ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 26, 1995 TAG: 9512260077
SECTION: BOWL GUIDE PAGE: BG-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
ONLY TWO PROGRAMS in college football history have been to more bowl games than Texas, which might surprise some people, given the Longhorns' recent history.
When Texas was invited to play in the Sugar Bowl, it marked the first time since 1984-85 the Longhorns had received bowl bids after back-to-back seasons.
Many people thought coach John Mackovic might be in some trouble when, late in his third season at Texas, he had a record of 16-14-1. Since then, the Longhorns have gone 13-1-1.
In NCAA Division I-A, only Nebraska (15-0) and Tennessee (14-1) have a better record in their past 15 games.
Mackovic received a $40,000 bonus when the Longhorns won the final Southwest Conference championship and Texas officials were eager to begin talks on a contract extension. Mackovic has been mentioned as a possible successor to Buddy Ryan as coach of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.
``That's not reality,'' said Mackovic, who was fired as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1986 after taking them to a 10-6 record and the AFC playoffs. ``The reality is I'm right here working and have a lot of other things to do.''
Mackovic had made only one postseason appearance with the Longhorns, whom he took to the 1994 Sun Bowl, before they clinched a spot in the Bowl Alliance by beating Texas A&M 16-6 on the final Saturday of the regular season.
Ninth-ranked Texas (10-1-1) will meet No.13 Virginia Tech (9-2) at the Louisiana Superdome at 7 p.m. New Year's Eve.
``Nobody gave us a chance three or four months ago to be there,'' said Mackovic, who played at Wake Forest and later was the head coach at his alma mater and Illinois. ``We had to win our way into it.
``Our last five games are probably the toughest stretch any team has ever had to face in the Southwest Conference.''
The Longhorns ended the season with a six-game winning streak, starting with a 17-16 last-second triumph over Virginia. That was followed by conference victories over Texas Tech (which finished 8-3), Houston (2-9), TCU (6-5), Baylor (7-4) and Texas A&M (8-3).
Texas A&M had won 31 consecutive games at home before the Longhorns beat the Aggies at their own game, holding then-No.16 A&M without a touchdown.
``I've played a lot of Texas teams,'' said Aggies cornerback Ray Mickens. ``Every time we played them, you'd look in their eyes and see they knew they weren't going to win.
``But this Texas team had a lot of confidence. We made some big plays defensively and they didn't back down. That was the difference in the game.''
Texas A&M entered the game with the No.1-ranked defense in Division I-A, but Longhorns freshman Ricky Williams carried 24 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns and broke Earl Campbell's school record for rushing yardage by a freshman.
The Longhorns' running game had been a question mark after Sun Bowl hero Priest Holmes suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the spring. Holmes rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns in Texas' 35-31 victory over North Carolina.
Filling the void were two players who were not listed on the preseason two-deep roster, Williams and junior college transfer Shon Mitchell. Williams and Mitchell, who either shared time in a one-back set or played together in a split-back formation, combined for 1,999 yards rushing.
The Longhorns were equally dangerous through the air. Wide receiver Mike Adams needed less than three years to become the Longhorns' all-time leader in receiving yardage (2,099) and he has 121 receptions, four short of career leader Eric Metcalf.
The quarterback, sophomore James Brown, became the full-time starter when Shea Morenz was selected No.1 by the New York Yankees in the June baseball draft. Brown overcame a series of injuries to set school records for passing yardage (2,447) and touchdown passes (19) in a season.
For all of Texas' offensive firepower, the team's marquee player is All-America defensive end Tony Brackens. He led the Longhorns in sacks (seven) and tackles for losses (16), despite missing three full games and most of a fourth with a fractured tibia.
``Brackens was in a different league from anyone I played against,'' said Jason Augustino, an All-ACC offensive tackle for Virginia. ``I wondered when [the coaches] told us they were going to change our blocking scheme to put two men on him. After the game, I was like, `Good thing we did.'''
Texas kicker Phil Dawson was 13-of-20 on field-goal attempts, but he kicked three of 50 yards or more, including a 50-yarder into the wind to beat Virginia as time expired.
``We have put together a total team,'' Mackovic said. ``It's not something that happened by mistake. Because of that, we feel we're on pace to go further than this.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for statistics.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. Texas quarterback James Brown hasby CNBpassed for 2,447 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.