Defense, Dickson dominate as Texas past Missouri, 33-16, in Texas Bowl

By Steve Habel, Senior Editor

HOUSTON, Texas – In a game determined by field position and defense, the Texas Longhorns had the right players in the right places at the right times to beat Missouri, 33-16, Wednesday in the Academy Sports + Outdoor Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium.

It sure helped, too, that the Longhorns had the battle’s most important weapon, punter Michael Dickson. But would it be surprising to learn that Texas coach Tom Herman has never even called Dickson, the winner of this year’s Ray Guy Award (given annually to the nation’s top punter) by his name, even after Dickson won the award for the most valuable player in Wednesday’s victory?

Texas scored two passing touchdowns in the [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]first 11:02 and then turned over the game to its defense and Dickson, doing just enough to beat a Missouri team that had reeled off six straight wins heading into the postseason.

It was UT’s first appearance in a bowl game since 2014 and first win in the postseason since the 2012 Alamo Bowl. It also granted the Longhorns (7-6) their first winning season since 2013, the last campaign in which the team was coached by Mack Brown.

“It’s important for our guys to call themselves winners,” Herman said. “It’s been a while since this program has ended the season on the positive note we have here tonight. Our guys were dialed in and focused. We knew our best would be good enough to win tonight as long as we didn’t make many mistakes.”

Dickson had 10 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, becoming the first punter in the country this year to accomplish that feat. He had 11 total punts — two of which traveled more than 55 yards — in the game and buried Missouri (7-6) in poor field position all game.

“I’ve never seen anything like him,” Missouri coach Barry Odem said of Dickson. “In a field position game, he allowed Texas to control things. You can’t be minus-four in turnover margin and expect to win a game like this.”

The Longhorns did little on offense after the first quarter when they amassed 110 of their 280 total yards, but the Texas defense forced four turnovers, scored on a safety and held Missouri quarterback Drew Lock to 269 yards passing and one touchdown.

Texas marched 75 yards in five plays (and three big Missouri penalties) on its opening drive to a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shane Buechele to running back Daniel Young that granted the Longhorns an early 7-0 lead.

The Longhorns went back to the same play to Young for 42 yards from Sam Ehlinger to set the table for their second touchdown, which came on a 7-yard connection from Ehlinger and John Burt and expanded the advantage to 14-0 with 3:58 to play in the first quarter.

Missouri didn’t have a first down until the 1:07 mark of the first quarter on their final possession of the initial period; it was forced to punt on the opening play of the second quarter.

Ish Witter’s 4-yard touchdown run at the end of a five-play, 50-yard drive brought the Tigers to within 14-7 with 12:10 left in the second quarter.

Witter and Missouri gave that score right back though as he fumbled when hit by P.J. Locke and the bounding football was scooped up by Texas’ Anthony Wheeler, who returned it 38 yards for a touchdown. It was the Longhorns’ eighth non-offensive touchdown of the year, the most for the team since 2009.

Missouri outgained Texas, 183-164, in the first half but was stymied by two fumbles, five penalties and dreadful field position (the Tigers’ average field position to start their 10 possessions was their own 16 and five drives began at or behind the 10-yard line).

Missouri’s Drew Lock was the all-Southeastern Conference quarterback this season and he showed why, finding Johnathon Johnson with a laser-like 79-yard touchdown pass on the opening play of the third quarter. But the Tigers flubbed the extra point and were left trailing, 21-13.

Missouri crept to within 21-16 on a 28-yard field goal by Tucker McCann with 2:14 to play in the third quarter. Then the Tigers made another mistake, as Lock couldn’t nab a wide snap from center but reacted well enough to bat the football off his leg and out of the end zone while surrendering a safety for two points.

The Longhorns went up 26-16 on a 41-yard field goal by Joshua Rowland with 12:15 to play four snaps after a dubious roughing the passer call that kept alive the Texas drive. UT receiver Armanti Foreman capped the scoring with an 18-yard reverse run after Lock was intercepted by Davante Davis late in the fourth quarter.

Longhorns’ linebacker Breckyn Hager said things will change for Texas because it finished with a winning record and is carrying a winning attitude going forward.

“Today, Coach Herman won the locker room,” Hager said. “We have always played with a chip on our shoulder, but we’ve never been a team like we were the past three weeks and in this game tonight. It’s important for us to know we are winners.”

Texas honored Longhorn legend Tommy Nobis, who passed away Dec. 13 in Atlanta, during the game. Although Nobis’ number has been retired by Texas, Hager donned Nobis’ No. 60 (as his father, Britt, had years ago) against Missouri and the team wore ’60’ decals on the back of their helmets.

Texas junior linebacker Malik Jefferson, the Big 12’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, was ruled out for the game just prior to kickoff because of a turf toe injury.

Texas and Missouri now have played 24 times, with the Longhorns owning an 18-6 all-time record against the Tigers. The two schools last met in 2011 and had played just once before in a bowl game: a 40-27 Longhorn victory in the 1946 Cotton Bowl. Texas has won 16 of the last 18 meetings against Missouri, dating back to 1931.

So the Longhorns head to the offseason with the gratification of a winning record, a recruiting class ranked among the nation’s top five after the early signing period and momentum, something that Texas hasn’t had in its football program in a long time.

Maybe a return to glory is just around the corner.

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