Wildcats Come Up Short
Oct 19, 2002 | Football
Oct 19, 2002
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By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Both kickers felt confident. Now only one feels good.
Texas kicker Dusty Mangum drilled a 27-yard field goal with 1:32 left Saturday night to give the eighth-ranked Longhorns a 17-14 victory over No. 17 Kansas State.
With 7 seconds to go, Kansas State's Jared Brite line up for a potential tying field goal from 36 yards out. But the kick was low, and Marcus Tubbs got a hand on it to preserve the win for Texas.
"I was pretty confident going out there that I was going to make it," said Mangum, who suffered through a 1-for-5 slump against Tulane and Oklahoma State earlier this year.
"All of a sudden, they were chanting. I was really glad that I got that kick and was able to shove it in their face."
Chris Simms threw two touchdown passes for the Longhorns (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) and B.J. Johnson had four catches for 132 yards and a score.
Brite, who had an extra point blocked in the second quarter, appeared to hit the kick low.
"To tell you the truth, I couldn't tell," he said. "My head was still down when I heard the thump from someone's hands. The way I hit it, it felt like it was going high."
Tubbs, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound lineman, was put in specifically to try to get the block.
"It was just about getting penetration, raising your hands and jumping as high as you can," he said. "That's all it was."
It was a crucial win for the Longhorns, who came back strong after last week's 35-24 loss to No. 2 Oklahoma. It also dropped Kansas State (5-2, 1-2) to 2-23 in games against top-10 teams under coach Bill Snyder.
"It's great for our team," Johnson said. "We are going to fight throughout the year, so if you guys want to count us out of this thing, we're not out. We'll be back."
Ell Roberson hit James Terry on consecutive passes for 27 and 15 yards to move the Wildcats into position for Brite's game-tying attempt.
With the scored tied at 14-all, the Longhorns took over at their own 36 with 4:26 left following a punt by Kansas State.
They got 15 yards on the first play, thanks to a facemask penalty against the Wildcats. Then on third-and-11 from the 19, Chris Simms found Johnson for 32 yards on a play that looked very similar to one that went 53 yards to set up Texas's second touchdown.
Roberson, who's never been known for his passing, floated a 15-yard TD pass to tight end Thomas Hill on fourth-and-9 with 10:40 left. That made it 14-12 because the Wildcats, following their first touchdown in the second quarter, missed the extra point for the fourth time in two games.
But Darren Sproles took the handoff and easily got into the end zone for the 2-point conversion, forcing the 14-14 tie.
Sproles had his third straight 100-yard rushing game with 136 yards on 20 carries.
Texas coach Mack Brown did not believe Brite's kick was low.
"I felt like he'd miss it or we'd get the block. I know I saw it bounce up in the air and then it wasn't good," he said. "That's all I cared about."
Johnson beat James Dunnigan over the middle for a 53-yard pass play midway through the third period that set up the Longhorns at the 3. On third down, David Thomas got free in the end zone and hauled in Simms' 2-yard TD pass for a 14-6 Texas lead.
Sproles had been held to just 10 yards in his first five carries when he burst through a big hole and sprinted down the middle of the field for 61 yards in the second quarter.
A few plays later, Nick Hoheisel scored from the 2 on third-and-goal.
But Brite's kick was blocked by Kalen Thornton, leaving the Longhorns with a 7-6 lead. Last week in a 44-9 victory over Oklahoma State, the Wildcats' Jamie Rheem had two extra points blocked and hit one too low to get over their own blockers.
"I can't imagine how Jared feels because I've never been in a position where I've single-handedly been blamed for a loss, and I know a lot of people will do that to him," said Kansas State linebacker Terry Pierce.
Simms hit Johnson with a 39-yard touchdown toss less than a minute into the second quarter.
