Final Score: Texas 33, Missouri 16
It’s a been a few seasons since Texas has had a winning campaign. But the Longhorns are back to winning ways after the Texas Bowl victory. It’s not a 14-0 unblemished resume, but if Texas is ever going to be truly back then it starts with incremental steps like this by Tom Herman’s outfit.
Fourth quarter
An 18-yard run by Armanti Foreman pushes Texas to a comfortable 33-16 lead with under two minutes to go.
Third quarter
Texas leads, 23-16, but there are a couple numbers that tell the story.
Avg. starting field position: UT 38.5, MU 14.5. That’s the whole game right there. (Well, that and the damn fumble return.) — ROCK M NATION (@RockMNation) December 28, 2017
When your offense isn’t exactly elite, the field position battle can be vital. As is the free two points Missouri gave Texas by way of a bad snap that became a safety.
But it goes to show that while Texas has lead they aren’t exactly destroying the Tigers. Yet they still keep winning because the Tigers have not been able to make their offense hit on all cylinders.
Second quarter
The Longhorns take a 21-7 lead into halftime. The Longhorns went 0-4 on third down, ad struggled on that side of the ball, but they say that the best offense is a good defense. Texas exhibited that with this scoop and score for six.
Some good fortune for Anthony Wheeler, who scoops up a Mizzou fumble and takes it to the house to put Texas up 21-7. pic.twitter.com/VmotMeO5WB — Ezra Siegel (@SiegelEzra) December 28, 2017
First quarter
That opening stanza is not how Missouri wanted things to begin as the Longhorns went up 14-0 early. It’s not like Texas is dominating the game, but they’re still down on the scoreboard.
It’s been a rough season for the Texas Longhorns, and it’s getting rougher by the day. Multiple big-name players are set to miss the Texas Bowl against the Missouri Tigers with injury, for the NFL draft and even suspensions. But they’ll try and secure a winning season in this game.
Missouri was a very weird team this season. It went 0-5 against bowl teams this year, but 7-0 against teams who didn’t make it to a bowl. It’s looked great at times but awful in others. The defense has had a lot of trouble getting off the field, and if Texas wants to win, the best place to start would be keeping them out there for as long as possible.
Texas will be without some of its best players in the game, but it still is favored by a small margin. Texas is simply the more talented team, even without big names like Connor Williams, DeShon Elliott, and Holton Hill, who will all be missing the game.
Drew Lock is the player to watch for Missouri. The quarterback completed 224 of 385 passes for 3,695 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
Below is all you need to know to watch the game on Wednesday.
Time, TV channel, and streaming info
Time : 9 p.m. ET
: 9 p.m. ET Location : NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas TV : ESPN
: ESPN Streaming : WatchESPN
: WatchESPN Odds: Missouri opened as very narrow 1-point favorites for the matchup
Texas vs. Missouri news:
Texas vs. Missouri prediction:
This should be a close one, with Missouri very narrowly favored. But we’re going with Texas to take this one — it simply has too much talent.
Be sure to check out all our bowl predictions here.
College football's first bowl game was almost its last
Final Statistics | Texas notes | Postgame press conference quotes | Longhorns honor Tommy Nobis
HOUSTON – Behind a stellar defensive performance and precision punting by junior Michael Dickson , The University of Texas Longhorns (7-6) defeated the Missouri Tigers (7-6), 33-16, in the 2017 Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Longhorn defense forced four turnovers and scored nine points while holding a Missouri offense that entered the game averaging 511.5 yards of total offense to just 390 yards.
Dickson, a unanimous All-American and this season's Ray Guy Award recipient and Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year, added Texas Bowl MVP to his accolades after 10 of his 11 punts pinned the Tigers inside their own 15-yard line. Eight Mizzou drives started at or inside their own 10-yard line, including two at the 3-yard line, one at the 4-yard line and another at the 2-yard line.
Texas received the opening kick and quickly moved down field, taking a 7-0 lead just 1:32 into the game when sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele found freshman running back Daniel Young wide open on a wheel route for a 22-yard touchdown. The drive was aided by two Missouri penalties for 25 yards, while Young picked up 12 yards on pair of runs before scoring on the pass from Buechele.
Young set career-highs with 64 receiving yards and 112 all-purpose yards on the day, while the score was the first receiving touchdown of his career.
The Longhorns' defense forced a three-and-out on Missouri's first possession, pushing the Tigers back three yards, allowing the offense to start their next possession at midfield following a 35-yard punt.
A keeper by Buechele for a 10-yard gain and a 4-yard run by Young advanced UT to the Mizzou 36, but the drive stalled. Dickson entered and pinned the Tigers deep in their own territory with a 33-yard punt that was downed at the 3-yard line.
Texas extended the lead late in the first quarter when freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger connected with junior wide receiver John Burt for a 7-yard toe-tap touchdown along the left side of the end zone to give Texas a 14-0 lead with 3:58 remaining in the frame. Ehlinger opened the drive with a 42-yard completion to Young, then scrambled for nine yards to the Mizzou 4-yard line. After losing three yards on a carry, Ehlinger hit Burt for the score.
On the day, Ehlinger completed 11-of-15 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 17 yards.
Both sides traded punts over the next four drives, with the Texas defense dominating the opening frame, forcing Mizzou into four three-and-outs to open the game and yielding only one first down in the first quarter.
Missouri got on the board early in the second quarter, wrapping up a 5-play, 50-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Ish Witter to cut the Texas lead to 14-7 with 12:10 remaining in the first half.
The magical season for the Texas defense picked up momentum on the next Missouri possession when junior nickel back P.J. Locke forced Witter to fumble at the Missouri 31. Junior linebacker Anthony Wheeler scooped it up at the 38 and raced down the left sideline for a touchdown, the first of his career, to give Texas a 21-7 advantage. The score was an FBS-leading eighth non-offensive touchdown on the year for the Longhorns, the most by a Texas team since the 2009 squad notched 11.
Texas forced another turnover on the next Mizzou possession when junior cornerback Davante Davis put a helmet on the ball and forced a fumble by tight end Al Okwuegbunam, which was picked up by junior linebacker Breckyn Hager at the UT 44-yard line. The fumble recovery by Hager was the first of his career.
Hager wore No. 60 in honor of Longhorn Legend Tommy Nobis, who passed away two weeks ago today on Dec. 13. The number 60 is retired in honor of Nobis and has been worn by only by six other Longhorns, including Hager's father Britt, who donned the number from 1984-1988 during his All-American career. Number "60" decals were prominent on the back of every Longhorn helmet.
Looking to take advantage of the turnover, Buechele connected on a 21-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Collin Johnson on the next play. However, a Longhorn penalty pushed the Horns back and they were forced to punt with 5:10 remaining in the half.
The scoreboard remained unchanged for the rest of the half as the teams headed to the locker rooms for the break.
Missouri came out firing to open the second half, scoring on the first play from scrimmage with a 79-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Lock to wide receiver Johnathon Johnson. A poor snap resulted in failed point after attempt by the Tigers, making the Texas lead 21-13.
The Tigers tacked on a 28-yard field goal with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter, making the score 21-16.
On the next Mizzou possession, a bad snap sailed over Lock's right shoulder and out of the back of the end zone for a safety, increasing the Texas lead to seven, 23-16.
A 36-yard kick return by senior Armanti Foreman on the ensuing kickoff and a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty against Mizzou helped set up a fourth quarter, 41-yard field goal by junior kicker Joshua Rowland to extend the Texas lead to 26-16 with 12:15 remaining in the game.
With 10:45 left to play, the Horns' began chewing up clock, putting together a 12-play, 42-yard drive that took 7:25 to execute and culminated with Dickson pinning Missouri at their 4-yard line. The highlight of the drive came on third-and-15 at the UT 41, when Foreman caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage, then sprinted 16 yards for the first down that kept the clock rolling.
Two plays later, Davis intercepted a Lock pass at the Missouri 14-yard line to seal the game for the Horns.
A penalty set the Horns up at the Mizzou 29, but after sophomore running back Kyle Porter rushed three times for nine yards, Foreman scored on an 18-yard reverse, with Ehlinger setting up a key block at the 3-yard line, to put Texas up 33-16.
Missouri looked to score in the waning seconds of the game, but junior defensive end Charles Omenihu strip-sacked Lock at the UT 32 with 17 seconds remaining and junior linebacker Edwin Freeman fell on it at the 28 to end the threat.
Lock had a FBS-leading 43 touchdown passes as play begin, but was held to just one on the day.
Junior linebacker Gary Johnson set a career-high with 10 tackles to lead the defense, while Locke had seven and Davis and Wheeler recorded six each.
The Missouri offense had the seventh-highest third down conversion percentage in the FBS (0.472) as play began, but Texas defense ranked fourth nationally (0.276) coming in and allowed the Tigers to convert on just 3-of-14 third downs.
Ehlinger and Buechele combined to complete 17-of-29 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns, while completing passes to nine different receivers.
The Texas Bowl victory is the first bowl victory for Texas since defeating Oregon State, 31-27, in the 2012 Alamo Bowl.
Two weeks after the passing of legendary Longhorn Tommy Nobis, the Texas Football program will honor him on Wednesday night against Missouri in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl. Nobis' No. 60 jersey is retired at UT, but comes out of retirement on rare occasion in order to recognize and honor him. On Tuesday afternoon, head coach Tom Herman spoke with Nobis' wife, Lynn, to request permission to have a Longhorn wear the No. 60 jersey in Wednesday's game.
"It was a sad day when we lost a Longhorn Legend in Tommy Nobis," Herman said. "There will never be a man that embodies the pride, passion and toughness of a Texas Football player more than Tommy Nobis. We knew our team wanted to honor him in the Texas Bowl and we talked to his wife Lynn about that."
Breckyn Hager , whose father Britt donned the No. 60 jersey in honor of Nobis from 1984-88 during his All-American career, will honor Nobis and his family by wearing No. 60 in Wednesday night's Texas Bowl. The program will also wear "60" decals on the back of every helmet.
"It's going to be a special night with our guys wearing a number 60 helmet decal and having a Longhorn legacy player like Breckyn, whose father Britt wore the number during his All-American career, in a 60 jersey for this game," Herman continued. "We join everyone in paying tribute to a beloved Longhorn and a great man."
"It is a huge honor to have the chance to wear Tommy Nobis' number 60 on Wednesday night," Hager said after finding out. "Growing up, my dad constantly talked about Nobis being the standard of Texas Football, and also the importance of the 60 jersey that he wore so proudly throughout his career. Mr. Nobis set the standard at The University of Texas and I am truly honored to have the chance to wear it in honor of him and his family during the Texas Bowl."
Derrick Johnson was the last Longhorn to wear Nobis' No. 60 in a game, as he did so on Senior Night in a 2004 victory over Texas A&M. Dusty Renfro wore it in the 1999 Cotton Bowl against Mississippi State , while Brian Jones (1989-90), Britt Hager (1984-88), Jeff Leiding (1981-83) and Robin Sendlein (1978-80) have worn it for full seasons in honor of Nobis.
"There's not a more iconic Longhorn than Tommy Nobis," Johnson said. "I wanted to pay tribute to him and what he meant not only to our program but College Football and the NFL. I felt so honored to wear his number 60 on senior night at DKR and am truly blessed that I was able to get to know him. He was a special player and an amazing man."
Nobis played for the Longhorns from 1963-65 and was inducted into the Longhorn Men's Hall of Honor in 1976. His No. 60 is retired by both The University of Texas and the Atlanta Falcons, as he joins Earl Campbell, Bobby Layne, Ricky Williams, Vince Young and Colt McCoy as the only Longhorns to have their jerseys retired at UT. He was Texas' first-ever No. 1 overall draft pick.
At Texas, Nobis was an offensive guard and linebacker on the 1963 Longhorn team which claimed UT's first national championship. He went on to earn every honor available to a lineman during the next two seasons, even though a knee injury would slow him down in 1965. He won the Maxwell Award as the nation's best player and the Outland Trophy as the nation's best lineman. He was a two-time All-American (1964-65) and a three-time All-Southwest Conference honoree (1963-65).
In eleven professional seasons, he led the Falcons in tackles nine times, went to five Pro Bowls (one in 1972 after two knee surgeries), was named All-Pro twice and was chosen for the NFL's "All-Decade Team" for the 1960s despite playing on a team that won only 16 games in their first five years of existence. As the first member of the Atlanta Falcons, he gained the nickname of "Mr. Falcon." In his first season, he was not only chosen the NFL Rookie of the Year and voted to the Pro Bowl, but amassed 294 tackles, which still stands as an NFL record.
After his playing days, Nobis remained loyal to the Falcons, working in the front office for nearly 40 years after his 11-year playing career.
Nobis is a member of the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame, in addition to the Longhorn Men's Hall of Honor. He is also in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.
