a letter I've posted to bleacherreport. If I need to put this in a different forum, please enlighten me.

 

 

Let me preface this by saying that I am a huge Texas Longhorns fan.

 

Dear Nebraska Cornhuskers Fans,

 

I am writing this today in reference to the article published by Mike Blackwell at Inside Texas.com. On behalf of the Longhorn nation, I'd like to apologize for the words of some of my brethren. They are very passionate about their team, and can't always help what they say in the spur of the moment. I'm sure that some of you have also said things you wouldn't be proud of; it's understandable with the fiery emotions that are raised by this matter. And I must say that to me, Nebraska fans are the highest representation of class, no matter what the article by Blackwell may say. As a whole, you tend to be civilized, and quite knowledgeable about the game of football. One of my dreams is to watch a game of football at Memorial Stadium (I’m only 15, so I have time), and I know that when I do, I'll be welcomed with a proverbial red carpet.

 

As for the article itself, I have just one question for you; what's wrong with it? First off, Blackwell was writing it more for us Horns fans, than he really was for you. We as Longhorn fans have plenty of frustration with Nebraska; some legitimate, and others not so much. From a Texas fans perspective, it was a semi-humorous opinion piece, which rang of the truth though it wasn’t exactly the most factual. So if you guys didn’t like it, I get it. But weren’t there Nebraska beat writers who wrote similar stories right after last year’s Big 12 Championship Game?

 

Although this is going to sound very similar to Blackwell’s article, as Longhorn fan I understand how you feel. We’ve both endured losses that sting horribly, and you’re not alone in Big 12 Championship pain. One of my formative memories as a Texas fan is watching Chris Simms throw all those interceptions, and seeing us come so close but fall just short. Last year may have been bad for you, but in 01, we were playing for a shot at the National Title against a team we’d beaten 41-7 that year. As Blackwell mentioned, we were dominated by Oklahoma from 2000-2004 much the same way Suh toyed with our O-line last year. So we get it, it sucks to lose…

But as for the actual game itself… It was a great performance by Suh, in fact I’d say it was the finest in Big 12 history outside of Vince Young in the 2006 Rose Bowl. But there are lot of you out there who feel that you were wronged; that somehow the refs conspired to let Texas go to the National Championship game. But, the rule is; the clock doesn't stop until the ball actually touches the ground or an object i.e.; player, coach, mascot, cheerleader, camera man, fan, field crew or anything else that is located "out of bounds". So with one second left, that ball hit a railing. Therefore, the clock stops with one second left; the correct call, and we win the game fair and square.

 

Before you all go off on me, let me give you a short history lesson. January 1st, 1994 (the year I was born), undefeated Nebraska faces 1-loss Florida State at the Orange Bowl for the national title (because Notre Dame lost to Boston College). After the Seminoles took a late 18-16 lead, an excessive celebration penalty gave ya’ll the ball on the 43 yard line. As time ran down, Tommie Frazier hit tight end Trumaine Bell for a 29 yard gain to the FSU 28 yard line. The clock ticked down to 0:00, bringing the Seminoles onto the field much in the same way ya’ll did last year. However, the referee arbitrarily decided to put one second back on the clock (this was before instant replay), and you got a chance to kick the game-winning field goal. Of course Byron Bennett pushed the 45 yarder wide left, and Florida State won 18-16. But before you start griping about a legitimate call backed up by review last year; please take a moment to remember when an arbitrary second nearly won you a national championship.

 

The other thing that I can’t understand necessarily is why you all feel that you somehow deserved to win that football game because you were so much better than us. You weren’t. There were two evenly matched teams out there, and ya’ll caught a couple of breaks. Only one of McCoy’s interceptions was actually a bad pass, the other two were batted or lost by a Texas player. Early in the 4th quarter, McCoy hit a wide open James Kirkendoll in the hands and he dropped it. If he catches that football, it’s a 17-9 game, and the way your offense was playing, it’s game over. Later in the game, McCoy’s well on his way to leading a 99 yard touchdown drive, when Dan Buckner has the ball wrestled out of his hands; an interception which by the way set up your go ahead field goal. SO my point is, that we both had an equal claim to winning that game, and a lot went your way…

 

But the 2009 Big 12 Championship is all old history by now… While I said that I forgive Nebraska fans for most of what you’ve said, the two things I cannot stand by and watch are the sullying of Mack Brown, and this insane idea that Texas was just whining in 08. Anyone who knows Mack Brown would tell you right away that, as Mike Blackwell put it; “Mack Brown would’ve been the first one to cross the field and shake your coach’s hand. He would’ve been gracious in defeat, as always.” If you don’t believe it, let me just point out a couple of examples. Despite the way Oklahoma destroyed him in the first half of this decade, Mack was always the first to shake Bob Stoops’ hands, and despite the calls of “Coach February,” and the like, has rarely if ever had anything except praise for his opponents. Case in point, as this entire drama was unfolding, all Mack had to say was about how much he admired Tom Osborne…

 

As for 2008, it wasn’t just that we weren’t in the national title game; it’s that the way it was decided had nothing to do with on field results. We beat both teams in the Big 12 championship game by double digits; Missouri by 21, and OU by 10… If there was a championship, then why didn’t it feature the two best teams in the conference? I’m sure you all would feel the same way if you, Missouri, and Iowa State all finished in a 3 way tie this year, and Missouri advanced to the title game to face Texas A&M after you beat Missouri by 11 and A&M by 23.

 

By the way, Tim Bond; why don’t you just admit to the world that you are an Oklahoma fan… The way you spoke in that little rebuttal of yours proved it. Let me put it this way, you and Little Game Bob up in Norman lost to us on the field, and in the end that should have trumped all. Of course those Gators proved that your flash and flair was all bogus, and that we should have been in that game. Talk to me again when Bobby wins a BCS bowl will ya’.

 

But back to the point at hand; the allegations that some Longhorns fans have made; that ya’ll were afraid of Texas and OU so you ran to the Big 10. That’s completely not true, ya’ll saw the opportunity to do what was best for your program; the same thing that we did. I have no doubt that ya’ll will do fine up there. I predict you’ll win at least 3 Big 10 championships in the next 10 years, and outside of Ohio State, will be the class of the Big 10.

 

And when October 16th 2010 rolls around, as a Texas fan, I’m going to be pumped up. Not because of some perceived injustice, but because I will be allowed to see a fabulous college football game. My head says that we’ve just stolen victory from the jaws of defeat too many times and that Nebraska wins something like 21-17. My heart has faith in Mack and Greg Davis, and says that Texas will win 24-17. But regardless of who wins the football game, we are the two best teams in the conference, and will most likely meet again in the Conference Championship game (the final one), and one of us may play for the national title as well. But I do know that if we win, ya’ll will stand up and cheer for us as we leave the stadium (is it too early for Garret Gilbert for Heisman?).

 

And so because this is getting a tad long-winded, I offer a statement we both can believe in; Beat OU!!!!

[knapplc]

The other thing that I can’t understand necessarily is why you all feel that you somehow deserved to win that football game because you were so much better than us.

 

Ignoring the rest of that VERY long-winded post, there isn't a Husker football fan alive who's watched more than three football games, ever, who thinks that Nebraska was "so much better" than Texas. Anyone with ANY football acumen saw a completely dysfunctional offense sputter all night long. There was no way we deserved to win that game the way our offense executed, and it's more a testament to how overrated Texas was (as Alabama so thoroughly proved) than a display of Nebraska's worthiness.

 

Bottom line - if we had any kind of offense at all in that game, you guys would have been beaten by a shell of a team still very early in the rebuilding process, not even half recovered from its worst era in 40 years. That's where the disgust at the Texas braggadocio comes from - you didn't earn anything, we gave it to you. And the boasting from Texas Fan is so silly we're just shaking our heads at it now. I can't remember the last time a team was so thoroughly dominated in 1:59:59 of its last 2:00:00 of game time, yet has talked so much smack in the ensuing seven months.

[GMoose]

Oh boy, where to begin?

 

First, you made the mistake of using the words "bleacher report" which stripped any sense of credibility you may have had before you even began. And next time, I wouldn't follow that up with your age of 15.

 

-If the letter was intended for Texas fans, why was the first sentence "dear children of the corn"?

 

-Before you give us history lessons about the a game you've made it glaringly obvious that you haven't seen, check it out.

 

-In you're 5th paragraph you addressed the classic "what if' scenario, but you only gave examples for Texas. What if Brandon Kinnie's foot landed in the endzone rather than one inch out of bounds? What if Zac Lee hadn't thrown and INT on the Texas 37? There's 10 points.

 

-I think we saw the real Mack Brown after the final second ticked off the clocked and he walked onto the field. Even if the second hadn't been put on the clock and he wouldn't have been vocal about how he really felt, I'd rather have a coach who defends his team when he believes they've been wronged.

 

-2008 had everything to do with what happened on the field. You lost to Texas Tech. Way back when, when the Big 12 and BCS were formed, Texas, like everyone else in the Big 12, singed off on the rules of tiebreakers. When that went into effect, every team in the league accepted that (albeit highly unlikely) should such an event like a 3-way tie occur, the BCS rankings would determine the divisional champion.

[Ringer02]

 

Before you all go off on me, let me give you a short history lesson. January 1st, 1994 (the year I was born), undefeated Nebraska faces 1-loss Florida State at the Orange Bowl for the national title (because Notre Dame lost to Boston College). After the Seminoles took a late 18-16 lead, an excessive celebration penalty gave ya’ll the ball on the 43 yard line. As time ran down, Tommie Frazier hit tight end Trumaine Bell for a 29 yard gain to the FSU 28 yard line. The clock ticked down to 0:00, bringing the Seminoles onto the field much in the same way ya’ll did last year. However, the referee arbitrarily decided to put one second back on the clock (this was before instant replay), and you got a chance to kick the game-winning field goal. Of course Byron Bennett pushed the 45 yarder wide left, and Florida State won 18-16. But before you start griping about a legitimate call backed up by review last year; please take a moment to remember when an arbitrary second nearly won you a national championship.

 

Please don't give us a lecture of our own history, those born before 94 remember this very well.

[huzkerbob]

Yawn...

[junior4949]

Call me crazy, but what's up with the little game Bob? If memory serves me correctly, Bob Stoops has won just as many NC's as Mack Brown. However, Stoops has won several more Big 12 Championships than Mack and has easily owned Mack Brown and Texas. Even in some of his worst seasons there like last year, Texas barely limped in for the victory. How many NC's has OU gotten to play for? How many has Texas gotten to play for? I just don't get why Texas clowns on OU so much when it's been quite obvious who has been the best team in the South since the Big 12 was formed.

[papersun87]

tl;dr

 

Except yeah, I actually did read it.

[GrueneHorn]

Call me crazy, but what's up with the little game Bob? If memory serves me correctly, Bob Stoops has won just as many NC's as Mack Brown. However, Stoops has won several more Big 12 Championships than Mack and has easily owned Mack Brown and Texas. Even in some of his worst seasons there like last year, Texas barely limped in for the victory. How many NC's has OU gotten to play for? How many has Texas gotten to play for? I just don't get why Texas clowns on OU so much when it's been quite obvious who has been the best team in the South since the Big 12 was formed.

 

 

It's not about Brown's record vs Stoops' record and this poster isn't the first to use it. I first heard it from OSU fans. The nickname has to do with Bob Stoops recent record in big games, which has been less than stellar. Stoops was pegged with "Big Game Bob" for his amazing record the first years at OU. But recently in any game against a top 25 team, games played outside of Oklahoma, and bowl games, Bob's record has been dismal the past few years. Stoop's teams do well against teams they are supposed to beat, but in the last 5 years they haven't done well in close games.

[irafreak]

Call me crazy, but what's up with the little game Bob? If memory serves me correctly, Bob Stoops has won just as many NC's as Mack Brown. However, Stoops has won several more Big 12 Championships than Mack and has easily owned Mack Brown and Texas. Even in some of his worst seasons there like last year, Texas barely limped in for the victory. How many NC's has OU gotten to play for? How many has Texas gotten to play for? I just don't get why Texas clowns on OU so much when it's been quite obvious who has been the best team in the South since the Big 12 was formed.

 

 

It's not about Brown's record vs Stoops' record and this poster isn't the first to use it. I first heard it from OSU fans. The nickname has to do with Bob Stoops recent record in big games, which has been less than stellar. Stoops was pegged with "Big Game Bob" for his amazing record the first years at OU. But recently in any game against a top 25 team, games played outside of Oklahoma, and bowl games, Bob's record has been dismal the past few years. Stoop's teams do well against teams they are supposed to beat, but in the last 5 years they haven't done well in close games.

What? So bob beats the teams he are supposed to beat by a lot but barely loses to everyone else?

[irafreak]

I am writing this today in reference to the article published by Mike Blackwell at Inside Texas.com. On behalf of the Longhorn nation, I'd like to apologize for the words of some of my brethren. They are very passionate about their team, and can't always help what they say in the spur of the moment. I'm sure that some of you have also said things you wouldn't be proud of; it's understandable with the fiery emotions that are raised by this matter. And I must say that to me, Nebraska fans are the highest representation of class, no matter what the article by Blackwell may say. As a whole, you tend to be civilized, and quite knowledgeable about the game of football. One of my dreams is to watch a game of football at Memorial Stadium (I’m only 15, so I have time), and I know that when I do, I'll be welcomed with a proverbial red carpet.

 

As for the article itself, I have just one question for you; what's wrong with it? First off, Blackwell was writing it more for us Horns fans, than he really was for you. We as Longhorn fans have plenty of frustration with Nebraska; some legitimate, and others not so much. From a Texas fans perspective, it was a semi-humorous opinion piece, which rang of the truth though it wasn’t exactly the most factual. So if you guys didn’t like it, I get it. But weren’t there Nebraska beat writers who wrote similar stories right after last year’s Big 12 Championship Game?

 

Make up your mind sport. You say "in reference to the article by mike blackwell" then apologize for your brethren (I'm assuming this includes mike blackwell) then follow that up with "as for the article itself".... you're full of it and we all know it. "Oh gracious and kind Nebraska fans...you suck...but I would love to come visit your fine establishment..."

[JOEY]

I think it would be awesome if Texas quarterback got hurt in the first half like against alabama then the 2nd string qb can come in and we can take a dump on him all game and pad are stats like sacks and interceptions.

[Lil' Red]

The only problem I had with them putting a second back on the clock is that I have a funny feeling that they wouldn't have done that if Nebraska was in the same situation but that might be me being a little naive. I feel bad for you guys about 08 but I don't think you got too robbed since it seemed like OU was the better team.

[GrueneHorn]

The only problem I had with them putting a second back on the clock is that I have a funny feeling that they wouldn't have done that if Nebraska was in the same situation but that might be me being a little naive. I feel bad for you guys about 08 but I don't think you got too robbed since it seemed like OU was the better team.

 

Seemed like the better team? Remember OU lost head to head to Texas on a neutral field? OU was a great team that year, but Texas proved on the field it was better.

 

and about the :01, it was done for you guys in the same situation in 94. Things like that have a way of going around, sometimes your team is the one catching the break, next time your team has the breaks going against you. In both the 94 Orange Bowl and the 09 CCG it was the correct call.

[GrueneHorn]

I think it would be awesome if Texas quarterback got hurt in the first half like against alabama then the 2nd string qb can come in and we can take a dump on him all game and pad are stats like sacks and interceptions.

 

Really?? Well I hope the Huskers are healthy when we see y'all and finish the game that way too. Personaly, I don't think players getting injured is 'awesome' no matter what color jersey they wear. But thats how we roll down here. We want our opponents to be at full strength when we beat them

[Notre Dame Joe]

Call me crazy, but what's up with the little game Bob? If memory serves me correctly, Bob Stoops has won just as many NC's as Mack Brown. However, Stoops has won several more Big 12 Championships than Mack and has easily owned Mack Brown and Texas. Even in some of his worst seasons there like last year, Texas barely limped in for the victory. How many NC's has OU gotten to play for? How many has Texas gotten to play for? I just don't get why Texas clowns on OU so much when it's been quite obvious who has been the best team in the South since the Big 12 was formed.

 

 

It's not about Brown's record vs Stoops' record and this poster isn't the first to use it. I first heard it from OSU fans. The nickname has to do with Bob Stoops recent record in big games, which has been less than stellar. Stoops was pegged with "Big Game Bob" for his amazing record the first years at OU. But recently in any game against a top 25 team, games played outside of Oklahoma, and bowl games, Bob's record has been dismal the past few years. Stoop's teams do well against teams they are supposed to beat, but in the last 5 years they haven't done well in close games.

 

 

Yes but the sheer entertainment value of Stoops losses make him a net positive for the conference. How much has College Football benefited from the constant replays of OU vs Boise St? I'm very happy that Bob Stoops will make a lot of interesting games and that he will be staying in Oklahoma to do so.