SAN ANTONIO — Mack Brown's finish at Texas was somehow fitting. The end came mercifully, with his overmatched Texas team beaten soundly – but not embarrassed – by Oregon, 30-7 Alamo Bowl.
A 16-year tenure fizzled in the last few years in large part because of a dearth of good quarterback play. Monday night, it was more of the same – right from the start. On the third play, Case McCoy's pass bounced off a receiver's hands, was intercepted by safety Avery Patterson, who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.
And although Oregon didn't quite steamroll the Longhorns. the Ducks were in control most of the way from that point. Midway through the fourth quarter, another McCoy interception was returned for a touchdown, stretching the Ducks' lead to 30-7.
Fans wore burnt orange shirts with the message "THANKS MACK." As it played "One Day More" from Les Miserables, the Texas marching band spelled out "MACK BROWN." Even Bevo, the mascot, wore "MACK" on his halter.
New Texas athletic director Steve Patterson, while deflecting questions about his search for Brown's replacement – except to say he wanted a hire by the time recruiting reopens Jan. 15 – praised Brown and said he hoped for a nice ending.
"Mack's had a great 16-year career here," Patterson said before the game. "He brought a national championship. He's operated with class – no issues in terms of recruiting or academics or ethics. We'd all love to see him go out with a win."
None of it mattered. As 65,918 watched at the Alamodome, Texas fell to 8-5. Since losing to Alabama in the 2010 BCS national championship game, the Longhorns' cumulative record is 30-21 in the last four seasons. Texas is 4-16 in its past 20 games against Top 25 opponents.
Oregon (11-2) wasn't as smooth as it can be. But sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota appeared to have recovered from a knee injury that hampered him and the Ducks' offense in November. He rushed for 134 yards on 15 carries and was 18 of 26 for 253 yards and a touchdown. In the first half, he accounted for 262 of Oregon's 296 total yards; the Ducks led 20-7.
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