Five keys to a Texas Longhorns win over UTSA
The No. 2 Texas Longhorns are set to take on the UTSA Roadrunners at 6 p.m. on ESPN in a battle between two in-state teams. Here are Inside Texas’ five keys to a Texas win over UTSA.
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Don’t eat the cheese
Last year, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor put rat traps with cheese in his players’ lockers with the underlying message being “don’t eat the cheese.” The Roadrunners were on a three-game winning streak and Traylor wanted to make sure his players didn’t think too much of themselves ahead of a matchup with East Carolina.
The Roadrunners won, but at what cost?
The Longhorns need to avoid smashing fingers this weekend. That was a dynamic Steve Sarkisian understood as he mentioned Monday he showed his players what happened to Notre Dame after the Fighting Irish defeated the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station. Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois at home.
Longhorn players mentioned Monday they understand the need to continue to prepare for each team like they prepared for Michigan. Plus, plenty of players from the 2023 team that beat Alabama then struggled against Wyoming know that letdowns are possible.
They’re also avoidable. The Longhorns have to avoid the trap of thinking they’ve made it after a win at Michigan. Don’t eat the cheese.
Keep Quinn Ewers clean
The Longhorns have surrendered a single sack in the course of the first two games, and that occurred against Colorado State as opposed to Michigan.
The Longhorns have a lot of goals ahead of them in 2024 but they will be tough to achieve if they don’t make sure Quinn Ewers is upright. Doing everything possible to give Ewers the capability to operate in the pocket should be something the O-line strives for.
Deploy the RB room
Jaydon Blue, Quintrevion Wisner, and Jerrick Gibson have each had highlights during the early parts of the 2024 season, and Texas will look for the running game to take care of business against UTSA. Not just from those three, but from the entire room.
The Longhorns have averaged 37 carries for 223 yards and almost three touchdowns per game in contests against Group of Five teams during the Sarkisian era.
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This game should offer opportunities for Colin Page and Velton Gardner to add to the 259 carries, 1562 yards, and 19 touchdowns Texas has tallied against non-Power Conference teams.
No busts
Last year, the Wyoming Cowboys led the Texas Longhorns after the first quarter thanks to a touchdown on a long run by Harrison Waylee. Anthony Hill was caught out of position, and 62 yards later the Cowboys had a 7-0 lead.
In 2022, Zakhari Franklin caught a 35-yard touchdown from running back Brenden Brady to put the UTSA Roadrunners up 17-7 on the Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Two big play busts put the Longhorns in minor peril in the past two seasons. Texas avoided the upset and righted the ship throughout the course of those games. If they don’t give up big plays, then the ship should stay on course.
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Play the opponent, not the scoreboard
Sarkisian mentioned he is looking for his team to create “60 minutes of hell for our opponents” earlier this week. While Colorado State and Michigan struggled to find success, there were some moments late in the game when the second- and third-stringers had lapses the first team was able to avoid.
The game should be in hand for the Longhorns in the contests’ later stages, and those second- and third-stringers will need to perform as well as the first-stringers to meet Sarkisian’s expectations.
