2005-06 College Bowls

SAN DIEGO – It wasn't quite Tommy Lewis coming off the bench for Alabama to tackle Rice's Dicky Maegle in the 18th Cotton Bowl in 1954. But it was close.

Mack Brown's stepson, Chris Jessie, a member of Brown's football operations staff, briefly became the focal point of the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl against Arizona State on Thursday night in one of the most bizarre plays in Longhorns' history.

Texas appeared to have the ball at the Arizona State 44 with 12:40 left in the second quarter after a fumble by ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter. But just before UT defensive end Aaron Lewis picked up the loose ball near the Texas sideline, Jessie was ruled to have bent over and touched the ball while it was still live on the field.

"I thought it was a forward pass and thought the play was over," Jessie said. "I backed up once I realized the play was still alive and didn't touch the ball. But I felt horrible. Mack told me, 'We'll pull it out, and it won't matter.' I just hoped the momentum wouldn't swing too much."

After the game, Brown said, "Our family wanted to win the game so badly, he thought he'd help."

Walking off the field at halftime, Brown told ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters he didn't know who on his staff was flagged for touching the ball. Salters said it appeared to be his stepson, and Brown acknowledged it was Jessie, adding, "He wants to crawl under a rock."

It was Brown who ran onto the field and yanked Jessie away from the ball. Brown's director of football operations, Cleve Bryant, was also on the field when Jessie was flagged. UT had already received a warning from officials for failing to stand behind the sideline.

VERNON BRYANT / DMN

Chris Jessie, a member of the Texas staff and Mack Brown's stepson, reaches for what he mistakenly thinks is a dead ball.

Replays failed to show conclusively if Jessie touched the ball, but Texas was called for illegal touching, giving Arizona State the ball back. It was not a personal foul, so ASU was not given an automatic first down.

Instead of Texas having the ball at the Arizona State 44, ASU lined up facing fourth-and-3 from the Texas 7. Carpenter then threw a touchdown pass to Chris McGaha, cutting UT's lead to 21-7 with 12:36 left in the second quarter. ASU seized the momentum, stuffing Texas for minus-14 yards on the Longhorns' next drive.

As the Sun Devils came to life, ESPN showed numerous shots of Jessie on the sideline looking despondent. Jessie is the son of Brown's wife, Sally, from a previous marriage.

Despite the blunder, the Sun Devils couldn't sustain the momentum, and Texas scored again before the half on its way to a 28-10 lead at intermission.