Disappointing Performance of Texas and Arch Manning
The floor has fallen out from underneath Texas and Arch Manning not so much because of poor play, a clear failure, but because neither has lived up to national expectations, a mortal sin. Heaven help those hoisted upon pedestals. Hell hath no fury like a sportswriter humbled.
No matter what you may have been told, the Longhorns aren’t as good as they were last year in the offensive line, wide receiver, running back or quarterback, where Quinn Ewers was better than you think. His last game may have been a little too familiar, but he won big games, too.
Manning has a shot at one Saturday in the Cotton Bowl, a turn of events that could sew a stitch or two in a tattered reputation.
Stranger things have happened at the State Fair, and not just the churro cheesecake jalapeño popper, either.
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Upset Ratio in Texas-OU Games
Since 1989, for instance, any time either or both has been ranked, the team higher in the polls has lost 11 out of 33 tries. An impressive ratio for the underdog. Even better when you consider the 11 wins include seven occasions when the victor wasn’t ranked at all.
Now, if there’s any data out there suggesting this rate of upset is the norm, your intrepid reporter can’t find it. Maybe Michigan and Ohio State. What makes Texas-OU different, of course, is the venue, transforming a good rivalry into the greatest annual sporting event in Texas with all the intrigue such a title suggests.
The Venue: Cotton Bowl
Beyond the Midway and the corn dogs and the Texas Star peeking over the Cotton Bowl’s brim, there’s a fan base cleaved in half, forced to sit shoulder-to-shoulder at the 50. No matter what happens, it’s received well by one side or the other, rendering lulls infrequent.
The external reinforcement no doubt fuels the roller-coaster aspects of the games, particularly lately.
Past Games
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The last eight installments include a game in which Kyler Murray threw for four touchdowns, ran for another and still lost; an Oklahoma win in four overtimes; a 21-point first-quarter lead blown by the Longhorns; and an escape by Dillon Gabriel in the final 15 seconds of another that enabled the Sooner’s game-winning pass.
“It’s something you dream of as a little kid,” Gabriel said afterward.
Legacy of Peter Gardere
Peter Gardere couldn’t have imagined his legacy when he enrolled at Texas in 1988. Thrust into the starting quarterback position as a redshirt freshman, he had only a one-point win over Rice on his resume going into Texas-OU in ‘89. But he led a fourth-quarter rally to beat Oklahoma, then did it again the next year and the year after that.
By the time he was finished, “Peter the Great” would become the only quarterback in Texas history to go 4-0 against the Sooners. He might not have been so perfect otherwise, with two losing seasons on his watch, but his legacy is secure.
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“I’m known for that, basically,” Gardere once said of his record at the state fair. “We had some pretty big years but that’s the big game for everybody.”
Importance of the Game
The game means so much, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, a mercurial talent, insists he’s playing Saturday only three weeks after surgery to repair his right thumb. We know this because that’s what he reportedly told a tortilla presser at a Chipotle in Norman.
If Mateer is able to play, it would change the dynamics mightily. For one thing, the sixth-ranked and undefeated Sooners are going into the game as 1.5-point underdogs. Hard to believe against a 3-2 Texas team, but the people setting the line apparently watched last year’s game in which the Sooners’ quarterback, Michael Hawkins, led them to three points in a Longhorn landslide.
Preparing for Oklahoma
Unless the tortilla presser is right, Hawkins will get another stab at it this year. The good news for the Sooners is their defense is so good, a field goal might be enough.
Just the same, considering his two losses in three tries against Texas have been by a combined 83-3, Brent Venables probably feels like he needs all the insurance he can get.
Steve Sarkisian is counting on it. He’s said all week that they’re preparing for Oklahoma as if Mateer would start. Texas fans better hope the results of their preparation are better than what they’ve witnessed so far.
Texas Needs to Run the Ball
First and foremost, Texas needs to be able to run the ball. Through five games, Manning is the Longhorns’ leading rusher with 160 yards. That, friends, is pathetic for any program, much less one coming off a national semifinals run. Because Texas has no running game, a big-time pass rush like Oklahoma’s becomes even more problematic.
Doesn’t help that Manning has a devil of a time translating power conference defenses. Maybe this is the week he sees what’s out there in front of him and doesn’t feel the need to run away from it.
Giving Manning a Break
Give the kid a break. Not like he typed up all those hosannas. He didn’t deserve all the Heisman hype, just like he’s not the biggest bust ever. Seems like a guy ought to get a full season to qualify for either.
A win over Oklahoma could slow the roll on the hyperbole. Underdogs have done it before, even if he’s got his work cut out for him just the same. Win Saturday, and for his next trick at the state fair, he makes the Half
