Spring Break
Longhorns not pointing fingers after last-second play
Adam Coleman
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Sports
It would be easy for the Texas Longhorns to play the blame game after being knocked off by No. 2 Texas Tech Saturday.
But the players see it differently: Texas succeeds and fails as a team.
The game-winning touchdown catch by Tech receiver Michael Crabtree brought the Longhorns a 39-33 loss and an end to a run as the No. 1 team in the nation on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Before Crabtree's touchdown, Texas cornerback Curtis Brown had the All-American receiver wrapped up for the tackle, and the comeback win for the Longhorns was ready to take its place in the history books. But Crabtree found his way to the end zone with one second left in the game, resulting in a Tech victory.
"For young guys like that, I know it's hard for them," senior cornerback Ryan Palmer said. "You just gotta keep his head up. (Brown is) a young player, talented player. He had a rough outing, but we all had rough outings. You can't point one finger at Curtis. Can't point one finger at nobody. We all didn't play up to our potential."
Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp had many strategies in line to stop the Red Raider offense, but there was one thing he preferred not to do with Tech driving late in the game.
He said the array coverages came in an effort to prevent single coverage against Crabtree. The strategy was working to a certain degree, because for three quarters Crabtree did not find the end zone.
But all it took was one play.
With eight seconds left on the clock, Tech quarterback Graham Harrell had one shot to deny a Longhorn comeback win. It was up to the Texas defense to stop an offense it had trouble with for most of the game.
With his fear of leaving Crabtree guarded by one man, Muschamp said he covered him with a cornerback and safety in hopes of preventing the last-second score. The two covering Crabtree on the play were Brown and safety Earl Thomas.
While he could have been stopped short of the goal line with a tackle by Brown, Crabtree slipped away for the winning score and started a stadium-wide celebration.
But the players see it differently: Texas succeeds and fails as a team.
The game-winning touchdown catch by Tech receiver Michael Crabtree brought the Longhorns a 39-33 loss and an end to a run as the No. 1 team in the nation on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Before Crabtree's touchdown, Texas cornerback Curtis Brown had the All-American receiver wrapped up for the tackle, and the comeback win for the Longhorns was ready to take its place in the history books. But Crabtree found his way to the end zone with one second left in the game, resulting in a Tech victory.
"For young guys like that, I know it's hard for them," senior cornerback Ryan Palmer said. "You just gotta keep his head up. (Brown is) a young player, talented player. He had a rough outing, but we all had rough outings. You can't point one finger at Curtis. Can't point one finger at nobody. We all didn't play up to our potential."
Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp had many strategies in line to stop the Red Raider offense, but there was one thing he preferred not to do with Tech driving late in the game.
He said the array coverages came in an effort to prevent single coverage against Crabtree. The strategy was working to a certain degree, because for three quarters Crabtree did not find the end zone.
But all it took was one play.
With eight seconds left on the clock, Tech quarterback Graham Harrell had one shot to deny a Longhorn comeback win. It was up to the Texas defense to stop an offense it had trouble with for most of the game.
With his fear of leaving Crabtree guarded by one man, Muschamp said he covered him with a cornerback and safety in hopes of preventing the last-second score. The two covering Crabtree on the play were Brown and safety Earl Thomas.
While he could have been stopped short of the goal line with a tackle by Brown, Crabtree slipped away for the winning score and started a stadium-wide celebration.
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