A tragic day comes: Texas-to-the-SEC ends one of the Big 12’s all-time great rivalries
Grab the Kleenex. Pop a bottle of the good stuff. Take lots of pictures.
The day we all feared, and prayed that would not arrive, has arrived.
After Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, one of college football’s most storied rivalries is over.
After Saturday, Sept. 30, Kansas will no longer play Texas in football. Not unless it’s a bowl, the playoffs, or the national title game.
The following doesn’t seem possible, but is accurate: At 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, No. 24 Kansas (4-0) will play at No. 3 Texas (4-0).
We took this series for granted, and now it’s gone. Do you realize that in four of the last six meetings between these titans, the margin of victory has been 3, 7, 2, 1?
“I grew up a huge college football fan in general, and my first memory as a cognitive human being was in 2005, and that was the year Texas beat USC in the title game,” former Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Carter Stanley said in a phone interview this week. He played at KU from 2016 to ‘19.
“When we went into those games against Texas it was special, because I think the majority of my time at Kansas, about one-third of the roster was from Texas,” he said. “It was our chance to see how we could do against one of the biggest brands in college football.”
About that ...
The beautiful history of Kansas and Texas football
Since the Big 12 formed in 1996, the Jayhawks and Longhorns have played 20 times. Twenty classics.
Twenty docudramas played out on a gridiron at two of college football’s most revered tourist destinations: Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, and Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.
In those 20 games, Texas won 18 times.
In those 20 games, Texas out-scored Kansas 801-353.
In those 20 games, Texas scored 50 points eight times.
In those 20 games, Texas has three shutouts.
In this Iron Bowl-style rivalry without the cute name one must look past those numbers to see the beauty of this annual beating.
Specifically, focus on two. From 2016 to 2021, Kansas won four Big 12 games. Two were against Texas.
Those two left a mark in the respective histories of two states, and the entire sport. Outcomes where those who had no interest even asked in equal disbelief, “Texas lost to Kansas?!” and, “Kansas beat Texas?!”
Yes. In football.
The Kansas Two
In 2004, Kansas led Vince Young and Texas 23-13 with six minutes remaining in Lawrence. With 1:53 remaining, No. 6 Texas faced a 4th-and-18 from its 44. A stop would effectively end the game.
VY ran for 23 yards, and Texas won, 27-23, in a season where the Longhorns finished 11-1, including a 1-point win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
The KU-UT game featured a controversial offensive pass-interference call on Kansas, which prompted then KU coach Mark Mangino to rant afterwards, “You know what this is all about, don’t you? BCS. That’s what made a difference today in the game. That’s what made the difference in a call in front of their bench. Dollar signs.”
In 2012, Kansas led UT 17-14 with two minutes to play before UT quarterback Case McCoy led the Longhorns to a game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds remaining.
In 2016, Miracle I.
“In practice that week, coach David Beaty asked how many of us were from Texas,” Stanley said. “A third of the guys raised their hands. Then he asked how many received offers from Texas. One guy raised his hand.”
The 1-9 Jayhawks upset-shocked-stunned Texas 24-21 in overtime. Texas turned the ball over six times, and the loss effectively ended coach Charlie Strong’s three-year tenure in Austin.
“I had a fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter that people remember me for, and the funny part is I was in the wrong place when I did it,” said former Kansas linebacker Keith Loneker Jr. said in a phone interview. “If you remember, Texas scored on the first play of the game, and that’s a gut punch.
“I would be lying if I said you don’t have those, ‘Here we go again moments.’ Because those are real, but they didn’t happen that game.”
After the game-winning field goal in overtime, the Kansas fans “stormed” the field, which, considering the size of the crowd, looked more like a nice rain shower.
Even though Texas was 5-5 coming into that game, a Jayhawk beating a Longhorn in football was not supposed to happen. It had not happened since 1938.
“It didn’t even feel real when that ball went through the uprights to win it,” Stanley said. “It was so intense to that point. It’s undescribable what we felt as a team to win that game. It was unbelievable to see the looks on everyone’s faces. The seniors. The freshman walk-ons. The water girls. The fans. Everyone.”
Three years later, in 2019, Stanley led Kansas to a 48-47 lead with 1:11 remaining in the game in Austin. No. 15 Texas won on a walk-off field goal.
In 2021, Miracle II.
Kansas led Texas 35-14 at the half, and had to rally to force overtime. Surely KU would blow this.
Texas easily scored a TD to open overtime, followed by a Kansas touchdown. Sensing he had one, last good shot to win a game he should not, first-year KU coach Lance Leipold opted to try for two.
Quarterback Jalon Daniels found fullback Jared Casey for a 2-point conversion pass for a 57-56 win.
“We were sitting in the front row behind the Texas bench and we could not believe it,” Stanley said.
Who could?
After Saturday, this magic stops.
The history of the Big 12 reads that Texas lost to Kansas but twice.
No one who watched, played, coached, or attended those games will ever forget either, which made for one helluva rivalry.
This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 12:00 AM.
