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Texas Football: 5 Reasons Longhorns Will Be Better Against Notre Dame in 2016

By Tyler Brett

Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (18) scrambles out of the pocket against Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Romeo Okwara (45) at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeats Texas 38-3. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (18) scrambles out of the pocket against Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Romeo Okwara (45) at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeats Texas 38-3. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 31, 2015; Ames, IA, USA; Texas Longhorns teammates offensive lineman Patrick Vahe (77) and linebacker Malik Jefferson (46) walk off the field after losing to the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones beat the Longhorns 24-0. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2015; Ames, IA, USA; Texas Longhorns teammates offensive lineman Patrick Vahe (77) and linebacker Malik Jefferson (46) walk off the field after losing to the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones beat the Longhorns 24-0. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Experience

As Strong looks to turn over this roster, he’s leaned on a significant number of freshman. Heading into last season’s opener, Texas started six freshman and had 23 freshman listed on their official depth chart.

You can imagine that there aren’t many tougher places to make your collegiate debut than on the road at Notre Dame. All the history, the atmosphere, and, oh yeah, a top-15 team lining up across from you. It’s no surprise that the stage was a little big for the Horns as many key contributors were still trying to find their legs and get up to speed.

This year, all those wide-eyed freshman are seasoned sophomores and ready to hit the ground running in 2016. Malik Jefferson, Connor Williams, Patrick Vahe, and John Burt all started as true freshman against the Irish last season. Now, Jefferson is the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Williams and Vahe are coming off freshman All-American seasons in 2015, and Burt figures to be one of the most explosive playmakers in the Big 12.

While Texas remains young in several key areas, many of those young players are leaders and are prepared to build off their experience playing early.

Speaking of building off that experience …

Next: 3. Understanding Their Strengths

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