A game for the ages

It was a beautiful Fall Saturday in Texas and the big day had finally arrived. A clash of the Texas titans...of sorts, and bragging rights were on the line.

One team sporting the most impressive offense in the country and thrashing everything in their path. Their newfangled offense had embarrassed defenses in route to an undefeated record. The key to their success...passing on almost every down, and running up the score in the process. Scoring an average of 59 points a game had their fans going crazy.

On the other side of the ledger, you had another great Texas team with similar success, but with a totally different mentality. Their squad was built on defense, grunt work, and smash mouth football. They too had dismantled opponents but with a different claim to fame...DEFENSE. Only one team had managed to score more than 20 points on them. Most teams simply could do nothing against this defensive powerhouse.

So the stage was set...offense vs. defense, finesse vs power...pick your cliche'! A classic matchup of the unstoppable passing game vs. the defense that could not be penetrated.

Sound familiar?

Well, it was actually 1989. The Houston Cougars were grabbing headlines and national attention with their run n shoot offense. As they rolled into college station that weekend, everyone was excited to see how they would fare against the vaunted "Wrecking Crew" Defense.

Well, it was a close game, but in the end, the newfangled Run n shoot had finally met it's match. When the game was over, the Cougar offense had only collected 13 points in a loss to the Aggies. Houston fans were baffled when they simply couldn't move the ball like they had in weeks past. The power of a skilled defense had simply taken it's toll on the finesse oriented Cougars.

History has a tendency to repeat itself. Good Luck RedFaders against the Horns tomorrow.