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2011 Texas Longhorns football team

The 2011 Texas Longhorns football team (variously "Texas," "UT," the "Longhorns," or the "'Horns") represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Longhorns were led by 14th year head coach Mack Brown and played their home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 4–5 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for sixth place improving on their disastrous 5–7 season from 2010. They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they defeated California 21–10.

Previous season

After the 2009 Texas Longhorns football team lost to Alabama in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game, Texas entered the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season ranked fifth in the AP Poll and fourth in the Coaches Poll.[1] Texas won its first three games of the season, maintaining a top 10 status.[2] However, the Longhorns were upset by UCLA, followed by a loss to Oklahoma.[2] This caused Texas to be excluded from both Top 25 polls for the first time since 1998.[3]

2011 NFL Draft

2011 NFL Draft Class

Other signed seniors

Eddie Jones (Linebacker) – New York Jets

John Gold (Punter) – Seattle Seahawks

John Chiles (wide receiver) – Jacksonville Sharks

Roster

Recruiting

During the 2011 recruiting period, Texas recruited 18 players, including nine from the ESPN 150.[4] As a result, Texas' recruiting class was ranked first by ESPN and third by both Rivals and Scout.[5][6]

Schedule

Game summaries

Rice

Texas was favored by 24 points.[20]

The Longhorns opened up the 2011 season against the Rice Owls of Conference USA.[21] In the previous meeting, which was also the first game that 2010 Texas Longhorns football team played against, Texas won 34–17.[22] Garrett Gilbert was the starting quarterback after he was selected over Case McCoy, David Ash, and Connor Wood.[23] Rice was able to hold the Longhorns to a three-and-out and attain a field goal to give Rice a 3–0 lead. However, Texas was able to respond with another field goal drive which was highlighted by a 56-yard pass from Gilbert to Mike Davis that would turn out to be the longest pass for the game, tying it at 3–3 at the end of the first quarter.[19] In the second quarter, Rice's Xavier Webb fumbled a punt that was recovered by the Texas team deep inside the Owls' side of the field, setting up the first touchdown of the game and putting Texas at a 10–3 lead.[24] Each team made an additional field goal in the remaining second quarter to put the score at 13–6 with Texas leading.

To start the second half, the Owls were able to narrow the Longhorns' lead to 13–9 after driving 46 yards to make a field goal, but on the ensuing drive Texas was able to increase the lead once again with a touchdown highlighted by a 36-yard pass by John Harris to Jaxon Shipley.[19] This marked the first time that a non-quarterback player made a touchdown pass in school history since 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams.[24] In the fourth quarter, Texas held Rice scoreless while scoring two touchdowns, both of which by running back Foswhitt Whittaker.[19] Texas would hold off Rice for the rest of the game to win 34–9 victory, the seventy-first against Rice overall.

BYU

Texas was favored by 8 points.[26]

Texas remained at home to face BYU.[27] Prior to the game, the two teams had only met twice, in 1988 and 1987. In both games, BYU won with scores of 47–6 and 22–17, respectively.[28] In the first quarter, BYU held Texas scoreless with two punts, answering with two field goals.[29][30] Garrett Gilbert, the starting quarterback, was replaced by backups Case McCoy and David Ash in the first quarter after throwing two interceptions.[31] To answer Gilbert's second interception, the Cougars were able to drive 97 yards to score the only touchdown of the first half.[31] After the touchdown, BYU lead Texas 13–0. In the second quarter, BYU quarterback Jake Heaps was intercepted by Texas cornerback Adrian Phillips.[32] This set up a Texas field goal that would be Texas' first score of the game with 1:44 left in the half, cutting the BYU lead to 10 points.[27] The Cougars would keep possession for the remaining second quarter to keep the score at 13–3 at halftime, with BYU still leading. But against all odds, the Texas Longhorns stunned the BYU Cougars by means of a last minute touchdown and earning the victory as a result.[30]

UCLA

The Texas Longhorns defense lines up against UCLA in the Rose Bowl

Texas was favored by 4 points.[34]

The Longhorns played UCLA for their first away game on September 17. In the previous 3 matches, UCLA won in large blowouts, most notably in 1997 when they won 66–3 in what became known as 'Rout 66.'[35] Case McCoy and David Ash were selected as quarterback co-starters after Garrett Gilbert was taken out of the game against BYU.[36] Texas started quickly into the game when UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince threw an interception.[37] On the ensuing Longhorn drive, Case McCoy threw a 45-yard pass to D.J. Grant, giving Texas a 7–0 lead.[38] Kevin Prince would throw 2 additional interceptions, both of which Texas scored upon, before taken out of the game.[37]

Iowa State

Texas was favored by 9 points.[40]

Oklahoma

Oklahoma was favored by 11.5 points.[42]

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State was favored by 8 points.[44]

Kansas

Texas was favored by 28.5 points.[46]

Texas Tech

Texas was favored by 14 points.[48]

Missouri

Texas was favored by 1.5 points.[50]

Kansas State

Texas was favored by 7.5 points.[52]

Texas A&M was favored by 8 points.[54]

Baylor

Baylor was favored by 3 points.[55]

Holiday Bowl – California

Texas was favored by 3 points. Most valuable players were David Ash (QB) and Keenan Robinson (LB).

Rankings

The Texas Longhorns began the season unranked for the first time since 1998 in the AP Poll, although it was ranked twenty-fourth in the Coaches Poll.[56] After wins against Rice and BYU, Texas would slowly increase in the rankings before jumping four spots in the AP Poll and three in the Coaches Poll after winning against UCLA. After the bye week Texas once again jumped another 2 spots in the AP Poll and one in the Coaches Poll.[57] In the final BCS rankings, Texas was twenty-fourth.[58] In both the Associated Press' final rankings and USA Today's final rankings, Texas was unranked.[59][60]

Notes

  1. ^ Denotes the largest crowd to watch a football game at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (beating a previous record set during the 2010 Texas Longhorns season against the UCLA Bruins). The record would be topped on October 6, 2012 with a crowd of 101,851 vs West Virginia.

References

  1. ^ "2010 NCAA Football Rankings – Preseason". ESPN. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "All-Time Results". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  3. ^ Litman, Laken (October 3, 2010). "Longhorns Out of Top 25 for First Time in 192 Weeks". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  4. ^ "Texas Longhorns – Recruits". ESPN. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  5. ^ "2011 Team Ranking". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  6. ^ "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  7. ^ "Brigham Young Cougars vs. Texas Longhorns Box Score". ESPN. September 10, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  8. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. UCLA Bruins Box Score". ESPN. September 17, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  9. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Iowa State Cyclones Box Score". ESPN. October 1, 2011. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  10. ^ "Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns Box Score". ESPN. October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  11. ^ "Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Texas Longhorns Box Score". ESPN. October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  12. ^ "Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas Longhorns Box Score". ESPN. October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  13. ^ "Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Texas Longhorns Box Score". ESPN. November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  14. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Missouri Tigers Box Score". ESPN. November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  15. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Kansas State Wildcats Box Score". ESPN. November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  16. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M Aggies Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  17. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Baylor Bears Box Score". ESPN. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  18. ^ "Holiday Bowl". USA Today. December 29, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  19. ^ a b c d "Rice vs Texas (Sep 03, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  20. ^ "Rice Owls vs. Texas Longhorns – Preview". ESPN. September 1, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  21. ^ "2011 Schedule". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  22. ^ "Texas 34, Rice 17, Box Score". ESPN. September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  23. ^ Riggs, Randy (August 29, 2011). "Gilbert Gets Starting Nod at Quarterback, but Depth Chart is Heavy on Youth". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  24. ^ a b "No. 24 Football Defeats Rice, 34–9, in Season Opener". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. September 3, 2011. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  25. ^ "BYU Cougars vs Texas (Sep 10, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. September 10, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  26. ^ "Brigham Young Cougars vs. Texas Longhorns – Preview". ESPN. September 8, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  27. ^ a b "BYU Falls To Longhorns On The Road 17–16". Brigham Young University Department of Athletics. September 10, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  28. ^ Watson, Graham (January 26, 2010). "BYU and Texas to Meet in 2011". ESPN. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  29. ^ "Brigham Young Cougars vs. Texas Longhorns – Box Score". ESPN. September 10, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  30. ^ a b "Brigham Young Cougars vs. Texas Longhorns – Drivechart". ESPN. September 10, 2011. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  31. ^ a b "Backup QBs Help Texas Edge BYU After Garrett Gilbert Pulled". ESPN. September 10, 2011. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  32. ^ "No. 24/21 Longhorns hold on for 17–16 victory over BYU". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. September 10, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  33. ^ "Texas vs UCLA (Sep 17, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. September 17, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  34. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. UCLA Bruins – Preview". ESPN. September 15, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  35. ^ Smukler, Eli (September 23, 2010). "UCLA's Unlikely, Unforgettable 'Rout 66'". Daily Bruin. University of California–Los Angeles. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  36. ^ Eberts, Wescott (September 12, 2011). "Case McCoy, David Ash Co-Starters, Garrett Gilbert Demoted". SB Nation. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  37. ^ a b "No. 24/21 Longhorns post 49–20 victory over UCLA". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. September 17, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  38. ^ "(23) Texas vs. UCLA – Box Score". ESPN. September 17, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  39. ^ "Texas vs Iowa State (Oct 01, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. October 1, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  40. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Iowa State Cyclones – Preview". ESPN. September 29, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  41. ^ "Texas vs Oklahoma (Oct 08, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  42. ^ "Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns – Preview". ESPN. October 6, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  43. ^ "Texas vs Oklahoma State (Oct 15, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  44. ^ "Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Texas Longhorns – Preview". ESPN. October 13, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  45. ^ "Texas vs Kansas (Oct 29, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  46. ^ "Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas Longhorns – Preview". ESPN. October 27, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  47. ^ "Texas vs Texas Tech (Nov 5, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  48. ^ "Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Texas Longhorns – Preview". ESPN. November 3, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  49. ^ "Texas vs Missouri (Nov 12, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  50. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Missouri Tigers – Preview". ESPN. November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  51. ^ "Texas vs Kansas State (Nov 19, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  52. ^ "Kansas State Wildcats vs. Texas Longhorns – Preview". ESPN. November 17, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  53. ^ "Texas vs Texas A&M (Nov 24, 2011)". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. November 24, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  54. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M Aggies – Preview". ESPN. November 22, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  55. ^ "Texas Longhorns vs. Baylor Bears – Preview". ESPN. December 1, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  56. ^ Rosner, Mike (August 20, 2011). "Longhorns Unranked in Preseason AP Poll". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  57. ^ "LSU Overtakes Oklahoma In AP Poll". ESPN. September 28, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.[dead link]
  58. ^ "Bowl Champ. Series: Week 15". Yahoo! Sports. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  59. ^ "AP Top 25: Final". Yahoo! Sports. January 9, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  60. ^ "USA Today: Final". Yahoo! Sports. January 9, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.