hornbybeach
< 25 Posts
Very, very good post. Thanks for all the work it took to research and write it.
I just have a few comments.
First, K-State in Austin ('99). As I remember that game, we were in it until the third quarter, when we let them run a punt or kick-off (I forget which) back on us. I also remember that the OL couldn't stop K-State's blitz to save themselves and that, plus an anemic running game (also partially the OL's fault) created a nearly impossible situation for Applewhite. It's a wonder we didn't lose by a larger score.
'99 A&M game; I remember Chris doing pretty well until he was running with the ball and got nailed on the sideline by an A&M defender. After that, his play was tentative at best. But given the emotional situation, A&M was fated to win that game.
'99 Title game; I think Major was still not entirely recovered. If I remember correctly, he was still several pounds below his earlier playing weight and he looked sluggish and fatigued. It was also a game distinguished by rotten OL play and again, it's a wonder we didn't get beat worse than we did. If memory serves, we actually held Nebraska to fewer yards and a lower score than we had when we beat them in Austin.
'00 Cotton Bowl; dumb move to accept that bowl bid. Texas had a "been there, done that" attitude and it showed. Worst Texas performance under Brown, including the infamous 63-14 loss to OU.
'00 season; my recollection is that Simms was the announced starter and that didn't change until after the game. But his first quarter performance definitely showed he wasn't ready to start and Applewhite led the team back to a huge win. After that is when Brown cooked up the co-starter scheme.
the '00 Stanford game; I was there. Texas came out flat and stayed flat until the fourth quarter. Looked to me like they had just gotten off the airplane before coming to the stadium and were jet-lagged. I believe that loss was due as much to the inability of the defense to stop Stanford from moving the length of the field for a go-ahead score late in the game. I don't remember Major's play as being markedly better or worse than that of the rest of the team. It just looked to me like Stanford wanted to avenge the previous season's shellacking in Austin, while Texas had come out to Palo Alto to enjoy the scenery and the balmy weather. (Note: Stanford is one of the all-time great tailgating venues in the country.)
'00 Holiday Bowl; this one was just on ESPN Classic, so I watched it. Simms' play impressed me more than I had remembered. Actually, I think we would have won (and he would have had his "great" comeback win) but for three dropped passes. It is also good to remember that almost that same Oregon team went on to sweep the Pac 10 and slaughter Big-12 champion Colorado in a BCS bowl the following year.
'01 season; Applewhite was certainly questionable at the beginning of the season - two serious knee injuries (one to each knee) in the previous two seasons made his already suspect mobility even more questionable. I seem to remember him wearing a huge brace on the most recently injured knee. I don't think he could have started, but I also think Brown was feeling some pressure to start Simms after all the smoke-blowing Texas had been engaging in since landing him in '99.
'01 OU game; the first of two losses to OU, blame for which belongs directly at the feet of the coaching staff. The game plan, such as it was, seemed to be to make a half-hearted attempt at a running game and when that failed (predictably), to send Chris back to put the ball up and hope someone in burnt orange and white caught it. Still, lame game plan and all, the game was close and winnable but for a horrendous mistake by Vasher (?) in trying to field a punt deep in our end of the field rather than letting it roll into the end zone. We had the ball inside our five as a result and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. First time I really, really began to wonder about Brown's judgment in keeping an OC who seemed to think there is something sinful about a steady, 3-yard gain.
Championship game; the infurating thing about this one wasn't the INTs as much as it was that Simms was making the same damned mistakes he'd made against Louisiana-Lafayette. Here is one example of why I don't fault him for his possibly impolitic remarks about his college coaching. Dammit, coaches are supposed to teach, among other things, and they hadn't done a very good job of breaking him of some first-game bad habits. This game also cemented the Applewhite legend in Texas' football lore. But for a missed field goal, we would have won that game and gotten at least a rematch with Oregon if not a chance to play for the championship.
'01 Holiday Bowl; what can I say? Major brought us back not once, but three times (2nd quarter and twice in the 4th) in one of the greatest wins in Texas' long and glorious football history. I was also at that game. Even with the ball deep in Texas' end of the field and just under two minutes to go, I knew we were going to win. The only thing that scared me was that we scored too quickly. The defense had been spotty at best all night long and I wasn't sure they could keep Washington from scoring again. No one seems to remember that our vaunted defense that year somehow managed to give up 80 points in its last two games. Benson was sidelined, so that was Davis' lame excuse for the lame running game.
'02 OU game; another coaching loss. They overreacted to the previous year's experience and hobbled Chris when the running game, predictably, failed to produce. I thought we lost the game at the end of the second quarter, when we had OU 14-3 with under two minutes to go; let them score and then score 2 points. Then we came out conservative in the 3rd quarter and yes, yes, I know Roy Williams had his hamstring problems and Brown claimed the wind was a problem. If you believe that, I've got some great beachfront property in Tucson I want to sell you and as for Roy, yes, he was hobbled, but are you telling me we didn't have any other receivers who could catch?
'02 Tech; I don't recall Chris's INT late in the game as the reason we lost; I recall the facts that we couldn't run on one of the worst rushing defenses in Div. 1-A; that we couldn't stop Klingsbury's passing game (which we seemed to have been able to handle in previous years), and that, again, we had them on the mat, but let them get up again in the second quarter. Brown seems never to expect that an opponent, when they're down by more than one score, might actually get up, smash us in the mouth, and try to win in spite of the deficit.
In sum, I think Chris' shortcomings could have been and should have been cured by solid coaching after his sophomore year. He certainly seems to have fixed them himself after his junior year. And I think the losses under both quarterbacks were principally due to poor OL play, which negated the possibility of a running game and left the QB, whoever he was, exposed to the blitz. Let's hope the OL problems are history along with the former OL coach.
Hook 'em!
I just have a few comments.
First, K-State in Austin ('99). As I remember that game, we were in it until the third quarter, when we let them run a punt or kick-off (I forget which) back on us. I also remember that the OL couldn't stop K-State's blitz to save themselves and that, plus an anemic running game (also partially the OL's fault) created a nearly impossible situation for Applewhite. It's a wonder we didn't lose by a larger score.
'99 A&M game; I remember Chris doing pretty well until he was running with the ball and got nailed on the sideline by an A&M defender. After that, his play was tentative at best. But given the emotional situation, A&M was fated to win that game.
'99 Title game; I think Major was still not entirely recovered. If I remember correctly, he was still several pounds below his earlier playing weight and he looked sluggish and fatigued. It was also a game distinguished by rotten OL play and again, it's a wonder we didn't get beat worse than we did. If memory serves, we actually held Nebraska to fewer yards and a lower score than we had when we beat them in Austin.
'00 Cotton Bowl; dumb move to accept that bowl bid. Texas had a "been there, done that" attitude and it showed. Worst Texas performance under Brown, including the infamous 63-14 loss to OU.
'00 season; my recollection is that Simms was the announced starter and that didn't change until after the game. But his first quarter performance definitely showed he wasn't ready to start and Applewhite led the team back to a huge win. After that is when Brown cooked up the co-starter scheme.
the '00 Stanford game; I was there. Texas came out flat and stayed flat until the fourth quarter. Looked to me like they had just gotten off the airplane before coming to the stadium and were jet-lagged. I believe that loss was due as much to the inability of the defense to stop Stanford from moving the length of the field for a go-ahead score late in the game. I don't remember Major's play as being markedly better or worse than that of the rest of the team. It just looked to me like Stanford wanted to avenge the previous season's shellacking in Austin, while Texas had come out to Palo Alto to enjoy the scenery and the balmy weather. (Note: Stanford is one of the all-time great tailgating venues in the country.)
'00 Holiday Bowl; this one was just on ESPN Classic, so I watched it. Simms' play impressed me more than I had remembered. Actually, I think we would have won (and he would have had his "great" comeback win) but for three dropped passes. It is also good to remember that almost that same Oregon team went on to sweep the Pac 10 and slaughter Big-12 champion Colorado in a BCS bowl the following year.
'01 season; Applewhite was certainly questionable at the beginning of the season - two serious knee injuries (one to each knee) in the previous two seasons made his already suspect mobility even more questionable. I seem to remember him wearing a huge brace on the most recently injured knee. I don't think he could have started, but I also think Brown was feeling some pressure to start Simms after all the smoke-blowing Texas had been engaging in since landing him in '99.
'01 OU game; the first of two losses to OU, blame for which belongs directly at the feet of the coaching staff. The game plan, such as it was, seemed to be to make a half-hearted attempt at a running game and when that failed (predictably), to send Chris back to put the ball up and hope someone in burnt orange and white caught it. Still, lame game plan and all, the game was close and winnable but for a horrendous mistake by Vasher (?) in trying to field a punt deep in our end of the field rather than letting it roll into the end zone. We had the ball inside our five as a result and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. First time I really, really began to wonder about Brown's judgment in keeping an OC who seemed to think there is something sinful about a steady, 3-yard gain.
Championship game; the infurating thing about this one wasn't the INTs as much as it was that Simms was making the same damned mistakes he'd made against Louisiana-Lafayette. Here is one example of why I don't fault him for his possibly impolitic remarks about his college coaching. Dammit, coaches are supposed to teach, among other things, and they hadn't done a very good job of breaking him of some first-game bad habits. This game also cemented the Applewhite legend in Texas' football lore. But for a missed field goal, we would have won that game and gotten at least a rematch with Oregon if not a chance to play for the championship.
'01 Holiday Bowl; what can I say? Major brought us back not once, but three times (2nd quarter and twice in the 4th) in one of the greatest wins in Texas' long and glorious football history. I was also at that game. Even with the ball deep in Texas' end of the field and just under two minutes to go, I knew we were going to win. The only thing that scared me was that we scored too quickly. The defense had been spotty at best all night long and I wasn't sure they could keep Washington from scoring again. No one seems to remember that our vaunted defense that year somehow managed to give up 80 points in its last two games. Benson was sidelined, so that was Davis' lame excuse for the lame running game.
'02 OU game; another coaching loss. They overreacted to the previous year's experience and hobbled Chris when the running game, predictably, failed to produce. I thought we lost the game at the end of the second quarter, when we had OU 14-3 with under two minutes to go; let them score and then score 2 points. Then we came out conservative in the 3rd quarter and yes, yes, I know Roy Williams had his hamstring problems and Brown claimed the wind was a problem. If you believe that, I've got some great beachfront property in Tucson I want to sell you and as for Roy, yes, he was hobbled, but are you telling me we didn't have any other receivers who could catch?
'02 Tech; I don't recall Chris's INT late in the game as the reason we lost; I recall the facts that we couldn't run on one of the worst rushing defenses in Div. 1-A; that we couldn't stop Klingsbury's passing game (which we seemed to have been able to handle in previous years), and that, again, we had them on the mat, but let them get up again in the second quarter. Brown seems never to expect that an opponent, when they're down by more than one score, might actually get up, smash us in the mouth, and try to win in spite of the deficit.
In sum, I think Chris' shortcomings could have been and should have been cured by solid coaching after his sophomore year. He certainly seems to have fixed them himself after his junior year. And I think the losses under both quarterbacks were principally due to poor OL play, which negated the possibility of a running game and left the QB, whoever he was, exposed to the blitz. Let's hope the OL problems are history along with the former OL coach.
Hook 'em!
