Ducks Have the Power to Take Out Longhorns

On the eve of the Holiday Bowl, Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti worried aloud whether his team would prove a match for the beef, speed and passing prowess of Texas.

He need not have fretted.

The Ducks matched the Longhorns pass for pass, crunch for crunch in a 35-30 victory Friday night at Qualcomm Stadium before a screaming crowd of 63,278 and an ominous-looking steer named Bevo, the Longhorn mascot.

Its promoters like to remind the world that the Holiday Bowl, while not part of the collegiate championship series, has a tradition of see-saw, down-to-the-wire contests, and the 23rd edition fit the pattern.

“I feel great,” said Oregon linebacker Wesly Mallard. “We had no respect. We were six-point underdogs. We had to earn our respect.”

Oregon led after one quarter, Texas led at the half and the teams were tied after three quarters. Even when Oregon pushed ahead in the fourth quarter, Texas had multiple chances to tie the score.

Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington completed 19 of 30 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Harrington also scored on an 18-yard pass from Keenan Howry and on a nine-yard run.

Texas quarterback Chris Simms completed 17 of 34 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown but threw four interceptions and was sacked three times.

Simms’ receivers dropped three catchable passes with two minutes remaining and a drive to tie the game stalled at the Oregon 22-yard line.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come through for my teammates,” said Texas wide receiver Roy Williams, who dropped one of the passes. “We’re going to remember that for the rest of our careers at the University of Texas.”

A recovered fumble gave the Longhorns renewed life, but Simms was intercepted by safety Rashad Bauman. A play later, the Ducks took a safety and Texas was assured of a sad trip back to Austin.

“They’re a good team and a good program, but my coach said we were playing a team, not a tradition,” Bauman said. “We dominated them.”

Texas Coach Mack Brown, finding hopeful signs in a disappointing defeat, said he thought the sophomore Simms would be better for the experience.

“He’s tough as nails, he’s a real competitor,” Brown said. “This game will really help him.”

Bellotti, adding concern that his team had been a slow starter to his pregame worries, urged the Ducks to pick up their tempo.

“We wanted to play one inch out of control,” he said.

The victory gave Oregon its first 10-win season, ending 10-2. Texas finished 9-3. At the end of the regular season, Oregon was ranked No. 8 and Texas No. 12.

Oregon scored first with Harrington completing passes for 18 yards to Josh Line, four yards to Maurice Morris, 26 yards to Howry and then a one-yarder for a touchdown to Justin Peele.

With litte more than a minute remaining in the first quarter, a fumble by Texas receiver B.J. Johnson was recovered at the Texas 18.

Taking a pitch from Harrington, Howry lofted a soft pass back at Harrington, who lurched and fell in the end zone for an 18-yard score. When kicker Josh Frankel added the point-after, Oregon led, 14-0, and neither Brown nor Bevo looked pleased.

But coach and mascot found it more to their liking in the second quarter as Hodges Mitchell scored with a straight-ahead three-yard smash, Simms scored on a four-yard keeper, and safety Greg Brown ran 23 yards for a touchdown after intercepting a Harrington pass.

With the score tied, 28-28, Oregon’s final touchdown came after a 56-yard kickoff return by Kris Stockton, three complete passes and a four-yard run by Jason Willis, a sophomore from Los Angeles.