Big 12 Football: Week 1 Power Rankings

Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns players lift up head coach Charlie Strong after the victory against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns players lift up head coach Charlie Strong after the victory against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Isaac Rochell (90) pressures Texas Longhorns quarterback Shane Buechele (7) in the first quarter at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Isaac Rochell (90) pressures Texas Longhorns quarterback Shane Buechele (7) in the first quarter at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1 Texas Longhorns

TEXAS IS BACK! Or so we hope, but taking down No. 10 Notre Dame in Austin on Sunday night showed us A LOT about what kind of team we can expect in the Longhorns this season.

Analysts and fans alike have had a never-ending debate this offseason whether Charlie Strong would start Shane Buechele or Tyrone Swoopes at quarterback. We actually didn’t have an answer until game time, however, both quarterbacks muscled through and dominated throughout all four quarters, and into overtime. Buechele showed he has a cannon of an arm, which is no surprise as quarterback guru and Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury warned us that Buechele would be a special talent. Swoopes owned his nickname, the “18 Wheeler” all night in plays that required him to bulldoze through the Notre Dame defense–which didn’t have an answer for him.

Buechele finished the night 16/26, 280-yards, and two touchdowns, with Swoopes accounting for 13 carries over 53-yards and three rushing touchdowns.

Moving forward, it’s safe to say Texas has two quarterbacks, and it poses a very scary predicament for Big 12 defensive coordinators. But speaking of defenses, Texas’ defensive coordinator Vance Bedford’s unit looked aggressive in the first half, but the Longhorns have to work on conditioning to ensure that second-half explosiveness is there, too.

Next Game:

Sat, Sep 10 Texas vs. UTEP Austin, Texas 6:00 p.m.