The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns Rewind: The 1996 Big 12 Championship
11.29.2001 | Football
ST. LOUIS -- In one of the biggest upsets of the 1996 college football season and one of the biggest wins in recent Texas football history, the Longhorns knocked off No. 3 Nebraska 37-27 to claim the first-ever Big 12 Conference crown. A career-best 353 yards on 19 of 28 passing by QB James Brown and 120 yards rushing and three touchdowns by fifth-year senior RB Priest Holmes helped lead Texas to the stirring win over the two-defending national champion Huskers in St. Louis.
Brown caught Nebraska's high-powered defense off guard from the start, completing all four of his passes on the opening drive to help lead the Longhorns 80 yards to the score. Holmes capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown and Texas led 7-0 early. DeAngelo Evans scored his first of three TD runs for the Huskers to tie the score 7-7 as the first quarter came to an end, but Texas jumped back in front with a 49-yard field goal by Phil Dawson. Kris Brown answered with a career-long 55-yard field goal and again the teams were tied.
Holmes then shocked the Trans World Dome crowd midway through quarter two with a career-high 61-yard run through the Nebraska line for a touchdown to give the Longhorns a 17-10 advantage. Nebraska responded with a 23-yard run for a touchdown by Evans, but a 30-yard field goal by Dawson helped the Steers secure a 20-17 hafltime lead.
Dawson helped extend that cushion with a 47-yard field goal to open the second half scoring, matching his career-high with three FGs in one game. Nebraska's steady offense responded by continuing to churn downfield. The Huskers finally captured their first lead of the game on another Evans TD, this time an option on the right side for a six-yard gain.
A James Brown interception on the ensuing drive was followed by another Kris Brown field goal and the Huskers appeared to be gaining momentum with a 27-23 lead. But the Longhorns staged a stunning turnaround. Just four plays later James Brown lofted a pass into Wane McGarity's hand on the right sideline that the receiver turned into a brilliant 66-yard TD. The shell-shocked Huskers suddenly trailed 30-27, and there was life on the Texas sideline.
That set the stage for what is sure to be one of the most talked about plays in Longhorns history, a gutsy fourth-and-one conversion on Texas' own 28-yard line. The Horns had possession and a three point lead but elected to go for the first down with the pigskin resting just inches from the first down marker. With 2:40 left on the Trans World Dome clock, James Brown stepped up to center and received the ball immediately. Then the junior QB stunned the Husker defense by rolling out of the pocket to his left side and throwing downfield to reserve tight end Derek Lewis for what turned into a 61-yard completion. Lewis, making just his eighth catch of the season, took that pass down to the Nebraska 11 and set up Holmes for his third touchdown and a 37-27 back-breaking score.
"We probably had more big plays against us today than we've had all season long," said Nebraska defensive coordinator Charlie McBride. "I can't remember a game since I've been at Nebraska (20 years) when we had that many big plays against us."
Nebraska's attempt to stage a miracle comeback was quickly halted when Dwight Kirkpatrick sacked Scott Frost and forced the quarterback into fumbling the ball back into Texas' hands to run down the clock.
Texas had peppered Nebraska's top five-ranked defense for 503 yards of total offense by the end of the contest. The loss was Nebraska's first in conference in 31 games.
Scoring Summary
Nebraska 7 10 7 .3 27
Texas ...7 13 3 14 37
First Quarter
11:25 UT - Priest Holmes 5-yd run (Phil Dawson kick)
Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 3:35
0:14 NU - DeAngelo Evans 2-yd run (Kris Brown kick)
Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 5:45
Second Quarter
11:50 UT - Dawson 49-yd FG
Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 0:49
8:39 NU - Brown 51-yd FG
Drive: 7 plays, 31 yards, 3:11
7:24 UT - Priest Holmes 61-yd run (Dawson kick)
Drive: 3 plays, 87 yards, 1:15
2:23 NU - DeAngelo Evans 23-yd run (Brown kick)
Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:01
1:00 UT - Dawson 30-yd FG
Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 1:23
Third Quarter
8:30 UT - Dawson 47-yd FG
Drive: 6 plays, 52 yards, 2:29
2:11 NU - DeAngelo Evans 6-yd run (Brown kick)
Drive: 15 plays, 72 yards, 6:19
Fourth Quarter
10:11 NU - Kris Brown 24-yd FG
Drive: 13 plays, 46 yards, 5:22
8:53 UT - Wane McGarity 66-yd pass from James Brown (Dawson kick)
Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 1:18
1:53 UT - Priest Holmes 11-yd run (Dawson kick)
Drive: 7 plays, 93 yards, 2:13
Team Statistics
Nebraska Texas
First Downs 26 22
Carries/Net Yards Rushing 63-243 28-150
Pass Comp./Att./Int. 15-24-0 19-29-2
Net Yards Passing 155 353
Total Plays/Yards 87-398 57-503
Fumbles/Lost 3-2 0-0
Punts/Avg. 3-39.0 1-43.0
Penalties/Yards 5-35 4-24
Sacks by/Loss 0-0 1-5
Time of Possession 39:35 20:25
Individual Statistics
Texas
Rushing (Att./Yds./TD): Priest Holmes (9-120-3).
Passing (Comp./Att./Int./Yds./TD): James Brown (19-28-2-353-1).
Receiving (No./Yds./TD): Mike Adams (6-92); Wane McGarity (3-96-1).
Tackles (Ast./Unast./Total): Dusty Renfro (9-11-20); Aaron Humphrey (3-9-12).
Punting (No./Yds./Avg.): Mark Schultis (1-43-43.0).
Nebraska
Rushing (Att./Yds./TD): DeAngelo Evans (32-130-3).
Passing (Comp./Att./Int./Yds./TD): Scott Frost (15-24-0-155-0).
Receiving (No./Yds./TD): DeAngelo Evans (6-42); Brendan Holbein (3-43).
Tackles (Ast./Unast./Total): Eric Stokes (1-7-8).
Punting (No./Yds./Avg.): Jesse Kosch (3-117-39.0).
