With eyes of nation upon UT, Strong gets much-needed ‘W’

AUSTIN — Crazy. Just crazy.

Charlie Strong as the coach he’s supposed to be.

Strong as the man who screwed up what should have never been touched and still got it right.

Shane Buechele as the next great hope and the Longhorns’ smootharmed freshman quarterback with absolutely no fear.

Buechele losing the ball he had owned.

Texas turning to backup senior Tyrone Swoopes way too many times to count — the last time when it mattered most.

The forgotten, un-

ranked Longhorns up by 17 midway through the third quarter and No. 10 Notre Dame looking completely lost on prime-time national TV.

The Fighting Irish turning Strong’s flaws into gold, then trading a meaningless extra-point attempt into two night-altering points and unbelievable overtime.

When the show was finally over Sunday night at Royal-Memorial Stadium before the biggest crowd in Longhorns history, it was 50-47 Texas in double OT, instant madness and “Swoooooopes!”

“We needed (Sunday) to get the program back in the spotlight. … This is a great start for us,” said Strong, who was lifted and carried by his players after the surreal four-hour thriller.

When the game you couldn’t believe was complete, the greatest opening weekend in college football history was finally done.

Tom Herman and the University of Houston slaying No. 3 Oklahoma.

Kevin Sumlin and his Aggies nearly blowing it before saving face against No. 16 UCLA.

Strong and his rebuilt Longhorns somehow surviving Notre Dame.

And all those other great contests that paled to Royal-Memorial’s literally erupting as 11 p.m. approached and Swoopes saved Strong’s night.

What a game. What an evening. What a weekend.

Who says Strong is in trouble? And who in the world thinks you need only one quarterback to win?

Losers and fools, obviously.

Turning the corner?

“A great team victory,” said Strong, who flipped the script again by going defense-first in the second OT. “I just loved the way that we played. … A year ago, we probably would have lost that game.”

Inspired by Herman’s big Saturday and Sumlin in 2015, Strong shocked 102,315 in mostly burnt orange by sometimes getting it very right and other times getting it eerily wrong.

What started as another reminder of the Longhorns’ recent tragic fall — 7-0 Notre Dame while the new Bevo was still finding a new spot of grass — became a national Longhorns recruiting announcement.

Strong entered Texas’ new season impersonating last year’s version of Sumlin. Two quarterbacks, no official starter. Playing media games and politics but never committing to a public campaign.

Buechele received the majority of pregame reps and was the smart fan’s favorite for months. The son of 11-year MLB veteran Steve Buechele, who’s the Texas Rangers’ bench coach and missed Sunday’s groundbreaking 7-6 Astros win in Arlington, had to wait a little while longer to get an approving nod from his FBI director.

Notre Dame won the coin toss, requested the ball, then celebrated its own mysterious starter unveiling (DeShone Kizer) by shocking all those standing with a six-play, 78-yard touchdown drive in just 2 minutes, 32 seconds.

Royal-Memorial went from full blast to silent. All those private fears about the possible weakness of Strong’s 2016 product returned to life.

Then Buechele, the 6-1, 191-pound Arlington native, finally got his shot.

There was a fourthdown conversion at Notre Dame’s 21-yard line. There was an 11-play, 75-yard drive in just 3:02. There was Steve’s son lofting an absolutely perfect 19-yard pass to junior wide receiver Armanti Foreman in the left corner of the end zone, with Foreman collecting the soft offering just as his sliding body crossed from orange to white.

And then Strong gave a shout-out to the 2015 Aggies and sent “Swoooooopes” cascading for the first time in 2016 through Vince Young’s former stadium.

Swoopes became Texas’ QB with 12:26 left in the second quarter, proceeded to rush for 30 yards on five carries, and propelled the Longhorns onto the Irish’s side.

Then Buechele came back in.

Then Swoopes reappeared.

Then Buechele was rediscovered.

When the wheel stopped and the charade was complete, it was Buechele diving for a yard into the end zone and the Longhorns leading 14-7.

So confused by Strong’s “Choose Your Own Adventure” plot, Notre Dame jumped offsides during a pivotal point in the chapter and allowed an opponent that played two QBs twice each in one drive to gallop 88 impressive yards in 16 plays.

Vintage vibe

Forced to fight for his job in Week 1 on national TV, Buechele responded by doing the perfect thing again. Sophomore receiver Jerrod Heard sprinted down the middle of the field with a couple of steps on everyone trying to keep up. Buechele reared back and delivered, lofting a gorgeous 68-yard completion that allowed Heard to race onward without blinking.

Sunday night in Austin was a reminder of what Texas football used to be. Big-time and prime-time. National. The game you had to watch.

A sold-out stadium and overflowing crowd were proof of Texas’ 124-year football prowess.

“It was just amazing just to see our crowd,” Strong said.

The second half opened with another Buechele bomb — a 72-yard TD to John Burt that made it 2814 Longhorns.

But Strong couldn’t figure out which QB he wanted, and Texas was back to its backward ways.

It was Notre Dame 35-31 in the fourth, and we were reminded why Strong has so much to prove in 2016.

Then it was Buechele back again, Swoopes bruising everybody in sight, and the Longhorns finally getting the win Strong so badly needed.

The backup up the middle for a final 6-yard TD.

The field turning into a sea of crashing orange. “Swoooooopes!” What a game. What a night in Austin. Especially for Charlie Strong.