Every week, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian puts together a video montage for the players he calls “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.”
Receiver Matthew Golden ended up starring in all three segments for his throwing prowess, or lack thereof, in Saturday’s win against Oklahoma.
Golden went 1-for-2 for 30 yards on two trick plays similar to the Midway rollercoasters at the State Fair. Kind of queasy, kind of fun.
How queasy? Well, you never want to be compared to 50 Cent, who threw out the worst ceremonial first pitch in Mets history. “I didn’t know 50 Cent threw like that,” Golden said. “Yeah, it was bad.”
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“I mean, he did well the entire week that we were practicing,” quarterback Quinn Ewers said. “And then, I don't know, he tried to add, like, a little flavor on it.”
Golden’s first attempt came with 1:32 left in the second quarter. Texas faced first-and-10 from the Oklahoma 38. Ewers got the ball out quick to Golden, who looked off balance as he fired downfield to Ryan Wingo.
Dove season in Texas closes on Oct. 27, but that thing looked shot and wounded from the get-go.
“That first one, man, I ain’t got too much say about that. I'll say it’s the glove,” Golden said Monday. “We practiced that the whole week, and I was on point. When it came to the game, it felt different. Obviously, it was a lot of people there and my adrenaline was going.”
Tight end Gunnar Helm said Golden’s first pass was “all right.”
No it wasn’t.
“No, it wasn’t,” Helm admitted with a sheepish grin.
Said Golden: “Yeah, they know I can throw the ball, but that was probably one of my worst passes.”
“The first one, we felt way better about the play, and we knew that as a staff. Clearly Ryan Wingo was open by about 15 yards, and it wasn't a great throw,” Sarkisian said.
Fortunately, the coach gave Golden another chance. This time, Texas had first-and-10 from the OU 32 with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter. Again, Ewers got the ball out quick. This time, Golden looked more confident. He fired downfield, and Helm went up and made the catch in traffic for a 30-yard gain to the lip of the goal line.
“I was just trying to make a play, trying to bail him out a little bit,” Helm said. “Get his confidence up for the next one.”
Said Ewers: “He made up for it in that second one, I think.”
Sarkisian said he wanted to give Golden a chance to redeem himself. “I had a feeling they might cover it a little better, which they did, and was a heck of a catch by Gunnar Helm.”
All of this made for perfect fodder for Sarkisian’s Good, Bad and Ugly collection.
“When I saw the throw, it reminded me of something,” Sarkisian said. “It reminded me of 50 Cent’s first pitch. So we kind of showed that after that throw to get a chuckle out of the guys.”
You’ll be hard-pressed to find another ceremonial first pitch botched as badly as that one. At least Golden’s throw was downfield, just short. Way short.
Golden and the Horns can laugh about it after a 34-3 win. Golden also had one catch for 23 yards against the Sooners.
The Houston transfer has been a key contributor all season. Golden said he had no problem adjusting to Sarkisian’s culture, and he’s looking forward to the second half of the regular season.
Perhaps another trick play will be forthcoming. Next time, Matt, don’t wear the gloves.
“Coming here, it was a no-brainer,” Golden said. “It’s a real brotherhood on this team. I don’t feel like I have to adapt to it. I just came here and found my role on the team and just went with it since then.”
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