Texas Football: Ranking the 5 Best Moments for the Longhorns in 2014

Texas' regular season ended on a sour note in its loss to TCU, but that doesn't diminish the awesome moments this team has delivered en route to its bowl eligibility.

Though it may be considered a disappointment by many, the Longhorns' 6-6 season has had plenty of big plays, game-changing hits and even a rare display of pure joy by its head coach.

See where they all fall based on their impact on the season.

5. John Harris Eclipses 1,000 Receiving Yards

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With 39 yards against TCU, Harris became the first Longhorn to eclipse 1,000 yards since 2009.

Though it came in a humbling loss, John Harris' 39 receiving yards against TCU made him the sixth Longhorn receiver to ever turn in a 1,000-yard season.

Thanks to his 117-yard day at Oklahoma State, the senior wideout needed just 24 yards over his final two games to join the likes of Jordan Shipley and Roy Williams on Texas' single-season receiving list.

At that point, reaching the mark was a mere formality for the Horns' No. 1 receiver, who has a shot of polishing off a top-three season in Texas' bowl game. With 127 yards in that contest, he will eclipse Williams' best year on the 40 Acres.

And to think, this guy was about to transfer this spring.

Whether or not Harris ends his season with a bang, his last year on campus has been remarkable. Transitioning from a four-year benchwarmer to a top threat at all levels of the field, the 6'2" receiver has at least earned some late-round NFL consideration.

4. Diggs' Hit Sparks a Winning Streak

Coming off a 23-0 beatdown at Kansas State, the Longhorns trailed Texas Tech and freshman quarterback Patrick Mahomes early in Lubbock. With a loss, Charlie Strong's first season would have surely ended without a bowl appearance.

Then came Quandre Diggs to the rescue.

Gifted a 6-3 lead by a Tyrone Swoopes fumble, Mahomes pulled the ball on the option in hopes of another big gain. Instead, he found the lurking Diggs, who smashed the freshman in the chest to jar the ball loose.

The Longhorns recovered, scored 31 of the game's next 38 points and proceeded to go on a dominant three-game winning streak en route to bowl eligibility. Diggs said after the game, "I think it was huge. Anytime you can get the ball back for the offense and great field position, you know, is a great feeling, and just getting another takeaway in the game, we win. Getting that opportunity to make a play was fun to get it done."

The senior's hit was a turning point in what had seemed like a lost season.

3. Swoopes to Foreman Seals a Bowl Appearance

Texas' win over Oklahoma State gave the Longhorns bowl eligibility and showed off the best in Tyrone Swoopes. Both can be summed up in one 45-yard touchdown.

The Longhorns had been wholly dominant in this one right up until a James Washington touchdown put the Cowboys within two scores early in the fourth quarter. With the offense sputtering in the absence of an injured Jaxon Shipley, this one was close to becoming a game.

Despite bad field position, Swoopes answered by converting a third down and a deep throw to Harris that took the Horns across midfield.

But a blown-up run play forced the Horns into 3rd-and-11, forcing the sophomore to convert for the second time of the drive. Instead, he uncorked a 45-yard bomb to streaking freshman Armanti Foreman, who hauled it in over his shoulder for the deciding touchdown.

The play sealed the win, and bowl eligibility, for Texas while announcing Foreman as the next big thing for the offense. As for Swoopes, he finished with a career-best 72.7 completion percentage, two perfectly placed touchdowns and no turnovers.

2. Swoopes Leads Unbelievable Game-Winning Drive

Who cares if it came against Iowa State? You're not supposed to win games this way.

In the rare instance in which the offense had to bail out the defense, Swoopes put on an all-purpose show for the ages. The big quarterback accounted for all but 94 yards of Texas' offense, throwing for 321 and running for another 95 to account for two touchdowns.

None of those 416 yards were more impressive or important than the last 68 through the air. 

Following a tying touchdown by the Cyclones, Swoopes got the ball back at his own 28 with 22 seconds to play. On his first play, he drops back and slings it to Jaxon Shipley down the left sideline for 39 yards, putting the Horns in long field-goal range and stopping the clock.

With the clock down to 14 seconds, Swoopes got one last play to shorten the distance for shaky kicker Nick Rose. It's another perfect rainbow down the left sideline, this one to John Harris, who nearly takes it in for the touchdown.

Now down to seven seconds, the Longhorns settle for 29 yards on the play and let Rose pop the game-winner from just outside extra-point range.

To recap, that's two plays for 68 yards and the winning score in 15 seconds. The next time someone tells you that Swoopes can never be the long-term solution, remind them of that series.

1. Charlie Strong Crowd-Surfs After Upset

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Strong and his players were all fired up after their upset win over West Virginia.

It didn't outright secure bowl eligibility for the Longhorns, but their win over West Virginia made it possible, and their head coach celebrated accordingly.

Coming into their matchup with Texas, the No. 21 Mountaineers had given No. 2 Alabama all it could handle, trounced No. 4 Baylor and hung with No. 7 TCU. They were a good football team ready to avenge the previous year's 47-40 overtime loss to the Horns.

The Longhorns had other thoughts in mind, unleashing Cedric Reed for three sacks, a safety and a forced fumble, while Quandre Diggs rode top receiver Kevin White up and down the field. 

With Johnathan Gray running wild for 101 yards and three touchdowns, including this highlight-reel 40-yarder, the Horns secured a dominant 33-16 upset—their first in four tries this season.

To celebrate the victory, the Longhorns players crowd-surfed head coach Charlie Strong, stating to the doubters and naysayers that this was their guy through thick and thin.

"I just walked in there, and they just grabbed me," Strong said during his postgame press conference. Even if the results aren't quite there, this small act showed that this team has bought in.