Throwback Thursday: An Ode to Dan Bailey’s Shoes

It’s the end of an era.

After his “worst” season as a pro (I say worst figuratively), former Oklahoma State kicker Dan Bailey has officially retired his 2007 Nike Vapor Spikes. By the time he replaced them, the shoes were being held together by super glue and duct tape.

But he first put them on in 2009 during his junior season at Oklahoma State. Those shoes helped Bailey hit 40 of 49 field goals and 114 of 116 extra points.

However I don’t ever remember a kick Bailey made with those shoes as big or important as the one against Texas A&M in 2010.

After trailing 21-7 at half-time against the Aggies, OSU scored four straight touchdowns, including three in the third quarter, to take a 35-21 lead. With about 5 1/2 minutes left in the game though, things got interesting.

Aggie quarterback Jerrod Johnson led the team on two touchdown drives late in the fourth quarter to tie the game up.

OSU’s next drive ended on a punt, giving Texas A&M the ball back with 1:16 left in the game. The Aggies had all the momentum. I remember watching the game at home, sure I was about to watch Texas A&M march down the field for a third straight time and win.

Not so fast.

On 2nd-and-7 from the Aggie 46, Jerrod Johnson made a bad pass, that was picked off by Shaun Lewis at the Cowboys’ 32 and returned for 28 yards to the Texas A&M 40. The Cowboys picked up an extra 16 yards, then called their final timeout with :02 left on the clock.

Enter Dan Bailey.

I could describe what happened next, or you could just watch for yourself.

With 2 seconds on the clock from the left hash from 41 yards out, Bailey put it right through the middle and helped the Cowboys reach 4-0.  This was a huge win, one that helped push OSU into its first ever 11-win season.

Some notes from the game:

• It was a messy football game. Johnson and Weeden combined to throw six interceptions. Plus each team tossed in a fumble, for a total of eight turnovers.

• Despite the four interceptions, A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson had a career night (how many times do we say that about opposing QBs?) going 40-of-62 for 409 yards and five touchdowns.

• I don’t know why it’s always stuck with me, but after the game I was watching SportsCenter and Scott Van Pelt was recapping the game and said, “I’m a man, I’m 40, make it 41 yard field goal.” I laughed so hard at that.

• This was a Thursday night game, and the second straight year OSU pulled out the W-B-B combo. I loved this tradition. It was a really sharp look, especially at night. I really hope OSU comes out with it to open this season against Tulsa next Thursday.

• This was the first game-winning kick of Dan Bailey’s career.

• Mike Gundy went 4-0 against Texas A&M while Mike Sherman was the head coach. This was the third of four straight victories.

• Bailey’s orange shoes are currently on display at Oklahoma State.