The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Cal
No. 11/16 Football travels to California for Saturday night showdown
09.12.2016 | Football
The Longhorns (2-0) will take on the Golden Bears (1-1) Saturday night in Berkeley
Texas game notes | California game notes | Big 12 weekly notes
The Opening Kickoff
The No. 11/16 University of Texas Longhorns return to action when they take to the road for the first time this season to face the California Golden Bears. Texas, 2-0 for the first time since the 2012 season, is coming off a 41-7 victory over UTEP. They also defeated No. 10/9 Notre Dame 50-47 in double-overtime to open the season. Cal, whose season began on Aug. 26 in Sydney, Australia with a win over Hawaii, is coming off a 45-40 loss at San Diego State on Saturday night. For the Golden Bears, Saturday night's game will be their home opener. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. PT at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.
National Game Coverage
• Saturday night's game at California will kickoff at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Mark Jones will call the action with Rod Gilmore joining him in the booth for analysis. Quint Kessenich will be on the sidelines.
• Tune into LHN's Texas GameDay show live beginning two hours before kickoff.
• A national radio broadcast can be heard on Sirius channel 136, XM channel 199 and online channel 953.
Longhorns Remain In National Rankings
• Texas enters Saturday's game at California ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll.
• The No. 11 ranking marks the first time since weeks three and four of the 2010 season that the Longhorns have been ranked as high as 11 in consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 poll. Prior to jumping into the rankings a week ago, Texas had not been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll since Dec. 2013.
• The Longhorns No. 16 ranking in the Coaches Poll is their highest since being ranked 16th in week two of the 2013 season. Last week, UT was ranked 20th in the poll, their first appearance since week two of the 2014 season.
A Texas Win Would...
• Mark the Longhorns 889th win in program history
• Be Charlie Strong's 51st career coaching victory
• Improve Texas' record to 6-1 all-time against California, including a 3-0 record on the road in Berkeley
• Give Texas their first 3-0 start since the 2012 season when they started 4-0
Strong Records 50th Career Win Over UTEP
• Texas head coach Charlie Strong picked up his 50th career win with Saturday night's 41-7 victory over UTEP. In just his seventh season as a head coach, Strong's teams have registered an 11-win season, a 12-win season, and three bowl including a Sugar Bowl title. Strong has a career record of 50-30 (.625) and a record of 13-14 (.481) at Texas.
Buechele Making History Early At Texas
• Shane Buechele (Arlington, Texas) became the first true freshman quarterback at Texas to start the first two games of his career on Saturday night. He was just the second true freshman QB in school history to start the season opener, joining Bobby Layne in 1944.
• In two games, Buechele has completed 38-of-53 (71.7%) passes for 524 yards. He has passed for six touchdowns compared to just one INT.
• Buechele has used his legs effectively as well, rushing 16 times for 67 yards and a touchdown.
• In the season-opening win against No. 10 Notre Dame, Buechele was 16-of-26 for a true freshman-record 280 yards passing. Against UTEP, he passed for a true freshman-record four touchdowns.
• His two victories as a true freshman quarterback are tied for third all-time at Texas.
• Through two games, Buechele has already matched the true freshman record with six touchdown passes in a season. Bobby Layne also passed for six in 1944.
• David Ash set the record for true freshman passing yards in a season with 1,079 in 2011. Ash started six games that season.
• Buechele has gone over 200 yards passing in each of his first two games. Only one other true freshman quarterback has had a 200 yard passing game in the 124-year history of Texas Football, as Rick McIvor did so against Baylor in 1979.
Gilbert's Offense Paying Dividends
• Through two games, the Texas offense appears to be more prolific than it has been in quite some time. The Longhorns have scored 91 points and are averaging 466.5 yards per game thus far.
• After totaling just nine passing touchdowns a season ago, the Longhorns already have six in the first two weeks of the season.
• Eight different receivers have already caught a pass for the Longhorns, while five have caught a touchdown pass. A season ago, just six players caught a touchdown pass.
• Texas had 517 yards of total offense in the season opener against No. 10 Notre Dame. It was the first time that the Longhorns have totaled more than 500 yards of offense against a ranked opponent since doing so against Baylor in 2011 - 53 games prior.
• Through two weeks the Longhorns have one 100-yard rushing and one 100-yard receiving performance. Last season, Texas had nine 100-yard rushing performances and just two 100-yard receiving performances.
Defense Shines Against UTEP
• Texas defense came up big in Saturday's victory against UTEP, holding the Miners to just 208 total yards. UTEP had just 73 yards through the air and 10 total first downs.
• With their only score coming on a 51-yard rush, UTEP managed just 157 yards on their other 60 plays of the night (2.6 yards per play).
• The Longhorns forced a three-and-out on half of the Miners' 14 drives, while also forcing a fumble to end another drive.
• The 208 total yards allowed were the third-best defensive output for Texas in the Charlie Strong era, while the 73 passing yards were the second-best.
Horns Keep UTEP Out Of Red Zone
• In their 41-7 victory on Saturday night, the Texas defense did not allow UTEP an attempt in the red zone. The Miners' lone score came from 51 yards out.
• It was the first time since playing North Texas on Aug. 30, 2014 (25 games ago) that the Longhorns defense did not allow an opponent into the red zone in a game.
Heard Of Him Before
• Texas sophomore receiver Jerrod Heard made the most of his 21st birthday on Saturday, catching six passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns. The two touchdown receptions were the first of his career, in just his second career game at receiver.
• Heard's two receiving touchdowns against UTEP marked the Longhorns' first multi-touchdown receiving game by a single player since John Harris caught two versus Oklahoma in 2014. Since the beginning of the 2010 season, a span of 78 games, Heard's effort was just the seventh multi-touchdown receiving game.
• Since the 1980 season, just seven Longhorns have thrown a touchdown pass, caught a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown in their career.
Swoopes Excelling In 18-Wheeler Package
• Since the installation of the 18-wheeler package last season against Oklahoma State, quarterback Tyrone Swoopes has shined for the Longhorns. Not counting last season's TCU game, Swoopes has totaled 74 rushes for 433 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. He has also added two more passing touchdowns out of the package.
• Swoopes has been nothing short of efficient out of the package, as 35-of-74 rushes (47.3%) have either gone for a first down or touchdown.
• In the last 11 games, Swoopes has had four multi-touchdown games on the ground alone, including three in last week's win against No. 10 Notre Dame. In that game, Swoopes rushed 13 times for 53 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner in double-overtime.
• In the last 11 games, Swoopes has five games with 50-or-more rushing yards, including a career-high of 98 yards against Texas Tech. Additionally, he has five games with four-or-more money rushes, which include first downs and touchdowns.
• Swoopes enters Saturday's game with 848 career rushing yards, good for seventh in school history among quarterbacks. He also has 20 rushing touchdowns in his career - third-most among QBs in school history.
• Following his week one performance against Notre Dame, Swoopes was named Big 12 Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
Swoopes Tracking Toward Historic Milestones
• Senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes is just 27 yards shy of 3,000 career passing yards entering Saturday night's game against Cal. Just 12 quarterbacks in school history have passed for 3,000 yards in a career.
• Additionally, he is just 152 rushing yards shy of 1,000 career yards, Swoopes could join Colt McCoy and Vince Young as the only three quarterbacks in school history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for at least 1,000 in a career.
Fourteen Freshmen Debut In First Two Weeks
• Ten true freshmen either started or played in their debut game in the burnt orange in week one against No. 10 Notre Dame, while four more debuted against UTEP.
• Two true freshmen got the starting nod in the season opener: QB Shane Buechele and C Zach Shackelford.
• Another eight true freshmen saw game action against Notre Dame: WR Devin Duvernay, DL Jordan Elliott, WR Collin Johnson, DB Brandon Jones, LB Jeffrey McCulloch, RB Kyle Porter, DE Malcolm Roach and DT Gerald Wilbon.
• Against UTEP, four true freshmen made their debuts: WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey, OL Jean Delance, OL Denzel Okafor and DL D'Andre Christmas.
• After playing 17 true freshmen while starting a school-record 10 a season ago, Texas has played 14 with two making starts already in 2016.
Longhorns Light Up Scoreboard In First Two Weeks
• The Longhorns have scored 91 points during the first two weeks of the season, beating Notre Dame, 50-47 in double-overtime, and UTEP, 41-7.
• The 91 points scored in the first two games of the season are the most for a Texas team since scoring 100 (59, 41) in the first two games of the 2009 season against Louisiana-Monroe and Wyoming. Since 1998, the Longhorns have scored 91-or-more points in the first two games just three times (2003, 2008 and 2009).
Longhorns In Road Openers
• The Longhorns are 75-41-4 (.642) all-time in openers on the road. They have lost just three road openers since 2000.
First Time Starters, First Time Players
• Besides true freshmen, six Longhorns made their first career starts in the season opener against Notre Dame: CB Sheroid Evans, RB D'Onta Foreman, RT Brandon Hodges, DT Chris Nelson, DE Charles Omenihu and WR Jacorey Warrick.
• Another three players made their first career starts against UTEP on Saturday: LT Elijah Rodriguez, RG Alex Anderson and SS Kevin Vaccaro.
• Five other Longhorns made their first career appearance against Notre Dame: OL Alex Anderson, KOS Mitchell Becker, PK Trent Domingue, DS Jak Holbrook and TE Michael Wilson.
• Seven players made the first appearances of their Longhorns' career on Saturday night against UTEP: LB Johnny Tseng, RB Tristian Houston, OL Garrett Graf, DL Alex Mercado, DL Patrick Ojeaga and OL Garrett Thomas.
Dickson A Threat From Down Under
• Sydney, Australia native Michael Dickson has turned into a major threat for the Longhorns early in his sophomore season, averaging 52.9 yards per punt on 11 attempts through the first two games of the year to rank second in the nation. The Longhorns rank sixth in the country in net punting (45.3 ypp).
• His season long traveled 64 yards against Notre Dame, while eight of his 11 punts have been at least 50 yards.
• Dickson punted six times for an average of 55.0 yards per punt in the season-opening victory over Notre Dame, playing a crucial role in flipping the field throughout.
• Dickson, who set a new career long with a punt of 64 yards, allowed just two returns and downed one inside the 20.
• His 55.0 yards per punt average also set a new career high as did his five punts of more than 50 yards.
• Against UTEP, he punted five times for an average of 50.4 yards per punt (51.8 net average).
• Three of his five attempts were 50 yards-or-better, with a long of 57 yards on the night. Two punts were downed inside the UTEP 20, including one at the 1-yard line.
Three Receivers Score First Career Touchdown
• Three Texas receivers scored the first touchdown of their career on Saturday night against UTEP, as the Longhorns' four touchdowns through the air all went to receivers who entered the game without a career receiving touchdown.
• Sophomore Jerrod Heard highlighted the Longhorns' scoring with two touchdown receptions.
• Junior Dorian Leonard's 46-yard touchdown reception was not only the first of his career, but just his second career catch. He finished the night with two receptions for 52 yards.
• Senior Jacorey Warrick also scored for the first time in his career. His TD came from eight yards out. Warrick finished the game with a team- and career-high seven receptions for 73 yards.
Horns Hosting A Block Party In 2016
• Junior Naashon Hughes blocked a Notre Dame field goal late in the third quarter that proved to be huge, as the Fighting Irish attempted to mount a comeback. The Longhorns eventually won in double-overtime, 50-47.
• For Texas, Hughes' field goal block was the first in the last 30 games. Jackson Jeffcoat was the last to block a field goal when he did so against Kansas on Nov. 2, 2013.
• In Saturday's game against UTEP, true freshman Brandon Jones broke through the line to block a first quarter punt.
• For the Longhorns, it was the first blocked punt since Carrington Byndom did so vs. Texas Tech on Nov. 3, 2012.
Texas Sets New Stadium Attendance Record
• Longhorn fans showed up in a big way to Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium for Texas' 50-47 season-opening win over Notre Dame. A sellout crowd of 102,315 - a new stadium and school record - witnessed the first-ever overtime game played in stadium history.
Hager Leads Defensive Effort In Win Over UTEP
• Sophomore Breckyn Hager led the Longhorns defensive charge in their win against UTEP on Saturday, totaling a career-high eight tackles and his first career sack. It was his first career start.
• He wasn't the only player with a strong effort, however, as fellow sophomore DeShon Elliott had five tackles, including a sack and his first career fumble recovery.
• Kevin Vaccaro, making his first career start, had four tackles with a sack. The senior now leads the Longhorns with two sacks.
• Several players made their first career tackles in the game, as freshman Malcolm Roach had four, while senior Johnny Tseng and freshmen Jeffrey McCulloch, D'Andre Christmas and Brandon Jones all had one.
Strong Start To Third Season With Longhorns
• Texas head coach Charlie Strong began his third season with the Longhorns with a thrilling 50-47, double-overtime victory against No. 10 Notre Dame in week one, followed by a 41-7 win over UTEP last week.
• Strong is in his seventh season as a head coach, with a career record of 50-30. He is 13-14 in his time at Texas.
• Texas is 4-8 against ranked opponents under Charlie Strong, but has won three consecutive games over such foes (24-17 W vs. No. 10 Oklahoma, 23-17 W at No. 12 Baylor, 50-47 W vs. No. 10 Notre Dame).
• During his first two seasons at Louisville, Strong's Cardinals won just eight conference games and were around the .500 mark overall. But in his third season UofL burst onto the national scene with 11 wins and a victory in the Sugar Bowl.
• Strong has led his teams to a bowl game in five of six seasons as a head coach. In total, Strong's teams have been to a bowl game 13 times in the last 15 seasons.
Texas Tough On The Road, Too
• During the last 10 seasons, it hasn't mattered if the Longhorns are playing in front of a raucous crowd at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, or in a hostile environment on the road.
• Despite having an incredible home-field advantage and a home record of 45-20 (.692) over the last 10 seasons, the Longhorns have found nearly as much success playing on the road.
• Since the beginning of the 2006 season, UT boasts a road record of 30-14 (.682).
• The 1.0% difference in winning percentage at home vs. on the road has made the Longhorns the second-best road team in college football during the course of the last 10 seasons.
Did You Know?
• The seven points allowed by the Longhorns defense on Saturday were the fewest a Texas defense has allowed since Nov. 15, 2014 when they beat Oklahoma State by a score of 28-7. It was the fifth time in the Charlie Strong era in which the Horns have allowed fewer than 10 points in a game.
Burt Blazing On The Field And Track
• Sophomore wide receiver John Burt had a standout freshman season on both the football field for Coach Charlie Strong and on the track for Coach Mario Sategna.
• A native of Tallahassee, Fla., Burt had six catches for 111 yards, including a touchdown reception of 72 yards in the win over No. 10 Notre Dame. His six receptions were a new career-high.
• He leads the Longhorns in receiving yards through two weeks in 2016, totaling 139 yards on eight catches.
• Last season, Burt was Texas' leading receiver catching 28 passes for 457 yards and two touchdowns. He started all 12 games.
• On the track, Burt finished second in the 110m Hurdles at the Big 12 Championships and qualified for NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.
• Burt was one of five who also play football at their respective FBS schools to qualify for the NCAA Championships. He was one of just two freshmen to qualify in the 24-person field.
• Burt was named the 12th-fastest player in college football as part of the NFL.com "16 for '16" series.
Jefferson Looking To Follow Up Impressive Freshman Campaign
• Malik Jefferson was named the Big 12 Conference's Freshman Defensive Player of the Year in 2015, following a season where he finished second on the team with 61 tackles. Jefferson also finished fourth with 7.0 tackles for loss, first with six quarterback pressures and added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery which he returned to the end zone for a touchdown.
• Jefferson's impact on the Longhorns defense has been felt early and often so far in 2016, as he leads the unit with 13 tackles. He also has a sack and a pass breakup.
• Prior to the 2016 season, Jefferson was recognized as a preseason All-American by both Sporting News and Sports Illustrated, as well as being named the Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
• Additionally, he was named to the preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award and Walter Camp Award.
Domingue Already Making An Impact
• Two games into his Longhorn career, graduate transfer kicker Trent Domingue is making an impact. Since coming to Austin from LSU, Domingue has provided consistency at the place-kicking position.
• So far, Domingue is 3-for-3 on field goals, with his long coming from 43 yards out. He has also totaled 10 extra-point makes in the first two games and leads the Longhorns with 19 points.
Longhorns Win In First-Ever OT Game At DKR
• UT's double-overtime win over Notre Dame made Texas football history, as it not only was the first overtime game ever played at DKR - Texas Memorial Stadium, but also the first ever multiple-OT game in school history.
• In total, it was the third OT game in school history. Texas is now 2-1 all-time in overtime, having defeated West Virginia on the road in 2013 and losing to Oklahoma in 1996.
Three Freshmen Record 'Career Firsts' For Longhorns
• Three freshmen skill players recorded career firsts for the Longhorns on the offensive side of the ball in Saturday's win over UTEP.
• Kyle Porter rushed eight times for 33 yards. He has also returned two kicks this season for 29 yards.
• Both Lil'Jordan Humphrey (7 yards) and Collin Johnson (6 yards) registered the first receptions of their careers in the win.
Foreman Brothers Are A Dual-Threat
• Twin brothers Armanti and D'Onta Foreman both opened up their junior campaigns by scoring a touchdown in the Longhorns' thrilling 50-47 two-OT victory against No. 10 Notre Dame.
• Armanti, a wide receiver, caught three passes for 25 yards and his touchdown in the win. The touchdown, an over-the-shoulder grab where he was able to drag a foot in-bounds, came from 19 yards out. He now has six catches for 48 yards in 2016.
• D'Onta, a running back, rushed 24 times for 131 yards and a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The 24 carries were a career-high, while the 131 yards marked the fifth time in his career he has surpassed the century mark.
• Armanti has started each of the first two games this season and now has eight career starts. D'Onta's start against Notre Dame was the first of his career.
Longhorns Compete In Battle For The Belts
• All summer long, every program in college football goes through an intense and rigorous strength and conditioning program to prepare for the upcoming season. This summer, Longhorns' head coach for strength and conditioning Pat Moorer decided to add a fun twist to Texas' summer strength and conditioning program.
• Each week throughout the summer, Texas would compete in the Battle for the Belts. Three different weight classes - lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight - would crown a winner each Friday throughout the summer.
• In total, six weekly belts were awarded throughout the summer to each of the three weightclasses.
• The lightweight belt was won by Sheroid Evans three times and freshman Brandon Jones twice. The middleweight belt was won by Naashon Hughes three times and Andrew Beck twice, while Tristan Nickelson (four wins) dominated the heavyweight competition for much of the summer.
Evans Returns To Field For First Career Start
• Sixth-year senior Sheroid Evans waited 1,068 days to get back on the field in a Longhorn uniform and picked up his first career start against Notre Dame. He registered one tackle and also a pass breakup.
• A native of Sugar Land, Texas, Evans hadn't played in a game since tearing his ACL for the first time in a game on Oct. 3, 2013. In between games, Evans tore his ACL for a second time, earned a degree in applied learning and development and is currently pursuing a second degree in textiles and apparel with plans to open his own clothing line after college.
Three Named To Senior Bowl Watch List
• Three Longhorn seniors were named to the Senior Bowl watch list on Tuesday, Aug. 23. DT Paul Boyette Jr., S Dylan Haines and OG Kent Perkins were all named to the preseason list.
• Since the game began in 1950, 66 Longhorns have played in the premier senior collegiate football postseason game. Nine of those 66 players are still active on NFL rosters heading into the 2016 campaign.
Longhorns Face Challenging 2016 Schedule
• The 12-game 2016 slate features six games at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, while the Longhorns will play five road games and the annual Red River Showdown in Dallas against Oklahoma.
• The Longhorns' 2016 opponents combined for a record of 89-64 (.582) in 2015, making it the 26th-toughest schedule in the country entering the season. Through the first week of the 2016
season, Texas opponents are 8-4 (.667).
• Nine of Texas' 2016 opponents went to bowls, including three – Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma – who played in one of the New Year's Six bowls.
• Five opponents – Baylor (10), Notre Dame (10), Oklahoma (11), Oklahoma State (10) and TCU (11) – totaled double digit wins a season ago.
• UT will play 11 of its 12 opponents from the 2015 schedule once again this season, swapping out Rice in week two for a matchup with UTEP.
• Texas will also travel on the road for just the third time ever, and first since 1964, to play at Cal this week.
Strong Revamps Coaching Staff For Year 3
• Texas head coach Charlie Strong made several staff changes during the offseason, bringing in five new assistant coaches including four on the offensive side of the ball.
• Strong hired Tulsa offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert to install his up-tempo offensive system with the Longhorns. Along with Gilbert came offensive line coach and run game coordinator Matt Mattox to assist with the install of the offense.
• With two other openings on the offensive side of the ball, Strong hired Anthony Johnson and Charlie Williams. Johnson, a Texas running back from 2001-05, will coach the Longhorns' running backs. Williams, a longtime collegiate and NFL coach, will coach the outside receivers. Those four new additions team up with Jeff Traylor to round out the coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball.
• On the defensive side of the ball Clay Jennings was hired from Arkansas to coach the Longhorns' defensive backs. Jennings, a longtime assistant coach in the state of Texas, will join defensive coordinator Vance Bedford, defensive line coach Brick Haley and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary.
Texas Athletics Celebrates BEVO 100
• Following the passing of BEVO XIV last October, The Silver Spurs Alumni Association began the search for BEVO XV.
• BEVO XV's debut prior to Notre Dame corresponded with the 100th anniversary of BEVO's first appearance at a University of Texas Football game. BEVO has been a fixture at Texas games since Nov. 30, 1916 - a Thanksgiving Day 21-7 victory against Texas A&M in Austin.
