Thanksgiving in Texas: Great Defense, Horrible Offense and Clutch Kickers



Bailey's Game Winner Against Miami

What a day Thanksgiving was throughout the Lone Star State!  All three Texas football teams had something to prove and the future of their seasons looked to be in the balance as result of their games.  In the first game, the Dallas Cowboys hosted their annual Thanksgiving football game at Cowboys Stadium against the Dolphins.  The Cowboys entered the game tied atop the NFC East with the Giants and had an easy schedule ahead of them.  The Cowboys were expected to blow out the Dolphins, but two early interceptions from Tony Romo kept the game close.  Although the Dolphins scored first, the Cowboys regrouped and took the lead late in the half after Demarcus Ware recovered a Matt Moore fumble to set up the first Cowboy touchdown of the game.  The Cowboys held the halftime lead and had finally found their stride.  Even a tough third quarter couldn't prevent a Dallas victory on Thanksgiving.  A strong second half from Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray, and the defense put the Cowboys in position to win. Dan Bailey's game winning kick, his second in as many weeks, helped his team escape with a last second 20-19 victory over the Dolphins.




Tucker (Above) Carried Off after His Game Winning Kick Against A&M

Less than an hour after Bailey's game winning kick in Arlington, the kickoff for the final football match-up between the Longhorns and Aggies had been kicked in College Station.  The favored Aggies took control early after a Ben Malena touchdown reception and two long Randy Bullock field goals.  Nothing was going right for the Longhorns, so Coach Mack Brown went with some trickery to give the Longhorns some spark in the game.  The Longhorns looked to Wide Receiver Jaxon Shipley, who threw his second TD pass of the season to a wide open Blaine Irby.  The Longhorns looked to build on their quick score and intercepted Quarterback Ryan Tannehill on the first play of A&M's next possession.  Three plays into Texas' next possession, Irby fumbled his reception from Quarterback Case McCoy and A&M regained control of the game.  The Aggies extended their lead to nine after a third field goal and held a 16-9 lead at halftime.

Even with A&M's lead, there was a different feeling around Kyle Field as the second half began.  Tannehill began the half with his second interception of the game and a pick six as the Longhorns were within two of the Aggie lead.  The Longhorns continued to take advantage of A&M's third quarter struggles and held a 24-16 lead after three. The Longhorn defense was in control of the second half as the fourth quarter began, but an inefficient Texas offense gave A&M the ball and time to take the lead.  With just under two minutes to play in the series finale, the Aggies regained the lead after Ryan Tannehill's second touchdown pass of the game.  The Longhorns were still within one after A&M's unsuccessful two-point conversion and a field goal could win them the series finale.  After a controversial helmet-to-helmet penalty and a successful quarterback sneak by Case McCoy, the Longhorns were finally in field goal range for senior kicker Justin Tucker with seconds remaining in the game.  His clutch 40 yard field goal gave the Longhorns a tight 27-25 victory and the rivalry ended in the best of ways!

UTSA Finishes Inaugural Season With a 'W'; Longhorns Fall on Senior Day

It's been an entertaining inaugural season for the UTSA Football team and Saturday was no different.  The Roadrunners began the game off with a bang, as DE Jason Neill intercepted a pass on Minot State's first possession and returned it for a pick six.  The Roadrunners got the ball back after a Minot State punt and extended their lead on their fourth offensive play, a 77 yard run by RB Evans Okotcha.  By quarter's end, the Roadrunners held a 21-0 lead and were cruising to an easy victory.  A Beaver second quarter touchdown wouldn't prevent the Roadrunners from rolling to victory.  QB Eric Soza threw two second half touchdowns to set up their fourth victory of the season, a 49-7 victory in the season finale.  Although the Roadrunners finished their inaugural season with a 4-6 record, UTSA played in two overtimes and set two attendance records during the season.  Roadrunner fans set the single game attendance record (56,743) in the season opener and the average attendance record (35,521) for a start-up college football program.

In Austin, the #23 Longhorns faced a tough opponent as #13 Kansas State came to town.  Texas was coming off a tough 17-5 loss in Columbia the week before and needed to get back on track.  The Longhorn offense continued to struggle as the game began, but their defense kept them in the game, allowing only ten first half points to the Wildcats.  The Wildcats extended their lead to fourteen halfway through the third quarter on a 3 yard TD run by QB Collin Klein, but were done scoring after that play.  QB Case McCoy took over for the ineffective David Ash and kept the Longhorns in the game.  In the third quarter, he threw the first Texas touchdown pass in two weeks and set up Texas' second field goal in the fourth.  The once Kansas State fourteen point lead had shrunk to four with minutes to go in the game and the Texas 'D' gave Texas numerous opportunities to take the lead.  McCoy was unable to complete the comeback victory and the Wildcats held on to a 17-13 victory in Austin on Saturday.  Although the Longhorns lost their second consecutive game, the team's focus will be on their final conference match-up with the Aggies on Thanksgiving Night.