Unpredictable ’Horns looking to break top-10
■Texas has won six games in
a row headed into its Holiday
Bowl game with Oregon, but
the streak could be deceptive
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
On paper, No. 12 Texas looks like
a formidable football team heading
into their Holiday Bowl matchup
with No. 8 Oregon Dec. 29.
The Longhorns are riding the tide
of a six-game winning streak, took
second in the Big 12 South behind
No. 1 Oklahoma, and replaced in
jured Major Applewhite at quarter
back with Chris Simms — son of
former NFL signal-caller Phil
Simms.
But the Ducks may want to go
back and look at tape of Texas’ 27
24 loss to Stanford Sept. 16 to find
the Longhorns’ weak points.
“This one is tough because we
made mistakes,” said Texas coach
Mack Brown, after that loss. “Un
less we forced them to happen.”
After that game, when the Long
horns rushed for only 13 yards but
Applewhite passed for 330, Texas
was in bad shape. The ’Horns won
their next two games, against Hous
ton and Oklahoma State, but hob
bled into their matchup with Okla
homa the next week with a 3-1
record.
The Sooners proceeded to blow
Texas out of the Cotton Bowl’s wa
ter, 63-14.
“It was a poor performance over
all,” Brown said after that game. “I
have to reevaluate everything I am
doing this week and try to get us
back on track to go to Colorado.”
Texas did get back on track, as
Brown had hoped, and ran the table
after its loss to Oklahoma. Now, the
r
Longhorns will use the momentum
from that six-game streak, and a
strong desire to break the top-10 for
the first time since Ricky Williams
was in town, to upset Oregon.
Brown is most impressed with
the play of Simms, the sophomore
who had big shoes to fill when Ap
plewhite went down with a knee in
jury at Texas Tech Nov. 4.
Simms had his best showing last
Saturday, in Texas’ final regular-sea
son game, a 43-17 win over then
No. 22 Texas A&M. The sophomore
signal-caller passed for 383 yards
and three touchdowns in the
’Homs’ blowout of the Aggies. The
performance was enough to earn
Simms Big 12 offensive player of
the week.
{ {/ have never been to
San Diego, but I’m excited
for the chance to play a
great team and experience
what I’ve been told is a
great city.
Leonard Davis
senior offensive tackle
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns are unsure if Ap
plewhite will be healthy for the Hol
iday Bowl, and Simms may start in
his place.
Texas’ running game is spear
headed by Hodges Mitchell, who is
averaging just over 100 yards per
game this season, but has broken
out for over 200 yards twice.
Mitchell ran for 264 yards against
Kansas and 229 against Texas Tech.
Mitchell has a touch of inconsis
tency in him, and rushed for only 20
yards against Oklahoma, 31 yards
against Louisiana-Lafayette and 50
yards against Oklahoma State.
Texas is excited to play in the
Holiday Bowl, not only for the na
tional attention and chance to
break the top-10, but because the
game could help the Longhorns’ re
cruiting in southern California.
“We are obviously established in
the state of Texas, but we also re
cruit from California, across Okla
homa, New Mexico, Arizona and
into Louisiana,” Brown said. “Play
ing in this game provides us with a
great recruiting tool because it will
be seen in every home throughout
America.”
The Holiday Bowl, which will be
on television in the evening on Dec.
29, is not running against any oth
er bowl games. Brown said that
would help in Texas’ recruiting ef
forts.
Texas’ players are just looking
forward to the vacation.
“I have never been to San Diego,”
said Leonard Davis, the Longhorns’
senior offensive tackle. “But I’m ex
cited for the chance to play a great
team and experience what I’ve
been told is a great city.”
Finally, Texas is looking to
avenge the ending to their 1999 sea
son, when they lost three straight
games — including the Cotton
Bowl — after carrying a 9-2 record
into that three-game stretch.
“All we heard about after last
season was that we lost our last
three games,” Davis said. “That’s a
big motivating factor to play hard
and win this year's bowl game."
The Holiday Bowl will kick off at
5:30 p.m. Dec. 29. The game will be
played at Qualcomm Stadium in
San Diego.
Photo courtesy of Texas Media Services
Longhorn quarterback Chris Simms (1) has gone from second-stringer to star in leading
Texas to a 9-2 record and a berth in the Holiday Bowl.
O Congratulations to
Coach Mike Bellotti and the
Ducks on a 9-2 regular season,
a Pac-10 co-championship, and an
appearance in the Holiday Bowl.
Join the Ducks in San Diego for the Culligan Holiday Bowl,
December 29,2000. Traveling with the UO Alumni Association,
sponsor of the Official University of Oregon Holiday Bowl Tour
and pregame party, is the best way to see all of the action.
Call (541) 346-UofO (8636) or visit
http://alumni.uoregon.edu for more information.
Official University of Oregon Holiday Bowl Tour Information
Tour Highlights
• December 27-30 (departures from Eugene and Portland)
• Full packages and land-only (no air) packages available
• Full package includes round trip charter airfare, three nights accommodations,
Duck pep rally, Duck pregame party, tour gifts and bowl souvenirs, and
transportation to and from airport, pep rally, pregame party, and game.
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Go Ducks!