All Things Longhorn

Here's the big question: can y'all get through a game without a Major Applewhite reference?

It's been four years already.
 

Hey J - welcome to the blog. If you noticed the only other game with anything close to live chat was the Ohio State game. And you know what? - Applewhite wasn't mentioned. He is talked about thoroughly on this blog as all longhorn alumni who had signifigance to this program should be.
-Holt
 

It's actually only been one year... he was a graduate assistant last year.


"applewhite"
 

I'm surprised there isn't a separate Syracuse football thread going along somewhere on this site.
 

At least Jake Delhomme has done something in his career as a football player.
 

Applewhite decided not to go pro to coach.
 

C'mon, Jason, that's weak. I know you're smarter than that. What has Jake boy accomplished? Getting his ass handed to him by the Pats in the Super Bowl? Being a fairly average NFL quarterback? Being the greatest QB to come out of glorified 1AA U La La? Major, all 5'10 of him, ended his career as one of the most accomplished QBs in Texas history. Slow and undersized, he managed to throw for a hell of a lot of yards and win a lot of games. Everybody loves an underdog (except, I'm guessing, you) and he really endeared himself to the fans. Let us enjoy the fond memories we have of him and try, if you can, to let people enjoy themselves without interjecting your snide, condescending remarks. Thanks much.
- Eric

p.s. - baseball still sucks
 

I was neither being snide nor condescending. What has Delhomme done? Only led his team to the Super Bowl and give an MVP-caliber performance (16-33-323 3 TDs) only to lose on a last second field goal.

I'm just always surprised at the selective memory of some Longhorn fans who seem to think that Applewhite was the greatest QB to ever play the game. For as many games as he led Texas back in to win (three) he choked away just as many big games (and small ones) with multiple turnovers.

Sure, he was a very good quarterback. But this near-mythical status to which he is held is unfathomable.
 

Let's not kid ourselves. The Panthers Defense led that team to the 'Bowl. Jake , in his seven years in the League, has played only two. One of which was a good, but far from great, season. This year he has thrown for four TDs and four picks in three games. Nobody is suggesting that Major is a hall-of-famer, but consider what Texas had at QB since its last legit title in 1969. He was the first to show up and really light a fire under the program since that time. And if you can't get excited about what he did in that Big XII title game after Simms pissed the game away with his bonehead interceptions, you're a corpse. He deserves every bit of his near-mythical status for helping revive a dormant program and helping it become what it is today. Again, nobody, and I'd be willing to bet just about anything on this, has said that he's the greatest ever, but he was a crucial part of a turning point in the program's history. He deserves tremendous credit as ONE of the greatest in Texas history. This is why we continue to talk about the guy.
-Eric
 

What revived the program was Ricky Williams and the arrival of Mack Brown. His immediate success in landing top-notch recruits and his ability to repair relationships within the state of Texas that Mackovic had burned is what brought Texas back from the dead.

I lived through the meager years. My brother was a walk-on during the McWilliams-to-Mackovic transition. And as I have watched Texas reclaim a position as a top 10 team, I have never even once considered that Major Applewhite had anything to do with that.

He was a good quarterback. Gutsy performance against Colorado. Great comeback against Washington after throwing three bonehead picks.

But, where was he against Nebraska in San Antonio? Couldn't move the team at all. Why couldn't he get the job done against lesser teams during the season?

He wasn't a crucial part of any program turnaround. Just a cog in the wheel. His timing just happened to be really good.