SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE ROUNDUP : Texas Stakes Claim to Last Title, 16-6

Texas can claim the 81st and last Southwest Conference football championship. And a freshman running back from San Diego helped the Longhorns earn it.

Ricky Williams scored two touchdowns against the nation’s top defense Saturday and the No. 9 Longhorns ended No. 16 Texas A&M;’s 31-game home winning streak with a 16-6 victory at College Station.

“This was just my first year, but it was a good feeling to end that streak,” Williams said. “Coach [John] Mackovic realized who had the hot hand and kept me in there.”

The Longhorns, 10-1-1 overall and 7-0 in the conference, will play in either the Orange Bowl or Sugar Bowl. The Aggies (8-3, 5-2) will play Michigan on Dec. 29 in the Alamo Bowl at San Antonio.

Texas ended a four-game losing streak to the Aggies and gave Mackovic his first victory in the series after three losses. It was the first Texas triumph at Kyle Field since 1983. Texas A&M; had won 10 of the last 11 games.

“This is the finest hour in Texas football in a long time,” Mackovic said.

It was the first 10-victory season for Texas since 1990 when David McWilliams was the coach.

Both Texas A&M; and Texas join the Big 12 Conference next season; this was their last SWC meeting in a series that started in 1894.

Williams, who broke Earl Campbell’s school rushing record for freshmen, scored on a 21-yard run in the first half, then produced 62 of the 79 yards in a critical third-quarter scoring drive. He ran for 44 yards and then had a 17-yard run before Williams scored from three yards out.

In the fourth quarter, Williams got 23 yards on a screen pass to set up Texas for Phil Dawson’s 26-yard field goal.

The 6-foot, 225-pound Williams, one of California’s top high school running backs two years ago, rushed 24 times for 163 yards. He has 990 yards rushing to Campbell’s 928 in 1974.

Texas A&M;’s Leeland McElroy gained 145 yards in 29 carries and caught four passes for 84 yards.

The Aggies’ Kyle Bryant kicked field goals of 20 and 22 yards.

McElroy bruised a collarbone late in the game, but doctors said he is expected to play against Michigan.

Houston 18, Rice 17--The Cougars scored 15 fourth-quarter points, then saw the Owls miss a 38-yard field-goal attempt with 12 seconds left at Houston.

Rice (2-8-1, 1-6) led, 17-3, going into the fourth quarter behind two short touchdown runs by Jamey Whitlock.

Quarterback Chuck Clements began the rally for Houston (2-9, 2-5) by throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Damion Johnson with 11:36 to play. Then, with 1:19 left, Clements lobbed a pass down the right sideline that Larkay James ran under for a 43-yard touchdown play.

Trailing, 17-16, the Cougars went for two. Clements scrambled right, then saw Johnson breaking away from single coverage in the middle of the end zone. Clements threw the ball to Johnson’s right and he caught it to give Houston its first lead of the game.

Rice wasn’t done. Quarterback Raphael Tillman, mostly a runner, completed three passes for 43 yards and the Cougars were penalized 15 yards for a personal foul, putting the Owls at the Houston 18.

Rice took a loss of three yards to stop the clock and prepare for a field goal by Mike Ruff, who had made a 35-yarder in the first quarter.

But Ruff’s kick went wide right and Houston began its celebration.