The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Vote for Texas' 'Game Changing Performance' vs. Nebraska
10.28.2007 | Football
Texas junior RB Jamaal Charles' 86-yard TD run against Nebraska has been nominated as a Pontiac Game Changing Performance. The 86-yard TD run, which is tied for the fifth-longest run in UT history, gave Texas its first lead of the second half, 21-17, and was part of Charles' career-best 290-yard, three-TD effort in helping the Longhorns defeat the Cornhuskers, 28-25.
Charles rushed for 216 yards and three TDs in the fourth quarter alone. The 216 yards in a quarter were a UT record and just six yards shy of the NCAA mark for rushing yards in a quarter (222, Corey Dillon vs. San Jose State, 1996).
Behind Charles' career-high 290-yard (on a career-most 33 attempts) rushing day (T-No. 4 on the UT all-time single-game list), the Horns rushed for a season-high 364 yards on 48 carries (7.6 ypc). The 290 rushing yards were the most by any player ever against the Huskers, surpassing the 247 yards by Oklahoma's Billy Simms in 1979. The 290 yards pushed Charles over 1,000 rushing yards (1,012) for the first time in his UT career and he became the 21st Longhorn to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Charles rushed for 237 second-half yards, just four yards less than Hodges Mitchell's UT record of 241 yards in a half versus Kansas in 2000.
With Texas trailing 17-9 with 13:13 left in the game, Charles ignited the Horns final surge by capping a four-play, 74-yard drive with a 25-yard TD run that pulled Texas to within 17-15. Charles' two rushes on that drive accounted for 50 yards. He followed up that effort with the spectacular, career-long 86-yard TD run two possessions later that gave the Horns their first lead since the second quarter at 21-17. Charles completed his scoring onslaught with a 40-yard TD run that put UT up, 28-17, with 3:34 remaining.
All totaled, his three TDs came during a 9:39 fourth quarter stretch that saw Charles run for 196 yards on nine carries (21.1 ypc).
The performance by Charles and the offense earned Texas its second Pontiac Game Changing Performance nomination of the season.
Now it is up to Texas fans to determine if the Longhorns earned the "Pontiac Game Changing Performance" for the ninth week of the 2007 NCAA® Football Season. UT fans can go to , where they can view video clips of the four finalists and vote for their favorite play. Voting begins on Sunday morning and ends at midnight on Wednesday. ESPN will announce this week's "Pontiac Game Changing Performance" winner, on Thursday night, during the Pontiac Performance Halftime Report.
The winning university earns a $5,000 contribution from Pontiac to their general scholarship fund. Additionally, the winning play will be nominated for the "Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year" and the chance to win a $100,000 General Scholarship from Pontiac.
"Awarding more than $1 million since its inception, the Pontiac Game Changing Performance program continues to be a great example of how passionate fans can have a positive impact academically and athletically by generating scholarship dollars for university-wide programs," said Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN GameDay Analyst.
In addition, each week one lucky individual who visits pontiac.com/ncaa will also win a $5,000 scholarship for them self or their family. In total, Pontiac will provide $300,000 worth of scholarships to universities and individuals throughout the season.
