DALLAS — Colt McCoy did it all with a sore thumb. Colt McCoy also had lost his voice during the week because of a cold. Colt McCoy saved the game with a tackle. A tackle from a quarterback!
This is why headlines and highlights aren’t enough. Texas beat Oklahoma 16-13 Saturday to go 6-0 and keep up its run toward the national championship in its System Stinks Redemption Tour.
But when you watch the recap on ESPN and hear the fairy tale of McCoy, keep this in mind:
He wasn’t any good.
And Texas? Worse.
The Longhorns are a long, long way from being a legit national championship team. Sure, the fun and pageantry of the rivalry were great, as always. You walk through the state fair, past signs that say “Welcome to the fried food capital of Texas,” where you decide that the diet can handle fried dough better than fried butter. The stadium neatly packs OU fans on one half, Texas on the other, totaling 96,000.
So for history and for personal meaning, this was a big moment.
But the game? Bad.
Texas? Worse.
“We’re in the same spot we were this time last year,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “We’re not going to let the system dictate to us.”
Oh god. Brown is still blubbering about last year. Listen, it’s true that Texas beat Oklahoma last year. Then, Texas lost to Texas Tech. So OU got to play in the Big 12 title game and then for the national title.
Texas felt it should have gone. So Brown has made a mission of saying that Texas wouldn’t allow that to happen again this year. Yes, it’s easy to motivate players with shallow stuff like that.
But I’m not sure how Boise State and Utah feel about Texas whining about the system. Texas is going to get a nice, high BCS ranking when the year’s first computer numbers come out Sunday, but the team isn’t that good.
The system and the voters always favor the big boys, like Texas. At this point, it appears rigged to put this mediocre team without a running game into the title game against the SEC champ.
“We ran for 142 yards,” Brown said. “The fact that we ran the ball this well is really exciting to me.”
OK, fine. Brown said that his team needs to enjoy the win, that the fun of winning big games is taken away because of the system. So we focus on what’s wrong and focus on upsets more than joy.
Honestly, that’s exactly what I’m doing. Texas can’t run the ball, has an average offensive line and a runner-up Heisman Trophy quarterback in McCoy who saved the game because he threw an awful interception with six minutes left, then made a tackle.
Maybe I should be focusing on the good, the win. But what I can’t get out of my mind was the way McCoy kept overthrowing people. He completed 21 of 39 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. He also threw …
Read more from the original source
More Related Posts:
- 2009 Sporting News College Athlete of the Year: Colt McCoy, Texas QB Ken Bradley, Sporting News Colt McCoy has one more honor on his mind: the national...
- Live Blog: Colt McCoy Shoots for Spot as Texas’ Greatest Quarterback AUSTIN, Texas — Okay, so let the debate began. Vince Young or Colt McCoy. Which...
- Legends Poll: It’s time to see where Texas fits Matt Hayes More polls: Sporting News | AP | Coaches | Harris We know it’s...
- Shout it out: Texas a deserving No. 2 Bo Pelini is livid after the game, claiming the final decision was made for the...
- Mack Brown states his case for Colt McCoy Mack Brown, for Sporting News Colt McCoy’s case for the Heisman extends beyond this year,...
Leave a Reply