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

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On a third and 27 for Texas, Donnie Little ' s pass is intercepted by Ted Whatts and returned 37 yards for a Texas Tech score. Texas lost to Tech 20-24. Scratch and claw became Texas ' offensive strategy as they struggled throughout the game to overcome Hous- ton ' s defense. Unable to make the final plunge into the endzone, the Horns had to settle for two John Goodson field goals. Set up for the first by a Mclvor drive to the Houston 26, the second fol- lowed shortly thereafter when Ken McKune and Bruce Scholtz forced a Houston fumble. Kenneth Sims recovered on the 27-yard line and Good- son kicked to extend the lead to 6-0. But at the end of the first quarter, it looked as if Houston would surge ahead. Quarterback Brent Chmn, on an 8 I -yard pass which was almost half of the Cou- gars ' total passing yardage, hit Eric Her- ring to put Houston within one yard of their goal. For two downs the Texas defense held, watching for their chance, and on third and one they found it. Sims and McKune hit Eddie Wright, causing a fumble to end Houston ' s only offensive drive in the first half. It was one of the most memorable stands I can recall, Akers said. If that ' s not a team effort, I ' ve never been around one. After Chinn fumbled the snap at his own 33-yard line, Donnie Little began to engineer Texas ' first touchdown. March- ing to the 2-yard line, he handed off to freshman John Walker who lept for the score. The extra point missed, but the Horns were ahead 12-0. With the Horns still in front (15-7) in the fourth quarter and five minutes left to play, Houston coach Bill Yeoman substituted relief spe- cialist Terry Elston for Chinn. Although Elston had had wrist surgery early in the season, he hit Lonell Phea on a 17-yard pass and then connected with tightend Mark Ford giving Houston a first-and-ten at the Texas I I -yard line. Having gained two yards on the ground, Elston went to the air for three yards to Phea who tipped the ball and made the catch on the ground touch- down Houston. The Cougars elected to go for a two-point conversion to tie the game at 15. But even though Elston found Clark wide open in the endzone, Clark drop- ped the ball and Texas remained in the lead. They had their share of mistakes and so did we, Akers said. All those things really evened out. That game could have been won by either team . . . We were the best today. -continued A dejected Me endures a little c chine Houston 1 23

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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

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Long Hau continued The next week the Longhorns gained a bid to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl by defeating the TCU Horned Frogs 51-26. More than 20,000 fans gathered at Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth to watch the Longhorns put forth their best offensive effort of the season. The Texas offense piled up 579 yards against the Horned Frogs as runningback Darryl Clark and quarterback Donnie Little each gained more than 100 yards against the SWC ' s worst defense. Showing some offense for one of the first times in the second season, Little completed 12 consecutive passes, rushed for a career high I 19 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns. By the time TCU had thrown the last 39 passes, the Horns had scored their most points since beating Texas A M 57-28 in 1977. The Frogs, in losing their 13th straight to the Horns, were only in the game as long as Texas allowed, rushing for one first down and minus 43 yards. Much of those losses came on 10 quarterback sacks by the Horns for minus 94 yards as Texas ' front line bottled up TCU quarter- back Steve Stamp all day. Never having clearly shown where it was headed in this rollercoaster of a sea- Texas found itself at 7-2 and 4-2 in son conference play as the game against the Baylor Bears began. The unity of offense and defense which UT had found for one brief moment against TCU suddenly dis- appeared. Plagued by errors and incon- sistency, Texas was dealt its third loss a shutout, 16-0. A fan looks off in disgust as Texas fouls again] It feels real good to do what we set out to do go undefeated in conference play. Baylors ' All-American linebacker Mike Singletary said. Texas lost to Baylor I M