Texas' second half dominance leads to upset win over Beavers

SAN ANTONIO -- In a game seemingly dominated by No. 13 Oregon State, it was No. 23 Texas' efforts near the finale of Saturday's Alamo Bowl that gave the Longhorns the win.

As the third quarter wound down, the OSU redshirt freshman running back Storm Woods ran in his second rushing touchdown of the game, giving the Beavers a 10-point lead. OSU (9-4, 6-3 Pac-12) had been controlling the game through three quarters.

But Texas (9-4, 5-4 Big 12) hung around, and in the final 15 minutes, capitalized on the windows of opportunity Oregon State left them.

"We never really did get back to running the ball like we did in the first half," said Oregon State head coach Mike Riley. "I just don't think, offensively, we ever got anything going, and that allowed them too many chances."

Texas' final two drives ended with touchdowns. The second of those two scores was a 36-yard pass from sophomore quarterback David Ash to senior wide receiver Marquise Goodwin with 2:24 remaining.

It was the first lead in the entire game for the Longhorns.

"I felt like we had this game, we had this team," said sophomore safety Ryan Murphy. "But then again, it's on us players to keep each other ... focused on the task ahead."

Goodwin was responsible for two huge touchdowns. The 36-yard game-winner and a 64-yard run in the second quarter.

The athleticism of Goodwin, who is also a track and field Olympian, proved to be a vital cause for Texas' resurgence.

"Goodwin had two long plays in the game for touchdowns, and that was going to be something that was going to be hard for us to deal with," Riley said. "We couldn't give up big plays, and we gave up two big ones."

Goodwin was named the Alamo Bowl's Offensive MVP. He had four receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown, and the 64-yard rushing touchdown was his only carry.

Aside from the loss to Oregon in the Civil War, OSU's other three losses have appeared to be more about the Beavers letting the win slip through their fingers, rather than the other team being superior.

"It's definitely a game that we feel that we slip away," said junior quarterback Cody Vaz.

Statistically, the two halves could not look any more different.

At halftime, the Beavers had outgained Texas by 105 yards, were up by 10 points and Woods had 98 yards rushing. At the end of the game, it was Texas that outgained OSU -- by 61 yards, and Woods was held to just 20 yards on the ground.

"It's very obvious that's what was the difference in the second half. We didn't have the running game that we did early," Riley said.

Riley said he knows he will regret some of the calls he made in the game when he goes through and evaluates the film. He is, however, still only having positive thoughts about the 2012 Beavers now that the season is over.

"This was a great team, in all senses of the word," Riley said. "This group fought together hard, came back from a real rough year a year ago with just a great attitude, a great offseason, lots of fun to work with."

Warner Strausbaugh, sports editor

On Twitter @WStrausbaugh

sports@dailybarometer.com