Bowl wish: TU shows UT the G.J. it lost

HOUSTON - We're getting cheated. And by "we," I mean fans and media and anybody else who would be interested in watching a Tulsa vs. Texas bowl game. Many bowl match-ups are so pedestrian that a crosswalk should be installed at the 50-yard line. A Tulsa-Texas bowl clash would be must-see TV for a couple of reasons. 1. TU would have a chance to run the state's record against Texas to 3-0 this year. In UT's last two games, the Longhorns were outscored by a total of 50 points in losses to OU and OSU. Orangebloods might laugh at the possibility that UT could lose to a school with reverse initials, but consider that the Golden Hurricane is only a year removed from beating another school (Notre Dame) with its own network (NBC). 2. A TU-Texas game would be the perfect finale to G.J. Kinne's career. Kinne began his career at Texas. If he hadn't transferred to Tulsa, you can comfortably suggest he would be starting for the Longhorns, who have employed three quarterbacks this season. If the selection committee for the NCAA basketball tournament arranged bowl pairings - committee members tend to deliver games with juicy subplots, but they claim they don't do it on purpose - maybe we would be gifted with a UT-TU bowl. But bowl games are pre-arranged marriages and C-USA teams are not scheduled to meet any Big 12 teams in postseason, never mind that the leagues share geography. So, dang it, the closest Kinne will get to the boys in Austin came Saturday night when - 162 miles away from his old school - he directed TU to a 38-20 victory at Rice. Texas messed up by letting Kinne escape. Having a legit playmaker at quarterback is perhaps the thing that allows college football coaches to sleep well at night. Bill Blankenship said one of the "great comforts" in his rookie year as head coach is he doesn't have a rookie at quarterback. He is blessed with a third-year starter who has seen nearly everything, has played on big stages and - big bonus - has a knack for moving chains. Blankenship said Kinne's ability to create plays makes it "really hard" on opposing defenses. TU coaches sometimes watch a play and say "that's not the way we drew it up." But no one will scold Kinne for going all "night-at-the-improv" if he scrambles out of peril and spins straw into gold. Be honest. Didn't you fear TU would be without the guy it can't afford to be without after he popped a knee in a loss to Oklahoma State? Kinne feared he was done, at least briefly. He tested the injured knee by trying to run on the sideline, but said it felt like his leg was "swinging to the left." Wondering if his college career was kaput, he told his father "I hope this isn't it." Shocking everyone but his coaches, Kinne played in pain the following week at Boise State and has played every game since. Many players who return from injury are overly cautious about taking a hit, but TU linemen yelled "he's back" when they saw Kinne cut loose and run like the "old" Kinne in the most recent home game. Kinne's presence put Tulsa in position to checkmate Rice early. While the Owls' QB was throwing interceptions on his first two attempts, Kinne led three consecutive scoring drives for a 17-0 lead. Kinne - full disclosure - did not play a perfect game. A fumble near the goal line cost TU points. Body language suggested he and receivers weren't always on the same page. The offense was shut out for 14 minutes of the second quarter and all of the third quarter. But, if healthy, Kinne will give TU a fighting chance when facing the "other" team from Houston (the one helmed by Case Keenum, new FBS career total offense leader) in a regular season finale. It's a shame Kinne won't get a chance to follow that by playing in a bowl against the school with the biggest brand name in Texas. Kinne has no doubt he was good enough to play at Texas. But what if he bided his time until Colt McCoy left and suffered an injury while competing for a starting job? Kinne didn't like those odds. Migrating to TU and starting for three years sounded like a better option, even if it cost him a year of eligibility. Kinne said he is so happy with his decision - loves the people, loves the good times he's had - that it's hard to look back to his Texas days. He didn't know anything about this strange land called Oklahoma before coming to 11th and Harvard. Now he likes Oklahoma so much that, post- football , he would consider settling here. Does that count as a victory over Texas?