The last time Texas played West Virginia, the forward pass was still looked upon with skepticism, Memorial Stadium only held 30,000 spectators and somebody named Elvis Presley had just released his first single, “Heartbreak Hotel.”
On Saturday, the Longhorns and Mountaineers will meet again in Austin, the first time the two schools have faced off since Oct. 6, 1956. West Virginia got the best of that matchup, winning 7-6, and thus holds the series advantage, 1-0.
“West Virginia held Texas to two plays at the one-foot line late in the game to seal the victory,” current UT coach Mack Brown said. “It was decided by a missed extra point.”
In the game, the Mountaineers completed four passes — on nine attempts — for a total of 46 yards. Current WVU quarterback Geno Smith, in a 70-63 win over Baylor last weekend, had four completions within the first five minutes of the game, had over 46 passing yards with over two minutes remaining in the first quarter and had attempted nine passes by the first gun.
In all, Smith threw for eight touchdowns and 656 yards.
“Things are different now,” Brown deadpanned.
Texas went 1-9 in 1956, prompting the team to part ways with coach Ed Price and hire Darrell K Royal away from the University of Washington. Forty years later, Royal became the namesake at Texas Memorial.
Box scores from 1956 aren’t as detailed as they are now, but we do know the game was played under “warm and calm” weather, with temperatures at 85 degrees and little wind. That’s perfect throwing condition nowadays but back then, the teams chose to keep the ball mostly on the ground.
West Virginia ran the ball 58 of its 67 plays on offense. The Longhorns, who had 70 plays, ran the ball 45 times for a total of 133 yards. The two squads combined to punt 11 times.
Joe Clements stood out for Texas. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown pass of five yards with 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Clements, a two-way player, also had an interception. Johnny Elam missed the extra point, then missed a 45-yard field goal that would have won the game with five seconds remaining.
According to Daily Texan archives, Texas’ offensive line averaged about 205 pounds in 1956, exactly 100 pounds less than 2012′s starting o-line averages.
Box scores from the game also say Texas used only 14 players. This Saturday, defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will have at least that many players ready to go on his unit, as keeping up with West Virginia’s quick-tempo ought to prove exhausting.
“It’s the ultimate challenge,” Diaz said. “As a player, for me as a coach, it’s a game you want to play in. Thankful it’s in front of our fans. Our fans have a chance to add an impact on this football game. I would think it’s the type of game you want in your stadium.”
A stadium, by the way, which holds 70,000 more people than it did last time these two teams squared off.
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Source:
http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10/much-has-changed-since-west-virginia-topped-texas-7-6-in-1956.html/