- [Speaker] It is December 5th, 2009.
We're in Arlington, Texas for the Big 12 Championship game.
Down two, Texas is lined up for a field goal attempt
that would punch their ticket
to the BCS National Championship.
For Nebraska, if this score holds,
then they'll bring home their first conference title
since 1999,
while simultaneously throwing a major wrench
into the BCS title race.
So to better appreciate that,
to understand what's going through this guy's head,
and to remember why we've still got this one tick
on the clock, we need to rewind.
Right here waiting patiently for the snap,
Hunter Lawrence's kicking leg holds the weight
of an entire college football program,
and yet this guy who looks like he was
just pulled from the trenches at the Somme,
likely feels that weight even more.
Colt McCoy earned Texas's starting quarterback spot in 2006.
He inherited a program coming off of heights
that it hadn't seen since 1970.
Even with that recent success,
the truth remained that UT struggled
to compete consistently.
2005 marked their first Big 12 championship since 1996,
which seemed surprising,
if not unacceptable.
McCoy and Texas Faithful hoped
his time under center would look closer to 2005 than not.
While '06 and '07 had some blemishes,
McCoy made it obvious that this team could compete.
As a first year starter,
he led Texas to a nine-and-one record
through early November,
a record that brought realistic national title hopes,
but a shoulder injury on his opening drive touchdown
knocked Colt out against Kansas State
and all of that hope went with him.
However, by 2008, this team captured magic.
It looked like once again,
this was their year.
Undefeated, number one team in the nation,
who can stop them?
Well, Michael Crabtree and Big 12 Tiebreakers, too.
That one-two punch spoiled an otherwise
magical season for Texas.
Third straight year, no Big 12 title game.
Quarterbacks always shoulder the bulk of the blame,
but this wasn't on McCoy.
He capped each of those years off
with impressive performances.
In 2008, he made school history, then NCAA history,
all while being Texas's leading rusher.
That's why he finished not too far behind
Sam Bradford for the Heisman.
So why couldn't his team reach the
conference championship game?
Well, the defense wasn't quite on the same level.
2008 was Will Muschamp's first year
as defensive coordinator in Austin.
And yes, they did lead the conference in
fewest yards allowed,
but that means a little less in the Big 12
than it would the SEC or Big 10.
Texas's D was a young bunch,
particularly in the secondary,
which had blown up in their youthful face
at the most inopportune time in Lubbock.
This side of the ball needed to play better,
more consistently for Texas to have a chance.
Now, any improvement by the defense
wouldn't really matter if this guy didn't
come back for another year.
But his return plus higher expectations
for a more experienced defense
sent hope skyrocketing in Austin once again.
Once this 2009 season began,
every phase of play from this team
justified that hope.
McCoy didn't miss a beat,
leaning on his childhood buddy
turned go-to receiver Jordan Shipley.
Shipley also provided a spark on special teams,
becoming one of the nation's
most dangerous punt returners.
And like their 2005 championship winning squad,
the defense shone.
Especially that once struggling secondary.
Earl Thomas and Blake Gideon led the way at safety
and a year after the team corralled just
six interceptions.
This year, that number has already ballooned
to 21 in the 12 games before tonight.
Eight of which went Thomas's way,
including two pick sixes.
When the offense had a down game,
the defense was capable of picking them up.
But down games were rare with McCoy in charge
and on Thanksgiving,
he delivered what could have been his Heisman moment.
300 yards passing, five total touchdowns,
plus a career high 175 yards rushing.
That launched Texas into the Big 12 championship game.
A much needed stamp on a year
that has mirrored their ride from four seasons ago.
McCoy's monster performance came nearly at the perfect time.
Why just nearly?
Well, had he waited a week to deliver it,
then maybe he wouldn't look like this
on the sideline right now.
So why is McCoy down so bad?
What's the deal with this Nebraska team?
And if anyone's gonna block this kick, who would it be?
Well, the answer to all three questions is this guy,
Ndamukong Suh.
It's rare for a defensive lineman to be
the face of a program,
but Suh has become just that.
Once a four-star recruit out of Oregon,
the nimble yet devastating tackle
burst onto the scene in 2008.
Suh was everywhere,
even became pretty familiar with the end zone.
There was nothing he couldn't do,
and yet he decided to delay his pro career
and return to Nebraska for a fifth season.
Bo Pelini was a big reason why.
2008 marked Pelini's first year
as the Cornhuskers head coach.
After Nebraska suffered a stretch of inconsistency,
Pelini showed he could quickly right the ship.
He's a defensive minded coach whose system found ways
to set up Suh for success by making him much harder
to double team.
That allowed Suh to take over games on his own,
disrupting play in a way that demoralized his opponents.
And when Suh got more opportunities to feast,
the rest of Nebraska ate as well.
The best example of how this team won games
came against Oklahoma.
Both teams entered with five-and-three records,
however, OU was ranked, favored by six and a half points,
and by the end of the game,
Nebraska quarterbacks had combined
for just seven completions totaling 39 yards.
And they won.
How does that happen?
Well, part of it was the offense leaned on Roy Helu
who gashed OU for nearly seven yards per carry,
but still Nebraska's offense managed 180 total yards.
They scored just 10 points.
This win came by their defense.
Oklahoma had to throw it 58 times
in order to get 26 completions.
Nebraska snagged five picks on the day,
they stymied OU's run game,
and at the end of the day,
they held the Sooners to just three points.
I mean, Suh single-handedly prevented more points
right here.
One of three field goal blocks he's already got this year,
Ndamukong Suh and Nebraska's defense
have just been on another level.
Even without a complete offense,
Nebraska played their way to the top
of the Big 12 South, which means two things.
First, they can obviously become conference champs
for the first time since 1999.
But second and more impactful on the larger stage,
Nebraska is playing for more than just themselves.
Division One college football is dominated
by these conferences, the Power Five.
It's a pretty douchey nickname.
One tier below them you got the mid-majors.
These are still D1,
they're still competitive conferences,
but they're comparatively smaller brands,
which translates to less stacked rosters
and weaker schedules.
Since the BCS took control in 1998
and dictated who reigned supreme in college football,
no mid major has ever made it to the title game.
However, this year there are two schools
with cases to be made.
TCU and Boise State have already completed
undefeated seasons.
If Nebraska delivers Texas their first loss,
the Horned Frogs and Broncos could be
on the cusp of unprecedented glory.
So the Cornhuskers have the power
to shake things up pretty good.
And tonight has looked like
Nebraska's playing for the little guy.
Both sides of this Husker squad did
what you'd expect of them.
On just the second play of the night,
Nebraska's defense picked off McCoy in Texas territory.
Their offense responded with an eight play drive
spanning an entire 13 yards,
but capped off by a field goal.
A lead's a lead,
and Nebraska's defense could do a lot
with just three points.
They sent Texas sputtering.
Repeated three and outs.
Another interception.
McCoy just never got comfortable.
Suh had a lot to do with that.
The only Longhorn points in the first half
came after pass interference set UT up
inside Nebraska's five
and McCoy punched it in.
The Cornhusker defense repeatedly bailed out
the offense in both halves.
Three Texas takeaways led to zero Texas points.
UT did sneak a field goal in after a
short Nebraska punt stretching their lead to four,
but as the fourth quarter flew by,
the fireworks picked up.
Nebraska's Niles Paul returned a punt all the way down
to the Texas 10 yard line.
The offense did nothing,
but they still made this a one point game.
On the ensuing kickoff,
a knuckling line drive sent Marquise Goodwin stumbling,
and as he hauled in the ball,
Goodwin slipped.
Knee down at the one yard line.
Terrible field position in mind,
at this point in the second half,
McCoy had himself punted the ball
twice as many times as he'd completed passes.
So hope was minimal.
First down, McCoy plunged headfirst for some breathing room.
Second down, Suh broke through,
spun Tre' Newton to the ground
and nearly gave Nebraska the lead right here,
but instead against all odds,
on third down, McCoy found Shipley for 15.
This turned into by far the best drive
of the night for Texas.
They moseyed their way down to Nebraska's 34
with under five minutes and a chance to put this one away.
Naturally, the Big 12 script writers called
for this to come next.
DeJon Gomes wrestled the ball from Dan Buckner,
snuffing out the Longhorn hopes of wrapping things up early,
and then the Cornhuskers did the unthinkable.
Their offense drove the ball,
including their longest completion of the night,
16 yards on a key third down.
Critically Nebraska burned more clock on this drive
than any since the first quarter,
forcing Texas to use their first two timeouts
while getting within range for a field goal
that took the lead with a minute 44 to play.
And here they are clinging to that lead.
But before we see what comes next,
let's talk about this little guy.
How'd he get up here?
It looks so lonely.
Nearly 10 years ago, Michigan played Illinois
in a nail biter that ended in controversy.
Two massive calls swung that game in Michigan's favor.
One fumble that wasn't, one fumble that was,
and one win that shouldn't have belonged to Michigan.
Unfortunately, for Illinois
before that season, the Big 10 held a vote
and in a landslide decided they did not want
to use any sort of video review.
Well, after this game and after Michigan
owned a share of the Big 10 championship come season's end,
those schools changed their tune.
In 2004, they became the first conference
to institute video review,
and the rest of the conferences quickly followed suit.
So why does that matter tonight?
Well, after Nebraska took the lead,
they sailed the ensuing kickoff out of bounds.
Texas Ball at the 40
where McCoy immediately hit Shipley
for 19 yards plus an extra 15 for a horse collar tackle.
Suddenly with a minute 37 and one timeout,
Texas was at Nebraska's 26,
comfortably in field goal range.
They didn't really need to do much,
just not make a completely boneheaded decision.
First down, McCoy lost a yard, but kept the clock running.
Second down, he lost another two.
But again, clock was running.
Already in field goal range,
let's examine the scoreboard real quick.
28 seconds left when the previous play ended,
means the play clock will be off.
And as the clock ticks towards zero,
Texas could just use this timeout
they've still got to stop the clock
and comfortably send on the field goal unit.
Instead, this was when McCoy and Texas
delivered the most confusing decision
at the worst possible time.
The clock hit zero,
Nebraska began to celebrate.
Texas began to plead.
Five years ago, without video review,
Nebraska would be the Big 12 champions.
But this isn't the past.
The officials got together in order to check the clock,
and what they saw was, yeah McCoy was way too nonchalant.
But when his pass hit the ground out of bounds,
there was still one second on the clock.
By rule, that one second was added back
and the bewilderment felt throughout Burnt Orange Nation
was replaced by hope.
Hope that Hunter Lawrence could end this right here
and propel Texas back into the BCS National Championship.
Hope that McCoy's incredible run at Texas
wouldn't end with yet another blemish.
And hope that this guy right here doesn't have any magic
left in him on a night where he has been
the most dominant version of his already dominant self.
A block or a miss here would mean significant things
for college football and more importantly for Nebraska,
it would mean that they are Big 12 champions.
With so much packed into just a single second,
welcome to a moment in history
- [Announcer] For everything!
Got it!
Texas goes to Pasadena!
- [Speaker] Hey, thanks for joining us today.
If you are a Nebraska fan,
I'm sorry to pick at old wounds.
I'm sure you're a great person and don't deserve that.
As penance, may I offer you a viewing of Texas
getting their hopes crushed at the hands
of Michael Crabtree?
Anyway, thanks for watching.
Make sure you subscribe and we'll see you soon.