Longhorns. How are we? Not good? Me either.

I’m trying to collect my thoughts and organize them into this post where I do not full on rant and obliterate everything in my path. So work with me here.

Texas traveled to Cal Berkley this past Saturday to get revenge. Last year Cal started my journey to the cliff. This year they they tried to push me over the edge.

Everyone had Texas picked to win this game. I on the other hand was not so convinced. I thought we would squeak one out but I was in no way believing this would be a blow out.

Kick off was at 9:30PM. Aka 30 minutes past my bed time. So I joined some friends at a bar and settled in ready to cheer on our Longhorns in the first away game of the season.

It was UGLY from the first minute…the minute that I had to watch on replay due to the fact the a&m game took way too long and cut in to our first quarter..Yes I was that person trying to live stream the game on my phone and yelling about things that no one else could see. Cal scored in the first 3 minutes. I didn’t get to see the actual touchdown (due to buffering) but I am going to take a wild guess and say our secondary was the problem.

FINALLY the game switches over to the Texas game. Texas was already down by a touchdown… here we freaking go.

It didn’t take long to realize this game wasn’t going to be a dominate performance by the horns. That fiery passion from Notre Dame was long gone and here we sat.

My hate for Cal runs deep. REAL DEEP. It now runs even deeper with a passionate hate for Sonny Dykes who honestly might complain more than a 3 year old throwing a tantrum at Disney World. I needed our offense to put on a show and our defense to play the game of their lives. One of these performed better than the other…

Cue Shane injury. Cue silence in the bar. Cue my twitter typing fingers tweeting at a speed never accomplished before by any human.

Shane is the one player we couldn’t lose. It was only a matter of minutes for the panic to ensue and for me to go to the worst. The way the hit looked it definitely looked like a concussion and I was terrified. His helmet was placed in the crate and he was taken to the locker room for more tests.

Enter Swoopes.

Look. I love Swoopes. I love his role on the team and how our fan base rallies behind him but there is a reason why he is the backup QB and that comes down to the passing game. He is a powerhouse in the redzone (which we saw very little of during this game) but at the 50…I just remain sick to my stomach every time he launches one into the air. And for good reason.

The run game however was a thriller for sure. We got glimpses of the Chris Warren from the Texas Tech game last year. D’onta Foreman also remained a powerhouse for the offense. They both would have touchdowns while Swoopes remained at QB. And have a nice 307 yards by the end of the game.

Texas looked in good position with a nice 17-7 lead at the end of the first. That would go away.

We ended the 2nd quarter down by 2 with a 35-33 score. How is that possible you may ask? DEFENSE. THE FREAKING NON EXISTENT SECONDARY. WHERE YOU AT GUYS?! Because it sure wasn’t in Cal. The only bright spots were that Shane eventually returned to the game (and I started crying tears of joy) and Brandon Jones blocked a punt and got us a safety. Can I have Bedford’s cell and ask him why this kid isn’t starting at safety? He is an incredible talent and has earned a much bigger role on this team than special teams. And Strong agrees with me apparently per his presser on Monday. Oh yeah and Swoopes had a pick. SURPRISE. and so did Shane…. but yeah ok.

Oh yeah the kicker missed a field goal (he would miss another one later). It may have been 53 yards but he had the leg. It just wasn’t on the right line. (ugh stiiiiiiiill not over it Rose).

I knew the second half would be a freaking nightmare. My stomach was in knots and I just couldn’t handle the back and forth that was ahead of me..man if I only knew.

Third quarter we will just call that Penalty. Texas good grief. Absolutely undisciplined and is killing us with yardage that we desperately needed. That completely shot us in the foot. Sterlin you gotta get your O line in order on this. Week after week we are just hurting ourselves and my stress level…which is clearly a high priority of concern.

Cal had a touchdown (in the 4th if I remember correctly) that was absolutely not a touchdown. AND NO REVIEW MIGHT I ADD. Yet another week of horrific refs. I am so sick and tired of refs determining a win or a loss and don’t worry this mistake wasn’t even their worst.

Pause for a brief moment of classic announcer error. Armanti Foreman had a play and the announcer makes the comment “No relation.” As in… no relation to his twin brother D’onta… It was a brief comic relief moment for the panicked and angry Longhorns on twitter. I enjoyed it immensely.

Back to the drama.

2 minutes left and we are down with 2 timeouts left AND WE PUNT THE BALL ON 4TH DOWN. WHAAAAAAT?!

1:20 left. Texas down by a touchdown 50-43. Cal takes off running the ball because oh wait our defense missed a play… SHOCKER… and this dude runs into the endzone AND THROWS THE BALL BEHIND HIM BEFORE IT CROSSES THE GOAL LINE. LIVE BALL. HAINES PICKS IT UP. TEXAS BALL. We have a shot.

But ooooohhhhhh no. THE REFS CALL THE BALL DEAD. I’m sorry but if a ball is rolling around and a player picks it up 2.8 seconds (I counted) after the player drops it THEN IT IS OUR BALL. Refs call it dead. Cal runs out the clock.

Game over.

I was sprinting to the nearest cliff that I had ran to last year because of this team. This team that wrecked the momentum of my horns in yet another dramatic (and unnecessary) fashion. I now would have sit on the edge yet again contemplating how we only hurt ourself again but a loss that also could have been prevented if the refs did their actual jobs. AND IF OUR SECONDARY WOULD ACTUALLY PLAY. Bedford. FIX IT.

Final score 43-50 Loss

This week I brought the refs to the cliff with me and that stupid Hansen kid that the announcers kept talking about like he was performing the phenomena MMM BOP for the first time. (Bad joke?) And the Secondary. Holy wow. I felt like we were back to the days of Manny Diaz. It’s been 3 years. Something has got to give. If your offense scores 43 points in a game – even with the mistakes that they had – there is no excuse to not absolutely win that game. Defense that’s on you. Bedford that is really on you.

The journey to the cliff gets a week off thanks to a much needed bye. Next game up – Texas vs Oklahoma St. Cowboys and their scary mascot pistol pete which as of this morning I am now attending. I can’t wait to share my experience with you all. Conference play is here and our horns better be ready.

I’ll see you soon Longhorns – enjoy the much needed weekend of cheering against every team we hate without any stress of our own.

Hook’Em

Nichole

 

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