Oklahoma State University Athletics
Williams Powers Texas by Cowboys, 71-14
April 14, 2003 | Cowboy Football
Texas (3-2, 2-0 Big 12 South) lost to Notre Dame and Virginia the last two weeks but has won 12 straight games against non-ranked opponents. The Longhorns have won 10 of their last 11 home games and posted its highest total since a 72-15 win over Rice on October 1st, 1977.
"I'm certainly not disappointed in what we did," said Texas coach John Mackovic. "We needed this. We came out tonight and really dominated."
Williams ran for 156 yards on 13 carries for his fourth 10o-yard rushing game of the season. Shon Mitchell rushed 12 times for 117 yards and a touchdown.
"It feels good to get back on our feet and this win gives us a lot of confidence," Williams said. "A win like that brings the team back together. It's the start of something big. With our two losses we got down but tonight we came back with a win that was good for us."
Oklahoma State (3-2, 1-1 South) was denied its first three-game winning streak since 1988 and has lost 10 of its last 11 games against the Longhorns.
"We had a total collapse," Oklahoma State coach Bob Simmons said. "We didn't play well at all. Our defense did not exist and we turned the ball over more today than ever. I'm concerned but not angry at my players. They're young, I just got to be patient. We just need to move forward."
Williams opened the scoring with a three-yard run to give Texas a 7-0 lead just over four mintutes into the game. Phil Dawson kicked a 48-yard field goal to increase the advantage to 10-0.
Tone Jones caught a 29-yard scoring pass from Alonzo Mayes to bring the Cowboys withing 14-7 with 3:39 left in the first.
The Longhorns regained their 14-point lead just 23 seconds later on a 23-yard touchdown run by Williams, and the rout was on.
Quarterback James Brown and Priest Holmes each had short touchdowns runs as Texas built a 31-7 lead under six minutes into the second. Dawson's 38-yarder made it 34-7 with 4:02 left in the second. Brown was 12-of-16 for 232 yards.
"James did an excellent job," Mackovic said. "Anytime you come off a game like last week it helps to come back and play this well."
David Thompson's 54-yard touchdown run cut the deficit to 34-14 with 1:57 to go before halftime. Thompson ran for 153 yards on 20 carries.
"It hurts but it's something that we can learn from," Thompson said. "We didn't represent the Oklahoma State Cowboys tonight. but we're learning from this and looking to Colorado."
Backup quarterback Richard Walton threw a 14-yard scoring pass to Mike Scarborough to give Texas a 41-14 lead at the half.
Dawson kicked a 42-yarder and Williams and Holmes each had TD runs as Texas took a 57-14 advantage after three quarters.
Mitchell had a 38-yard run and Chris Butcher scored on a three-yard plunge for the Longhorns' final points.
"It was just a great game," Mitchell said. "We were focused so we were ready to come back from two losses. We lost our confidence in some of the non-conference games, but we came back. That was great team we played. Everybody played excellent and we should play like that every time."
