Huskies must deal with the Major

  • John Sleeper / Herald Writer
  • Tuesday, December 25, 2001 9:00pm
  • Sports

By John Sleeper

Herald Writer

Major Applewhite says he has nothing to prove in his final game for the University of Texas – Friday’s Holiday Bowl against Washington.

Yet, in the same breath, the senior quarterback admits to great frustration at some aspects of what amounted to be a benching in favor of a hot, young recruit with an undeniable pedigree.

Nothing stirs up college football fans and media as much as a quarterback controversy. For nearly three years, Applewhite and junior Chris Simms have been in the eye of a Texas tornado.

Applewhite or Simms? Simms or Applewhite? It’s been a sizzling debate smack-dab in the storied backdrop of Texas football. And in football-mad Austin, it doesn’t get much bigger than that.

“When you feel you have something to prove is when you press too much and cause yourself to make mistakes,” Applewhite said. “There’s no point in it. I’m just going to be patient, keep my eyes open and try not to do anything too hastily.”

Applewhite refuses to acknowledge a rift between himself and Simms, son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms. Yes, Simms took over the position when Applewhite was recovering from his third knee surgery. Yet, read between the lines and Applewhite doesn’t believe he was given a fair shot last spring to win his job back.

“The coaches told me that there would be a competition during the spring,” Applewhite said. “They said it would be a competition. I was a little uncertain about that. I was strictly running with the second team and Chris was strictly running with the first team. I was a little confused about that. They said they were taking all of that into account, that they were doing it fairly. But they made a decision that they had to. We went 10-1, so it must have been a good decision for our football team.”

It didn’t make it any easier on Applewhite, given what he had meant to the program. He certainly must have wondered what more he could have done at Texas.

Among Applewhite’s 44 school records: 3,357 passing yards in 1999, 8,353 passing yards in his career, 8,059 career yards in total offense, 60 career touchdown passes and lowest percentage of passes intercepted (28 interceptions in 1,065 attempts, 2.6 percent).

He was named co-Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 1999, when he set a school-record with 3,357 passing yards for the season.

“It was extremely tough,” Applewhite said. “I wanted a chance to compete for the starting job. It didn’t seem like that was going to happen. I didn’t want it to happen that way, but I had to. But as time went on, the more I matured, the more I realized how much more important it was for our team to have success. It occurred to me to be more of a team player and see the overall picture and how it’s going to help me in my football and coaching career.”

No one connected with the Longhorns will say the controversy has been a distraction to the team, and it’s not difficult to support that argument. Texas is 10-2, ranked ninth in the country and came three points short of the possibility of playing Miami in the Rose Bowl, the site of this season’s Bowl Championship Series title game.

“We’ve talked about it for 14 years, and they’ve only been here three and four years,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “It’s been a subject that’s been discussed more than Darrell Royal here, and he won three national championships.”

Knowing full well what a quarterback controversy can potentially do to a team, Texas players are quick to downplay the Simms vs. Applewhite debate.

“I really don’t care who starts,” UT defensive end Cory Redding said.

The seeds of the controversy were planted the moment Applewhite injured his left knee in the 1999 Cotton Bowl and needed reconstructive surgery.

At the beginning of 2000, Applewhite and Simms split time at quarterback for the first six games, during which the Longhorns were 4-2. Applewhite was coming off surgery. Simms, then a promising, talented sophomore, was thought to have needed experience as Applewhite’s heir-apparent.

The decision was made that Simms would start and Applewhite would come off the bench.

It didn’t work.

“We weren’t moving the ball well,” Brown said. “We didn’t have any momentum as a team. We were 4-2 and playing very poorly. We had to make some change. So we came back and started Major and he played really well for the next three weeks. He gave us momentum back.”

Then Applewhite sprained his right knee against Texas Tech and missed the Longhorns’ last three games, including the 35-31 loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.

Simms took over. Texas scored 59 points against Kansas and 49 points against Texas A&M. He completed 17 of 33 passes for 245 yards and had a 4-yard TD run in the Holiday Bowl.

The next spring, Applewhite found himself the odd man out. This, he wondered, was a level playing field?

“We had a lot of momentum coming out of the Holiday Bowl, even though we lost the game,” Brown said. “We continued with Chris. Major came in some, but Chris played really well.”

Considering the results, it’s difficult to argue with Brown’s decision. With Simms as the starter, the Longhorns finished the regular season 10-1 – the lone loss was at Oklahoma, 14-3 – and found themselves in the Big 12 Conference title game against Colorado.

A win against the Buffaloes would put then-No. 3 Texas in great position for the Rose Bowl. The Longhorns simply had to beat a team they had thrashed 41-7 in the regular season and wait.

It was in that game that Applewhite finally got the opportunity he longed for.

Simms threw three interceptions and fumbled in the first half before he was yanked in favor of Applewhite. The Longhorns trailed 29-10 when Applewhite entered in the second quarter. He nearly brought Texas back, completing 15 of 25 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns, but Colorado held on for a 39-37 victory.

Soon after that game, Brown announced Applewhite would start against the Huskies.

“We just thought it would be fair for him,” Brown said. “Chris will be back next year. He will be our starting quarterback. Our focus was to take momentum into the Holiday Bowl and have a chance to win that game. That’s the reason we’ve made all the decisions we’ve made at quarterback since we’ve been here.

“Both are great young guys and I think probably the best two quarterbacks on any team in America.”

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