Texas Longhorns - A Perennial Powerhouse By Rick Grantham At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The third most successful program and one of the elite football programs in the country, the Texas Longhorns football team produces some of the best college football players, a lot of which advance to the National Football League (NFL). By 2008, the Longhorns had at least one player drafted to the NFL for 71 consecutive drafts, starting as early as 1938. The Longhorns is the football team of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, playing their home games on-campus at the Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium with a seating capacity of over 90,000. The 2006-2007 season saw the country’s first high definition video display in a college campus, aptly named the “Godzillatron” which was installed in the University of Texas’ stadium after a renovation. The Longhorn’s current head coach is Mack Brown and has been since 1998. Greg Davis is their offensive coordinator and Will Muschamp their defensive coordinator. Their assistant head coach and running backs coach is former Longhorn’s quarterback Major Applewhite.

An undisputed record

The University of Texas is considered a powerhouse when it comes to football, having won four National Championships Division I-A in the 1963, 1969, 1970, and 2005 seasons. The Heisman Trophy, the highest individual honor to be given to college football players, were awarded to two Longhorn players, Earl Campbell in 1977 and Rick Williams in 1998. University of Texas football program is one of only five to have achieved 800 all-time victories.

Winners from the very beginning

From the beginning, the Longhorns came out on top. From 1936 to 2006, they finished the season ranking in the top 10, one-third of the time, or 25 times, in at least one of the two major polls as noted by the Associated Press. Under the wing of legendary coach Darrel Royal, the Longhorns sustained their success season after season. It was Royal who led them to three National Championships in the 60s and the 70s. His career with the team spanned twenty years from 1957 to 1976.

Success in recent years

Under head coach Mack Brown, former coach for North Carolina, the Longhorns had an 81% win-loss record with a score of 93-22. Often praised for his recruitments, he is often criticized for not being able to win the team a championship in the Bowl Championship Series games. Brown had a winning record in his first six years at Texas but falls short of winning the Big 12 conference. In the 2004-2005 season however, the Longhorns found their way to the 2005 Rose Bowl Championship. They defeated the University of Michigan Wolverines with a record of 11-1. It was the first time the two teams played against each other and it was also the Longhorns’ first time in the Rose Bowl. The success of the 2004-2005 season was followed with another great season since most of the top-ranked recruits were secured with the exception of Derrick Johnson, Cedric Benson, and Bo Scaife. In the pre-season, the Longhorns got a No. 2 ranking by the Sports Illustrated magazine, Associated Press, and USA Today. Throughout the season, they maintained that ranking. In January 2008, the Longhorns was listed among the top 7 candidates for the best team of the decade by NBC Sports.

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