Kingsbury, Applewhite meet up once again
Major Applewhite and Kliff Kingsbury have much in common. Both cool names. Both old Big 12 quarterbacks. Both head coaches of undefeated teams.
And now they duel, 17 years after their first battle royale.
Kingsbury’s Texas Tech Red Raiders play at Applewhite’s Houston Cougars on Saturday in a matchup of 2-0 teams.
Kingsbury quarterbacked at Tech from 1999-02 and started from late in his freshman season on. Applewhite was a Texas quarterback from 1998-01, starting the first two seasons but mostly backing up Chris Simms the final two seasons.
Their only headto-head game came in 2000, when Texas won 29-17.
Applewhite completed 18 of 33 that day for 164 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Kingsbury, on that inaugural Mike Leach team at Tech, completed 28 of 49 for 282 yards, one TD and two interceptions.
“He’s obviously had a heck of a career,” Kingsbury said. “In New Braunfels (Texas), we grew up watching him. He’s done a great job in the coaching profession.”
Uh, Kingsbury is exaggerating the difference in their ages. By the time Applewhite started playing at UT in 1998, Kingsbury was a redshirting freshman in Lubbock.
Kingsbury has another Houston connection. He was on Kevin Sumlin’s UofH staff from 2008-11, then followed Sumlin to Texas A&M and was quarterback coach during Johnny Manziel’s 2012 Heisman Trophy season.
“Lot of great memories,” Kingsbury said of Houston.
“I have a ton of respect for that university. I owe that university a lot. Loved my time there. Most fun I ever had coaching, working with Case Keenum, that group, in 2011.”