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 ) 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 RB
Quentin Griffin broke Oklahoma's school scoring record ) and Longhorn fans'
hearts ) with six touchdowns.
In short, it just wasn't a good day to be a Texas fan ) in the cold, damp
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. Remember
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 got
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 ) but it was the only one in the first quarter.  On their second try,
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 interference
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 with
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 the
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 penalty
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 for
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 yardage,
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 the
UT 24. OU scored in two plays for a 49-7 lead just 1:07 deep. Simms came back
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 Sooners
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 for
the TD to make it 56-14 with 14:09 left. OU came right back for its final TD,
driving 73 yards, primarily on runs by Griffin.


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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 the
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 had
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. "What
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 try
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 look
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 who
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 back
on track."
Asked if he thinks there is a chance the team could fall apart because of the
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 fix
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 the
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) game,
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 week
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 right
now:
1. Give a royal chewing out to my players, my assistants and myself, because
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 the
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 ) or an interception for a TD )
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 ) 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 shotgun
with four wideouts as the basic formation. It gives the quarterback a better
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 yards
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 will
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.

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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."
) 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."
) 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."
) 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."
) UT free safety Greg Brown
* * * *
"We heard all week how good the Texas defense was, but we knew we were a good
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-product
of our offensive performance as a whole.."
)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."
) 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, and
we did that for the most part."
) 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 looked
me off and gone the other way, then I would have been in trouble. But I took
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."
) Sooner linebacker Rocky Calmus, who returned a pass interception for a
touchdown

Texas-Oklahoma Statistics

Scoring Summary
Texas            0            7           0        7    )    14
Oklahoma        14         28         14        7   )    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 TD,
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 Int.
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.