Texas Comes Back Again

Stirring rallies are becoming a Texas specialty.

One week after scoring 49 unanswered points in the biggest comeback in school history, the No. 6 Longhorns got a touchdown run and a scoring pass from Vince Young in the final 4:11 to beat Kansas, 27-23, Saturday.

Young had 409 yards total for the Longhorns (9-1, 6-1 Big 12), who rallied for a 56-35 win over Oklahoma State the week before and still have hopes of playing in a bowl championship series game.

“One of the great things about Vince Young is that he can beat you both ways,” Texas Coach Mack Brown said.

Young scrambled 22 yards on a fourth-and-18 play and then scored on an 18-yard run to pull Texas within 23-20 with 4:11 to go.

“We expected that they were going to play the pass, so I just used my God-given talent to use my legs,” he said.

Then with 11 seconds to go, he connected with Tony Jeffery for the winning touchdown, denying Kansas what would have been its biggest win in almost a decade.

“Vince threw a great pass,” said Jeffery. “It was the biggest catch I have had this year.”

Kansas, a heavy underdog, took a 23-13 lead with 7:41 left on a one-yard touchdown pass from fourth-stringer Brian Luke to Lyonel Anderson.

Young finished 22 of 40 for 289 yards and added 114 yards on the ground. Cedric Benson, the Big 12’s leading rusher, had 161 yards in 28 carries and set an NCAA record with his 36th game with a touchdown when he went in from 16 yards in the second quarter.

The Longhorns got the ball for their final drive after an offensive pass interference call on Kansas that left Jayhawk Coach Mark Mangino fuming.

Mangino implied that officials wanted Texas to win so it could bring a BCS windfall into the Big 12.

“You know what this is all about, don’t you? BCS. That’s what made a difference today in the game,” Mangino said. “That’s what made the difference in a call in front of their bench. Dollar signs.”

Mangino backed off from his comments in a statement released Saturday night.

“After an emotional loss, in our seniors’ last home game, I made remarks that I regret,” Mangino said. “Any implications that BCS standings played a role in Saturday afternoon’s game was inappropriate. I have always supported the BCS system and will continue to do so.”

The Jayhawks (3-7, 1-6) led, 23-20, and faced a third-and-seven from their 26. Luke passed to Charles Gordon for a 16-yard gain that would have given them a first down.

But officials called Gordon for a penalty. A moment later, Kansas punted out of its own end zone and the Longhorns got the ball on the Kansas 47 with 1:53 to go.

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Point Man

Texas running back Cedric Benson’s 16-yard touchdown against Kansas on Saturday gave him a score in 36 games, breaking the NCAA record:

PREVIOUS RECORD: 35 GAMES

* Travis Prentice: Miami of Ohio (1996-99)

* Brock Forsey: Boise State (1999-2002)

Benson, a senior who leads the Big 12 with 1,599 yards rushing, ran for 161 yards in the win and passed Heisman Trophy winners Archie Griffin and Herschel Walker and current NFL star LaDanian Tomlinson for sixth place on the NCAA career list with 5,305 yards. A look at the NCAA Division I-A all-time leading rushers:

*--* Rk. Player, School Yrs Yds 1. Ron Dayne, Wisconsin 1996-99 6,397 2. Ricky Williams, Texas 1995-98 6,279 3. Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh 1973-76 6,082 4. Charles White, USC 1976-79 5,598 5. Travis Prentice, Miami-Oh. 1996-99 5,596 6. Cedric Benson, Texas 2001-04 5,305

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Note: This was the 24th 100-yard game for Benson. The Longhorns are 24-0 in those games.