1994 Texas - Colorado

Longhorns refuse to look at loss as moral victory

It hurts. We thought we had it, but [Colorado's] a great team. That doesn't  
make us feel any happier about losing, though."
-- Phil Dawson, UT kicker

Mark Livingston
Daily Texan Staff

   Texas head coach John Mackovic spent his 51st birthday Saturday  
afternoon with some mixed emotions.
   He was satisfied with his team's play, but fell just short of receiving  
an improbable birthday gift when the Longhorns barely missed their biggest  
win in almost four years.
   "I couldn't be prouder of the effort of our team," he said. "I could be  
happier, but I couldn't be prouder."
   Mackovic and several players refused to consider the game a "moral  
victory," but instead looked at it only as a defeat.
   "We played hard and we played to win," Mackovic said. "Please don't have  
the impression that we're in the locker room having a good time. We're very  
disappointed."
   Colorado kicker Neil Voskeritchian's 24-yard field goal with one second  
left robbed the Horns of the chance to tie or beat a top 10 team for the  
first time since they upset the University of Houston in 1990. Texas kicker  
Phil Dawson said the loss was hard to take.
   "It hurts," he said. "We thought we had it, but they're a great team.  
That doesn't make us feel any happier about losing, though."
   The Horns came from behind twice to tie the score. Once they fought back  
from a 21-10 deficit at halftime, and they later came back from a 31-21  
score.  
   "Coming back and losing, it's going to hurt," said Texas wide receiver  
Curtis Jackson, whose crucial 40--yard catch on third down set up Texas'  
first touchdown. "We never gave up. Texas will never give up. We had the  
confidence that we could win the game the whole time because we have that  
'Texas fight' in us."
   The sellout crowd of 77,809 gave the Texas players a loud ovation as  
they walked off the field after the game. It was not the only time during  
the game that the fans were loud. Memorial Stadium exploded after several  
key plays and even altered several Colorado plays.
   "I felt the fans were more into it here than at Michigan," said Buffalo  
quarterback Kordell Stewart, comparing the crowd to Michigan's crowd of  
over 104,000. "They were a factor on some of our plays. The guys couldn't  
hear some of the checks."
   Because of the emotional loss, Mackovic faces a unique problem this  
week. He has to worry about drained players lacking motivation for the  
annual Oklahoma game.
   Oklahoma comes into Saturday's game ranked 16th, making it two  
consecutive weeks that Texas will face a top-20 team.
   "We're not the only team in the country to play good teams  
back-to-back," said Mackovic, citing Colorado's recent three-game swing  
against ranked teams. "We'll get over it by midnight. I gave [the players]  
until midnight."
   Texas quarterback Shea Morenz said that the team would not brood over  
the near-upset.
   "Obviously, our team is down and disappointed," he said. "But we will  
use this loss positively and regroup for the Oklahoma game. We all can't  
wait to go to Dallas so that we can prove ourselves."

Colorado 34, Texas 31

TEXAS       3   7   11  10  --31
COLORADO    7   14  3   10  --34

Tex -- FG Dawson 45
Col -- Salaam 6 run (Voskeritchian kick)
Tex -- Pinkney 9 pass from Morenz (Dawson kick)
Col -- Troutman 3 run (Voskeritchian kick)
Col -- Troutman 7 run (Voskeritchian kick)
Tex -- FG Dawson 29

Tex -- Pinkney 10 pass from Morenz (E. Jackson pass from Morenz)
Col -- FG Voskeritchian 44
Col -- Troutman 2 run (Voskeritchian kick)
Tex -- E. Jackson 67 pass from Morenz (Dawson kick)
Tex -- FG Dawson 47
Col -- FG Voskeritchian 24
  A -- 77,809
   
                    Tex     Col
First downs         14      26
Rushes-yards        22-50   60-387
Passing             270     119
Return Yards        91      113
Comp-Att-Int        19-36-2 13-25-0
Punts               2-18    2-10
Fumbles-Lost        1-1     5-2
Penalties-Yards     7-60    10-99
Time of Posession   24:19   35:41

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Texas: R. Walker 14-49, Holmes 2-9, Kemp 3-3, Morenz 3- -11.  
Colorado: Salaam 35-317, Stewart 11-39, Troutman 13-35, Westbrook 1- -4.
   Passing -- Texas: Morenz 19-36-270. Colorado: Stewart 13-25-119.
   Receiving -- Texas: E. Jackson 2-83, Pinkney 5-72, C. Jackson 3-66,  
Fitzgerald 4-28, Kemp 1-6, Bradley 1-6, R. Walker 2-5, Harrison 1-4.  
Colorado: Salaam 5-45, Fauria 4-44, Westbrook 1-11, Savoy 1-9, Troutman  
1-6, Carruth 1-4.