FanPost

Texas in 1970: 10 more wins, another national title

In conjunction with the Oct. 19-20, 50-year reunion, of the 1969 national championship team, we’ve been taking an extensive look at Texas football, going back to the 1940s. We looked at Darrell Royal’s hiring, his early turnaround success, the 1963 national championship team, the staff’s rebuild/new offense after three down seasons, and the 1969 national championship that ended with The Big Shootout. If you missed any of these stories, links are at the bottom. Here, we look at 1970 – Texas’ third national championship team – and the end of the 30-game winning streak. Still to come (shameless promotion): a look at life after the 30-game streak . . . including an ever longer winning streak.

***************************************

Eight months after beating Notre Dame to run its winning streak to 20, Texas found itself in a familiar position as the 1970 season began: Staring up at Ohio State in the national polls.

The Buckeyes had spent nearly three months atop the polls in 1969, relinquishing the No. 1 spot after losing to Michigan. Texas went on top then and stayed, barely, with one- and four-point wins over Arkansas and the Irish. Now, Ohio State, 18-1 over the previous two seasons, was back on top. The Longhorns, 20-1-1 in 1968-69, eventually found a way around the Buckeyes in the polls -- despite a pair of scary near-misses.

1970 meant a new man-under as Eddie Phillips tried to fill the big shoes of James Street. Phillips proved to be a major threat as a runner; his passing was often erratic. Much of the support cast was back. The season lined up as a potential repeat of 1969, the Arkansas game again having been moved to December. Some aspects of the ’70 team were stronger than its predecessor: There were (slightly) fewer turnovers and, despite being held under 24 points by UCLA and Baylor, the Longhorns scored more in 1970 than they had in ’69. They topped the 40-point mark seven times in 10 games, and three times scored in the 50s.

The power aspect of the wishbone was more obvious: Teams had begun taking away the outside option, the most dangerous because it offered the best chance for long gains. Tackles Bobby Wuensch and sophomore Jerry Sisemore were the nation’s best tandem. Wuensch and fullback Steve Worster were consensus All-America picks.

September – Two games, 91 points, easy wins over California and Texas Tech. Worster scored three times in the first quarter, Phillips contributed 129 yards (on just nine carries) and the Longhorns capitalized on five Cal turnovers while committing none. The 56-15 mismatch was 42-0 entering the final quarter.

The Tech game seemed almost too easy: a pair of short marches put the host Red Raiders in a 14-0 hole. But Texas led by just a point at halftime before three drives of over 70 yards in the final 30 minutes produced a 35-13 win. The turnover bug returned: Five UT miscues helped Tech stay in the game; they also helped the starting backfield stay in the game, as all four starters topped 80 yards and Phillips (127 on 18 carries) had another big night. Phillips, Worster, Jim Bertelsen and Billy Dale combined to carry 74 times.

October – A miracle opened the month, after which Texas reached 6-0 with three easy wins.

UT hosted UCLA on a scorching Oct. 3, and the winning streak came within a last-minute touchdown, and a major break or two, of ending at 22. The Bruins limited the wishbone attack to 3.6 yards per rush, using coach Tommy Prothro’s "mirror" tactic of matching a defender to each of the four backs. UCLA totally stuffed Phillips’ running and harassed him when passing, and Dennis Dummit scorched UT defenders for 340 yards through the air. Texas led 13-3 at the half, then was blanked until the final seconds of the game, with UCLA going on top 17-13 by driving 89 and 93 yards for scores in dominating the third quarter.

Phillips’ winning pass to Cotton Speyrer came one play after Phillips was able to stop the clock by fumbling out of bounds with under 20 seconds left. To many, the fumble looked intentional; the quarterback seemed to help the ball reach the sideline with a sort of underhand push that resulted in a seven-yard loss. The game-winner was perhaps more shocking than Street-to-Randy Peschel against Arkansas the previous December. On that one, the play was perfectly executed and defended. Here, two UCLA defenders – who had good coverage and good angles on the ball – misfired on their positioning and the decision to go for the football, and Speyrer came down with the catch and trotted in for a 50-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left.

The next three games were 41-9, 45-21 and 42-15 romps past Oklahoma, Rice and SMU. The OU win – Texas’ third-biggest ever over the Sooners – was a bit of an oddity. The Longhorns built a 27-3 over an OU team that employed the wishbone for the first time. OU had been running an option series with two backs; an open date allowed time to install the UT offense. In a turnover-marred game, the teams' quarterbacks combined for just 18 passes (six completions). There were nine fumbles, each team losing three. That helped the Longhorns cash in 27 points on drives of just 22, 21, 13 and 7 yards, but the victory came at a cost. Speyrer, the team’s star receiver, suffered a severe arm fracture when hit in the air while trying to catch a pass against the Sooners. The passing game, already something of an afterthought, was never the same again. The one-sided victory boosted UT past Ohio State for the No. 1 ranking.

UT rushed for 500 yards and had a 95-48 advantage in total plays at Rice, but needed a second-half spurt (and the elimination of the fumble) to win by 24. Worster and Bertelsen combined for 40 carries and 288 yards . . . Although the outcome was never in doubt, SMU launched 49 passes and netted over 400 yards through the air – all but unprecedented numbers for 49 years ago. Worster scored four times and Bertelsen broke a 72-yard TD run early.

November – The other scare of the regular season was a total shocker. Baylor was in the midst of a three-year, 3-28 stretch (1-20 in Southwest Conference games) when the Bears hosted the Longhorns on Nov. 7. There was nothing fancy or flukish about the game: Texas was limited to 3.6 yards per rush. The Bears ran often, though not well, and the teams’ passers were a combined 9-for-27. There were just two turnovers, both by Baylor, although the second BU touchdown came after a blocked punt. The Longhorns scored on the first play of the second quarter, surrendered a touchdown a minute later, then held the ball for 11 of the remaining 14 minutes of the half in building a 21-7 lead.

And . . . never scored again. The teams combined for 15 punts, with the Bears killing UT by averaging 49 yards on eight kicks. The 21-14 final was enough of a jolt that Notre Dame claimed the top spot in the polls. Texas slipped to second, with Ohio State, Nebraska and Michigan – all unbeaten – close behind.

The next two games were predictable. TCU and Texas A&M were not strong teams and after the Baylor scare, Darrell Royal no doubt adopted a more vigorous tone. (Note to those not familiar with DKR: His normal coaching mode was vigorous, bordering on highly aggressive.) . . . As bad as the 58-0 final over TCU looked – many felt UT ran up the score after the close win over Baylor – the Horns and Frogs ran an equal number of plays and Texas was held to 301 yards on the ground. Six TCU turnovers meant three touchdown drives covered just 25, 31 and six yards, and sub defensive back Mike Bayer returned an interception 80 yards for a late TD. Texas returned to No. 1 in the polls . . . The Texas A&M game was almost laughable. The Aggies turned the ball over seven times. Ahead 7-0, UT needed just 41 more plays to score seven more times in running the lead to 52-0 early in the fourth quarter. Danny Lester, subbing for the injured Speyrer, scored twice and netted 148 yards on five catches.

That brought No. 1 Texas to 9-0 and another showdown with Arkansas (9-1, No. 4-ranked after a season-opening loss to Stanford).

December – One day shy of a year after The Big Shootout, the Hogs visited Austin for what was dubbed Big Shootout II. It was. For the home team.

The Longhorns scored on their first possession, then held the ball 5½ minutes to go up 14-0 in the opening minute of the second period. Arkansas answered in less than two minutes, going 80 yards in four plays. The Hogs then drove inside the UT 5-yard line before a fourth-down stop got Texas the ball at its 1. Fifteen plays, six-plus minutes and 99 yards later, it was 21-7. It got ugly after that.

The Razorbacks threw three interceptions and averaged under a yard on 24 runs (many of them sacks). Texas got off 95 offensive plays – 90 runs for 464 yards to dominate time of possession. Final (ugly) numbers: 42-7 on the scoreboard, 517-165 in total yards.

The romp insured another national championship since UPI – one of the two major polls at the time – did its final rankings in early December, before any of the bowl games.

End of the streak – Through nearly three seasons and 30 straight wins, Texas always had the answers when challenged. Most of the games in the 30-game streak weren’t close. In those that were, the Longhorns found a way to prevail.

The forward pass was a major aspect in dodging defeat during the streak – against OU and Tennessee in 1968, against Arkansas and OU in ’69, against UCLA in ’70. But 1971 had arrived when the Longhorns and Notre Dame met again in Dallas. The Irish were one of the teams UT had struggled to beat in the 30-game winning streak (21-17, on a late TD in the 1970 Cotton Bowl). ND matched up favorably with Texas – a size edge for the Irish in the D-line versus the Texas O-line – and Notre Dame was capable through the air. Plus, defending the pass had been a consistent trouble spot throughout Texas’ winning streak.

But it was another UT flaw, the fumble, that let the Irish take command early and snap the streak. Texas fumbled an incredible nine times, losing five, and was intercepted once. Notre Dame had a long scoring drive to go on top 7-3. Then, a fumble and a 13-yard drive made it 14-3. Two minutes into the second quarter, it was 21-3. UT’s lone touchdown and a ND field goal made it 24-11 at the half. That was the end of the scoring.

Texas had a 70-yard rushing advantage on the day, and limited Notre Dame to 2.8 yards per running play. The teams passed for the same yardage (though ND was more efficient). A 6-2 disadvantage in turnovers and ND’s edge of 14-yards-per-punt were other factors in keeping Texas in a constant hole. The Associated Press Top 10 turned upside down on Jan. 1, as Texas, Ohio State and LSU (ranked 1-2-5) lost. That moved third-ranked Nebraska to the top for the first of its five national championships, with Notre Dame, Texas, Tennessee and Ohio State completing the top five.

******************************************************

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/10/2/20895630/the-first-great-era-of-university-of-texas-football

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/10/4/20899327/darrell-k-royal-rescues-the-longhorns

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/10/6/20901781/longhorns-earn-their-first-national-title?_ga=2.135464181.592126088.1570032814-980837908.1559696554

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/10/8/20905811/creation-and-development-of-the-wishbone

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/10/9/20907531/new-formation-fires-longhorns-back-to-the-top?_ga=2.240871879.592126088.1570032814-980837908.1559696554

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/10/14/20914033/the-1960s-longhorns-rivalry-that-mattered-most

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/10/17/20919635/the-big-shootout-1969



All comments, FanPosts, and FanShots are the views of the reader-authors who create them.