In only his third year at Arkansas, Lou Holtz had already proven
himself as a great Football Coach and was adored by Razorback
Fans. The one strike against him was that he hadn’t beaten Texas,
losing by a combined 11 points in the previous two seasons.
By the time we played Texas in October 1979, the Razorbacks had slowly
moved up the AP poll to #10 while the Longhorns were ranked #2.
Lou was finally able to beat “Gosh Darn” Texas, and the Hogs made a big
jump in the polls to #4. With Texas out of the way, could
Arkansas Fans start thinking about a National Championship?
Game Summary
Little Rock, AR - Texas scored first with a 37-yard touchdown run by
their Parade All-American Running back A.J. “Jam” Jones. After an
Arkansas punt, Texas was again driving down the field but was stopped
when Razorback Free Safety Kevin Evans intercepted Longhorn Quarterback
- Donnie Little's pass on the Arkansas 33 yard line.
Now with the ball and the momentum, Arkansas was able to advance down
the field. Early in the 2nd quarter, Gary Anderson scored on a
28-yard option down the left sideline to tie the game. Anderson's
path was cleared by a great block from WR Bobby Duckworth - The hogs
went into half time with the score 7-7.
In the 3rd quarter, Arkansas Nose Guard Richard Richardson was able to
cause the Texas QB to bobble the pitch as he was running the option,
allowing Jeff Goff to recover the ball for the Razorbacks. The Hogs
were again able to take advantage of the Texas turnover, when Kevin
Scanlon found Tight End Darryl Mason open in the End Zone for a 7-yard
pass to give Arkansas the lead.
Arkansas put together a 66-yard drive in the 4th quarter capped off by
a 31-yard field goal from Place Kicker Ish Ordonez to take a 10 point
lead. Texas surged late and scored on a 25-yard pass from Donnie
Little, but the Arkansas Defense held from there – Keeping the Hogs
unbeaten in '79 (6-0) and ending a 7-year losing streak vs Texas.
Incase you didn't know - if Arkansas fans did start thinking about the National Championship after the Texas win it didn't last long. One look at the 1979 Football Schedule will show that the Hogs lost the next game vs Houston in Fayetteville.
