The postgame celebration felt like a throwback to 2009, the last time they were nationally relevant.
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The Texas quarterback broke a tackle, burst up the middle and stretched the ball across the line as the Longhorns earned a huge victory for embattled coach Charlie Strong after two losing seasons. It was pandemonium in Austin. “We’ve got to get Drue back out there”. “This is a win to get us back”.
But is that really where the Longhorns are headed?
“We work too hard and we sacrificed too much to feel good in any way”, Kelly said following Sunday’s loss.
True freshman quarterback Shane Buechele got the nod, but senior Tyrone Swoopes made his impact felt throughout the night, especially when the “18-wheeler” rumbled into the endzone for a six-yard rushing touchdown in the second overtime to give Texas a 50-47 win over No. 10 Notre Dame. In addition to playing at Texas A&M a year ago, the Wolf Pack played at Florida State and UCLA in 2013. Texas finished 5-7.
St. Brown had a breakout game against the Longhorns.
While this will be the biggest stage the Wolf Pack plays on this season – Notre Dame Stadium, which has sold out every game this year, seats 80,795 – the Wolf Pack’s older players have experience in these kinds of atmospheres.
Strong wants this to be different. “We played very well”.
We’ll have up-to-the-minute scoring and stats here throughout the game. “It’s going to be a great challenge for us”.
An improved offense should help Texas in its pursuit of consistency.
That was when Zaire had command of the No. 1 job until he fractured his ankle in Week 2 against Virginia, after which Kizer threw a game-winning heave to Will Fuller and powered a 10-win season for the Irish.
Going into the season opener with Note Dame, there were more than a few questions about who would be starting for Texas.
Texas has been excited about quarterbacks in recent years only to be disappointed. That included a 72-yard TD and another 68-yard completion.
Buechele threw a flawless deep ball to John Burt that would have been a TD on UT’s second possession.
But Swoopes won the game with powerful goal-line runs. With Texas needing a touchdown in the second overtime, Swoopes lined up and bounced off defenders before stretching for the end zone in a play that will live in Texas football history.
While some of Notre Dame’s preseason concerns showed up, there were also expected strengths that let the Irish down at times.
“It’s great conversation for everybody to have, but it’s so short-sighted of what really happened in the Texas game”, Kelly said. I’ll take the questions, and I would say, ‘Fair enough.’ We’re in Game 1. We knew the package we had with him. Notre Dame was trailing 31-14, not 31-17. This is one of the 10 or so most prestigious college football programs that’s ever existed, with all the money in the world and an overflowing recruiting base. “You’ll see more and more of the nonconference and higher-profile (games)”. Hunter was on the ground for minutes and the Big 12 replay booth can step in and inform the officials on the field that the play needs to be reviewed.
“It’s the first game”. But Iowa State lost to Northern Iowa in Matt Campbell’s debut. The conference gets three chances to prove itself against power-conference teams next week.
Texas: Texas hosts Texas-El Paso, which beat New Mexico State 38-22.
When asked about what went wrong in Oklahoma’s loss to Houston on Saturday, Sooners coach Bob Stoops pointed to a field-goal return for a touchdown in the third quarter. But on the ensuing PAT, Domingue’s kick was blocked and returned for ND, resulting in two points and a 37-37 tie. They are both fine, Kelly said.
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“We’re not trying to keep it close”, said Nevada coach Brian Polian, a former Notre Dame assistant.
