I was there too. And closer than you. What do your seats have to do with Simoneau's easy interception return? We had just stopped Beasley on a 4th down play, regaining all the momentum, and Applewhite didn't see Mark on an easy slant and an easy pick return. The other 5 turnovers? Sure, blame the line. But that one sealed the game.
LonghornMM, I have to laugh. I saw MA in the '98 spring game. I was looking for someone to fill the leadership vacuum left by the departure of James Brown. The one guy I saw who seemed to have that "it" quality was Major, despite his size. I was probably the only guy in Austin who was happy when Walton came out of the UCLA game. As I recall, Major led us on two 4th quarter TD drives and never looked back. He was confident, polished, and prepared. He couldn't run for hell, but he sure knew how to take command of an offense. But yes, I bragged to people that whole '98 season about how I "called" my shot on Major.
On the field - 97 yrd. pass to Wayne; beating NU at home; 2nd half of the CU game. Off the field - spending 20 minutes with me after the torch light parade asking me what it was like being the UT mascot.
For the record, I'm a Major Applewhite guy. Always have been. But seeing these mentions of the 1998 game where he beat us in Lincoln has reopened some ugly wounds. Of all the losses we've suffered to Texas, that one hurt the most because the home winning streak was snapped that horrid Halloween night.
Shortly after his last play as a longhorn quarterback, he came to Houston on a speaking engagement. I heard him talk about his life and his personal beliefs. He is the real deal. He may be hard as a rock on the field but he is a very fine person off the field. I think that recruits and their families will recognize this. As a result, his recruiting value may be just as great as his coaching value. We are very lucky to have such a fine person on our coaching staff......
Big 12 CCG where he pointed at the Colorado bench after the TD. That's probably the first time anyone on that CU team had ever been intimidated by an Opie Taylor lookalike.
I saw him in the Vegas airport the March after he was done. We made eye contact and I gave him the hook em. He returned the hook em and the smile. No words needed to be spoken. He knew I appreciated what he'd done. Boom MFer and Applewhite are ******* allsome
Nunez TD in the Cotton Bowl in 1999 to end the 1st half vs OU. He then taunted the OU Rufneks and/or players. We started down 17-0 if memory serves and won the game in Stoops 1st year.
First memorable moment was the first play of Major's career...a long pass that was accurate but fell incomplete. It made a great impression on me that he showed no fear on that play. Then he led the team to two straight touchdowns afterward. Another great memory was in 1999 watching Major and Texas beat OU. After the game, his mother walked to the South gate with us and introduced us to Major. He was very nice and still upset about losing the KSU game the week before. In the B12 CG against CU, like others have mentioned, the TD pass to BJ was memorable. Almost as memorable... after Chris had the third turnover in that game, Major ran over to the booing crowd on the sideline to try to calm them down. Showed great class throughout his career and handled the quarterback controversy extremely well.
My favorite Major memory is watching him and my 12 year old son talking at a Longhorn summer football camp a couple of year ago. He was giving my son his complete attention, and had greatest expression on his face when my son showed him a picture of our 8 week old yellow lab and said, "I named my dog after you! Well, his whole name is Major's Forty Acres, but he's still named after YOU."
Great topic: I didn't read all the replys but mine happened after the pass against Nebraska. Major got knocked silly on the play. He celebrates and almost falls down. The next time you see him they are taking him to the locker room. As he gets to the end zone he refused to go any farther. The camera caught him saying, No I'm not going in...we are about to beat Nebrasak and I'm not going in. Loved the fact he wanted to be out there to soak up the victory and ending the winning streak.
Those Major moments are great, and I remember being at the UCLA game, and nothing was happening and we were getting hammered, and Walton goes down, a pretty depressing game. Major enters the fray, and we do a 180, and look pretty good for the remainder of the game. We all left with some optimism. But the "favorite Major memory" for me is not one of the great plays he executed, rather it is the overall impression he made from day one-the impression that he was born to be a coach, and that while his play exceeded his physical abilities, and was fun to watch, that one day we would be more impressed by Major's real calling, coaching. He was the proverbial coach on the field, and you could tell his real talent was in the film study, the game planning sessions, and the inevitable coaching career that would follow. I don't think anyone is surprised he has shot up the ranks of the coaching career ladder this quickly, and I am looking forward to seeing how far he goes, and will be especially happy if the top rung is reached right here in Austin.
Off the field: Walked alongside his dad into the stadium at Iowa State in '99. After the brief conversation with his dad, it was obvious Major had a great foundation.
My fave Major moment had been the 1998 Husker game when he began to celebrate his winning TD pass then dropped woozy from the hit he took. Tough nut, that Applewhite. BUT that changed after the summer of 2006 when I sent my middle son to the Rice football camp. He worships the Major and Applewhite taught the kid some QB tricks that impressed his high school coaches. Oh, and he was a terrific person as well.
1) The gritty performance vs NU in 98. 2) The comeback vs Washington in the Holiday bowl. 3a) The long TD vs OU. 3b) The long TD to McGarrity vs MSU in the 99 Cotton bowl. The Horns had a lot on the line in that game and that play really helped break things open. The win was very satisfying and bolstered the program in a big way. * The crook Sherril was vanquished. * Capped off Ricky's Heisman season. * Showed fans and recruits things were truly going to be different under Brown. Bowl wins were rare in the lean years preceding him and class quality leaped ahead after 98. * First time in nearly 20 years with wins over A&M, OU, and bowl victory in same season iirc. Great game and Major definately did his part. The program really lucked out that he turned out to be as good as he was. Who knows where we'd be now if he hadn't?
My top 3 but not in this order: 1. '98 Nebraska -rally to win - TD pass to McGarrity 2. '01 Big 12 Championship - rally & waving at CU bench to bring it on! 3. '01 Wash - Holiday Bowl rally - biggest comeback in UT history until '04
Man, I thought I was going to read through the whole thread without someone mentioning the moments after the winning TD pass at Nebraska in 98. After wobbling his way off the field and toward the locker rooms, he's down on a knee arguing with two trainers and says, "I'm not going in there (the locker room)," and then gesturing back to the field, "We're about to beat Nebraska." Awesome.
Horn89 - Don't mean to be argumentative, but the winning TD against Neb was the very first thing that I mentioned in starting the thread.
Major and VY are, in many ways, as different as two former UT QBs can be. They both, however, were winners here-- in the true sense of the word. Even though we lost the game, my single favorite Major moment was the long TD once he was in the CCG against CU. I just knew our captain was in charge and would get it done. That, I think, is what makes me like Major so much: he, like Vince, makes one BELIEVE. That is priceless.
