YEAH, ANOTHER ONE
By Danny Reagan / Abilene, Texas
When I came in from seeing my daughter lead her team to the championship in her soccer division, the Longhorns were already behind, 21-0, early in the second quarter.
My immediate thought was "not another one" - meaning Colt McCoy loves these kinds of games, and they usually aren't decided until there's a football flying through the air as the final second ticks off the clock.
Ryan Bailey (shown celebrating his winning kick with Trevor Gerland in this AP photo) has ice water in his veins, and Jamaal Charles wore his magic 4th quarter shoes again. But I have to hand it to McCoy, who finished 20-of-27 for 282 yards and a TD through the air, and another 105 on the ground.
Colt showed a lot of poise and brains in that final drive. That third-down scramble for a first down with just seconds remaining was just one of several key moments late in the game. Despite his three picks, he found a way to do it with his own feet as much as that powerful right arm of his. 38-35! Whew!
I got in touch with Brad McCoy as he was headed to the parking lot after the game and asked him about Colt's sudden running expertise. He has more than 250 yards rushing in the last four games.
"I think he's always been good in that part of his game," said Brad. "But that's not what they wanted him to do, and just be the passer that he can be. But with some setbacks, things haven't worked out that way and they need him to run when he can."
Neither Brad nor I could remember how many come-from-behind victories Colt has had at UT, but Texas set the NCAA record for C-F-B victories in the fourth quarter in a season with the win.
It was a bitter-sweet football weekend for Brad. His oldest son won, but his youngest, Case, tasted defeat for the first time this season as Graham fell to Vernon, 17-10. The upset might have been the biggest shocker in Texas preps football this week.
"We just didn't play well," said Brad. His Steers had two key turnovers in the second half - a pick in the endzone squelching a drive to tie the score, and then later a fumble on the three as the runner was headed for the endzone - which would've also tied the game.