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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1999)
Texas 24, UT takes the Huskers down By Samuel McKewon Senior staff writer AUSTIN, Texas - Third verse, same as the first. And the second. It was just as exciting - Saturday’s chapter three of the Nebraska-Texas saga. It was just as close. And it ended exactly the same way - in UT victory, this time a 24-20 win in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a Longhorn home game. The Comhuskers (6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12 Conference), who fell to No. 8 in The Associated Press poll Sunday, watched as they had more yards and first downs and a greater time of possession than Texas. But they watched many of those yards and first downs go wasted because of three turnovers - two inside the Texas 20-yard line. They watched a second half in which the Blackshirts - a defense that had smothered quarterback Major Applewhite and the UT offense in the first half - made one critical breakdown after another, as 84,082 at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium saw the now-No. 12 Longhorns erase a 13-3 halftime deficit en route to a third-straight regular sea Longhorns earn respect with victory By John Gaskins Staff writer , AUSTIN, Texas - Another huge win over Nebraska, another ride off the field from his play ers for Texas Coach Mack Brown. But after coming from behind to upset the No. 8 Huskers for the second-straight season, Brown and his players felt like they earned more than the congratulations they received from NU, the media and their own fans last year. This time, they earned respect The 12th-ranked Longhorns erased doubts about their poise they received in earlier 1999 losses at home to North Carolina State and estab lished once again they have Nebraska’s, number, despite being billed the underdog in each of their last three wins over the Huskers. “I’m amazed at how far the team has come right now,” Brown said. “I want them to under stand how good Nebraska was. You have to give our kids credit. They played their guts out for three hours and 15 minutes. Our kids kept coming back.” The victory was especially gratifying for some Texas players after some Huskers talked of revenge-seeking and Texas-hating throughout the week. After the game it was time for the Longhorn players to talk. “I think they were surprised,” LIT comerback Ahmad Brooks said after being asked what he saw in the Nebraska players’ eyes as the game neared its 24-20 conclusion. “Of what, I’m not sure. We’ve been doing this for the last two years.” , Texas quarterback Major Applewhite - who lead a game-winning, fourth-quarter touchdown drive for the second-straight season against the nation’s third-best defense - said Brown warned his players to not talk back about the NU players’ comments, particularly about center Dominic Raiola’s hatred of Texas and Bobby Newcombe’s claim that the Huskers were almost impossible to stop offensively. “We know it’s important to do the talking on the field,” Applewhite said, crediting his inexperi enced and much-criticized offensive line for the comeback. “I don’t think anyone has the right to question these guys anymore. They’ve played well all year long.” What people can question is why the Huskers were unable to stop the Longhorn jinx after domi nating Texas on the statistics sheet. Nebraska had by far more plays (72-57), first downs (23-13), rushing yards (192-62) and total Please see UT on 11 son win over Nebraska, the first team to do so since Oklahoma in 1985-87. Afterward, NU didn’t focus on a Texas hex. Question after question was deflected “We came out thinking we were the better team. I still think we are. We just didn’t get it done on the field today,” said NU wingback Bobby Newcombe. Nearly every player echoed similar senti ments. Some tacked on the notion that the Huskers would see UT in the Big 12 Championship game, assuming they navigate the remainder of the schedule. There certainly was no foggy disbelief or confusion that sur rounded last year’s home loss. This time it was clear that, in many ways, Nebraska made errors that had doomed its chance at victory, and its players had already come to terms with it by post-game interviews. Like Newcombe, they just weren’t happy about it. The players and coaches lamented the criti cal mistakes - turnovers, poor clock manage ment and untimely lack of execution - as the short and bitter recipe to the Huskers’ demise. “Texas made some plays when, certainly, there were plays that needed to be made,” Nebraska Head Coach Frank Solich said over the roar of Texas fans outside, who hung around long after the game’s conclusion to taunt Husker players and chant “Texas! One!” a few hundred times. “We had our chances. We made too many errors. Turnovers were traumatic - very, very costly. You can not turn the ball over against a good football team and not expect to be stung by it. That became the case.” Did it ever. The most costly fumble came in the fourth quarter, when I-back Correll Buckhalter lost the ball at the UT 1 -yard line on third and goal. Texas (6-2 and 3-1) was leading 17-13 at the time. The two other fumbles, both in the first half, were credited to Crouch. “I’m not going to blame myself totally,” Crouch said. “But I’m a leader of this team and this offense, and I’m disappointed when things don’t go well.” -4 “We just weren’t the normal Nebraska team today. We made a lot of mistakes on different plays.” Those three turnovers partly crossed out 429 total yards, including 235 from Crouch himself. Though Nebraska amassed only 192 rushing yards, it out-passed Texas, and Alexander gained 136 yards on 21 carries. Please see NU on 11