Gone to Seed

Kansas 57, Texas 56 (OT)

November 13, 2021 • DKR

We got a new head coach this year. The previous coach learned what the coach before him had figured out: You can’t lose to Kansas. Welp, about that.

We never led in regulation, but when we tied the game with 22 seconds left, we thought we would steal this one from the Jayhawks. We scored a TD in overtime, but then so did Kansas. And then KU went for 2. And then they got it. Grrrr. We didn’t realize it then, of course, but the Jayhawks’ big win over us was the beginning of a turnaround for their program that included a head-turning start to their 2022 season. 

Highlights from this game: Cara and family were there! Cara and her three youngest even came early for the Bevo Blvd. festivities. Again, it was a shame they didn’t get to see a win, but it was great to spend time with them.

RIP Jake 😦

GOAT Cat Osterman

Davis made the big screen!

T’s postgame body language speaks for all of us.

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Killin’ Me, Smalls

Texas 50, Kansas 48 

October 19, 2019 • DKR

On a day when the cast of The Sandlot made a sideline appearance, my team could’ve used a heavy hitter like the Great Bambino, the Sultan of Swat. Sure, Babe Ruth played baseball, but we needed every bit of help we could get to pull out this win!

Coach Tom Herman knows that losing to Kansas can end your time at Texas pretty darn quickly, but maybe he should’ve known that ALMOST losing to Kansas will be ALMOST as bad! Dicker the Kicker had to save the day, kicking a 33-yard field goal as time expired to cap a wild fourth quarter.

But hey, sunflower seeds aren’t always pretty, but the flowers that come from them are. So will this game be a sign of beauty to come, or will the rest of this season be seedy?

Before the game, Ryan and I walked through the Capitol instead of hanging out at the tailgate. Now that Ryan’s a Texas history teacher, he enjoys getting to visit that historic site when he can. We have seen (and photographed) the Capitol countless times, so for this walk-through, I looked for interesting shapes among the familiar sights.

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Planting Seeds of Hope

Texas 24, Kansas 17

Nov. 23, 2018 • Lawrence, Kansas

All we needed was one more win to make it to the Big 12 Championship in Arlington, and Kansas was next up on the schedule. No sweat, right? At first, it looked like we would coast into AT&T Stadium, leading 21-0 after three quarters. But the Jayhawks made it interesting, closing the gap in the fourth. The Horns held on to escape the Sunflower State with a win, and our tickets for the conference championship were punched.

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Didn’t Lose to Kansas

 

Texas 42, Kansas 27 

Nov. 11, 2017 • DKR

When people called for Charlie Strong to be fired during his tenure, he weathered the storm. Then he lost to Kansas. There’s grace, there are second chances, and there are mea culpas. But you can’t lose to Kansas.

In spite of the embarrassing first game loss to Maryland, coach Tom Herman was able to check the “didn’t lose to Kansas” box in this, his first season at UT.

Fun to have Anne join us for this one

Quality time with my Austin boy

Horns win!

Ryan’s last Eyes in DKR (as a student, anyway)

11/10/2012 and 11/11/2017

When in ATX…

Hook ’em!

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So Seedy

Kansas 24, Texas 21 (OT)

Nov. 19, 2016 • Lawrence, Kansas

I got all fancy with this TEXAS, seeing as how SURELY we’d win this one! It’s KANSAS, after all! Our coach might be in hot water for losing all those other road games, but KANSAS? As sure as sunflowers grow in Kansas, I was certain Texas would win.

*cough cough*

After this debacle, Coach Strong was as good as gone, and shortly after the season ended, he was officially on his way out of Austin.Was this loss all his fault? Not hardly. Did he run the routes, block, tackle? Nope. I liked the guy as a leader, as a man, but I can sum up why I think he had to go in four words: Can’t. Lose. To. Kansas!

There really isn’t a bright side to this embarrassing loss, but if there were, it would be that I saw very little of this game. I was lucky enough to accompany Ryan to New Orleans, where he was auditioning for College Jeopardy! He didn’t get the call, but he had a blast going through the process. We had a great day tooling around NOLa, too!

Seeds of Hope

Texas 59, Kansas 20

Nov. 7, 2015 • DKR

We spelled Texas with sunflower seeds for the sunflower state, but this game was anything but seedy. Our Horns did exactly what we expected them to do: ran all over the “But We’re a Basketball School” Jayhawks.

Coming just six days before the official premiere of My All American, this game featured a tribute to Freddie Steinmark, the Texas legend whose memory lives on years after he died of cancer. Earlier in the day, UT rededicated the scoreboard to Freddie’s memory.

Back in 2013 when I toured DKR with Katie and her friend, we got to see that scoreboard base up close. Even though it’s now topped with the giant Godzillatron and concealed by endzone bleachers, the scoreboard is still an important part of Texas football. Players touch Freddie’s picture before taking the field.

Other photo highlights:

LHB tribute to our armed forces for Veterans Day

Always a thrill to share the game with my babies!

 

We didn’t do much tailgating this time because we met some friends for a Capitol tour and late lunch before heading to campus. It was great to hang out with our friends from California, and getting to wander around the Capitol with the state’s preeminent historian was a big bonus!

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Sunflower Shutout

Texas 23, Kansas 0

Sept. 27, 2014 • Lawrence, KS

 

Weird thing about sunflower seeds: They can be really tasty, but it takes a lot of effort to get to the actual food inside. Working your way through the shell can be messy, and before long, you have to deal with what’s essentially trash in your mouth. And that’s supposed to be appetizing? Somehow, though, sunflower seeds are addicting.

This week our TEXAS is spelled with these paradoxical pods in honor of Kansas, the sunflower state. Now that we play KU every year, sunflower seeds are starting to show up as often as Teddy Grahams (for Baylor) and Kit Kats (for any feline mascot).

But really, sunflower seeds are a pretty good metaphor for this season. Coach Strong has been working really hard to get to the good stuff at the heart of this team. In the meantime, though, he’s had to shed plenty of distasteful shells. And what a mess is left in his wake! Our O-line has been decimated, and injuries have further weakened our team. With so many new guys on the field, not to mention on the sideline calling the plays, it feels like everybody’s a true freshman. But regardless of the mess, we keep coming back for more.

Today’s win was not pretty. The Horns scored three TDs and a field goal, but all of those came after short drives set up by our studly defense or special teams. When we had the full length of the field to run, we struggled to get a good drive going. Our kicking game is going to bite us in the endzone before too long.

But thank goodness for that D! How many times did Kansas threaten to score, only to be stopped by an INT? Four, apparently! Nice to see our first road shut-out since that magical 2005 season. On the offensive side, Swoopes continues to show a lot of promise, and I can’t say it often enough: GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN SHIPLEY TOUCHES THE BALL. That may have to be amended to include John Harris, too.

Now the October gauntlet begins: Baylor, ou, Iowa State, K State. Here’s hoping Strong & Co. can make the most of the good stuff in this program: pride, tradition, talent, and toughness. So hurry on home to DKR, guys. It’s been too long, and the Texas faithful are jonesing to see our guys in burnt orange.

And coach, while you’re at it, give ’em shell.

Seedy Start

Texas 35, Kansas 13

Nov. 2, 2013 • DKR

 

“Script Texas” remains one of my favorite Longhorn Band halftime shows, so it’s no wonder it shows up so often when it’s time to spell. Fortunately, sunflower seeds (representing Kansas, the Sunflower State) are pretty easy to “write” with. Unfortunately, our team’s slow start made us feel like we had a mouthful of those seeds: ready to SPIT.

It’s hard to know what’s going on with this team. We lost two non-conference games early, looking inept on both sides of the ball, but then we went on to win five straight, including a MASSIVE upset victory over the sooners, with a relentless running game and tough D. So what’s up with this struggle against Kansas, football’s 98-pound weakling? Really, until Chris Whaley rumbled into the endzone with another turnover-turned-touchdown, we weren’t feeling too comfortable.

But Whaley DID score that TD, and Malcolm Brown added four rushing scores, too. And just like that, our guys are 5-0 in Big 12 play! If I didn’t know better, I’d be tempted to think that maybe, just maybe, this could be the year we finally win another conference title. But then I look at our remaining sched: West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Tech, Baylor. Which team will show up for each of those contests, the BYU Horns or the ou Horns? Anything can happen, so of course, we’re holding out hope that the “anything” is WINNING.

This win was especially fun because my husband attended the game with me. The last time he saw the Horns play in DKR, we weren’t even married—and we’ve been married 19 years! It was extra special to share the whole tailgating, game and yes, spelling experience with my man.

Some highlights from the day:

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Far from Flowery

Texas 21, Kansas 17

Oct. 27, 2012 • Lawrence, Kansas

Since Kansas is the “sunflower state,” we spelled Texas using sunflower seeds last year. I figured we’d stick with the theme this year but up the ante with the flowers themselves. Besides, sunflowers are so pretty and fall-y, you know? And since this game was going to be easy-peasy, why go for a tougher, more manly medium?

Ugh.

Our Horns were 12 seconds away from losing to Kansas. Kansas, the team that has never beaten us in conference play. Kansas, the team that came into this one having lost its last 16 Big 12 games. For most of this game, it looked like the Jayhawks were going to break that streak. Against TEXAS!

Our Horns again showed flashes of greatness here and there, but our team mostly looked hapless. For the second time in recent weeks, our QB was surprised to find the football in his face. Shouldn’t he be one of the two people in the whole stadium who know when the ball’s going to be snapped? We couldn’t wrap up tackles (STILL!). We couldn’t hang on to passes. When your tacklers don’t tackle and your receivers don’t receive, bad things happen.

A loss to Kansas would’ve been a very bad thing.

It’s funny how such a poor performance can surprise me. It really shouldn’t. We saw it against ou, and even though we beat Baylor, we saw many of these same problems against the Bears last week, too. Still, after our first defensive possession ended in a punt and we scored soon after that, I thought maybe we’d rediscovered our swagger. (Of course, I thought the same thing after last week’s quick score, too. I’ll never learn!)

When the bottom fell out, the tweets started flying. Of course, whenever our team’s struggling, the Texas beat writers flood the Twitterverse with critiques, but this time, national sportswriters were taking notice, too. Many were speculating which coaches would be fired Monday. A loss to Kansas could NOT go without some kind of retribution, a consequence that would not wait for season’s end.

Enter Case McCoy.

McCoy (the Sequel) replaced David Ash in the fourth quarter, and in his first possession, the coaches called for several running plays. Genius! I thought maybe the coaches had finally figured out a way to get the ball to our powerful backs. But no. After the game Case said he was cold (literally), so those hand-offs were intended to help him warm up!

I shouldn’t complain, though, because McCoy did get warmed up. The McCoy-helmed Horns scored to tie the game 14-14 in the fourth, and after a Jayhawk field goal made it 17-14 Kansas, Case led the Horns down the field for the winning TD. Along the way, we faced a 4th and 6 situation that was way too similar to that 4th and 18 in the nearly disastrous 2004 game. This time we didn’t have VY to bail us out, but we did have the tried-and-true “McCoy to Shipley.” Jaxon made the reception for an 18-yard gain, and just a few plays later, Case hit D.J. Grant in the endzone for the game-winner.

Where do we go from here? Who knows? I know we’re heading Lubbock to take on Tech next Saturday, but I don’t know who will start at quarterback. I know who our coaches are now, but I don’t know how much longer they’ll be at UT.

I don’t know if we’ll win another game this year, but I know I’ll be rooting for my Horns—and spelling Texas!

Sunflower Seeds for the Sunflower State

Texas 43, Kansas 0

Oct. 29, 2011 • DKR

We’ve had fun with the Kansas Jayhawks over the years, using Sun Chips and even sidewalk chalk (for “Sidewalk Chalk Jayhawk”). But this year, we got seedy with the Sunflower State.

Anytime the Horns shut out their opponent, it’s a good time, but this was Alumni Band day, which made a great day even greater. You just gotta love the baton guy!

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