Remember The Alamo

Getting you pumped up for the 2013-14 season, we take a look back at last seasons Alamo Bowl…

FOR TEXANS, JUST SAYING the word “Alamo” invokes the image of a group of men willing to sacrifice everything to hold a line – a group of mean pulled together to achieve a common goal. Appropriately, those same aspects illustrate No. 25 Texas’ performance in the 20th annual Valero Alamo Bowl. The Longhorns defeated No. 14 Oregon State 31-27. The two teams met before a crowd of 65,277 in San Antonio’s Alamodome Dec. 29. The victory required some last-minute heroics, including Texas quarterback David Ash’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin with 2:24 to play.

A suddenly stout Longhorn defense also helped the team secure the win. The late touchdown completed the Longhorns’ 10-point comeback — a fight they endured during the final 8:18 of the game. Earlier in …

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the fourth quarter, Ash scrambled left from the pocket and found Johnathan Gray for a 15-yard scoring play. The touchdown brought the Longhorns within three points of the Beavers, setting the table for Texas’ final surge. Texas will head into the offseason on a positive note thanks to the bowl win — a necessity after the adversity the team faced during the weeks leading up to the game.

Changes in the Texas team abounded during the four weeks between the Longhorns’ loss to Kansas State in their final regular-season game and the Alamo Bowl. First, starting guard Trey Hopkins sustained a stress fracture in his lower right leg and was ruled out for the bowl game. Then, co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin left the 40 Acres after accepting the head coaching position at Arkansas State, leaving the play-calling duties with Major Applewhite. Applewhite, who moved from coaching the running backs to working with the quarterbacks, was joined at the co-offensive coordinator spot by wide receivers coach Darrell Wyatt.

On the day before the game, the suspensions of backup quarterback Case McCoy and injured linebacker Jordan Hicks stunned the Longhorns’ camp. The same day, a San Antonio television station reported a police investigation involving two Texas players and allegations of an early-morning sexual assault. These distractions could have easily undermined the Longhorns’ efforts in the Alamo Bowl, but the team shrugged them off and carried on.

With Ash as the only Texas quarterback with any experience, any injury to the sophomore would’ve been disastrous for the team. If Ash ended up on the bench, Brown would’ve needed to remove the redshirt status from freshman quarterback Jalen Overstreet. “Not having a backup quarterback? I’d like to forget that,” Applewhite said. “I spent two hours with Jalen in the Marriott’s conference ballroom trying to get ready for the game, and it was nerve-wracking,” he added. “But we were ready to roll with him if we had to. We had a package for him to go in there and get moving.”

The win belonged as much to the Longhorns’ defense as it did to the final scoring push. Texas — which ended the season 9-4, one win better than 2011 — set an Alamo Bowl record for sacks with 10 against Oregon State. The Longhorns held the Beavers to 69 yards of total offense in the second half, including minus-4 in the fourth quarter.

Oregon State rolled up 228 total yards in the first half and led 20-10 at halftime, but the Longhorn defense controlled the final 30 minutes. “We told the guys at halftime that [Oregon State’s] got the momentum, and for us to win  this game, everybody needs to do their job and do the best that they can possibly do,” head coach Mack Brown said. Four teams shared the previous bowl record of five sacks.

The Longhorns’ Alex Okafor almost hit that number by himself — his four-and-a-half-sack performance set an Alamo Bowl record. He also had nine tackles and a forced fumble. “Alex was a warrior all year long. He deserved to have this kind of game. He’s worked hard and has been a great leader,” defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “But to ask for four and a half sacks … he would’ve been embarrassed to ask for that before the game.”

By holding Oregon State to 27 points, Texas once again held an opponent under their season scoring average. The Beavers (9-4) entered the game averaging 33 points per game. Texas has now held 52 of its last 64 opponents under their season scoring average. The win also allowed the Longhorns to improve to 31-7 in games decided by four points or less in the Brown era.

“If you give a team like Texas too many chances, this is what’s going to happen to you,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “We were on the field too much defensively. We didn’t sustain enough on offense and didn’t get enough first downs to give our defense a chance.”

Texas’ defense made the plays early in the game that laid the foundation for the Longhorns to have a jump start, but the noticeably conservative offensive track didn’t allow the team to take advantage. Linebacker Peter Jinkens intercepted Oregon State quarterback Cody Vaz on the Beavers’ first possession, and an Okafor sack later in the first quarter caused a Vaz fumble that was recovered by Cedric Reed.

The Longhorns put just three points on the board — on a 40-yard field goal by Nick Jordan — out of those opportunities. The Longhorns tied the game at 10-10 just eight seconds into the second quarter when Goodwin roared down the left sideline on a 64-yard touchdown run. ESPN clocked the Olympian covering the final 40 yards in 3.84 seconds. “Coach Applewhite definitely found a way to use me a little more than I was used earlier in the season,” Goodwin said. “He did a great job coordinating the offense, and he set up great plays. We just went out there and executed.” “This game is about speed and explosive players and making things happen — that’s what Marquise brought to our offense,” Applewhite said.

Oregon State’s running game posted 10 more points before halftime, with Pflugerville native Storm Woods gaining 98 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown in the first half. Backup Terron Ward added three carries for 19 yards and a touchdown. Applewhite and Wyatt threw caution to the wind after halftime and unshackled Ash, allowing him to run the ball three times on the Longhorns’ first two drives of the second half. Ash’s third carry was a quarterback draw that went for an 11-yard touchdown and cut the Oregon State lead to 20-17.

Just when Texas looked to assume control of the game, Ash made his one mistake. The sophomore threw an interception after he was hit by Oregon State’s Andrew Seumalo. The Beavers started their drive at the Texas 42 and scored five plays later on a 2-yard run by  Woods, taking a 27-17 lead. The rest of the game belonged to Texas — most notably to Ash, Gray, Goodwin and the Texas defense.

After tossing the interception in the third quarter, Ash finished by going 9-of-10 passing for 146 yards and two touchdowns. “David struggled against TCU and he didn’t play at Kansas State, so he hadn’t played in four weeks. He had a new play caller and a new coach, and still did a tremendous job,” Brown said. “David has never lost a bowl game — he’s 2-0.” Texas once again won a game after capturing the turnover battle. The team only had one turnover in the Alamo Bowl, while Oregon State had three.

The Longhorns scored 10 points off turnovers. “We tried to get into a quicker rhythm and build on the momentum our defense was creating,” Ash said. “By the fourth quarter, Oregon State seemed winded and had a tough time lining up right. We were able to take advantage of that.” Diaz, the most maligned of the Texas coaches, had the right scheme in place to exploit Texas’ superiority on defense, as well as in the secondary.

Oregon State wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Markus Wheaton both entered the game with more than 1,000 yards receiving this season but were contained by the Texas defense. Wheaton had just 26 yards receiving, while Cooks finished with 15 yards. Texas ended up with 358 yards of offense while the Beavers managed just 297. The Longhorns outrushed Oregon State 117-103 and averaged 5.5 yards on 65 snaps compared to 4.2 yards for the Beavers on 71 plays.

The win was the Longhorns’ second consecutive bowl victory. Texas has won nine of their last 11 bowl games and has a 10-4 record for bowl games with Mack Brown at the helm. “We needed a tough win against a top team to get back in the mix,” Brown said, “[especially] for the guys coming back.”

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