Case Closed

Baylor 30, Texas 10

Dec. 7, 2013 • Waco

 

For 30 minutes, we hung with ’em. Tied 3-3 at the half, it looked like the impossible could come true. The hated land thieves had stolen the Cowboys’ conference title, and we were THIS CLOSE to nabbing it for ourselves. All we had to do was beat the Bears. We could almost taste the Tostitos…

Alas, we let that big ol’ bag of chips slip right through our frozen fingers, just like that Case McCoy pass did through Kendall Sanders’. Baylor’s offense came to life in the third quarter, scoring 17 unanswered points, and the writing started to appear on the frozen Brazos. Then came Jaxon Shipley’s electric 50-yard punt return, followed closely by Case McCoy’s Bridgewater-esque TD pass. The glimmer of hope was reignited, only to be snuffed out by subsequent defensive and offensive lapses. We really missed the spark Chris Whaley or Johnathan Gray could’ve provided, not to mention Joe Bergeron (who left the game with a bum ankle in the first half). Our guys kept fighting, but a late INT and Bear score signaled the end of our BCS dream and the culmination of Baylor’s. The Bears won the conference crown and earned a trip to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Baylor won its first Big 12 title in its last game at Floyd Casey Stadium, a.k.a., “The Case.” All week BU fans had been sporting “Case Closed” T-shirts to mark the occasion. Of the 224 Longhorn games I’ve attended, most have been in DKR (duh). My next most-visited venue would be the Cotton Bowl (27 ou games plus a few bowl games, and even one Texas-SMU contest). I’m not sure exactly where Floyd Casey would fall on my all-time list, but it’s got to be up there in the 3 or 4 spot. Waco’s just an hour and a half from DFW, and we made the 90-minute drive from Austin a couple of times during our college days, too. Since it’s so close, it’s a pretty easy day trip to catch a game there. This year, we didn’t get tickets, and thanks to a massive ice storm that has enveloped the Metroplex, we would’ve had a doozy of a time getting out of here anyway. And watching all those fans huddled together in the 12-degree wind chill, I’ll admit that my living room, with the fireplace and comfy couch (with electric blanket!), was mighty cozy. Still, I always feel like I’m missing out when we don’t make the Baylor trip. I’ve really enjoyed our last few visits to Floyd Casey, and not just because we won. The parking is close and well-organized, and everyone, from the gate attendants to the concession stand workers, are super-friendly. And with 50,000 seats, there’s not a bad view in the house.

So this week, TEXAS is spelled with iPhone cases, a tribute to Floyd Casey Stadium’s 64 years of service to football fandom. I was hoping the cases would refer to heroics from a certain Mr. McCoy, but alas, he looked less like his brother and more like a backup QB in this outing. In the end, not only did this Baylor win close The Case, it most likely closed out Mack Brown’s career at Texas.

We have a few weeks off before our Horns head to either Phoenix (for the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl) or San Antonio (for the Alamo) or maybe a bowl even closer to home (please, Cotton, pretty please?). Until then, our plan is to stay warm, get some rest, and dream of all the titles that WON’T slip away once we have a new head coach.

Sweet dreams! And as always, HOOK ’EM, HORNS!

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