Texas Gives Washington Some Major Problems

Texas senior quarterback Major Applewhite, whose legend grew while mostly standing on the sideline this season, proved Friday night that he is worthy of it in leading the Longhorns to a 47-43 victory over Washington in a Culligan Holiday Bowl that lived up to, even exceeded, its reputation for providing entertaining, high-scoring games.

Applewhite, who set or tied 40 Texas passing records as a three-year starter and still lost his job this season to a more prototypical quarterback in Chris Simms, led the Longhorns from 19 points down in the third quarter to a 40-36 lead with six minutes remaining.

Then Applewhite was called upon to lead the Longhorns back again after the Huskies scored again on a 34-yard run by tailback Willie Hurst for a 43-40 lead with only 1:49 remaining.

Applewhite was up for the challenge, taking the Longhorns 80 yards in seven plays. Reserve tailback Ivan Williams scored the winning touchdown on a three-yard run with 38 seconds left.

If bowl games are supposed to provide fun for players and fans, it would be difficult to find many that have been more successful than this one. An announced crowd of 60,541 at Qualcomm Stadium was treated to Holiday Bowl records for passes attempted and completed and five lead changes.

It is more rare that both teams achieve their goals in a bowl game. Although the No. 21 Huskies lost to finish 8-4, they proved that they are a better and more competitive team than the one that finished the regular season with a 65-7 loss at Miami. The No. 9 Longhorns finished 11-2, only the fourth 11-win season since they began playing football 109 years ago, and virtually assured themselves of their first top-10 finish since 1983.

It was a particularly gratifying night for Applewhite, who until Friday night hadn’t started a game since he was injured with three games remaining last season. But he regained the job after coming off the bench and almost leading Texas back from a 19-point deficit in a 39-37 loss to Colorado three weeks ago for the Big 12 championship. That loss prevented the Longhorns from earning a berth in the BCS championship game next Thursday night at the Rose Bowl against Miami.

So, when the Longhorns fell behind the Huskies, 36-17, with 3:51 remaining in the third, it wasn’t the first time Applewhite had faced such a deficit. The difference this time was that he had been responsible for much of the deficit.

Of the points Washington scored in building a 24-13 first-half lead, 13 had been scored after Applewhite interceptions. The second of his three in the first half was the most consequential, Washington’s 275-pound defensive tackle Terry Johnson snagging it in the flat and lumbering untouched for 38 yards and a touchdown to give the Huskies a 13-0 lead.

That set up Applewhite’s first comeback of the night. Touchdown passes of 43 yards and 25 yards, the first to wide receiver B.J. Johnson and the second to wide receiver Roy Williams, gave the Longhorns a 14-13 lead.

But Applewhite wasn’t the only quarterback on the field. Washington sophomore Cody Pickett, playing his seventh game this season with a separated shoulder, took the Huskies on a 76-yard, seven-play drive, culminating with a four-yard pass to Joe Collier, that gave the Huskies the lead.

Against a defense ranked No.1 in the country during the regular season, Pickett continued to sparkle in the third quarter. He led the Huskies on touchdown drives of 91 and 65 yards to build what appeared to be an insurmountable advantage. He finished with 27 completions in 54 attempts for 293 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

But it was Applewhite’s night. Even though he threw three interceptions, he completed 37 passes in 55 attempts for 473 yards and four touchdowns.

“It was a great night,” he said. “Unbelievable ... unreal.”

When he was announced as the co-offensive player of the game, along with Washington’s Hurst, the Texas portion of the crowd chanted, “Major, Major, Major.”

He couldn’t have chosen a better way to go out.

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The Wild Ones

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