In the spring of 1976 he competed with Mike Cordaro for the backup position, but was lost for the season following a knee injury at the first fall scrimmage in August.
Relying on eventual Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, three-time All-American kicker Russell Erxleben and solid defense, McEachern and the Longhorns did just well enough to win 13-6.
[7] Late in the season, McEachern re-injured his knee in practice and Sam Ansley replaced him that week against TCU and the start of the next against Baylor.
[10] For only the fourth time in Texas history, the Longhorns finished the season ranked #1, undefeated and playing in the Cotton Bowl for the national championship.
[12] He struggled early and after a poor showing against Oklahoma was replaced by Donnie Little who got the start the next week against North Texas State.
In that game McEachern came off the bench and threw two touchdown passes to rally Texas to a come-from-behind win and reclaim his starting position.
In it, former starter Mark McBath took a significant number of snaps and, for reasons that Akers never stated, was given the start the next week against Texas A&M.
[14] McBath also got the start in the 42-0 blowout win over Maryland in the Sun Bowl, a game in which McEachern played only sparingly, throwing 2 incomplete passes while rushing for -27 yards.