Texas Comes Home as Big Favorites Against UTSA

The Texas Longhorns return home Saturday to take on the UTSA Roadrunners. The Longhorns come in as huge 35.5-point favorites and, on paper, should roll in this one as well. But, the Roadrunners look to take a page out of the Northern Illinois playbook and pull off what would be an even bigger upset than last week’s stunner in South Bend, IN. 

How Can UTSA Pull Off the Upset

It will be tough, for sure, as Texas has shown no flaws to this point. But you have nothing to lose when you come in as five-touchdown underdogs. So, if you’re UTSA, you might just want to pull out the bag of tricks in this one. In recent history, most teams that have pulled off major upsets have done a couple of things – win the turnover battle, control time of possession and score touchdowns. They will need much better quarterback play this weekend, as Owen McCown needs to play the game of his life and try to somehow crack this vaunted Longhorns secondary.

Defensively, making Texas one-dimensional will probably be the best way to go about this. The Roadrunners are 67th against the run, and Texas does come in with a banged-up running back room, so it could be an area to exploit. Another key will be getting this game to the fourth quarter to shift all the pressure back on Texas. If you do that, anything can happen.

Sarkisian to Texas football team after Notre Dame loss: 'Don't let that be us.' | Golden https://t.co/vXES6j75rd

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Nothing Changes for Texas

Texas, you need to take a business-like approach. Nothing changes in how the Longhorns operate in this game, and I don’t expect that to happen. Offensively, quarterback Quinn Ewers should be in for a huge game. UTSA enters as the 106th-ranked passing defense, leaving room for this explosive air attack to have a field day on Saturday. Tight end Gunnar Helm should play well against a weak linebacker unit and be a key contributor in this game. While the running back room is banged up some, and depth could be an issue going forward later in the year, expect freshman running back Jerrick Gibson to get most of the work on Saturday as starting back Jaydon Blue is nursing an injury he suffered in last week’s win against Michigan.

Defensively, look for this unit to create turnovers. Texas is sixth in the country in intercepted passes, and this much-improved secondary that struggled all last year defending the pass has improved mightily so far this season. They’ve given up just 139 yards on average. UTSA transfer Trey Moore has been quiet so far this season in creating pressure and getting sacks, but look for him to have a good game coming off the edge against his former team.

Where to Watch

Texas and UTSA kick off at 6 pm, and you can find the game on ESPN.