The Low Note

Well, the Longhorns decided to really end the home season on a high note. Wait. Did I say high note? I meant horribly awful low, very low note. Like, Isaac Hayes delivered it.

“Ya damn right.”

There’s nothing quite like a loss on senior day - it was so depressing that the seniors didn’t even take their victory lap around DKR while George Strait’s “If It Wasn’t For Texas” looped in the background.

Of course, not one bit of me is surprised. Kansas State is the only team in the Big XII (the original XII, that is) with a winning record against Texas. I’m pretty sure that Bill Snyder has a crystal ball filled with our plays, players, coaches, fans and license plate numbers, and every year about this time he just dances around it and summons up the win long before our teams arrive on the field.

To take some credit away from K-State (because I’m a little bitter and I feel like it), we did a pretty good job beating ourselves. I hate to burst the bubble of Collin Klein, who made the post game comment “Bottom line is we made some plays,” but the bottom bottom line (…you know, the one below the bottom line that’s closer to the bottom?) is that the Texas offense didn’t show up.

“Can you dig it?”

The ‘Horns defense gave their best performance to date, no shame in that game. Collin Klein, Wildcat quarterback was held to just 4 yards on the ground…his average is 101 per game. The D held K-State to 121 yards of total offense and only 8 first downs. The Longhorn Defense has really come into it this latter part of this season. I’m sold.

Can you guess what I’m not sold on? Do I need to even get into it? Probably not. Can I stop myself? Probably not.

I got some heat for a recent post where I proclaimed “there’s no excuse” for us not being able to field an entire functioning football team, regardless of how many starters are out. I stand by these comments even more so after Saturday’s pitiful showing. We lack basic skills like throwing and catching. We also lack logical play calling.

Don’t get me wrong. I was more excited than a lot of people when I heard that Harsin was coming to Texas. I’ve always felt that Boise State - and thus Harsin, tailored their program to their players, where Texas always seemed to tailor it’s players to it’s program. Even the exception proves the rule…it took years for the coaches to allow Vince to do his thing - to break from the box they intended to put him in.

I has hoping that Harsin was going to bring some of that spirit to Texas. That we were finally going to start building an offense that exploited the talent we have on our roster. Turns out that instead of a coach, we got a playbook filled with plays that worked great for Boise State Players. And he’ll be damned if he doesn’t fit our players into it.

"Shut yo mouth.”

Fun Stats That May Anger You:

80% - Percentage of yards gained by Texas in he last 21 minutes, 59 seconds of the game
3 - Points scored by Texas in the first 38 minutes, 1 second of the game.
1 - Touchdown scored by Texas in 8 quarters of play
1 - Halo Penalty against Texas
2002 - year the Holo Rule was removed from the big book of NCAA rules
3 Minutes, 16 Seconds - time of possession of the single Texas TD drive of the night.
81 - Yards gained in solitary Texas TD drive
0 - Interceptions by McCoy
2 - Drives ending in Ash interceptions
5 - times Collin Klein was sacked
6.4 - average yards K-State lost on sacks
5 - average yards Texas lost on sacks
1 - time Texas QB was sacked
(Sack, say sack again. Sack. The word is beginning to not look correct.)
99.9% - effort and greatness by the Texas Defense.  (I made this statistic up, but it is true)

Amazing Stats That Should Bring a Tear To Your Eye, Unless Your Heart Is Two Sizes Too Small:
(I mean two sizes too small in a Grinch way, not in an Andre the Giant way….)

5% - chance that Blaine Irby would ever walk normally again after his injury in September, 2008.
3 - surgeries to repair Irby’s dislocated knee, torn ACL, torn LCL, torn meniscus, torn cartilage, shredded muscles and tendons
15 - months from time from injury to when Irby was able to first move his foot.
3 - years after injury, Irby took to the field to play after what should have been a career ending and crippling injury.
1 - amazing heart & spirit named Blaine Irby