ND Bales Cotton With Texas' String
Irish Eyes Steal 'Yer Streak Away
1/2/1971
Time marched on into another new year Friday, but without a traveling companion which had been almost as certain for nearly three long years.
For the University of Texas' proud and seemingly enduring winning streak of 30 consecutive games finally crumbled at the Cotton Bowl, a victim of a masterfully-designed and executed performance by Notre Dame, 24-11.
Ironically, the only longer winning streak in college football history died by the same sword more than 14 years ago. For it was an equally inspired Irish team which ended Oklahoma's record 47-game streak back in 1956.
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This time, the Irish did it in the most-touted bowl rematch in history after the Longhorn streak had miraculously escaped the same fate in the dying moments of that epic 21-17 Cotton Bowl victory just a year ago.
The drama wasn't the same this time. Notre Dame wouldn't [?in mit?] it. The Irish blitzed across all three of their touchdowns for a 21-3 lead in a span of just 10 playing minutes of the first and second periods and then just dug in to make sure that Texas never again regained control.
The painful truth for Texas, in fact, is that the Steers never really came close to regaining it. They did drill 84 yards and use more than 7 minutes of the clock in the second quarter for their only touchdown – the only time the Texas offense really looked like the Texas offense. They even successfully went for the 2-point conversion to trail, 21-11 with just 1:52 to play before halftime.
That put Texas within a touchdown and a field goad of catching up, of course. But the Irish erased the strategy with Scott Hempel's 36-yard field goal just 24 seconds before the half ended, a vital three points afforded by a couple of offensive strangers whom the startled Steers never seemed to realize even were on the field.
The play that somehow seemed to stand out amid all the marvelous action of another classic battle between these two teams came just four plays after the Texas touchdown.
Notre Dame's incomparable senior quarterback, Joe Theismann, had just gone to the bench, the fingers on his throwing hand numbed on the previous play. Theismann's great All-America receiver, Tom Gatewood, already was on the bench nursing a hamstring injury he had suffered in scoring the first Irish touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Theismann.
So into the game with the ball at the Notre Dame 37 went Jim Bulger, a sophomore quarterback who hadn't played a down of varsity competition, and Clarence Ellis, a brilliant defensive cornerback who had never played a down of offensive varsity competition.
And what do these offensive strangers do? Bulger throws a 37-yard pass to Ellis who seems to grab the ball while Texas defensive halfback Mike Bayer watches with the same curiosity as everybody else. Hempel kicked the field goal four plays later. Texas was two touchdowns behind again. And even a lot of Longhorn loyalists must by then have begun to feel the chill of impending doom.
Notre Dame's margin of command and ultimate victory, of course, was much broader than any one play. In fact, it was as broad and varied as most of those constructed by the great Texas team during its march past those 30 straight opponents.
The Irish won it by commanding the line of scrimmage and shutting off Texas running up the middle, an apprehension which coach Darrell Royal had expressed time and again all week.
All-America fullback Steve Worster, obviously a shell of his normal might of two season after suffering late-season knee and rib injuries, was never a factor.
It was painful to watch his ineffectiveness, in fact. He gained only 42 yards on 16 carries and lost three fumbles of the five which the Steers gave up on a ghastly nine bobbles during the long, bitter afternoon. Worster fumbled on three consecutive carries on three Texas possessions, losing two of them, in the third quarter as Texas otherwise controlled the ball and tried valiantly but futilely to get back in the game.
The Irish won it, furthermore, by also shutting down a second of the three options of the heretofore awesome Texas triple-option offense that had averaged a gaudy 375 yards in 10 regular-season games. Jim Bertelsen, the brilliant junior "pitch man" in the Steer attack carried the ball only eight times so closely was he shadowed by Irish defensive ends, who made him their personal assignment.
Those eight carries netted a paltry five yards, two of those coming on probably the only perfect pitchout all day for the Texas touchdown.
That left only two offensive alternatives for the Longhorns—quarterback Eddie Phillips' running and his passing. He was brilliant at both. But the Irish won it despite him, and because Ellis was equally as brilliant in the Irish secondary.
Phillips, the only ground routes available being his own, most of the time slicing in behind Irish ends Walt Patulski and Bob Neidert who were busy nullifying Bertelsen, was a surprisingly easy winner over Theismann as the game's outstanding offensive player. There was no denying his credentials.
He rushed and passed for a record 363 total offense yards, breaking the record of 279 set by Theismann last year. He netted 164 yards rushing on 23 carries, including a 63-yard romp on the first Texas offensive play of the game which led to a 23-yard Happy Feller field goal and a quick if perishable Texas lead. He completed 9 of 17 passes for 199 yards, four of them to tight end Deryl Comer.
Unfortunately for the Longhorns, after they got so far behind so quickly, Phillips needed to get the ball to their No. 1 homerun threat, Danny Lester, the defensive hand who has filled the split end shoes of Cotton Spreyer since the guy who won it here for the Steers a year ago suffered a broken arm in the Oklahoma game.
But that proved a near impossible task, and the reason was Ellis, the junior left cornerback who had been the victim of a diving game-saving catch in the dying moments of the 1970 Cotton Bowl Classic. Ellis, who was to make a runaway of the outstanding defensive balloting by more than 200 newsmen covering Friday's rematch, almost shut out Lester, who nabbed only two Phillips' many throws in his direction. And both of these catches were spectacular. Three times Ellis batted away what seemed certain strikes to Lester.
Phillips sat out the last nine minutes of the game, his head spinning from a blow suffered on his 4-yard keep on first down to the Irish 22-yard line. He had passed for 41 yards to sub running back Billy Dale on the previous play and now it was obvious to all that it had to be now or never for the Steers.
Little Donnie Wigginton, the brash senior understudy to Phillips who Royal has said "will get out there and get after 'em as long as he can find 10 guys who will go out with him," earned a full measure of that regard on his first play after Phillips was hurt. And, for a flickering moment, hope stirred anew for Longhorn fans among the usual capacity crowd of 73,000.
On what appeared to be a busted play, the dwarfish 5-8 Wigginton first looked as if he were trying to find a place to hide. Then he darted from the muddle of Irish defenders trying to find him, rolled to his right and suddenly found considerable running room. He sprinted 13 yards for a first down at the Notre Dame 9-yard line.
But four plays later, facing fourth-and-13, the fate that was to engulf the Steers completely on this bright but bleak New Year's day, was there to smite Texas once again. Wigginton fumbled and the Irish took over with less than seven minutes to play.
Then Theismann, whose day included TD runs of 15 and 2 yards besides the pass to Gatewood, although somehow not as spectacular as a year ago, delivered the final lethal blow. A flip pass to punter Jim Yoder, in for Gatewood at the time, went for 60 yards before Rick Nabors hauled him down at the Texas 25.
The Irish goal line now was far too distant and had to be crossed too many times to stir anything but stark reality among the devoted Texas loyalists, who had screamed so many hook-em-Horns and celebrated so deeply on those memorable game days since Texas Tech last dealt defeat in the second game of the 1968 season.
It could not be of much consolation to the Steers at such a bitter moment, but Ohio State, the only other undefeated-untied team of the 1970 season, was to be slain by Stanford in the Rose Bowl just three hours later.
So Nebraska, tied only one in '70 and winner over LSU in the Orange Bowl Friday night, becomes the heir-apparent to Texas' collegiate championship, or at least the Associated Press version which is due on Monday.
And Texas, its 30-game winning streak now only a cherished chapter in the storied pasts of Darrell Royal and the school, begins anew.
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