# 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. Texas won its first three games of the season, maintaining a top 10 status. However, the Longhorns were upset by UCLA, followed by a loss to Oklahoma. This caused Texas to be excluded from both Top 25 polls for the first time since 1998.

### 2011 NFL Draft
#### 2011 NFL Draft Class

2011 NFL Draft selections :
| Round | Pick # | Team | Player | Position |
| 2 | 4 | Buffalo Bills | Aaron Williams | Cornerback |
| 3 | 31 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Curtis Brown | Cornerback |
| 4 | 6 | Arizona Cardinals | Sam Acho | Defensive End |
| 5 | 33 | Baltimore Ravens | Chykie Brown | Cornerback |

### Other signed seniors

Eddie Jones (Linebacker) – New York Jets
John Gold (Punter) – Seattle Seahawks
John Chiles (wide receiver) – Jacksonville Sharks
Justin Tucker (Placekicker) – Baltimore Ravens

## Roster
### Recruiting

During the 2011 recruiting period, Texas recruited 18 players, including nine from the ESPN 150. As a result, Texas' recruiting class was ranked first by ESPN and third by both Rivals and Scout.
College recruiting information (2011) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Johnathan Gray RB | Aledo, TX | Aledo HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 4.4 | Apr 22, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 |||||||
| Malcom Brown DT | Brenham, TX | Brenham HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | – | Apr 3, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 83 |||||||
| Cayleb Jones WR | Austin, TX | Austin HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 4.5 | Feb 27, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 83 |||||||
| Connor Brewer QB | Scottsdale, AZ | Chaparral HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 4.7 | Feb 7, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Thomas Johnson WR | Dallas, TX | Skyline HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 4.4 | Feb 22, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Kennedy Estelle OT | Pearland, TX | Glenda Dawson HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 310 lb (140 kg) | 5.2 | Jun 5, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Peter Jinkens OLB | Dallas, TX | Skyline HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 4.5 | Feb 26, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Bryson Echols CB | DeSoto, TX | DeSoto HS | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | – | Feb 26, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Alex Norman DT | Dallas, TX | Bishop Dunne HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | – | Feb 12, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Curtis Riser OG | DeSoto, TX | DeSoto HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 290 lb (130 kg) | – | Feb 13, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 3 Rivals: 3 ESPN: 1 |||||||
| ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Texas Football Commitment List 2012". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 13, 2011. "Texas College Football Recruiting Commits 2012". Scout.com. Retrieved September 13, 2011. "Texas Longhorns Commits 2012". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 13, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 13, 2011. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 13, 2011. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 7:00 p.m. | Rice* | | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX (rivalry) | LHN | W 34–9 | 101,624 |
| September 10 | 6:00 p.m. | BYU* | No. 24 | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | ESPN2 | W 17–16 | 100,995 |
| September 17 | 2:30 p.m. | at UCLA* | No. 23 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | ABC/ESPN | W 49–20 | 54,583 |
| October 1 | 6:00 p.m. | at Iowa State | No. 17 | Jack Trice StadiumAmes, IA | FX | W 37–14 | 56,390 |
| October 8 | 11:00 a.m. | vs. No. 3 Oklahoma | No. 11 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Red River Rivalry, College GameDay) | ABC | L 17–55 | 96,009 |
| October 15 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 6 Oklahoma State | No. 22 | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | ABC/ESPN | L 26–38 | 100,101 |
| October 29 | 6:00 p.m. | Kansas | | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | LHN | W 43–0 | 99,211 |
| November 5 | 11:00 a.m. | Texas Tech | | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX (Chancellor's Spurs) | FX | W 52–20 | 100,506 |
| November 12 | 11:00 a.m. | at Missouri | No. 21 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | FX | L 5–17 | 61,323 |
| November 19 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 16 Kansas State | | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | FX | L 13–17 | 100,705 |
| November 24 | 7:00 p.m. | at Texas A&M | No. 25 | Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX (rivalry) | ESPN | W 27–25 | 88,645 |
| December 3 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 19 Baylor | No. 22 | Floyd Casey StadiumWaco, TX (rivalry) | ABC | L 24–48 | 46,543 |
| December 28 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. California* | | Qualcomm StadiumSan Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl) | ESPN | W 21–10 | 56,313 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Rice

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rice | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| • #24 Texas | 3 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 34 |
Texas was favored by 24 points.
The Longhorns opened up the 2011 season against the Rice Owls of Conference USA. In the previous meeting, which was also the first game that 2010 Texas Longhorns football team played against, Texas won 34–17. Garrett Gilbert was the starting quarterback after he was selected over Case McCoy, David Ash, and Connor Wood. 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. 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. 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. This marked the first time that a non-quarterback player made a touchdown pass in school history since 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams. In the fourth quarter, Texas held Rice scoreless while scoring two touchdowns, both of which by running back Foswhitt Whittaker. Texas would hold off Rice for the rest of the game to win 34–9 victory, the seventy-first against Rice overall.

### BYU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| BYU | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| • #21 Texas | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
Texas was favored by 8 points.
Texas remained at home to face BYU. 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. In the first quarter, BYU held Texas scoreless with two punts, answering with two field goals. Garrett Gilbert, the starting quarterback, was replaced by backups Case McCoy and David Ash in the first quarter after throwing two interceptions. To answer Gilbert's second interception, the Cougars were able to drive 97 yards to score the only touchdown of the first half. After the touchdown, BYU lead Texas 13–0. In the second quarter, BYU quarterback Jake Heaps was intercepted by Texas cornerback Adrian Phillips. 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. 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.
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | BYU | Texas |
| 1 | 9:33 | 10 | 45 | 4:02 | BYU | 30-yard field goal by Justin Sorensen | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 6:45 | 5 | 21 | 1:49 | BYU | 33-yard field goal by Justin Sorensen | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | 11:41 | 12 | 97 | 5:04 | BYU | Ross Apo 6-yard touchdown reception from Jake Heaps, Justin Sorensen kick good | 13 | 0 |
| 2 | 1:44 | 7 | 19 | 3:15 | Texas | 23-yard field goal by Justin Tucker | 13 | 3 |
| 3 | 10:46 | 7 | 62 | 2:42 | Texas | Cody Johnson 1-yard touchdown run, Justin Tucker kick good | 13 | 10 |
| 3 | 4:36 | 12 | 56 | 6:02 | BYU | 32-yard field goal by Justin Sorensen | 16 | 10 |
| 4 | 8:46 | 8 | 52 | 3:18 | Texas | Cody Johnson 1-yard touchdown run, Justin Tucker kick good | 16 | 17 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 16 | 17 |

### UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #21 Texas | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| UCLA | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
Texas was favored by 4 points.
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.' Case McCoy and David Ash were selected as quarterback co-starters after Garrett Gilbert was taken out of the game against BYU. Texas started quickly into the game when UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince threw an interception. On the ensuing Longhorn drive, Case McCoy threw a 45-yard pass to D.J. Grant, giving Texas a 7–0 lead. Kevin Prince would throw 2 additional interceptions, both of which Texas scored upon, before taken out of the game.

### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #17 Texas | 13 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 37 |
| Iowa State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
Texas was favored by 9 points.

### Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Oklahoma | 6 | 28 | 14 | 7 | 55 |
| #10 Texas | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Oklahoma was favored by 11.5 points.

### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #7 Oklahoma State | 7 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 38 |
| #21 Texas | 0 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 26 |
Oklahoma State was favored by 8 points.

### Kansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Texas | 14 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 43 |
Texas was favored by 28.5 points.

### Texas Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texas Tech | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| • #25 Texas | 3 | 28 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
Texas was favored by 14 points.

### Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #20 Texas | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| • Missouri | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
Texas was favored by 1.5 points.

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #17 Kansas State | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Texas | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
Texas was favored by 7.5 points.

### Texas A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Texas | 0 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 27 |
| Texas A&M | 10 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 25 |
Texas A&M was favored by 8 points.

### Baylor

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texas | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| • #18 Baylor | 14 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 48 |
Baylor was favored by 3 points.

### Holiday Bowl – California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| California | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| • Texas | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
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. 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. In the final BCS rankings, Texas was twenty-fourth. In both the Associated Press' final rankings and USA Today's final rankings, Texas was unranked.
Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | RV | 24 | 23 | 19 | 17 | 11 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | 21 | RV | RV | RV | — | RV |
| Coaches | 24 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 21 | RV | RV | 25 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | — | RV |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 20 | RV | 25 | 24 | 20 | RV | RV | 25 | RV | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 24 | 24 | 21 | 16 | 23 | 25 | 22 | 24 | Not released |