DALLAS -- Late in Saturday's Texas-Oklahoma contest, the press-box media were informed that both head coaches would be brought out for post-game interviews -- losing coach first.
While it may have been a coincidence that Texas' John Mackovic was the first coach into the crowded press room after the Sooners and Longhorns tied 24-24, it seemed only fitting.
The 18th-ranked Longhorns built a 21-0 lead against No. 13 Oklahoma but were outscored 24-3 over the final three quarters in a game played before a sold-out Cotton Bowl crowd of 75,587.
Texas quarterback James Brown strained his knee on the final play of the game, and Mackovic said on Sunday that Brown is listed as questionable for this week's game against Virginia.
"We got the big lead and after that, we started playing kind of passive," Texas receiver Mike Adams said. "We knew they were going to battle back, but we just didn't go out and attack like we should have. That's probably the thing that hurts the most."
Texas, now ranked No. 16, fell three spots in the USA Today/CNN Top 25 football poll but moved up two spots in the Associated Press poll.
Said Longhorn offensive guard Dan Neil: "It doesn't affect our conference at all. It was a hard fought game that I don't think will have much of an affect on either team in the long run.
"It's a game we would have like to have won, but it's better than losing, I guess."
Place-kicker Jeremy Alexander foiled the Sooners' comeback when his 42-yard field-goal attempt with 31 seconds remaining went wide left.
Texas (4-1-1) missed its opportunity to take the lead with 9:22 left in the game when it opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the OU 11 instead of trying a 28-yard field goal.
On the play, Brown optioned left and pitched the ball to fullback Ricky Williams, who was stuffed by a swarming defense for a 6-yard loss.
"I really felt that we needed a touchdown at that time if we could get it," Mackovic said. "They had been on the move, they had been scoring and driving, and I just felt that if we could get a touchdown that would really put a lot of pressure on them to score. Obviously it didn't work out."
Texas, sparked by an aggressive and fired up defense, scored first when Brown (20-of-38, 242 yards) and tight end Pat Fitzgerald connected on an 8-yard touchdown in the right side of the end zone at the 12:13 mark of the first.
The score was set up after cornerback Bryant Westbrook hit Oklahoma quarterback Eric Moore and caused him to fumble on the third play of the game.
The Horns' defense responded again by holding Oklahoma (4-1-1) to three-and-out on the Sooners' next possession. But the Sooners never really got out.
On the punt attempt from OU's Brian Lewis, Westbrook rushed on the play and forced Oklahoma to pick him up. But that allowed Derek Lewis to break through the line untouched and block Lewis' punt, which was then returned 1 yard by Michael Boudoin for a touchdown to give Texas a 14-0 lead with 10:08 in the first.
Longhorn tailback Shon Mitchell made it 21-0 when he raced up the middle before cutting to the left sideline for a touchdown run of 69 yards at the 6:16 mark.
Although Sooner head coach Howard Schnellenberger called the situation at that point of "grave concern," the Oklahoma players kept their poise.
"There was so much time left that we could basically do what we wanted to and still get back into the game," Oklahoma fullback Jerald Moore said. "I'm just glad they scored 21 points so early. I think [Texas] probably got a little reluctant [after that]."
The Longhorns had a chance to increase their 21-0 margin early in the second quarter when they faced a first-and-goal from the OU 6. But after a 15-yard holding penalty, a pass break-up in the end zone and a slip by Brown that went as a sack, the Horns saw their scoring opportunity go by the wayside. More important, it seemed to wake up the shell-shocked Sooners.
Starting from their own 2-yard line, Oklahoma quarterback Garrick McGee, who had just replaced Moore, connected with tight end Stephen Alexander on a 12-yard pass-play and a first down. The next nine plays, however, were all runs, capped by Jerald Moore's 24-yard touchdown up the middle with 8:54 left in the second to make it 21-7 -- and a 14-point swing for Texas.
"Everyone who played in the game can go home feeling he gave everything he could give," Mackovic said. "The game belongs to the players. We play 60 minutes, and the other side is not going to quit. I think this game would have gone 60 minutes one way or another, even if we had been up 28-0."
The Longhorns led 24-10 when Sooner receiver P.J. Mills caught an 8-yard pass from Eric Moore in the back of the end zone to close the gap to 24-17 with 10:27 in the third.
After a 63-yard punt from Lewis, Adams tried to cut upfield between two defenders when he was hit from behind and fumbled the ball. OU's Rod Henderson recovered the fumble, and Moore cashed in on the turnover by darting up the middle for a 22-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage. The score came at the 6:13 mark of the third and tied the game at 24 apiece.
"I'm drained, I'm tired," Mackovic said. "I worked hard the whole week. I haven't slept much. We've done everything we could do this week. I don't know if there was anything more we could do. I don't know if there is anything more I can do for this game."
The Texas defense held OU to only 14 yards rushing at the end of the first quarter, but the Sooners' running attack would come alive.
Jerald Moore finished with 174 yards on 21 carries and James Allen added 59 yards on 14 carries as Oklahoma rolled up 310 yards on the ground.
Texas ended the game with 97 yards rushing, and overall, the Horns offense totaled 339 yards to the Sooners' 442.
"We should have kept our intensity," Texas free safety Chris Carter said. "We came to play and OU came to play. It just happened that we matched up pretty good."
"There's a lotta 'ifs' that you can say during a ball game. It was just one of those great OU games."
While the somber mood was evident from both teams afterward, Brown said he was already thinking about the team's next ball game.
"It doesn't feel like a loss," Brown said. "It's behind me. I really don't think about the past much."
DALLAS -- For fans at the annual Red River Shootout, Texas-Oklahoma weekend had everything to offer -- except a win.
After 60 minutes of yelling and cheering, the Cotton Bowl crowd of 75,587 stood silent Saturday as time expired leaving Texas and Oklahoma tied with 24 points each.
"The end was terrible," said Eddie Robertson, a UT alumnus. "It was so exciting all game. Then it was just so quiet."
Though they were on opposite sides for four quarters, Texas and Oklahoma fans agreed at the end that they saw some exciting football.
"I got my money's worth. They fought a hard fourth-quarter battle," said 14-year-old John James, whose father is an assistant coach at Oklahoma.
Texas fans were disappointed when the Longhorns failed to break the tie after they advanced the ball to the Sooners' 11-yard line with 9:34 left in the game. On third down-and-one, running back Ricky Williams was stopped short of the first down. On fourth down Texas head coach John Mackovic decided to go for the touchdown. Williams was dropped for a six-yard loss and Oklahoma took control of the ball.
Despite his disappointment, Robertson agreed with the choice to go for the touchdown.
"Hindsight is always 20-20; [Mackovic] had to go for it," Robertson said. "I think he showed some guts."
Ruth Robertson, who was attending her fourth Texas-OU game with Eddie, her husband, agreed.
"He had to go for it. That late in the game, you have to get the touchdown," she said.
The next time these two teams meet, much more will be on the line than just a fun weekend in Dallas. Texas and Oklahoma will both be in the Big 12 Conference next season, and the game probably will have conference championship implications.
"It's going to be a lot bigger because it will mean something," said John Butts, a UT biology freshman.
Butts, attending his first Texas-OU game Saturday, said he thought the game was over when Texas jumped out front so quickly. Although he was not happy with the tie, he was satisfied the Horns did not add to their loss column.
"I started thinking it wasn't all that bad," Butts said. "We played a higher-ranked team. If it hurt anyone, it hurt them."
Butts was right. The Sooners dropped two spots in the Associated Press Top 25 football poll -- from 13th to 15th -- while the Horns went from the 18th spot to No. 16.
The heated rivalry extended into the stands as well, as Texas and Oklahoma fans tried to out-yell each other.
"It was the usual Texas-OU trash-talking," Butts said.
The game itself was not the only entertainment for football fans in Dallas. The State Fair of Texas gave fans something to do before and after the game as well.
And with the popular Commerce Street closed, fans kicked things off with a pep rally in Dallas' West End Historic District.
"It was an opportunity for both teams' fans to get in each other's faces," Butts said. "Everybody got the chance to get up and say who sucks and who rules."
DALLAS -- Two plays to gain one-half yard. Sounds easy enough but the task proved to be too much for head coach John Mackovic and the Texas Longhorns during Saturday's 24-24 tie with Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl.
With 9:34 remaining in the fourth quarter and the score deadlocked at 24, Texas passed up a 28-yard field-goal attempt by Phil Dawson in favor of a game-altering fourth-down conversion.
"We had a lot of confidence in our team and felt that we could make the first down," explained Mackovic.
The play Mackovic chose for the crucial down was one that has had very limited success this year -- the quarterback option to the short side of the field.
"We had a great setup and I really thought we needed a touchdown right there," Mackovic said.
The Longhorns had problems stopping the Oklahoma offense after Texas' first-quarter point barrage and Mackovic didn't think a field goal would be enough to win the game.
Oklahoma was ready for the play, moving into position at the last possible moment.
"Our defensive coaches worked all week analyzing their tendencies in those situations," Oklahoma coach Howard Schnellenberger said. "They made the call."
Texas quarterback James Brown defended the play. He said the Sooners had stacked the middle of the field anticipating a quarterback sneak or a dive by running back Ricky Williams.
Brown rolled left after the snap with Williams trailing him. For the first time this season, Brown gave up the ball, flipping it to Williams. The freshman running back had nowhere to run and was swamped for a six-yard loss by the Oklahoma defense.
What Williams did next while falling down could have been disastrous for Texas. Williams, taking a play out of the Rice Owls' "busted play" book, threw the football up for grabs. The Sooners, with a little luck, could have scooped up the ball and rumbled 84 yards for a tie-breaking touchdown.
Many Longhorn fans were left shaking their heads at the fourth-down play selection by Mackovic. Texas had already used the highly successful play-action pass to tight end Pat Fitzgerald on the first drive of the afternoon. That gave the Horns an early 7-0 lead.
"Hindsight is 20-20," Texas free safety Chris Carter said of the play. "At the time I didn't second-guess the call one bit.
"OU stepped up, they made a great defensive call and their players made the play," Carter said. "The whole world will question the call now because it didn't work."
The missed opportunity brought back memories of the ill-fated rollout pass Mackovic called in the 1993 Texas-Texas A&M game. The Horns, trailing 15-9 late in the final quarter at Kyle Field, faced a fourth down inside the Aggie two and quarterback Shea Morenz threw an interception when he couldn't find his receiver in the end zone. Texas ultimately lost 18-9.
"It was a good call," Brown said. "We haven't shown many people the option. I didn't see anyone outside, I thought Ricky was going to get the first down."
Dawson, no stranger to game-deciding kicks, was prepared for a field goal attempt but wouldn't fault Mackovic's decision.
"I never try to get in the coach's way," Dawson said. "He's the guy that makes the call."
Late in the first half, Dawson nailed his only field goal try of the day, kicking a 26-yarder to give Texas a 24-7 advantage.
"I've been struggling mentally lately, but I was really ready to get in there," he said.
* Texas defensive end Tony Brackens made a dramatic return to the field after suffering a hairline fracture of his left tibia against Pittsburgh Sept. 16.
Brackens recorded two sacks and three tackles for a loss, knocked down two passes and energized the rest of his defensive teammates.
* Texas is now 32-0-3 in the series when leading at halftime (Texas led 24-10 at the half Saturday).
* The Longhorns recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown this weekend for the first time since the 1990 TCU game when Van Malone turned the trick 53 games ago.
* With his 129 all-purpose yards, receiver Mike Adams moved past Chris Gilbert into third place on the Texas career yardage list. Only Eric Metcalf and Earl Campbell rank ahead of Adams.
* Pat Fitzgerald caught his sixth touchdown pass of the season against OU, setting the career mark for Longhorn tight ends. Fitzgerald has eight career touchdown receptions trailing only Kerry Cash, who had ten TD catches.
* Brown threw a touchdown in his eighth consecutive game, stretching the record he set a week ago.
* Throw out running back Shon Mitchell's 69-yard TD run and he had only 20 yards on nine carries.
DALLAS -- Five plays were all Tony Brackens needed to make his mark against the Sooners. And Oklahoma quarterback Eric Moore certainly felt it.
Playing in his first game for the Longhorns since suffering a hairline fracture in his left tibia against Pittsburgh Sept. 16, Brackens recorded his first of two sacks when he got to Moore on Oklahoma's second offensive possession.
The junior defensive end also finished with two pass break-ups and two other tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
More important, Brackens, who started the contest, seemed to energize the rest of his Longhorn teammates by just being on the field.
"He made some big plays when he was in there and with some of the things he was able to do," Mackovic said. "I'm not surprised with what he can do. I was surprised he could go as long."
Although Brackens said on Wednesday his leg was still hurting, it didn't hamper his ability to make big plays for the defense Saturday.
"It felt great to be back," Brackens said. "I've still got a lot of work to do to be where I need to be and so I can pick up where I left off.
"I've just got to get used to carrying that brace. It's slowing me down and making me drag my leg a little bit. I didn't practice much so my conditioning affected my play."
Mackovic, however, said in his weekly Sunday teleconference that Brackens may have more things to worry about.
"Tony Brackens played and held up all right with his knee," Mackovic said. "He is going to be questionable again for this week. He got hit in the back and he's got a sore back. We'll have to wait to see how he does."
* Mackovic said that quarterback James Brown, who injured his knee against OU and is listed as questionable for Saturday, also has a sore back after he got hit in the game.
Mackovic said that he doesn't think Brown will need to undergo an MRI on the knee. Mackovic added that Brown wasn't bothered much by his sore shoulder against OU.
* Other Longhorns listed as questionable to doubtful for this week's game are safety Tre Thomas (shoulder), linebacker Tyson King (knee, ankle), defensive end Brian Vasek (ankle), and wideout Quinton Wallace (hamstring).
"We hope we don't have to juggle our lineup too much against Virginia," Mackovic said.
Oklahoma 0 10 14 0 -- 24
Texas 21 3 0 0 -- 24
Tex--Fitzgerald 8 pass from Brown (Dawson kick)
Tex--Boudoin 1 return of blocked punt (Dawson kick)
Tex--Mitchell 69 run (Dawson kick)
Okl--Moore 21 run (Alexander kick)
Tex--FG Dawson 26
Okl--FG Alexander 29
Okl--Mills 12 pass from Moore (Alexander kick)
Okl--Moore 23 run (Alexander kick)
A--75,587.
Oklahoma Texas
First Downs 15 26
Rushes-Yards 55-310 26-97
Passing Yards 112 242
Return Yards 9 60
Comp-Att-Int 14-25-0 20-38-0
Punts-Average 6-34.2 8-41.5
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-2
Penalties-Yards 5-62 12-94
Time of Possession 35:36 24:24
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Oklahoma - J. Moore 21-174, Allen 14-59, E. Moore 9-36, McGee 6-17,
Rose 2-15, Mills 1-8, Frazier 2-1.
Texas - Mitchell 10-89, Brown 7-5, Williams 8-4, Adams 1-(-1).
PASSING
Oklahoma - E. Moore 7-15-0-48, McGee 7-10-0-64.
Texas - Brown 20-38-0-242.
RECEIVING
Oklahoma - Alexander 5-53, J. Moore 3-6, Penny 2-27, Mills 2-17,
Rose 1-5, Frazier 1-4.
Texas - Adams 6-62, Fitzgerald 4-51, Williams 3-24, Davis 2-31,
McLemore 2-28, Wallace 1-27, Mitchell 1-14, McGarity 1-5.