I’ve been awfully quiet about the Texas Longhorns second* straight loss to the Aggies. Note the asterisk. That 12-7 defeat in 2006 shoulda been a 14-12 win if the refs had called that extra UT touchdown correctly. But in the world of reviewable calls, that one wasn’t. Oh, this year’s Ag loss? I told you so. It’s part of having a rivalry end the regular season. Many years the team that has nothing to lose pounces on the one that does. But you have to hand it to Dennis Franchione – likely chuckling as he sips a Mai Tai on the beach in Hawaii and counting that $4 million buyout! (Hey, Chronicle bosses, how much do I get if you fire me?) – for actually watching the UT vs. Tech game the week before. He saw – duh! – that Texas can’t defend the pass and the best way to win is to keep the other team’s offense off the field.
But enough about a season so odd for the Horns that they could have just as easily been undefeated as batting .500. They were as good as Oklahoma early on (and should have beaten the Okies) but injuries, inexperience, and lackluster coaching did them in. Can anyone explain to me how Mack Brown got away without jettisoning one of his coordinators? He won’t be so lucky if 2008 produces similar lackluster results.
But forget the double oughts. I want to take you back to the past. The past, Joe? Yes, all the way back to 1984 when the No. 1 ranked Longhorns coached by cartoon character Fred Akers battled the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners coached by Barry “I Shoulda Learned to Stay Out of Dallas” Switzer in the Red River Shootout. ESPN Classic was kind enough to show it to me the other night in abbreviated form. The Horns went 11-0 in 1983 — something they wouldn’t do again until 2002 – before losing to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl. Texas was hungry in 1984 and undefeated going into the game.
Current North Texas head coach Todd Dodge was at QB for Texas. Mack Brown was the OU offensive coordinator for Switzer who wore a “Beat Texas” hat on the sidelines. And it was pouring down rain. Players slipped and slided around the field. The Horns managed a 10-0 halftime lead, but OU came back to lead 15-10, before intentionally taking a safety when trapped near the end zone late in the game to cut the lead to 15-12. Dodge rallied the Horns and, with but seconds to go, threw an end-zone pass that was clearly intercepted by the Sooners’ Keith Stanberry. It was ruled an incomplete pass, and Jeff Ward kicked in a sister-kissing field goal to end it with a tie in those pre-overtime days. Switzer and Akers didn’t shake hands over it. Sooner fans are probably still pissed (their team finished 9-2-1 including a bowl loss). It was the beginning of the end for Akers, whose Horns finished 9-4-1, including a 55-17 crushing by Iowa in the Freedom Bowl, and Texas wasn’t a title contender for the rest of the century.
Maybe it was karma. OU should have won that game, just like Texas should have beaten the Aggies in 2006 (though they played horribly just like they did this year). I’ve finally decided I like the second-guessing now going on with refs’ calls. It’s good for the game, and it keeps things honest and keeps crazies like Mike Leach of Texas Tech looking just as nuts as they are. But the bad news? It wouldn’t have helped the Sooners in ’84. The call wasn’t reviewable. Hook ’em.
This article appears in December 14 • 2007.