The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Great Games and Moments: 1970s
GREAT GAME
#1 Texas 21, #9 Notre Dame 17
Thursday, January 1, 1970
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
No. 1 Texas took on No. 9 Notre Dame, which was ending a 44-year self-imposed bowl moratorium. The Irish, despite being seven-point underdogs, outweighed the Longhorns by nearly 20 pounds per man, but that was not enough to prevent UT from registering the 500th win in school history. Trailing 17-14 with 6:52 left to play, the Longhorns took over at their own 24 yard-line. In the 17-play, 76-yard TD drive that followed, UT converted two fourth-and-two situations, the last coming at the Notre Dame 10-yard-line when James Street completed a clutch pass to Cotton Speyrer that took the UT to the two. From there, it took three plays before Billy Dale pushed the ball over for the win and cemented Texas' second National Championship. "I thought of going for the field goal and a tie fleetingly, but that was the conservative in me and it didn't come through strong enough to make me do it," Royal said of the final fourth-and-two.
GREAT MOMENT
#2 Texas 20, #13 UCLA 17
Saturday, October 3, 1970
Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
In one of the most dramatic plays in school history, quarterback Eddie Phillips (below) and wide receiver Cotton Speyrer combined on a 45-yard catch-and-run to raise UT's unbeaten streak to 23 games, eclipsing the old mark of 22 set by Arkansas in 1963-65. On third-and-19 with 20 seconds left, Texas called for "86 pass, Ted crossing, Sam post." Speyrer, who lined up at right end, angled over the middle, jumped and hauled in the pass at the 20-yard-line, then raced to the end zone with 12 seconds remaining on the clock. The Memorial Stadium crowd erupted as yet another Darrell Royal gamble paid off for the Longhorns.
GREAT GAME
#7 Texas 17, #4 Alabama 13
Saturday, January 1, 1973
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
No. 7 Texas capped an outstanding 10-1 season with a 17-13 defeat of No. 4 Alabama. Quarterback Alan Lowry's 34-yard touchdown run on a bootleg with 4:22 left in the game proved to be the difference in UT's upset of the favored Crimson Tide. Alabama, led by offensive tackle John Hannah and running back Wilbur Jackson, jumped out to a 13-3 halftime lead, but Texas, behind its star tackle Jerry Sisemore and top running back Roosevelt Leaks, stormed back in the second half. Lowry, who ran for 117 yards on 16 carries and tossed for 61 more yards on 5-of-11 passing, beat out Leaks, who rushed for 120 yards on 25 carries, for Outstanding Offensive Performer honors. Royal was especially proud of this team's performance. After all, he had called the team "average as a day's wash"in the preseason.
GREAT MOMENT
#7 Texas 17, #4 Alabama 13
Saturday, January 1, 1973
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
With 4:22 left in the game, quarterback Alan Lowry called a bootleg and took off from the Alabama 34-yard line. Not known as an exceptional sprinter, the 4.7 40-yard dash man turned the corner and headed down the sideline for the winning score. Replays and photos show that Lowry may have caught the sideline at the 10-yard-line when he cut back to elude the final Crimson Tide tackler. But it didn't matter, as the winning touchdown stood and UT finished the season at 10-1.
GREAT GAME
#5 Texas 13, #2 Oklahoma 6
Saturday, October 8, 1977
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
No. 5 Texas ended six years of frustration by defeating Oklahoma for the first time since 1970. It was the storybook style with which the Longhorns did it that makes this game stand out. Starting quarterback Mark McBath and backup John Aune both went down in the first quarter with season-ending injuries setting the stage for little-used junior Randy McEachern, who went into the season not even listed in the UT media guide. McEachern proceeded to lead the Longhorns on an 80-yard touchdown drive just before the half to give UT a 10-3 lead at intermission. Russell Erxleben put the Longhorns up 13-6 with a 58-yard field goal (he knocked through a 64-yarder in the first half) with 8:08 remaining. It was then that Oklahoma started at its own 20-yard-line and advanced to the UT 4-yard line facing a fourth-and-one with 4:10 to go. OU quarterback Thomas Lott rolled left and cut upfield where he was met by All-Americans Brad Shearer and Johnny Johnson for no gain. OU then held Texas at its own six when Erxleben, forced to punt from his own end zone, boomed a 69-yarder to put Texas out of danger. Earl Campbell had a great day on the ground for the Longhorns with 124 yards on 23 carries, including a 24-yard run for UT's only touchdown.
GREAT GAME
#1 Texas 57, #2 Texas A&M 28
Saturday, November 26, 1977
Kyle Field (College Station, Texas)
It was the Earl Campbell show as the Tyler Rose galloped for 222 yards and four touchdowns against the Aggies in a wild UT win. For good measure, the 220-pound fullback added the only TD reception of his career when he toted a screen pass 60 yards. The performance all but put the Heisman Trophy on Campbell's mantle, as the game was witnessed by a national television audience. Campbell wasn't the only offensive star for the Longhorns, as quarterback Randy McEachern threw for a school record-tying four touchdowns. Texas' 57-point total still stands as the most points scored by either team in this storied rivalry. The win gave the Longhorns their first undefeated regular season (at 11-0) since 1970. UT's bid for a national title was sidetracked by Notre Dame, who defeated the Longhorns 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl.
GREAT MOMENT
Earl Campbell wins the Heisman Trophy
Saturday, December 8, 1977
The Heisman Room - Downtown Athletic Club (New York, N.Y.)
Live television entered the life of the Heisman Trophy the day Earl Campbell became Texas' first winner of the award in 1977. After a number of top finishers just missed the brass ring for the Longhorns, UT's first winner spent a laid-back Dec. 8 lounging in his hotel room in a "bull session" with members of the media-waiting for the first-ever prime-time telecast of the announcement of the award. After years of announcing the award in a quiet formality at the end of the annual dinner sponsored by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York, the 1977 Heisman moved uptown to the New York Hilton. There, with entertainers Connie Stevens and Leslie Uggams escorted on stage by a dancing troupe dressed in cheerleader outfits, the award was announced to the nation at the end of an hour-long CBS-TV special. The hosts for the telecast were actor Elliot Gould and O. J. Simpson. The one-hour special, which was greatly panned by TV critics of the day, climaxed in the naming of Campbell over finalists running back Terry Miller of Oklahoma State and Notre Dame tight end Ken MacAfee. Campbell thanked his mother, Ann, who had reared Earl and 10 other children on money she made raising roses in Tyler, his teammates, and God. "I really don't have words to express my feelings,"he said. "I hope I can represent what it stands for and will do everything I can toward that aim." Mrs. Campbell and head coach Fred Akers both were among the small contingent of Texans who made the trip to New York. Campbell wore a yellow rose in the lapel of his tuxedo, emblematic of his nickname, "The Tyler Rose."