Clan-Members » olling toward at Pac-10 title. The Hus

HOUSTON, ARLINGTON and AUSTIN, Texas -- His entire team had already trickled into the locker room, but Texas coach Charlie Strong lingered on the field at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sunday, stopping for extra photos, hugs and handshakes as fans in each end zone chanted, Char-lie! Char-lie! Char-lie!Linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary ran toward him, giving him the signal to wrap it up.Man, youre the last one at the party! he yelled. Lets go!Texas hasnt partied like this in years.We needed tonight to get this program back in the spotlight, and this is a big win for us to get the program headed back, Strong said after an instant-classic, 50-47 double-overtime win against Notre Dame. I know one game does not make a season. We have many more to go, but this is a great start for us, a record crowd.Our fans really needed that. Weve been down for so long and people have been talking about us. It was a night for us to just make it right. At least for one game, for one game.It was an epic culmination to a Texas-sized tripleheader that featured Houston-Oklahoma, USC-Alabama and Notre Dame-Texas. Those three games revealed the juxtaposition of college footballs newest contenders in the College Football Playoff conversation -- the Cougars and Longhorns -- and its mainstay, the Crimson Tide.In a whirlwind tour of three games in two days in one state, it became clear that Alabama is still No. 1; Houston is to be taken seriously until it loses; and Texas has the potential to be a dark horse under the two-quarterback system of 18-year-old phenom?Shane Buechele?and senior battering ram Tyrone Swoopes.We know how to win, Buechele said.Texas won in the most entertaining fashion, but it was Houstons shocking 33-23 upset of No. 3 Oklahoma that resonated most in the premature playoff picture.Houston freshman defensive tackle Ed Oliver, the No. 4 recruit in the country last year, bounced through a swarm of his celebrating teammates on Saturday evening, soaring from the Cougars shocking upset of the Big 12s front-runner.I knew I made the right choice when I committed here, Oliver shouted to nobody in particular as he disappeared into the red-clad celebration at NRG Stadium.Houston seems to be winning everyone over lately.Oliver and the Cougars, though, are like the freshmen in the fraternity -- theyve pledged, but havent exactly been initiated into the exclusive CFP house. A few hours after Houstons win and about 270 miles away, Alabama reminded us who has lasted the longest in a sport steeped in tradition.Were still rollin, center Bradley Bozeman said after his teams 52-6 dismantling of USC in Arlington. Were still trying to hold up to the Alabama name.This weekend in Texas was tangible proof that college football isnt just alive again; it was inhaled with every grill that was fired up, and consumed with every beer, brat and burger in sight. Fans have been thirsty for these high-risk, high-reward marquee matchups, and Week 1 delivered, thanks in large part to the emphasis placed on strength of schedule by the CFP selection committee.The beauty of these games is that nobody was eliminated. Notre Dame is not doomed if it wins out. USC certainly wont be penalized for losing to the defending national champs if it goes on to win the Pac-12. And OU still has Ohio State and Big 12 play on tap -- but it certainly cant afford to lose to Texas again.Each game was significant to the CFP race, and it felt like all signs in the state of Texas pointed to the biggest opening weekend in the history of college football.At Hobby International Airport in Houston, there was a vibrant Welcome Sooners sign on a flat-screen TV on the way to baggage claim that had the O and U in red in the word Houston. On Highway 35 East en route to Arlington, a billboard proclaimed, Roll Dallas! Proud home of Bama students, fans and alums. A few miles later there was another sign, reminding commuters Notre Dame vs. Texas tomorrow.Who knew it would be the kind of thriller well be talking about for tomorrows to come?It was a fitting end to a Week 1 party that stretched across the state, linked together by a fondness for cowboy boots and hats, folding tables and chairs, tents and tailgates.On a plane from Dallas to Austin, a flight attendant said, Go Longhorns!Boo! yelled some Notre Dame fans, waking up some USC fans who were sleeping off the previous evenings nightmare.What made the entire scene so unique, though, was the combination of college footballs most storied programs (Texas, Notre Dame, Alabama, USC and Oklahoma) joined by rising star Houston.Oliver, the big-time, baby-faced five-star recruit, had seven tackles and two sacks in his first collegiate start -- a statement win that legitimized the Group of 5 programs playoff hopes.Wait, the Group of 5?It has nothing to do with where theyre playing at, said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. The bottom line is theyve got a really good football team.The question is whether they can sustain it.Last year, Houston was 10-0 before it was derailed by an unexpected 20-17 loss at unranked UConn. At 12-1 it was still the selection committees highest-ranked team from the Group of 5, guaranteeing Houston a spot in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, where it beat No. 9 Florida State, 38-24. That game flipped the switch on the expectations for this fall, but it wasnt until Houstons performance against OU that they were validated.We all believed we could do it, said Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. We shocked the nation.With Saturdays win over Oklahoma, Houston defeated back-to-back top-10 teams for the first time. The Sooners were left sulking, but hardly as embarrassed as USC. It was the Trojans worst opening loss of the season. Alabama, meanwhile, was having fun and dancing in the locker room.Its a whole different team than last season, said Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. We had a lot of people leave and we have a lot of experience at the same time, but I think the way we play, its a new identity. Were trying to establish a new identity every game that we play.Texas has also been searching for a new identity, and it found it with Buechele and first-year offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert.It feels different because we know that we put it all out there, said receiver John Burt. ... The team last year wouldnt have done that. This is a different team. This is a better team.Linebacker Malik Jefferson described the feeling on the field after the game as a deep breath, a relief.All of the pressures off, he said. Now we just go play Texas football like its always been.Well, not always.Texas and Strong have been desperate for a signature win, and this was the kind that could get the Longhorns into the real party at the end of the season. 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According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. For all the fond memories of yesteryear, the final season when ties were allowed in college football -- 1995 -- was a reminder of why they went away.The ties that season included a Pac-10 game that ended up deciding who went to the Rose Bowl; an ugly 3-3 snoozefest between Big Ten foes that was the final Division I game to finish tied; and a lower-level national title game that finished with co-champions and is believed to be the final college game to end deadlocked.Its the worst. Its the worst. Its like, `Why did we even play, is what you are thinking, said Darrell Bevell, current Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator and Wisconsin starting quarterback in 1995.Heres a look at three memorable ties from the final season before they were vanquished for good by a rules change that now provides both teams with chances to win in overtime:- Dec. 16, 1995. Central Washington 21, Findlay 21, NAIA Division II championship gameIts inconceivable that a championship game could finish in a deadlock. But thats what happened in the NAIA championship game.It was frustrating on both sides, said then-Central Washington coach Jeff Zenisek, now a high school coach about an hour southeast of Seattle. It was like, `Its not supposed to end like this. It just felt like, `Lets go out into the parking lot and finish this thing.The teams were aware the game could finish tied and in reality likely should have been decided in regulation. Down 14-0, Central Washington rallied behind quarterback Jon Kitna. His 7-yard touchdown pass to Todd Murray early in the fourth quarter pulled the Wildcats even at 21-21. But Central Washington missed a pair of field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, the last coming with 6 seconds left. Findlay took a knee on the final play rather than make a final desperation effort to provide a winner.We realized it but you really dont. The adrenaline is going and its like an automatic, `Lets get ready for overtime. And then all of a sudden it was like, `Oh, this is it, its over, Zenisek said. It was kind of a shock to both teams.Despite the unsatisfying result, the game was the catalyst for Kitnas lengthy NFL career. Then-Seattle Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson was in attendance at the title game to watch his nephew who played for Central Washington. Kitna was later signedd by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent and eventually stuck around the NFL for parts of 14 seasons.dddddddddddd- Nov. 25, 1995. Wisconsin 3, Illinois 3.The final Division I game to finish tied is a painful memory for Bevell. Not so much for the result.It was the last game of my career and I ended up in the hospital with lacerated kidney, Bevell said.Bevell was injured late in the first half, sandwiched by Illinois Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy. He was thought to have bruised ribs and remained in the game. Bevell remembered aggravating the injury in the second half getting pulled down from behind. Unable to continue, Bevell left the game with 3 minutes remaining and the Badgers facing a third down. The Badgers fumbled on the next play and Illinois missed a long field goal in the final minute.Once Bevell reached the locker room his condition was deemed more serious and was taken to a hospital where he was place in the intensive care unit. It wasnt until he was visited by coach Barry Alvarez that he found out the game finished 3-3, the second tie of the season for Wisconsin.I thought we were going to win if we could have gotten one more first down, Bevell said.- Oct. 28, 1995. Washington 21, USC 21.Washington was rolling toward at Pac-10 title. The Huskies were leading USC 21-0 headed to the fourth quarter and about to take complete control of the race for the Rose Bowl.USC rallied with three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes, capped by Brad Ottons 2-yard TD pass to Jimmy Williams with 33 seconds left. Because USC had a better non-conference record than Washington, the Trojans knew a tie was to their benefit and didnt even think about going for the 2-point conversion.There were still three conference games left for both teams, but Washington lost the following week to Oregon -- meaning when USC later lost to UCLA, the Trojans were still Rose Bowl bound.I remember getting booed out of the stadium. ... It was an awful feeling after that game, then Washington QB Damon Huard said. I had never tied before and looking back now it was one of the worst moments of my career in so many ways because we missed the opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl. ' ' '