2007 Texas Longhorns football team

2007 Texas Longhorns football
Holiday Bowl champion
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
DivisionSouth
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 10
Record10–3 (5–3 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGreg Davis (10th season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Co-defensive coordinatorDuane Akina (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorLarry Mac Duff (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 85,123)
Seasons
← 2006
2008 →
2007 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 4 Missouri xy   7 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 7 Kansas x%   7 – 1     12 – 1  
Colorado   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Kansas State   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Nebraska   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Iowa State   2 – 6     3 – 9  
South Division
No. 8 Oklahoma xy$   6 – 2     11 – 3  
No. 10 Texas   5 – 3     10 – 3  
No. 22 Texas Tech   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Oklahoma State   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Texas A&M   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Baylor   0 – 8     3 – 9  
Championship: Oklahoma 38, Missouri 17
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 Texas Longhorns football team (variously "Texas" or "UT" or the "Horns") represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Mack Brown. The Longhorns played their home games in Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (DKR).

The Longhorns entered the 2007 season ranked third on all-time college football lists in both total wins and winning percentage.[1] A pre-season ranking by ESPN writer Mark Schlabach had the Longhorns ranked eighth,[2] while College Football News ranked Texas third.[3] The Longhorns came into the season ranked fourth in both the Coaches Poll[4] and AP Poll.[5] During the preceding summer five players had been disciplined for legal infractions, another suspended for NCAA rule violations, and a coach had undergone surgery for cancer.[6] Additional players were suspended during the season.[7]

The Longhorns played games against two opponents they had never faced previously: Arkansas State University and the University of Central Florida (UCF).[8] The Longhorns narrowly achieved a victory in their home opener with Arkansas State,[9][10][11] and in their first road game of the season, Texas was the inaugural opponent for the UCF Knights in their new stadium.[12] In preseason speculation, games against Texas Christian University (TCU) and Oklahoma (OU) were considered among the top 20 games to watch during the 2007 college football season.[13]

The 2007 Longhorns take the field on opening day against Arkansas State.

The Longhorns lost conference games to the Kansas State Wildcats,[14] the Oklahoma Sooners,[15] and the Texas A&M Aggies.[16] In two close games, they avoided upset attempts by lower-ranked Nebraska and Oklahoma State, the latter game involving a 21-point fourth quarter comeback by the Horns.[17] Texas concluded its season by winning the 2007 Holiday Bowl against the Arizona State Sun Devils—another first-time opponent for Texas—bringing their season record to 10–3.[18]

The Horns finished the season ranked tenth in the AP poll[19] and in the USA Today coaches poll.[20] After the season, five UT players entered professional football through the 2008 NFL draft[21] and four others agreed to sign free-agent contracts with NFL teams.[22]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ark State gw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Schlabach, Mark (January 11, 2007). "Booty could return Trojans to No. 1 ranking". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  3. ^ "CFN 2007 Pre-Preseason Rankings - Top 25". College Football News. January 14, 2007. Archived from the original on January 27, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference coaches pre-season was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference AP pre-season was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Bohls, Kirk (September 1, 2007). "Longhorns Thinking Positive – Good to Get Bad Karma Out of the Way". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Powers responds was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference All-Time Records vs. Opponents was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ark State box was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference hangs on was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Horns lackluster was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference UCF_first was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference CBS p176 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Sunflower Showdown Next for No. 24 Cats". College Football News. October 1, 2007. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  15. ^ Hale, Cody (October 9, 2007). "Brown Says Losses Not Bad Luck". The Daily Texan. University of Texas at Austin: Texas Student Publications. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2007.
  16. ^ "Box Score". Texas A&M University Department of Athletics. November 23, 2007. Archived from the original on November 26, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  17. ^ Moore, Roger (November 3, 2007). "How Much Can One Football Fanbase Take?". NewsPress. Stillwater. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Horns Ball was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ "2007 NCAA Football Rankings - Final". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  20. ^ "2007 NCAA Football Rankings - Final - Coaches Poll". ESPN. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Draft was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Free was invoked but never defined (see the help page).