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Texas Football: The Top 5 Dream Non-Conference Games To Break A Series Tie
Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish line squares off against the Texas Longhorns at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeats Texas 38-3. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Texas Football Non-Conference Dream Games Series – Week 4/6
Texas Football has an impressive slate of non-conference games in future years. It starts with a home-and-home series with USC the next two seasons, followed by LSU, Ohio State, and Michigan.
Texas just completed a home-and-home with Notre Dame, which included an epic double overtime win over the Irish to start the 2016 season.
But, there are plenty more big-time college football opponents that Texas fans want to see come to DKR Memorial Stadium in Austin or watch play in a road environment…
Week 4 Dream Series – Texas Football’s Top 5 Tiebreaker Games
Texas is deadlocked with several non-conference schools in head-to-head matchups. We’ll exclude Transylvania, though, which tied the Horns 1-1 in a series during the early 1900s.
In this week’s list, we identified five major schools that Texas needs to face in a home-and-home series. Hopefully this will break a tie, unless of course the teams split the games and remain deadlocked with the same number of wins and losses.
Let’s see who qualifies for the “Top 5 Tiebreaker Games” that Texas needs to schedule…
Oct 29, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Miami Hurricanes mascot Sebastian The Ibis runs onto the field before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
(1) Miami Hurricanes. Texas and Miami are tied 2-2 in their all-time series. We don’t need to revisit the 1991 Cotton Bowl, where #4 Miami trounced #3 Texas 46-3 in a game that felt more like a street fight than a football game.
That game certainly needs to be avenged, but the tie also needs to be broken between these college football powerhouses.
Prior to the 1991 Cotton Bowl, Texas beat Miami in Austin during the 1981 season. Texas advanced to #1 in the country a few weeks later, but got stomped by Arkansas to end their National Title hopes.
The other two games in the series were part of a home-and-home in 1972 and 1973. Coach Darrell Royal beat Miami in Austin to begin the 1972 season. But, the Hurricanes returned the favor with a victory in Miami to start the 1973 season.
Thus, the series is tied 2-2. It’s time to break this tie with a new series between the Longhorns and Hurricanes. The taste of the 1991 Cotton Bowl has lingered for too long.
Nov 19, 2016; Berkeley, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw on the sideline before the game against the California Golden Bears at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
(2) Stanford Cardinal. We move from the ACC to Pac-12 to find another tie to resolve. This series is also tied 2-2. And, the Cardinal also won the last meeting between the teams.
The series started with a home-and-home exchange in the mid-1980s. Head coach Fred Akers’ Longhorns beat the Cardinal in California during the 1985 season. However, Stanford beat the Longhorns in Austin to begin the 1986 season.
Then, in 1999, Texas blew out Stanford 69-17 in Austin. This was the week after the Longhorns opened the 1999 season with a strange and disastrous home loss to North Carolina State.
The Cardinal did not forget, as they upset #5 Texas Football 27-24 the following year in California. This infamous game featured Mack Brown rotating QBs Major Applewhite and Chris Simms trying to find the right combination to beat an overmatched Cardinal team. But, the Cardinal hung around and eventually beat Texas with a late TD. This loss still stings for the author who sat through the QB carousel misery.
Thus, Texas and Stanford need to schedule another series to erase the memory of 2000 and test Tom Herman against David Shaw. Nike would be very pleased.
March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes mascot performs during the first half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
(3) Iowa Hawkeyes. From the ACC to the Pac-12 to the Big 10 for another tie to break. Texas and Iowa are deadlocked 1-1 in their limited series, and the Longhorns and Hawkeyes have never met outside of a bowl game.
The first matchup was the first-ever Freedom Bowl in Southern California to close 1984. Texas, which climbed as high as #1 during the season, got steamrolled by QB Chuck Long. This was a close game at halftime, but Iowa put 31 points on the board in the third quarter. Iowa won 55-17 in a game that was marred by a driving rain. In Anaheim, where it rarely rains.
But, Texas Football beat Iowa in the 2006 Alamo Bowl by a slim margin of 26-24. This was Colt McCoy’s first year as Texas QB after the Longhorns’ National Title victory in 2005.
It was the first of three consecutive bowl victories for McCoy, but his final game as a Longhorn was the 2010 National Title game loss against Alabama where he was hurt in the first quarter. McCoy has much better bowl memories in the Alamo Bowl.
Texas and Iowa State have played enough times in the Big 12 conference, so now it’s time for Texas to experience a different flavor of Iowa. And, the Hawkeyes need to visit Austin for the first time. This tie needs to be broken.
Oct 29, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs mascot Bully comes onto the field before the game against Samford Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
(4) Mississippi State Bulldogs. We complete the Power 5 conference tour with a visit to the SEC. The Longhorns and Bulldogs are tied 2-2 in a series that dates back to the 1920s.
For a more recent game, Texas won the 1999 Cotton Bowl in Ricky Williams’ final college game to cap off his Heisman season. Texas was riding a big wave of momentum and crushed the Bulldogs 38-11 on a soggy New Year’s Day.
Before the Cotton Bowl game, Texas and Miss. State played a home-and-home series in the early 1990s. David McWilliams coached the Horns to a 13-6 loss in Starkville to begin the 1991 season. Then, John Mackovic started his Texas coaching career with a 28-10 home loss in 1992.
In the 1992 opener, Peter Gardere threw for only 223 yards with 0 TDs and 2 costly INTs. It was a rough way to start the Mackovic Era in front of 70,000 disappointed Longhorns fans.
But, to get to a 2-2 tie, we have to go back to 1921. Texas dismantled the Bulldogs 54-7 in the next-to-last game of the ’21 season. Miss. State wanted nothing to do with the Longhorns after that game, creating a 70-year gap between games.
Let’s hope there is not another 70-year gap between the Cotton Bowl and the next time these teams meet. It’s time for a home-and-home series to break this tie.
Dec 31, 2016; Orlando , FL, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) prior to the game against the LSU Tigers at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
(5) Louisville Cardinals. We visited the ACC, Pac-12, Big 10, and SEC. Now, we’re back to the ACC for the Cardinals, home of 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
Texas and Louisville are tied 1-1 after meeting twice during the mid-1990s. During John Mackovic’s second year in 1993, the Cardinals spanked the Horns 41-10 in Louisville.
But, Texas got their win back in Austin with a 30-16 victory early in the 1994 season. Priest Holmes tore up the Cardinals’ defense with 151 rushing yards and one TD.
Back then, Louisville was more of a basketball school. But now, the Cardinals are a football force. That’s why Texas and Louisville need to break their tie in a series that will grab the attention of national college football fans.
UPCOMING SERIES SCHEDULE
We are four weeks into the six-week series on Texas Football’s dream non-conference games.
Next Thursday, we dive into the Top 5 “Been A Long Time” games. This means Texas has not played a particular opponent in a very long time. Like, almost 100 years. It’s pretty interesting.
Check back next Thursday for a new list of teams in the Texas Football Non-Conference Dream Matchup Series.
– Thursday, January 19: Top 5 Dream Home & Home Matchups
– Thursday, January 26: Top 5 Never, Ever Played Before
– Thursday, February 2: Top 5 “One Loss to Avenge” Games
– Thursday, February 9: Top 5 Tiebreaker Games
– Thursday, February 16: Top 5 “Been A Long Time” Games
– Thursday, February 23: Top 5 Texas Rivals Revisited
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