The top moments when Texas football snatched victory from the jaws of defeat

I love Mount Rushmore as a flex. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum decided he would carve four faces into the granite of South Dakota’s Black Hills, but he also got to choose which four American presidents would be represented on the mountain for eternity.

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Why four? I don’t know. Imagine James K. Polk spinning in his grave at being left on deck in the fifth spot. “I got you California and Texas, dammit!” his ghost screams into the void. At least They Might Be Giants honored him.

In sports, Bill Simmons, Pardon My Take, and many others have made the idea of declaring your Mount Rushmore part of the lexicon. So here’s the first installment of Inside Texas’ Mount Rushmore.

Volume I is the Mount Rushmore of Texas football wins that have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Why this mouthful for my first one? Because I haven’t stopped thinking of 4-and-13 for two months now.

How different would Texas’ offseason feel if Quinn Ewers didn’t find Matthew Golden against Arizona State? That loss would have been like a foul smudge that Longhorn Nation would have desperately tried to wash off under the sink, but it wouldn’t be removed. We would just scrub and scrub until the skin is raw, but the mark is still there.

First, some criteria. To qualify for this Mount Rushmore, losing had to be imminent. For example, the 2004 and 2005 comebacks against Oklahoma State don’t count. Did they require superhuman efforts by Vince Young and company? Absolutely. But they didn’t come down to the wire. The Longhorns were never in the jaws of defeat, ready to feel the cruel fangs of loss clamp down and bite.

Also, I’m not including the Rose Bowl against USC. Sure it was “4th-and-5, the national championship on the line,” but did anyone ever think Young wouldn’t come through and save the day? I never thought Texas was losing for a second. Last, I elected not to include games won on a walk off like the Michigan Rose Bowl or 2011 against Texas A&M. Sure, a missed field goal would have meant defeat in those games, but Texas was in range and should have made those kicks. 

So, here we go.

1) Texas 20 UCLA 17 (1970)

Our own Steve Ross penned an incredible piece years ago with memories from this game. Texas was facing imminent defeat in Austin by the Bruins and an early end to their title defense. Disaster struck with the Longhorns blowing a 13-3 halftime lead, finding themselves trailing 17-13 late.

The Longhorns got the ball back with one last chance, but as Ross writes, “The air went out of the stadium, and there was only 52 seconds left when Texas got the ball back, with no timeouts. There was a break in the action after the UCLA punt, and the PA announcer, sensing that the game was slipping away, made an announcement about the Longhorns 22-game winning streak. He in essence was asking for applause for what the team had accomplished.”

With less than 20 seconds left, Texas was 45 yards out from paydirt and Darrell Royal’s squad was facing third and 19. That’s a long way to go for the wishbone offense. Texas needed a miracle and found one. Quarterback Eddie Phillips threw a prayer over the middle to Longhorn great Cotton Speyrer that should have been either intercepted or batted down, but it miraculously found No. 88 in the middle of the field. He cut to the sideline and galloped into the endzone that my mom was sitting in, along with Steve Ross and others. Oddly enough, I think every Texas fan I know was in that favored endzone on such a wonderful day. Texas had done it.

2) Texas 16 Arkansas 14 (1987)

The Longhorns were down four with four seconds left on the road against the Pigs in Little Rock. Texas had broken the hearts of the Hogs many times over the course of their rivalry’s history, but the Longhorns were 2-3 in David McWilliams’ first year and coming off a Red River pummeling by Oklahoma.

Arkansas was 4-1 and ranked No. 15. But as if the spirit of Phillips and Speyrer blessed the final play, Texas quarterback Bret Stafford found wide receiver Tony Jones on a slant amidst a pack of Hogs. Jones hung onto the ball and Texas walked it off, shattering the hearts of Arkansas yet again. Shortly thereafter, the Razorbacks left the Southwest Conference.

3) Texas 27 Kansas 23 (2004)

Why did I exclude the Rose Bowl against USC? Because of moments like this. I never thought Young would let Texas lose because he hadn’t before.

With two minutes left in Lawrence, Kan., Texas needed someone to put on a cape. This was before Vince was Vince and it was 4th-and-18 from the Texas 44. If Texas didn’t convert, Kansas was a first down away from a massive upset and ending any hopes Mack Brown’s team had at a BCS bowl bid. But VY pump faked then glided for 23 yards and shortly thereafter found Tony Jeffrey for the game winning touchdown. The cape went on Young’s back. It never came off.

4) Texas 39 Arizona State 31 (2025 Peach Bowl)

If Ewers doesn’t find Golden, so much feels different right now. Fair or not, the Steve Sarkisian era would taste saltier. Instead of excitement brewing for the Arch Manning era, it might feel like a desperate heave of air, hoping for Manning to undo the disappointment felt in Atlanta. But Golden came down with Ewers’ pass and Longhorn fans got an all time moment to remember forever. The play cemented Ewers legacy at Texas and was one of the most thrilling escapes of all time.

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Honorable mention: T’Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy, and Barryn Sorrell saving Texas against Kansas State on the goal line of DKR in 2023.

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