Despite the Longhorns No. 11 ranking in the AP poll, Sterlin Gilbert refuses to get overly excited. The offensive coordinator addressed the media on Tuesday, stressing the work Texas has in front of them.

“We’ve got to continue to grow,” Gilbert said. “We need to focus on us and continue to get better.”

One of the main areas Gilbert hopes to see improvement is in the Longhorns’ tempo. Freshman quarterback Shane Buechele urged his offense to pick up the pace throughout Saturday’s 41-7 victory over UTEP, running 75 plays for 416 yards. Gilbert said he hopes Texas will continue to play fast against California.

“At times, we could be a lot faster,” Gilbert said. “There’s a lot of things we can be better at and be faster with. We still have to go with tempo.”

The Longhorns will face breakneck speeds on the other side of the ball on Saturday, matching up with a California offense that threw the ball 72 times in a 45-40 loss to San Diego State. 

The Golden Bears are led by senior quarterback Davis Webb. The Texas Tech transfer is currently second in the nation in passing yards through two weeks after sitting behind current Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff during the 2015 season. 

Texas is aware of Webb’s passing prowess and the need to contain the Bears’ potent attack. Sophomore safety DeShon Elliott said the Longhorns must be energized throughout Saturday’s contest if they want to stop California.

“We’re not going to be at home, our fans can’t bring us the energy,” Elliott said. “We have to bring the energy ourselves.”

Texas faces quite a tough task in week three while going on the road for the first time this season. However, Elliott said Texas is ready for the challenge.

“We gotta be prepared,” Elliott said. “If you don’t know your job, their band’s going to be playing.”