College Football Old School Game of the Week: Longhorns Win Red River Showdown with 4th Down Goal Line Stop

James Allen is stopped at the one-yard-line by Stonie Clark in the 1994 edition of the "Red River Rivalry".

 On October 8, 1994 the Texas Longhorns travel to Dallas to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in their annual meeting at the Cotton Bowl dubbed as the "Red River Rivalry".

It was the first time since 1985 that both teams came into the game ranked in the top 25 as the Longhorns were ranked #15 while the Sooners were ranked #16 in the Associated Press poll.

Texas came into the game with questions at starting quarterback as Shea Morenz had injured his knee in the Longhorns' 34-31 loss to the Colorado Buffaloes the week before.

Feeling that Morenz was not healthy enough, third-year head coach John Mackovic decided to put redshirt freshman James Brown as quarterback.

Brown, who had not attempted a college pass up to this point, would need to rely on the Texas running game which featured future NFL back Priest Holmes in hopes of coming away with a win over Oklahoma, who also came into the game with a 3-1 record under head coach Gary Gibbs, who was in his sixth season as the Sooners' head coach.

Despite having a winning record in each of his first five seasons, Gibbs was feeling the pressure in Norman as he had complied a 1-4 record against the Longhorns as well as a 1-4 record against the Sooners' other big rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

A win over Texas could calm Gibbs' critics as well as set up the Sooners for a strong season.

The Sooners got the ball to start the game but quickly went three-and-out to punt the ball to the Longhorns who got great field position as they would begin their initial possession of the game at the Oklahoma 30-yard-line.

Texas would drive the ball to the Sooners' seven-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1 as Mackovic decided to go for the 1st down, only to have running back Rodrick Walker get stopped for no gain to give the ball back to the Sooners.

Following an exchange of punts, the two teams would exchange turnovers as Oklahoma running back James Allen dropped a pitch from quarterback Garrick McGee, which was recovered by Texas nose guard Chris Akins at the Longhorns' 42-yard-line, only for Texas to give back to the Sooners four plays later when Brown was intercepted by Oklahoma cornerback Larry Bush.

The game was still scoreless early in the second quarter when the Sooners had the ball at their 12-yard-line as Allen ran for four yards to begin the Oklahoma drive to set up 2nd & 6 when McGee completed a 18-yard pass to Albert Hall and a 35-yard run by Allen that put the Sooners at the Texas 31-yard-line.

Two runs by Allen for eight yards set up 3rd & 2 when McGee handed the ball off to fullback Jerald Moore, who bursted through a hole behind his right guard and then broke two tackles to score a 23-yard touchdown to put Oklahoma ahead 7-0 with 11:43 left in the second quarter.

The Sooners would get a chance to add their lead later in the quarter as they drove from their two-yard-line to the Texas 26-yard-line on the strength of a 31-yard run by Moore and three completions by McGee for 40 yards.

However, the Sooners would get zero points out of this drive as McGee was intercepted by Texas cornerback Bryant Westbrook on a pass intended for JaJuan Penny, allowing for the Longhorns to run out the clock and go into halftime only down 7-0.

Texas would get the ball to start the second half as the Longhorns began their initial possession of the second half at their 18-yard-line with a 18-yard pass from Brown to tight end Steve Bradley.

Two plays later on 3rd & 4, Brown scrambled for 14 yards and a 1st down at the Oklahoma 46-yard-line which was followed by a three-yard run by Walker and a pass interference penalty to give the Longhorns another 1st down at the Sooners' 28-yard-line.

After Walker was dropped for a one-yard loss on 1st down, Brown handed the ball off to Holmes, who followed a block from fullback Juan Kemp, to run for 20 yards to set up 1st & goal from the Sooners' nine-yard-line.

A six-yard run by Walker followed by a two-yard run by Holmes set up 3rd & goal from the one-yard-line when Holmes was dropped for an one-yard-loss, leading the Longhorns to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Phil Dawson that put Texas on the scoreboard as they now trailed 7-3 with 9:45 remaining in the third quarter.

In his first collegiate start, Texas quarterback James Brown completed 17 of 22 passes for 148 yards, ran for 51 yards on nine carries, and accounted for two touchdowns.

Following an Oklahoma punt, the Longhorns got the ball back at their 19-yard-line where after two runs by Walker gained ight yards, Brown ran for seven yards on a quarterback draw to pick a 1st down at the Texas 34-yard-line where Brown would connect with Lovell Pinkney for a 17-yard completion that put Texas at the Sooners' 49-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Brown would hit Eric Jackson for 15 yards which was followed by a 13-yard run by Kemp on 2nd & 11 to give the Longhorns a 1st down at the Oklahoma 22-yard-line when a false start penalty pushed the Longhorns back five yards to the Sooners 27-yard-line.

From there, Walker ran for three yards on 1st down, which was followed by back-to-back completions by Brown that totaled 13 yards to give Texas another 1st down at the Oklahoma 11-yard-line.

The Longhorns would cap off the 15-play, 81-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run by Brown to give Texas a 10-7 lead with just 17 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Sooners tried to change the momentum on its ensuing possession as it attempted a halfback pass with Allen throwing the ball, only to have Westbrook intercept it and return the pick to the Oklahoma six-yard-line, though Texas would begin its next possession at the Oklahoma 21-yard-line after the Longhorns were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the interception.

Holmes would get the call on 1st down and ran for 14 yards that with a face mask penalty on the Sooners gave Texas a 1st & goal at the Oklahoma four-yard-line.

After two running plays picked up two yards, Brown threw a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Pat Fitzgerald to increase the Longhorns' lead to 17-7 with 13:05 left in the fourth quarter.

Desperately needing a score, the Sooners would get the ball at their 20-yard-line to start their next drive as Moore completed a 23-yard pass to Hall on the first play from scrimmage then after a holding penalty pushed Oklahoma back 10 yards, found Hall again 24 yards and a 1st down at the Texas 43-yard-line.

The Sooners would then go to the ground as they ran the ball seven straight times, including one on a 4th & 1, to drive Oklahoma to the Texas 23-yard-line when McGee connected with tight end Stephen Alexander for a 12-yard gain and another 1st down at the Longhorns' 11-yard-line.

Three more runs that totaled seven yards set up Scott Blanton's 22-yard field goal that trimmed the Longhorns' lead to 17-10 with 6:40 remaining in the game.

Following a 42-yard return by Curtis Jackson on the ensuing kickoff, the Longhorns drove from their 48-yard-line to the Sooners' 31-yard-line, giving Texas a chance to put the game away as Dawson come on to attempt a 48-yard field goal.

However, Dawson's kick was wide right and no good, giving the ball back to the Sooners at their 31-yard-line with 3:16 left in the game for Oklahoma to drive down for a touchdown.

After an 11-yard pass to Alexander to start the drive, McGee went deep and found P.J. Mills for a 41-yard completion to give Oklahoma a 1st down at the Texas 17-yard-line.

McGee would go back to Mills as the two connected on a seven-yard completion which was followed by two runs by McGee for four yards to set up 1st & goal from the Longhorns' six-yard run.

McGee would hand the ball off to Moore, who ran for three yards to set up 2nd down from the three-yard-line when Texas linebacker Tyson King almost came away with a game-ending interception, which was followed by Longhorns defensive tackle Tony Brackens stopping McGee for no gain to set up 4th & goal with 43 seconds left.

That is when McGee handed the ball off to Allen, who had lined up as a wingback on the right side of the field, to come back across the left side only to be stopped at the one-yard-line by Texas nose guard Stonie Clark, to give the ball back to the Longhorns who would run out the clock to come away with the 17-10 victory.

Oklahoma running back James Allen had a tough day as he accounted for two turnovers and was stopped one yard short of a potential game-tying touchdown.

The Sooners would fall to #22 following the Texas loss and then out of the top 25 when they were trounced by Colorado the following week 45-7 as Oklahoma would finish the season with a 6-6 record as Gibbs would resign after the end of the season as he finished with a 44-23-2 record.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns would finish with a 8-4 record good enough to earn a #23 ranking in the final AP poll and #25 ranking in the final coaches poll as Holmes would run for 161 yards and score four touchdowns in Texas' 35-31 win over North Carolina in the Sun Bowl to cap off the season.

As for Allen, he would get his revenge on the Longhorns two years later as he scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime of the Sooners' 30-27 upset win over Texas(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/college-football-old-school-game-of_10.html).

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Chiefs Come From Behind To Beat Packers in Shootout

Eddie Kennison scores the game-winning touchdown, a 51-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trent Green. six minutes and eighteen seconds into overtime.

When the Kansas City Chiefs traveled to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers in Week 6 of the 2003 NFL season, many fans were hoping for a shootout between the two teams' high-powered offenses.

Both teams would not disappoint in game which featured over 900 yards of total offense and 74 points combined between the two teams.

The Chiefs entered the game undefeated with a 5-0 record under head coach Dick Vermeil, who had helped built an explosive offense much like the one he had built to win the Super Bowl with the then St. Louis Rams during the 1999 season.

The Chiefs offense was directed by quarterback Trent Green, who was reunited with Vermeil in Kansas City after losing his starting quarterback job in the 1999 preseason when he suffered torn ligaments after a hit by Chargers safety Rodney Harrison, paving the way for Kurt Warner to swoop in and lead the Rams to the Super Bowl title.

Green had a variety of weapons at his disposal including running back Priest Holmes, who lead the league in rushing in 2001 as he ran for 1,555 yards, then followed that season up with a 1,615 yard and 21 touchdown season in 2002, and tight end Tony Gonzalez who had been to the Pro Bowl the past four seasons.

But the Chiefs' ultimate weapon was kick returner Dante Hall, who had begun the 2003 season, by returning either a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown in the previous four games.

Meanwhile, the Packers entered the game with a 3-2 record who were looking for their third straight win.

The Packers were led by quarterback Brett Favre, who was in his 12th season as the Packers' starting quarterback, who had a explosive running back to match Holmes in Ahman Green, who had rushed for over 1,000 yards the last three seasons.

Both Greens, Trent and Ahman, would play a huge factor in the outcome of this Week 6 game.

Chiefs running back Priest Holmes would carry the ball 22 times for 81 yards and catch six passes for 59 yards.

After the Chiefs were forced to punt on their opening possession, the Packers drove 80 yards in 11 plays as Favre was a perfect 6-of-6 for 75 yards on the drive which included completions of 26 yards to Donald Driver and a 23-yarder to Robert Ferguson.

The drive ended with Favre hitting tight end Bubba Franks for a one-yard touchdown to give Green Bay a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Favre stayed hot on the Packers' ensuing possession as he hit Ahman for 21 yards, then connected with tight end Wesley Walls for 36 yards, to set up Ahman's four-yard touchdown run which increased the Green Bay lead to 14-0 with 2:44 left in the opening quarter.

The Chiefs seemed poised to go three-and-out for the third straight possession as they faced a 3rd & 9 at their 21-yard-line when Green hit Johnnie Morton for 38 yards to give Kansas City its first 1st down of the game at the Packers' 41-yard-line.

This would eventually lead to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Green to Gonzalez to put the Chiefs on the scoreboard as they cut the Packers' lead to 14-7 with just 42 seconds left in the first quarter.

Bolstered the touchdown, the Chiefs defense forced their first three-and-out of the game on the Packers' next possession to get the ball back at their 45-yard-line following a 30-yard return by Hall on the punt.

This would lead to an eight-play, 55-yard drive which culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Green to Morton which tied the game 14-14 with 9:22 to go in the second quarter.

The Packers would respond with a 14-play, 80-yard drive which took seven minutes and ended when Favre connected with Ahman for a 11-yard touchdown to put the Packers back on top at 21-14 with 2:22 to go in the first half.

With time winding down before halftime, the Chiefs tried to drive to get more points on the board but their drive stalled at Green Bay 45-yard-line, forcing a punt back to the Packers, who ran out the clock in the first half as they went into the locker room with a 21-14 lead and would be getting the ball to start the second half.

When Green Bay got the ball to start the second half, Favre went back to being perfect as he completed all five of his passes for 33 yards on an eight-play, 76-yard drive which ended with a 18-yard touchdown run by Najeh Davenport to increase the Packers' lead to 28-14.

The Packers kept the momentum going as they forced the Chiefs to go three-and-out on their opening possession of the second half and got the ball at their 49-yard-line after Jason Baker shanked his punt which went for 28 yards.

After a three-yard loss on 1st down, Favre hit Walls for back-to-back completions totaling 20 yards to give the Packers a 1st down at the Chiefs' 34-yard-line.

That is when the much maligned Chiefs defense rose up and stopped the Packers, allowing only two yards on the next three plays, forcing the Packers to settle for a 50-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell which increased their lead to 31-14 with just over six minutes to go in the third quarter.

Packers quarterback Brett Favre would complete 25 of 36 passes for 272 yards and throw two touchdowns.

Following Longwell's field goal, the defenses would take over as neither team could mount a scoring threat for the rest of the third quarter as the Packers went into the final 15 minutes still holding on to a 31-14 lead.

But things began to change early in the 4th quarter when Hall returned a Packers punt 32 yards to the Green Bay 42-yard-line, setting up a short six-play drive which culminated with an one-yard touchdown run by Holmes which brought the Chiefs to back within 10 points at 31-21 with 12:25 to go in the 4th quarter.

The Packers would get the ball back at their 29-yard-line and proceeded to go their running attack to drive down the field as they ran the ball on four of their next five plays, picking up 30 yards in the process to drive the Packers into Kansas City territory.

But on 3rd & 6 at the Chiefs' 32-yard-line, Favre was picked off by free safety Jerome Woods on a pass intended for Driver, who then ran it back for a 79-yard pick-six that brought the Chiefs to within a field goal at 31-28 with exactly nine minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

The momentum had clearly shifted back to the Chiefs as they forced a three-and-out on the Packers' ensuing possession to get the ball back at their 20-yard-line when Green connected with Gonzalez for a 67-yard completion to give the Chiefs a 1st down at the Green Bay 13-yard-line.

However, a false start penalty on Gonzalez and three plays netted only one yard forced the Chiefs to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Morten Andersen which tied the game 31-31 with 5:45 left in regulation.

With their 17-point lead having been evaporated in just a span of six minutes and 40 seconds, the Packers took over at their 29-yard-line looking to break the 31-31 tie and retake the lead.

After Favre connected with Driver for six yards to open the drive, the Packers went Ahman who carried the ball 16 yards to a 1st down at the Kansas City 49-yard-line, then got the ball again and ran for 26 more yards to another 1st down at the Kansas City 23-yard-line.

But the drive would stall at the Chiefs' 23-yard-line and the Packers would settle for a 41-yard field goal by Longwell to give them a 34-31 lead with 2:48 left in regulation.

The Chiefs would take over at their 10-yard-line with two timeouts in their pocket and needing to drive at least into field goal range to give Andersen at a chance of tying the game with a field goal.

The drive would start off with a four-yard run by Green, which became a 19-yard play after Packers defensive tackle Cletidus Hunt was called for grabbing a face mask to give Kansas City a 1st down at their 29-yard-line.

Then after the next two plays picked up only one yard, Green hit Morton for 14 yards and a 1st down at the Chiefs' 44-yard-line.

This was followed by back-to-back 12-yard completions, the first to Gonzalez and the second to Holmes, which put the Chiefs at the Packers' 32-yard-line.

Holmes would carry the ball on the next two plays gaining seven yards to set up 3rd & 3 when Holmes caught a 12-yard screen pass from Green to give the Chiefs a 1st down at the Green Bay 13-yard-line with just 13 seconds left in regulation.

Green took two shots at the end zone but both passes fell incomplete forcing Kansas City to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Andersen which tied the game at 34 as time expired in regulation.

Chiefs quarterback Trent Green threw for exactly 400 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-45 passing.

The Chiefs would win the overtime coin toss and got the ball at their 29-yard-line when they decided to rely on Holmes in hopes of carrying Kansas City down the field in hopes of setting up a game-winning field goal.

Holmes would carry the ball nine straight times, gaining 41 yards to drive Kansas City to the Packers' 30-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 2.

That is when Green decided to put up in the air, only for his pass to fall incomplete, but still in range for Andersen to come on and kick the game-winning field goal from 48 yards out.

But the future Hall-of-Fame kicker's attempt at a game-winning field goal would be blocked by Hunt, giving the Packers the ball at their 39-yard-line with a chance to drive down the field and kick the game-winning field goal.

On the first play from scrimmage, Favre handed the ball to Ahman, who ran for eight yards, but lost the football when the helmet of Woods knocked the football loose, which was recovered by Chiefs linebacker Mike Maslowski to give Kansas City the ball back at their 49-yard-line.

That is when Green decided to go deep and fire a pass down the right side of the field for Eddie Kennison, who had made only one catch all day long.

Kennison made the catch around the Green Bay 20-yard-line and then proceeded to outrun Packers defensive back Bhawoh Jue for the walk-off 51-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs a 40-34 win and keep their undefeated season intact as they moved to 6-0.

The Chiefs would eventually run their record up to 9-0 until they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 24-19 in Week 11 to end Kansas City hopes of an undefeated season.

Kansas City would finish the season with a 13-3 record good enough to earn the #2 seed in the AFC and a first-round-bye.

But the Chiefs would fall to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 38-31 in their divisional playoff, the only time Kansas City made the playoffs under Vermeil who retired after the 2005 season.

As for the Packers, they would continue to struggle for the next few weeks of the season until a four-game winning streak in December, coupled with a 18-17 loss by the Minnesota Vikings on the last play of the game to the Arizona Cardinals in the regular season finale, gave Green Bay the NFC North title and a spot in the playoffs.

The Packers would knock off the Seattle Seahawks 33-27 in overtime of their Wild Card Game, but would fall to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-17 in overtime in the Divisional Round after the Eagles converted on 4th & 26 on their final possession of regulation where they were able to kick the game-tying field goal.