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DALLAS (AP)- A new Notre Dame defense, nine Texas fumbles, and
All-American quarterback Joe Theismann chopped off Texas' 30-game
victory string in the Cotton Bowl 24-11 Friday, and probably knocked the
Longhorns out of a second consecutive national title.
A glum Texas Coach Darrell Royal said: "To quote Grantland Rice, one of
your famous writers, I've
learned something that victory cannot bring, to wipe the blood from my
face and smile so none can see the sting."
Theismann, Notre Dame's senior All-American, ran for two touchdowns and
passed for another.
Texas, the most awesome ground team in the country with its famed
Wishbone-T, gave the all away five times on fumbles- four by
All-American fullback Steve Worster.
The Longhorns were tied up by a defense concocted by Notre Dame Coach
Ara Parseghian. It had the Wishbone-shaped Texas backfield looking
almost into a mirror of itself across the line of scrimmage.
"Basically, we tried to mirror the Wishbone with the same type of a
defense," Parseghian said. "We wanted Texas to pass and Eddie Phillips
did. He can throw the ball. We broke their consistency pattern."
"We learned a lot a year ago from Texas, about the Wishbone and even
adopted the offense so we could learn more about it. We used a new
alignment, there's no way you can cover them with the typical defenses."
Royal said Notre Dame's end "was boxing us on the keep, forcing Phillips
to run all the time. They were large enough physically inside that we
couldn't get a crease for Worster."
Parseghian took no chances Texas would discover what the Irish planned.
He even used 12 men on offense and 13 men on defense during practice
sessions to confuse any would-be spies.
It was the first bowl victory for the revenge-minded Irish in 46 years
and dashed the hopes of the defending national champions for a second
consecutive title.
Texas fumbled the ball nine times and lost five to sixth-ranked Notre
Dame, which fell 21-17 to the Longhorns last year in the Cotton Bowl
when the Irish entered post-season play for the first time since 1925.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Theismann passed 26 yards to fleet Tom Gatewood
for a touchdown and galloped 3 and 15 yards for two more scores as the
Irish piled up a 24-11 halftime lead.
The second half was a brutal defensive duel. Texas' intricate Wishbone-T
was hounded by Notre Dame's swarming defenders, although Longhorn
quarterback Eddie Phillips had a great day before he was injured with
8:54 to play.
All-American fullback Steve Worster fumbled four times and Notre Dame
claimed three of them to blunt the Texas offense.
Phillips piled up 363 yards in total offense-164 yards on the ground and
199 yards through the air.
Theismann was at his best in the first half. After falling behind 3-0 on
Happy Feller's 23-yard field goal, Theismann rallied the Irish for
touchdowns three of the next four times Notre Dame got the ball. The
senior from South River, N.J., whipped Notre Dame 80 yards in 10 plays
for the first score. The payoff came on the 26-yard strike to Gatewood,
who strained a hamstring muscle as he crossed the goal.
Texas' Danny Lester bobbled the ensuing kickoff and Tom Eaton claimed
the ball at the Longhorns 10. Theismann sliced off right tackle from
three yards away to make it 14-3.
Theismann dashed 15 yards for another touchdown around the Texas right
flank early in the second quarter for a 21-3 lead (video).
The dazed Longhorns had trouble getting their famed Wishbone-T untracked
because of a unique Notre Dame defensive alignment. The Irish lined up
six men on the line of scrimmage but had an inverted Y with three men
across from the Texas center.
Phillips abandoned the run and went to the most rusty weapon in the
Longhorn arsenal-the pass. He hit tight end Deryl Comer three times in
an 84-yard drive. Jim Bertlesen climaxed it with a two-yard run. A pass
from Phillips to Lester made it 24-11 at halftime.
Theismann connected on nine of 16 passes for 176 yards but gained only
22 yards running.
Notre Dame played it conservatively in the second half and let its
fired-up defense take over.
A tremendous play on a fourth and one situation at the Notre Dame 35
helped take the steam out of a promising Longhorn drive in the third
period. Linebacker Jim Musuraca met Bertelsen head-on at the line of
scrimmage to turn the ball over to the Fighting Irish, who finished the
season with a 10-1 record.
Texas, the No. 1 rushing team in the nation with an average of 374 yards
per game, could manage on 216 yards on the Cotton Bowl's synthetic turf.
Notre Dame got only 146 yards.
Notre Dame had 213 yards passing and Texas 210. Phillips set a Cotton
Bowl record with his total yardage. Theismann set the old record last
year at 279.
John Cieszkowski was the leading rusher for Notre Dame with 52 yards on
13 carries. Jim Yoder was the leading receiver with two receptions for
96 yards.
Bertelsen of Texas snared three passes for 85 yards as the leading
Longhorn pass catcher. Worster, who played with an injured knee, gained
only 42 yards in 16 carries.
Texas was last beaten 31-22 by Texas Tech in the second game of the 1968
season.
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Attendance- 72,000
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
UT- FG Feller 23
ND- Gatewood 26 pass from Theismann (Hempel kick)
ND- Theismann 3 run (Hempel kick)
Second Quarter:
ND- Theismann 15 run (Hempel kick)
UT- Bertelsen 2 run (Lester pass from Phillips)
ND- FG Hempel 36
Individual Statistics
Rushing
ND- Cieszkowski 13-52, Parker 13-48,Gulyas 9-24, Theismann 18-22
UT- Phillips 23-164, Worster 16-42
Passing
ND- Theismann 9-16-176
UT- Phillips 9-17-199
Receiving
ND- Yoder 2-96, Gatewood 2-43, Ellis 1-37, Parker 2-7, Creaney 1-19,
Cieszkowski 2-11
UT- Comer 4-67, Bertelsen 3-85, Lester 2-17, Dale 1-41
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