 
 12/28/01 Applewhite rallies Longhorns past No. 21 Washington for Holiday Bowl victory
SAN DIEGO
(AP) -- Senior QB Major Applewhite saved his greatest game for last,
finishing off a shootout that ranks among the Holiday Bowl's wildest. Applewhite
completed 37 of 55 passes for 473 yards -- all career highs and all Texas
bowl game records -- in his final collegiate start to rally No. 9 Texas
from a 19-point deficit to a 47-43 victory over Washington (No. 20 ESPN/USA
Today, No. 21 AP) on Friday night. "Anybody
who went to sleep in the third quarter, I hope they taped it, because
it was a great game," head coach Mack Brown said. "And may I
say, No. 11 played great." No. 11, of
course, is Applewhite, the Longhorns' all-time passing leader who gave
Texas (11-2) its biggest comeback ever, a rally from a 36-17 third-quarter
deficit. "I don't think I'd want to win any other way," Applewhite said. "We all refused to quit. The defense started off rough, I started off rough, but in the second half it was another great Holiday Bowl." The Longhorns
were down 36-20 entering the fourth quarter, but Applewhite -- who threw
three interceptions in the second quarter -- was already in the process
of leading Texas to scores on six of its last seven possessions. After Willie
Hurst gave Washington a 43-40 lead on a 34-yard touchdown run with 1:49
left, Applewhite moved the Longhorns 80 yards in seven plays, with running
back Ivan Williams scoring on a 3-yard run with 38 seconds left. "In
the second half, he was just his amazing self," Texas receiver Roy
Williams said. "He was cool, calm and collected." The wildest
Holiday Bowl finish came in 1980 when Jim McMahon's 41-yard pass to Clay
Brown with 3 seconds left rallied Brigham Young from a 20-point deficit
to a 46-45 win over SMU. Washington
(8-4) fell to 0-3 in the Holiday Bowl.
The Longhorns'
previous record rally was from 17 points down, last accomplished in 1999
when they beat Oklahoma 38-28 after trailing 17-0. Texas finished with
11 victories for the fifth time in school history. Applewhite's
4-yard touchdown pass to Bo Scaife with six minutes left gave Texas a
40-36 lead, three plays after linebacker Derrick Johnson intercepted Cody
Pickett's pass and returned it 16 yards to Washington's 9. Applewhite
was hit just as he released the TD pass, and he knew it was good. Laying
on his back, he pointed both index fingers toward the sky as the Texas
players on the field and the sideline went wild. Still, it
wasn't enough for Texas. Washington, which won five games with fourth-quarter
rallies this season, appeared to have comeback win No. 6 after Hurst's
run. Texas started
its winning drive with 1:49 to go, and Applewhite was 4-of-5 for 75 yards
before Williams got the last 5 yards on two carries. Applewhite hit Scaife
for 12 yards before Brett Robin dropped a pass. Applewhite then hit three
straight -- 25 yards to B.J. Johnson, 6 to Scaife, and 32 to Johnson. Pickett,
who played most of the season with a separated throwing shoulder, was
27-of-54 for 293 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions.
After a scoreless
first quarter, Applewhite's three second-quarter interceptions led to
13 Washington points as the Huskies took a 23-14 lead in the highest-scoring
quarter in Holiday Bowl history. "You
don't want to go out a loser," Applewhite said. "I basically
stunk it up in the first half. Washington
pushed it to 30-14 after tight end Jerramy Stevens caught a 17-yard touchdown
pass midway through the third quarter. Applewhite
then led Texas on five straight scoring drives. Dusty Mangum had field
goals of 26 and 24 yards sandwiched around Hurst's 4-yard scoring run.
Applewhite threw a 2-yard TD pass to Matt Trissel early in the fourth
quarter and Williams' 1-yard run pulled the Longhorns to 36-33 with 8:01
to go. Washington
defensive tackle Terry Johnson returned an interception 38 yards for a
touchdown and a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. Applewhite
came right back, though, and gave Texas a 14-13 lead with touchdown passes
of 43 yards to B.J. Johnson and 25 yards to Roy Williams on consecutive
drives. Pickett ran
the two-minute drill perfectly and threw a 4-yard TD pass to tight end
Joe Collier for a 20-14 lead with 47 seconds left in the half. Texas tailback Cedric Benson, who set a school freshman record with 1,053 yards, didn't play because of a stinger from the loss to Colorado. |
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