Everyone loves to mark their presence at every classic bowl game. And the want is even stronger when one of the stalwarts programs of the NCAA, Texas Longhorns are in action.
The Longhorns are blessed to be on the ground and be a part of some memorable bowl matches. Today we will look to cover the most memorable matches of the Longhorns history.
Winning and losing are always the two outcomes of a match, but what makes a match interesting is the stringent competition between the two teams. Such matches where you cannot predict the outcome of the game until the very last moment.
The Texas Longhorns have been a champion football program in the prolonged history of the NCAA. Their records speak for them. They have 49 bowl appearances behind their name and this is the second-largest by any team. Only Alabama with 58 appearances is ahead of them. They also enjoy a pretty handsome bowl record, they have a record of 25-22-2 in bowl games.
Have a look at some crunch bowl matches in the history of Texas Longhorns:
- 1966 Bluebonnet Bowl vs. Mississippi
Final Score 19-0
Until the fourth quarter, the game could have gone to either side. Texas despite making seven turnovers Texas weren’t the favorites to run away with the game. Chris Gilbert, Bill Bradley in tandem with the defense proved their mettle taking their team to victory.
In the match, the Texas Longhorns ran for over 306 yards, and out of this 306 yards, 261 came from Gilbert and Bradley. Moreover, they restricted their opponents to only 208 yards of banking on their strong defense.
- 1948 Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama
Final Score: 27-7
In the season of 1948, No 6 seeded Alabama was up against No. 5 Texas. And the defense of Texas was raging to pin down Alabama. The match started and so did the heroics of Bobby Layne, he was on a carnage that day. Bobby that day made a touchdown and ran for a touchdown to wrap the game for the Longhorns.
The defense of Texas stepped up its game in the second half and they didn’t allow their opponents a single point in the second half. This also included a massive 18-yard interception attempted in the fourth quarter.
- 1975 Bluebonnet Bowl vs. Colorado
Final Score: 38-21
The two teams were ranked almost similar. Texas was at 9 while Colorado was at 10. The two halves of this game portrayed two completely different stories. In the first half, Texas was lacking behind and trailed to their opponents by 21-7. Colorado was taking this lead as unassailable and was pretty confident of their victory.
But then came the A-game from Texas and they restricted their opponents to a mere 69 yards in the final half. Moreover, they put up a score of 31-0 to comfortably seal the game for themselves. Earl Campbell was their go-to man who managed 19 carries for 95 yards. This game also took Longhorns past their two games losing streak.
- 1978 Sun Bowl vs. Maryland
Final Score: 42-0
This performance was complete domination from the Texas Longhorns, they didn’t even allow their opponents to open their score tally. Lam, Ham and Jam Jones, from Texas, ran for 211 yards between them and managed to hit 4 touchdowns.
The defense played like a well-coordinated unit and forced a total of 5 turnovers during the game. On the other hand, the offense ended up with 62 carries for 286 yards. This was amongst the greatest victories for the program.
- 2000 Holiday Bowl vs. Oregon
Final Score: 30-35
This holiday bowl game saw a lot of twists and turns. The Longhorns were matched up against a lower-ranked team and we’re supposed to take away the game quite easily. However, the Oregon team had other plans. Their opponents picked up 14 points in the first quarter and the Longhorns were yet to open their tally.
The Longhorns came back strongly with 21 points going into halftime. The second half brought miseries for the Longhorns and they committed 5 turnovers, In the end, they ended up losing the game, but it was one cracker of a game.
- 1973 Cotton Bowl vs. Alabama
Final Score 17-13
That season wasn’t a great one for the Longhorns and Alabama was placed 4th in the table after playing superbly. The Longhorns were 11th in the table. At the halftime, the score was 13-3 in the favor of Alabama and they were the favorites to run away with the game. But Alan Lowry had other plans, the Longhorns quarterback made a touchdown in the third quarter cutting down the lead to just 3 points. In the dying moments of the game, he attempted a touchdown after a 34-yard run and took his team to victory. However, that play was a controversial topic but the decision came in favor of the Longhorns.
- 2006 Alamo Bowl vs. Iowa
Final Score: 26-24
Colt McCoy posted a one-man show for the Longhorns playing as the quarterback. He made the team to achieve 308 passing yards. Texas was lacking far behind the lowa and were none to 14 down in just 7 minutes of play. They were looking hopeless, but they pulled up their socks and effected 2 touchdowns. They eventually went on to collect 26 points against 24 points from their opponent. They showed their class and allowed only 10 points to the Lowa in the second half.
- 1943 Cotton Bowl vs. Georgia Tech
Final Score: 14-7
This match marked the first-ever win for the Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl. Roy McKay was their key man in the match and he was into the action right from the first quarter. He inflicted a touchdown in the first quarter. He also made a 60-yard punt to assist Jackie Field to score the second touchdown in the third quarter.
Texas also managed to inflict 3 turnovers to Georgia Tech and banking on their strong defense they curtained them to only 195 total yards.
- 1962 Cotton Bowl vs. Mississippi
Final Score: 12-7
No. 3 Texas were up against the No. 5 Mississippi. Both the programs had the best defense, and it was supposed to be the battle of defenses. Something similar happened when the two teams accounted for 10 turnovers between them with Texas falling prey to 4 and their opponents to 6. Horns came victorious though but they too managed only 183 total yards on 55 plays. The Rebels managed 319 total yards but couldn’t convert it into scores. The longhorns inflicted their first touchdown in the first quarter and the final one in the second quarter. While the only touchdown for the rivals came in the third quarter.
- 1987 Bluebonnet Bowl vs. Pittsburgh
Final Score: 32-27
Arguably the most influential match in the history of Texas longhorns. Longhorns came into the match on the back of four consecutive losses and their morale was down. The two teams were evenly poised and have almost similar potential. The Longhorns took the early lead with 18 points. Their defense was able to keep the offense of the opponents’ quotes for the best part of the match. But Pittsburgh wasn’t ready to give up so easily, they forced two late touchdowns in the dying moments of the fourth quarter. For a moment it appeared like they would cancel the lead and would run away with the match. Somehow Texas managed to run down the clock and broke their losing streak.
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