PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Sam Ehlinger, a sophomore, has become the unquestioned leader of the Longhorns offense. He hit on 16 of 28 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Kansas while adding another score on the ground despite being limited because of an injury to his right (throwing) shoulder. His school-record and Big 12 Conference streak of consecutive passes without throwing an interception ended at 308 in the second quarter of the win over the Jayhawks.
–WR Collin Johnson, a junior, caught a team-best four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown in the win over Kansas. Johnson (6-foot-6) is the huge, intermediate target that Texas needs to help open up the offense. He has 57 receptions for 768 yards and six TDs in the first 12 games.
–RB Keaontay Ingram, a true freshman, leads the Longhorns with 676 rushing yards on 129 carries. He has three rushing and two receiving TDs and has caught 21 passes for 123 yards. The last UT freshman with a 600-yard rushing season was Johnathan Gray in 2012, who finished with 701 yards on 149 attempts.
–DE Charles Omenihu has been big this season, especially in conference games. For the season, he has team-highs in tackles for loss (14.5) and sacks (8.5).
SERIES HISTORY: Texas leads the series 62-46-5. The series, which began in 1900, has been played in Dallas since 1912 and at the State Fair since 1929, but Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game will be played in a different setting — at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Saturday marks the first time since 1903, and just the third time ever (also 1901), that the two schools will meet for a second time in a season. In 1901, UT won 12-6 on Oct. 19 at home and then 11-0 on Nov. 25 at Oklahoma. In 1903, UT tied 6-6 on Oct. 17 at home and then won 11-5 at Oklahoma on Nov. 13.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Winning is really hard, really, really hard. Winning this game will be extremely hard. Winning a bowl game will be hard. Winning games next year will be hard. But, again, I love where we’re at in terms of the development of our players, and the young players especially. We’re not good enough right now to blow anybody out. But we’re just good enough to beat anybody. That’s a testament to the development of these players, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.” — Texas coach Tom Herman, about the progress of his team.
