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Jan 2, 2009 6:21 pm US/Central
Dropped Ball Changed Longhorns' Season
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Quarterback Colt McCoy #12 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates a 45-35 win against the Oklahoma Sooners during the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 11, 2008, in Dallas, Texas.
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Texas freshman safety Blake Gideon dropped the ball -- literally -- and Texas' undefeated season tumbled away with it.
Sure, he'd like another crack at the interception that slipped through his fingers the play before Texas Tech beat the Longhorns with arguably the biggest touchdown of the college football season.
But he won't get it. And life goes on.
"As a defensive back you're going to make some plays and you're not going to make some," Gideon said. "You have to have a short memory. All the coaches and my teammates were very supportive."
Gideon talked about the drop on Friday as the third-ranked Longhorns (11-1) prepare to play No. 10 Ohio State (10-2) in the Fiesta Bowl. He left no hint that he's been wallowing in the misery of "what if?"
Oh, but how different things might be for Texas had he just hung on.
Catch that pass and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell never has a chance to fire the TD pass to Michael Crabtree to beat Texas 39-33 with 1 second left on Nov. 1.
Make the interception and it's Texas in the Big 12 championship game and not Oklahoma to play a Missouri team Texas had already pounded 56-31.
Make the catch and Texas is most likely on the sunny beaches of South Florida, not in the desert sands of Arizona, getting ready to play for the Bowl Championship Series title.
Everything was so chaotic during that final drive. When Harrell flipped the ball and when it smacked Gideon in the chest, it appeared Texas was going to escape with the win. Then the ball hit the turf. Seconds later, Crabtree scored and thousands of Red Raiders fans poured onto the field.
Gideon took the questions in stride, even laughing when asked if Texas fans, who can post hurtful comments on Internet message boards or make snarky remarks in class, gave him a hard time.
He said he heard a few barbs, although they must not have been that bad considering he couldn't remember any specifics.
"Hey, I've been a fan," he said. "I can remember what that's like."
Gideon knew he'd be on the hot seat when the season started. A true freshman, he was a surprise starter in the first game and held the spot all season, partnering with redshirt freshman Earl Thomas at the other safety spot.
In a way, Thomas had it worse at Texas Tech. He and cornerback Curtis Brown are the Longhorns who will be forever immortalized in the highlight clip as the defenders flailing and failing to stop Crabtree from getting into the end zone.
"That one catch, you won't see another one for 10 years," senior defensive end Brian Orakpo said.
"I pulled together the secondary right after the game and said, 'Ya'll don't worry about it,"' Orakpo said. "A couple days later we were joking about it. What helped is the older guys were not blaming anybody."
Gideon said he appreciated that his teammates were so supportive. He also said he didn't spend any time feeling sorry for himself.
"It would be very selfish for me to spend any time thinking about myself and whether my feelings were hurt or not," Gideon said. "That was a big game and a big stage, and I'll be ready for it the next time it comes around."
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