Longhorns struggle in lopsided loss to Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- The start to the season had the same hopeless feel as the end of last year for Texas.

Tyrone Swoopes couldn't do much to get the offense going and the defense couldn't stop the run or the pass against No. 11 Notre Dame and lost 38-3 in the opener, the third straight blowout loss for the Longhorns.

Second-year coach Charlie Strong said he doesn't believe the Longhorns are as bad as they looked, but said they need to show it.

"We have to get better. We have to improve. We're just a better football team than what we showed," he said. "We have to believe it and our players have to believe it. Because we can't go out and not execute."

Heralded freshman Malik Jefferson, who finished second on the team with nine tackles, said he was surprised by the lopsided score.

"I'm not used to getting scored on," he said.

Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire showed he's more than a runner, picking apart the Texas defense as he threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns. He was 19-of-22 passing, an 86.6 percent completion rate. It was second-best in school history. Steve Beuerlein completed 10 of 11 passes against Colorado in 1984, a 90.9 percent completion rate.

"He threw precision routes," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. "We knew what he was capable of. I think he put it together tonight, and he has room to grow."

Zaire credited his line.

"They gave me some great protection," Zaire said.

Strong said his defense didn't do enough to pressure Zaire.

"We just gave him too much time to throw it and they have really outstanding receivers," Strong said. "When you allow him the time and he can find him, which he did, he's going to make those throws."

Will Fuller caught a pair of touchdown passes -- one a 66-yarder -- and finished with 142 yards receiving. Chris Brown added a 6-yard touchdown catch. Freshman Josh Adams ran for a pair of TDs, including 14-yard score on his first career carry, and C.J. Prosise added 98 yards rushing on 20 carries.

Kelly said Tarean Folston, the leading rusher from last season, sustained an injury to his right knee. He didn't immediately know the severity.

Notre Dame took advantage of an inexperienced Longhorns squad starting three players who were in high school a year ago, amassing 527 yards of total offense.

"We've got to get more consistent with stopping the run. We'd have one stop, two stops, and every now and then there would be an explosive play," Texas defensive end Naashon Hughes said.

The Irish improved to 9-2 against Texas, and to 10-2 in home night games. The Longhorns, coming off a 6-7 season, lost a season opener for the first time since 1999. It also marked their third straight blowout loss, finishing 2014 losing 48-10 to TCU and 31-7 to Arkansas.

The 11th meeting between the programs that rank second and third in victories (Notre Dame with 883 and Texas with 881) didn't match the significance of their three meetings in the Cotton Bowl in the 1970s when national championships were on the line each time. But there was still a big-game atmosphere, with burnt orange visible throughout the stands and with some in the crowd paying more than $500 a ticket.

Kelly didn't want to get overly excited about the win.

"A good victory. It's only one," Kelly said. "It's a long journey for our football team. We're excited about the win, but we have a long way to go."