Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 19

McNeese challenges Longhorn women Page 6 mtoiM till! PageC2 Saturday, January 2, 1982 Austin American -Statesman Section UT turns tide on Bania 14-12! Rams announce Malavasi will return for 1982 season ttf Bui Sullivan vSf nrewers heroics key Cotton win By KIRK BOHLS American-Statesman Staff DALLAS The Class of '81 that collection of gifted Texas seniors that forever wavered between fame and failure appropriately saved their best for last although the Cotton Bowl crowd of 73,243 and a national television audience must have wondered if they were just going to save it Period. But the names that have teased the Longhorn faithful, as much as they pleased them, reserved a special spot of history for themselves with a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback that carried sixth-ranked Texas to a 14-12 victory over Alabama Friday. The Longhorns trailed the third-ranked Crimson Tide, 10-0, after Peter Kim's 24-yard field goal with 12:27 to play, but quar- CBS pulls the plug, C4 terback Robert Lewis hero despite loss, C4 Brewer yanked story from sidelines, C4 up his down- statistical map, C4 trodden team- Texas victory at last puts ghosts to rest DALLAS They had been down here before, heaven knows, and there was no great wealth of happy experience to fall back on, no comforting reason to think that this time would be any different from the rest. Trailing an Alabama in the fourth? Forget It Eighty yards to go, with no more next times to fall back on? Maybe White to Pearson, or White to Hill, then send Springs in for the six. But Brewer to Sam-pleton and Brewer to Little? Orr up the middle? No way.

OK, so who were those guys, anyway? If this was a Big One, where were the long faces? What happened to the postgame autopsies? And who forgot to plug in the embarrassing foulups, the ones that always seem to happen with the whole world watching? "One time! One time!" a happy Kenneth Sims was shouting amid the laughter and the backslaps and the high-fives. One time, to lay the ghosts to I 1 i if I i .11 1 Staff Photo by Zach Ryall Texas quarterback Robert Brewer, the offensive MVP, scrambles out of grasp of Alabama's oncoming Mike Pitts, No. 81. Brewers 'one' play broke Tide's back 'He (Akers) just pulled that one out of the blue. When he said it, though, I knew immediately it would be a great Texas' Robert Brewer mates by their bootstraps with touchdown drives of 60 and 80 yards.

A 30-yard touchdown run by Brewer, on perhaps the best call of Fred Akers' coaching career, and an 8-yard score by Terry Orr provided the winning margin against a school that has still never beaten Texas in eight tries, 0-7-1, although the victory was still far from secure. Texas safety William Graham's interception at -the UT 1-yard line following Alabama's Joey Jones' Cotton Bowl-record 61-yard kickoff return put the 'Horns closer to victory. But it wasn't sealed until Akers' gutsy decision to have punter John Goodson take an intentional safety on fourth down and until Kiki De Ayala sacked Alabama quarterback Walter Lewis. That's when the celebration of Texas' first bowl victory in three years began. "I'd almost forgotten how much fun it was," said Longhorn defensive coordinator Leon Fuller.

No official Cotton Bowl celebration has been scheduled in Austin since many team members provided their own transportation to Dallas. Besides depriving Alabama of a record seventh bowl victory in seven years, the 'Horns' triumph capped a brilliant 10-1-1 season and gave Texas a possible pedestal for the national championship that the 9-2-1 Crimson Tide had planned on using. However, thoses hopes may be dashed since No. 1 Clemson defeated Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Akers began the campaign himself, mounting the soapbox and casting his vote he does have one with United Press International for No.

1 with Texas. The final Associated Press poll, voted on by writers and broadcasters, is scheduled to be released tonight "Can you think of anyone who deserves it more -than we do?" inquired Akers, hearing no rebuttal since his team was only the first contender of the day to take the field. "You can count it (Akers' ballot) already. I'd like to throw our cap in the ring." Ironically, the one play that may have entitled Texas to at least stake a claim for No. 1 in the na- tion was a play called "1." Before that, only one team on the Cotton Bowl field bore any resemblance to a national champion, and that was Alabama Lewis, backup quarterback, had thrown a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Bendross See UT, CS was in the gameplan sheet for this game.

I would never have thought of it. When he said it, though, I knew immediately it would be a great call." And after it was over with, Brewer turned toward Akers and signified as such. It was a great call because it exploited all the things that Alabama's defense does best. The Tide linebackers were playing a lot of man for man, so when UT backs Rodney Tate and Terry Orr flared to the sidelines, the 'Bama backers went with them. The Alabama defensive backs had been playing "man," also, and when Little and Herkie Walls ran deep sideline routes, it left the middle of the field wide open.

The key, however, was Baab removing Lyle, Alabama's 261-pound All-Southeast Conference noseguard and "the best player I've ever faced" out of the middle. Baab raised up as if to pass block, and Lyle rushed to the left side of the Longhorn offensive line. Texas' center took him the rest of the way out of the play "he made it easy for me" and Brewer had nothing but green carpet in front of him. "It'll never open up like that again," said Brewer, the game's most valuable offensive player. "That's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing." By RANDY RIGGS American-Statesman Staff j-.

DALLAS It's a play, said one Texas player, used mostly in "desperate" situations, one of those plays that spends most of the year in the dustiest, mustiest corner of the Longhorn playbook, gathering cobwebs. And when Robert Brewer brought it in from the sideline and repeated it in a tense' Texas huddle, Mike Baab's initial reaction was succinct and obscenely to the point. "At first I thought 'Oh, said the Longhorn center, recalling his gut feeling when Brewer uttered the single word, "That whole play basically comes down to my block." With a little unsolicited help from Alabama noseguard Warren Lyles, Baab made his block, which was a key ingredient that helped spring Brewer on a 30-yard scoring dash on a quarterback draw and lead the Longhorns to a come-from-behind 14-12 victory over the Crimson Tide in the Cotton Bowl game Friday. "One" is the trigger word for a quarterback -draw play, a play the Longhorns used twice, maybe three times over the year. Last season, with Donnie Little at the controls, it was a play used fairly frequently to exploit Little's quickness and running ability.

But neither quarterback Rick Mclvor nor Robert Brewer had that talent, and so "One" sat on the shelf for most' of the season. Gone, but not forgotten. With Texas facing a third and 10 and trailing Alabama 10-0 with 10:28 to play on New i Year's Day before 73,243 witnesses in the Cotton Bowl, Fred Akers dusted off the quarterback draw. Nobody expected it, obviously not the Tide and not even Brewer after he called a timeout to discuss matters with Akers when he saw UT's offensive alignment wasn't pre- pared for the probable safety blitz that Alabama was showing. "He (Akers) just pulled that one out of the blue," said Brewer.

"I don't even know if it Thlrd-and-10 from the Texas 20. Time for four years of setbacks and disappointments to run through the mind, four years of 1 big plays that slipped through the fingertips or never came tiis way. Lawrence Sampleton, all-world talent to some, all-overrated to others. One more time, to make it all seem "That last drive, the whole of-' fense was thinking, 'If we give the ball up now, that's if he was say- tag. "We score, or we go home los-I ers.

You could see it in the huddle. Everyone just said, 'Let's go win if First though, the man, an ESPN announcer referred to as "Board-' hands" had to make the play to i make a season. Robert Brewer's I pass floated out over the 50, leav-; ing time enough for a tight end who had dropped a few to get the jitters. But with an Alabama de-; fender right with him, Sampleton stretched out to pull the ball in for 37 yards and the first down. "A perfect pass," he said.

One He was getting to that point where even he had to wonder if that time in a career when all that blue-chip potential seemed doomed to stay in the training rooms and on the bench. Terry Orr, all-state in high school, allrin-jured ever since. Through all those injuries, after all those afternoons on the sideline, this was the sort of thought that kept him going. Now, the reporters were crowded around his locker. All Terry Orr had done was score the winning touchdown In the Cotton Bowl.

"You think about things like this, yes," he smiled. "You always hope you can get into a game like this, a situation where this can happen. "This, is beautiful. It's a dream come true." For the survivors of El Paso or Houston or Bay of Pigs II, it was beautiful and then some, and the final irony was in the fairy-tale way in which it all came about Donnle Little, former troubled i quarterback, catching seven passes, the last of them setting up the winning score. Sampleton, the All-America de No.

1 Clemson overcomes tic Coast Conference champs finally notched the victory that seems certain to ensure the national respect they have long yearned for, plus recognition as a major grid power. Nebraska's Big Eight kings finished 9-3 and helped bring about their own downfall by coughing up the football at their 29 and 27-yard lines in the first half, and being socked with 54 yards in penalties. Nebraska had been to 11 major bowls since Clemson's last appearance in one a 7-0 loss to LSU in the Sugar Bowl 23 years ago. The impressive victory climaxed a rags-to-rich-es saga in which Clemson stormed from being un-ranked until the third week of the season and eventually became the record seventh team to-be voted No. 1.

MIAMI (AP) Top-rated Clemson probably nailed down its first national championship when the Tigers took advantage of two Nebraska fumbles in the first half, scoring on Donald Igwe-buike's 41-yard field goal and Cliff Austin's 2-yard touchdown run to defeat the fourth-ranked Cornhuskers, 22-15, In the Orange Bowl Friday night. The tenacious Tigers, an opportunistic team all year, capped a Cinderella 12-0 season as the nation's most improved club In Its typical unspectacular fashion a stubborn defense and just enough offensive punch. They scored on three field goals by Igwebuike, Austin's touchdown sweep and a 13-yard scoring pass from Homer Jordan to Perry Tuttle. Clemson pulled from a 12-7 halftime lead and sewed up the best season In its 86-year history Orange Bowl '82 USC falters In Fiesta, CS Washington rolls In Rose, C5 with 10 points in the third quarter. Jordan's TD pass to Tuttle capped a 75-yard march in which the elusive junior completed all four pass attempts for 48 yards.

Igwebuike, the Nigerian transfer student who also kicked a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter, closed out the Tigers' scoring with one from 36 yards following Billy Davis' 47-yard punt return to the Nebraska 22. With more than 20,000 of Its frenzied fans in the crowd of 72,748, Clemson's Atlan Pitt crushes No. 2 Georgia's hopes coy, making that big first down catch to keep the dream alive. Orr, a disappointment to himself more than anyone else, coming up with the big play that capped it all off. And Fred Akers, fresh off the Sugar Bowl '82 NFL playoffs Tom Landry, above, and his Dallas Cowboys begin their quest for another Super Bowl title today by meeting Tampa Bay.

Page CS In Sunday's games, the Francisco 49ers aren't looking ahead in their game against the New York Giants, while Cincinnati Is showing a lot of respect for Buffalo. Page C2 Dallas is one of the few teams that has made a mockery of Pete Rozelle's parity a commentary. -Page CS Miami coach Don Shula has a simple game plan to defeat San Diego: score first and don't give up the cheap touchdown. Pate CS when Pitt failed on a fourth-down fake-punt gamble at midfield with only 5:29 left to play, but the Bulldogs failed to move and were forced to punt with Pitt taking over at Its 20 with 3:46 remaining. Marino had an 18-yard pass to halfback Bryan Thomas and an 8-yard run in.

the game-winning drive. The winning touchdown came on a pass right down the middle as Brown made the catch in the end zone without breaking stride. Georgia's go-ahead march earlier In the quarter featured a 23-yard scamper by Belue and a 24-yard run by Walker on which he ran over Ail-American linebacker Sal Sunserl. The game drew a crowd of 77,224 into the Louisiana Superdomf NEW ORLEANS (AP) Dan Marino fired a 33-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Brown with 35 seconds remaining to give 10th-ranked Pittsburgh a 24-20 victory over second-ranked Georgia in the 48th Sugar Bowl football game Friday night Marino, who completed 26 of 41 passes for 261 yards, brought the Panthers back in the final four minutes after Georgia had taken a 20-17 advantage midway through the final quarter. Marino, who finished with three touchdown passes In the game, hit Brown on a 6-yarder early in the final quarter and connected with All-America Julius Dawklns from 30 yards in the third period.

It was the 1 1th victory in 12 games for the Panthers, who used a swarming defense to hold Georgia's All-America tailback Herschel Waljcer under hot seat taking one away from The Grand Ursine himself. The goats of seasons past, pulling it all together when it "It's a great feeling, nothing like it" Sampleton smiled. "Now we can forget all the things that happened before. It's a great note to go out on." One last time. The one they remember you for.

100 yards rushing for the first time in 14 games. Walker, who scored two touchdowns on runs of 8 and 10 yards, was limited to only 84 yards on 25 carries as he was stalked constantly by Pitt tackle Dave Puzzuoll. Georgia, the defending national champion, got its other touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Buck Belue to Clarence Kay with 8:31 left in the game. The Bulldogs finished with a 10-2 record. Pitt's other score came In the second quarter, a 41-yard field goal by Snuffy Everett.

Georgia appeared to have (the victory in hand L3.