Texas Longhorns: Five keys to victory over Notre Dame

Dec 29, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Mitchell Loewen (89) tackles Texas Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (18) during the game in the 2014 Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

3. Explosive plays in the passing game

Texas will need Tyrone Swoopes to hit a couple of deep passes down the field against the Irish secondary. If Swoopes can complete a deep pass it will boost his confidence.

It will also go a long way towards quieting the home crowd. With their young offensive line, it is unlikely that the Horns are going to be able to sustain long drives of more than 10 plays. They need some explosive plays to shorten the field and move quickly into scoring position.

If Swoopes is able to stretch the field with the passing game that will cause the Notre Dame safeties to back off of the line of scrimmage and give the Longhorn running backs more room to run the ball.

If Texas can successfully run the ball, they will be able to keep the Notre Dame offense on the sideline and rest their own defense. If Texas is able to complete deep passes  it will keep the Notre Dame defense from bringing up their safeties and forcing the Longhorn offense to be one-dimensional.

If Swoopes completes a deep pass early in the game it should give him confidence for the rest of the team. The team will feed off of Swoopes confidence and that will snowball into a good offensive showing for Texas.

Next: Have to grind it out