Friday* December 1, 1995
ssxrc
Page 9B • The Battalion
‘Tyler Rose’ flourished in Akers’ offense
By Nick Georgandis
The Battalion
Whenever University of Texas running
back Earl Campbell got the ball, he always
had to make a decision.
Did he want to use his speed — stun
ning for a man of his size — and run
around the defense, or did he want to use
his dominating power, complemented by
36-inch thighs and a vicious stiff arm, and
run right through the defense.
He became a legend at Tyler John Tyler
High School, delivering that school its first
state championship since 1930 in his senior
year of 1973.
It did not take long for Campbell to show
his stuff to his Longhorn teammates. In the
fourth game of his freshman year against the
Washington Huskies, Campbell rushed for 125
yards and a touchdown on just 16 carries.
Texas had a productive 1974 season, finishing
8-2 on the year and Campbell set the Southwest
Conference freshman record with 928 yards.
The eyes of Texas had begun to stare di
rectly at Earl Campbell.
Change was the talk of the town in
1977. Former Texas coach Darrell Royal
moved up to the position of athletic direc
tor, and former coach Fred Akers returned
to Texas to take the head coaching job.
“Earl needed to adjust to me and to my sys
tem, and he did,” Akers said. “I was not Darrell
Royal, I was Fred Akers.”
University of Texas
Entered SWC: 1915
SWC Record: 356-150-14
Total: 703-278-33
Championships: 1920, 28, 30, 42, 43, 45, 50,
52, 53, 59, 61, 62, 63, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75,
77, 83, 90, 94
All-Time Coach:Darrell Royal: 1957-76:167-47-
5,109-27-2 SWC
Bowl Record: 17-16-2
Top 5 Players:
1. Earl Campbell,
Running Back
2. Bobby Layne,
Quarterback
3. Kenneth Sims,
Defensive Tackle
4. Eric Metcalf, Running Back
5. Dick Harris, Offensive Lineman
Top 5 Games:
1. Dec. 6, 1969: No. 1 Texas 15, No. 2 Arkansas
14: Often referred to as "The Game of the
Century." Texas was No. 1 at the time, Arkansas
was No. 2, Texas went on to win the national
championship.
2. Nov. 26, 1977: No. 1 Texas 57, No. 12 Texas
A&M 28: With the SWC championship at stake,
Earl Campbell rushes for 222 yards and scores
four touchdowns.
3. Jan.1,1963: No. 1 Texas 28, No. 2 Navy 6: At
the Cotton Bowl, the Texas defense demolishes
Roger Staubach's Midshipmen and earns its first
national championship.
4. Jan. 1, 1969: No. 1 Texas 21, No. 9 Notre
Dame 17: Against a surprisingly tough Fighting
Irish squad, Texas wins the national
championship.
5. Dec. 1, 1990: No. 5 Texas 28, Texas A&M 27:
The Longhorns break an, at the time,
uncharacteristic six game losing streak to the
Aggies, and return to the Cotton Bowl for the first
time since 1983.
Akers decided Campbell — if he could shed
some of his 240-pound bulk — would be the fo
cal point of the new offensive system.
“Fred Akers called me in to his office and
said, Tou want to run the football next year?’”
and I said ‘Sure,’” Campbell said. “He says,
“You know what the I formation is?’ and I told
him I had seen it. He told me if I got down to
225 pounds, I would be the man. He said I
would get about 35 carries a game.”
With those 35 carries a game enticing
him, Campbell attacked the weight-loss
program with ferocity.
“Every morning, I ran two or three miles, do
about 300 situps and then go hit a punching
bag,” Campbell said. “I would do that in the
morning, then go practice with the rest of the
team in the afternoon.”
Campbell lost the necessary weight and
started at halfback for the Longhorns. By
midseason, Campbell had become a tradi
tion in Austin. Every week, the Longhorns
would bury another opponent and Camp
bell would rush for over 100 yards.
One of Campbell’s most memorable games of
his Heisman Trophy season came against the
SWC-defending champion Houston Cougars in
a game played at Rice Stadium in Houston.
Texas’ run at the SWC title seemed in jeop
ardy when Campbell became severely ill with
the flu the week of the game.
“The night before the UH game, he had a
104-degree fever,” Akers said. “The next morn
ing, he still had the temperature, he was still
nauseous and I was thinking, What a time to
go without Earl.’”
But Campbell resolved to play, and by day’s
end, the Cougars were the only ones feeling
sick. Campbell rushed for 173 yards and three
touchdowns as UT won 35-21.
After his third touchdown, Campbell could
not stop himself in time, and became part of
Texas history when he bowled over a certain,
unsuspecting Longhorn steer.
“I think I’m the only one to ever knock Bevo
down,” Campbell said.
The Heisman appeared his to win or lose on
Thanksgiving Day, 1977, when the Longhorns
visited Kyle Field against an Aggie team that
still had hopes of forging a three-way tie with
UT and Arkansas for the SWC title.
The game was broadcast on national televi
sion and as Campbell came down the tunnel,
Akers gave him a message.
“Fred Akers came up to me and asked me if
I wanted to win the Heisman,” Campbell said.
“I said sure, and he said, ‘You get something
over 100 yards, you'll win it. You make those 30
carries today the best 30 of the season.’”
It was actually only 27 carries, but
Campbell made them count — much to the
Aggies’ chagrin. Campbell rushed for 222
yards and four touchdowns as the Long
horns routed the Aggies 57-28.
The victory gave the Longhorns the SWC
championship and made Campbell a shoe-in for
the coveted Heisman Trophy.
Campbell said he was unsure of its signifi
cance into his actual trip to the Downtown
Athletic Club in New York City.
“I didn’t really understand the Heisman un
til I got there,” Campbell said. “I started read
ing all the names on the side of the trophy and
thought, ‘Hey, my name should be on there.’”
Campbell easily outpolled Oklahoma State’s
Terry Miller for the Heisman, but he c could
not deliver the No. 1-ranked Longhorns their
first national championship since 1969. No. 5
Notre Dame routed the Longhorns 38-10.
Campbell finished his UT career with 4,443
yards and 41 touchdowns.
He went on to become the No. 1 pick in
the NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers, and
took his game to an even greater level with
them. He was Rookie of the Year and Most
Valuable Player in 1978, rushing for 1,450
yards including a memorable 199-yard per
formance on Monday Night Football
against the Miami Dolphins.
The following season, he again led the
league in rushing and won the MVP award.
In 1980, Campbell had his single-greatest
season at any level, rushing for 1,934 yards -r-,
at the time, the second-highest season total in
NFL history. Four times that season he rushed
for 200 or more yards in a game.
His career took a downturn from then, as in
juries and poor support hurt Campbell’s pro
duction. He was traded to the New Orleans
Saints in 1985, but never regained his former
explosive form and retired in 1986.
On July 27, 1991, he was inducted into the
NFL Hall of Fame, making him one of just
eight players to be elected to both the Colle
giate and Professional Football Halls of Fame.
Today, Campbell runs his own business and
serves as a special assistant to the athletic direc
tor for student affairs at the University of Texas.
Saturday, Campbell’s Longhorns will help
end the Southwest Conference when they clash
with Texas A&M at Kyle Field.
When asked about the end of Southwest
Conference football, Campbell was quiet for a
minute, and spoke rather softly.
“I’m going to miss the SWC,” Campbell said.
“You grow up with something, and it really be
comes a part of your life. It’s something you can
count on. It really becomes a part of you.”
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