A downpour and rain delay couldn't keep Longhorn fans from runningall over Texas' new grass turf...

"I think some of the rain coming off the fans would be about 80 proof."

-- Chris Carter,Texas safety

DAVID LIVINGSTON
Daily Texan Staff

Sure, Ricky Williams can fly by a linebacker, stiff-arm a lineman, then plow over a defensive back. And Priest Holmes is pretty good, too, reversing field and leaving wanna-be tacklers in his wake. But did you see that guy who charged the field and made that heart-stopping swan-dive at the 50-yard line?

In a bizarre scene at newly named Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Texas fans, in particularly students, chanted, yelled and taunted through a torrential downpour Saturday night in the Horns 40-10 victory over Missouri.

With 7:59 left in the third quarter and Texas leading 27-10, the game was delayed for 45 minutes because of lightning, something which had never happened at the old Memorial Stadium. And after struggling through the first half, the storm seemed to turn the game around for the Longhorns.

Texas had the Missouri Tigers pinned deep in their own territory when referee John Laurie ordered the delay. Both teams headed to the locker rooms, leaving the field to more than 100 fans who decided to test the new grass by belly-flopping across the soggy field. Eleven arrests were made, six for public intoxication.

"I think some of the rain coming off the [fans] would be about 80 proof," Texas safety Chris Carter said.

The deluge electrified the previously reserved fans, many of whom spent the rest of the game shirtless and boisterous.

"It got me really pumped up to look up on the Jumbotron and see the fans just going nuts, and seeing all the students," center Ryan Fiebiger said. "I could hear them yelling profanities and stuff like that. It just gets you pumped up knowing that your fans are behind you. You know that if they're going to sit out there and risk getting struck by lightning, we might as well do our job and perform for them."

The new $1.25 million field did not have to wait long to test its computerized drainage system. In just 25 minutes, the storm dropped 2 inches of rain on the Prescription Athletic Turf. But the grass stayed in fine playing shape, receiving good reviews from the players.

"The surface was really good, " Williams said. "It was easy to cut; it wasn't slippery. I don't think I slipped at all. There were a couple of plays when Priest [Holmes] and I had those cut-back runs, and both of us almost tripped up. But the surface on the field helped us keep our balance."

The grass, however, was more successful against the rain than the Tigers were.

"I've never been outside in conditions like this," Missouri quarterback Corby Jones said. "It was ridiculous."

With a flag-whipping wind at his back, Texas freshman Kris Stockton boomed the second half opening kickoff out of the end zone, and soon after, the show began. As the rain poured and many of the 70,613 spectators headed for shelter, Missouri unsuccessfully waged war with the weather and the remaining raucous crowd. Consecutive false starts and a fumbled pitch forced the Tigers to punt into the wind. Sophomore Jason Smith's punt sailed just 10 yards, setting the Horns up at the Missouri 33-yard line, and five plays later, Williams sprinted over right tackle for a 12-yard touchdown run.

"Coach [Mackovic] said [the rain] is either your friend or it's your foe, and it was definitely our friend tonight," Texas linebacker Tyson King said. "I don't know if Missouri liked it a lot because that rain was going right in their face. But for us on defense, we were having a lot of fun. It was kind of muddy out there, and it's just what football is all about."

As the game progressed, and the Horns sealed the victory, the remaining fans on the east side of the stadium fired cups and insults toward the Missouri bench. The new Jumbotron video screen pleaded with fans to "Please stay off the field," and the public address announcer urged the crowd to treat Missouri players with respect.

"I saw on the news when the fans starting rushing the field," Carter said. "They were great. They came out and really got pumped up with the rain just like we did. They started getting loud, started getting rowdy. As players, you love that, you love to hear rowdy fans. When they had to tell them to leave the Missouri players alone, that was great. "


... and the Missouri defense didn't have much luck against Texas backs either

MARK LIVINGSTON
Daily Texan Staff

As the Texas players warmed up before the game Saturday night, two Missouri defenders ran through the Longhorn line of players, patting the Texas players on the rump, talking to them, and generally letting their unwelcome presence be known.

But when the game started, it was two Texas running backs who ran through the Missouri defenders. Running backs Ricky Williams and Priest Holmes helped the Horns rush for 247 yards, paving the way to a 40-10 blowout of Missouri in front of 70,613 rain-soaked fans at Darrell K Royal Texas-Memorial Stadium.

"One of the things that we do have here at Texas is a phenomenal backfield," Holmes said. "We have guys that are ready to play at any moment."

One of those moments was Saturday.

Williams rushed for 112 yards on 14 carries, while Holmes gained 73 yards on 11 carries. Their performances made up for the absence of Texas tailback Shon Mitchell, who left the game in the first quarter with a hip pointer. Mitchell is questionable for Texas' next game against New Mexico State Saturday.

"It's unfortunate that Mitchell got hurt, and a hip pointer is something that I can relate to," Holmes said. "But we have a capable backfield; if one guy gets hurt, we have someone who can step in and take his place."

The depth of the loaded Texas backfield received a lot of preseason attention. Williams and Mitchell combined for 2,089 yards in 1995 and Holmes returned after sitting out last year with a knee injury. They lived up to their billing.

Williams scored two touchdowns, the first through a driving rain and the second through a Missouri defensive back.

As the rain whipped sideways in the third quarter, Williams darted 12 untouched yards over the right tackle for his first touchdown. Three plays later, the game was delayed because of the storm.

Williams' second touchdown, a 21-yard highlight run, reminded spectators why he's nicknamed "Little Earl." Williams, his shirt untucked like legendary Longhorn Earl Campbell, blasted through a Missouri defensive back at the one-yard line before falling into the end zone.

"All last year, the guys messed with me a lot," Williams said. "They said that I dive for the corner of the end zone and that I should just run over the defensive back. As I was running, I thought about that and just did it."

Said Texas head coach John Mackovic: "Ricky again showed why he's one of the real special running backs in college football with what he's able to do."

Holmes provided his share of highlights as well. With Texas up just 13-10 late in the first half, Holmes took the ball around left end. When the Tiger defenders read the play perfectly, Holmes broke three tackles, reversed field and made it all the way to the 1-yard line before he was pushed out of bounds. On the ensuing play, Brown connected with Holmes on a 1-yard touchdown pass.

"I thought Priest did a real nice job," Mackovic said. "I think that he showed that he can continue to make big plays for us. Right now, it's just a matter of having real good runners and we're just trying to keep getting the ball to them."

It would have been harder to get the ball to all of them had Mitchell stayed in the game. Mitchell started the game after racking up 1,099 yards in 1995. He only carried the ball three times Saturday before the injury. Holmes, who can play both fullback and halfback, took some of Mitchell's load.

"We had Priest so I don't think [the injury] really hurt us," Williams said. "Everybody knows that we have Priest and Priest is just as good as Shon. So nobody panicked. It didn't really bother us at all."

Holmes said his knee, which he hurt a year and a half ago in spring drills, was pain-free. It was Holmes' first game action since the 1994 Sun Bowl.

"The time I was able to chase my little boy around the yard was when I knew that I was actually back," Holmes said.

Holmes' little boy must be hitting his father in the backyard. Holmes and Ricky bounced off hits just as easily as they dished them out. Of the pair's 185 yards rushing, 157 yards came after contact by the defense. With the weather hampering the passing game, the Horns pro-style offense turned into a run-oriented game. Texas rushed the ball 39 times and passed just 21 times.

"We ran the ball well," said quarterback James Brown. "Our offensive line got good pushes, good blocks, traps, counters. We could have run the counter all night against them. We just didn't pass as much as we wanted to."

It was enough for Williams.

"I was excited when I saw the rain," Williams said. "We got to run more."

More than Missouri defenders wanted.


Rookie Horns prove tough in 1st test

BRIAN DAVIS
Daily Texan Staff

Out of all the weekend parties that Aaron Humphrey ever attended in Lubbock, probably none were as big as the one he was at this past weekend.

There's nothing better than being the center of attention at a little house warming get-together at a newly named stadium with about 70,613 of your closest friends. Quite a change for the freshman outside linebacker who, along with five other true freshmen, saw considerable action Saturday in his first appearance as a Longhorn.

"You could add up the total attendance of every game that I had in high school, and that's probably how many people were here," Humphrey said of the massive crowd that was mediocre by Texas' attendance standards.

"I was just thinking 'God, I hope I don't do something wrong,'" Humphrey said. "They told me during the week that I might play a little bit depending on how things went, but I had no idea that I was going to play as much as I did."

Humphrey was forced into action during the game as starting rush linebacker Jonathan Hickerson suffered a separated shoulder. Hickerson is not expected to be ready for this Saturday's game against New Mexico State, and now, Humphrey is being groomed for the start.

"I just hope that I can do the best I can. I just hope that I don't mess up or anything," Humphrey said. "If I screw up, [outside linebackers] coach Rocco will be sure to let me know."

Defensive tackle Cedric Woodard was sure he would get to see some action as the game progressed. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how to handle the word that he would get the starting nod.

"[Defensive line] coach Barnes pulled me to the side and he said, 'Cedric, you're going to start tonight,'" Woodard said. "There was some speculation that I would. There were some players saying 'Man, you're going to start.' Coach hadn't told me anything yet so I didn't want to get my hopes up to start, and I didn't want to not be ready in case I had to."

Projected starter Gray Mosier had missed two-a-day practice time in August because of injuries. Woodard, along with freshmen Will Goodloe and Casey Hampton, would rotate along the defensive line with senior Chris Akins and sophomore Clarence Martin.

"When he told me, I started getting really nervous," Woodard said. "It was a feeling like 'Oh, man!' It's not that I didn't want to come out and start, because that's the best thing that could've ever happened to me as a true freshman in starting. I really didn't know how to handle it."

Woodard must have figured it out between the locker room and the sideline. In his first collegiate game, Woodard sacked Missouri quarterback Corby Jones for a loss of 13 yards early in the first quarter.

"I thought Casey did a nice job, and Cedric played very well in there. Will Goodloe didn't get as many plays, but certainly he'll continue to work to get those plays," Texas head coach John Mackovic said. "All of those players did a nice job."

In a surprise move, Mackovic had freshman kicker Kris Stockton handle kickoffs rather than junior kicker Phil Dawson. Dawson missed spring drills after reconstructive knee surgery on his left knee. Stockton's ability to kick off will allow Dawson to recover fully for his senior season.

Mackovic said that in all probability, Stockton will be redshirted next season to allow him another year in the Longhorn program while Dawson does all of the kicking.

Although his first two kickoffs were short because of butterflies, Stockton boomed the third and subsequent kicks through the end zone, preventing any Missouri returns.

"I was anxious to see how [the freshmen] would grade out, and they did real well," Mackovic said of the entire freshman class. Mackovic said that this was the best group of freshmen with immediate impact potential he has had since the 1992 season -- wide receivers Mike Adams' and Curtis Jackson's freshmen seasons.

The biggest asset that the freshmen have is the schedule. Missouri, New Mexico State and an off week before Notre Dame give them three weeks of preparation before the meat of the schedule hits Texas' plate. It's an advantage that the freshmen, as well as the Longhorns, must take advantage of.

"I don't want to really put down these opponents or anything, but we're kind of using these games as stepping stones to get ready for the rest of the season," junior center Ryan Fiebiger said. "That's important that we can do this early in the season by getting them game experience and getting them in game shape.

"That's just going to benefit us as a team if we can get these guys some experience before some of the bigger games come on."

Bigger games than Missouri and New Mexico State is the reason that the '96 class of recruits signed with Texas. Although their debuts were impressive, there is still a long road that will be traveled and many things left to be learned.

"We showed a good representation of how each of us can play and what all we have individually," Woodard said. "Like Aaron Humphrey, me, Casey, Will -- we all showed the reasons why they recruited us on the field [Saturday] night. Even if we didn't get in the whole game, we really showed at least a taste of what we can do."


Missouri        3  7  0  0 -- 10
Texas           7 13 13  7 -- 40

Missouri FG Norris 30, 3:41
Texas    D.Scott 2 pass from J.Brown (Dawson kick), 6:18
Texas    FG Dawson 21, 3:09
Texas    FG Dawson 34, 5:02
Missouri Blackwell 21 run (Norris kick), 7:22
Texas    P.Holmes 1 pass from J.Brown (Dawson kick), 14:12
Texas    Williams 12 run (Dawson kick), 6:47
Texas    Westbrook 35 blocked punt return (kick failed), 10:26
Texas    Williams 21 run (Dawson kick), 11:29

A--70,613.
                        Missouri     Texas
First Downs             22           22
Rushes-Yards            47-216       39-247
Passing                 112          130
Comp-Att-Int            12-28-1      14-25-1
Return Yards            00           44
Punts-Avg               4-23.5       4-38.8
Fumbles-Lost            5-4          2-1
Penalties-Yards         7-70         7-60
Time of Possession      33:35        26:25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
    Missouri - Jones 14-42, Olivo 11-31, West 8-63, Blackwell 7-59,
            Janes 4-20, K.Williams 2-1, Skornia 1-0.
    Texas - Williams 14-112, P.Holmes 11-73, J.Brown 4-43, Butcher 5-18,
            Mitchell 3-3, Coleman 1-1, Walton 1-(minus 3).

PASSING
    Missouri - C.Jones 7-16-1-65, Skornia 5-12-0-47.
    Texas - J.Brown 11-20-1-104, Walton 3-5-0-26.

RECEIVING
    Missouri - R.Jenkins 5-57, West 3-17, Brooks 1-14, Murchison 1-9,
            Lingerfelt 1-8, Stueve 1-7.
    Texas - Adams 3-60, White 3-26, Williams 3-5, McGarity 2-29,
            Davis 1-7, D.Scott 1-2, P.Holmes 1-1.