I hope history is repeating itself, I really do, a Big XII title would be an awesome way to go out. I just don't know what kind of a team we are just yet. :lol:
Just to refresh your memory, Crouch entered the '99 season as a backup to Newcombe even though he had significant playing time in 8 games his RS Freshman year as a backup in '98. Also '99 was the year Crouch threatened to quit the team when he learned he'd be 2nd string to Newcombe again. It wasn't until the 3rd game against Southern Miss. that Crouch was officially named the 1st string QB because Newcombe suffered a knee injury.
I remember some people questioning if Crouch could lead this team as a starting QB due to his youth, especially since his first game as a starter came against Southern Miss. who played us tough that day. We only won 20-13 whereas the previous two weeks under Newcombe we put up consecutive 40+ point games against Iowa and California. Then when Texas beat us, I remember the media backlash Solich received because some people questioned that he should've put Newcombe in at QB the 2nd half when Crouch was struggling.
In a way, we're experiencing some of those same things this year that the '99 team experienced back then. If you look at the final scores of some of those games, you can see a bit of Jekyll & Hyde performances. For example:
Kansas = 24-17 (W) -- Kansas went 5-7 (3-5 in Big 12)
Colorado - 33-30 OT (W) -- Colorado went 7-5 (5-3 in Big 12)
Interestingly enough, Crouch seemed to play his best football against ranked teams (except for Texas) that season. In back-to-back weeks we faced #21 Texas A&M and beat them 37-0 and then faced undefeated #5 Kansas State the following week and won 41-15. Martinez just finished defeating a ranked and undefeated Oklahoma State and is about to face another highly ranked undefeated Mizzou this coming weekend. That in itself is eerie to think that we're potentially looking at history repeating itself again with a young QB that has caused us both praise and happiness as well as heartaches and doubt. Much like Crouch did to us in '99.
Like Martinez, I remember Crouch making young QB mistakes in '99 which was inevitable, but he did get us through the season and we finished 12-1. Not too shabby for a RS Sophomore who started the season as a 2nd stringer. The emotional mood swings that year is on par with what we're experiencing so far this season. Which is why this season is reminiscent to '99, in my opinion.
