The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas Tech
Football hosts Texas Tech Friday for Senior Day
11.20.2017 | Football
The Longhorns look to finish the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
The Opening Kickoff
• Texas Football returns home Friday night for its regular season finale against Texas Tech. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium.
• The Longhorns enter with a record of 6-5, winners of two straight. With their 28-14 road win at West Virginia last week, the Longhorns became bowl eligible for the first time since 2014. Texas is 5-3 overall in the Big 12 Conference.
• Texas Tech enters at 5-6 overall, coming off a home loss to TCU. The Red Raiders are 2-6 in the Big 12 Conference, with wins over Kansas and Baylor.
National Game Coverage
• Friday's game will kickoff at 7:00 p.m. CT and is set to air on FOX. Tim Brando (play-by-play), Spencer Tillman (analyst) and Holly Sonders (sideline) 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 can be heard nationally on Sirius 132, XM 199 and online channel 953.
Senior Day
• Texas' Senior Day is Friday. The following seniors will be honored before the game: K Mitchell Becker, DB Antwuan Davis, DL Poona Ford, WR Armanti Foreman, OL Garrett Graf, DB Jason Hall, LB Naashon Hughes, WR Lorenzo Joe, WR Dorian Leonard, TE Kendall Moore, OL Tristan Nickelson, DS Kaleb Smith and TE Robert Willis.
• Three of the seniors are fifth-year Longhorns (Davis, Hughes, Becker) who are playing for their third head coach. All three are playing significant roles for Texas.
• This year's class has combined to play in 371 games and make 158 starts. They have totaled 1,969 receiving yards, 16 touchdowns, 478 tackles, 47 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, five interceptions, nine forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
The All-Time Series
• Texas and Texas Tech meet for the 67th time on Friday night in Austin. The Longhorns own a commanding 50-16 lead in the series, including a 30-6 mark in games played in Austin.
• The Longhorns have won seven of the last eight in the series and 12-of-14 overall. Since the start Big 12 Conference, Texas is 16-5 against the Red Raiders.
• Texas Tech won the last meeting in Austin, 48-45 in 2015, but the Longhorns bounced back and won 45-37 last season in Lubbock behind 341 rushing yards from D'Onta Foreman.
• Tom Herman has not coached against Texas Tech in his career, while Kliff Kingsbury is 1-3 against the Longhorns in his.
Head Coach Tom Herman
• Tom Herman is in his first season at Texas and his third season overall as a head coach. He is 6-5 thus far at UT and 28-9 overall as a head coach. In just three seasons, Herman has guided his teams to a record of 7-4 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
• Texas' defense is allowing just 19.4 points per game in Big 12 play, which includes overtime against Oklahoma State and double overtime against Kansas State.
• The Longhorns are allowing just 355.9 total yards per game in Big 12 play.
• The dynamic defense has started up front with stopping the run, as UT is allowing just 103.8 rushing yards per game in conference play, while holding four Big 12 opponents under 100 yards.
Texas' Tough Schedule
• The Longhorns have played five ranked teams this season, four of them away from home.
• So far, Texas has played at No. 4/4 USC (now No. 11/10) 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. 18/21) in an overtime loss at home, at No. 10/12 TCU (now No. 10/13) in a road loss and defeated No. 24/25 West Virginia on the road.
Finishing Strong
• For the first time since 2009, Texas looks to finish the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
• Since 2009, the Longhorns have finished with a winning record in the final three regular season games just once (2-1 in 2014).
• The Longhorns have a chance to finish 6-3 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2013 (7-2) and just the second time since the league schedule went to nine games in 2011.
First Time Starters
• Thirteen Longhorns have made their first career start this 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
• 28 Longhorns have made their first career appearances, including eight true freshmen (marked *) and seven redshirt freshmen (marked ^).
• 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
• Kansas: RB Trenton Hafley, TE Robert Willis, TE Michael Wilson, RB Tim Yoder
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 69 starts this season, including 56 on the offensive side of the ball.
• At QB, true sophomore Shane Buechele has started six games and true freshman Sam Ehlinger has made five starts.
• At RB, true sophomore Kyle Porter and true freshman Daniel Young have three starts each, while true freshmen Toneil Carter has made two.
• At WR, true sophomores Collin Johnson has seven starts, true sophomore Lil'Jordan Humphrey has six, 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 freshman Derek Kerstetter has started eight games at right tackle, true sophomore Zach Shackelford has started six games at center, and true sophomore Denzel Okafor has started four at left tackle.
• On defense, true sophomore Brandon Jones has started all 11 games at safety while true sophomore Malcolm Roach has started two at DE.
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 46-of-167 (.275) attempts on third down, fourth-best nationally. UT also ranks fourth nationally in fourth-down defense, having allowed opponents to convert just 5-of-19 (.263) attempts.
• Between third- and fourth-down attempts in 2017, the Longhorn defense has allowed opponents to convert just 51-of-186 (.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.
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 had two turnovers in Saturday's win at No. 24/25 West Virginia, a week after forcing a season-best four in their victory over Kansas.
• Sophomore Brandon Jones forced a fumble at the goal line early in the win at WVU, forcing a touchback.
• Late in the game, Gary Johnson forced a fumble on a sack that led to a UT touchdown.
• Antwuan Davis also had a forced fumble in the win.
• Through 11 games in 2017, Texas has come up with 20 turnovers (13 interceptions, seven fumble recoveries).
• Texas' turnover margin this season is plus-six.
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 fourth nationally in third-down defense (.275) as opposed to 51st nationally (.383) a season ago. UT is ranked fourth in fourth-down defense (.263) after ranking 52nd in 2016 and allowing opponents to convert 47.1 percent.
• Five Longhorn opponents in 2017 rank inside the Top 20 nationally in total offense, including the first- and second-best offenses. The Longhorns rank 36th in total defense and eighth in rushing defense. That marks a drastic improvement from a season ago when UT was 94th in total defense and 76th in rushing defense.
• Against a schedule where eight teams rank in the Top 50 nationally in scoring, the Longhorns rank 32nd in scoring defense, a large jump from last season when they ranked 90th.
• The Longhorns lead the Big 12 in third-down defense, fourth-down defense and defensive touchdowns, while ranking second in first downs defense, interceptions, rushing defense, pass efficiency defense, sacks and total defense.
• Over the last 10 games, Texas is allowing just 18.2 points per game, which includes three overtime games (two double overtime). UT would rank 16th nationally in scoring defense with that mark.
• In that same span, UT is allowing just 348.6 yards per game, which would rank 31st, and 94.3 rush yards per game, which would rank fourth.
• 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.
Going The Other Way
• Through 11 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 11 games, Texas has allowed opponents to score just 17 points off 14 Longhorn turnovers (seven of the 17 coming on a pick-six Saturday at WVU). In contrast, Texas has scored 86 points off 20 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 11 games last season, UT had committed 22 turnovers (eight more) and allowed 68 points (51 more) off of them. Conversely, the UT defense had forced 19 turnovers (one less) through 11 games, leading to just 38 Texas points (41 less).
Rushing Defense Is Stout
• Texas' rush defense has been stout since the first week of the season, allowing just 94.3 yards per game on the ground over the last 10, and just 103.8 yards per game on the ground against Big 12 Conference opponents.
• West Virginia, who entered Saturday's game averaging 161.8 rush yards per game, was held to 56 yards on 29 attempts. WVU was the sixth opponent the Longhorns have held under 100 rushing yards this season, the most since doing so six times during the 2011 season.
• Kansas managed just 96 rushing yards on 35 attempts the week before.
• 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 six opponents under 100 yards rushing this season, after holding just five under 100 yards rushing from 2013-16 combined. The Longhorns have not held more than six opponents under 100 yards rushing in a season since doing so 10 times during the 2009 season.
Turning Up The Heat
• After a slow start to the season the UT defense has found success in pressuring the opponents in the backfield this season.
• Texas has totaled 27 sacks and 69 tackles for loss. The Longhorns' 2.45 sacks per game rank second in the conference, behind just TCU who has averaged 2.91 sacks per game this season.
Elliott A Thorpe Award finalist
• Safety DeShon Elliott was named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award on Monday. 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, and 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. He 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.
• At WVU he had five tackles and a critical breakup to prevent a touchdown.
• On the season, Elliott is third on the team with 57 tackles (44 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 five 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 Leading the Longhorn D
• Junior linebacker Malik Jefferson has made 29 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 100 tackles, including 71 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 fifth nationally averaging 6.5 solo tackles per game.
• Jefferson became the first Longhorn since 2014 (Jordan Hicks, 147; Steve Edmond, 131) to reach the 100-tackle mark in a season.
• With nine more solo tackles, to reach 80 on the season, Jefferson could become just the second Longhorn since 1996 to reach 80 solo stops in a season (Steve Edmond, 81, 2014).
• 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 8-of-11 games thus far.
• Saturday against WVU, Jefferson tied for the team lead with seven tackles (six solo). He also tied for the team lead with seven tackles and had 1.5 tackles for loss the week prior against Kansas.
• A week before that 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.
Johnson's Big Day
• In Saturday's victory at WVU, linebacker Gary Johnson came up big for the Longhorns.
• Johnson tied for the team lead with seven tackles, while recording a sack, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.
• Midway through the fourth quarter, leading just 21-14, Johnson came off the edge for a strip-sack of WVU QB Chris Chugunoy. The Longhorns recovered and scored two plays later to extend the lead to 28-14, which held up as the final margin.
Dickson A Ray Guy Award Finalist
• Junior punter Michael Dickson, a native of Sydney, Australia, is a finalist 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.
• Dickson has punted 64 times this season and is first nationally with an average of 48.0 yards per punt. The Longhorns' net average of 44.22 is also the best in the country.
• Of his 64 punts this season, 29 of them have gone for more than 50 yards and 11 of them for more than 60 yards.
• He has had 25 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, 21 downed inside the 15-yard line and 11 punts downed inside the opponent 10.
• Just 13 of Dickson's 64 punts (20.3 percent) have been less than 40 yards. Of those 13 punts, five have been fair caught or downed inside the 10-yard line, with an additional one fair caught at the 12.
• 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.
• Against West Virginia, Dickson punted seven times and averaged 43.0 yards per punt. He allowed just one return, downing four inside the 20, three inside the 15 and two inside the 10.
• 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 27 tackles, six tackles for loss, one-half sack, a forced fumble, a blocked kick, a QB hurry and a pass breakup in 2017.
• Ford had two tackles for loss in UT'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 six of the nation's Top 36 scoring offenses with upcoming opponent Texas Tech currently ranked 26th. Iowa State also resides inside the Top 46, putting 8-of-12 opponents in the Top 50.
• 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 48.4 points per game in their other 10 contests.
• Oklahoma is ranked fifth this week, averaging 45.5 points per game in their 10 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 34.3 points per game this season.
• TCU scored 24 against UT, while the Horned Frogs (35th) are averaging 35.3 points per game against their other nine opponents.
• West Virginia entered Saturday's game averaging 39.0 points per game. The Mountaineers scored a season-low 14 against the Longhorns.
• Texas Tech enters Friday's game averaging 35.0 points per game.
Ehlinger's Got Game
• True freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger has started five games and entered Saturday's game at WVU midway through the first quarter. Against SJSU, 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 1,564 yards while rushing for another 333. He is tied for fastest in school history to reach 1,000 passing yards (four games) in a season.
• Saturday against WVU, Ehlinger passed for 136 yards and two scores, while recording 68 yards rushing and 23 yards receiving.
• 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 passed for 200 yards in five games (all five that he has started) and has gone over 300 yards once. He has at least one touchdown pass in 6-of-7 games and has three multi-TD games.
Buechele By The Numbers
• Sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele started his sixth game of the season and 18th career game on Saturday.
• In making six starts and seven total appearances so far in 2017, Buechele is 129-of-197 (.655) for 1,344 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-19 career games and has two career 300-yard games. His fourteen 200-yard games are the sixth-most in school history.
• In just 19 games, he has passed for 4,302 yards, just the ninth player in school history to surpass 4,000 career passing yards.
• Buechele has thrown a touchdown pass in 16-of-19 games and has eight career multi-touchdown games.
Connor Williams Returns From Injury
• Junior All-American left tackle Connor Williams returned from injury Saturday at WVU for the first time since leaving the field against USC.
• Williams had started 26 of a possible 27 contests in his career, including 13 consecutive, before the injury. He now has made 27 career starts.
• Williams' impact was noticeable, as the Longhorns rushed for 233 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per play, both high marks in Big 12 play. The offensive line did not surrender a sack in the contest.
• Last season, Williams was a consensus first-team All-American, just the fourth sophomore in UT history to receive first-team 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 seven straight games before Saturday, several other Longhorn offensive linemen have missed time this season: Patrick Hudson (last nine games), Jake McMillon (one game), Elijah Rodriguez (11 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 11 games this season as well, while TE Garrett Gray has missed nine straight. That brings Texas' total to 51 games missed by offensive linemen and tight ends through just nine games.
Surpassing 1,000
• Sophomore WR Collin Johnson eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for career receiving in Saturday's win.
• A native of San Jose, Calif., Johnson now has 1,010 career yards on 75 catches. He leads UT with 47 catches this season, looking to become just the 24th Longhorn to ever catch 50 passes in a season.
Chasing 1,000
• Senior WR Armanti 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.
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.
• Seven times this season, 10-or-more players have caught at least one pass in a game, including all six games started by Shane Buechele. Ten-or-more players have caught at least one pass in five 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.
Young Breaking Loose
• True freshman running back Daniel Young started his third straight game at WVU, totaling 12 rushes for a career-best 85 yards and a score.
• A week prior, Young had 21 rushing attempts, his career high.
• This season, the Houston native has totaled 56 carries for 270 yards and two touchdowns. He also has 77 receiving yards on nine catches.
