Two weeks after being named the Texas’s starter, Heard posted 527 total yards of offense, breaking Vince Young’s previous single-game record of 506.
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Does Charlie Strong survive to coach next year at UT if they finish with 4 or 5 wins this year, which looks to be a definite possibility?
On the ensuing drive by the Longhorns, Jerrod Heard’s pass would be intercepted by a Cal linebacker that dropped into coverage.
“Our mindset is to go out and win the conference”, Strong said. The Longhorns appeared to have found their spark at quarterback in redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard but questions on defense and the struggles of the offensive line remained a valid concern. Coming into Saturday, the last Texas quarterback to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in a game was Colt McCoy in 2009.
Trailing by 21 in the fourth quarter, Heard said he never had a doubt that the Longhorns would catch up. One more embarrassment for the Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
The Longhorns lost 45-44 as a result.
“That’s my o-line making it slow down for me”, Heard said.
“I think we’re very capable of matching teams score for score”.
Cal scored on the next play – the beginning of a 24-0 run initially fueled by Freeman’s theatrics.
Moments after a missed extra point doomed Texas’ oh-so-close comeback, Strong’s tone was strikingly optimistic. “I’ve always looked up to him”. “We can really have growth from this and be a great team”. “I just said that to give you something to talk about. Because of what he’s done, they just know we have a chance with his hands on the ball”.
“That’s incredible”, play caller Jay Norvell said.
Texas’ players and staff consistently emphasize that Heard’s skills show up most when the lights are brightest, and it showed throughout his historic performance.
Texas’ defense ranks No. 118 among the nation’s 127 FBS schools in yards allowed (512.3 per game) and next-to-last in third-down conversions allowed (56.3 percent).
But the juice flowed through the Texas offense in the fourth quarter.
During a week in which Oklahoma State will head to Texas for its first significant test of the season, much attention will be paid to the Longhorn offense.
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“Yeah. We really do”, Ford said.
