 "Photo: Caleb Miller")
 "Photo: Caleb Miller")
Ask them, and the Longhorns will tell you the win was never in question.
Not when they were down at halftime or still trailing Nebraska going into the fourth quarter.
Not even when their offense was held to nothing but field goals by a Cornhusker defense ranked 115 of 119 in rush defense until their final four drives.
"In football games, there's always some ups and downs," said offensive lineman Chris Hall. "I would never say the Texas Longhorns are ever scared."
As if it was scripted, No. 17 Texas (7-2, 3-2 Big 12) needed a fourth-quarter comeback and another game-saving onside kick recovery by Brandon Foster to slip by Nebraska (4-5, 1-4) 28-25, avoiding two consecutive home losses and giving coach Mack Brown his 100th win at Texas.
"The players made sure it was one I would remember for a long time," Brown said. "The thing I told them in the dressing room was that 100 is nice."
Though he joins Darrell Royal as the only other coach in school history to reach 100 wins, Brown didn't publicize hitting the century mark as the Longhorns coach or give his team a "win one for the gipper" speech before kickoff.
But the players still realize the importance of Saturday's win.
"I must've came in at the right time," Hills said. "I've come in for a couple Rose Bowl games, Big 12 Championships, a National Championship and now coach Brown's 100th victory. It's a heck of an honor."
And Saturday he's seen one of the most suspenseful finishes in the Texas-Nebraska history.
Though there was no snow or heroic field goals, the fourth-quarter comeback had perhaps the most electric atmosphere at Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium this season.
Though Texas scored first on a Ryan Bailey field goal, Nebraska fended off Texas' offense through the first half and didn't allow Texas to put any more points on the board while Nebraska took a 10-3 lead into the locker room.
The Cornhuskers had a bye week before coming to Austin, which helped them take the Longhorns by surprise early in the game.
"We kind of knew what Texas was doing all week and practiced for it," said Nebraska safety Ben Eisenhart. "That's why we were successful the first three quarters and we had a little let down in the fourth."
Nebraska's most effective game plan was a non-stop barrage of blitzes.
Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis estimated the Cornhuskers blitzed on more than 70 percent of their defensive snaps, which caused disruption in Texas' passing and running games.
"I've never been in a game where they're going to blitz every play. Literally every play they were bringing somebody, and most of the time they were bringing everybody," said Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. "It took us a whole half to figure out what was going to work."
So Davis overhauled Texas' offensive strategy at halftime. Though the Longhorns couldn't break through until the fourth quarter, Texas' adjustments are likely what made the difference in the game.
"We talked about being able to run the ball," Davis said. "We felt like if we could get Jamaal [Charles] through the secondary, then we had some opportunities for some big plays because of the amount of people they were committing to rush the passer."
Through the third quarter, Nebraska handled Texas' rushing attack well and allowed just two field goals and clung to a 17-9 lead.
But in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns finally wore down the Cornhuskers' much maligned rush defense as Charles gained 216 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns.
Charles' big runs came because Texas stuck with the ground game and didn't try to make McCoy, who completed just 44 percent of his passes in the first three quarters, win the game with his arm.
Texas also brought out the zone read, which seemed to spark the 19-point fourth quarter, and both Charles and McCoy had several long runs during the Texas comeback.
"I couldn't be prouder of our players or our offensive coaches being able to totally switch gears at halftime," Davis said.
The offensive adjustments led to a momentum shift big enough to let Texas take grab hold of a 28-17 lead with 3:34 left in the game. The Cornhuskers attempted their own comeback by scoring a touchdown on their next possession, though, bringing them to within a field goal and setting up Foster's third onside kick recovery this season with 1:55 left.
Texas used five rushes to kill the clock and take another close conference game.
It was a tough win. And though Texas didn't have a solid lead until late in the game, there didn't seem to be any anxiety or sighs of relief among the players.
"We were never nervous," Hills said. "Never nervous."
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