No. 21 Texas’ Saturday matchup against UTSA could be a trap game.

While UTSA’s 1-1 record doesn’t immediately send up red flares for Texas fans, the Roadrunners are a hard-nosed, experienced football team. Their games against then-No. 24 Houston and Army were both pushed into overtime. The Roadrunners lost to the Cougars by a missed two-point conversion and edged out the Black Knights by a field goal. 

Last season, UTSA topped Western Kentucky for the Conference USA title last season, dropping only one game en route to the championship game. The Roadrunners also climbed to No. 15 in the Week 10 of the AP Poll and stayed ranked until their loss to San Diego State in the Frisco Bowl.

Although Texas is set as a 12.5 point favorite by ESPN, the Longhorns are dealing with a slew of injuries after last Saturday’s 20-19 loss to Alabama. Quinn Ewers is expected to be out for at least a month due to a sternoclavicular sprain, and Hudson Card is day-to-day with an ankle injury. In addition, redshirt senior cornerback D’Shawn Jamison and junior running back Bijan Robinson are also considered day-to-day.

With Texas’ starting quarterback unknown for Saturday, here are three keys to the Longhorns topping the Roadrunners.

Offensive line physicality 

The offensive trenches look decades removed from the line play Texas fans witnessed last season. 

With offensive line coach Kyle Flood signing the best o-line recruiting class in program history this offseason, expectations are high for the front five. Luckily, the line has done a great job allowing minimal pressure to the quarterback this season. It only permitted three sacks to Alabama, who had 2021 Heisman finalist linebacker Will Anderson frontlining the Crimson Tide defense. 

With quarterback depth shallow due to a plethora of injuries, the offensive line needs to work in survival mode to protect whoever is receiving snaps.

Additionally, Heisman-contender Robinson has not seen his typical production on the ground this season, only posting 128 rushing yards through two games. In comparison, Robinson recorded 172 rushing yards during the first two games of 2021. If Texas’ front can make holes for Robinson and redshirt senior Roschon Johnson to rush through, then the Longhorns could not only top UTSA on Saturday, but cover the 12.5 point spread as well. 

Pass Ja’Tavion Sanders the ball

Ewers told sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders that he would be passing to him a lot during spring training.

A six-foot-four wide receiver turned tight end, Sanders is an athletic receiver that can block for running backs and win one-on-one matchups against cornerbacks or linebackers. By nature of his position, he can also catch and run off easy check downs. Regardless of whoever starts at quarterback, Sanders can be a security blanket, turning improvised and desperate plays into large gains. 

Getting Sanders involved in the passing game should not only bring back routine to a Longhorn offense that’s been thrown into turmoil, but also improve red zone efficiency. Last week, Texas scored a touchdown during two of its seven trips to the red zone.

Dominance from the secondary

The Roadrunners have an ancient offense. 

Quarterback Frank Harris and starting wide receivers Zakhari Franklin, Joshua Cephus and De’Corian Clark are all seniors. In addition, Harris has been the starting quarterback for four years. 

Last season, UTSA’s offense was highlighted by running back Sincere McCormick, an All-American and two-time Conference USA player of the year. Since McCormick departed UTSA for the NFL, the Roadrunners now greatly depend on the passing game. 

This season, the trio of senior wide receivers have already amassed 600 yards this season, in comparison to Texas’ 541 total receiving yards. 

The Longhorn secondary will need to shut down the senior wide receivers to avoid a four-quarter Saturday shootout at DKR.