Horns Win Thriller at Kansas, Yes Kansas

Would Mack Brown have called for a game-tying field goal from the one if Case McCoy doesn’t win the game with a clutch third down touchdown pass to D.J. Grant with 12 seconds left? We’ll never know. (Of course he would’ve taken overtime vs. a risk.) Case made caution moot.

The Longhorns looked like they were going to be upset in Larry, KS, which would've made for a long flight home on Laughing Stock Airways. When Brown yanked David Ash for back-up Justin Case McCoy at the start of the fourth quarter, Texas responded with two touchdowns to beat Kansas 21-17. Before McCoy tossed off the headphones like a starving nightclub DJ when the pizza arrives, Texas had scored just seven points in three quarters against a 1-6 team.

The play of the game was a 16-yard pass from McCoy to Jaxon Shipley on fourth and 6 with just under two minutes left. They don’t hook up like their older bros and the Longhorn Network is taxing the time of other coaches next year. Forget saving face, McCoy, Shipley, Grant, Marquise Goodwin, Magic Mike and Johnathan Gray saved the damn season. Kudos to Gray for his first 100-plus rushing game (18 carries for 111). There will be many more, da frosh prince can play.

Texas (6-2) is now bowl eligible, the new standard at DeLossville. And Coach Brown, who uncharacteristically called a time out at the right time, before a fumbled snap earlier in the game, gets to answer questions at the post-gamer about subjects other than his job security.

Quandre Diggs, meanwhile, will sleep tonight. The defensive back, whose brother is Quentin Grabber of the NFL, interfered with a Jayhawk receiver so badly on a 3rd and 9 that he left DNA evidence. KU kept the drive going late in the fourth quarter and kicked the go-ahead FG with a little over three minutes. Jayhawk fans are so cute when they think they're going to win.

The much-maligned defense of Manny Diaz hosted another career day, this one for Kansas' James Sims, who had 176 yards rushing. Aside from all the other games this season, the only time I've seen worst run defense was a fat officer chasing a crackhead on "Cops." Kansas racked up 177 yards on the ground in the first half, but the UTD eventually clenched their tackle cheeks in the second half to stop the ramming. The Horns' problem was piss-poor playcalling and an ineffective QB David Ash, who was replaced after his second pick. Coach Brown was in no mood to remake "The Garrett Gilbert Story."

After Baby Colt's heroics, Lindsay Lohan may host SNL again before Ash gets back in the starting lineup. Nowhere in the scouting report does it say he’s not a morning person, but this is the second 11 a.m. start (first against Oklahoma) where he played like he’d been doing belly-button shots the night before.

But then along came Jesus Brother #2 to lead the team like he had holy water in his veins. Thank your lord and savior Jesus Christ all you want, Mr. Case McCoy. You spared Longhorn Nation from the humiliation of losing to another boring Midwestern college whose team is stocked with players from Texas that the Horns recruiters didn’t want. McCoy threw for more yards (68) in the last quarter than Ash did (63) in the previous three, to keep Texas from joining only South Dakota State in the Kansas win column.

Next up is a certain loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. on ABC. Then a Thanksgiving evening win against TCU, who just got stomped up in Stillwater 36-14. I don't even want to think about what the evil genius Bill Snyder is going to do to us at K-State on Dec. 1. The Wildcats will probably be in a position to play Alabama for the national championship if they beat Texas, which doesn't seem like the spoiling type. That leaves Mack Brown with a 7-4 season, which keeps his pace of about $800,000 per victory.

But for now we celebrate. Hey, Kansas, we got your wayward sons- carry this on! We're going to the Carl's Jr. Alamo Bowl, baby!