They’re Hooked on Rivalry

Back in the day, Arkansas and Texas played what was then considered the Game of the Century. President Nixon swooped in by helicopter to watch the Razorbacks and Longhorns decide which team was No. 1.

Sitting in the stands with the regular folks, Nixon braved a raw day in Fayetteville, Ark., to see the 1969 national championship decided in the Longhorns’ favor with a memorable 15-14 victory over the Razorbacks.

In time, Arkansas Coach Frank Broyles and Texas Coach Darrell Royal would become coaching legends, with history looking more favorably on them than “Tricky Dick” Nixon.

Proving nothing lasts forever, however, the Arkansas-Texas rivalry would be abandoned -- along with the once-mighty Southwest Conference -- in a wave of conference expansion. Arkansas, now of the Southeastern Conference, and Texas, now of the Big 12, last played a regular-season game in 1991.

When the schools met Saturday at Austin, Texas, to renew the rivalry, Broyles and Royal opened the festivities with a cordial pregame handshake at midfield.

Inspired by Coach Houston Nutt, an Arkansas native who is well versed in the history of the two schools, the fired-up but unranked Razorbacks upset the No. 6 Longhorns, 38-28, ending Texas’ 20-game home winning streak.

Nutt had a difficult time holding his emotions in check when Arkansas defeated Texas in the 2000 Cotton Bowl, celebrating by flashing an upside-down “Hook ‘em Horns” hand gesture to departing Longhorn fans at game’s end.

He would later apologize to Texas Coach Mack Brown, and did not repeat his actions Saturday. It was Brown who pressed for the rivalry to be renewed.

“It’s the greatest game there is in the world,” said Nutt, who was 0-2 against Texas while playing for Arkansas. “It’s a special feeling to beat Texas.”

Nutt is 2-0 as a coach against the Longhorns, better than Broyles’ mark of 5-14. Lou Holtz was 2-5 and Ken Hatfield 2-4 against Texas.

“It’s up there, way high,” Nutt said when asked where Saturday’s victory ranked among all his victories.

At least one of the Razorback players caught the spirit. De’Arrius Howard, a sophomore tailback, proudly waved an Arkansas flag in front of a small group of Hog fans.

Then, and somewhat less tastefully, Howard ran to the end zone and plucked some orange-painted grass and playfully tossed it aside.

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Upsets, Upsets, Upsets

There was more than just Arkansas’ upset of Texas as ranked and favored teams fell around the country.

Nevada Las Vegas took down No. 14 Wisconsin after running back Anthony Davis sprained his left ankle in the first quarter.

Safety Jamaal Brimmer returned a fumble for a touchdown, set up two others with interceptions, added two sacks among his 11 tackles and had Rebel Coach John Robinson hitting the hyperbole switch during his postgame news conference.

“Ronnie Lott had those same kind of instincts,” said Robinson, who coached the former NFL standout at USC. “He [Brimmer] has a sense of the game. He is a wonderful player. He is one of the most instinctive players I have ever coached.”

And there was more.

Washington State rebounded strongly after squandering a big second-half lead against Notre Dame last week to pummel No. 17 Colorado at Boulder (See next item for more on the Buffaloes’ woes).

Cincinnati, which always seems to give better teams trouble but seldom pulls out a significant victory (see: Ohio State, 2002), did so in upending West Virginia. Neither team was ranked, but the Mountaineers were a touchdown favorite.

Purdue held off Wake Forest, which ordinarily wouldn’t raise an eyebrow, but the Deacons looked positively demonic after upsetting North Carolina State last week to improve to 2-0.

Louisiana Tech rallied to defeat Michigan State in a battle of unranked teams, which prompted the quote of the day.

Said dispirited Spartan guard Paul Harker: “We totally gave it away. We didn’t just shoot ourselves in the foot. We took a bazooka and blew the whole thing off.”

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Illegal Downloading Penalty

Imagine Colorado defensive end Matt McChesney’s surprise when his name appeared on a list of more than 250 others in connection with federal lawsuits filed by the music industry against illegal Internet downloaders.

“Oh, man, are you serious?” McChesney said when informed he was on the list. McChesney reportedly has declined further interview requests on the subject, including one from Rolling Stone magazine.

“We’ll advise Matt to get some legal help and see what happens,” Colorado Coach Gary Barnett said.

When asked if he had now seen it all as a college coach, Barnett said, “I’m not saying that. It’s one I haven’t seen before, but there will be others. It’s just another new page that goes into my players’ manual, I know that. Every year there’s something.”

Offensive tackle Sam Wilder spoke up for his teammate.

“Free McChesney,” Wilder said. “That’s all I’ve got to say.”

Judging by their 47-26 loss to Washington State, the Buffaloes’ karma is shot thanks to McChesney’s troubles. Either that or Colorado couldn’t overcome the loss of starting quarterback Joel Klatt, who injured his shoulder in the third quarter.

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Talk About Trading Spaces

Oregon took a beating after displaying its new ugly-duckling yellow uniforms in a season-opening victory over Mississippi State.

Then came news that Oregon had spent $3.2 million during the off-season to upgrade the locker room used to store those hideous uniforms.

Designed by the man who crafted the last 10 Nike Town outlets (you knew there had to be a Nike tie-in, didn’t you?), the Ducks’ new two-level locker room features three plasma screen TVs worth $15,000 apiece.

The lockers have personal ventilation systems, outlets for video games and the Internet and are protected by a security system activated by a code that includes a player’s uniform number and a thumbprint scan.

“The University of Oregon’s academic quality is declining due to chronic underfunding while athletics revels in ultra luxury,” a professor wrote in a letter to the Eugene Register-Guard. “Faculty share tiny offices while athletes get widescreen TVs and personal ventilation systems.”

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A Corny Story in Iowa

In celebration of the Iowa-Iowa State game, two inspired (or were they simply bored?) farmers hacked out a maze in the form of the mascots from each school.

In all, the maze covers 17 acres of farmland and, according to the Ames Tribune, takes the average person roughly 90 minutes to complete the three miles of paths.

“It’s been hot, so sometimes we go out and check on people who’ve been there a while,” said Debra Kearney, who “built” the maze with her husband, Joe, on their land just east of Ames, home of the Iowa State Cyclones.

In the end, unranked Iowa State played as if caught in a maze, losing to No. 23 Iowa, 40-21, for the first time in six seasons. The Hawkeyes happily paraded the Cy-Hawk trophy around the field at game’s end.

No word on whether the losers would be banished to the cornfield.

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Mizzou Football Honors ...

At halftime of its 37-0 victory over Eastern Illinois, Missouri retired the jersey of Brock Olivo, the school’s all-time rushing leader with 3,026 yards.

Full marks to anyone who knows that Olivo’s jersey number was 27. Family and former teammates excluded.

Then again, because its victory over Eastern Illinois gave Missouri its first 3-0 start to a season since 1981, full marks to anyone who recognized Olivo’s name.

Again, family and teammates excluded from the competition.