The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
West Virginia
Football hits road for showdown at No. 24/25 West Virginia
11.13.2017 | Football
The Longhorns and Mountaineers square off Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.
The Opening Kickoff
• The University of Texas hits the road for the final time in the 2017 regular season as the Longhorns travel to Morgantown, W.V. Saturday for a matchup with the Mountaineers of West Virginia University.
• The Longhorns are 5-5 on the season and one win shy of gaining bowl eligibility. Texas is 4-3 in Big 12 Conference play, coming off a 42-27 victory over Kansas on Saturday night at home. So far during conference play, UT is 2-1 on the road.
• West Virginia enters with an overall record of 7-3 and a Big 12 record of 5-2. The Mountaineers are coming off a 28-23 victory at Kansas State on Saturday.
National Game Coverage
• Saturday's game will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT and is set to air on ESPN. Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Anthony Becht (booth analyst) and Rocky Boiman (field analyst) will call the action.
• Longhorn Network's Texas GameDay show begins two hours prior to kickoff. Following the game, LHN will also host Texas GameDay Final with interviews and analysis.
• A Longhorn IMG Radio Network broadcast with Craig Way, Roger Wallace and Quan Cosby can be heard nationally on Sirius channel 132, XM channel 199 and online channel 953.
Texas' Tough Schedule
• Saturday's game at West Virginia marks Texas' fifth game against a ranked opponent this season, and the fourth-such game away from home.
• So far this season, Texas has played at No. 4/4 USC (now No. 12/10) in a double-overtime loss to the Trojans, vs. No. 12/12 Oklahoma (now No. 3/5) in a 29-24 loss in the AT&T Red River Showdown, No. 10/11 Oklahoma State (now No. 10/13) in an overtime loss at home and at No. 10/12 TCU (now No. 11/14) in a road loss.
• Saturday's game marks the first time the Longhorns will face a ranked WVU on the road since they joined the Big 12.
The All-Time Series
• Texas and West Virginia meet for just the seventh time Saturday, including the third time in Morgantown.
• WVU leads the all-time series with a 4-2 record, while the two schools have one win apiece at Milan Puskar Stadium.
• The series started in 1956, but this season's matchup will mark the sixth straight season the Longhorns and Mountaineers have squared off since WVU joined the Big 12.
• Tom Herman has not played WVU in his career, while Dana Holgorsen is 3-2 against the Longhorns.
Head Coach Tom Herman
• Tom Herman is in his first season at Texas and his third season overall as a head coach. He is 5-5 thus far at UT and 27-9 overall as a head coach.
• In just three seasons, Herman has guided his teams to a record of 6-4 against Top 25 opponents, 3-3 against Top 10 foes and 2-1 against teams inside the Top 5.
• Herman led Houston to a 13-1 record and a win in the Peach Bowl during his first season. He was just the fourth head coach in NCAA history with at least 13 wins in a rookie season (Chris Petersen, George Woodruff, Walter Camp) and just the fifth to win the first 10 games of his career (Petersen, Woodruff, Camp and Larry Coker).
A Dominant Defense
• After allowing 51 points in the season opener, Texas is allowing just 18.7 points per game over the last nine, which includes three overtime games (two double overtime). UT is ranked 32nd nationally in scoring defense (21.9).
• The Longhorns are allowing just 364.6 total yards per game in Big 12 play and rank 40th in total defense nationally (367.3).
• The dynamic defense has started up front with stopping the run, as the Longhorns are allowing just 98.6 rushing yards per game over the last nine, while holding five opponents under 100 yards.
First Time Starters
• Thirteen Longhorns have made their first career start through the first 10 games of the season: TE Cade Brewer (Oklahoma), RB Toneil Carter (Iowa State), OL Terrell Cuney (K-State), QB Sam Ehlinger (SJSU), TE Garrett Gray (Maryland), WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps (K-State), WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey (Maryland), LB Gary Johnson (K-State), OL Derek Kerstetter (Iowa State), TE Kendall Moore (SJSU), OL Denzel Okafor (K-State), RB Kyle Porter (Maryland) and RB Daniel Young (TCU).
First Time Players
• 24 Longhorns have made their first career appearances so far in 2017. Eight true freshmen (marked *) and seven redshirt freshmen (marked ^) have debuted.
• Maryland: LB Marqez Bimage*, TE Cade Brewer*, LB Demarco Boyd^, DL Jamari Chisholm, DL Ta'Quon Graham*, WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps^, OL Patrick Hudson^, LB Gary Johnson, K Joshua Rowland, DS Kaleb Smith, DB Josh Thompson* and RB Daniel Young*
• San Jose State: OL Austin Allsup, RB Toneil Carter*, QB Josh Covey, DB Jarmarquis Durst, QB Sam Ehlinger*, TE Kendall Moore and OL J.P. Urquidez^
• USC: DB Chris Brown^
• Iowa State: OL Derek Kerstetter*
• Baylor: WR Davion Curtis^, DB Donovan Duvernay^, WR Philipp Moeller
Youth Is Served
• Texas' youth has shined through in the starting lineup this season. UT's last two recruiting classes (true/redshirt freshmen and true sophomores) have combined to make 64 starts this season, including 52 on the offensive side of the ball.
• At QB, true sophomore Shane Buechele and true freshman Sam Ehlinger each have made five starts.
• At RB, true sophomore Kyle Porter has three starts, while true freshmen Toneil Carter and Daniel Young each have made two.
• At WR, true sophomores Collin Johnson and Lil'Jordan Humphrey have six apiece, redshirt freshman Reggie Hemphill-Mapps has two and true sophomore Devin Duvernay has one.
• True freshman TE Cade Brewer has three starts.
• On the offensive line, true sophomore Zach Shackelford has started six games at center, true freshman Derek Kerstetter has started seven games at right tackle and true sophomore Denzel Okafor has started four at left tackle.
• On defense, true sophomore Brandon Jones has started all 10 games at safety while true sophomore Malcolm Roach has started two at DE.
Pedigree For Success
• Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando is in his third season under Tom Herman and his 13th straight season as a defensive coordinator. He has found success at each of his four previous stops as the DC: UConn (2005-10), FIU (2011-12), Utah State (2013-14) and Houston (2015-16).
• Texas ranks eighth nationally in third-down defense (.278) as opposed to 51st nationally (.383) a season ago. UT is ranked fourth in fourth-down defense (.235) after ranking 52nd in 2016 and allowing opponents to convert 47.1 percent.
• In the offensive heavy Big 12 Conference, where three teams rank in the top seven nationally in total offense, the Longhorns rank 40th in total defense and 12th in rushing defense. That marks a drastic improvement from a season ago when UT was 94th in total defense and 76th in rushing defense.
• Despite four games coming against teams ranked in the Top 30 nationally in scoring offense, including the second- and fourth-best scoring offenses, Texas ranks 32nd nationally in scoring defense, a large jump from last season when they ranked 90th.
• The Longhorns lead the Big 12 in fourth-down defense and defensive touchdowns, while ranking second in third-down defense, first downs defense, interceptions, rushing defense, scoring defense, sacks and total defense.
• Over the last nine games, Texas is allowing just 18.7 points per game, which includes three overtime games (two double overtime). UT would rank 17th nationally in scoring defense with that mark.
• Orlando's unit leads the nation in defensive touchdowns (6) after the Longhorns did not have any last season.
• In his first season at UH, his defense led the nation with 35 takeaways, while finishing eighth nationally in rushing defense (108.9 ypg) and 20th in scoring defense (20.7 ppg). Last season, Orlando's defense finished 13th in total defense and fourth in rush defense. They were also third nationally with five defensive touchdowns and allowed just 23.5 ppg.
Non-Offensive Touchdowns
• Texas has scored seven non-offensive touchdowns in 2017 after scoring zero in 2016.
• Holton Hill has three of them in 2017 and now has four career non-offensive TDs. This season, he has interception returns of 45 (SJSU) and 31 yards (Maryland). He also returned a blocked field goal 65 yards for a score against Maryland.
• DeShon Elliott has two, as he returned an interception 38 yards on the road against USC and 43 yards at Baylor.
• Antwuan Davis returned an interception 16 yards for a touchdown against Kansas.
• Reggie Hemphill-Mapps also has one, returning a punt 91 yards to the house against Maryland.
• The season opener against Maryland marked the first time since Oct. 10, 2009, that UT had scored three non-offensive TDs in a game.
• UT's seven non-offensive touchdowns in 2017 are more than the 2014-16 seasons combined and the most since the 2009 team that played for a national championship.
Forcing Turnovers
• Texas came up with a season-best four turnovers in Saturday's victory against Kansas.
• Senior Antwuan Davis had two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Davis also recovered a Kansas fumble on a punt, which led to another Longhorn touchdown.
• Senior Jason Hall registered his first interception of the season.
• Through 10 games in 2017, Texas has come up with 18 turnovers (13 interceptions, five fumble recoveries).
• Texas' turnover margin this season is plus-five.
Going The Other Way
• Through 10 games, Texas has returned a school-record-tying five interceptions for touchdowns. The Longhorns have totaled 13 interceptions this season.
• DeShon Elliott and Holton Hill have each returned two interceptions for a touchdown in 2017, while Antwuan Davis has one.
• Hill started the season off with one each against Maryland and San Jose State.
• For a third straight game, a Longhorn returned an interception for a TD as DeShon Elliott returned one 38 yards to the house at Southern California.
• At Baylor, Elliott intercepted one on the third play of the game and returned it 43 yards to the end zone.
• Against Kansas, Davis intercepted his first career pass and took it 16 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.
Points Off Turnovers
• One of the Longhorns' biggest areas of improvement in 2017 has come in its quick change offense and defense following turnovers.
• Through 10 games, Texas' defense has allowed opponents to score just 10 points off 13 Longhorn turnovers. In contrast, Texas has scored 79 points off 18 turnovers forced thus far.
• In comparison, last season, UT's defense allowed opponents to score 68 points off 23 Longhorn turnovers, while the offense scored just 41 points all season off 20 opponent turnovers.
• Through 10 games last season, UT had committed 16 turnovers (three more), but allowed 58 points (48 more) off of them. Conversely, the UT defense had forced 17 turnovers (one less) through 10 games, leading to just 24 Texas points (55 less).
Getting Off The Field
• The Texas defense has been successful at getting the opponents' offense off the field this season and limiting their opportunities to score points.
• The Longhorns are allowing opponents to convert just 42-of-151 (.278) attempts on third down, eighth-best nationally. UT ranks fourth nationally in fourth-down defense, having allowed opponents to convert just 4-of-17 (.235) attempts.
• Between third- and fourth-down attempts in 2017, the Longhorn defense has allowed opponents to convert just 46-of-168 (.274) attempts.
• This has been quite a turnaround from 2016, when the Longhorns allowed opponents to convert 72-of-189 (.381) attempts on third down and 8-of-17 (.471) on fourth downs.
• UT's defense has forced a three-and-out on 54-of-140 drives this season. The 5.4 per game is the seventh-most nationally.
Turning Up The Heat
• After a slow start to the season in which the Longhorns only recorded two sacks and five tackles for loss in the first two games, the UT defense has found success in pressuring the opponents in the backfield over the last seven games.
• In Saturday's win against Kansas, Texas' defense had four sacks and 12 tackles for loss. The 12 tackles for loss were a season-best, while the four sacks matched what the Longhorns also did against Iowa State.
• The 12 tackles for loss were the most for the Longhorns since totaling 14 in a victory over Iowa State during the 2016 season.
• Through 10 games, Texas has forced 25 sacks and 65 tackles for loss. The Longhorns' 2.5 sacks per game rank second in the conference, behind just TCU who has averaged 2.9 sacks per game this season.
Rushing Defense Is Stout
• Texas' rush defense has been stout since the first week of the season, allowing just 98.6 yards per game on the ground over the last nine, and just 110.6 yards per game on the ground against Big 12 Conference opponents.
• Kansas managed just 96 rushing yards on 35 attempts on Saturday night, the fifth opponent the Longhorns have held under 100 rushing yards this season.
• Against Baylor, Texas allowed just 31 rushing yards on 37 attempts (0.84 ypc).
• The Longhorns held SJSU, USC and Iowa State under 100 yards rushing in three consecutive games. That stretch marked the first time since the first three games of the 2010 season that a UT defense had accomplished that feat.
• The 10 rushing yards allowed vs. Iowa State were the eighth-fewest by a Longhorn defense in the last 10 seasons.
• Texas has now held five opponents under 100 yards rushing this season, after holding just five under 100 yards rushing from 2013-16 combined. The five games of allowing less than 100 yards this season are the most since doing so six times in 2011.
Davis' Dynamic Night
• Making just his second start of the season, fifth-year senior defensive back Antwuan Davis totaled three tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the win over Kansas.
• Davis, who had never had an interception prior to Saturday, intercepted a pass on KU's second drive and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown.
• In the second quarter, he recovered a KU fumble on special teams which led to a Texas touchdown.
• His second interception of the night came in the end zone late in the first half to stop a KU drive.
Elliott A Thorpe Award Semifinalist
• Safety DeShon Elliott was recently named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. He has also won two Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week awards in 2017, following games at USC and Iowa State.
• Against USC, Elliott had seven tackles, two interceptions, two pass breakups and a TFL.
• Against Iowa State, he had six tackles, a sack and two interceptions. For his efforts in that game, Elliott was also named the Jim Thorpe Award National Player of the Week.
• He followed that up with six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one-half sack and one interception against Kansas State.
• Elliott had six tackles and a forced fumble against Oklahoma, before following that up with another forced fumble and a fumble recovery against Oklahoma State.
• Against Baylor, he had his second pick-six of the season and had eight tackles, tied for the team lead.
• Elliott totaled five tackles at TCU and seven against Kansas. He matched his career high with two tackles for loss in both games. He also added a forced fumble and a pass breakup against the Jayhawks.
• On the season, Elliott is third on the team with 52 tackles (39 solo). He has six interceptions and has 8.5 tackles for loss (second on the team) and 1.5 sacks. He has three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four pass breakups.
Elliott An Interception Machine
• DeShon Elliott is second in the country with six interceptions, which is tied for seventh-most in school history for a single season.
• He has returned two interceptions for touchdowns this season, tied with six other Longhorns for the most in a single season in school history.
• Elliott had an interception in three straight games (2 at USC, 2 at Iowa State, Kansas State) and also tallied one at Baylor.
• His six interceptions are the most in a single season at Texas since Earl Thomas set the school record with eight during the 2009 season.
• He is just the ninth UT player in the last 60 seasons to register two multi-interception games in a season.
• Elliott became the first UT player since 1947 to record two interceptions in back-to-back games.
• Since 1947, Elliott joins Chris Carter (1993-96) as the only two players with three multi-interception games in their careers. Elliott also had two interceptions against Kansas in 2015.
• Elliott was the first player since Thomas in 2009 with an interception in three straight games. Thomas had an interception in four straight games during that season, totaling five picks in those games.
Jefferson A Butkus Award Semifinalist
• Junior linebacker Malik Jefferson has made 28 career starts to date and is a seminfinalist for both the Butkus Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy this year.
• On the season, he leads the team with 93 tackles, including 65 solo tackles. He also has gotten after the quarterback, with team highs of 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and five quarterback hurries.
• He ranks fourth nationally averaging 6.5 solo tackles per game.
• Jefferson enters Saturday's game at WVU just seven tackles shy of cracking 100 on the season. He would become the first Longhorn since 2014 (Jordan Hicks, 147; Steve Edmond, 131) to do so.
• He has registered five games this season of double-digit tackle totals and has led the team, or tied for the team lead in tackles, in 7-of-10 games thus far.
• Saturday against Kansas, Jefferson again tied for the team lead with seven tackles and had 1.5 tackles for loss.
• A week prior at TCU, Jefferson led the team with 10 tackles, surpassing 200 tackles in his career.
• Against Baylor, Jefferson tied for the team lead with eight tackles, four of them coming on third downs as UT held the Bears to just 4-of-18. He added 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the game.
• Against Oklahoma State, Jefferson set a career high and led UT with 14 tackles.
• Before his new career high, Jefferson had twice totaled his previous career high of 11 tackles earlier this season (USC, Oklahoma).
• As a freshman, Jefferson was named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News and USA Today. He made 61 tackles and seven TFL in 2015.
• Last season, Jefferson totaled 62 tackles, 8.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks to earn second-team All-Big 12 recognition from the Associated Press.
• This summer he was named a preseason All-American by Sporting News, preseason All-Big 12 and is on the watch lists for the Bednarik Award, the Nagurski Trophy and the Butkus Award.
Jones Making An Impact
• Sophomore safety Brandon Jones has started all 10 games for the Longhorns this season after starting just one game during his true freshman season.
• He enters the week ranked second on the team with 54 tackles (44 solo) and also has four tackles for loss, a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries.
• In Saturday's win against Kansas, Jones totaled five tackles and had a career-best two tackles for loss.
Dickson A Ray Guy Award Candidate
• Junior punter Michael Dickson, a native of Sydney, Australia, is a leading candidate for the 2017 Ray Guy Award, a season after becoming UT's first-ever finalist for the prestigious award.
• Dickson, who was named Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year in 2016, set a school record with an average of 47.4 yards per punt.
• Prior to the 2017 season, Dickson was named a preseason All-American by Athlon Sports, preseason All-Big 12 and a member of the Ray Guy Award watch list.
• Dickson has punted 57 times this season and is first nationally with an average of 48.6 yards per punt. The Longhorns' net average of 44.65 is the best in the country.
• Of his 57 punts this season, 28 of them have gone for more than 50 yards and 11 of them for more than 60 yards.
• He has had 21 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, 15 downed inside the 15-yard line and eight punts downed inside the opponent 10.
• Dickson has twice been named Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week, following both his performances at Iowa State and versus Oklahoma.
• Against Iowa State, he punted seven times with a net average of 46.2 yards while against Oklahoma he punted five times and averaged a school-record-tying 55.0 yards per punt.
• Against Oklahoma State, Dickson punted a career-high 11 times and averaged 50.9 yards per punt.
• Of Dickson's four punts from OSU territory, he downed two inside the 10 and pinned the Cowboys at an average field position of the 11-yard line.
• Of his seven punts from UT territory, Dickson averaged 57.9 yards per punt (55.9 net) and flipped the field from an average of the UT 23 to a starting field position for the Cowboys of the OSU 21.
• Dickson punted six times against Baylor, averaging 44.5 yards per punt. His net average was 40.3, as he downed three inside the 20.
• Against TCU, Dickson punted nine times and averaged 50.8 yards per punt. In that game, he boomed a 76-yard punt in the first quarter, a career long. It was the fifth-longest punt in the FBS this season and tied for fifth-longest punt in school history.
• Dickson punted four times and averaged 46.5 yards per punt against Kansas. He downed his first punt at the 1-yard line, while also registering punts of 52 and 53 yards in the win.
• The FBS record for punting average in a season is 48.4 yards (min. 50 attempts) and 47.8 yards (min. 75 punts).
Built Ford Tough
• Nose tackle Poona Ford (Hilton Head, S.C.) continues to be a menace in the middle of the Longhorns' defense during his senior season. He has totaled 26 tackles, six tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a blocked kick, a QB hurry and a pass breakup in 2017.
• Ford had two tackles for loss in Saturday's win over Kansas and was key in disrupting the QB on Antwuan Davis' second interception.
• Against TCU, he totaled a season-high seven tackles, including 1.5 TFL and a QB hurry.
• Despite playing on the interior defensive line, Ford finished fourth among UT defenders with his 54 tackles a year ago. He added 5.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two blocked extra points.
• He was named second-team All-Big 12 by ESPN.com and was also tabbed honorable mention All-Big 12 by the league's coaches.
• This season he has been named preseason All-Big 12 and is also on the Senior Bowl watch list.
• In the season opener against Maryland, he blocked a field goal which Holton Hill returned for a TD.
• The blocked FG was Ford's third career blocked kick. He also blocked two extra points a season ago.
Stopping Potent Offenses
• Texas' defense continues to stymie potent offenses during the 2017 season. So far, the Longhorns have faced four of the nation's Top 30 scoring offenses and six of the Top 45. Upcoming opponents WVU (12th) and Texas Tech (13th) will most likely put eight of UT's 12 regular season opponents inside the Top 50 nationally in scoring offense.
• The nation's second-best scoring offense is Oklahoma State, which scored just 10 points in regulation and 13 total against UT. The Cowboys are averaging 49.3 points per game in their other nine contests.
• Oklahoma is ranked fourth this week, averaging 46.0 points per game in their nine games versus schools other than UT. The Sooners scored just 29 against the Longhorns.
• USC scored just 27 against Texas, including 17 in regulation. The Trojans have averaged 36.3 points per game in their other 10 games thus far.
• TCU scored 24 against UT, while the Horned Frogs (30th) are averaging 35.3 points per game against their other nine opponents.
• Kansas State (42nd) and Iowa State (45th) also enter this week ranked inside the Top 45 nationally for scoring offense, while West Virginia (39.0 ppg and Texas Tech (38.2 ppg) will put the UT defense to the challenge in the last two games.
Buechele By The Numbers
• Sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele started his fifth game of the season and 17th career game on Saturday.
• In making five starts and six total appearances so far in 2017, Buechele is 125-of-190 (.658) for 1,316 yards and six touchdowns.
• Buechele surpassed 1,000 yards on the season at TCU. He is tied for the eighth-fastest player in school history (five games) to reach 1,000 yards in a season. He also reached 1,000 yards in five games a season ago.
• In his first start of the season against Maryland, he was 34-of-52 for 375 yards and two touchdowns. He set new career highs for passing yards, completions and attempts in that game.
• His 375 yards passing were 11th-most in school history for a single game and the second-most by a sophomore (Chris Simms, 383).
• Buechele has now passed for 200 yards in 14-of-17 games that he has started and has two career 300-yard games. His fourteen 200-yard games are the sixth-most in school history.
• In just 17 starts, he has passed for 4,274 yards, just the ninth player in school history to surpass 4,000 career passing yards.
• Buechele has thrown a touchdown pass in 16-of-17 games he has started and has eight career multi-touchdown games.
Ehlinger's Got Game
• True freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger has started five games. His first career start came against San Jose State, as he became just the fourth true freshman at UT since 1980, and the 10th ever, to start a game at quarterback.
• In combination with Buechele, the 2016-17 seasons mark just the second stretch in school history in which a true freshman has started at QB for UT in consecutive seasons (also 1976-79).
• Ehlinger has passed for 1,428 yards while rushing for another 265. He is tied for fastest in school history to reach 1,000 passing yards (four games) in a season.
• Saturday against KU, Ehlinger returned to the field for the first time since the Oklahoma State game, throwing an 8-yard TD pass.
• After passing for 380 yards and rushing for 107 against K-State, he passed for 278 and rushed for 110 against Oklahoma. He is the first freshman QB in school history (true or redshirt) to rush for 100 yards in consecutive games, and just the third freshman QB to do so twice in a season (Vince Young, '03; Jerrod Heard, '15).
• His 278 passing yards against Oklahoma were a UT true freshman record in the Red River Showdown. He was just UT's third-ever true freshman to start at QB against the Sooners, joining Buechele (2016) and Bobby Layne (1944). In that game, Ehlinger became just the fourth player (seventh time) to pass for 275 yards and rush for 100 in a game. He joins Vince Young (Nov. 6 & 13, 2004) as the only players in school history to do so in back-to-back games. Colt McCoy, Ehlinger and Young are the only three players to have two games of 275 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in their careers.
• His 380 passing yards against K-State were the 10th-most in school history and the most ever by a true freshman quarterback.
• Ehlinger has now passed for 200 yards in all five games that he has started and has gone over 300 yards once. He has at least one TD pass in 5-of-6 games and has two multi-TD games.
Connor Williams Suffers Injury
• Junior All-American left tackle Connor Williams sustained an injury in the Longhorns' game against USC.
• He suffered a sprain of his MCL and PCL and also a meniscus tear. There is no timetable for his return at this point.
• Williams had started 26 of a possible 27 contests to date in his career, including 13 consecutive, before the injury.
• Last season, Williams was a consensus first-team All-American, just the fourth sophomore in UT history to receive first-team All-America honors (Hub Bechtol, 1944; Russell Erxleben, 1976 and Earl Thomas, 2009) and second sophomore (Thomas) to earn consensus honors.
• Throughout the offseason, Williams was recognized as a preseason All-American by the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, College Football News and Athlon Sports.
• Additionally, Williams was named to the watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Outland Trophy, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and was also named preseason All-Big 12.
Offensive Line Stepping Up
• The Longhorns have dealt with a number of injuries that have impacted continuity on the offensive line.
• In addition to Williams, who missed his seventh straight game on Saturday, several other Longhorn offensive linemen have missed time this season: Patrick Hudson (last eight games), Jake McMillon (one game), Elijah Rodriguez (10 games) and Zach Shackelford (three games).
• The Longhorns returning starter at tight end and one of the Horns' best run blockers Andrew Beck has missed all 10 games this season as well, while TE Garrett Gray has missed eight straight. That brings Texas' total to 47 games missed by offensive linemen and tight ends through just nine games.
Chasing 1,000
• Wide receivers Armanti Foreman and Collin Johnson are both closing in on 1,000 career receiving yards.
• Johnson, who is just a sophomore, currently sits at 998 yards on 73 catches for his career. He leads the team with 45 receptions for 683 yards in 2017. • Just 23 Longhorns have caught 50 passes in a season in school history.
• Foreman, who has totaled 22 catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns this season, currently sits at 973 career receiving yards. He has 77 receptions, 10 of which have been touchdowns, in his career.
Lo-Joe's Big Day
• Senior wide receiver Lorenzo Joe had a career day in Saturday's win over Kansas, catching five passes for 98 yards, both new career highs.
• Joe caught a 49-yard touchdown on the game's first play to give the Longhorns a lead just nine seconds in. It was Joe's second career touchdown reception and the first since 2015.
• The senior now has 16 receptions for 225 yards and a touchdown this season after totaling 15 catches for 211 yards and a touchdown during his first three seasons combined as a Longhorn.
Spreading The Ball Around
• Ball distribution has been a common theme amongst Texas' QBs, as at least eight different receivers have a catch in all but one game thus far.
• Six times this season, 10-or-more players have caught at least one pass in a game, including all five games started by Shane Buechele. Ten-or-more players have caught at least one pass in four straight games.
• Just six total times in the previous 16 seasons had 10-or-more Longhorns caught a pass in a game prior to the 2017 season.
