Receivers

In the loss to Oklahoma State, Texas only had 119 passing yards. Against TCU’s Heisman candidate quarterback, Trevone Boykin, the Longhorns will have to do better. Senior wide receiver Marcus Johnson led the team with 50 yards on two receptions. Senior wide receiver Daje Johnson only had two receptions for six yards. To stand a chance, the offense has to make moves down the field. Texas will need big throws down field, and redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard can’t be scared to throw those passes. The receivers need to do their part in Fort Worth on Saturday because they did not do enough against Oklahoma State. Texas must stay head-to-head with TCU in total yardage, and the receivers need to help with that. TCU had 750 total yards against Texas Tech last Saturday, while Texas only had 290 yards against Oklahoma State. This will crush the Longhorns against the Horned Frogs, especially since Boykin threw for 485 yards and four touchdowns against the Red Raiders.

Offensive Line

Texas’ offensive line seems to be a never-ending problem. Texas only had 171 rushing yards against Oklahoma State — maybe that is due to the running backs or maybe it’s due to the offensive line. Heard did not have nearly enough time on some plays and ended up having to escape tackles to salvage the drive. So far this season, the offensive line has been unable to do its job as well as it should. With so much youth on the line, this is understandable. Against the No. 4 team in the country, every piece of the Texas team must be on its best behavior — the offensive line included.

Defensive Line

The defensive line allowed 103 rushing yards against Oklahoma State. For Texas, this is pretty good. But it’ll be a different ball game against the Horned Frogs. Stopping TCU senior running back Aaron Green will be the biggest challenge for the defensive line. Against Texas Tech, Green had 28 carries for 162 yards. Green accounted for a majority of the team’s total rushing yards — 162 out of 247. Green has six touchdowns on the season so far and 434 total yards. Once Green gets going, he will be hard to stop. However, despite Green’s great play, TCU ranks 23rd in rush yards per game. Don’t let this ranking fool you — it is mainly due to the fact that Green is TCU’s main back. Behind Green, Boykin is TCU’s second leading rusher. Texas’ defense must also stop Boykin on all fronts.