COLLEGE FOOTBALL : SOUTHWEST ROUNDUP : Texas Alive and Kicking in End

One week after failing to try to break a tie against Oklahoma with a field goal on fourth down late in the game, Texas Coach John Mackovic had no choice against Virginia.

Phil Dawson kicked a 50-yard field goal into a stiff wind as time expired Saturday, giving the 16th-ranked Longhorns a 17-16 nonconference victory over the 14th-ranked Cavaliers at Austin, Texas.

“I guess I learned my lesson. I kicked the field goal,” said Mackovic, who had to answer questions all week about why he opted for an unsuccessful option play on fourth-and-one instead of kicking a 28-yard field goal with nine minutes left and the game tied 24-24 against the Sooners.

Virginia (6-3) took a timeout with three seconds remaining in an attempt to shake Dawson, a sophomore who had missed attempts of 52 and 57 yards earlier in the game. He confidently clapped his hands just before blasting the ball straight through the uprights as Texas (5-1-1) earned its first victory against a ranked team this year.

“I told Coach Mackovic before the game that my range was 40 yards going into the south end zone” because of a 20 m.p.h. wind, Dawson said.

No. 25 Texas Tech 31, Rice 26-- Zebbie Lethridge threw two touchdown passes and set a Southwest Conference record for interception avoidance as the Red Raiders held off the Owls at Lubbock, Texas.

Texas Tech, 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the SWC, blew most of a 24-0 lead and had to recover an onside kick to beat the Owls (1-5-1, 0-3).

Lethridge, who was 11 for 22 for 144 yards, has thrown 187 consecutive passes without an interception. He also scored on a one-yard run.

Houston 38, Southern Methodist 15--Antowain Smith ran 65 yards for a touchdown and James Reddish’s 78-yard touchdown interception return cut short a late rally as the Cougars beat the Mustangs at Houston to end their losing streak at 11, which had been the longest among major colleges.

Houston (1-6, 1-2) played its worst game of the season in a 47-7 loss to Baylor last week but the Cougars rebounded to defeat the Mustangs (1-6, 0-3), the team they beat, 39-33, on Oct. 15, 1994, for their last previous victory.

Texas Christian 16, Tulane 11--Sophomore Matt Moore, filling in for suspended running back Andre Davis, had 98 yards and a touchdown and Michael Reeder kicked three field goals as the Horned Frogs (5-1) beat the Green Wave (2-5) in a nonconference game at Fort Worth, Texas.

It wasn’t easy, though, as Texas Christian (5-1) had to stop Tulane (2-5) on two first-and-goal stands in the final 8:33.