History of Texas Longhorns Football

[Music] January 4th 2006 the Texas Longhorns faced a critical fourth down and 5 play from the USC 8 yard line with only 26 seconds left in the game the Rose Bowl and more importantly the national championship was on the line some would say it was the most important play in the history of this storied program come down to this play it had been over 35 years since the horns had won a national championship Mack Brown arrived on the 40 acres in December of 1997 and in his 8 seasons he successfully restored the great pride of the Texas football program coach Brown his talented junior quarterback Vince Young and the rest of the state of Texas stood on the doorstep of a national championship one that would validate Mack Brown's tenure as a coach and forever cement the Football Foundation at the University of Texas [Music] Texas football is one of the greatest things in America I would say I could not imagine Texas with that football football is so big in Texas and give this state it does see that a lot of things are right when football is on top when I saw the white helmets and the orange jerseys running on the field with Texas on the front of it it really touched me it was a measuring stick for all the other teams if you could go out and play well against a good Texas team you were good Texas football is just bigger than life and I guess the first sounds that I really listened to were the sounds of the cheers coming from Memorial Stadium it was always the program not only for the state of Texas but in my mind for the nation when I came here no one knew about Darrell royal I had coached out of places nobody knew me thank you very much everyone else that thinks they want me but if coach Hall wants me I'm going to the University of Texas college football at the University of Texas begin on Thanksgiving Day 1893 and it was magical from the very beginning I think they captured that moment you have to kind of use your imagination and go back in time and think of taking a train to Dallas to play what was known as the Dallas football club and it was the self-proclaimed champions of Texas and this small University in Austin which had only been in existence for ten years at that point has dared to challenge this great football program they had the better of the day which surprised the Dallas football club took the victory and went home is the champion and the guys in Dallas were embarrassed and the guys in Austin were champions that was the beginning the pressure to win was evident and the Austin faithful expected the best from their football team Dave honor dice one of the great coaches in the early years of Texas football decided to retire because he couldn't stand the pressure from the Texas fans a beloved figure in the early years of Texas football was neither a player nor a coach Doc Henry Reeves came to Texas in the early part of the university's history as something of a waterboy a trainer and the closest thing to a team doctor that they had at Texas it's a phenomenal story the man who had a tremendous medical knowledge and you never know where he got it or where it came from when Doc Henry died the Houston posted a story about it and talked about the fact that he was a person who had meant so much to so many of the students at the University to all of them but I think it showed that the color of a man's skin had nothing to do with his heart or his ability by 1924 Texas had outgrown tiny Clark field they needed a big-time football stadium and probably the most significant move for the Texas Longhorns in the 1920s was the building of Memorial Stadium erected in honor of the young soldiers who fought in World War one the construction of the stadium was paid for mostly by students and open to a crowd of 33,000 versus Baylor it has been their home and a wonderful home at that ever since by the end of the 1936 season Texas football was still searching for its first national championship and decided to make a bold move and the hiring of its next coach Dana X Bible was already one of the legendary coaches in college football coaching at rival Texas A&M and at Nebraska the University of Texas made a risky choice and hired mr. Bible to come to Texas as the coach and athletics director his $15,000 annual salary was more than the University President made and challenged the governor salary mr. Bible sold the school on his Bible plan to build academic and athletic greatness at the University of Texas he wanted the students to get their education and the Bible plan meant that he had a scholarship and as long as you were healthy you kept that scholarship and you got your degree coach he was he's referred to as mr. Bible very seldom do you hear anyone say coach Bible and it was mr. Bible from his players well hey there's truth and you know no monkey no no funny business no it's all business with his name and the respect that he garnered throughout the college football world viable would begin building his program from the ground up it was expected that Texas would quickly become a national power a team to be reckoned with but it didn't happen immediately he came in with such credentials and yet at the same time Texas had been so down it was hard to get the program turned around folks used to kid about Ally Bible than the 40 sieves because his defense seemed to leak all the time it wasn't until 1940 the Texas broke through on the national scene and enjoyed one of its best seasons to date it was only fitting that the upstart Longhorns coming-out party was against their greatest rival Texas A&M the Aggies had won the national championship the year before and most folks thought Texas had no chance to win very early in the game wingback noble Doss part of mr. Bible's first recruiting class made an over-the-shoulder catch that set up the game's only touchdown Pete Layton scored on a one-yard run and Texas won seven to nothing knocking the Aggies out of the Rose Bowl and out of the national championship more importantly it established exactly what mr. Bible had set out to accomplish at UT the 7-nothing victory became famous but the catch that noble Doss made it was an over-the-shoulder catch in that picture probably typifies the first hundred years of Texas football more than any other single picture and it forever will hang in the memory and in the hallways of Lourdes one year later the 1941 version of the Longhorns was poised to be the best Texas team ever and they set their sights on the Rose Bowl and a national championship by the middle of November the team was undefeated and Light magazine featured the team on its cover now the whole country was watching as this scrappy bunch made a run at Texas football history unfortunately for that particular Longhorn team their dreams got dashed even though they beat the hated Aggies at Kyle Field that season a loss to TCU and a heartbreaking tie with Baylor forded ne Rose Bowl and national championship aspirations the outbreak of World War two meant that most young kids would be off fighting instead of playing football as the war ended a new hero emerged on the Texas football scene after being discharged from the Merchant Marines before the season Bobby Lane became a long horn legend on New Year's Day 1946 in the Cotton Bowl versus Missouri Blane ran for three touchdowns caught another threw for two more and for good measure he kicked for extra points Bobby Lane was the most famous long horn athlete of any sport in Texas first half-century as his all-american career wrapped up so did mr. Bible's coaching tenure you teased football coach would retire from the field after the 1946 season a decade later Texas had still not won a national championship so in 1956 mr. Bible who was still the athletics director picked up his telephone and changed the course of Longhorn history and won that I got a very important call from mr. Bible I was up in Seattle and coaching the University of Washington got this phone call said hello Darryl this is DX Bible but I knew exactly what what the call was about of course and coach Roy put his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone with his wife and said Edith this is it this is the University of Texas I think it was an extremely big reach because I was only 32 at that time and really didn't have that much of impressive of coaching record Darrell K royal arrived in Texas and December 1956 he was the youngest coach in college football and it was his task to carry on the pride of Texas Longhorn football coach Roy L had gone to the University of Oklahoma so he was very familiar with the Texas program and its rich history but when coach royal began coaching at Texas the football team in Austin was far from perfect fact is it was a day-to-day job and I was just trying to get things done and handle it from day to day and scratch wear ditches and try to take care of the job and improve everyday is here coach royal not only taught his players the game he taught them about life and they carried his message beyond the confines of the football field he ran a program with honesty and integrity so you're a part of a team and one of the first things that the coach royal would tell you if you got a cheat why do you play and that's remained with me the thing that was the most visionary is when he came in and after he'd been here for a year or two and he I think was told by that letter Drucker Mercalli that he could hire another assistant coach you know could add an assistant coach he said I would like to add an academic counselor a brain coach coach role is the first coach in the NCAA to hire an academic counselor blonde Hewitt and lon would call you in if your grades were sagging he wanted to know why he'd help you with your classes help you find tutors hey that makes perfect sense and that's the way Darrell was Darrell coasts with and lives with great common sense coach Royals impact was immediate the Longhorns went from 1 and 9 the previous season to 6 3 & 1 in 1957 and a berth in the Sugar Bowl he was fond of saying luck is when preparation that meets opportunity and he proved it to be true in his first year in Austin I never saw luck go jump on the guy in the shade you got to get out of the shade and get out in the Sun and sweat work sacrifice to be able to win he was demanding I mean you worked but it was under his eye and what he wanted he knew and you needed to be doing what he wanted so mister Bible gave coach royal two golds when he hired him as the head coach get the football program back on track and beat rival Oklahoma in the annual Red River shootout in his second season in 1958 he accomplished both and it was all because of the 2-point conversion [Applause] and I'd been pretty vocal that I was opposed to me but and I decided that if we scored first that we were going to go for the tooth and we luckily did score first and go for the two turned out to be the margin of victory Texas beat Oklahoma 15 to 14 and that was the first game in college football history in which a two-point conversion decided again the win established coach royal as a big-time college football coach and pointed the Longhorns on a path to the national championship it was our first victory over Oklahoma at that eight years or so and for it to happen in my second year it gave me a little bit of a little bit of support and a little bit of uneasiness of how young I was they kind of forgot about all those things and and accepted me as a coach I thought is the most important victory Texas was hungrier than ever for a national championship and heading into the 63 Red Rivers shootout both the Sooners and the Longhorns were unbeaten Joe Don Looney the Oklahoma running back gave the Longhorns all the motivation they would need in this battle especially Texas defensive stalwart Scott Appleton his comment before the ballgame was applicants tough but he ain't at the big red yet so when we played that game it's Oklahoma number one Texas number two and I think Joe Don Looney had said a few things about us as that maybe our defense wasn't quite as strong as it should be and that we probably wouldn't be able to shut him down or whatever but and it fired except defensively because they they really did tackled him well and try to keep him from getting any yardage we took the opening kickoff and we drove 75 or 80 yards and scored on our first drive and we've done that a good bit that year but I think that gave us the confidence to know that we could move the ball against Oklahoma I mean it was 28 to nothing I think before they ever scored and and we took over number one that's one of the great joys that you have as a player as a coach and as a fan and alumni the number one ranked Longhorns were on the verge of their first national championship and the only in-state rival Texas A&M stood in their way but there was a chance that this Thanksgiving Day tradition would never be played I was home dressing to go meet that president and at the airport and I hadn't tied my tie but I had had it around in my collar and was listening to the television and they said President Kennedy had been shot and the 63 team was faced with a real dilemma because six days after that Texas was supposed to play in College Station in the last game of the season with the national championship on the line the school's decided to play the game and what the entire nation in mourning Texas continued its quest for their first ever national championship training late in the game UT needed a miracle to win we get another opportunity and then one of their linebackers I believe it was intercepted the ball well probably if he falls down I don't know if we're gonna have another opportunity to get the ball to score and of all the things they tried to lateral it and the lateral was fumbled well we now get the ball back with the first down and then we go down and Hicks Green made a tremendous catch from Tommy Wade and we go down and get on it and been able to win the game and win the national country there's no way that we could have won that game because we took the ball from that point in for a touchdown and had they intercepted the ball and just fallen to the ground the game was over but I'm always thankful with the guy tried to ladder the number-one-ranked Longhorns were declared the national champions after that game that doesn't sit well with the second ranked Navy Midshipmen led by Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach who were getting ready to take on Texas in the Cotton Bowl even though Texas had already won the national championship the lure of an undefeated season took center stage the long-horned offense contained Starbuck throughout the game the long hurts trial 28 to 6 completing and undefeated shuttle championship season had we not a won that thing in 63 you know men say well yeah there there weren't a lot of games but the gate win that national championship winning that was the last hurdle to get up that we feel like helped build this program from that point Oh after winning the national title the Longhorns came back to the pack in the next couple of years even with a dominating defense led by all-american tommy nobis three straight six and four seasons followed and coach royal sought to change his sputtering offensive approach in 1968 with a spectacular recruiting class that would later become known as the Wooster crowd name from monster fullback Steve booster legend has it that Coach Royal and assistant coach Emery Villard had to look no further than the dinner table for the answer you know Edith I have an idea the wishbone offense a revolutionary formation that allowed the Longhorns to played four players in the backfield it was born because we had two outstanding half backs Jim Burleson and Ted coy and both of them deserve to be in there playing and then of course we had Worcester in the middle that faux black the Longhorns lost the first game that season and tied the second coach royal then made a change at quarterback and inserted untested underclassmen James Street to run the wishbone it was a big move but I found that our quarterback was guessing on the wishbone well without the wishbone I'm not sure I'd ever been the starting quarterback at the University of Texas it kind of fit my style I was pretty quick and and and could operate behind the line of scrimmage James Street bought that intangible to a team he didn't have great gifts as far as his running ability he wasn't the best passer that you'd ever saw all he did was win and he did that really well course Street came in as a starting quarterback in the wishbone and he started 20 games and we won 20 Street and the wishbone were rolling and became the stuff of legend as the 1968 Longhorns marched through the season finishing 9 1 & 1 heading into 1969 their sights were set on another national title as no team in the country could slow down the wishbone attack it fit our style it worked perfectly the other teams had not learned how to defense it win run rot properly no matter what they did they they made a mistake it made a lot of sense you put a lot of pressure on the defensive players to be in the right place and play their position to stay at home anybody made a mistake we got the 1969 season was the 100th anniversary of college football in the country and to match up in Fayetteville between the number one ranked Longhorns and the number two ranked Arkansas Razorbacks would be build the game of the century President Richard Nixon was on hand and would present a presidential plaque after the game to the national champion the whole country became interested in it more than 20 million people saw the game on television it was one of the most watched games in its time well I'll tell you that was a that was a unique experience a unique ballgame a unique situation everything about it was was unique and the stakes were extremely high and it was the national championship was on the line and every fan including the presidents a couple of them were there were we're excited about that ball game bad weather and no one noticed Texas found themselves down 14 to 8 in the second half and Arkansas was looking for more but it was defensive back Freddie Steinmark mistake that saved the game for the Longhorns he was at safety and receiver was going by him and he tackled it which of course pass interference was called but that was better than a touchdown had they scored they had been the winner three plays later the Razorbacks threw an interception in the end zone and now Texas had one more chance for a miracle the hog defense was up to the task and the Longhorns found themselves in a fourth and three situation with the national championship on the line and the street came Street the quarterback goes by Dakota's a timeout what we're gonna do coach you said I don't want you to pass he said sir I want you to pass Darrell didn't pass very much and he said yes sir went back on the field James trotted out to bet the hash mark and he turned around came back and he said coach are you sure it's nothing said yeah because the everybody thought would be running the option play I want you to pass dammit I just felt like it's time to gamble we were behind and it was time to go for all the marbles and throw the deep pass to passion [Music] probably the most dramatic passages and the worth of his career in the game of the century street to Peschel was the pass of the century Texas wound up on the Arkansas 13 yard line and two plays later Jim Bertelsen ran the Longhorns to the victory of the century so we were a : team and played as a team and I think that's what big coach role is big on both sides of the ball I had to play equally well we were at the right place at the right time we got it done after the game President Nixon and the Secret Service commandeered the Texas locker room to present the national championship plaque to the Texas Longhorns it was just a happiness I never observed before and is such a surprise in such a wonderful victory it was a very special window of time in Texas football because royal had been up in the early 60s had gone through that valley and now was national champion and Texas was on top of the world because so many people saw that game and knew so much about it just three days after the national championship victory Freddie Steinmark was diagnosed with a massive tumor on his hip he certainly didn't know he had cancer and the bone almost eaten that in his leg they flew him down to down to Houston and a few days later they amputated his leg Freddy was a Catholic and he wanted so badly to play against Notre Dame he was excited when he learned that the Irish for the very first time since the four horsemen were going to come to the Cotton Bowl and play Texas so on January 1 1970 when Freddie Steinmark came down the tunnel on his crutches three weeks after he'd had that language and he stood on the sidelines with those crutches the entire ballgame and cheered his Longhorns to victory the inspiration that Freddie Steinmark gave to the Longhorns helped beat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl to complete the second undefeated national championship for Texas coach royal gave the game ball to Steinmark tell you how proud I am I did it'd be kind of you know an understatement face I talk too damn long I'm gonna choke up but we've got a guy that we love a lot ready here it is for you a year and a half later in June of 1971 Freddie Steinmark lost his battle to cancer but Freddie was one of those guys in stuff that the Lord put him in in the right place at the right time and never complain never boys me and even to the very end he was upbeat and happy and that's why we all remember Freddie the 1970 long horn team picked up right where they left off from the national championship season Eddie Phillips guided the wishbone to perfection as Texas won the first two games of the season but pack eight powerhouse UCLA came down to Austin and put the champs on the ropes leading 1713 with 12 seconds left in the game it would be another miracle comeback at Memorial Stadium Phillips fakes the option those two spire in the two safeties for UCLA go for the interception well they under played I actually miss miss played the spires of speed they go for the interception they knock each other down spire catches it runs for a touchdown and that preserved that the long winning game streak and the 70 team Believe It or Not probably was more talented the problem that we had with it late in the season we start we got some injuries that's the difference injuries notwithstanding the Texas winning streak reached an incredible 30 games even with the loss to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl the Longhorns still captured back-to-back national championships with this third national championship under his belt Darrell royal firmly established himself as the greatest coach in Texas football history in 1970 defensive lineman Julius whittier became the first African American athlete to earn a varsity football letter at the University of Texas it was an historic moment and it took a lot of courage for Julius I'm sure you know to say I'm gonna be the first black african-american player on that team you know it was a huge deal and we didn't even know it we just saw a good defensive end change the outlook of what we look at and the things that were wrong with the system before that I think that though you had to have special people to be able to do that on the west coast that was players out there who black African Bergen clears out that was plant that played extremely well and they was winning championships knew it was the right thing to do and it was long overdue as a matter of fact julius warrior's courage made it possible for other great african-american athletes to come to texas like running back roosevelt leaks who became the team's first african-american all-american as the selfie won the early black players here at the university it was always of course about whether I could play I knew I could play but when I get an opportunity to the plate that's what other coaches has told me around the country that I would not get off to the place I was being recruited he was probably the first highly recruited player to turn down a lot other teams and come to Texas which which gave him a you know an extra star on his shoulder pads I mean he was very courageous to do that and then set the bar up there pretty high coach all gave me an opportunity to show that I had I could be somebody if I wanted to be somebody it took hard work to do that's what happened and I'm very proud of that well Roosevelt was fast and strong and smart and Munro's II would be running over you or run past you before you'd ever know it i mean it was gone it was over he was a flash I mean he had a game in the Cotton Bowl against SMU that's just hard to it's hard to fathom he was not only outran people carrying people for 342 yards I remember it like it was yesterday my oldest sister made the statement or or you think you can bring football up everybody think he's so good you see that black guy right there that white uniform he's finding run for 300 yards in one football game and I said Shearer and I kind of sit there and watched in that was a little girl needs Julius woodier opened the door for Roosevelt Leakes who interned opened it for Tyler's Earl Christian Campbell the greatest running back in Texas football history I knew nothing new now history I knew nothing about this university it was obvious you know when you watch him that's what much fail he was one of those 10 footers watch my 10 feet of family with him he's over you got it and he was so fun to watch he had power and speed and he had a great deal of tenacity we knew there's a great player but we didn't know how great I remember the first practice that Earl Campbell had and I was just you know at how quick he got off with the ball and how much speed here her own voice has always had a quiet wisdom about it Earl is like a an older man he was like a senior when he came in as a freshman they'd put him anywhere they needed him and he's ready to line up and play Earl was so fast in the first ten yards coming out of the blocks and he was so strong and so Gerald wanted to work him into the game and so he put him on the punt block team and so Earl lined up next to me on the punt block team and we had the block on against Arkansas and I think Earl almost beat the ball to the punter and obviously he blocked that ball and I was very step or two behind him and and the ball landed in my hands and that was my one and only touchdown for my college career but thanks Earl Campbell Earl Campbell gained over 900 yards in his freshman year and followed that up with an all-american sophomore season totaling over 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns that 1975 season was a breakout year for the tighter rows I don't think I've ever seen a better running back I just never seen anyone that could make a six yard run exciting and have that many people miss him and and then break away and outrun everybody for a touchdown injuries marred Campbell's junior year and toward the end of the 1976 season rumblings began that Darrell royal would step down as the Texas football coach I had learned that climbing is easier than maintaining once once you get to a certain peak and you keep it that level now that's a string I never wanted to stay in the coaching profession until people wanted me to leave I just felt like it was a good time to step aside the Longhorns sent out coach royal in style beating Arkansas 29 to 12 it's only fitting that the greatest coach in Texas football history exited with a win against one of the school's biggest rivals so at age 52 after amassing 11 conference championships three national championships and 167 wins Darrell K royal hung up his coaching rings and was carried into the sunset it's amazing to savor we kind of got to be like father and son I know him and I knew it and I could tell China at the end of this career that some of the guys that kind of picked up on him and they would kind of joke about it when clicked all will go back there with the rest of the coaches Oh coach I'll let you do anything at all so now Manny coach we just like you goat you a good guy go talk to him and at that point in his life just decided that then was the time and he never looked back I thought to that thought not to leave the cupboard bare when you left leave something for the next guy to work with that next guy was former Longhorn assistant Fred Akers who promptly ditched the wishbone offense for the i-formation better suited for the dominant running attack of a now healthy Earl Campbell and that's the biggest reason we had in the I he needed to have a chance to handle the football in every way you can handle it we wanted to hand it to him pitch it to it and throw it to him he was gonna get the football then we changed Earl physically a little bit he said I'm gonna chase I'm gonna change this thing out hey too much of top of the city to me says you're gonna grow out and you're gonna work out with that trying to Frank Medina in Des Moines about five or six o'clock in the morning before your class and you're gonna get done 225 pounds and you gonna be - got to have to run the ball maybe 25 or 30 times so come on let's get to work Campbell came to camp next season 25 pounds lighter and the leaner more agile back was touted as one of the favorites for the Heisman Trophy the 1977 Longhorns were we invigorated led by Campbell and third-string quarterback Randy McEachern on offense and Outland Trophy winner Brad Shearer on defense Texas went undefeated in the regular season and was ranked number one in the country the tighter rows led the nation in rushing and scoring running for over 1700 yards and 19 touchdowns Campbell was the front runner for ut's first ever high ceman trophy but needed a big game in the season finale versus Texas A&M to lock it up but it's time understand what the hasman is because it had again dollars an internal dorset was the year before me coach Akers says you know you give me anything over 200 yards you win a Heisman Trophy sure no god bless me and I team and that's what we did winning the Heisman was an incredible accomplishment for Campbell but an undefeated season and a national championship were at the top of the list for the Longhorns and their first year head coach but Joe Montana and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish would stand in their way and we played Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl and they just really we couldn't stop them defensively we did not do a good job defensively of slowing him down and they lined up on the Earl and did a good job of stopping early Notre Dame with a another quarterback named Joe Montana pulled out a victory and beat Texas and ended what was Akers dream season in his very first year when it appeared a national championship was easily with him major Akers followed the spectacular starts in 77 with nine straight winning seasons and nine consecutive bowl berths in 1983 Akers had the horns in the hunt for another national title going undefeated in the regular season before losing to Georgia ten to nine in the Cotton Bowl despite posting 66 wins in his first seven years Akers never totally endeared himself to the Longhorns faithful and concluded his coaching career in Austin after the 1986 season and it is hard to follow a legend then he tried and he did everything he could and he was also heading into an era in the Southwest Conference where there was an awful lot of turmoil so it was it was a tough time for the Southwest Conference it was a tough time for Texas and the program was we're having trouble recruiting kids and you know our program was headed down so Texas was looking for a new coach and found one within the long horn family that about assistant and former Longhorn player David McWilliams seemed the perfect choice to lead the team immediately his homespun nature reminded people of coach Darrell royal and the Texas football community had high hopes David McWilliams brought everything to Texas that the Longhorns thought they wanted brought the tradition he brought the history they wanted him to be another Darrell royal I really didn't think that Texas would be interested in me but only been a head coach for one year you know he said I think Texas needs you and I think you're the one that can come back here and get it done and but I kind of knew coming in what it was going to be and it would be tough it was tough very tough McWilliams suffered losing seasons in two of his first three years 88 we didn't play well at all 89 we didn't play well all in 89 several of the seniors came and talked to me they're seniors to be the cash is that you know coach we gotta turn this around in 1990 they nearly did Texas opened up with an unexpected win over nationally ranked Penn State and the Longhorns used that momentum and they're shocked the nation tour to win ten games that season they were beaten badly by Miami in the Cotton Bowl 46 to 3 and the program never recovered the issues what David started was the Miami game and the Cotton Bowl where he had where he struggled with that well you know after the ninety season I really thought we were kind of on our way I mean that we had a chance to then finally get back to where Texas should be the horns look forward to the 1991 season with anticipation there was even talk of gunning for a national championship but after winning only five games a disappointed David McWilliams decided to step down it was more of this is my school and hey I'm not getting the I'm not getting the I'm not getting Texas back to that national rankings like they should be and as much as I hate to do it it's time for me to step down and someone else come in not since coach Royal in 1956 and mr. Bible before him had the University of Texas ventured as far afield as they did to find John mackovic in 1992 known for his wide open offense mackovic looked to bolster the spirit of the proud Texas tradition as a coach coach Megan because is a professor you know he yes he's a good office of mine there's a great office of scheme and it kind of blows players into a system determined to carve his own legacy mackovic steadily rebuilt the UT program it made its most dramatic mark in 1994 when redshirt freshman James Brown exploded off the bench to start in Dallas against Oklahoma James Brown the Texas quarterback gets the snap and Allen bootleg and he will run he will throw instead downfield complete at the 35 yard line for the first down James Brown not only fooled me but he also fooled the Oklahoma defense when I was went through the pregame drills and everything came back in said to prayer and coach Magdeburg was like well yo James is gonna be starting this week of all games that his initiation the Texas football on college football was against oh you and you know as a freshman the kid comes in and get it done nine yard touchdown run by James Brown and for the first time this afternoon the Texas Longhorns take the lead Texas beat Oklahoma and ended the 94 campaign with three straight victories including a 35 31 win over North Carolina in the Sun Bowl the first Texas Bowl triumph in 13 years James Brown revitalized Texas football put his back on the map put it back in in the right direction after a 10 to in one season in 1995 Longhorns football seemed to be headed in the right direction the same could not be said for their longtime home the Southwest Conference as much as we all love the Southwest Conference it absolutely was doing nothing for Texas and the Texas football Texas sports were laying dormant or going downhill because we couldn't keep Texas kids in Texas the Southwest Conference basically was doomed it was also true that the big eight was dead the two conferences needed something to bring them together so that they could put the power of the Midwest and the Southwest together and therefore be a player at the television table and be a player at the national level as far as college football is concerned the Midwest and the Southwest joined to create a powerful new super conference and the big 12 immediately signed the biggest television deal in college sports history the 1996 season was also the year that Memorial Stadium was renamed Darrell K royal Texas Memorial Stadium in honor of the greatest coach in Texas football to history I was asked by the president Bill Cunningham if he and athletic director had could come out and visit with me at the house I thought well they wanted to take me off the payroll I'm gonna make it as easy for him as I can I'm not gonna let him explain how they feel I'm gonna just say it's fine I accepted no problem well they come in and said we've decided to name the stadium after you and I just sat there dumbfounded and president cunningham said well said you accept it we've you've got to accept it I said no I yes yes I was just stunned I thought you were here for a different reason so that was quite a thrill to be honored by having a name on the stadium and you've been a coach I can't tell you how much I appreciate that how much I've enjoyed it when they they have a recognition of your career that is really special [Music] Texas entered that inaugural big 12 season with its first preseason top ten ranking since 1984 after seven games UT had one but three games with the dogged determination of a true Texas Longhorn mackovic squad rallied to take five straight and beat the heavily favored defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers 37 27 in the big 12 conference championship handed off Holmes good block touchdown touchdown Daniel the huge clock do you believe in his 36 to 27 and we are witnessing France have a huge upset the glory of that victory didn't last long in 1997 Texas was routed by UCLA 66 to 3 in the second game of the season Kate McDowell turns fakes the handoff he will throw to the end zone wide open the tight end touchdown Mike grebe catches the one-yard touchdown pass from cave McNown and the Bruins now lead at 23 to nothing and this crowd of 75,000 plus just absolutely stunned Texas football was in trouble again quick drop by Jerry looking light throwing light and this pass is picked off at the 35 30 25 20 15 10 touchdown UCLA's Damian Allen returns the interception for a 40 yard touchdown it's worse the 1997 season ended at 4 and 7 it matched the worst record for a UT team since 1956 mackovic was relieved of his coaching duties which would signal the 3rd coaching change in 11 years the errors of Texas football since Darrell royal had gone through Fred Akers and David McWilliams in John mackovic and each in their time had a very special part and some very special moments but at the end of the 1997 season Texas decided again it was time to go in a new direction one of the things that we did with that committee was to establish our own criteria we took all those resumes and set them aside we said let's start with our criteria what do we want and we designed this Bionic coach that none of us really had hopes of finding but we were gonna try to get as close as we could turns out he was coaching in North Carolina Mac Brown in December of 1997 46 year-old Mac Brown came to Austin and before a statewide audience was announced as the head football coach I think we can do that a little bit to start can we go to a press conference that is full in the Erwin Center and that's when Sally looked at me and said sweetie this is different because we had about five or six media types at our press conference in Chapel Hill in 88 and this one was on TV and radio statewide and we knew that things were different from that moment forth we're really excited to be here you go back and there's a young guy when you're you're growing up and your granddad's the winningest high school football coach in Tennessee history your dad's a player and a superintendent and and you were raised in a family that was coaching and at that time you started looking at guys that you wanted to be like and obviously at that time Bear Bryant was really important at that time what he hates Bo Schembechler a lot of those names and and one of the names is a young coach that I looked at was Darrell royal he came in at a time that we needed him to come in and do the things that he's done and bring back former players the smart guy I mean he came in and grabbed coach Walt the first day I was here coach royal said you need to call Joe Jamel because the field is named after Joe and you need to call Eddie Joseph who's the head of the High School Coaches Association and ask him if you can be working with the high school coaches in this state and I said coach I don't have a number and he said four seven six so he gave me both numbers and I call both immediately before the press conference and more than that on days where I've asked questions about did you ever do this I'm confused with this how do you think this will fit in this state he has been more than willing to say I wouldn't do that here's what I think he makes me feel welcome at any time they they know we're all on the same side and that but they make an old coach feel good when Mack Brown came to town he had the complete support of Coach role which if coach Hall likes you and respects you this is the real deal and Mack just fit right in and it was like he was supposed to be here Mack knew that in order to bring all the pieces back together that we were going to need coach role that we were going to need the high school coaches that we were going to need the fan base and the alumni and and so he reached out immediately the bill goes in motion handoff Williams up the middle running for yardage he's at the 50 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the record Matt Brown won nine games his first season in Austin mostly with the help of old American running back Ricky Williams who finished that year with a Texas record 2124 yards the fifth best in NCAA history whenever he touched a ball he was trying to score every time I'd never really seen that from somebody in college like that up close up close and personal but every time he touched the ball he was going to the end zone and I mean he went off ourselves like this guy's pretty good man and I've never been around a back that got stronger and stronger as the game went on as Ricky did and he wanted the ball in the fourth quarter he wanted to take the game over and that's what he that's what he did for us in 1998 Ricky Williams followed the giant footsteps of earl campbell and became only the second longhorn to win the Heisman Trophy that first year got everybody excited about what could come from there in the recruiting classes built from there and they had successful season after a successful season and began a string of never having fewer than nine wins in his time at Texas and he just kept doing it right Mack Brown through the past years the same thing we're getting close we're getting close we're getting close but then it's like well you can't win the last chance you we were winning nine nine and then we got 11 11 10 in 2001 we had a chance to play Miami for the national championship and we lose by 2 to a really good Colorado team so our expectation had kind of hit a watershed that that we were a 9 10 11 win team but we hadn't won a national championship in 30-something years that's what we want you know that's what everybody was talking about so our players were always being asked about the games that we had not won what about Oklahoma what about the national championship nothing about the 10 11 wins consistently so we were looking at being the most consistent team in college football over the last five six years and absolutely no credit for it because we hadn't finished it and we felt like the 2004 game with Michigan was a huge step this whole year has been about the dedication to you and your teammates and on January 1st 2005 the 10 and 1 Texas Longhorns made their first ever trip to the Rose Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines to get into the Rose Bowl after the 2004 season was one of the great opportunities for Texas football so a moment in our chair for the rest of my life first BCS I'm very very great school and then to note that Texas and Michigan in this these two storied programs had never played each other that was stunning to thinking that in the history of the two great programs it was it was a great experience this great experience turned into a great football game as these two historic teams battled all the way to the end a Lake Michigan field goal put the Wolverines up 37 35 he was sophomore quarterback Vince Young who led the Longhorns ribe that set up a game-winning field goal attempt and then of course there's dusty Mangum at the end of it Michigan used three timeouts to freeze dusty during that whole thing they used all three of their timeouts and during that time Mack walked out there and was laughing him and and dusty was kind of laughing about this can you believe this and Mack was like you know in this great you get to be a hero you get to you get to kick this field goal when any hit it last bolts a bucket here's the snap and the whole 37 yard [Applause] from the Texas water boys thing women 38:37 I mean if you don't hit it there's knowing that he did have this as a team but he comes on it bends that one in there from 37 yards out to win it he becomes an instant legend afterwards for them winning the Rose Bowl but the Michigan win validated in Texas and it validated Mack Brown's program because after all the years that Texas had struggled to get back to the national scene now there it was in that venue winning that game against that opponent and suddenly now Texas had reclaimed respect after beating Michigan it was like the whole place was on fire and knew that now we're there we've got a chance now to compete for the national championship every year not just this year and I even caution people that would say this is your year now that means we don't have next year we don't have the next year at Texas it should be our year every year the 2005 season was one team singularly focused with only one goal win the national championship the second game of the season on the road at Ohio State would be the Longhorns biggest challenge all year going into that horseshoe and playing there in that Stadium was another opportunity for Texas to play a team that has a lot of tradition you know coming in from the team who has a lot of tradition you know we felt like that was a moment that we could be better than any other team they ever come to Texas I think that game was just a test some big test it's like a midterm test but then ultimately its bids with just over five minutes to go he brings it down he finds lime is sweet to pass looking with a lot of time blob sit in the corner it's caught its touchdown for Texas what a catch my wine is sweet I mean I different teens we're all in that ballgame where we just kept believing in each other I think it defied us as a team where we are what we can do and those are the type games you have to win to win them all and then Ohio State might very well have won at all if they had beaten us that night because they were definitely one of the best teams make happen and we didn't kill of how state but we beat him up there and a really good football game and I think then you just saw the chemistry you know I think we can 2005 proved to be a dream season for the Texas Longhorns as the boys from Austin dominated their opponents like no UT team in history and this Texas bunch was determined to finish it win their first national title in 35 years the USC Texas matchup in the Rose Bowl had been hyped since the college football season began and this battle between the nation's top two teams was the most anticipated national championship game in recent memory the Trojans were looking for their third straight national championship writing and incredible 34 game winning streak led by 2005 Heisman Trophy winning running back Reggie Bush and southpaw quarterback Matt Leinart who had won the Heisman the year before most thought that USC would roll all over Texas it's these guys heard all of that and they heard it for a month leading up to the game itself and and I think it helps serve to motivate him we talked about Troy and the Trojan horse and sleeping in at night and keeping your mouth shut and then we talked about the quote walk softly and carry a big stick we're gonna let them get all the publicity and feel very good about themselves we're gonna slip in and that wooden horse we're gonna keep our mouth shut we're gonna be at their place we got absolutely no chance to win and then we're gonna win I had just lost a husband from one and then they gave it to us see so it's pretty much like that whole year they was trying to give us see every day and I just kept looking back at my teammates knowing that I wanted to bring that trophy home back to Texas the USC Texas game lived up to the height from the start good evening everybody from the Arroyo Seco the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains here in Pasadena California it's the 92nd Rose Bowl game and it was the Longhorns who surprisingly held a 6210 lead heading into halftime [Applause] the fun was only just beginning for both teams I will return to keep boiling the food half for a touchdown taking the headset off and said what a fantastic game this is that was at 2423 that was long before the rest of what happened to happen and it was Pudge counter Kyle play-action back the throat deep over the middle at ball jarick inside the table the gold touchdown southern USC scored 28 points in the second half taking a 12 point lead 38:26 with just over six minutes to play I never thought that we would lose again and and I knew as our staff knew this was a huge drive when you're down by 12 with 632 like you have to score and you don't need threes so we were so good at no huddle all year we had four downs to score but we weren't gonna punch we were going to get our four down so we told the guys we're gonna score and get right back in the middle of this thing so keep your mouth shut go back to work I think we supporting six o'clock wide left rolling laughing young looked to throw now darts back to the right side he's got winning where's Vince pucks full of 20 15 10 5 touchdown working its magic yet again and then we had to challenge the defense the same way one stop they are great we weren't going to stop them consistently through the night they were gonna make their place pat mat on the head when he makes a good throw he's a good player Reggie Bush is hard to tackle it makes it if you can grab him and grab it but when he makes a good place a good play but we got to make one stop you make a stop we're gonna win the national championship 13 to go liner under center he'll hand off to white he didn't get it full stop it at the 44 yard line Texas is held then the long words take over at the Texas 44 209 remaining in the ball game will extend the chains Vince Young and Texas had the opportunity a football game a program a state's pride rested on the shoulders of number 10 he would take one last miracle it was 26 seconds to a national title it was fourth and five for Sam and five texts at the USC eight three wide receivers none foolish shotgun back to bro kids looks under pressure he'll tuck it in to us [Applause] beats coming again Mitchell has given the Lord with 30 seconds but play the game and finally Vince Young on fourth and five became a legend like those before him Bobby Lane Street to Peschel the tighter rows and now Vince Young Texas beat USC 41 to 38 for the first time in 35 years Texas finally finished it and was again national champions just to show has been a lot of time since the university that takes it did and we got have to say myself and the guys was important team you know as I said that we did that for me it was like his unbelievable I get to live the 69 game all over 35 years is a long time to wait it was a moment in the history of Texas football and this university that I mean people will talk about forever it was just great to go witness the game and then ride with the players and the coaches back home since we've won the game I've never ever seen a group embrace so for all of the heartbreak they took in what they thought were tragic losses they have embraced this game I've seen elderly men cry everywhere I go people are saying thank you for bringing it home thank you unbelievable things ever have in my life scope I think they really mean it and that's the good thing if you're gonna have the bad days where they're so disappointed and so proud but then angry after the loss good for them that they're so excited when they want it off [Music] I thank y'all Texas for letting me come be a party of eternity

Channel: OHF Big12

Views: 18,475

Rating: 4.8548388 out of 5

Keywords: Earl Campbell, Mack Brown, Texas Longhorns, History of Texas Longhorns, College football, One Hour Football, NCAA

Id: mvTp0A7Zllg

Length: 71min 16sec (4276 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 19 2018