Jerry Scarbrough's True Orange Newsletter
The Internet Newsletter for the True Texas Longhorn Fan

Volume 11, No. 1, October 16, 2000

Longhorns Bounce Back, Trample Buffaloes
Behind Great Defense, Solid Offense

The Longhorns followed their worst game of the Mack Brown era with a great
defensive effort and a solid offensive performance in a 28-14 win over
Colorado in Boulder Saturday afternoon.
The game really wasn't as close as the score indicates. Texas outgained
Colorado, 474 to 133, and the Buffaloes ran only six plays in Texas' end of
the field all day. The Buffs ran 72 plays and they  either gained nothing or
took a loss on 38 of them.
The defense held Colorado to 22 yards total offense in the first half and
would have had a shutout except for a pair of fumbles that gave the Buffs a
touchdown and set up their other score.
Texas is now 4-2 for the year and 2-1 in the Big 12. Colorado fell to 1-5
overall and 1-2 in conference play.
This was a real gut-check game for Texas after the 63-14 whipping at the
hands of Oklahoma the previous week, and the Longhorns responded with their
best defensive effort in terms of yardage yielded in 12 years and their best
rushing yardage total of the season.
The offense did struggle in the red zone, and Hodges Mitchell, who hadn't
fumbled all year, fumbled on a  running play and a Colorado linebacker picked
it up and returned it for a touchdown. Mitchell also fumbled a punt to set up
the other Colorado score.
But he ran for 125 tough yards and scored the clinching touchdown on a pass
from Major Applewhite, who threw for three touchdowns and 308 yards.
Here, briefly, is how the game went:
FIRST QUARTER
Colorado won the toss and took the ball. Big mistake. Texas got the wind and
the Buffs wound up playing deep in their own territory throughout the first
half because the fierce Texas defense kept sacking freshman QB Craig Ochs and
forcing turnovers. That gave the  Longhorn offense great field position, with
UT's first five possessions, extending well into the second quarter, starting
at midfield or in Colorado territory. Texas' first drive started at the Buff
42 and got to the 17 before Kris Stockton's attempt at a 34-yard field goal
sailed wide left. Their next possession began at the CU 45, and got to the 8
before Applewhite fumbled and the Buffs recovered. The third and final UT
possession in the quarter started at the Texas 46 and ended at the Colorado
45. The Longhorns owned the statistics for the quarter, leading 5-2 in first
downs and 71-20 in total offense. Colorado never crossed its 33-yard line in
the entire period.
SECOND QUARTER
The fourth Longhorn possession started at the Colorado 45, and this time the
offense scored in two plays. First, Applewhite found true freshman WR B. J.
Johnson streaking down the right sideline for 39 yards to the Buffalo 6, then
he hit his other true freshman receiver, Roy Williams, for the touchdown.
Williams outfought a Colorado defender for the ball and the score. Stockton's
kick gave Texas a 7-0 lead only 40 seconds deep in the quarter. LB Everick
Rawls intercepted Ochs' pass on the first play after the kickoff and returned
it to the Colorado 29. But the Horns couldn't move and Stockton's attempted
45-yard field goal sailed wide right. The Longhorns started their next
possession at their own 35 ) the worst field possession they had experienced
to this point ) and Applewhite hit Johnson for 10 yards, then found TE Mike
Jones for 23 more yards to the Colorado 31. The Horns stalled at the Buff 8
and Stockton booted a 30-yard field goal to stretch UT's lead to 10-0 with
7:21 left. Mitchell got loose on a 19-yard punt return to the CU 32 later in
the quarter. Applewhite hit Johnson to the 21, and Mitchell ran to the 12,
but a fumbled snap on a third-and-1 brought Stockton in to kick another
30-yard FG to boost the lead to 13-0 with 1:14 left. Colorado had nine
possessions in the first half and had minus yardage on six of them. The Buffs
had only 22 yards at the half and just two first downs.
THIRD QUARTER
The Longhorns were moving again to start the second half when disaster
struck. Mitchell was hit  as he took a handoff and the ball came loose.
Colorado LB Jashon Sykes scooped it up and ran it back 50 yards for a
touchdown. The kick was good and UT's lead was cut to 13-7 with 12:18 left.
Texas couldn't make a first down, and the Buffs drove into Texas territory
for the first time before punting to the UT 5. The Horns had failed to score
from point-blank range in the early going, but they covered the 95 yards in
just five plays. Mitchell got 10 on a draw play, then Applewhite threw an
incompletion. Mitchell bounced another draw play to the outside and ran 18
yards to the 33. Applewhite found Jones open again and hit him for 25 yards
to the CU 42. Williams got a step on his defender and Applewhite hit him for
the touchdown. The Horns went for two and Williams, who was well covered,
tipped the ball away from the defender and caught it as it came down to give
the Horns a 21-7 lead with 6:30 left. Redshirt freshman safety Dakarai
Pearson intercepted Ochs' long throw on the next play and ran it back to the
Colorado 43. But the Horns couldn't make a first down and had to punt. The UT
defense forced a quick Colorado punt, but Mitchell bobbled the ball at the UT
26 and Colorado recovered. A personal foul against Texas moved it to the 13
and Colorado TB Cortlen Johnson, who had been bottled up all day, got outside
the defenders and scored to cut the UT lead to 21-14 with 2:37 left. At the
end of the third quarter, the Horns were clinging to a one touchdown lead
despite having a 402-91 edge in net yardage.
FOURTH QUARTER
Neither team could mount a threat early in the quarter, but Texas, starting
from its own 19 with 9:22 left, finally put the game away and used up nearly
four minutes doing it. Applewhite hit 6 of 7 passes for 62 yards in the
drive, including a short pass to Mitchell on third-and-4 that he broke for a
42-yard scoring jaunt. That gave Texas a 28-14 lead with 5:36 left. Neither
team threatened again.


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Coach's Corner

Coach Mack Brown said Sunday the 28-14 victory at Colorado Saturday "was one
of the best games we've had since we've been here."
"It's a little disappointing that we didn't get the shutout because the
defense played shutout football," he said.
He said his young defensive ends "played their best game as a group." True
freshman DE Kalen Thornton had two sacks and sophomore DE Cory Redding also
had a sack..
"Cory had his best game," Brown said, "and Kalen is very mature. He played
really well yesterday and made some impact plays."
Brown also said QB Major Applewhite, in his first game since being named the
starter, "played well. He made some big plays for us."
He said DT Shaun Rogers, who had missed two straight games with a sprained
ankle, played 41 plays against Colorado and appears to be ready for full-time
duty again.
"We need Shaun in there," Brown said. "He's just one of the premier football
players in America."
He said the team went back to the same basic offense it used during Ricky
Williams' Heisman Trophy year.
"We were in two-backs a lot more than in one-back," he said. "It's easier to
protect (the passer)  with two backs. When you are running the football, the
safeties have to come in and get involved in the running game. Then you can
hit the tight end. Then, when they get concerned with the tight end, that
lets you get 1-on-1 with your receivers."
He said  that was the reason TE Mike Jones was able to get open so easily.
Jones caught six passes for 102 yards to lead the Longhorn receivers. He also
became only the fourth tight end in school history to post a 100-yard
receiving day.
Brown said the UT offensive line had its best game of the year. "Our two
tackles, Mike Williams and Leonard Davis, really played well," he said.
Brown also said redshirt freshman OG Tillman Holloway, who came in when
Antwan Kirk-Hughes was injured, "came in and was really physical."
He also said Major Applewhite remains the starting quarterback.
INJURY NOTES: Brown said  Kirk-Hughes hurt his shoulder and is the only
player who appears likely to miss any practice time this week. He said DE
Kalen Thornton, who was hurt during the game, "is fine. He got stepped on or
kicked, but he's fine."

Colorado Game Notes . .

* Texas snapped its six-game losing streak to Colorado. The Longhorns last
defeated the Buffaloes on Dec. 27, 1975, a 38-21 triumph in the Bluebonnet
Bowl. The game Saturday also marked UT's first victory in Boulder since Sept.
27, 1941 (34-6).
* The victory also snapped a five-game losing streak in games played away
from Royal Memorial Stadium.
* Texas improved to 18-0 when recording more than 400 yards of total offense
under Mack Brown.
* The Longhorns improved to 18-0 when outrushing their opponent during
Brown's tenure.
* UT allowed only 133 total yards, which was its best defensive effort since
1988 when New Mexico was held to 66 yards offensively.
* WRs B. J. Johnson and Roy Williams became the first true freshman receiver
tandem to start for Texas since Mike Adams and Lovell Pinkney did so against
Texas A&M on Nov. 26, 1992.
* Williams set the Texas' freshman single-season touchdown record with his
two scoring receptions in the contest (6, 42 yards). Williams, who has four
scoring catches this season, broke fellow teammate Artie Ellis' (2000) and
Lovell Pinkney's (1992) record of three. The pair of touchdown receptions
tied the UT freshman single-game record held by Ellis (Sept. 9, vs.
Louisiana-Lafayette).
* Johnson's four receptions pushed his season total to 17 and he moved into
fourth place on UT's freshman single-season receptions chart.
* TE Mike Jones had a career-high six receptions for a career-best 102 yards
(previous: 3 receptions for 36 yards, at Stanford, Sept. 16, 2000). It is
only the fourth time in school history that a tight end has posted at least
100 receiving yards in a game and the first since Kerry Cash had seven
receptions for 104 yards on Nov. 3, 1990, at Texas Tech (a span of 119
games).
* QB Major Applewhite threw for more than 300 yards for a school-record
eighth time in his career (previous: 7, by James Brown, 1994-97). He also had
at least three touchdown passes for the 10th time during his career
(including bowl games).
* RB Hodges Mitchell had 125 rushing yards and moved into 13th place on
Texas' all-time list. Mitchell now has rushed for 1,884 yards during his
career.

Basketball Fan Jam

All fans are invited to meet the Texas men's and women's basketball teams
Saturday at the second annual "Texas Basketball Fan Jam."
Fan Jam takes the place of UT's previous "midnight madness" celebration which
traditionally kicked off the start of basketball season.
The Fan Jam, located in the grassy area/parking lot in the North End Zone of
Memorial Stadium, will take place three hours prior to the 1:30 p.m.
Texas-Missouri football game kickoff, and will conclude one hour prior to
kickoff.
At the Fan Jam, Longhorn fans are invited to meet and greet all the Texas'
players and coaches.
There will be an opportunity to get autographs from players and coaches, plus
schedule cards, and there are games and giveaways for all in attendance.
Admission is free.

Baseball Stars Commit

Michael Hollimon, 6-1, 170,  of Dallas Jesuit, the state's top shortstop, and
Ryan Olivo, 6-2, 175, of Grapevine, one of the state's top second basemen,
have committed to Texas.
Hollimon hit .400 last season and also was recruited by Stanford, LSU, Baylor
and Texas A&M.
He narrowed his choices to Texan and Stanford and committed to the Longhorns
Monday night after visiting Stanford last weekend.
Olivo hit .450 and blasted three home runs in summer league play with the
Arlington A's.
He also considered Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, Kansas and Oklahoma State.
The Longhorn coaches are having a great recruiting year. They already have
commitments from  several of the state's top prospects.

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Game Quotes . .
"What a tremendous win it was for our football team. We made a decision to be
real simple,  to go with more 2-back, and if we could get the running game
going, get the tight end involved in the passing game."
) Longhorn offensive coordinator Greg Davis
* * * *
"We didn't play well enough or coach well enough to win the game. Texas is a
good, solid football team. We're just not good enough right now to beat them.
Their defense gave us the worst field position in the first half that I've
ever seen."
) Colorado head coach Gary Barnett
* * * *
"When the ball is in the air, you want to feel like it's 10 million dollars
coming at you, and you don't want to miss catching that 10 million."
) Texas freshman wide receiver Roy Williams, who caught two touchdown passes
and a 2-point conversion pass
* * * *
"Texas' defense is very fast, probably the fastest defense I've played
against all year. Give them credit. They played very well. I played poorly
and that's about all you can chalk it up to."
) Colorado freshman quarterback Craig Ochs
* * * *
"It was fun, but it really doesn't matter how many I catch. The big thing is
to win the ball game."
)Texas tight end Mike Jones, after catching six passes for 102 yards
* * * *
"They knew we were going to try to stop the run. We just had to play tough
from the beginning to the end."
) UT sophomore defensive end Cory Redding
* * * *
"Last week (the OU game) was embarrassing. We worked hard all week in 
practice and came out trying our hardest. We were just enjoying ourselves and
having a good time. It was a great team effort. Each phase of our defense did
its job. We just wanted to keep the pressure on."
) Longhorn defensive tackle Casey Hampton
* * * *
"It took us a half to adjust. I haven't seen a defensive line that big and
that fast in my college career. You just can't simulate that kind of size in
practice."
) Buff running back Vince Reed
* * * *
"We just wanted to step up and play. If you have a man, cover him. No
excuses."
) UT safety Greg Brown
* * * *
"We had a lot to prove after last week. We played like this all week in
practice. We didn't want the same thing to happen to us today that happened
to us last week."
) Longhorn linebacker Everick Rawls

Texas-Colorado Statistics

Scoring Summary
Texas            0         13           8        7  )    28
Colorado         0           0         14        0  )    14

UT - Williams 6 pass from Applewhite (Stockton kick)14:20 2Q (45 yds, 2 plays)
UT - Stockton 30 FG 7:21 2Q (52 yds, 8 plays)
UT - Stockton 30 FG 1:44 2Q (23 yds, 5 plays)
CU - Sykes 50 fumble return (Mariscal kick) 12:18 3Q
UT - Williams 42 pass from Applewhite (Williams pass from Applewhite) 6:30 3Q
(95 yds, 5 plays)
CU - Johnson 13 run (Mariscal kick) 2:37 3Q (13 yds, 1 play)
UT -  Mitchell 42 pass from Applewhite (Stockton kick) 5:36 4Q (81 yds, 8
plays)

Official Attendance: 52,030

Team Statistics

Texas         Colorado
First Downs                         22           13
Rushing                             10             7
Passing                             12             4
Penalty                                 0              2
Rushing Attempts, Net Yards         41-166          36-55
Net Yards Passing                       308          78
Passes Comp., Att., Int.                 23-40-1       12-36-2
Total Plays, Offense                     81-474     72-133
Avg. Gain per Play                          5.9        1.8
Fumbles Lost                                3 of 5       1 of 3
Penalties, Yards                            5-46         10-65
Punts, Avg.                              6-39.5      11-40.4
Time of Possession                  33:28         26:32
Third-Down Conversions                 4 of 17       5 of 19
Fourth-Down Conversions             0 of  1      2 of 3
Sacks by Team, Yds Lost             6-53           1-7

Individual Statistics

Texas
Rushing -  Mitchell 25-125; Hayter 11-34; B. J. Johnson 1-11; Robin 1-0-;
Applewhite 3-minus 4.
Passing -  Applewhite 23-40, 308 yds, 3 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving - M. Jones  6-102; Williams 3-55, 2 TD; Johnson 4-61; Mitchell
2-46, 1 TD; Hayter 2-22; Trissel 2-8; Edwards 1-7; Ellis 1-4; Flowers 1-2;
Robin 1-1.

Colorado
Rushing -  Johnson 18-73, 1 TD; Flores 1-7; Hollowell 1-3; Moore 2-2; Reed
2-2; Team 1-2; Colvin 3-minus 10; Ochs 8-minus 20.
Passing - Ochs 11-32, 69 yds, 0 TD, 2 Int.; Colvin 1-4, 9 yds, 0 TD, 0 Int.
Receiving - Green 4-24; Minardi 3-19; Hollowell 2-17; Graham 1-8; Nemeth 1-3.

Tackles by Texas Players, Unasst., Asst., Total

Lewis 9-2-11; Rawls 5-2-7; Redding 4-3-7; Hampton 4-2-6; Jammer 5-0-5; Tubbs
3-2-5; Pearson 4-0-4; Brown 2-2-4; Thornton 3-0-3; Rogers 3-0-3; Babers
2-0-2; Vasher 2-0-2; Walker 0-1-1; T. Jones 0-1-1; Pittman 0-1-1.

Tackles for Losses: Lewis 3-minus 6; Hampton 1-minus 2; Redding 1-minus 1.

Sacks: Thornton 2-minus 28; Redding 1-minus 13; Rawls 1-minus 6; Lewis
1-minus 4, Tubbs 1-minus 2.