Red River runoff

Texas, Williams outslug Oklahoma, Parker

10/12/1997

By BILL NICHOLS / The Dallas Morning News

When the gun sounded with a misty twilight falling on the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma's De'Mond Parker and Ricky Williams shook hands. In that instant, the palms that carried the ball 71 times for 514 yards and five touchdowns connected.

It was a fleeting moment, but one that will live forever in Texas-OU history. Never in the previous 91 games of this rivalry, which has included some of college football's greatest running backs, had one back run for more than 216 yards. Until Saturday, when Parker and Williams both did.

Williams fell short in the duel, gaining 223 yards to Parker's 291 before a crowd of 75,587, the series' 52nd straight sellout. But it was the Longhorns who walked into the tunnel with a 27-24 victory.

"I would trade all the yards for the win," Parker said, his shirt soaked from the effort. "It was like a dagger in the heart."

Although both Texas and Oklahoma were unranked heading into their game for the first time since 1968 and neither had a winning record for the first time, Williams and Parker supplied the marquee matchup that was missing. In one game, they provided the rivalry's two best rushing performances, and two of their school's best.

Oklahoma's Greg Pruitt had run for the most yards in the series, with his 216 in 1971.

Parker finished three yards shy of Pruitt's school rushing record of 294, set against Kansas State in 1971. Parker averaged 9.4 yards on 31 carries and scored on runs of seven, 48, and 66 yards.

Williams, who had the second-best performance in school history with his 249 yards against Rice, turned in the fourth-best against the Sooners. He averaged 5.6 yards on a school-record 40 carries, scoring on two one-yard runs.

"I think if we lose this game, our season's almost over," Williams said. "I made it a point to make some good runs. People said I didn't step up in big games. I think this was my best game."

One thing Williams had that Parker did not was a passing threat.

With Williams softening the Sooners, quarterback James Brown completed 14 of 28 passes for 188 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown to Bryan White. That score gave the Longhorns a 24-10 lead with eight minutes, 37 seconds left.

The Sooners had to play catch-up, and in a hurry. And without much of a passing game, that made things more difficult. Starter Justin Fuente and Eric Moore of Carter completed just five of 17 passes for 81 yards.

"We're both key parts of our offense," Williams said of himself and Parker. "But I think our quarterback is a lot better than theirs. That was the difference in the game. My team needed me to keep grinding out the clock. His team needed him to make big plays."

With the Sooners down by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Parker broke for a 48-yard score. Then after UT's Phil Dawson kicked a 51-yard field goal, Parker took off again, this time for a 66-yard score with 2:42 left.

But Williams secured victory by gaining 49 yards on the final possession. Fighting for tough yards, he kept the drive alive with runs of six, five, seven, 12, and 19 yards.

After that, the Longhorns simply ran out the clock, then celebrated a victory that improved their record to 3-2, 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference. The Sooners dropped to 2-4, 0-2.

"We had to give him the ball," Brown said of Williams. "We had to run the ball to keep our offense on the field, and our defense off the field."

It seemed like a different Texas team than the one that lost to UCLA and Oklahoma State by a combined 89 points. Despite surrendering 402 yards, the Longhorns played with emotion.

For the first time this season, Texas scored on its first possession, driving 34 yards for Dawson's 43-yard field goal. And for the first time this season, the Longhorns forced an opponent to punt on the first two possessions.

"We wanted it more," said Dawson, a Lake Highlands graduate who also kicked a 51-yarder that gave him a school-record 14 straight. "All it was was heart. I'm not saying Oklahoma didn't want it. But they haven't been through what we've been through."

The Longhorns ebbed and flowed, but were determined to stay afloat. They made mistakes with five dropped passes. And Williams had three fumbles, two of which were recovered by the Sooners.

"Our guys really fought hard," UT coach John Mackovic said. "When they took the field for pre-game warmups, you could tell there was a special feeling."

This time, they overcame the miscues. The offensive line, maligned in their two losses, opened holes for Williams. White, after dropping two passes, caught three for 52 yards. And little-used Cortney Epps of Carter came through with four big catches totaling 51 yards.

"I couldn't let those drops affect the game," White said. "I told myself I neeed to have a good game. We put points on the board early, and that really helped us."

The Sooners struggled, too. They were penalized 10 times for 74 yards, and two of those kept UT scoring drives alive. But they did not commit a turnover, and persevered despite being down.

"I'm not disappointed with the team; they tried to win," OU coach John Blake said. "They fought the best they could."