# 1977 Texas Longhorns football team

The 1977 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Longhorns finished the regular season with an 11–0 record. Earl Campbell won the Heisman Trophy in 1977 and led the nation in rushing with 1,744 yards. In 1977, he became the first recipient of the Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy, which was awarded to the most outstanding player in the now-defunct Southwest Conference. He was selected as the Southwest Conference running back of the year in each of his college seasons and finished with 4,444 career rushing yards. Rothman (FACT), a mathematical rating system in use since 1968 and NCAA-designated major selector, selected Texas as co-national champions with Notre Dame and Arkansas.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 10 | 4:00 p.m. | Boston College* | No. 18 | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | | W 44–0 | 50,000 |
| September 17 | 4:00 p.m. | Virginia* | No. 9 | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | | W 68–0 | 41,000 |
| October 1 | 4:00 p.m. | Rice | No. 8 | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX (rivalry) | | W 72–15 | 47,500 |
| October 8 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. No. 2 Oklahoma* | No. 5 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Red River Shootout) | | W 13–6 | 72,032 |
| October 15 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 8 Arkansas | No. 2 | Razorback StadiumFayetteville, AR (rivalry) | ABC | W 13–9 | 44,296 |
| October 22 | 1:30 p.m. | at SMU | No. 2 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX | | W 30–14 | 36,151 |
| October 29 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 14 Texas Tech | No. 1 | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX (rivalry) | | W 26–0 | 78,809 |
| November 5 | 2:00 p.m. | at Houston | No. 1 | Rice StadiumHouston, TX | | W 35–21 | 72,124 |
| November 12 | 2:00 p.m. | TCU | No. 1 | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX (rivalry) | | W 44–14 | 50,150 |
| November 19 | 3:00 p.m. | Baylor | No. 1 | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX (rivalry) | ABC | W 29–7 | 60,000 |
| November 26 | 1:30 p.m. | at No. 12 Texas A&M | No. 1 | Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX (rivalry) | | W 57–28 | 57,443 |
| January 2, 1978 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. No. 5 Notre Dame* | No. 1 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic) | CBS | L 10–38 | 76,701 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central timeSource: |||||||||

## Game summaries
### Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sooners | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| • Longhorns | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |

### At Texas A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Longhorns | 14 | 19 | 7 | 17 | 57 |
| Aggies | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
* Earl Campbell 27 Rush, 222 Yds (career-high)

### vs. Notre Dame (Cotton Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Fighting Irish | 3 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| Longhorns | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

## Awards and honors

* Earl Campbell – Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy, Consensus All-American
* Brad Shearer – Outland Trophy, Consensus All-American
* Fred Akers – SWC Coach of the Year

## 1977 team players in the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| Earl Campbell | Running back | 1 | 1 | Houston Oilers |
| Brad Shearer | Defensive tackle | 3 | 74 | Chicago Bears |
| Alfred Jackson | Wide receiver | 7 | 167 | Atlanta Falcons |