2006 Texas Longhorns football team

American college football season

The 2006 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head football coach was Mack Brown. The Longhorns (also known as Texas or UT or the Horns) played their home games in Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (DKR), which during 2006 was undergoing some renovations to improve older sections as well as to add extra seating capacity. The 2006 team was the defending national champions since the previous year's team won both the Big 12 Conference championship and the National Championship. That was the program's second Big 12 Championship (27 conference championships total, including 25 in the Southwest Conference), and fourth consensus national championship in football. Their championship victory in the 2006 Rose Bowl was also the 800th win for the program and the Longhorns entered the season ranked third in the all time list of both total wins and winning percentage (.7143). In 2006, the Longhorn's game against Ohio State University in September was one of the most anticipated college football games of the regular season. Texas lost the game to Ohio State and completed the regular season with an overall record of 9 wins – 3 losses, and a 6–2 record in conference games. They were ranked 19th in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings, issued prior to the bowl season. The Longhorns ended their season with a victory in the 2006 Alamo Bowl against the unranked, 6–6 Iowa Hawkeyes to improve to an overall record of 10 wins – 3 losses. They were ranked 13th in the final national rankings by both the Associated Press AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll The same poll had Ohio State number 1, meaning that if both teams held their ranking until their September 9, 2006 match up, it would be a rarely seen early season meeting of the two most highly ranked teams in the sport. The teams did keep their respective ranking until game day and played the earliest ever meeting of the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams. though it was quickly surpassed by a larger screen in Tokyo. It is still the largest high definition video screen in collegiate sports. A new temporary bleacher seating section was added behind the south endzone bringing the stadium's stated capacity to 85,123 for the 2006 season. In mid July 2006, The University of Texas announced that Memorial Stadium was completely sold out for the upcoming 2006 season. For the first time, tickets would not be sold on an individual game basis. Stage 2 of the project began just after the final home game, as the north end zone was expanded to include luxury boxes and an upper deck. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

The win extended Texas' streak to 21 games, the longest in the NCAA at the time. The game's attendance was 85,123, a new school record and the 34th consecutive sellout.

The game against Ohio State University was one of the most anticipated college football games of the regular season. The two teams had combined for 1,576 victories in 231 total years of football prior to meeting, with the Horns ranking third on the NCAA all time victory list with 801 wins and the Buckeyes ranking sixth with 775. Ohio State was ranked No. 1 with Texas No. 2 in both the Associated Press and the coach's polls. The September 9, 2006, game between Texas and Ohio State became a match up of college football's No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams for the 36th time in NCAA history. On September 4, 2006, five days prior to the game, two UT players and one former UT player were arrested in Austin and charged for marijuana possession, a Class B misdemeanor. The two current players, Tarell Brown and Tyrell Gatewood, were suspended from the team and did not play in the September 9, 2006 game against the 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team. The former player, who was the owner of the handgun, is former UT linebacker Aaron Harris. He said he had listed Ohio State at the top of his ballot in the coach's poll prior to the game. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel stated in a news conference that he cast his vote for Texas as the number one school coming into the game, but it was later revealed that his ballot listed Ohio State as number one. Two United States Senators, Sen. Mike DeWine, R Ohio and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R Texas, placed a wager on the game. DeWine promised to deliver his wife's homemade chocolate covered peanut butter Buckeye candies to Hutchison if Texas won, while Hutchison promised to give DeWine some Blue Bell ice cream, made in Texas, if Ohio State won. In sports book betting in Las Vegas, Nevada the day prior to the game, Texas was favored to win the game by 2 to 2 1/2 points. Ohio State won the game 24–7. The attendance was 89,422, the most people to ever watch a football game in the state of Texas. Texas's loss made it unlikely that Texas would repeat as National Champions. Since the Bowl Championship Series was formed in 1998, 11 of the 16 teams were unbeaten going into the game.

Texas and Rice met in 2006 for the 89th time. The series, which began in 1914, is the fourth oldest (by number of games) in Texas history. Texas and Rice were once conference foes in the Southwest Conference, despite the usual mismatch in ability on the field (66 Texas wins vs 21 wins for Rice, with one tie). President John F. Kennedy compared the challenge of going to the Moon to the challenge faced when Rice played Texas. In addition to renewing a traditional rivalry, playing Rice in a "home and away" series allows for Texas to play games in Houston, Texas, a city that is an important recruiting base for UT, along with having a significant Texas Exes alumni population. The game was the first time Rice offensive coordinator Major Applewhite faced his former college team, where he enjoys "cult legend" status. At Rice, Applewhite has taken the team away from the "Wishbone" offense and moved them to a more modern, one running back formation similar to that used by Texas. Rice won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, allowing Texas to start the game on offense. Texas' opening drive used 7 rushing plays (no passes) and just over 3 minutes to drive for a touchdown. Texas followed up by scoring a touchdown on its second possession and a field goal on its third possession to earn a 17–0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Texas won the game 52–7. Both teams scored in the first quarter. Iowa State opened the game on offense and failed to gain a first down, going "three and out" and punting to Texas. Texas scored a touch down on the resulting drive. Iowa State was stopped again on its second possession. As Iowa State went to punt, the ball went out of the back of their end zone, resulting in a safety for Texas. Texas scored another touch down on their second possession. Iowa State answered to make the score 7–16 as the first quarter ended. In the second quarter, Texas scored two touchdown and Iowa State scored one, to make the score 30–14 Texas at the half. Texas scored one more touchdown while holding Iowa State scoreless in the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter, the officials called a delay due to lightning in the area. When the game resumed, neither team scored in the fourth quarter, giving Texas a 37–14 win.

With the decision by the NCAA to allow teams to expand to a 12 game schedule, Texas added Division I AA Sam Houston State to its schedule. The game was the first UT game since 2004 not to be televised nationally on broadcast or cable, though it was available on pay per view from DirecTV and Dish Network. Texas won the game 56–3.

Aided by an Auburn victory against Florida, Texas moved up one spot to No. 5 in the AP poll following the win against Baylor. Coming into the game, Texas was the third winningest program in college football, with 806 wins. they also ended the Cornhuskers new, national best, winning streak at 26 in 2002. Entering the 2006 game, Texas was the only team in the Big Twelve Conference with a winning record (6–4) vs. Nebraska. Prior to the game, the Las Vegas betting line was Texas by 5 1/2 points. The game set a new stadium attendance record crowd of 85,187, the 280th consecutive sell out at Nebraska. In the fourth quarter with Nebraska trailing by 6, Coach Callahan called what seemed to be a sweep play similar to ones they had used earlier in the game. However, when running back Marlon Lucky got the pitch, he threw a touchdown pass to Nate Swift. The extra point gave Nebraska a one point lead with 4:54 left in the game. Texas' defense had limited Nebraska's running offense to only , far less than their 207.7 average,

The win was Texas' 16th straight road game victory, extending a school record, and 19th consecutive win in conference play. The Longhorns had several injuries during the game. Defensive starters Derek Lokey and Robert Killebrew both had to leave the game due to leg injuries. Former Longhorn quarterback Vince Young was on the sidelines for the first time since going to the NFL and he went to the Longhorn locker room afterwards to congratulate the team on the win. Representatives from the Fiesta Bowl, the game that normally takes the Big 12 Conference champion, were also on hand. The media had speculated that Nebraska and Texas would win their respective conference divisions to play again in the Big 12 Conference Championship. This was echoed in post game interviews as both teams voiced respect for the other. Texas coach Mack Brown said, "Nebraska is back, For them to keep coming back and back and back – they made big plays throughout the game to put themselves in a position to win."

The Longhorns come into the game at Texas Tech with several injuries on defense. Five days prior to the game, the Longhorns announced that starting defensive tackle Derek Lokey, injured in the Nebraska game, was out indefinitely with a broken left leg. Mack Brown said, "It's still a loss. Nobody cares. I used to talk about injuries all the time, and it does nothing good for your team. Some years you have them, and some years you don't We've still got a chance for everything after eight games, and that's unbelievable." The most recent two Tech Texas games had not been close score wise, with Texas winning 51–21 in Lubbock in 2004 and 52–17 in Austin in 2005. Texas Tech entered the game with a potent passing offense led by Sophomore quarterback Graham Harrell. He has completed 245 passes out of 356 attempts this year and he averages more than 313 passing yards per game. Just the previous week, he threw for and career high six touchdowns in a 42–26 win over Iowa State and the Red Raiders are averaging 48.6 passes per game. On the other side of the ball, the Longhorns were ranked 84th in pass defense this season, giving up per game. Four days prior to the game, the betting line in Las Vegas casinos was Texas by 11 1/2 to 12 points. The game set a new attendance record for Texas Tech in Lubbock, with 56,158 in attendance. Harrell compiled 364 passing yards and three touchdown passes against the Longhorn pass defense during the first half. That was more yards passing than Texas had previously given up during an entire game in the course of the 2006 season to date. McCoy dropped back to pass but was under pressure from the defense. He first ran right and then revered direction to break into the open for a gain before sliding down in the field of play. Although McCoy has now completed 24 touchdowns (2 shy of the UT single season record) he is known for shunning the limelight, preferring to give credit to his coaches and teammates. For Texas, coming back to win the game from a 21–0 deficit was the second biggest comeback win in school history and the biggest comeback ever in a road game. The Longhorns over came four turn overs they committed during the win. For Texas Tech, the loss was only the third loss under Coach Leach when the Raiders held a lead at half time. The passing by Graham Harrell was a career best. After the game, the Lubbock Avalanche Journal interviewed fans and reported "Many agreed that it was the most exciting game of the year, citing the big crowd and enthusiasm in the stadium." After one pass interference penalty against the Red Raider, Tech defensive back Darcel McBath threw his mouthpiece towards the officials. After the game, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach implied that there may have been mistakes made by the officiating crew. He said, "There were some things that happened in the course of the game, in particular the second half, that were outside of our control that I'm not able to comment on that were very detrimental to our effort."

With the win over Texas Tech combined with the USC Trojans losing to the Oregon State Beavers, Texas moved up one spot to No. 4 in the Associated Press and Coach's polls. According to Fox Sports columnist Eric Moneypenny, " we're gonna be left with Ohio State or Michigan against Texas. Maybe West Virginia can stay the course and somehow stay above Texas in the standings, but it seems doubtful should Texas run the table and win the Big 12." Texas got no boost in the BCS rankings however, as they passed USC but were passed by idle Louisville to remain at number seven in the BCS. In each of the preceding four games, Texas trailed their opponent for at least part of the game and managed to come back to win. This includes fourth quarter come backs against Nebraska and Texas Tech. The win over Texas Tech was the biggest road come back in UT's history, and the second biggest come back ever. The week prior to the 2006 game against Texas the Cowboys had scored 28 unanswered points in a come from behind upset of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The day of the game, the betting line in Las Vegas casinos favored then #4 ranked Texas by 16 points against an unranked 6–4 Kansas State team. Kansas State won the coin toss and elected to kick. He was taken into the locker room for further evaluation and returned to the sideline in the first half, where he threw some warm up passes. However, McCoy never re entered the game and freshman quarterback Jevan Snead played the rest of the game in McCoy's place. Kansas State tied the game in the first quarter off of a touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Freeman to wide receiver Yamon Figurs. Following the game, Texas revealed that X rays, taken during the game, of McCoy's shoulder were negative. or stinger. UT trainer Kenny Boyd explained why McCoy did not re enter the game: "After the injury, Colt experienced shoulder weakness and neck pain," Boyd said. "When evaluating injuries, we look for return of normal strength and a reduction of pain before putting a player back into the game. Colt wasn't released to play because his symptoms, including strength, did not improve." His mother, Debra McCoy, confirmed the nature of the injury and said that the extra time off prior to the game against Texas A&M should give Colt a chance to recover. Colt McCoy said in a statement, "I'm really disappointed I wasn't able to be in there helping my teammates, but I'm going to be fine. The off week couldn't come at a better time. I'll do everything it takes to get back." This defeat snapped the Longhorns 17 win streak on the road as well as the national best 21 game conference winning steak. Since the inception of the BCS in 1998 no team has entered the championship game with more than one loss, so Texas' chances of repeating as national champion were considered eliminated after taking this second loss on the season. The game has the distinction of being the most points ever scored by a UT team in a losing effort.

This game marked the 113th meeting between Texas and the Texas A&M Aggies in college football and the game is part of a multi sport rivalry called the Lone Star Showdown. It is the Longhorns' longest running rivalry and Texas led the series, 73–34–5, including the last six in a row. During the week before the game, the Longhorns conducted their traditional Hex Rally while the Aggies had an off campus version of their traditional Bonfire and also staged a parade just prior to the game. The Longhorns announced that starting quarterback Colt McCoy, who was injured in the game against Kansas State, was cleared to play the game against the Aggies. Since the series began in 1894 The 2006 game marked the thirteenth straight game to be scheduled the day after Thanksgiving. while the weather forecast called for mostly sunny skies, a high near , and winds up to from the South. The 2006 meeting was the first time in eight years that both teams entered the game with at least eight wins. Going back to 1999 when UT lost the final three games of the season, the Longhorns had gone 87 games without losing back to back games. For the third time during the season, the pre game activities consisted of a military flyby. The Aggies drove the ball the length of the field to score a touchdown, but missed on the extra point to leave the game at 6–0. However, Sweed was flagged for offensive pass interference which the Austin American Statesman later suggested was "questionable". stating that replays showed that Sweed was involved in some "spirited hand checking while the ball was in the air, but neither player appeared to push or be guilty of interference". In an ABC half time interview, Mack Brown said "I thought it was a bad call," but added "There's nothing we can do about that. We should've done a better job on third down." The only score in the third quarter was a rushing touchdown by Jamaal Charles, his seventh of the season. Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee was playing so hard that he was throwing up during the game, but he managed to make an touchdown run with 2:32 left to play. A&M was unable to convert their two point attempt after the touchdown. and the Aggies were penalized fifteen yards (14 m). Texas held the Aggies to three and out and used all three of their time outs in order to preserve game time. Replays shown both on television and in the stadium revealed the hit included "helmet to helmet" contact which, if intentional, is illegal in NCAA football. No flag was thrown on the play. When the replay was shown in the stadium, the Longhorn fans erupted in boos Mack Brown said after the game "I didn't see it, but it sounded like 88,000 (fans) thought it was dirty." McCoy was taken to Brackenridge Hospital where he spent more than three hours undergoing an evaluation that included an X ray, MRI, and a CAT scan. Colt McCoy, in a November 2007 interview, stated that neither this nor the earlier Heard tackle had been cheap shots. Following the injury to McCoy, back up quarterback Jevan Snead threw an interception on his first play of the game. Jamaal Charles, in a later interview, stated "We were looking weak. We thought they'd let up because we're Texas." The Holiday Bowl and the Alamo Bowl. Meanwhile, Longhorn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik accepted the head coaching job at Iowa State University and did not participate in coaching the Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl. Also, on November 29, 2006, the Austin American Statesman cited unnamed sources saying back up quarterback Jevan Snead would transfer from Texas. On December 1, 2006, the Longhorns issued a statement confirming that Snead, along with sophomore defensive end Chris Brown and sophomore offensive tackle Greg Dolan, had left the team and would transfer to unspecified schools. On December 3, 2006, Texas officially accepted a bid to play in the Alamo Bowl against the unranked University of Iowa Hawkeyes, who were 6–6 overall and finished in eighth place in the Big Ten conference with only two conference victories. The Alamo Bowl is played in the 65,000 seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on December 30, 2006.</blockquote>

On December 21, 2006, Colt McCoy was cleared to play in the Alamo Bowl. McCoy did start and played the entire game for Texas. The game was a back and forth affair with the 2006 Iowa Hawkeyes football team largely dominating most of the first half and Texas the second. Texas won the game 26–24. The attendance for the game was 65,875, which established a new record for the most people to gather in San Antonio to view a sporting event.

The Longhorns received a final ranking of 13th in the nation by both the Associated Press AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll They were ranked 19th in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings, which were issued prior to the bowl season. Lyle Sendlein and Selvin Young were not drafted but signed with NFL teams as free agents.