SOUTHWEST ROUNDUP : Texas Victory Sets Up Showdown

Texas quarterback Peter Gardere tied a school record by passing for four touchdowns as the No. 7 Longhorns stayed on course for the Cotton Bowl with a 38-10 Southwest Conference victory over Texas Christian Saturday at Ft. Worth.

Texas, 6-1 overall and 6-0 in the SWC, beat the Horned Frogs for the 23rd consecutive time. The Longhorns can clinch the conference championship and a trip to the Cotton Bowl by defeating Baylor at Waco, Tex., next Saturday. TCU (5-5, 3-4) lost its fourth consecutive game after a 5-1 start.

“I definitely think they’re one of the country’s top five teams,” TCU Coach Jim Wacker said of the Longhorns.

Gardere completed 18 of 37 passes for 269 yards. He connected on touchdown pass plays of 43, seven, five and 55 yards to tie the school record held by Clyde Littlefield, Randy McEachern and Rick McIvor.

Two of Gardere’s scoring passes came in a span of 53 seconds.

Keith Cash caught a five-yard touchdown pass--his second of the game--with 12:42 left. And after Stanley Richard intercepted a pass by Matt Vogler, Gardere hooked up with Mike Davis on a 55-yard scoring play.

Vogler, who had an NCAA record 690 yards passing two weeks ago, played with a separated left shoulder, his nonthrowing shoulder.

Baylor 17, Rice 16--The Bears (6-3-1, 5-1-1) kept alive their hopes for the Cotton Bowl with the narrow SWC victory over the Owls (5-6, 3-5) at Houston.

Rice wide receiver Nigel Codrington, the SWC high-jump champion, leaped above two Baylor defenders on a desperation fourth-down pass with 1:03 left and then struggled the final three yards into the end zone to complete a 34-yard scoring play that pulled the Owls to within one point. Rice then failed on a two-point conversion attempt.

The Owls missed achieving their first winning season since 1963. They also lost starting quarterback Donald Hollas to a knee injury in the first quarter and struggled offensively for much of the game.

Robert Strait scored on runs of two yards and one yard and Jeff Ireland added a field goal in the first half as Baylor built a 17-0 lead.

Strait’s first touchdown, with 5:28 left in the first quarter, was set up by an interception by Michael McFarland.

Texas Tech 62, SMU 7--Anthony Lynn rushed for two touchdowns and Rodney Blackshear caught two touchdown passes in an SWC game at Lubbock, Tex., as the Red Raiders (4-7, 3-5) handed Southern Methodist (1-9, 0-7) its ninth consecutive loss.

The Red Raiders moved the ball effortlessly, racking up 310 yards of offense and a 42-7 lead by halftime. Tech scored 35 points in the second quarter.

After losing a fumble on their first drive, the Red Raiders scored on their next nine possessions.

Tech’s defense stifled SMU’s run-and-shoot offense, sacking quarterback Mike Romo six times, including two by Marcus Washington.

Romo completed nine of 16 passes for 97 yards and caught a touchdown pass on a trick play. But he threw two costly interceptions, including a 38-yard return for a touchdown by Tech’s Sammy Walker late in the second quarter.

The Raiders held the Mustangs to six rushing yards in 23 carries through three quarters. Tech quarterbacks Jason Rattan and Robert Hall took turns guiding the Raiders on touchdown drives of 98, 58, 43, 92, 80 and 56 yards.

Texas A&M; 20, Arkansas 16--The Aggies (7-2-1, 4-1-1) won an SWC game at Fayetteville, Ark., for the first time since 1976 and dealt the Razorbacks (2-8, 0-7) their seventh consecutive loss.

The last Arkansas team to lose six consecutive games was former Coach Frank Broyles first team in 1958.

Quarterback Bucky Richardson scored on a 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to secure the victory.

Tulsa 20, Montana State 2--Mark Brus rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown and Chris Hughley scored two touchdowns as the Golden Hurricane defeated the Bobcats at Tulsa, Okla.