For all the pontificating and controversies about the BCS system being a fraud, refusing to anoint the unbeaten programs with glorious memories of mastering the ultimate season. For a lifetime, the Texas Longhorns are privileged and elated, invited to play on the greatest stage in college football.
In the most substantial game, a legitimate test in a neutral site, Colt McCoy and his stampede traveled from Austin to Pasadena where the ecstatic team isn’t wasting energy griping over a fraudulent system or rebuffed schools. Viewed as underdogs at the greatest venue in college sports, the Longhorns are titillated to race out of the tunnels at the Rose Bowl on Thursday night.
In a mystic Big-12 conference, McCoy is starting in the most imperative game and witnesses the brilliant symmetry as an upperclassman. He is, indeed, in good position to leave behind the countless hours of homework, pesky exams and heavy textbooks by wearing a huge smile for departing the campus life on top. If he captures a victory and send myriads of Texas’ fans home exhilarated, he would typify immortality and shock the world with a win.
Amid an endeavor, the Longhorns are encountering the steepest challenge against ferocious Alabama, a test greater than penciling in the adequate answer on a multiple-choice exam. But a four-year journey was wonderful for McCoy, and could suddenly culminate as a convivial stint completes. Despite a bad senior season, he still dilated a legacy and preserved his own territory on the campus. Deeds amplified popularity and likeability, when the citizens in the heart of Texas endorsed him.
Taking on a tough role, McCoy endured the pressure of replacing the unprecedented of his successor Vince Young, formerly an explosive quarterback who led the Longhorns to a stunning defeat against USC in 2005. Had he not been cultivated and molded by Mack Brown, McCoy may not have adapted quickly. Everyone is accustomed to Brown installing an effective system, by exploiting an entertaining style through the air whether than relying on a rush attack.
That’s why, however, McCoy has felt comfortable acclimating to a shotgun format. Ever since, he become a perennial icon and assured a chase for the title remained unblemished. This season alone, mind you, he was mentioned in everlasting debates and heavily favored the Heisman Trophy award, but finished second behind his opponent Alabama’s tailback Mark Ingram.
Being 12-0 describes a season of perfection, but the Longhorns ran into a few obstacles. Judging the slow start, McCoy had a letdown season and the nightmarish outing against Texas Tech, where he threw a pair of interceptions. Although he’s extremely confident and optimistic about beating the well-prepared Alabama, it’s petrifying to know the Longhorns had sluggish starts in the regular-season.
The national title game is where we’ll see if McCoy leads the Longhorns, where we’ll witness if Texas is a fluke or perceptible. Until then, realize they are a typical underdog, expected to lose to a swaggering SEC school, a program Nick Saban has instituted since arriving to Tuscaloosa.
The storyline is, a quarterback who was eligible to declare for the pros, decided to return for the senior season to claim his own crystal ball. This is an effulgent opportunity, a time he could bring triumph to his native state and cap a wondrous, record-breaking career. For all the uncertainty, the Longhorns are overlooked when most haven’t forgot McCoy’s late struggles, which stifled the idea of earning a fair share in limelight. In his final six regular-season games, he completed 16 touchdowns and had two interceptions, nearly trouncing the Big 12 foes. But in a meeting against the cross state rivals, the Longhorns stumbled a bit to close the season.
It’s a game of momentum, so if anticipating to preserve a win, they’ll have to strike early with intensity and compile enormous numbers on the scoreboard, a well-known trait in the Big 12 Conference. More troubling is, Texas managed to survive in the Big 12 Championship game against Nebraska, whose pass-rushing defense fiercely manhandled McCoy. Much of the night he took physical abuse, sacked nine times and advanced to the end zone once in a 13-12 win. Following the harassment of a mighty Huskers’ defense, healing an aching body in a warm spa was convenient.
Any team is capable of running a dangerous pass-rush to forestall the mighty arm-strength of McCoy. He has all the accolades in the world, with a NCAA record-breaking 76.7 precision rate and he has received a number of awards, but never won the title every player dreams about.
“This year, it’s been a challenge to win 13 games,” McCoy said. “To do it the way we did, to go from really shaky now and then to be good and then shaky and then good has kind of taken a toll on us. But when you look at the grand scheme of things, it’s still been a special ride.”
The incredible joyride, either way, that is, ends to night. It’s obvious his eyes are set on winning the grandest prize, but he has to realize it’s not easy overpowering or stopping Alabama’s explosive ground game. Mark Ingram is a specimen, consisting of excellent speed and vision making times harder on the college football’s national stage.
More alarming is Alabama’s defense, in which it’s built with toughness and comprises of All-Americans such as Javier Arenas, Terrence Cody and Rolando McClain. By now, Kirby Smart, Alabama’s defensive coordinator has studied and discovered Texas’ weaknesses, which seems to be the offensive line after it had problems maintaining Nebraska’s blitzes.
In our minds, McCoy is portrayed as the most productive quarterback in Texas history. But what remains to be seen is if he could sustain the grandest reward of his career. He has thrown for 3,512 yards, the second highest total in school history. He has a wonderful 45-7 record in his four years of work, the most victories in major-college football history.
With all credit given to offensive coordinator Greg Davis, he has thrown for 13,244 yards and 112 touchdown passes, and completed 70.3 percent of his passes. He won his second Walter Camp Award before collecting the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Davey O’Brien Award and the Maxwell Award, enough to tell us he’s a superb quarterback.
“At this point, we’re here, we’re happy and we’re excited,” said McCoy. We’ve worked really hard, but we’re going to go out and have fun and what we’ve worked for the last year.”
No. He has never won the national title.
But he can have fun, and win it now.
