Tiger Bites: ETBU vs. McMurry

Some notes and odd and ins about ETBU's football series against McMurry University over the years:

-- McMurry is the only team in the ASC never to have defeated the Tigers. That much you might already know. On the flip side of that, ironically -- McMurry's fellow Abilene ASC member, Hardin-Simmons, has never lost a game to ETBU in eight tries.

-- ETBU played its first home game in 50 years back on Sept. 23, 2000, against McMurry. Only thing was, it wasn't really a home game for ETBU -- the game was played at Marshall High School's Maverick Stadium, as Ornelas Stadium was still undergoing the final touches of construction. That game remains the only scheduled home game for ETBU to be played outside of The Jungle.

-- McMurry was ranked in the Top 25 nationally when it visited Marshall for the first time back in 2000. Since suffering a 28-14 defeat at the hands of a freshman-laden ETBU team that day, McMurry hasn't been ranked since.

-- Gary McClelland rushed for 279 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' first visit to Abilene to play McMurry, a 33-26 win for ETBU. That remains the single-highest rushing yardage in a game for a Tiger running back.

-- McMurry is 0-3 all-time on Ornelas Stadium. ETBU's wins in those three games, however, have been by just 10 points per game.

You can't talk about the ETBU-McMurry series without mentioning that very first game back in Maverick Stadium in 2000. The Tigers were literally running out a team full of first-year freshmen who most of which didn't know how to shave yet. McMurry was nationally-ranked but coming off a loss to an up-and-coming Mary Hardin-Baylor squad that year, as I remember, and the then-Indians were expected to be hopping mad and on the warpath against the young ETBU kittens...

I've never seen a game before or since where you can pin the outcome solely on emotion. Those young Tiger pups swarmed all over McMurry and raced out to a huge lead, putting pressure on the quarterback, forcing turnovers, cashing in points. The Indians tried to rally in the second half but kept shooting themselves in the foot, and one of the biggest upsets to this day in ETBU football history was finished with a 28-14 Tiger win.

ETBU wouldn't win a game the rest of the year, finishing 2-8. But it was McMurry that seemed to reel the most from that loss, as the Indians haven't won a game in the series yet and now aren't even called the Indians anymore, by the way, thanks to that controversial ruling a few years ago concerning nicknames and mascots. Luckily for ETBU, no Tiger or other large feline has complained much to the NCAA about being offended...

It's not like the Tigers have just penciled in a win every year against McMurry, either. These games are typically close and hard-fought until the fourth quarter. Last season's game out there in Abilene went into overtime, after McMurry had jumped out to a quick two-score lead in the first half. The home team appeared ready to lock up a game-winning touchdown late in regulation when ETBU's Shea Harborth delivered the punt of his career out of the back of ETBU's end zone and past midfield. Huggie Frazier then sealed the Tigers' win in overtime by knocking away a pass in the end zone on the game's final play.

See you Saturday for another one in The Jungle.