TxStar61
New Member
- Messages
- 141
- Reaction score
- 1
From www.statesman.com
BIG 12
Don't be surprised: Title game has history of upsets
Big underdogs often have their day.
Deborah Cannon /AMERICAN-STATESMAN
(enlarge photo)
Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops said his team won't dwell on last year's upset loss to Kansas State when it faces Colorado Saturday night.
Friday, December 03, 2004
"Roll left" was Coach John Mackovic's call on fourth-and-one against Nebraska in the fourth quarter of the 1996 Big 12 Conference championship game in St. Louis. James Brown, the Longhorn quarterback, did exactly that and found tight end Derek Lewis behind the Cornhuskers' secondary for a 61-yard gain.
On the next play, Priest Holmes powered 11 yards for the clinching touchdown in unranked Texas' 37-27 upset over the third-ranked Huskers in the inaugural Big 12 title game.
That was the first surprise in this game's eight-year history. It certainly wasn't the last.
It might comfort the Colorado Buffaloes, 21-point underdogs to No. 2 Oklahoma in Saturday's 7 p.m. contest at Arrowhead Stadium, to know that upsets in this game are the norm.
Exactly half of the previous eight Big 12 games have been won by the underdog. That includes Kansas State's 35-7 rout of the top-ranked Sooners in last year's game on this same field.
"That sort of stuff doesn't last very long. It doesn't add a lot of nutritional value to your team," Colorado Coach Gary Barnett said in downplaying the underdog mentality. "It's all about execution. That (mentality) is like whipped cream."
Former A&M Coach R.C. Slocum, who engineered the Aggies' 1998 victory that knocked Kansas State out of the national championship game and into the Alamo Bowl, said there's no mystery why this game includes so many upsets — and he feels the term "upsets" probably should be in quotations.
Essentially, Slocum says, if a team is good enough to reach the championship game, it's good enough to win it.
"If they've played well enough to get there, they certainly have enough potential to line up against the other team and win," he said.
The biggest upset arguably was Texas' victory over Nebraska. The Huskers were 21-point favorites, a fact that reporters constantly reminded Brown at a press conference on the Monday of game week.
Brown became a focal point at both schools — for totally different reasons — when he finally suggested that maybe Texas would beat Nebraska by 21 points.
"I just got fed up," he said of the repeated questions. "We didn't want to give Nebraska any fuel, but my teammates rallied behind me."
Before practice that afternoon following Brown's comment, which spread like wildfire, Mackovic sidled up to his confident quarterback.
"He said, 'I hope you meant what you said,' " Brown recalled. "That press conference really set off the week. Everybody took the challenge."
The second-largest upset, at least against the betting line, was when A&M, a 16-point underdog, ruined Kansas State's season.
Earlier that day, UCLA had lost to Miami to create a vacancy for K-State in the national championship game, a fact announced over the public-address system in St. Louis to a deafening roar from the pro-Wildcat crowd.
But after Aggie quarterback Brandon Stewart had sliced up the K-State secondary, finishing an almost surgical performance with a 32-yard pass-and-run to running back Sirr Parker, the crowd was in shock.
So was Wildcats' Coach Bill Snyder, who compared the loss to the devastation of a death in a family.
Although Kansas State jumped to a 10-0 lead and held a 27-12 lead entering the fourth quarter, the Aggies never felt outmanned or outplayed.
"We were down by 15 (points), but it was still all positive on our sideline," Slocum said. "There was no chewing anybody out. We felt we were still in it."
And when A&M began making plays to catch up, Slocum almost sympathized with Snyder's plight.
"One of the worst things in athletics is when, as a coach, you can see your team getting into a mental funk and there's nothing you can do about it," he said. "You think, 'We've got to shake out of this,' but the harder you try, the worse it gets."
The previous upsets in this game make for interesting memories and intriguing speculation about Colorado's seemingly slim chance. But Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops has made it clear to his team that none of it matters when the ball is kicked off tonight.
"I'm not much on stressing or continuing beating something up," he said. "Our guys understand. It isn't something we're going to focus on. This is a totally different year, a totally different team.
"We've got an opportunity this year. That's all that matters right now."
rriggs@statesman.com; 445-3957
A history of upsets
2003: Kansas St. 35, Oklahoma 7
The 13th-ranked Wildcats spotted No. 1 Oklahoma a 7-0 lead before storming back for 21 unanswered points in the second period. K-State's explosion included a 63-yard pass from Ell Roberson to James Terry and a 60-yard scoring strike to tailback Darren Sproles. Sproles finished with 235 rushing yards and 88 yards on three receptions.
2001: Colorado 39, Texas 37
The ninth-ranked Buffaloes took advantage of four turnovers by Texas quarterback Chris Simms — three interceptions, one fumble — to build a 36-17 lead early in the third quarter. Major Applewhite, who entered when the struggling Simms hurt his thumb, orchestrated a rally that got third-ranked Texas within two points. A 1-yard scoring pass to B.J. Johnson made it 39-37 with 31 seconds left, but that was as close at Texas got as Colorado avenged a 41-7 loss to the Longhorns earlier in Austin.
1998: Texas A&M 36, Kansas State 33 (2 OT)
The 10th-ranked Aggies scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the game in overtime. The Aggies held the No. 2 Wildcats to a field goal in the second extra period. Then A&M, backed up to its 32 after a penalty and 2-yard loss, escaped when QB Branndon Stewart swung a pass in the flat to Sirr Parker. The running back dived into the end zone to knock K-State out of the national title game.
1996: Texas 37, Nebraska 27
Texas scored on its first drive of the game on the first of Priest Holmes' three rushing touchdowns. The third-ranked Huskers rallied for a 27-23 lead with 10 unanswered points, the last three coming on a field goal with 10 minutes, 11 seconds left. But Texas answered with a 66-yard scoring strike from James Brown to Wane McGarity to take the lead for good, then added the clinching score on Holmes' 11-yard run in the final minutes.
BIG 12
Don't be surprised: Title game has history of upsets
Big underdogs often have their day.
Deborah Cannon /AMERICAN-STATESMAN(enlarge photo)
Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops said his team won't dwell on last year's upset loss to Kansas State when it faces Colorado Saturday night.
Friday, December 03, 2004
"Roll left" was Coach John Mackovic's call on fourth-and-one against Nebraska in the fourth quarter of the 1996 Big 12 Conference championship game in St. Louis. James Brown, the Longhorn quarterback, did exactly that and found tight end Derek Lewis behind the Cornhuskers' secondary for a 61-yard gain.
On the next play, Priest Holmes powered 11 yards for the clinching touchdown in unranked Texas' 37-27 upset over the third-ranked Huskers in the inaugural Big 12 title game.
That was the first surprise in this game's eight-year history. It certainly wasn't the last.
It might comfort the Colorado Buffaloes, 21-point underdogs to No. 2 Oklahoma in Saturday's 7 p.m. contest at Arrowhead Stadium, to know that upsets in this game are the norm.
Exactly half of the previous eight Big 12 games have been won by the underdog. That includes Kansas State's 35-7 rout of the top-ranked Sooners in last year's game on this same field.
"That sort of stuff doesn't last very long. It doesn't add a lot of nutritional value to your team," Colorado Coach Gary Barnett said in downplaying the underdog mentality. "It's all about execution. That (mentality) is like whipped cream."
Former A&M Coach R.C. Slocum, who engineered the Aggies' 1998 victory that knocked Kansas State out of the national championship game and into the Alamo Bowl, said there's no mystery why this game includes so many upsets — and he feels the term "upsets" probably should be in quotations.
Essentially, Slocum says, if a team is good enough to reach the championship game, it's good enough to win it.
"If they've played well enough to get there, they certainly have enough potential to line up against the other team and win," he said.
The biggest upset arguably was Texas' victory over Nebraska. The Huskers were 21-point favorites, a fact that reporters constantly reminded Brown at a press conference on the Monday of game week.
Brown became a focal point at both schools — for totally different reasons — when he finally suggested that maybe Texas would beat Nebraska by 21 points.
"I just got fed up," he said of the repeated questions. "We didn't want to give Nebraska any fuel, but my teammates rallied behind me."
Before practice that afternoon following Brown's comment, which spread like wildfire, Mackovic sidled up to his confident quarterback.
"He said, 'I hope you meant what you said,' " Brown recalled. "That press conference really set off the week. Everybody took the challenge."
The second-largest upset, at least against the betting line, was when A&M, a 16-point underdog, ruined Kansas State's season.
Earlier that day, UCLA had lost to Miami to create a vacancy for K-State in the national championship game, a fact announced over the public-address system in St. Louis to a deafening roar from the pro-Wildcat crowd.
But after Aggie quarterback Brandon Stewart had sliced up the K-State secondary, finishing an almost surgical performance with a 32-yard pass-and-run to running back Sirr Parker, the crowd was in shock.
So was Wildcats' Coach Bill Snyder, who compared the loss to the devastation of a death in a family.
Although Kansas State jumped to a 10-0 lead and held a 27-12 lead entering the fourth quarter, the Aggies never felt outmanned or outplayed.
"We were down by 15 (points), but it was still all positive on our sideline," Slocum said. "There was no chewing anybody out. We felt we were still in it."
And when A&M began making plays to catch up, Slocum almost sympathized with Snyder's plight.
"One of the worst things in athletics is when, as a coach, you can see your team getting into a mental funk and there's nothing you can do about it," he said. "You think, 'We've got to shake out of this,' but the harder you try, the worse it gets."
The previous upsets in this game make for interesting memories and intriguing speculation about Colorado's seemingly slim chance. But Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops has made it clear to his team that none of it matters when the ball is kicked off tonight.
"I'm not much on stressing or continuing beating something up," he said. "Our guys understand. It isn't something we're going to focus on. This is a totally different year, a totally different team.
"We've got an opportunity this year. That's all that matters right now."
rriggs@statesman.com; 445-3957
A history of upsets
2003: Kansas St. 35, Oklahoma 7
The 13th-ranked Wildcats spotted No. 1 Oklahoma a 7-0 lead before storming back for 21 unanswered points in the second period. K-State's explosion included a 63-yard pass from Ell Roberson to James Terry and a 60-yard scoring strike to tailback Darren Sproles. Sproles finished with 235 rushing yards and 88 yards on three receptions.
2001: Colorado 39, Texas 37
The ninth-ranked Buffaloes took advantage of four turnovers by Texas quarterback Chris Simms — three interceptions, one fumble — to build a 36-17 lead early in the third quarter. Major Applewhite, who entered when the struggling Simms hurt his thumb, orchestrated a rally that got third-ranked Texas within two points. A 1-yard scoring pass to B.J. Johnson made it 39-37 with 31 seconds left, but that was as close at Texas got as Colorado avenged a 41-7 loss to the Longhorns earlier in Austin.
1998: Texas A&M 36, Kansas State 33 (2 OT)
The 10th-ranked Aggies scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the game in overtime. The Aggies held the No. 2 Wildcats to a field goal in the second extra period. Then A&M, backed up to its 32 after a penalty and 2-yard loss, escaped when QB Branndon Stewart swung a pass in the flat to Sirr Parker. The running back dived into the end zone to knock K-State out of the national title game.
1996: Texas 37, Nebraska 27
Texas scored on its first drive of the game on the first of Priest Holmes' three rushing touchdowns. The third-ranked Huskers rallied for a 27-23 lead with 10 unanswered points, the last three coming on a field goal with 10 minutes, 11 seconds left. But Texas answered with a 66-yard scoring strike from James Brown to Wane McGarity to take the lead for good, then added the clinching score on Holmes' 11-yard run in the final minutes.
