Ash's 4th Quarter helps Texas remember the Alamo, 31-27

SAN ANTONIO —   Texas’ quarterback David Ash had a rough first half in the Alamo Bowl.

But he left the Longhorn faithful something to remember in the second half.

He threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Longhorns rallied to beat the Oregon State Beavers, 31-27 in the 20th annual Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Saturday.

When the Texas defense got its Alamo-Bowl record 10th sack and Alamo Bowl Most Outstanding Defensive Player Alex Okafor’s 4 1/2 sacks, the Longhorns got great field position. On the final drive, Johnathan Gray converted a fourth-down from the Wildcat, then Ash connected with Marquis Goodwin on a 36-yard Touchdown catch, and Texas had its first lead of the game with 2:24 remaining.

Nick Jordan answered with a 40-yard field goal, coming after Alex Okafor stripped OSU QB Cody Vaz and Cedric Reed recovered. The kick was three points, but should have been seven after Ash misfired to Shipley in the endzone.

Storm Woods burst across the goal line with a 12-yard score after a 8-play drive for Oregon State. Texas linebackers missed their gaps as Woods literally walked in and it was, 10-3 OSU.

Texas answered, thanks to senior Olympian Marquis Goodwin. The wide receiver took a pitch from Johnathan Gray on a reverse and burst down the sidelines as if he were shot out of a cannon. 64 yards to the house and they’re tied at 10.

Oregon State finished the first-half strong scoring the next 10 points. Romaine nailed a 37-yard field goal, then Terron Ward scampered in from 9 yards out, and it was 20-10 going into halftime. The Beavers backfield ran for over 100 yards, exposing a major flaw in the Texas front-seven.

The Texas Longhorns rush defense has been their most glaring flaw all season. And Oregon State decided to exploit it  in the first-half. Texas adjusted to give up only to only give up 109 net rushing yards.

Woods went for 119 yards rushing on 21 carries, his last was a 2-yard touchdown scoring carry at the 0:09 mark of the third quarter. The drive started with Ash throwing an interception to Taumoepeau on the previous possession all but crushing their positive swing.

Major Applewhite in his first game as Offensive Coordinator, calling the plays for the offense generated 359 yards and four touchdowns. Ash was 22-for-34, 243 yards, two touchdown, one  INT. True freshman Johnathan Gray was 13 yards on 5 carries but caught three balls for 30 yards and a score. It came off a 9-play drive, 83-yard drive when Ash scrambled to find Gray down the sidelines, and with 8:18 left in the game, Texas was down only three, 27-24.

Now Texas goes into the offseason with momentum and a good vibe. The new OC did good, the current DC made key second-half adjustments, and the HC was smiling and praising afterwards. Texas finishes 9-3 with another top-10 ranked recruiting class about to sign in February. The team has question marks at some major spots depth wise team wide, but the youth was served this year. A tremendous amount of freshman and sophomores got snaps. The future looks bright once again in Austin as 2013 approaches.