AUSTIN, Texas -- Major Applewhite deserves to start his last game for Texas after a strong backup performance in the Big 12 championship game, coach Mack Brown said Friday.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since he announced Tuesday that Applewhite will start against Washington in the Holiday Bowl, Brown praised quarterback Chris Simms and criticized some fans.

"I thought it was in the best interest of both kids and our team to go ahead and announce who would start," rather than wait until the team resumes practice next week, Brown said.

"And the real reason that Major's going to play in this game is he had momentum at the end of the last game and he gives us momentum going into the Washington game.

"It probably would have been best for next year to just let Chris go ahead and play in that game. But we need to beat Washington. I want to win 11 games."

Simms started the entire season for No. 10 Texas (10-2) but committed four first-half turnovers in a 39-37 loss to Colorado in the Big 12 championship game.

Applewhite came on in the second quarter and nearly rallied Texas to a win, passing for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Simms also dislocated a knuckle on his throwing hand on the play before he was taken out.

The Colorado game reopened the most controversial aspect of Brown's four years in Austin: whether to play Simms, the son of former Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, or Applewhite, the school's career passing leader.

Brown said he still has faith in Simms and that he will be the starter next season.

"A lot of people wanted to get on Chris," Brown said. "Chris has done a tremendous job. Tiger Woods has hit some balls in the water.

"Chris is tough as nails. I think he'll have a chance to win all the games for us next year."

Brown was criticized in the Texas media for announcing his QB decision Tuesday on the team's Web site without being available to reporters.

"In my estimation, calling some press conference to announce who's going to play a position is not something that you do," Brown said. "I thought it was not best for the team to pit one kid against the other by talking about why we're going to play one over the other. I made a decision. I made it based on what I know and what I saw. If I get into that publicly, one kid is going to get hurt. I'm not going to do it."

The coach also criticized Texas fans who booed during the Colorado game and have flooded radio shows with calls critical of his players, most specifically Simms.

"I don't appreciate people being negative about a kid on this football team because they're 20-year-old kids," Brown said. "I make a whole lot of money, I'm the head coach at Texas and anybody that should be mad about anything should be mad at me. I'm a big boy and I can handle it."