There's a certain futility in the word "never." It allows our minds to classify things with an efficiency and permanence that would otherwise be impossible. No need for a list of exceptions or 30 pages of legal fine print - some things just don't happen. A 16 seed has never beaten a 1 seed during March Madness, so the first thing we do when filling out brackets is advance the 1 seeds.
Iowa State has never beaten Texas.
This statement was true heading into the 2010 game in Austin. Other true statements: Iowa State hadn't beaten a ranked team on the road in 20 years; Iowa State had lost it's last two games by a combined score of 120-27, and Texas had just come off a supposed season-saving win over #5 Nebraska.
Iowa State 28
#19 Texas 21
This game is widely credited as the game that cemented the fate of maligned Texas OC Greg Davis. That may be unfair to him - when one attains great success in anything, it is only natural to try to recreate the factors that led to success. Greg Davis won a national championship using his offensive scheme and a Vince Young in 2005, and has been trying to recreate success using these factors ever since. He still has the scheme, but unfortunately for him very few people in the world are a Vince Young. Even fewer still play football for Texas.
Thanks in part to an apathetic crowd (and a seemingly more apathetic Longhorn squad), Iowa State managed to jump out to an early 7-0 start in Austin, and after stopping a Garrett Gilbert 3rd down scramble at the 1, the Cyclones got the ball back up 7-3 early in the second quarter.
After the maddeningly inconsistent Cyclone offense stalled in another 3-and-out, the true freshman from West Des Moines trotted out onto the field and uncorked this 75-Yarder:
Some things to note here - He takes the snap standing on his own 10 yard line. It's a high snap that he has to leave his feet to go get. And somehow he manages to recover and then boot it 65 yards in the air with just enough KIRBYSPIN™ to meet the coverage team right at the goal line. Oh, and he's a true freshman playing on the road in Austin. Because style points matter!
The real importance of this kick is in the aftermath, though. Pinned against their own goal line, Texas' offense can only manage a short dive and a pair of incomplete passes before the UT punter comes out, craps himself in awe of The Kirby, and kicks the ball a scant 32 yards to a fair-catching Josh Lenz.
Given the gift of a super-short 37 yard field, the offense manages to find the end zone and extends the lead to 14-3. On the ensuing kickoff, Iowa State recovers a surprise onside kick because LOL PAUL RHOADS.
(Of course immediately after getting the ball back, the offense went 3-and-out again. They did that more often than not that year. But thanks to a defensive interception in the Texas end zone and a missed chip-shot FG, Iowa State headed into the locker room up 14-3. Iowa State never looked back, winning 28-21.)
Two years later, Greg Davis would help lead the Hawks to a 4-8 record, including a mere six points against ISU. His offense was such a trainwreck that Hawk fans are genuinely starting to miss Ken O'Keefe. Let's all hope he (and his system) stay in Iowa City for a long time - Because Iowa will never recruit a Vince Young.
#KVDK4RAY
The Ray Guy award is given each year to college football's best punter. Kirby Van Der Kamp plays for the Iowa State Cyclones and is probably the best punter in college football. We think so, anyway.