Remembering the 1995 season, Texas’ final year in the Southwest Conference - Pt. I

One of the ideas of Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian and athletic director Chris Del Conte during this month’s Texas Fight Tour has been a call to win the Big 12 Conference title in the Longhorns’ final year in the league, and viewing it as a repeat of sorts.

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“We won the final Southwest Conference title in our last year, how nice would it be to win the last Big 12 title in our final year (in the conference),” Del Conte said.

Sarkisian has repeated the line several times during the whistle-stop series of meetings with Texas Exes around the state.

The Longhorns’ final year in the SWC was in 1995, a season that saw Texas go 10-2-1 overall and 7-0 in conference play under fourth-year coach John Mackovic. The Longhorns were ranked ninth in the country before losing to No. 13 Virginia Tech 28-10 in the Sugar Bowl.

Given that plenty of water has flowed under the bridge since 1995 and the Longhorns have won only three Big 12 titles in the 27 years since the end of the SWC (and none since 2009), we decided to take a look back at Texas’ final season and championship in the gone, but not forgotten, league.

Here are the recaps for the first seven games of that historic season. Part two will feature the final six games of 1995, and a wild runup to the bowl game in New Orleans.

Week 1: Texas 38, Hawaii 17

The 18th-ranked Longhorns rode two touchdown runs by Ricky Williams, one of them a 65-yarder, and a 16-yard TD pass from James Brown to Mike Adams in building a 38-3 lead on the way to an easy victory on Sept. 2 in Honolulu.

Week 2: Texas 38, Pittsburgh 27

No. 15 Texas’ Shon Mitchell had a 19-yard TD run as a part of his 76 total yards on the ground, and Brown found Pat Fitzgerald and Adams on scoring tosses of 15 and 33 yards, respectively in a shootout on Sept. 16 in Austin. The Panthers led 27-24 until Williams scored from a yard out with 2:10 to play and Jason Reeves capped the victory with a 45-yard pick six on Pittsburgh’s ensuing drive.

Week 3: Notre Dame 55, Texas 27

The 23rd-ranked Fighting Irish had plenty of answers, especially at the end of a walloping of No. 13 Texas on Sept. 23 in South Bend, Ind. The Longhorns were outscored 36-7 over the last quarter and a half and lost despite Brown passing for 326 yards and four TDs – three of them to Fitzgerald, which tied a school record. Brown was sacked five times, fumbled twice and threw two INTs in the loss while Adams caught five passes for 141 yards, none of which came after halftime.

Week 4: Texas 35, SMU 10

Mitchell had 180 yards and two scores rushing, including a 65-yard TD, and Matt Davis caught two touchdown passes as No. 21 Texas bounced back with a win over the Mustangs on Sept. 30 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Justin McLemore also hauled in a TD pass from Brown, who went 12 of 19 for 169 yards but suffered three interceptions. The Longhorns outgained SMU 558-188 in the easy victory, which was the most recent time the two teams have met on the gridiron.

Week 5: Texas 37, Rice 13

The 20th-ranked Longhorns shrugged off a ragged first half by outscoring Rice 24-0 in the second half and beat the Owls on Oct. 7 in Austin. Williams and Mitchell combined for just 94 yards on 24 carries but Brown passed for 211 yards and two touchdowns, with Adams hauling in seven of his 13 completions for 99 yards that included a 6-yard scoring catch. Phil Dawson kicked three field goals for the Longhorns, from 36, 33 and 43 yards, respectively.

Week 6: Texas 24, Oklahoma 24

No. 18 Texas and 13th-ranked Oklahoma battled to draw on Oct. 14 in the Cotton Bowl in the final time that the storied programs would meet in a non-conference game. The Longhorns led 21-0 nine minutes into the contest on a Brown to Fitzgerald 8-yard TD pass, a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and Mitchell’s 69-yard scoring run but managed just a 26-yard Dawson field goal the rest of the way. 

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Week 7: Texas 17, Virginia 16

Dawson kicked himself into Texas lore by booting a 50-yard field goal into a strong wind on the final play of the game to produce the victory on Oct. 21 in Austin. Dawson had earlier missed from 52 and 57 yards out for the 16th-ranked Longhorns, and his final kick was necessitated when No. 14 Virginia took the lead via a 56-yard FG with 3:12 to play. The Longhorns marched 47 yards on 14 plays – and converted two fourth downs – and Brown scrambled for an 11-yard gain with only 3 seconds remaining to set the table for the game-winner.