Related: Clemson Football: Tigers’ Keys to Victory vs. Boston College Eagles

The 2010 Texas Longhorns recruiting class arrived on the Forty Acres with plenty of fanfare and an even greater level of promise. The class was full of four and five star talent that, almost to a man, either fizzled out or never met it’s potential. What’s left of this 2010 class are this season’s seniors, a group that’s in danger of being the first senior class to never beat the Oklahoma Sooners since the 2003 and 2004 classes who never earned a victory in the Red River Shootout.

It’s been talked about ad nauseum, but the Sooners have the upper-hand going into Saturday’s matchup at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for a variety of reasons. Texas is in turmoil not only due to injury issues which have plagued many of the positional groupings, but also due to the constant media attention surrounding the future of head coach Mack Brown.

For the Longhorns to have even the slightest chance at pulling off an upset of Oklahoma, one intangible that will need to be there in spades — and which hasn’t been so far in 2013 — is heart.

Texas need not look any further back in their own history than 1989-1992 to find inspiration for what can happen with players with talent, but with an even greater heart play their butts off and find a way to win under the least likely of circumstances.

The leader of those teams?

Peter Alexander Gardere.

Known to Texas fans as “Peter the Great”, Gardere is one-part man, one-part myth among those that follow the Texas program closely. You’ll occasionally see a shirt with “WWPGD” plastered across it (What Would Peter Gardere Do) and his name is mentioned among the greatest players in Texas Longhorns history, not necessarily for his exploits on the football field, but for the fact he’s the only quarterback in Texas history to beat the Sooners four straight times.

None of the four victories in which Gardere led the Longhorns were particularly stylish (28-24, 14-13, 10-7, 34-24), but the facts are he always found a way to help the team win when he was needed the most, regardless of circumstances or the uphill battle Texas had to climb.

This is the exact position Case McCoy finds himself in as we prepare for Saturday morning’s kickoff. McCoy is far from the most talented quarterback in the past few incarnations of Texas football, but one attribute he shares with Gardere is the ability to pull wins out of unlikely situations, in games where those wins matter the most.

McCoy led the final game-winning drive against the Texas A&M Aggies back in 2010, a moment etched into the memory of Longhorn fans of all ages and has the chance on Sunday to make an even more lasting impression on his legacy of coming up big in big games.

Maybe there should be a picture of Peter Gardere posted on each locker in the Cotton Bowl locker rooms as a little inspiration.

WWPGD.

—-

Kris Hughes is a Senior Writer and Business Analyst for Rant Sports.

You can follow Kris on Twitter, Google Plus or Facebook.

 

Big 12 Football Posts

brandon carter
Brandon Carter a Disappointment so far for TCU Horned Frogs in 2013
lache seastrunk
Lache Seastrunk Looking to Bounce Back for Baylor Bears vs Iowa State Cyclones
aaron wimberly
Aaron Wimberly Key to Salvaging Season for Iowa State Cyclones
caleb lavey
Caleb Lavey Key for Oklahoma State Cowboys vs TCU Horned Frogs

Tyler Brett Posts

Sean Mannion
These 10 Guys Are the Best Kept Secrets in College Football
Death Valley
Death Valley Provides a Massive Home Field Advantage for Clemson Tigers
Oregon Ducks
Oregon Ducks Pink Helmets Completely Miss the Point
Jameis Winston
Clemson Tigers Defense Presents Huge Challenge for Florida State QB Jameis Winston

Florida State University Posts

David Ash or Case McCoy
Texas Longhorns Face Tough Decision: Case McCoy or David Ash?
Matthew Emmons: USA TODAY Sports
Texas Longhorns: Does Victory Over Oklahoma Sooners Change Anything for Mack Brown?
Texas Longhorns
Defense Fuels Texas Longhorns to Victory Over Oklahoma Sooners
Mack Brown Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns: Mack Brown’s Job Safe, For Now

Posts

bcs title
5 BCS Contenders Who Will Choke Before Season’s End
Oregon Ducks
Oregon Ducks Pink Helmets Completely Miss the Point
Melina Vastola- USA Today Sports
Whose BCS Dreams Are To Be Crushed This Week And Why?
vic beasley
Vic Beasley Leading the Charge for Clemson Tigers vs Florida State Seminoles

Around the Web

ZergNet