Football | 11/13/2015 11:30:00 AM
Oral History Parts 1 & 2
Oral History Parts 3 & 4
Oral History Parts 5 & 6
2005 Oral History Part VII: An Abrupt End To A Historic Season After the win over Georgia Southern in the first round of the I-AA playoffs, the Bobcats drew a familiar opponent in the quarterfinal round: Cal Poly. Texas State had just played the Mustangs the year before, suffering a 38-21 loss in San Luis Obispo.
"I remember going (there) the year before and getting yelled at by Coach Bailiff because I was making fun of the stands and the press box which was an open air press box. I had joked to (offensive line) Coach Blake Miller that he could just yell the plays from the press box. Everybody chuckled but Bailiff chewed my a** out. And sure enough, they proceeded to beat the s*** out of us that night."
- Randy Moshier
The Mustangs strode into San Marcos a confident bunch after doing something not many I-AA teams before them could say: beating Montana. In Missoula. In the playoffs. After defeating the Grizzlies 35-21, Cal Poly, led by future NFL linebacker Chris Gocong, had every reason to feel confident against the Bobcats.
"They played him (Gocong) everywhere and they ran this crazy option offense. But our staff came up with some great schemes (to defend it) and I thought our offensive line did a great job in containing Gocong."
- David Bailiff
The crowd for the playoff game against Cal Poly was 15,411, topping the total from the regular season finale versus Sam Houston State and at the time it was the 3
rd largest crowd in Bobcat Stadium history. While fans who came to watch Texas State beat Georgia Southern the game before witnessed a shootout, the second round game against Cal Poly was anything but. The Bobcats gritted out a 14-7 win over the Mustangs, but if there were ever a dominant effort put forth in a game in which the Bobcats scored just 14 points, the playoff game against Cal Poly was it.
"They couldn't do anything against us and I felt that as the playoffs went on we just got stronger and stronger and stronger and built up more momentum as a defense."
- David Simmons
"It was a tight game the whole way, but on the sideline, you got the feeling from our players that we were going to win the game."
- Travis Bush
"That was a bare knuckles fist fight. It reminded me of the way football played in the 60s and 70s. Some people may disagree with me, but that game, because of our defense, I never felt like Cal Poly was going to win."
- Bill Culhane
"I remember us standing right across from them and knocking the hell out of them. But they were returning as good as they got (from us). It was a great battle but I never once thought that we were going to lose that game."
- Randy Moshier
Texas State outgained Cal Poly in total yards by a margin of 467 to 263 and the Bobcats held the ball for nearly 40 minutes. The Bobcats had 32 first downs compared to just 15 for the Mustangs but a pair of interceptions thrown by Nealy and two missed field goals kept Cal Poly in the game. Texas State finally put the game away with a time-killing drive, eating up the final 4:06 of the 4
th quarter with a 10-play, 44-yard drive.
"Very tough opponent. Very big, very physical. I remember a de-cleating block I put on a safety to allow Barrick to walk into the end zone for one of our touchdowns. The announcer highlighted it with the white circle. The coaches showed it during our team meeting. (That) was cool."
- Dameon Williams
Earlier in the day, Northern Iowa had upset the No. 1 seed New Hampshire, 24-21, which meant Texas State got to host its semifinal game which was welcomed news for two reasons. The first being the obvious advantage of playing at home and the second simply not traveling to New Hampshire in December. New Hampshire experienced a snowstorm on the date of the I-AA Semifinals (December 9) and received over 10 inches of snow. The game time temperature in San Marcos that day was a (comparatively) balmy 43 degrees.
"I personally didn't really care, we would play against anyone they put in front of us."
- Nate Langford
"It didn't really matter (not having to play New Hampshire). We knew anyone at that point was really good. It was nice to play at home though."
- Travis Bush
"The thought of traveling halfway across the country and then some to the northeast in early December couldn't have been appealing to our football team."
- Bill Culhane
Not only did the Bobcats get to keep their winter clothes in the closet, they didn't have to bother packing a suitcase at all. Texas State would be at home for the fourth straight week and play in front of a fan base that was quickly gaining steam.
"The buzz around the city and campus was crazy. Everyone knew who we were and we felt like we were on top of the world."
- Thomas Kereztury
"People knew who you were, and were talking to you out of nowhere. I got on the tram one day and the bus driver knew my name and started talking to me about the game. It was insane but it was a cool feeling at the same time."
- Dameon Williams
"It felt like the whole city was behind us."
- Morris Crosby
"You felt like a celebrity. You would go to class and people are clapping, teachers are congratulating you…it was a really special week and I'm really glad I was able to be a part of it."
- David Simmons
"It's kind of blasé now but when I would pull up to Bobcat Stadium and see the ESPN trucks out there, that was 'pinch me' kind of stuff. And there was so much buzz and so much excitement that the team had advanced to the National Semifinals. Bobcat nation was like I had never seen it before."
- Bill Culhane
Not only were the Bobcats attracting the attention of their fans, but from local, regional and national media as well. Texas State football hadn't been in the spotlight for a long time, but the team was certainly acting as if it had been there before.
"The one thing I remember the most about the exposure was just how accessible Coach Bailiff was and how accessible he made his student-athletes and coordinators. I think that he realized how big of a moment it was and what a big opportunity it was to publicize not just the football program but the university as a whole."
- Ron Mears
Meanwhile in Middle America, Northern Iowa was busy piecing together a run of its own. UNI was fresh off of its upset over UNH, but the Panthers didn't remotely resemble a playoff team six weeks prior, falling to 4-3 after a humbling 38-3 loss at Illinois State. But Northern Iowa proceeded to reel off four straight wins to end the regular season and extended its win streak to six straight with playoff wins over Eastern Washington and New Hampshire. While Northern Iowa didn't have the robust I-AA history of Texas State's first round opponent Georgia Southern, UNI did have a string of moderate success with 12 postseason trips over a 20 year stretch. To date, the program has just three losing records since 1983. Despite all of those postseason appearances, the Panthers shared something in common with the playoff-green Bobcats: neither had ever reached the I-AA Title Game. It was time for someone to make history.
Game 14: No. 7 Northern Iowa (10-3) @ No. 4 Texas State (11-3) December 9, 2005 The National Semifinal game against Northern Iowa was a tough ticket with 15,712 cramming their way into the stands of Bobcat Stadium. It marked the third time in four games that the stadium established its third largest crowd in school history.
"You know what's amazing is that during that whole run, the fondest memory was looking at the crowds and thinking this is just unbelievable."
- David Bailiff
Texas State won the coin toss but elected to defer, choosing to send its defense on the field first after its impressive performance against Cal Poly. But Northern Iowa wasted little time establishing the upper hand, driving 79 yards on its opening possession and scoring on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Eric Sanders to Justin Surrency. The Panthers continued to apply the pressure from there, forcing the Bobcats to punt on their first possession and then scoring again, going 88 yards in five plays with Sanders throwing another touchdown. Eleven minutes and thirty seconds had expired in the National Semifinals and Texas State was down 14-0.
"I don't think we realized they were up that much. I think we just said 'business as usual', let's go put points back on the board. We knew we would get back into the game but it would've been nice to have gotten off to a better start.'"
- Randy Moshier
"Maybe because of what we did to Georgia Southern there wasn't a sense of dread. In the first half against Georgia Southern, the Eagles were playing chess and we were playing checkers. I never got that feeling against Northern Iowa."
- Bill Culhane
Indeed, Texas State never blinked. In the 2
nd quarter the Bobcats finally got on the board with Nealy hooking up with Markee White on a 14-yard touchdown pass. Sanders answered with his third touchdown pass, a 69-yard scoring strike to Patrick Hunter to give UNI a 20-7 lead. When the Bobcats got the ball back on the ensuing drive, they scored on a big play of their own, courtesy of an unlikely hero. Nealy dropped back to pass and down the field found a wide open receiver for a 42-yard touchdown. It wasn't White, the team's leading receiver. It wasn't Williams who had caught three touchdown passes against Georgia Southern. It wasn't any of the team's receivers who caught Nealy's 192 completions the first 13 games that season.
It was Adrian Thomas, his first and only catch in 2005.
"It wasn't a surprise to us. That play was scripted (and) we had worked on it during practice. We were all happy for Adrian, or Q-TIP as we called him. He had worked hard for that moment."
- Dameon Williams
From there, the two teams traded field goals and at half Texas State trailed 23-17. Thirty minutes away from a trip to the National Championship game, the Bobcats came out firing in the 2
nd half, taking their opening 3
rd quarter drive 80 yards for a touchdown. The drive included a gadget play with Chase Wasson taking a handoff from Nealy and then throwing the ball back to his quarterback for a 31-yard gain. The drive ended with Daniel Jolly scoring on a one-yard touchdown run and less than four minutes into the 2
nd half, Texas State had its first lead of the game, 24-23.
But the Panthers continued to match the Bobcats' sense of urgency. On its next drive, Northern Iowa hit another home run with Sanders connecting to a wide open Hunter for a 65-yard touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion, the Bobcats trailed 29-24 with 10:48 left in the third quarter. The back-and-forth continued as Williams' took the ensuing kickoff back for 47 yards and six plays later, Nealy threw his third touchdown pass of the night, a 14-yard strike to Justin Williams. Texas State's two-point conversion also failed and with just under eight minutes to go in the third quarter, the Bobcats were clinging to a one point lead.
And then suddenly, the scoring in the game came to a screeching halt. It would remain a one point game for the next 17:55 of game time. In real time, it felt like an eternity. The deeper the game went, the higher the intensity grew.
"We started to feel the pressure and knew we needed to make something happen."
- Nate Langford
"It was tense man. On the sidelines you could feel it, it was in the air. That's one of those games where you have to be focused every snap because one snap could change the whole complexity of the game."
- David Simmons
Maybe what David meant to say is that one deep snapper could change the whole complexity of the game. With just under six minutes left to play and the Bobcats holding on to a 30-29 lead to dear life, Northern Iowa's Johnny Gray muffed a punt by Cory Elof inside the 10-yard line. In the mad scramble for the ball it was Texas State's deep snapper, Dominic Giametta that recovered the fumble.
"Giametta gave us a big burst of confidence getting that (fumble) recovery. Just another guy that wanted it as much as everybody."
- Thomas Kereztury
"I thought that sealed the deal at that point."
- Travis Bush
"After that I just knew that we had won the game."
- Dameon Williams
"It's over. We're going to Chattanooga. Let's get the hotel booked, the flight booked, let's go."
- David Simmons
Two plays after Giametta's fumble recovery, Daniel Jolly scored on a two-yard touchdown run and with 5:01 left in the game, the Bobcats had a 37-29 lead.
"By that time I'm thinking of Coach Wacker up above and that '05 was the year of the Bobcat."
- Bill Culhane
Northern Iowa however, just wouldn't go away quietly. With well over 15,000 Bobcat fans screaming on that cold December night, Sanders calmly led the Panthers down the field. He completed six of seven passes for 72 yards and UNI ended the drive with a two-yard touchdown run by David Horne. Still, the Bobcat defense was one play away from likely sealing the game, needing just a stop on Northern Iowa's two-point conversion. But Sanders again came through for the visitors from Cedar Falls and completed a pass to Surrency in the back of the end zone. Tie game.
"That was a kick in the groin. That one really hurt."
- Nate Langford
"The kid (Sanders) just carved through us like butter."
- Randy Moshier
What happened next is a moment that lives in Texas State infamy. After the Panthers had tied the game, the Bobcats took possession at their own 25-yard line with three timeouts remaining. But rather then attempt to drive down the field for a game winning score, Coach Bailiff elected to kneel on the ball and play for overtime. The sellout crowd was in disbelief.
"It was a game I thought we'd win in overtime. It was a decision I made that didn't work."
- David Bailiff
"I will always support Coach Bailiff on that decision. What most people probably don't know is that he got on the headset and asked the entire offensive staff what they wanted to do and everyone agreed that we liked our chances in overtime. UNI had just drove the length of the field and scored (and tied the game). They had all the momentum at that point (and) we had not moved the ball well in the 4th quarter. We didn't want to give them the ball back at that point."
- Travis Bush
"I thought that he had a good reason for making that call. I didn't know what the reason was but I trusted that he made the best call he could at the time. It is easy to second guess decisions but when you are in that situation where you need to make a critical call, the pressure isn't the easiest to deal with. Coaches coach and players go play."
- Nate Langford
"It was tough to see them come tie the game up at the end of the game but we were confident that we could score on anybody. That's why I thought the decision to kneel out the game was a good idea. We had been in OT before and were confident we could win. Our two-minute offense was not that great and we did not have a lot of confidence in it. As soon as we went to OT I thought we were going to win."
- Thomas Kereztury
"At first I thought 'why not give it a shot?' We have the top quarterback in the nation and if we got into field goal position, Stan Jones had the leg. I remember watching the TV replay of the game a week later and seeing the reaction from the stands and the fans' expressions were priceless. But after some time passed, I understood Coach Bailiff's thinking and I respected his call."
- David Simmons
"I think the ease with which they drove down the field to score and tie the game spooked the coaching staff because they thought 'if this doesn't bode well and we make a mistake or leave time on the clock, how quickly could they (UNI) get down field and end this for us'. Our most recent overtime experience had been a successful venture so I think we all felt we could win it in overtime. I didn't think twice about taking the knee when I was on the field. I thought we were going to win in OT."
- Randy Moshier
"Coach Bailiff is one of the best coaches who ever coached me. If he says kneel it, I'm going with him. If we went for it and turned it over and lost he would've been criticized. If we go down and score, he's the best coach in America."
- Morris Crosby
"Of all of the questions concerning Bobcat Athletics for the past two decades, that's the one, right? There may have been people in the stands and watching from home thinking 'what is he doing?' but for whatever reason, I was caught up in the feeling of 'nothing can go wrong'. Maybe that was because we beat Sam in overtime, came back to beat Georgia Southern and held Cal Poly at bay. I just thought it was all going to turn out the way we wanted to anyway."
- Bill Culhane
"There was always the criticism of Coach's Bailiff's decision to send the game into overtime. But if you look at the Sam Houston State game, they had the same situation. Obviously we had experience in playing in overtime."
- Ron Mears
The time for second guessing would come later, the Bobcats had Northern Iowa to worry about in what was the team's third overtime game that season. Texas State won the toss and elected to play on defense and the Bobcats held the Panthers to a field goal, a 25-yarder made by UNI's Brian Wingert. 40-37 Northern Iowa and Texas State was about to get its shot in overtime.
"Once we held them to a field goal I felt we couldn't lose. At worst, we would get a field goal and go to another OT."
- Travis Bush
"After we held them to a field goal I remember sliding my helmet under the bench and thinking 'offense, here we go'. We were going to score a touchdown and we were going to Chattanooga."
- David Simmons
"I felt good but not as confident as other games. Something kind of felt…off."
- Nate Langford
"20 to 25 yards felt like nothing for our offense."
- Dameon Williams
Down by three and with the ball for their overtime possession, the Bobcats went to work immediately, gashing the Panthers with a 13-yard run by Douglas Sherman. With a fresh set of downs, Texas State was just 12 yards away.
"That was a 13-yard jaunt by 'Smoke' on a power play and I thought 'that's it'. We're going to beat the hell out of these guys and we're going to play for the National Championship."
- Randy Moshier
But Texas State went backwards on 1
st and 2
nd down and were faced with 3
rd and 13 from the Northern Iowa 15-yard line. With Nealy lined up in the shotgun, the Panthers blitzed and brought a six man rush. Texas State's All-American quarterback stepped up against the pressure, took a hit, and released the pass, his final one as a Bobcat. The ball was thrown right to Northern Iowa's Matt Tharp who made the interception. In an instant, the ride, the euphoria, the journey, the dreams of a National Title were over. Final score: Northern Iowa 40, Texas State 37.
"The last play of the game I still play in my head. I think we all were just trying to win the play and we came up short."
- Thomas Kereztury
"You can't get much closer to the National Championship game than that team did."
- Bill Culhane
"Before the play, we're on the headset talking about what we like if we get the first down, or that if we kick the field goal and tie, then our offense is up first in the next overtime. The next second, our season is over."
- Travis Bush
"I was very hurt. Shocked. Confused. Was he throwing it to me? I would find out later that we had some route confusion between the receivers. It was just a busted play. I was sad. I cried on the field. I actually have a photo of the exact moment from the Austin American Statesman. I thought about that play for a long time after the game, even had nightmares about it."
- Dameon Williams
"An offensive lineman was down, we had a backup filling in and he was a good player but just whiffed on that play. Barrick took pressure early and Tyrone (Scott) didn't get across on his route fast enough. It was an unfortunate series of events that ultimately led to an interception."
- Randy Moshier
"It was so deflating. To be riding so high and to have it end so abruptly it was liked getting punched in the stomach. Just a horrible feeling. I was in a bad place after that game."
- David Simmons
After the game was over, the Bobcats retreated to their locker room riding a wave of emotions. Some couldn't get past how the game ended. Others were coming to grips that their football careers over and there were some who did feel a sense of accomplishment. Perhaps the most difficult notion the team had to grasp was that the 2005 team had played its last game together.
"It hurt. It was a game that we had the opportunity to win and we just didn't get it done, I didn't get it done. You feel like you let them down."
- David Bailiff
"It was quiet. There were guys crying. I sat in my locker and shed a few tears. I didn't want to take off my uniform. For us seniors in there, it would be the last time we'd get to wear that uniform. It was like family, especially the wide receiver group (although) I'm sure everyone can say that about their position group. I loved those guys like brothers."
- Dameon Williams
"After the game (it) was tough. There were a lot of emotions going on in the locker room. We had just had one of the (program's) best seasons come to an end and that my last game as a Bobcat. I just wanted to thank all the coaches and hug all my teammates. It was tough to deal with but it was the best year of my life."
- Thomas Kereztury
"A lot of us were pretty devastated at that point. I don't think I've ever cried like that. I remember hugging Coach Bailiff and he was going around hugging every guy in the locker room with tears were in his eyes and he was thanking us for believing and for making the season what it was. We had all been through this journey together and the most sobering thing was that it was over."
- Randy Moshier
"I was hurt for the seniors. I knew how hard they worked and how hard they made me work. I knew how bad they wanted it."
- Morris Crosby
The moment of disappointment and thoughts of "what could have been" would later give way to appreciation and "what was". But for now the team was allowed to grieve the end of its historic season. They would later find out just how much it meant to the future of Bobcat Football.
Up next in our 2005 Oral History Series: The Aftermath Of Texas State's 2005 Season
