University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Long Hau continued forward to its nationally televised game. Led by Donnie Little and his late-game heroics, the third ranked Texas team dropped Oklahoma its third loss in four years - dropped being the operative word. Marred by fourteen turnovers eight by OU and six by Texas the annual classic in the Cotton Bowl had OU quarterback J. C. Watts claiming that the best team doesn ' t always win. I don ' t mind if a team goes out there and beats our butt when we give it our best shot, but when you just flat beat yourself, you feel lower than grass. I can ' t put into words how frustrating it is. I don ' t think there are appropriate words to say how an athlete feels when he works his tail off and then comes up short. The Sooners did indeed come up short as Watts, who had a hand in seven of eight OU turnovers, fumbled in the first quarter at the Sooner five-yard line. Texas ' Ken McCune recovered, and Rod- ney Tate scored his first of two touch- downs, making the score 7-0. In the second quarter, Texas turned another Watts ' fumble into three points which, capped by John Goodson ' s eight- een-yard field goal, gave UT a 10-0 lead at halftime. OU retaliated after the half, using a Lo nghorn fumble at their own 29-yard line to set up a 43-yard field goal and close the gap to 10-3. A 36-yard touch- down scamper by OU fullback Stanley Wilson tied the game early in the fourth quarter. The Texas defense was solid, stopping the Sooners at the four-yard line on key plays by defense tackle Steve Massey, defensive end Dewey Turner and itrong safety Bobby Johnson. The Sooners were forced to settle for a three- point lead. Our drive after that was beautiful, said Coach Akers, but it was also neces- sary, which makes it that much more beautiful. It was a great comeback and might be one of the greatest comebacks the University of Texas has ever had. But I think our defense won the football game. Texas ' defense assured the Horns of a 5-0 record by forcing eight OU turn- overs on the Sooners ' 16 possessions. Four of them were on interceptions of J. C. Watts ' passes, including two by free safety William Graham, who picked off the second one with 1 :29 remaining. The Texas offense responded with ten points late in the fourth quarter to put Texas ahead for the rest of the game. Donnie Little, leading rusher for the day, accounted for all but two yards of the fourth-quarter go-ahead drive. Little rushed for 26 yards and passed for 48 more. Maurice McCloney caught a 23- yard pass to set the Horns up with a first and goal at the Oklahoma 2-yard line, and Rodney Tate scored the game win- ner on fourth down. Fourteen days after the Golden Hat trophy had returned to the trophy case in Bellmont Hall, the SMU Mustangs recorded their first win over the Long- horns in 14 years and handed Texas its John Goodson attempts a field goal during the Texas first loss of the season. The Mustangs completed the day without a single turn- over, while the Longhorns had four. We just couldn ' t get nothing to go right, said tight end Lawrence Sample- ton. Everything we did seemed to go against us. The Mustangs ran at the heart of the Texas defense up the middle. Our ability to run on Texas was probably the overriding factor, SMU coach Ron Meyer said. The Mustangs gained 283 yards rushing. The absence of Texas ' leading rusher, A. J. Jones and three other offensive starters also aided the Mustangs in their 20-6 victory over the Horns. The only chance UT had at making a continued Oklahoma match-up in the Cotton Bowl. SMU 121

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Levi Mays and Ken McCune surge forward, pushing the Mustang offensive line back as Dan Hunter. Ken Sims and Robin Sendlein jump to block a SMU field goal] I Texas offensive linemen push the OU defense back, giving Darryl Clark the room to jump over for the score. The whole first half it looked as i neither team wanted to keep the ball. We had what, 14 turnovers? That ' s incredible. But, it means a lot to the players and a lot to the fans. It ' s a big victory and some- thing that really can ' t be described in words. You don ' t want to come out a loser, I know that. Donnie Little 120 Oklahoma

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Long Hau continued comeback came with 12:08 to play. Rick Mclvor drove the Horns 71 yards to the SMU 3-yard line. On third and inches Texas ran a slow-developing, off-tackle play on which Darryl Clark was hit in the backfields and thrown for a six-yard loss. An incompleted pass on fourth down clenched the victory for SMU. The Longhorns ' dreams of the national championship practically vanished after the disappointing loss to SMU. However the Southwest Conference championship and visions of the Cotton Bowl were still in focus until the stunning confrontation between the Longhorns and the Red Rid- ers of Texas Tech. The Raiders, with the help of a powerful defense, presented Texas their second loss of the season. Again, as in past games, turnovers and penalties hurt Texas. Tech scored seven- teen of twenty points on Texas fumbles and interceptions. Coach Akers com- mended the Horns ' ' good physical effort, but blamed the loss on mental mistakes and 141 yards of penalties. The Longhorns were forced to play catch- up football after the Red Raiders took a twenty-four point lead by the second quarter. In the second quarter Rick Mclvor led an 80-yard drive which put the Horns on the Scoreboard. A 24-yard punt return by Herkie Walls opened the next series. Mclvor hit tight end Lawrence Sample- ton on a 56-yard pass into the end zone. Capitalizing on a Tech fumble, John Goodson added a 42-yard field goal cut- ting Tech s lead to seven. By halftime Texas had pulled within four points of Tech. However, the halftime score of 24- 20 stood as neither team was able to score in the second half. Texas strong safety Bobby Johnson summed up the ' Horns feelings after their two consecu- tive losses. It hurts. It dampens things, but these two games are gone. We just have to try to win all the rest of them. The following weekend, the hurt threatened to become a persistent pain as, ten minutes into the Houston game, runningback A. J. Jones was lost. Side- lined with a dislocated collarbone, Jones was replaced by Carl Robinson, a third game starter who rushed for I 14 yards on 25 carries. Robinson just had a big play day, said Coach Akers. He just kept scratch- ing and clawing the whole way. The defense was the key. said UT s Doug Shankle. t will remember this one all my life. So will OU. 122 Texas Tech