1990 Aggies by Larry Carlson

THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS- By Larry Carlson

Aggies, Re-hashed & Warmed Over.

 Larry Carlson stirs the pot with three favorite seasonal Texas A & M memories. “Shock the Nation” is one of Texas vs Aggie trilogies that he captures for the TLSN historical site.

Visit this link for the 1974 Texas-A & M game https://www.texaslsn.org/1974-aggie-game-by-larry-carlson

Visit this link for the 1998 Texas-A & M game https://www.texaslsn.org/1998-texas-vs-a-m-game-by-larry-carlson

“Shock The Nation” Rolls On

 1990 Austin, December 1

     The season had begun with low expectations by football forecasters.  Coach David McWilliams’ hotseat was much warmer than the fieriest bowl of red at the Texas Chili Parlor over on Lavaca.  The Horns had posted miserable 4-7 and 5-6 seasons in ’88 and ’89.

     But an upset victory over Penn State in Happy Valley in September launched what quickly came to be known as the “Shock The Nation” Tour.   One of the year’s most overplayed songs came from a pale rapper named Rob Van Winkle.  He claimed to have sprung from the rough part of Miami but Vanilla Ice had in reality hailed from the “mean streets” of Carrolton in the DFW Metroplex.  With “Ice Ice Baby” he was soaring in popularity and dating Madonna.  And hiis trademark song might have well been the theme for UT’s unlikely band of brothers in the autumn of ’90,  As the lyrics boasted, “If there’s a problem…Yo, I’ll solve it.”  Indeed.

     The Horns had rolled through the season at 9-1, had already clinched a conference championship and a trip to the Cotton Bowl when the Aggies (8-2-1) marched into Memorial Stadium on a very pleasant day for football.  Texas had erased plenty of negatives from six sad seasons but now they had to prove they could beat the Aggies.  A&M had never beaten UT more than twice in a row, until they made it three.  Then four, five and six, between 1984-89.  Sleazy Jackie Sherrill had fled in the wake of NCAA sanctions but Coach RC Slocum still had a talented and dangerous team.

      It didn’t start for well for the Longhorns.  They looked tight and trailed 14-0 in the second quarter.

A guy behind me in the west side seats was screaming for Peter Gardere’s head.  Yeah, right.  “Peter the Great” had guided the Horns to a magical season but was suddenly “not the guy.”

      After five minutes of the verbal barrage, I turned around and screamed back at my comrade in burnt orange.  Glad he shut up and didn’t want to punch me in the face.  Gladder still, when, as if on cue, Gardere took off up the middle on the longest run of his Longhorn career, a 50-yard sprint for a touchdown.  Offensive coordinator Lynn Amedee had saved the blast option call all season.  Gardere faked a handoff to Chris Samuels, the Aggies bit hard and the result was a perfect tonic for Texas.

By halftime, the teams were tied, 14-14.  Texas fans were alive.  But this long-delayed Cotton Bowl trip would not seem quite justified without a win over the Farmers.

Texas got a touchdown and a 21-14 lead in the third but A&M answered early in the fourth.  Tied again.

The Horns responded and again it was Gardere with the payoff play, an eleven-yard TD run.

Michael Pollack stayed perfect on the PATs and UT was up, 28-21.

     But now the Aggies drove, running the ball and not even pretending to pass.  They had been limited to a mind-boggling 23 yards through the air on just four completions, thanks in large part to standout days by safety Stanley Richards and LB Anthony Curl.  But with under four minutes remaining, the Ags cashed in for a south endzone touchdown to close to 28-27.  They would go for two.

      We in the stands didn’t know — and it’s unlikely that anyone on the UT sidelines found out — but the CBS microphones eavesdropping on the Aggie sidelines told a TV audience that the call would be option right.

Texas middle linebacker — and future CBS college football analyst — Brian Jones crashed the middle, blitzing in to hit the A&M fullback and force the pitch a little early and a little deep.  Longhorn DB Mark Berry made the defensive stop of the year, nailing Darren Lewis at the five.  Memorial Stadium rocked with joy.

     Following the kickoff and short return, the Texas offense drove the length of the field, piling up first downs while clock time dripped away.  Everybody in burnt orange, players undoubtedly included, wanted a sealing touchdown after the Horns reached the Aggies’ two-yardline.  But the Horns went into victory formation and the gamblers who took Texas as seven-point favorites would have to live with it.  

     For many Longhorn fans, this one-point margin felt just about as good as anything could for right now, something like another close shave, a 15-14 verdict over Arkansas had felt 21 years ago to the week.  The 1990 Longhorns had taken down Penn State, had beaten the hated Okies a second straight time, had demolished third-ranked Houston, 45-24 in an electrifying primetime November showdown and had topped it all off by beating its oldest rival to complete an unbeaten SWC season.  A post-Thanksgiving dessert had just been served.  In style.  The pumpkin pie never looked more burnt orange, never tasted better.