The No. 7 Texas Longhorns will host the BYU Cougars this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Last week, the Longhorns escaped with a win against Houston, but the victory came at a cost. If the Longhorns want to keep their playoff hopes alive, all three phases of the game must contribute to the win.
Texas needs to play complementary football
The Longhorns are yet to play a complete game, one where they dominate at all times and go all gas and no breaks, as head coach Steve Sarkisian likes to say. Against Wyoming during week three, Texas came out slow, and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that both the offense and defense decided to start playing at the level a team hoping to compete for championships is expected to. Last week against Houston, the game was much closer than most Longhorn fans would have liked. To achieve a complete game and guarantee a victory, Texas must play complementary football for the entire game. Not just for a quarter or a half, but the entire game. This means that when the defense forces a stop, the offense rewards them with points.
Establish the run early, especially without Ewers
A huge headline coming into this week is whether starting quarterback Quinn Ewers will be able to play. Last week he collided with a Houston linebacker and, although he initially looked fine, was taken into the locker room. Ewers emerged in street clothes with his arm in a sling. Sarkisian described his starting quarterback’s availability as “week to week.” If Ewers is not able to go on Saturday, the next man up is Maalik Murphy, the redshirt freshman from Inglewood, California. To guarantee a successful outing, the Longhorns must use their large offensive line to establish the run early. The combo of CJ Baxter and Jonathon Brooks has been extremely successful, and getting those two going early will take the pressure off Murphy. Running the ball well forces the defense to focus on stopping the run game, which in turn creates more one-on-one coverage in the passing game. Furthermore, Murphy is no regular athlete. At 6 foot, 5 inches and 238 pounds, Murphy can be a threat in the running game as well.
Shut down BYU’s passing game
A strength of the contending BYU Cougars is their passing game. Quarterback Kedon Slovis has already thrown for over 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns. What makes defending this offense difficult is Slovis’ ability to spread the ball around. Three members of the Cougars’ receiving corps have over 20 receptions on the season. To have success on Saturday, the Longhorns will need to have strong communication in the secondary. Against Houston, they fell victim to crossing routes. Many times instead of letting the receiver go to the other side of the field, they chased them, mainly causing a friendly fire collision and leaving their man wide open. Against Oklahoma, there was a breakdown in communication, and the Sooners scored the game winning touchdown.
The Longhorns won’t need to play their best game, but they must show they’re a national championship caliber team by taking care of business and being relentless against another unranked opponent this weekend.
