Between the NCAA watchdogs following Texas Tech's every move and the ax-grinding Texas alumni sharpening their tools to be put to good use, one thing's for certain. Both are wanting heads to roll.
But with all of the legal and political maneuvering, lost in the shuffle is the fact that when Tech faces UT, it's still a big game to the Red Raiders.
Capitalizing on a momentum-shifting 95-yard kickoff return to open the second half, the Raiders defeated the Longhorns 24-10 before an apathetic Royal-Memorial Stadium crowd that felt blessed to know that the days left in the season and in John Mackovic's UT coaching career are both numbered.
"What did he say to us after the game? I don't know," one UT starter quipped. "All I know is we got two games left before this is over."
Texas, which lost despite having quarterback James Brown throw for a school- and career-record 397 yards, has now assured itself of a losing record thanks to the current four-game losing streak.
If the Longhorns (3-6 overall, 1-5 Big 12) cannot manage to find victories over their final two opponents, Kansas and rival Texas A&M, it will be the first time since former coach David McWilliams' 5-6 season of 1991 that they have fallen from first to worst.
"Before the season, I never would have thought that we would have lost more than three games," Texas free safety Donald McCowen said. "Now we lost, what, five, six, seven?...I don't even know anymore. I just want to win a game before the season's over. I just want to beat Kansas."
The biggest surprise of all was that Texas was flashing championship form through the first half with crisp passing by Brown, some acrobatic receiving and a relatively stingy defense -- all three of which have been no where to be found in 1997 all at the same time.
The Raiders trailed by a 7-3 margin because of UT halfback Ricky Williams' 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Tech quarterback Zebbie Lethridge had only completed 1-of-6 passes, and the offense struggled to post 96 total yards by halftime.
But opening the third quarter, Texas Tech's Dane Johnson took the kickoff, cut to his left, dodged three would-be tacklers and out ran UT's J.J. Kelly and Chris Butcher for a career-best 95-yard touchdown return. The play was only worth six on the scoreboard, but was worth much more in terms of momentum.
"It was a big boost for them," said Mackovic, who admitted kicker Phil Dawson should have kicked away from Johnson. "They only had about 100 yards of total offense at the halftime, and they nearly doubled it on one play. We went three and out on the next drive when we really needed an answer."
Johnson said: "That return gave everybody life. It was in the middle of the game, it was just great timing. They kicked it in the far corner, which is where we practiced where they would kick it."
Tech pieced together an eight play, 65-yard drive that was helped along by back-to-back UT facemask penalties, and Lethridge, who was held to 3-of-10 for a mere 73 yards passing, punched in a 1-yard quarterback sneak to take a 17-7 lead.
Dawson added a 20-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the third on a drive that was solely based on the one-two punch of Brown and split end Kwame Cavil. The two linked up for catches of 31, 12 and 11 yards as Cavil finished with seven catches for 112 yards on the day.
"In practice, we put more emphasis on doing the things that we needed to do in the games," Cavil said. "We practiced like it was a game situation, and it paid off tremendously."
But even Cavil didn't have the day's best wide receiving performance.
Redshirt freshman Jamel Thompson caught seven passes for 143 yards. Brown spread the wealth to 11 different Longhorns to complete 25 of 45 passes before electing to complete two to Tech as well.
Trailing by 14 points, Brown drove the Longhorns from their own 26-yard line to the Tech 7 in the fourth quarter. On third-and-6, Brown scrambled out of the pocket and forced a pass intended for tight end Steve Bradley, but Johnson corralled Brown's second interception of the day in the end zone.
After an exchange of punts, Brown was forced to leave the game with a possible leg injury and backup quarterback Richard Walton was sent in by Mackovic. Walton's first play from Mackovic was a pass, and the junior fumbled under heavy pressure from Tech's Montae Reagor.
"The turnovers really made the difference for us," Mackovic said. "It kept us from getting control of the game or getting back into the game. That has been the single biggest issue that has sidetracked us all season long."
Brown came back into the game to lead a 14-play, 71-yard conservative drive to run out the clock, and the loss also meant that Mackovic is one step closer to possibly being run out of town.
What made this defensive performance particularly impressive was that the Longhorns: 1) Failed to give up 400 yards of total offense for the first time all season, 2) The defense only allowed Tech's top rusher, Ricky Williams, to gain 131 yards, and 3) They did not allow Tech to score any points off four turnovers.
Granted it's the ninth game of the season, but there's always a glimmer of hope.
"The first half, we kind of stopped their running game, and we shut down all their plays," McCowen said. "But in the second half, they just drove the ball right down our throats."
If only Texas had a passing game, fans had said all season, then the Longhorns would be winning. Add a strong defense, they said, and then the Horns would be unstoppable.
On Saturday night, those fans wishes were granted -- sort of.
Texas quarterback James Brown passed for a school record 397 yards and the Horns' defense held Texas Tech to a paltry 266 total yards, but a slew of missed opportunities allowed the Red Raiders to escape with a 24-10 victory.
On five different occasions, the Texas offense drove past the Tech 20 without scoring a touchdown. The two most damaging of those failures occurred midway through the fourth quarter, when a pair of huge turnovers prevented the Horns from reaching paydirt and getting them back into the contest.
"The turnovers just killed us," said head coach John Mackovic. "Several of them were down deep where we had an opportunity to get some points, and it just took everything out of us."
Texas' ineffectiveness in the red zone was particularly discouraging because the Horns turned in arguably their best overall performance of the season outside of that area.
Brown more than doubled his previous season-high passing total, burning Tech's man-to-man coverage for 25 completions on his record-setting night. Rookie receivers Jamel Thompson (143 yards) and Kwame Cavil (112 yards) also set UT records against the Raiders, as they shattered the single-game mark for freshmen.
On defense, the Horns had their best game since the season-opener against Rutgers, holding the Raiders to only 96 first-half yards before Dane Johnson reeled off a 95-yard kickoff return to open the third quarter.
But Texas couldn't take advantage of those potentially breakthrough-like showings, and that just added further disappointment to an already frustrating season.
"It's just kind of depressing, because we can't win a game no matter what we do," said running back Ricky Williams, who managed 80 yards despite a stacked defensive front specifically intended to stop him. "We can't win when we run and we can't win when we pass."
Among the list of ways that the Horns let another one slip away:
* Brown threw an ill-advised pass midway through the second quarter with the Horns driving that was intercepted by Tony Darden at the Tech 44, foiling Texas' hopes to extend their lead to two scores before halftime.
* On their last drive of the third quarter, the Horns were able to earn a first-and-goal from the Tech 4. But Texas elected to run three unsuccessful pass plays at that point, and were forced to settle for a chip-shot field goal by Phil Dawson to cut the Raiders' lead to 17-10.
* After Tech added another touchdown, the Horns looked as though they were only a play away from trimming the lead back to seven, as Brown drove the offense 68 yards to the Tech 7. But on the next play, the senior quarterback scrambled all over the field and evaded countless pursuers before chunking a pass directly at Johnson in the endzone, wasting yet another golden opportunity.
* On Texas' next drive, the Horns once again ventured deep into Tech territory, but after Brown left the game temporarily with a hyper-extended knee, backup quarterback Richard Walton fumbled the ball away at the Raider 12.
* Finally, Texas regained possession with almost three minutes remaining and moved the ball effectively, but kept the ball inbounds and refused to go for the deep ball despite the fact that time was running out and the Horns needed two scores to tie. By the time Brown finally threw into the endzone for Cavil, the game's final seconds had expired.
"[Texas] did exactly what we didn't want them to do," Tech coach Spike Dykes said of the Horns' wasted success on offense. "They took the lead early, but we fought back."
Jeff McDonald
Daily Texan Staff
It was an occurrence that even the most casual follower of Texas football had witnessed many a time over the past three years.
With his team holding onto a slim lead late in a football game, a man named Ricky Williams took handoff after handoff, then juked and jitterbugged his way to glory.
But when it happened again Saturday at Royal-Memorial Stadium, the Ricky Williams that ran roughshod over an overmatched opponent wasn't wearing burnt orange or his familiar jersey No. 11.
He didn't have a snappy nickname or high Heisman hopes.
In fact, the Ricky Williams who turned heads over the weekend didn't even play for the home team.
In what had been dubbed the "Battle of the Rickys", it was Texas Tech's starting halfback -- also named Ricky Williams -- who got the better of the matchup, rushing for 138 yards on 25 carries and leading the Red Raiders to a 24-10 win before a slightly confused crowd of 76,110.
"I think a lot of people thought he would get the better of me," Tech's Williams said of UT's more high-profile version. "I think I came out and surprised everybody. I let them know that I can run the ball, too."
Oh, Williams surprised everyone alright -- including the Texas defense.
The Duncanville product, a true freshman who had to beat out a handful of candidates to secure the starting nod this year, came into the contest averaging just 70.4 yards per outing, hardly a head-turning number.
But, given an opportunity for more touches due to a hamstring injury to star Tech receiver Donnie Hart, Williams cruised to nearly double that number Saturday.
"We knew they would run the ball, because they had a key receiver out," UT safety Donald McCowen said. "But you have to give them a lot of credit -- they made a lot of good holes for their runner Ricky."
With his inspired performance over the weekend, Tech's Williams went a long way toward stepping out of the dreadlocked shadow of his UT counterpart.
Texas' Ricky Williams, who still leads the nation with a 166.6 yards per game rushing average, was riding a string of four straight 200-yard games. But foiled and frustrated by a swarm of Raider eight-man fronts, Williams could put up only a pedestrian 80 yards on the ground Saturday, and was consistently stuffed in the red zone.
"The Other Ricky" no longer, Tech's Williams has finally made strides to make a name for himself other than the one he inherited.
"All week long, all I heard was Ricky Williams this, Ricky Williams that," he said. "I mean, everyone was saying that they had THE Ricky Williams. But after the game some of our teammates said that maybe we had the real Ricky Williams."
And when his team needed first downs to keep the clock moving in the fourth quarter, it was Williams the Raider and not Williams the Longhorn who came through with big run after big run.
Tech's Williams -- "Little Little Earl" -- even drew a frame or two out of the namesake's highlight reel, barreling over and then dragging defenders if need be.
But at 5-9 and 175 pounds, the younger Williams runs more like a sports car than a battering ram, and made his living Saturday mostly weaving in and out of would-be Texas tacklers, often turning sure losses into significant gains.
"It was a pretty good day for little Ricky," Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes said. "He's a real go-getter, isn't he? The big thing is that we had the lead. We were running well and just kept running."
And by the time Williams stopped running Saturday, nobody was wondering who he was -- or where he was headed.
"He's a real great back, because he never quits and runs so hard," McCowen said. "I feel like in the years to come, he'll be like our Ricky Williams is now."