The season opener for the Texas Longhorns could not have gone much worse. The Longhorns suffered a 38-3 blowout at the hands of Notre Dame. Here are three things we learned from Texas' Week 1 loss.
Johnathan Gray Needs More Touches
Gray had only eight carries in Texas' loss. He needs at least twice that going forward. Texas didn't have much success getting holes open on offense, and Notre Dame dared Tyrone Swoopes to keep the ball on option plays. Still, the Longhorns' coaching staff must find more ways to get Gray the ball. Ohio State ran into a similar problem against Virginia Tech, but still found a way to get Ezekiel Elliott 15 touches. Gray is the Longhorns' most consistent offensive weapon. Texas must get him the ball more.
Malik Jefferson Is The Real Deal
One of the few bright spots from the game was that Jefferson looks like a future superstar. He's still playing on instinct to a certain extent, but Jefferson's future is bright. Jefferson had nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss. He's only going to get better, which is something this Texas team needs.
Offense Needs Major Improvement
Maybe Notre Dame turns out to be one of the best defenses in the nation and Texas doesn't have such a bad performance again this season. But even if that is the case, the offense needs major improvement. It appears Swoopes will be the QB this season for Texas, as Jerrod Heard barely played. Swoopes was a woeful 7 of 22 for 93 yards. His QBR was a dreadful 7.6. He must improve if he wants to get Texas anywhere this season. Getting Gray more touches will help the offense, but the entire offense must dramatically improve going forward.
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