Oklahoma Falls Short Against Texas, 28-24

Texas, an 18-point underdog that was starting an all-freshman backfield, stunned No. 15-ranked Oklahoma, 28-24, Saturday as Peter Gardere passed 25 yards to Johnny Walker for a touchdown with 1:33 to play.

The Longhorns hadn’t beaten Oklahoma since 1983 and barely beat Rice, 31-30, last week on a controversial touchdown in which Gardere barely got the ball over the goal line on a fourth-down play.

Gardere, who didn’t earn the starting job until the week prior to the Rice game, was again the hero Saturday.

Texas, of the Southwest Conference, is 3-2 overall; Oklahoma of the Big Eight is 4-2.

Running back Ike Lewis, playing for injured Mike Gaddis, scored on a one-yard run with 3:42 to go for a 24-21 Sooners lead.

But Gardere, a redshirt freshman, was undaunted. He drove Texas 66 yards, completing four consecutive passes before finding Walker behind the secondary for the game-clincher.

Texas, which leads the series 48-32-4, snapped a four-game Sooners winning streak (the 1984 game was a tie).

Texas took a 7-0 lead on Gardere’s seven-yard pass to Tony Jones as the Longhorns drove 80 yards after the opening kickoff. The Sooners came right back on a 62-yard touchdown run by Gaddis.

Texas then punted to Otis Taylor, who fumbled when he ran into one of his blockers. The ball popped in the air and linebacker Mical Padgett returned it 44 yards for a Texas touchdown.

Oklahoma blocked the extra point try, but kicker Wayne Clements alertly picked up the bounding ball and flipped a two-point scoring pass to tight end Curtis Thrift as the Longhorns went in front, 15-7.

Two Texas field goals made it 21-7 at halftime.

Gaddis, who had 120 yards in 12 carries in the first half, left the game with a knee injury in the third quarter and never returned.

Oklahoma quarterback Tink Collins teamed with Arthur Guess on a 41-yard touchdown pass play to bring the Sooners within 21-14. A 30-yard field goal by R.D. Lasher narrowed the margin to 21-17.

Then Lewis scored again to seemingly clinch another Sooner victory before Gardere’s heroics.