Nov. 9, 2007

By Luke Blount

On November 9, 1974, the Baylor Bears fought back from a 24-7 deficit to stun the No. 12 Texas Longhorns 34-24 in Waco. The victory, which was deemed the "Miracle on the Brazos," was the first for the Bears against the Horns since 1956.

"It's been a long time in coming for them, and they deserve it," said Texas head coach Darrell Royal. "That doesn't keep my stomach from turning over, but I am pleased for them. They've waited a long time."

The Bears swiftly took the lead on their first possession of the game as quarterback Neal Jeffrey threw a 69-yard bomb to Alcy Jackskon for a touchdown. However, that would be Baylor's only score of the half.The Longhorns would control the remainder of the first period.

After a Baylor fumble at midfield, Texas slowly moved down the field until they gambled on fourth and one at the Baylor 23 yard-line and scored their first touchdown.

Texas would then score on each of their next three possessions as Baylor quarterbacks Jeffrey and Mark Jackson each threw an interception. Baylor had one more scoring opportunity, but kicker David Hicks missed his 44-yard try to end the half 24-7.

After the dismal start, the Bears returned from their locker rooms ready to play. Baylor blocked a Texas punt on the first possession of the half and quickly scored with a Jeffrey run on fourth down.

"We corrected some things and reminded them of our game with Florida State where we came from behind 0-17 to win," said Baylor head coach Grant Teaff. "Now, Texas is not a Florida State, but we came out and didn't make any mistakes."

After a missed Texas field goal, the Bears struck again as Jeffrey threw a 54-yard touchdown to Ricky Thompson to tighten the score at 24-21. It was Jeffrey's second touchdown pass of over 50 yards in the game. Jeffrey would throw for 351 yards on the day, good for second all-time in Baylor history at the time.

The Bears wouldn't wait long for their next score as they recovered a Texas fumble at the Horns' 33 yard-line and scored on a 6-yard run by Phillip Kent. With a the Bear lead of 28-24, Baylor never looked back, intercepting two more passes and kicking two field goals to seal the victory.

"It was a big one," said Teaff. "The biggest? Yeah, I guess it was because of what it meant. The championship was on the line."

After the game, Coach Royal entered Baylor's locker room to speak to the team. "I want to congratulate you sincerely on a great victory, and it was a great victory" he said. "You had a chance to quit but you never did, and you carried the fight to us. Don't look back. Go all the way."

And the Bears did go all the way, winning out in the regular season, including a victory over No. 20 Texas Tech the next week. With a 6-1 conference record, the Bears won their first SWC championship in 50 years. Baylor earned a spot in the Cotton Bowl where they lost to Penn State 41-20. Following the season, linebacker Derrel Luce and center Aubrey Schulz were selected as 1974 All-Americans.