Message-ID: <26640365.1075857329489.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 03:25:00 -0700 (PDT) From: truorange@aol.com To: truorange@aol.com Subject: True Orange, Oct. 9, 2000, Part 1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ANSI_X3.4-1968 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-From: TruOrange@aol.com X-To: TruOrange@aol.com X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Clint_Dean_Dec2000\Notes Folders\All documents X-Origin: Dean-C X-FileName: cdean.nsf Jerry Scarbrough's True Orange The Internet Newsletter for the True Texas Longhorn Faithful Volume 10, No. 26, October 9, 2000 No What-Iffing in This One =01) Sooners Turn Longhorns Every Which Way but Loose The Longhorns had their worst day during the Mack Brown era Saturday in Dallas and they picked a bad time to do it because unbeaten Oklahoma scored on its first six possessions, and, for good measure, ran a pass back for a touchdown, too, en route to a 63-14 victory. The Sooners dominated the Longhorns offensively, defensively and on special teams. They even won the halftime, when a Billy Sims-led relay team beat an Eric Metcalf-led relay team. QB Josh Huepel passed the Longhorns to death and 5-7, 193-pound sophomore R= B Quentin Griffin broke Oklahoma's school scoring record =01) and Longhorn fa= ns' hearts =01) with six touchdowns. In short, it just wasn't a good day to be a Texas fan =01) in the cold, dam= p Cotton Bowl or anywhere. The loss dropped Texas to 4-2 for the season and 1-1 in the Big 12 and gave the Sooners a big boost in their drive toward national and Big 12 honors. It also made this Saturday's game with Colorado in Boulder the biggest game of the year. This is a season on the brink. It could go up or down. Remembe= r that 66-3 debacle with UCLA that started the slide in John Mackovic's last year? Brown is made of sterner stuff and I think he can get this team back on track. But he has to do it in a hurry. One thing Longhorn fans need to be very thankful about is that Heupel is a senior. He was absolutely awesome Saturday and he probably will be the best all-around quarterback the Longhorns will face this year. Here, even more briefly than usual, is how the game went: FIRST QUARTER Oklahoma won the toss and deferred. Texas took the ball and the Sooners go= t the wind. A false-start penalty on the game's second snap doomed that drive and forced a quick punt into the wind. Kris Stockton got a good roll on the low kick to the OU 43. Heupel hit four of five passes to cover the 57 yards in six plays to give OU a 7-0 lead with 11:37 left. TB Hodges Mitchell made= a great run after catching Applewhite's third-down pass to pick up a UT first down =01) but it was the only one in the first quarter. On their second tr= y, the Sooners went 77 yards in 11 plays and ran the score to 14-0 with 3:30 left. A holding penalty on the kickoff forced Texas to start frrom its 8. Another three-and-out series and punt out of the end zone gave the Sooners = a short field at the UT 43. They were on the move again at the UT 29 when the period ended. SECOND QUARTER The UT defense got a great leaping interception in the end zone from CB Quentin Jammer, but it was disallowed and he was called for pass interferen= ce instead, giving OU a first down at the 2. They scored on the next play for = a 21-0 lead with 14:24 left. Starting QB Major Applewhite almost connected wi= th freshman WR Roy Williams for a 45-yard completion, but the officials ruled = he lost the ball on the way down and it was ruled incomplete. The Horns couldn= 't make a first down and J. T. Thatcher ran Stockton's punt back 53 yards to t= he UT 11. A personal foul on the runback set them back to the 26, but they scored in two plays for a 28-0 lead with 12:40 remaining. Chris Simms came = in at quarterback and hit Williams for a first down, but a delay-of-game penal= ty negated it and Simms' next pass was intercepted by OU LB Rocky Calmus, who returned it for still another OU touchdown and a 35-0 lead with 11:30 remaining. That brought Applewhite back in and he hit WR Montrell Flowers f= or a nice gain on first down, but an illegal motion penalty forced a punt. The Sooners scored again, giving them a 42-0 lead with 4:43 left. At this point= , OU's offense had been so dominant that it had faced only seven first downs all day and had converted all of them. Texas offense, meanwhile, had one first down. The UT offense finally came to life, driving 80 yards in seven plays to leave OU on top, 42-7, with 3:00 left. Mitchell got the TD from seven yards out on a pass from Applewhite. The Sooners were driving again when the half ended. It was their only drive in the first half that did not result in a TD. At the half, OU led in first downs, 18-5, in rushing yardag= e, 110-13, and in passing yardage, 182-106. THIRD QUARTER Texas finally forced OU to punt quickly to start the second half, but Applewhite, under a big rush, threw an interception that was run back to th= e UT 24. OU scored in two plays for a 49-7 lead just 1:07 deep. Simms came ba= ck in at QB and played the rest of the way. OU again drove deep into Texas territory, but freshman DE Kalen Thornton's sack of Heupel forced the Soone= rs to try a field goal and it went wide. The Sooner's next TD came after a fumble by WR Montrell Flowers at the UT 17. That made the score 56-7 with 1:26 left. Then Victor Ike, probably the swiftest of all the Longhorns, got loose on the kickoff and Sooner DB Michael Thompson caught him from behind = at the OU 17. It was an 81-yard return. But the Horns lost four yards on two plays and were facing third-and-4 at the OU 21 when the quarter ended. FOURTH QUARTER A pass interference penalty against OU gave Texas a first down at the 6. Mitchell got five yards, then backup TB Kenny Hayter took an outside toss f= or the TD to make it 56-14 with 14:09 left. OU came right back for its final T= D, driving 73 yards, primarily on runs by Griffin. 900 Number Updated Daily I update my 900 number daily with football and football recruiting news. Th= e number is 1-900-288-8839. It costs $1.59 a minute. You must be 18 to call. Coach's Corner Coach Mack Brown said Sunday he accepts the blame for the big loss to Oklahoma, and he said the Longhorns have to bounce back because they still have a season to play and a lot of goals to accomplish if they play up to their capabilities. "After reviewing the film, I still stand by what I said yesterday," Brown said. "They outcoached us, they outhustled us, they outplayed us. They totally dominated the game, and when that happens, it comes back to me. It'= s my fault." But he said the team still has a chance to repeat as the Big 12 South champion. "Last year, we were 1-1 (in the Big 12) at this point. We're at t= he same spot as we were last season." Asked if he thinks the team has a chance to rebound and win the title again= , he said, "no question about that. We're far from out of anything. We just h= ad a poor, poor performance yesterday in a game that was very important for us and our fans. For me to just throw out the season because of that would be totally asinine." He noted that Oklahoma, after it's loss to Texas last year, beat Texas A&M, 51-6, the following week, and Stanford, after giving up 69 points to Texas last year, won the Pac 10 championship and Rose Bowl berth. "There is a lot of anger after a loss like this by our fans," he said. "Wha= t I will do this week is not look at the paper, I won't watch TV or listen to the radio. I'll be working hard all week trying to get us back on track." He said he thought the Longhorns were ready to give a good performance against the Sooners, but he said, after three straight losses to Texas, the Oklahoma players might have just been hungrier. "Our seniors had a chance to beat Oklahoma four straight times," he said. "Some of them were crying. Most of our younger players were in shock." He said a loss like this one forces coaches to re-evaluate everything. "We'= ll definitely go back and look very closely at everything we're doing. We'll t= ry to simplify things." He said some of the Longhorn players played well, but he said most of them "played hard, but didn't play well." "The defense had been playing so well for us," he said. "It didn't even loo= k like the same defense. Part of it was (OU QB Josh) Heupel. He played great.= " "We had a lot of mental mistakes," Brown said. "We just played poorly and w= ho knows why we played that poorly? You guys will start looking at the things = we should change. The fans will start looking at the things we should change. I've got to look at things that I think will work. I've got to get them bac= k on track." Asked if he thinks there is a chance the team could fall apart because of t= he loss to the Sooners, Brown said, "This team won't fall apart. It's a very young team with a lot of heart, a lot of class. We'll go back to work to fi= x things, simplify things." He said the key thing is for him to be truthful with his players this week about the things they did wrong, the things they did right and the goals th= e team still can accomplish. "This is a bad week to be going to Boulder," he said, noting that Colorado upset A&M in College Station last week. "We won't ever forget this (OU) gam= e, but we still have goals to accomplish. We're still in the race for the championship in our conference." "The players are embarrassed and I know I'm embarrassed, but we've got to pull back together and get back to work. We've got to go back and make sure we are fundamentally sound." 10th Anniversary This is the final issue of my 10th year of publishing True Orange. Next wee= k will be the first issue of my 11th year. While this is not a happy occasion because of the football game, my first issue was after a Texas win over OU and UT is 7-3-1 against the Sooners since True Orange began. Thanks to all of you for your continued support. True Orange Observations This was one of those games where a team has to figure out what went wrong= , try to correct it, and then forget it because a game like this can be a cancer that ruins a season. Remember UCLA, 66-3, and 1997? Mack Brown won't ask for my suggestions on this, and I'm sure he can figure it out for himself, but if I were in his shoes, here is what I would do rig= ht now: 1. Give a royal chewing out to my players, my assistants and myself, becaus= e this game was an embarrassment to all Longhorns. Then I would say there are= a lot of games left to play and this game needs to be put on the shelf and th= e Colorado game should be the start of a new season for a team with a lot of goals left to accomplish. 2. Figure out the few things that have worked on offense and build future game plans around them. By the same token, I'd figure out the plays that haven't worked and quit using them. The two up-the-gut plays the Horns used on their first two plays Saturday for zero yards have been unproductive all year. Texas rarely has a running play outside the tackles, but the sweeps usually work when they are tried. I'd also ditch that sideline pass that travels 30 yards for a potential 1-yard gain =01) or an interception for a = TD =01) and start throwing downfield more often. To open the game against Oklahoma State, the Longhorns had a four-yard run and two pass completions on their first three plays and didn't pick up a first down. 3. Pick a QB and go with him. Each QB has to be nervous, knowing that if he throws an interception, he'll be jerked. 4. Quit being so predictable on offense. Example: when the Horns line up in= a two-back offense and the tailback goes in motion, Texas has passed or been sacked trying to pass 100% of the time this season. There has been one run = by a UT fullback all year =01) Brett Robin's touchdown in mop-up duty against = OSU. That formation invites an all-out blitz. 5. If the run isn't going to be a big part of the offense, go to the shotgu= n with four wideouts as the basic formation. It gives the quarterback a bette= r chance to complete his passes, as OU QB Josh Heupel demonstrated to near perfection Saturday. Game Notes . . * Oklahoma QB Josh Heupel, one of the nation's top passers, had 34 net yard= s rushing Saturday, which was more than the 20 yards gained by the Longhorns' leading ground gainer, TB Hodges Mitchell. * This was the second most one-sided game in the series, trailing only the 50-0 Oklahoma victory in in 1908. Texas leads the series, 55-35-5. * The Sooners 534 yards and 28 first downs are both school records against the Longhorns. * This was the fifth most one-sided defeat in Texas history. The bottom 10 are: 1. 1904 at Chicago 68-0 2. 1997 UCLA 66-3 3. 1988 Houston 66-15 4. 1908 at Oklahoma 50-0 5. 2000 Oklahoma 63-14 6. 1901 at Kirksville 48-0 7. 1956 at TCU 46-0 8. 1906 at Vanderbilt 45-0 9. 1956 Oklahoma 45-0 10. 1991 Miami 46-3 Baseball Team Starts Practice The Longhorn baseball begins fall practice Wednesday with 12 lettermen back from last year's team that qualified for the College World Series. The team will practice through Oct. 27, and the annual Fall World Series wi= ll be played from Oct. 25 through Oct. 27. All the practices will be open at Disch-Falk Field, and all the practices will be in the afternoon, but exact times have not been announced. Coach Augie Garrido and his assistants corraled the nation's fifth-rated recruiting class last year, and there are several pitchers in the new class who should be able to help the team this year. It's a Great Time to Subscribe To The Fax/E-Mail Service I'll Have Frequent Reports on Recruiting And Practice Throughout the Season ! Get Instant Updates for Pennies a Day ! Save As An E-Mail Subscriber ! The True Orange Fax/E-Mail Service is the way to keep up with Longhorn football and Longhorn recruiting =01) instantly. Follow Mack Brown and the Longhorns with frequent fax updates. There are at least 99 timely faxes a year, primarily about football and football recruiting. To subscribe, sen= d your check to True Orange, Box 26530, Austin, Texas 78755, and copy or clip the coupon below and fill in the blanks. If you want it mailed, or by E-Mai= l, just include the right numbers. o I'm enclosing $99 for the 99-fax package for the next year o I'm enclosing $130 (a $14 saving) to renew my subscription to True Orange and to subscribe to the 99 faxes. o I'm enclosing $79 for the 99-fax package for the next year by E-Mail (a $= 20 saving) o Here's $110 to renew my subscription to True Orange and to subscribe to = th e 99 faxes by E-Mail (a $31 saving) o Here's $99 to subscribe to True Orange by E-Mail and to subscribe to the 99 faxes by E-Mail (a $42 saving) Name Fax No. (or E-Mail or mailing address) Game Quotes . . "It was my responsibility. The kids came in ready to play and I didn't have them in the right places at the right time." =01) Longhorn offensive coordinator Greg Davis * * * * "They just whipped us. They whipped us up front, they whipped us at the linebacker level and they whipped us in the secondary. You could put it a thousand different ways, but we just got whipped." =01) UT defensive coordinator Carl Reese * * * * "I feel honestly this is worse than UCLA (66-3 in 1997). You don't come out against a big rival and get beat like that. You feel bad getting dominated = in every aspect of the game." =01) Texas defensive tackle Casey Hampton * * * * "We didn't make plays. Their quarterback did a great job, but we've got to make plays. It doesn't matter how good he throws the ball, you've got to go up and knock it our or something. You have to make plays and we didn't." =01) UT free safety Greg Brown * * * * "We heard all week how good the Texas defense was, but we knew we were a go= od team, too. We weren't going to take anything from them, and our goal was to go right at them. That's what we did. My getting the record was a by-produc= t of our offensive performance as a whole.." =01)Sooner running back Quentin Griffin, after scoring a school record six touchdowns * * * * "This was the worst butt-kicking I've ever been involved in. OU was more emotional than us, without question. This is really bad. To get manhandled = by your rival, it doesn't get any worse than this." =01) UT sophomore quarterback Chris Simms * * * * "We took a lot away from this game last year. We were up early and were playing good football at the start, but things didn't go our way in the end= . We wanted to play four quarters today against a very good football team, an= d we did that for the most part." =01) OU quarterback Josh Heupel * * * * "I was a little out of position, but I knew what they were doing with their tendencies. The guy looked at this receiver the entire way. If he had looke= d me off and gone the other way, then I would have been in trouble. But I too= k a guess and I was right. We had a great team effort today. Everyone was on the same page. When we work together, you can see that we are a pretty good football team." =01) Sooner linebacker Rocky Calmus, who returned a pass interception for a touchdown Texas-Oklahoma Statistics Scoring Summary Texas 0 7 0 7 =01) 14 Oklahoma 14 28 14 7 =01) 63 OU - Woolfolk 29 pass from Heupel (Duncan kick) 11:37 1Q (57 yds, 5 plays) OU - Griffin 1 run (Duncan kick) 3:30 1Q (77 yds, 11 plays) OU - Griffin 2 run (Duncan kick) 14:24 2Q (43 yds, 8 plays) OU - Griffin 4 run (Duncan kick) 12:40 2Q (26 yds, 2 plays) OU - Calmus 41 interception return (Duncan kick) 11:30 2Q OU - Fagan 8 run (Duncan kick) 4:43 2Q (81 yds, 14 plays) UT - Mitchell 7 pass from Applewhite (Stockton kick) 3:00 2Q (80 yds, 7 plays) OU - Griffin 1 run (Duncan kick) 13:53 3Q (24 yds, 2plays) OU - Griffin 8 run (Duncan kick) 1:26 3Q (17 yds, 2 plays) UT - Hayter 1 run (Stockton kick) 14:09 4Q (17 yds, 5 plays) OU - Griffin 1 run (Duncan kick) 9:32 4Q (73 yds, 8 plays) Official Attendance: 75,587 Team Statistics Texas Oklahoma First Downs 10 28 Rushing 2 14 Passing 4 12 Penalty 4 2 Rushing Attempts, Net Yards 17-minus 7 56-245 Net Yards Passing 161 289 Passes Comp., Att., Int. 20-41-2 18-28-0 Total Plays, Offense 58-154 84-534 Avg. Gain per Play 2.7 6.4 Fumbles Lost 1 of 2 2 of 4 Penalties, Yards 15-127 1-28 Punts, Avg. 8-37.6 8-37.6 Time of Possession 25:52 34:08 Third-Down Conversions 4 of 15 11 of 15 Fourth-Down Conversions 1 of 2 0 of 1 Sacks by Team, Yds Lost 1-3 4-30 Individual Statistics Texas Rushing - Mitchell 10-20; Hayter 2-1, 1 TD; Applewhite 1-minus 5; Simms 4-minus 23. Passing - Applewhite 9-18, 98 yds, 1 TD, 1 Int.; Simms 11-23, 63 yds, 0 T= D, 1 Int. Receiving - Mitchell 3-31, 1 TD; Healy 1-30; M. Jones 3-23; Stevens 1-20; Williams 4-16; Ellis 2-14; Edwards 2-11; Flowers 2-9; Johnson 1-6; Hayter 1-1. Oklahoma Rushing - Griffin 23-87, 5 TDs; Works 14-49; Heupel 7-34; Fagan 2-30, 1 TD= ; Savage 1-30; Littrell 8-26; Hybl 1-minus 5. Passing - Heupel 17-27, 275 yds, 1 TD, 0 Int.; Hybl 1-1, 14 yds, 0 TD, 0 In= t. Receiving - T. Smith 5-57; Norman 3-53; Griffin 3-45; Woolfolk 2-35, 1 TD; Works 2-22; Anderson 1-20; Mackey 1-19; Savage 2-18. Tackles by Texas Players, Unasst., Asst., Total Rawls 7-1-8; Redding 5-3-8; Jackson 5-3-8; G. Brown 5-2-7; Tubbs 4-3-7; Jammer 4-2-6; Thornton 4-1-5; Vasher 4-1-5; Brooks 4-1-5; Pearson 1-4-5; Babers 2-1-3; Wilkins 0-3-3; Hayward 2-0-2; Lewis 2-0-2; Walker 2-0-2; Hampton 1-1-2; Pittman 0-2-2; McWilliams 1-0-1; Stockton 1-0-1; McKay 0-1-1= . Tackles for Losses: Vasher 1-minus 3; Redding 1-minus 2; Pearson 1-minus 2; Lewis 1-minus 2; Hampton 1-minus 2; Pittman 1-minus 2; Hayward 1-minus 1. Sacks: Thornton 1-minus 3.