True Orange, Nov. 13, 2000, Part 1 ,
 Jerry Scarbrough's True Orange
The Internet Newsletter for the True Texas Longhorn Faithful

Volume 11, No. 5, November 13, 2000

Mitchell, Simms-to-Williams Combination
Way Too Much For Jayhawks; Aggies Next

Kansas came out smoking in damp, freezing Lawrence Saturday, taking a 14-0
lead over Texas before the sparse crowd had time to  settle down, but the
Longhorns came storming back for an easy 51-16  victory.
Senior TB Hodges Mitchell broke the UT and Big 12 records for all-purpose
yardage in a single game. He had 264 yards rushing, 23 yards in receptions
and 88 yards in punt returns for 375 total yards. He also scored two
touchdowns.
But sophomore QB Chris Simms, subbing for the injured Major Applewhite, and
sensational freshman WR Roy Williams also were huge offensive guns for the
Longhorns.
Simms passed for 240 yards and two touchdowns and Williams caught four of h=
is
passes for 180 yards and both touchdowns =01) all in the first half. Willia=
ms
also added a 35-yard touchdown on a new play =01) an end around.
Williams, a true freshman, already held the season record in reception
yardage and in touchdowns for freshmen.
Kansas coach Terry Allen said his defense was able to hold Mitchell's
production down early, "but then we had to double-cover Williams and that
opened some running lanes."
When this UT offense is clicking, it's hard for a defense to stop because
Mitchell just needs a little crease to be productive and he gets those
creases regularly when Williams draws double coverage.
It takes a brave =01) or foolhardy =01) coach to consistently single cover
Williams, a 6-3, 210-pounder with awesome speed and leaping ability.
The victory gave Texas an-2 season record and 6-1 Big 12 mark, heading into
an open week and then the big regular season finale the day after
Thanksgiving against Texas A&M.
The Longhorns have won five games in a row after a 3-2 start.
Here, briefly, is how the game went:
FIRST QUARTER
The Longhorns started fearfully slow offensively and defensively. Texas got
the ball first, couldn't make a first down and punted quickly. Kansas score=
d
in three plays, with WR Derick Mills going the final 29 yards on a reverse =
to
give the Jayhawks a 7-0 lead with 12:45 left. On the fourth play after the
kickoff, Simms' pass in the left flat was picked off and returned 43 yards
for a touchdown by KU CB Andrew Davison. That put the Jayhawks on top, 14-0=
,
with 10:11 left. The Longhorns finally got something going on their third
possession, driving from their own 32 to a first down at the Kansas 4, but
they stalled and Kris Stockton kicked a 19-yard field goal to cut the defic=
it
to 14-3 with 4:50 left. Longhorn LB De'Andre Lewis pounced on a Kansas fumb=
le
four plays later to set the Longhorn s up at the Jayhawk 38. Simms hit
Williams behind Davison for a touchdown on the first play to cut the Kansas=
'
lead to 14-9 with 3:06 left. The Longhorns decided to go for a 2-point
conversion, but it backfired when Simms, under pressure, threw into the end
zone and Kansas safety Carl Nesmith picked it off and returned it 100-plus
yards for two point for the Jayhawks and a 16-9 lead. Huge Longhorn OT
Leonard Davis showed a lot of heart on that play, chasing Nesmith all the w=
ay
down the sideline. But that was the last highlight for the Jayhawks. They h=
ad
to punt from their own 10 and the punter shanked it to the KU 35. With the
Jayhawks now aware of Williams and his long-distance threat, Mitchell ran f=
or
5, then 21 more and then 14 for the TD. Stockton's kick tied it at 16-16 wi=
th
55 seconds left.
SECOND QUARTER
The Texas defense forced the Jayhawks to punt quickly and Williams got behi=
nd
Davison again on the first play and Simms hit him for a 65-yard touchdown
play. Stockton's kick put UT on top for the first time, 23-16, only 28
seconds deep in the quarter. Mitchell set up the Horns' next touchdown with=
 a
25-yard punt return to the Kansas 40. Simms scrambled for four yards, then
hit Williams again to the Jayhawk 2. Mitchell scored on the next play for a
30-16 left with 11 second left in the half. Texas had a 381-131 edge in
yardage and a 15-4 advantage in first downs.
THIRD QUARTER
Kansas had a good drive to open the second half, but redshirt freshman safe=
ty
Dakarai Pearson stopped it with an interception at the UT 47. Later in the
period, Williams scored on a 35-yard end around to give Texas a 37-16 lead
with 4:22 left. Mitchell's 27-yard punt return to the Texas 44 got the
Longhorns started on their next drive. Simms picked up nine yards on a
scramble, then Mitchell ran for 14, 14 more than then 19 for another TD to
run the score to 44-16 with 2:08 left.
FOURTH QUARTER
Backup TB Victor Ike scored the final touchdown on a 2-yard run with 9:54
left. Backup QB Beau Trahan, one of the team's top special teams players,
relieved Simms and played most of the quarter.

900 Number Updated Daily

I update my 900 number daily with football and football recruiting news. Th=
e
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Coach's Corner

Coach Mack Brown said Sunday the Longhorns are a much better football team
than they were early this season.
He said the team's five-game winning streak is something they worked very
hard to achieve.
"I am very proud of our team over the past five weeks," he said. "To win
three conference games on the road, including back-to-back away contests,
against teams that all had something to prove, shows me that our team is no=
t
only tough, but is gaining more confidence.
"As a result, they are also earning back some of their national respect," h=
e
said.
Brown said playing 10 straight weeks worked a real hardship on the team, an=
d
he said the open date this week is very welcome.
He said the regular season finale against Texas A&M on Nov. 24, the Friday
after Thanksgiving, will be a tough one.
"We will use this week to prepare for Texas A&M, which I think has been
underrated all year," he said. "Ja'Mar Toombs is one of the best tailbacks =
in
the country and Robert Ferguson is one of the top receivers."
"It also looks to me as if they have improved their offense with quarterbac=
k
Mark Farris taking the helm, and defensively they are the same great team
that they have always been. We will have our hands full in two weeks."
But he said the Longhorns have improved so much that they have a chance to
close strong if they keep working hard.
He also said sophomore QB Chris Simms, subbing for the injured Major
Applewhite, "gets better every time he gets to play."
"I was pleased with the way he came back after his rough start," Brown said=
.
"He showed the ability to scramble and make plays."
"He also displayed good leadership in the huddle, Brown said. "We should ha=
ve
thrown the ball more in the second half, but we still wanted to  be physica=
l
and use the running game as much as possible."
Brown said the victory at Kansas was a big one because it was the second
straight tough road trip and the players really kept their focus.
"Overall, we felt that it was a very good win for us. We were able to play
everybody that we took on the trip and came out of the game very well."
"Offensively, we won the field position battle with our kicking game, Roy
Williams played great, and we were obviously pleased to have 61 plays in th=
e
running game produce about 400 yards."
"In fact," he said, "we have felt good about our running game over the last
five weeks as Hodges (Mitchell) has established himself as one of the best
running backs in the country."
"In terms of the quarterback position, we only threw the ball three times i=
n
the second half, but I thought Chris Simms got better as the game went on. =
He
hit big plays in the passing game and kept moving the chains for us."
"Defensively," Brown said, "we didn't let Kansas score again after their
first drive, so we also played very well on that side of the ball."
Brown said he knew the Longhorns had hit the jackpot when they signed WRs
Williams, B. J. Johnson and Sloan Thomas last February, but he said the
freshmen receivers are even better than he thought.
"I have been very impressed with the maturity of Roy , Sloan and B.J.," he
said. "Yesterday was a day that young players could have been flat because =
of
the cold weather and lack of a big crowd. I have been amazed all year with
how these freshmen play as if they are older. The young players have compet=
ed
and showed a lot of maturity, which is hard to do at that age."
Brown said he has been telling the team it needs to keep winning to have a
shot at a good bowl game.
"We try to have a theme each week," he said, "and our theme last week was t=
o
put ourselves in position to go to the best bowl possible."
"Regardless of what bowl it is, we know we do not get to choose," he said. =
"I
went through the bowls available to our team last week, which was the only
time this year that we have mentioned bowls."
"I also showed our players the records of each team in the league, and told
them that it is critical for them to beat Kansas," he said, adding that eac=
h
win improves the bowl picture for the team.

Horns Climb to 14th in AP

Texas is ranked 14th in this week's Associated Press poll.
Five Big 12 teams are in the top 25, headed by top-ranked Oklahoma, the onl=
y
team remaining with a perfect record.
Other Big 12 teams ranked are Kansas State at No. 9, Nebraska at No. 10 and
Texas A&M at No. 21.
One cautionary note should be injected here. There is a very good reason wh=
y
Texas has not finished in the AP's top 10 since 1983.
It is the fact that every time the Longhorns got close to the top 10 or
actually got in the top 10, the unthinkable happened and they lost and went
tumbling down the rankings.
You have to go back no farther than the start of this season. The Horns
opened at No. 7, and in the second week of the season, they ventured out to
Palo Alto and got upset by Stanford. They haven't been close to the top 10
since =01) until now.
If they beat the Aggies and win their bowl game, they will break that 17-ye=
ar
drought, but that's a big "if."

A Clutch Freshman

True freshman WR Roy Williams has been Mr. Clutch for the Longhorns. He is
averaging 47.6 yards per catch on his seven touchdown receptions.
In addition, five of his TD grabs came when the Horns were behind or tied a=
nd
the other two came when UT held either a 3-point or 7-point lead.

Basketball Team Opens

The Longhorn men's basketball team opens its season tonight (Monday) when i=
t
hosts Navy at 7 p.m. in the Erwin Center in the opening round of the
Preseason NIT.
Texas won its two pre-season exhibition games leading up to the start of th=
e
regular season, showing a surprisingly strong inside game without departed
big men Chris Mihm and Gabe Muoneke.
Freshman forward James Thomas was a big factor in both exhibition games. He
had 21 points and nine rebounds in the 84-67 victory over EA Sports
California All-Stars Wednesday after getting 25 points and nine boards in t=
he
92-81 triumph overTeam Ezybonds of Australia last Sunday.
Junior forward Chris Owens had 20 points and seven rebounds against the
California team and 27 points and 14 rebounds against Ezybonds.
Junior swingman Maurice Evans, a transfer from Wichita State, had15 points,
seven rebounds and three blocks against EA Sports, and freshman Brian
Boddicker had 10 points and eight boards in just 19 minutes.
Junior transfer point guard Fredie Williams scored five points, three steal=
s
and nine assists against only three turnovers.

Lee Will Get Medical Redshirt

Coach Mack Brown said Sunday freshman DT Stevie Lee won't play against Texa=
s
A&M because the broken bone in his foot has not allowed him to begin
practicing.
That means Lee will get a medical redshirt and will be a redshirt freshman
next year.
He was injured in the third game and anyone who suffers a season-ending
injury prior to the fourth game is eligible for a medical redshirt year.
INJURY NOTES: Brown said starting QB Major Applewhite is questionable for t=
he
Aggie game. He suffered a knee sprain against Texas Tech and  missed the
Kansas game.
Brown said safety Lee Jackson's leg injury is much better and he probably
will play against A&M.
WR Artie Ellis (shin) and TE Brock Edwards (leg) are both questionable for
the Aggie game.
Edwards' injury left the Horns with converted FB Chad Stevens as the only
healthy scholarship TE at Kansas.
DT Shaun Rogers played without reinjuring his ankle and should be closer to
100% for the Aggie game than he has been since early this season.
OG Antwan Kirk-Hughes has been having problems with a shoulder, and it
bothered him during the Kansas game, but the week off should give him a
chance to be ready for the Aggie game.

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Game Quotes . .
"We had to regain our composure after our slow start. We had to get the
strong safety removed a little bit, and the long passes from Chris (Simms) =
to
Roy (Williams) caused him to start playing back a little. That opened it up
more for the run."
=01) UT offensive coordinator Greg Davis
* * * *
"I'm not sure I've seen one like that. We tried to double cover him, but th=
at
didn't always work either."
=01) Kansas head coach Tim Allen, talking about the problems created for hi=
s
team by sensational Longhorn freshman receiver Roy Williams
* * * *
"I knew what was going through their minds: 'Holy cow, another one.' All
quarterbacks throw interceptions. It just seems like mine go for touchdowns=
.
I'n not used to throwing it away. I always try to find a place to fit it in=
,
but this is a different level. I guess I'm going to have to learn the hard
way, but at least I'm learning.
=01)  UT QB Chris Simms, talking about the two interceptions Kansas ran bac=
k all
the way, one for a touchdown and the other for two points on an errant
conversion pass
* * * *
"I've been saying prayers for Joe Beene. I dedicated this game to him. He
used to cover me on the scout team. He's a good friend and it's really sad.=
"
=01) TexasWR Roy Williams, talking about the terrible injury to his former
Odessa Permian teammate, who is paralyzed from the chin down after sufferin=
g
a cracked vertebrae in practice earlier in the week
* * * *
"The big man is really good."
=01) Simms, talking about Williams
* * * *
"Hodges (Mitchell) really gets the job done. If we give him just a little
hole, he really gets through it in a hurry."
=01) Longhorn OT Leonard Davis, the biggest man on the team, talking about =
one
of the smallest
* * * *
"I didn't think I was going to get to 1,000 yards again, but these last two
games really helped. The offensive line is just doing a great job."
=01) Texas TB Hodges Mitchell, who has 1,029 yards rushing to give him
back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons
* * * *
"I thought he was a pretty easy quarterback to read. I just stepped in fron=
t
of the receiver, caught the ball and I was gone. I don't know what happened
after that. I guess after the first one I got, I thought I knew what he was
going to do so I cheated a little."
=01) Kansas CB Andrew Davison, who returned one of Chris Simms' passes for =
a
touchdown, but then gave up four completions from Simms to Roy Williams for
180 yards and two touchdowns

Texas-Kansas Statistics
Scoring Summary

Texas           16      14       14       7    =01)    51
Kansas          16        0        0        0    =01)    16

UK - Mills 29 run (Garcia kick) 12:45 1Q (58 yds, 3 plays)
KU - Davison 43 interception return (Garcia kick) 10:11 1Q
UT - Stockton 19 FG 4:50 1Q (66yds, 11plays)
UT - Williams 38 pass from Simm (pass failed) 3:06 1Q (39 yds, 1 play)
KU - Nesmith 100 yd conversion pass interception return 3:06 1Q
UT - Mitchell 14 run (Stockton kick) 0:55 1Q (35 yds, 3 plays)
UT - Williams 65 pass from Simms (Stockton kick) 14:32 2Q (65 yds, 1 play)
UT - Mitchell 2 run (Stockton kick) 0:11 2Q (40 yds, 4 plays)
UT - Williams 35 run (Stockton kick) 4:22 3Q (79 yds, 6 plays)
UT - Mitchell 19 run (Stockton kick) 2:08 3Q (56 yds, 4 plays)
UT - Ike 2  run (Stockton kick) 9:54 4Q (63 yds, 10 plays)

Official Attendance: 27,200

Team Statistics

Texas            Kansas
First Downs                 30           12
Rushing                     20             6
Passing                         7              5
Penalty                         3              1
Rushing Atts, Net Yards         61-396       36-125
Net Yards Passing               241         111
Passes Comp., Att., Int.      11-19-2        10-25-1
Total Plays, Offense              80-637         61-236
Avg. Gain per Play                      8.0        3.9
Fumbles Lost                            0 of  0      1 of 1
Penalties, Yards                      9-80        7-81
Punts, Avg.                      2-39         9-39.9
Time of Possession          33:54         26:06
Third-Down Conversions         6 of 14  3 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions     1 of  4      0 of 0
Sacks by Team, Yds Lost      2-17         2-12

Individual Statistics
Texas
Rushing -  Mitchell 37-264, 3 TD; Ike 7-40, 1 TD; R. Williams 1-35, 1 TD;
Simms 8-19; Hayter 4-15; Trahan 1-14; Robin 2-6; I. Williams 1-3.
Passing -  Simms 10-18, 240 yds, 2 TD, 2 Int.; Trahan 1-1, 1 yd, 0 TD, 0 In=
t.
Receiving - R. Williams  4-180, 2 TD; Mitchell 2-23; Healy 2-22; Johnson
2-15; I. Williams 1-1.

Kansas
Rushing - Winbush 9-42; Coke 4-39' Mills 1-29, 1 TD; Freyhofer 1-20; Duncan
10-19; White 2-5; Ross 1-2; Smith 9-minus 1; Dyer 1-minus 2.
Passing -Smith 10-24, 111 yds, 0 TD, 1 Int.; Dyer 0-1, 0 yds, 0 TD, 0 Int.
Receiving -Thompson 2-42; Hill 3-25; Fulton 3-24; Ross 1-16; Winbush 1-4.

Tackles by Texas Players, Unasst., Asst., Total
Hampton 7-2-9; Rawls 2-5-7; Pearson 4-1-5; Boyd 4-1-5; Lewis 3-2-5; T. Jone=
s
3-0-3; Gordon 2-1-3; Pittman 2-1-3; Redding 2-1-3; Rogers 2-1-3; McClintock
1-2-3; Thornton 1-1-2; Brown 1-1-2; Dockery 1-0-1; Ungar 1-0-1; Geiggar
1-0-1; Walker 1-0-1; Wilkins 1-0-1; Jammer 1-0-1; Tubbs 0-1-1.
Tackles for Losses: Rawls 2-minus 4; Rogers 2-minus 4; Hampton 2-minus 3;
Gordon 1-minus 2.
Sacks: Gordon and Lewis combined for 1-minus 13; Redding 1-minus 4.

Scouting Texas A&M

The Longhorns finally get a week off after playing 10 consecutive games, an=
d
they need to try to get  rested and get some people well for their annual
shoot-out with traditional rival Texas A&M on Nov. 24, the day after
Thanksgiving.
The game has a 2:30 p.m. kickoff and will be televised nationally by ABC.
Texas is ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and A&M is No. 21.
The Longhorns are 8-2 and the Aggies are 7-3 heading into the game, and Tex=
as
is also a game ahead in the race for second place in the Big 12 South, with=
 a
6-1 record to A&M's 5-2.
The Aggies, like the Longhorns, had a slow start this season. They opened
with a 24-10 loss at Notre Dame, before winning three straight, over Wyomin=
g,
51-3, UTEP, 45-17, and Texas Tech, 33-15.
But then they were upset at home by previously winless Colorado, 26-19.
Much like the debacle in Dallas caused Texas to bear down and start playing
better, the loss to Colorado seemed to bring out the best in A&M.
Since that disappointing loss, they have defeated Baylor, 24-0, Iowa State,
30-7, and Northern Division leader Kansas State, 26-10, before losing to
top-ranked Oklahoma Saturday by a razor-thin 35-31 margin.
Mark Farris, a 25-year-old sophomore who gave pro baseball a whirl before
winning the A&M QB job, has put some life into the Aggies' offense.
He is a very cool, and very accurate passer and he has some outstanding
receivers. Huge TB/FB Ja'Mar Toombs also is an effective weapon.
But it is on defense where the Aggies win or lose most games. The Longhorns=
'
outstanding defense actually has better statistics overall, but the Aggies
are No. 6 in the country in scoring defense, giving up an average of only
13.1 points per game.
There are four keys to a UT victory, two on offense, one on defense and one
on special teams.
Offensively, they must be balanced and they can't lose the turnover battle,
and they surely can't stand any touchdowns by the Aggie defense.
Defensively, they have to shut down the Aggie running game and pressure
Farris.
On special teams, the Aggies are good at blocking punts and the Longhorns
have had some blocked. That's a no-no if the Horns want to win this one.
Here's how the teams compare statistically (national rank in parenthesis):
Texas                                       Texas A&M
Offense
(57)   149.1         Rushing Avg.          (49) 152.9
(15)   284.2         Passing Avg.          (41) 229.8
(17)   433.3        Total Off. Avg.     (52) 382.7
(9)     38.2       Scoring Avg            (43)   29.0

Defense
(14)     95.3        Rushing Avg.          (20) 106.0
(12)   173.7         Passing Avg.          (34) 198.6
(4)   269.0       Total Def. Avg.        (18) 304.6
(18)     18.2    Opp. Scoring Avg            (6)   13.1

Big 12 Roundup

Barring some monumental upsets, Oklahoma and Kansas State will meet in Kans=
as
City in early December in the Big 12 Championship Game.
The top-ranked Sooners survived their toughest test of the year by rallying
to beat Texas A&M, 35-31, in College Station.
The Sooners would have to lose their last two games against Texas Tech and
Oklahoma State and Texas would have to beat Texas A&M for OU to miss the
title game.
All K-State has to do is beat 2-7 Missouri Saturday to secure its berth in
Kansas City.

BIG 12 STANDINGS
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Conference              Season
W   L   PF    PA        Pct.      W   L    PF     PA     Pct.
Oklahoma        6    0  260   113   1.000     9    0   402   148   1.000
Texas           6    1  258   143     .857     8    2   382   180     .800
Texas A&M       5    2  184   109     .714     7    3   290   153     .700
Texas Tech  3    4  189   185     .426     7    4   290   211     .636
Okla State      0    6    80   215     .000     2    7  145   269      .222
Baylor          0    7    60   293     .000     2    8   117   347     .200

NORTHERN DIVISION
Conference                  Season
W   L   PF     PA      Pct.     W    L      PF      PA
Pct.
Kansas State    5    2  250   162      .714     9     2   462  189     .818
Nebraska        5    2  304   131      .714     8     2   422  181     .800
Iowa State      4    3  182   225      .574     7     3   268  276     .700
Colorado        3    4  168   188      .426     3     7   220  250     .300
Kansas          2    5  162   270      .286     4     6   244  321     .400
Missouri        1    5  162   225      .167     2     7   231  320     .222

Last Week's Results
Texas 51, Kansas 16
Oklahoma 35, Texas A&M 31
Kansas State 29, Nebraska 28
Texas Tech 58, Oklahoma State 0
Missouri 47, Baylor 22
Iowa State 35, Colorado 27

This Week's Games
Texas Tech at Oklahoma, 2:30 p.m .(ABC)
Baylor at Oklahoma State, 1 p.m.
Kansas at Iowa State, 1 p.m.
Kansas State at Missouri, 11:30 a.m. (Fox Synd.)
Remaining Regular-Season Games
Texas A&M at Texas, 2:30 p.m., Nov. 24 (ABC)
Colorado at Nebraska, 11 a.m., Nov. 24 (ABC)
Oklahoma at Okla. State, 2:30 p.m., Nov. 25 (Fox)

2000 Longhorn Schedule, Record (8-2)

Texas   Opp.
Sept. 9     Louisiana-Lafayette   52    10
Sept 16    at Stanford                24    27
Sept 23    Houston                    48      0
Sept 30    Oklahoma State             42      7
Oct. 7       Oklahoma (Dallas)        14    63
Oct. 14    at Colorado                28    14
Oct. 21    Missouri                   46    12
Oct. 28    Baylor                     48    14
Nov. 4      at Texas Tech             29    17
Nov. 11    at Kansas                  51    16
Nov. 24    Texas A&M

Scoring by Quarters
Texas         51    130 90    111   -  382
Opponents     56      61        42    21    -  180
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