The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Bill Little commentary: Teamwork
11.05.2013 | Football, Bill Little Commentary
As the Longhorns rolled to their fifth straight victory, they would do it with contributions from all phases of the game.
We went all the way to the distinguished Harvard School of Business to determine what happened in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday, and this is what the esteemed professors J. R. Katzenbach and D. R. Smith had to say about it:
"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable."
The book, by the way, is entitled "The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High Performance Organization." There is probably a comparable one in the McCombs School of Business here at UT, but for the moment we will hang with the Bostonians.
Mack Brown and the Texas coaching staff are into the same kind of thing, and Saturday's latest example resulted in the sixth win of the season and a solid 35-13 victory over Kansas. And it was the classic definition of a team effort.
As the Longhorns rolled to their fifth straight victory to stretch their Big 12-leading record to 5-0 and their regular season record to 6-2, they would do it with contributions from all phases of the game.
The day, however, had begun with some trepidation from Brown. After emotional wins in a come-from-behind effort at Iowa State, followed by the stunning crushing of Oklahoma in Dallas and a rain-delayed triumph over TCU in Fort Worth, Saturday's meeting with a Kansas team that is hungry to break its losing streak in league play had all the appearances of a "trap" game.
The Longhorns of 2004 would end their season with a Rose Bowl victory over Michigan, but it would be Vince Young's famous "fourth and 18" run that would save the game at Kansas. Last season, Case McCoy came off the bench to lead UT to a win in the last 12 seconds against the Jayhawks.
So when McCoy and Chris Whaley exhorted their teammates to play well before the game in the locker room, most of the 97,000 or so fans who showed up on a brilliant Saturday afternoon figured this one was a game of going through the motions.
While Texas offense was still searching for consistency and the defense gave up a long pass just before halftime to set up a field goal, it was 14-3 at intermission.
In the locker room, Brown told his team, "Somebody has got to step up and make a play." And this time, it would be Chris Whaley and the defense who would do it.
It was almost two thirds of the way through the third quarter, and Kansas had notched a field goal on their opening drive of the half. After missing his first two punts in uncharacteristic fashion, Anthony Fera had gotten off a 46 yard punt with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter. The Jayhawks were trailing by only eight points, and when a Longhorn defender ran into the kick receiver, a 15-yard penalty appeared to swing momentum to Kansas.
But on the next play, Jackson Jeffcoat turned the quarterback into Cedric Reed, who knocked the ball loose as he tackled him. The ball bounced free, and on one hop, Chris Whaley picked it up and ran 40 yards for a touchdown that effectively put the game on ice.
The play ignited the Longhorns, who went on to dominate the rest of the game. In the fourth quarter, Texas rushed for almost 100 yards as running back Malcolm Brown finished the game with 119 yards on 20 carries and four touchdowns.
What was impressive about the game, and the point underscored by the definition of "team," was the number of players who stepped up with significant plays. You could pick a name, and at some point in the game, that particular player would have done something to make a difference.
The growth of the team over the past five games is also reflected in the work of the coaches. While Greg Robinson and the defensive staff have justifiably received a lot of credit, Major Applewhite and Darrell Wyatt and the offensive staff have also retooled an offensive attack completely.
What emerged Saturday was a strong showing on both sides of the ball, although the defense was more consistent than the offense.
It all broke open with Whaley's fumble return for a touchdown. It was the spark the team had been looking for. Where the Oklahoma game may have been highlighted by touchdown strikes from McCoy to Marcus Johnson and Mike Davis, and TCU was impressive because the Horns didn't show a letdown after OU, the Kansas game was the game where Brown anticipated a possible "trap."
Where there have been seasons where teams search for identities, this one for Texas is unique. On both sides of the ball, what was once…isn't. And what has evolved is impressive.
Now, Texas has four games left in the regular season. Call it "the final four," if you will. The upcoming trip to West Virginia explores new territory for any Texas team. But the one message this team seems to have gotten from all that has transpired is you truly do have to take one step at a time.
In so many ways, the season has turned from one where some media and fans had all but given up on this team to one of fun and excitement. And the reason it has worked? They never gave up on themselves.
There are so many story lines here that it is impossible to know which one to follow. It seems with each play or player, there is something special to tell.
Saturday was another installment in a play or a movie. It is like a musical arrangement, where soloists pop up at any time, and carry the piece for a while. You often have no idea from where or from whom it is coming, but it is there…it's really there.
What they have done, these Longhorns of 2013, is put fun back in the game. And wherever they are going or wherever they wind up, it is a pretty cool ride along the way. They are playing, most of all, for each other. And when you get that, here is what you have:
"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable."
And that's not a bad deal at all.
