Austin, Texas – Stevie Ray Vaughn probably could have written a ballad about what will take place here Saturday night. Janis Joplin could have been shrieking something about her and Colt McCoy.
Austin, the greatest college town in America, takes a lot of pride in its music, its football, its partying. Now imagine it all converging on one historical night. In a town that started Vaughn and Joplin on their way to musical greatness, that turned college football players into household names, what could be the greatest game in the history of this town is only 24 hours away.
“I don’t believe we’ve had one with this big a buildup,” local icon Darrell Royal said Wednesday.
Think about that for a minute. Texas began playing football here in 1873. U.S. Grant was president and Colorado wouldn’t even be admitted as a state for three more years, the same year they patented something called the telephone.
Two world wars have passed. Texas has won four national championships and played host to every team from Notre Dame to USC to Penn State. But never has it hosted a game such as this – the second-ranked Longhorns (1-0), defending national champions, meeting top-ranked Ohio State (1-0) at 6 p.m. MDT.
Knute Rockne came here as a Notre Dame player in 1913, but that was before The Associated Press poll and only 7,000 attended the game. Notre Dame came here in 1996, but Texas was sixth and the Irish ninth.
Although it seems he may have met Grant and knew Rockne, Royal has been around since only 1957, when he began a 20-year coaching reign that included Texas’ first three national titles. Trust him when he starts talking Longhorns history.
“This is a huge game, it really is,” he said. “Ohio people are already here. It’s been quite a buildup. It’s one and two. There aren’t many of those.”
There have been none since 1996. One local guy sold four tickets for $1,500 each about as fast as Scholz Garten will sell four beers Saturday night. Scholz Garten is the oldest business in Texas. The beer hall three blocks from Memorial Stadium started in 1866.
Tavern owner Tom Davis is bracing for an invasion. Ohio State is bringing an estimated 30,000 fans to Austin. The school was allotted 5,000 tickets. You do the math.
“I know Darrell Royal, and I think he’s probably right,” said Davis, sitting in his spacious outdoor beer garden shaded by elm and pecan trees. “The rumors flying are amazing: that Scholz was rented out to Ohio State fans for alumni only. University of Colorado offered me $50,000 nine years ago and I remember saying to the guy on the phone, ‘Do you know where I live? Do you actually think I could do that? Are you crazy?”‘
His website, www.scholzgarten.net, is packed with Texas historical facts and has received so many hits this week he has had to pay an extra fee. Tailgaters started setting up around the corner Wednesday.
“I don’t think we’ve ever experienced anything like we will Saturday,” said Joe Reese, a supervisor of three Austin restaurants, including Scholz.
Now that’s saying something. Playboy recently christened Texas as the No. 1 party school in the country, which is only one reason why Austin is the best college town in America. Want another? Austin boasts 127 bands, and the Austin Chronicle lists 96 clubs with live music tonight.
But Texas fans want Ohio State visitors to hear another kind of music. Apparently when the Longhorns won in Columbus last year, 25-22, Ohio hospitality included reports of verbal abuse and shoving. In fact, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith had to apologize after he received about two dozen e-mails from angry Texas fans.
“People were saying it’s the worst they’ve ever been treated anywhere they’ve gone,” Reese said.
Well, gee, why didn’t they start this wonderful rivalry sooner? Basically, Texas never had room on its schedule. Until it joined the Big 12, its annual big nonconference game of the year came against Oklahoma in Dallas. That was enough.
However, ex-Texas coach John Mackovic had success against the Buckeyes while at Illinois and wanted them on future schedules. He got canned in 1997, leaving Brown with the two games.
And late Saturday night, as Lone Star beer pours right along with the tears, someone will be singing the blues.
Bush, Louisville futures?
Senior Michael Bush’s broken leg not only may have changed his own future but also that of the Bowl Championship Series. The team with the best shot at preventing No. 6 West Virginia from running the table and probably landing in the BCS title game just lost its potential All-American tailback.
Yes, Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm looked fully recovered from his torn ACL in Sunday’s 59-28 rout of Kentucky. But instead of Bush, Louisville will use sophomore George Stripling, who had 621 yards as Bush’s backup last year, and senior Kolby Smith, who has compiled 1,067 yards and 11 TDs as a career backup.
“They may not have the power Michael has,” Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said, “but not a lot of people do.”
Louisville could get Bush back next season. He has a redshirt season to take and could team again with Brohm, only a junior. Bush, considered a top 15 pick by most scouts, likely will drop to the middle to late second round if he comes out next spring.
The rise of 1-AA
Everyone knows the scholarship limitations to 85 created parity in Division I-A. Who knew it would trickle down to I-AA? Last week, Montana State beat Colorado, Richmond beat Duke and Portland State knocked off New Mexico. With strength of schedule taken out of the BCS formula, more teams are filling up the 12th spot on their schedules with I-AA teams.
However, they should do a little scouting first. The smaller schools’ success is in direct correlation to the upsurge in players transferring from I-A programs to I-AA, in which they don’t have to sit out a year. The best player at Folsom Field on Saturday was Montana State wide receiver Michael Jefferson, an Arizona transfer who had 10 catches for 87 yards.
Portland State linebacker Adam Hayward, the national I-AA defensive player of the week after his 11 tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble helped beat New Mexico, is a transfer from Colorado State.
Look for another possible notch on the I-AA belt Saturday. Texas State, which reached the I-AA semifinals last year, visits Kentucky.
Footnotes
Safety Josh Pinkard, USC’s most experienced defensive back, sustained a season-ending knee injury at Arkansas. True freshman Taylor Mays is the best bet to replace him….Isn’t there something inherently wrong with a system in which Notre Dame can win at Georgia Tech and fall two spots behind a Texas team that drubbed North Texas at home?…Ex-Broncos defensive coordinator Greg Robinson is struggling to find an offense in his second year at Syracuse. The Orange gained only 136 yards in 20-10 loss at Wake Forest.
John Henderson can be reached at 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
