Shock The Nation: 25 Years Later

As I’m sure all dedicated Longhorns fans know, this year marks the 10th Anniversary of the 2005 National Championship team, arguably one of the greatest Longhorn teams ever.  However, this year also marks the 25th Anniversary of another noteworthy Texas Longhorns squad, the 1990 team.

For the younger readers out there, it’s important to remember that things were vastly different in 1990.  The Longhorns were then members of the Southwest Conference, a conference struggling for survival amid rampant recruiting violations, NCAA sanctions and the move of elite talent to Florida.  The national powers of the day were Miami, Notre Dame, Florida State and Colorado while traditional state schools like Alabama, USC, Ohio State and yes, Texas, were mired in mediocrity.

The Longhorns in particular were struggling.  Long before the era of Longhorns Inc., the program had fallen from national championship highs to a program that struggled just to achieve bowl eligibility.  They were run by a largely unpopular Athletic Director whom detractors felt was more interested in making money than winning championships, headed by a coach that some felt was in over his head, suffering from years of poor recruiting and divided by a fractured fanbase and meddlesome boosters.  Does any of this sound familiar?

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Making matters worse, Texas had lost their last two games of the 1989 season in embarrassing fashion, including a humiliating 50-7 home loss to Baylor.  They entered the 1990 season unranked and largely overlooked by the national media. No one, not even the most burnt orange of faithful, believed that 1990 would be much better.

The 1990 Longhorns were a senior-led bunch that vowed that they would not go out losers. They opened the season with a road game at Penn State (season opening road game at an Eastern power. Deja vu?) and upset Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions 17-13.  In the post-game celebration, Safety Lance Gunn shouted “We Shocked The World”, and thus the Shock The Nation tour began.

Pre-season National Championship favorites Colorado loomed next, and Texas proved to a national television audience that the Penn State game was no fluke.  Texas led favored Colorado in the fourth quarter before the Buffs, who would go on to win a share of the title in 90, rallied for the win.  After the game, the Horns seniors swore they would not lose again, and in 1990, they were right.

The 1990 Horns were notorious slow starters who trailed in 9 of 12 games that season.  However, they developed a knack for making plays when they had to.  No one exhibited this trait more than QB Peter Gardere, who would play terrible for three quarters, then lead the team to a score when they needed it, such as his fourth quarter game winner to Keith Cash against Oklahoma.

They were lucky when they needed to be lucky, such as when OU’s last second field goal drifted wide.  They could put their foot down when they had to, such as when they exploded for 29 fourth quarter points against Arkansas.  And on one particular November night, they were outright dominating.

That was the night they throttled #3 Houston 45-24, demolishing Houston QB David Klingler’s Heisman hopes.  That night, the 90 Horns reached their high point, perhaps even the high point of the McWilliams era.

The Longhorns clinched their first SWC in seven years with a 23-13 win at Baylor, earning them their first Cotton Bowl berth since fumbling away the 84 game, and a possible National Championship with it.  Then, for good measure, they ended a six game losing streak to the Aggies by stopping an A&M two point conversion attempt.

The 1990 Horns were a team the got by on heart an determination more than talent.  A senior-laden players team determined to erase past failures.

As a fan, the 1990 team was special for me because it was the first time in my life that Texas football mattered.  Up until that point, I had only casually followed college football and I had been too young to appreciate the last of Fred Akers’ best teams.  Those Horns, with their never quit, find a way attitude, battled their way into my heart and cemented my status as a Longhorn fan.  (I actually split my allegiance between Texas and Tech in those days)

When the regular season ended, Texas was #3 in the country, 10-1 overall, 8-0 in the SWC and had a real shot at a National Championship.  In the Pre-BCS days, #1 vs #2 match-ups were rare, and 1990 was one of those crazy years when no one seemed to want the title.  #1 Colorado was locked into the Orange Bowl but had a loss and a tie on their record and had needed a blown official’s call to avoid a second loss.  #2 Georgia Tech was undefeated with one tie and was locked into the Citrus Bowl, but many felt that they were unworthy of that high ranking.  Texas, with a convincing win over #4 Miami in the Cotton Bowl, had a legitimate claim.

Texas Longhorns

However, The Shock The Nation tour could only end in shocking fashion and it did.  The Longhorns entered the 1991 Cotton Bowl with a “happy to be here” attitude and were steamrolled by Miami 46-3.  The crushing loss didn’t just end the Longhorn’s best season in years on a sour note, it shattered the McWilliams era.  A year later, after a 5-6 season, McWilliams was gone and the rebuilding continued.

There were no Vince Youngs or Ricky Williams on that 1990 team.  Instead they were a team of role players who fit together just right.  A few, such as S Stanley Richard and DE Shane Dronett went on to productive NFL careers, but most faded from the spotlight.  Gardere is probably better known today as James Van Der Beek’s stand-in in Varsity Blues than he is for his on-the-field exploits, even though he is still the only quarterback to go 4-0 in the Red River Rivalry.

It would be five years before Texas could claim another conference crown and many more before they were truly elite again.  In retrospect, it was clear all along that Texas was living a charmed life that year.  It was that special kind of year when everything came together and they caught lightning in a bottle for a few precious weeks.

Still, for a fledgling fan looking for a team to hang his hat on, those Longhorns came along at just the right time and with just the right swagger.  They were a flawed team that managed to overcome their flaws and somehow found a way to win.  There have certainly been better Longhorns teams than the 1990 edition; teams that were more talented and more accomplished.  However, there may never be a Texas team that played with more heart.

(For a more in-depth look into the 1990 Longhorns, check out the excellent book Bleeding Orange by John Maher and Kirk Bohls, a must read for any Longhorns fan)