DALLAS — After falling behind 17-7 in the second quarter, the ninth-ranked Texas Longhorns scored 28 unanswered points to beat the LSU Tigers, 35-20, at the 67th SBC Cotton Bowl Classic on Saturday afternoon at Fair Park’s Cotton Bowl.
The Tigers (8-5) had a five bowl-game winning streak broken, while Texas (11-2) improved to 14-13-1 in traditional New Year’s Day bowls. LSU’s bowl record fell to 16-17-1 including a 2-1-1 in the Cotton Bowl. Twenty-three Tigers’ seniors played their final game in an LSU uniform.
The Longhorns used quick strikes to decimate the Tigers defense, which otherwise played well against one of the nation’s most potent offenses. Texas scored on drives of 40, 45 and 54 seconds, and also had a fumble returned 54 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. The longest scoring drive of the game was exactly two minutes.
LSU, which ran a Cotton Bowl record 95 plays for 441 yards, had a 36:51 to 23:09 advantage in time of possession. However, it was Texas’ ability to use wide receiver Roy Williams that proved to be the difference. Williams caught four passes for 142 yards including a 51-yard touchdown. He also rushed for a 39-yard score on an end-around and set up a touchdown with a 76-yard reception.
The Tigers rushed for 248 yards on 49 carries, while quarterback Marcus Randall struggled in the second half to finish 19 of 45 for 193 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Wide receiver Michael Clayton caught a game-high six passes for 88 yards, while LaBrandon Toefield caught his first touchdown reception of his career from 20 yards out.
On the ground, Domanick Davis rushed 13 times for 85 yards and a touchdown, while Randall ran 11 times for 78 yards including a 75-yard run that set up Davis’ score. Toefield added 67 yards on 22 carries.
Texas quarterback Chris Simms was 15 of 28 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. The Longhorns rushed 32 times for 113 yards.
The Longhorns won the toss and elected to defer its decision until the second half, giving the Tigers possession to start the game. Texas defended the South endzone — with the morning sun at its back — in the first quarter.
The Tigers, making their fourth all-time appearance in the prestigious classic, dominated play in the first quarter with a ball-control offense. Meanwhile, Texas was able to stay close when linebacker Lee Jackson returned a Marcus Randall fumble 54 yards for a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead.
LSU fought back immediately, regaining the lead on an 87-yard drive that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown reception by LaBrandon Toefield, the first of his career. The Tigers led 10-7 with four seconds to play in the first quarter.
After forcing a Texas punt, Randall scampered 75-yards to the Texas 15-yard line to set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Domanick Davis. The Tigers led 17-7 with 12:04 to play in the half.
Texas then earned its first of two touchdown drives of less than 45 seconds when wide receiver Roy Williams caught at Chris Simms offering over the middle for a 51-yard touchdown reception to trim the gap to 17-14. Williams beat LSU’s man-to-man coverage and was able to outrun Corey Webster across the field to score.
LSU benefited from a short field after a Texas punt traveled only 17 yards to the Texas 33-yard line. However, the Tigers were only able to get to the Longhorn’s 19 before attempting a field goal. After making a 26-yard attempt on LSU’s first drive of the game, Corbello’s attempt with the wind was missed to the right to give Texas the ball.
On the next Texas possession, the Longhorns again went back to Williams for a big gain. The All-American took the ball over the middle for a short gain, shook off two members of the LSU secondary and wasn’t caught by LSU linebacker Bradie James until making it to the LSU 5-yard line. Two Cedric Benson rushes later, the Longhorns took the lead, 21-17, after a 45-second drive. On the play, James broke LSU’s single-season record for tackles with 151, surpassing Al Richardson’s effort in 1983.
After a Donnie Jones punt sailed 65 yards in the air and into the Texas endzone, the Longhorns began to trek down the field as the half was nearing its end. Without any timeouts, Texas’ field goal unit ran onto the field and quickly set up for a 42-yard attempt. Placekicker Dusty Mangum’s boot into the wind landed about one foot short of the crossbar as the half expired.
As the second half began, LSU jumped over a snake when Mangum missed yet another field goal, this time from 35 yards with 10:49 to play in the third quarter.
The teams traded punts to give the Tigers the ball at their 20 midway through the third quarter. Faced with a third-and-22 from its 8-yard line after a personal foul on Randall, Davis got LSU out of the shadow of its endzone with a 44-yard scamper on a draw up the middle to the Texas 48. After advancing to Texas’ 34, Randall fumbled on a third-down rush to give the ball back to the Longhorns.
Three plays and 54 seconds later, Texas scored another quick touchdown to expand the lead to 28-17 with 4:08 to play in the third quarter. Back-to-back plays of 12 and 17 yards led to Williams’ second touchdown of the day, this time a 39-yard rush on an end-around. Texas led 28-17 with 4:08 to play after a three-play, 67-yard drive.
Texas pinned the Tigers at their 1-yard line with a 49-yard punt by Brian Bradford and did not allow a first down. The Tigers returned the favor with a 41-yard punt to its 47, where Texas took over.
The Longhorns scored its fourth unanswered touchdown with just under 10 minutes to play in the game when Simms connected with Ivan Williams for an 8-yard score to lead 35-17.
For the first time since the second quarter, the Tigers got on the board. Taking over possession at Texas’ 49, LSU went into its hurry-up offense but was only able to advance to the Texas 22, where Corbello connected on a 39-yard field goal with 7:41 to play. The Tigers trailed 35-20.
LSU resorted to an onside kick to regain possession, advancing to the Texas 34-yard line. The Tigers converted one fourth down, but were unsuccessful on a second to give the Longhorns the ball with just under six minutes to play. On the drive, Randall was intercepted when a pass was tipped by Clayton and caught by Johnson for the second time. The interception along with a long return was negated by an offsides penalty on Texas.
LSU vs. TEXAS
2003 SBC COTTON BOWL
Jan. 1, 2003 – Cotton Bowl Stadium
Team notes
- LSU’s game captains were Bradie James, Kenderick Allen, LaBrandon Toefield and Domanick Davis.
- Texas won the toss and deferred to the second half. LSU received the opening kickoff.
Individual Notes
- WR Jerel Myers started his 38th consecutive game, while OT Rodney Reed started his 34th straight and OG Stephen Peterman started his 19th straight.
- LB Bradie James started his 21st straight game and SS Norman LeJeune started his 19th straight game.
- WR Michael Clayton extended his consecutive games with a reception to 26 (every game of his career) with his first catch of the game early in the first quarter.
- RB Domanick Davis’ five-yard rush on the opening drive of the game gave him 2,000 rushing yards in his career, making him the 10th player in school history to have at least 2,000 career yards.
- WR/SS Michael Clayton made his first collegiate appearance on the defensive side of the ball on the third-down play on Texas’ first series of the game. He played as a defensive back in the nickel situation.
- Clayton recorded his first career defensive tackle with eight minutes to play in the second quarter.
- RB LaBrandon Toefield’s first-quarter touchdown reception, a 20-yard pass from Marcus Randall, was the first receiving touchdown of his career.
- QB Marcus Randall’s 76-yard run in the second quarter was his career long and is the longest play from scrimmage for the Tigers this season. That run was also the longest by a quarterback in LSU’s modern era (since 1937). Randall broke Herb Tyler’s previous record of 72 against Ole Miss in 1997.
- LB Bradie James’ tackle late in the second quarter was the fourth of the game, giving him 151 tackles this season, breaking LSU’s single season records of 150 held by Al Richardson set in 1981.
- With his third carry of the game, RB LaBrandon Toefield moved into sixth-place in LSU’s career rushing attempts. He passed Garry James who had 491 rushes in his career.
- With his 91 rushing yards today, QB Marcus Randall has 361 rushing yards this season, placing him sixth on the LSU single-season QB rushing list.
Domanick Davis’ gained 206 all-purpose yards in the game, giving him 2,120 for the season, breaking the LSU single-season record previous held by Kevin Faulk with 2,109 all-purpose yards in 1998. - Marcus Spears’ interception in the fourth-quarter was the second of his career. His first came at Florida (Oct. 12, 2002) with an 18-yard interception.
- The LSU offense set a Cotton Bowl record with 95 plays. The previous mark of 94 was set in 1990 by Arkansas.