COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Sooners’ Rally Goes Wide Left : Nonconference: Oklahoma catches Texas after trailing 21-0, but Alexander misses late field-goal try in 24-24 tie.

Now Oklahoma Coach Howard Schnellenberger knows what all the fuss is about.

Schnellenberger said he watched the Texas-Oklahoma game from afar for 35 years and always wondered what it was like to participate. In his first try, his team almost pulled off the king of comebacks.

Jeremy Alexander’s 42-yard field-goal attempt into a swirling wind was wide left with 26 seconds left Saturday and No. 13 Oklahoma, which came back from a 21-point deficit, had to settle for a 24-24 tie with No. 18 Texas.

“This is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen,” Schnellenberger said. “If you look at it from a historic standpoint, it’s next to the Harvard-Yale game.”

Both teams now have 4-1-1 overall records and the Longhorns were denied their 700th collegiate victory.

Oklahoma rallied from a 21-0 deficit to tie the game at 24-24 in the third quarter. The Sooners scored twice in the period, on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Eric Moore to P.J. Mills and again on Jerald Moore’s second scoring run of the day, a 22-yarder.

The tying touchdown came with 6:13 left in the third quarter after Texas’ Mike Adams had fumbled a punt and Rod Henderson of Oklahoma recovered on the Texas 22. Moore scored on the next play.

The game was replete with big defensive plays on a wild offensive scoring day.

Oklahoma cornerback Larry Bush tackled Texas’ Ricky Williams on fourth and one from the Sooners’ 11 with 9:17 to go.

Oklahoma drove to the Texas 25, where on fourth and one Schnellenberger chose the field-goal try. The snap was high and Alexander hooked the ball.

“I thought Alexander hit the ball pretty well but it just went left,” Schnellenberger said. “We were thinking field goal. We were close enough for one.”