While it's true that MSU hadn't scored many points up to that point (6), neither had Texas. Moreover, the Horns's offense had been very sporadic and, to that point, MSU's energy and fight had exceeded that of the Horns, IMO. The game was still in doubt -- all it would have taken is one freak play and MSU would have been in a position to tie the game. In a game like that, i.e., where you're having trouble sustaining drives and scoring points and the game is still in doubt, you take the 3, you make it a two-score game (which really ratchets up the pressure on MSU to have its inexperienced QBs start passing more), and you build on that momentum. Taking the points off the board was a bad decision. Fortunately, it didn't end up biting Texas, and it was counterbalanced by what I thought was some pretty good playcalling by Sark for much of the game.