What are the most surreal moments in Texas football history?
On Monday, Inside Texas user jcdenton45 asked a great question that spurred a lot of discussion: What are the most surreal moments in UT football history? Not necessarily good or bad, just bizarre things/moments that you can’t help but look back on now and wonder if it actually happened or if it was some kind of dream/hallucination.
jcdenton45 brought it with his list of oddities, as did other members on the Inside Texas Members Only board.
jcdenton45
- Quan Cosby watching the NFL Draft with Bill Cosby
- The dipshits at UH deciding to use air raid sirens after every UH score in our first game after 9/11
- Sam Ehlinger/Shane Buechele facing off in the most idiotic Oklahoma drill of all time, courtesy of Tom Herman
- Inexplicably losing to Stanford in 2000 just one year after annihilating them 69-17, which led to one UT fan screaming profanity and ripping his UT shirt into shreds right in front of Quentin Tarantino
- Ivan Williams going off for 111 yards receiving on 6 catches against Nebraska 2002… as a fullback (to put that into perspective, I would be surprised if the rest of the entire Greg Davis era had 111 yards total from FB’s)
- Michael Bennett not getting called for a helmet-to-helmet late-hit on Colt McCoy which was so egregious, it was later used in NCAA training videos as THE textbook example of targeting (or whatever it was called back then)
- The worst team of the Mack era upsetting Top 5 Nebraska in 2010 despite our QB going 4-for-16 for 62 yards. Even more surreal that it would later become immortalized in Better Call Saul
- Getting blown out by UCLA that same season despite their QB going 5-8 for 27 yards
- Getting blown out by Kansas State that same season despite their QB going 2-4 for 9 yards
- That we had Case McCoy throwing to Jaxon Shipley
- Aaron Humphrey intercepting three passes in one game (and zero for the rest of his career) as an MLB. To put that into perspective, it would take another ~20 years for all subsequent Texas MLB’s to collectively record another three INT’s.
- Tony Holmes returning TWO two-point conversion attempts ~100 yards in one game (which no other Longhorn had ever done once)
- The fact that we had a streak of games from 1978 to 2001 without scoring a touchdown on a kickoff
- The fact that we had a streak from 1996-2013 without a single game going to OT (and then, this past season, back-to-back OT games, which could have been three straight if Vanderbilt had recovered the onside kick)
- Our RB1/RB2 combining for three total rushing TD’s in 2025
- Defeating Kentucky despite a 26-8 first down differential and 395-179 yardage differential
- Ron McKelvey
TexasHomer
- Bijan literally bending in half vs Tech and then just walking it off haha
dick fingers
- We once kicked off at both halves in a game. That was sweet.
- We once had 3 PATs blocked in a game. Also sweet
TheGhostofJamail
- For me it was giving up 600 rushing yards to BYU, a literally unbelievable statistic. The idea of allowing 3 200 yard rushers in the same game breaks my brain.
Valley Hombre
- Easy choice for me: The 2009 Big 12 Championship almost catastrophic clock blunder. The only big win that actually felt kinda like a loss in the immediate aftermath. That’s still a WTF was that?!?
bigger_in_texas35
- When we lost to Cal my first game as a freshman because we missed an extra point with a second to go
- Kicking off both halves vs UCLA
- Herman trying to fight Mike Gundy
- A&M reaching a natty for the first time in our lifetime and then us stealing their coach the day after
Hookah Horns
- Mack’s step son touching a live ball during a game.
- President of the university flying to Tulsa to reassure a CUSA OC candidate.
- Herman mocking the opposing QB’s (Drew Lock)’s “bag” gesture. Remains the only time I’ve seen a HC mock an opposing player.
beetlefish75443
- The Dickson MVP Texas Bowl was a thing of beauty. Never been so hyped for punting
- Honorable mention to the 2020 Tech game where we came back from a 0.1% win probability
arrowden
- Tony Jones last second catch against Arky.
30 straight
- Throwing four interceptions, all for UH touchdowns, three in the fourth quarter, in a 40-60 loss at Houston in 1987.
RT Young
- Getting a member of the Manning family was pretty surreal for me
MikeHdez12
- This may not be very surreal but I find it funny when we used to play on weird channels. Vince playing on TBS, Colt had some games on Versus, that kind of thing.
Jonathan Wells
- The Jack Crain touchdown to beat Arkansas in 1939 is up there. Texas trailed 13-6 with 30 seconds left, had the ball at their own 33-yard line, and the offense had done precisely zilch up to that point. Fans were already heading for the exits anticipating a loss, when wingback Jack Crain took a short pass from halfback R.B. Patrick and eluded the entire Razorback defense for a 67-yard touchdown to tie the score. Texas made the PAT to take the lead and pull out one of the most improbable victories the team ever experienced.
THurt512
- Waking up the next day to find out we had burned Tyrone Swoopes’ redshirt at like 2 AM following a lengthy weather delay at TCU.
EvanPotter7
- Also, the Poona Ford defensive holding call in 2015 against Ok St where he had his back to the two offensive lineman holding him
LexusTexas
Pearland Horn
- D’onta Foreman having the second greatest rushing season in Longhorn history is pretty surreal. The guy averaged over 6.4 a carry for his career.
BenVorce5
- Texas had never allowed a punt, kickoff, and interception return for a touchdown in the same season… until they happened in the same game, a 41-21 loss to Kansas State in 2007.
Bobby_Batronic
- Major takes a knee on a two point conversion to preserve the score at 44 during the Cole Pittman memorial game.
- B-1 full afterburner flyover breaks Adzillatron.
- Jetpack guy and gorillas selling hamburgers.
- Colt knocked out of the national title game on the first drive on a called QB keeper.
- Wishbone formation, halfback toss, throwback pass to long completion out of our endzone after DKR died.
- DKR going wild to Jump Around against WVU only to have Geno Smith deliver another dagger.
- The entire 2016 Notre Dame game.
There’s plenty more over on the Inside Texas Members Only board. Go join the discussion and add your memories to the list!
