DMN File
Georgia quarterback John Lastinger converted a Texas fumble into the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.Dawg Day for Texas, 10-9
Punt fumble, Lastinger TD lift Georgia
1/2/1984
There will be no national championship, no undefeated season, no wild celebrations for the University of Texas Longhorns. The accolades for an unbeaten 11-game regular season will be all but forgotten.
The Cotton Bowl became the Longhorns' funeral pyre Monday afternoon, as their dream of an unbeaten season and possible national championship turned to ashes with Georgia's improbable 10-9 victory in the 48th annual Cotton Bowl Classic.
Improbable too was the method of execution, a 17-yard touchdown run with 3:22 remaining by Georgia quarterback John Lastinger against a proud and defiant Texas defense.
"All season long," said Texas defensive tackle Tony Degrate, "we'd (defense) been playing in a pressure-cooker situation. Today, I guess the pressure cooker finally exploded."
The eruption was brief, consisting of two plays: a muffed punt by Texas defensive back Craig Curry setting up Lastinger's option run three plays later for the touchdown.
Until then, it had been a game that was driving a national television audience from CBS to the Fiesta Bowl on NBC or the soaps on ABC. It also made the 67.891 Cotton Bowl fans wonder if they were watching a game between the No. 2-ranked Longhorns and the seventh-ranked Bulldogs (10-1-1) or the finals of a punt, pass and kick competition.
The last time Texas came into the Cotton Bowl undefeated and seeking a national championship, the Longhorns also lost, falling to Notre Dame, 38-10, in 1978.
Georgia's offense consisted of a first-quarter field goal by Kevin Butler and nine punts by Chip Andrews.
Texas had not done much better. Coach Fred Akers used what he felt was his trump card early by starting senior quarterback Rick McIvor. But aside from an opening flurry, when McIvor's first past went for a 47-yard completion to tight end Bobby Micho and set up a field goal, the Longhorns' offense was its usual sputtering self.
After 30 minutes, it was 3-3, as Jeff Ward had kicked the first of his Cotton Bowl record-tying three field goals.
"I was tickled to death it was 3-3 at halftime," said Georgia defensive coordinator Bill Lewis. "I thought if we could stay within a touchdown by the start of the fourth quarter, we would be all right."
The hope became prophecy, as Texas, using its regular run-option offense with McIvor instead of Rob Moerschell, poked and probed the Bulldogs' defense. A 40-yard field goal by Ward at 7:10 of the third quarter made it 6-3 and a 27-yard field goal with 3:50 left in the quarter extended the Longhorns' lead to 9-3.
In so many ways, it was a situation Georgia had come to expect. "To tell you the truth, I thought the game would come down to something like it did," said Georgia coach Vince Dooley. "Their defense was so outstanding that didn't know if we could drive for a touchdown against them. I thought if we could stay close, hang in there, we make take advantage of a turnover."
The turnover came after what had become a typical Bulldogs offensive series. Lastinger, voted the offensive most valuable player despite a mediocre (6-of-19, one interception, 66 yards) performance statistically, had trotted off the field following a series that included two incompletions and a sack.
Since there was less than five minutes remaining, the Texas defense half-expected the Bulldogs to fake a punt from their 34. And the Longhorns had their first-string defense in the game, rather than their kick-team unit, with Curry as the short return man.
Although Curry called for a fair catch, he was distracted, perhaps by the noise Georgia's Guy McIntyre made in covering the punt.
"Guy said a few things that might have distracted him," said Bulldogs cornerback Gary Moss, who pounced on the ball at the Texas 23.
"I couldn't believe it," said Moss. "The ball was just laying there. I said to myself, ‘I'd better jump on that sucker real quick.'"
The Longhorns were in trouble, but they had been there before many times this season, and the defense had always managed to survive.
"They weren't going anywhere," said Texas middle linebacker Jeff Leiding. "At least nowhere quick."
Georgia's task was clear, but it also seemed hopeless. The Bulldogs had not come close to scoring all afternoon. Twenty-three yards might as well have been 123 against a Texas defense that allowed only two third-down conversions in 16 attempts.
Not even Dooley thought the Bulldogs could run. "George (Haffner, offensive coordinator) called for running plays," said Dooley. "I was against it. I thought we would have to pass. But he felt it would work."
For two plays, it didn't, at least not well enough to give the Bulldogs a first down. It was time for Lastinger, a senior with a 20-2-1 record as a starter, to prove himself once again.
"It was the play I wanted to run," he said. "We ran an option away from our receivers. The only had one support man (Texas cornerback Mossy Cade). If he took Tron (Jackson, the tailback), I'd keep it. If he took me, I'd pitch it."
Cade stuck with Jackson and Lastinger raced for the right corner of the end zone, diving the final yard.
"Even though the game wasn't over," said Lastinger, "I knew we had the momentum and would win."
Lastinger was right, and Texas, which had come so far, was left with a loss that spoiled not only an afternoon, but an entire season as well.
"The sad part," said Degrate, "is that no one will remember the 11 games we won. I'm having trouble remembering myself right now. They'll just say Texas was a lot of talk."
On Monday, at least, the scoreboard said all that had to be said.
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