Texas Longhorns lose Johnathan Gray and Chris Whaley for season

After escaping Morgantown with a 47-40 overtime win over the West Virginia Mountaineers,  the Texas Longhorns are now in the top-25 of nearly every major college football poll, and sit atop the Big 12 conference in a tie for first-place with the Baylor Bears. Most left them for dead after back-to-back blowout losses to the BYU Cougars and the Ole Miss Rebels, but they’ve rallied to win sis straight games on the strength of a resurgent running game and better play of the defensive side of the ball.

But both of those units took a major his this weekend, as running back Johnathan Gray and defensive tackle Chris Whaley have been lost for the remainder of the season:

The sophomore Gray has had a productive season for the ‘Horns, rushing for 780 yards and four touchdowns. He and Malcolm Brown have formed a two-headed monster in the Horns’ backfield, and with Gray out, Brown will likely be asked to shoulder more of the load. Brown has two 100-plus-yard rushing games against the Oklahoma  Sooners and Kansas Jayhawks.

Gray had carried the ball 8 times for 56 yards prior to the injury.

Whaley, who exited early in the first quarter with a leg injury, left the game on a cart and looked to be in significant pain. The senior came to Texas as a running back recruit and moved to the defensive line, where he’s racked up 22 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks so far this season. He also has two interceptions, and has scored two touchdowns this year.