Texas vs. BYU: Five things to watch for on Saturday
The Texas Longhorns will be short-handed when the team takes the field Saturday versus the BYU Cougars. Several key players have been injured or suspended for the game, making this tough matchup even more difficult.
Here are five things to keep an eye on during the game Saturday.
5. Intensity
Texas certainly exhibited plenty of this against North Texas, holding the Mean Green to 94 total yards. But you have to wonder if this will carry over to this weekend after the loss of David Ash and Dominic Espinosa to injury, and Desmond Harrison and Kennedy Estelle to suspension.
The injuries to Ash and Espinosa seem particularly deflating. Not many college football teams can lose a starting quarterback and center and not expect a drop off in performance. Then, take out two offensive linemen who were expected to be crucial contributors along the line, and you have a recipe for disaster.
It would be easy for a team to be distracted following the events of this week. Will Texas come out flat? This doesn’t seem likely, considering there is a measure of revenge owed to BYU. Still, you have to wonder what the team’s mindset will be. Texas needs to come out with the same fire it showed last weekend. More importantly, it needs to sustain the intensity for all four quarters.
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4. Special teams
This game has all the makings of a low-scoring contest. If so, special teams could come into play. Texas has to win the field position battle. William Russ will need to pin BYU deep in Cougars territory. He may see the field quite a bit on Saturday, and he can’t afford any poor punts. Nick Rose must convert on his field goal attempts. Texas cannot squander scoring chances. The coverage teams must be solid in the return game. Often times in close, low-scoring games it is a special teams gaffe that decides the winner. Will we see a Jaxon Shipley punt return for a touchdown? Now would be a good time to have a Shipley make his presence felt.
3. Texas corners
The defense will be geared to stop Taysom Hill, Jamaal Williams and the Cougar rushing attack. This could mean one or both safeties playing closer to the line of scrimmage to support the run defense. Quandre Diggs and Duke Thomas will probably find themselves on an island at times. Both must be able to defend the pass, or Texas could be in for a long day. Hill threw for 308 yards and three scores on 28 of 36 passing against Connecticut. He has improved his passing from a year ago, making the BYU offense that much more dangerous.
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2. Tyrone Swoopes
Swoopes makes his first start as Texas quarterback. He will need to overcome any early butterflies and stay within the offensive gameplan. Shawn Watson will take advantage of Swoopes’ athleticism and design plays to get 6-foot-4 Swoopes into space. Above all, he must avoid the crucial turnover. Giving the Cougars a short field is the last thing this offense can afford to do.
The BYU defense will stack the box, forcing Texas to throw the ball. The Cougars have an experienced secondary, so a forced pass could easily go in the other direction. Expect Watson to have Swoopes rolling out of the pocket to buy him some time, as well as give him the option to run if it’s there.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Swoopes can run with the ball. If Hill could torch the Longhorn defense for 259 yards on one leg, Swoopes has the ability do the same.
1. Texas offensive line
Texas will be missing two starters in Espinosa and Estelle. Harrison may very well have started this game. The group is young and inexperienced. To compound the problem, they must protect a quarterback making his first start.
The key to Texas winning this game will be the ground attack. Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray will get a lot of work as Texas tries to do to BYU what the Cougars did to the Longhorns last year – dominate on the ground. Sedrick Flowers is the veteran on the line, with all of his two career starts. Jake Raulerson will need to do a better job of blocking than he did against North Texas.
Usually an offensive line needs time to gel. This group will do so under fire. No doubt Joe Wickline and Watson have their work cut out for them. There is essentially no depth behind the starters, although Wickline has cross-trained many of these players. Having interchangeable pieces gives you hope that the coaches can find the right combination.
The offensive line has to open holes for Brown and Gray, and protect Swoopes when he is in the pocket. Will this be too tall of an order for such a young group? We will find out soon enough.