Analyzing the second-half Texas Longhorns schedule
The Texas Longhorns need to win four of its last six games if the Longhorns hope to play in a bowl game this year. The offense showed some life last week against the Oklahoma Sooners, giving fans hope that the team can rebound in the second half of the season.
Where can Texas get its four wins? Let’s look at the remaining six games on the Texas Longhorns schedule.*
Iowa State, October 18
The Cyclones come to Austin with a 2-4 record. Iowa State has dropped conference games to Baylor and Oklahoma State. The offense revolves around quarterback Sam B. Richardson. He had 262 yards passing and 83 yards on the ground in the 31-30 Texas victory last year.
This has been a close series the last few years. Iowa State beat Texas in Austin in 2010. Last year the Cyclones thought they had a big stop and turnover with Texas driving. Iowa State did not get the call, and Texas went on to punch in the winning score.
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2014 result – Texas win (3-4)
@Kansas State, October 25
Texas hits the road for a trip to Manhattan, a place where the Longhorns have not fared well. In 2012, Texas fell to Kansas State 42-24.
Last year, the Longhorns rebounded from two bad losses to BYU and Ole Miss to defeat the Wildcats 31-21. David Ash started the game, but did not finish after taking a hard hit and suffering another concussion. Texas rode the legs of Johnathan Gray, who rumbled for 141 yards on 28 carries. He had touchdown runs of 21 and 15 yards. The Longhorns generated 452 yards of offense that day.
The Wildcats improved to 5-1 record with a win over Oklahoma in Norman today. The lone loss was a hard-fought game against the Auburn Tigers. Quarterback Jake Waters is in his second year of running Bill Snyder’s offense. It’s an offense that is averaging more than 40 points a game. This game could turn into a shootout, meaning the better offensive team will prevail.
2014 result – Texas loss (3-5)
@Texas Tech, November 1
Oct 11, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (18) scrambles against the Oklahoma Sooners during the Red River showdown at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The Longhorns travel to Lubbock for a match up with a struggling Red Raider squad. Coming into today’s game, Texas Tech had lost four straight games. During that streak, the Red Raider defense has given up 40 or more points in three of those games (in the other loss, the defense gave up 37 points).
Quarterback Davis Webb has been a turnover machine in the last four games, throwing nine interceptions. Texas’ defense has been a ball-hawking group. The Kliff Kingsbury honeymoon made be coming to an end.
2014 result – Texas win (4-5)
West Virginia, November 8
The Mountaineers have been a surprise this season. West Virginia is 5-2, with its losses coming to Alabama and Oklahoma. A big win over Baylor today keeps the momentum going.
The Mountaineers win with offense. The team is seventh in the country in passing, and 55th in rushing. Clint Trickett has not thrown for less than 300 yards this season. Wide receiver Kevin White has been electric this year. He has 100 yards receiving in all seven games to go along with seven touchdowns. The Trickett-to-White duo is one of the best in the country.
West Virginia came to Austin two years ago and shocked a packed DKR behind Geno Smith and Tavon Austin. The Texas defense is much better than the 2012 unit. Still, it will be hard-pressed to stop this Mountaineer offense. The Texas offense will need to capitalize on all of its scoring chances if it hopes to get the win. This will be hard to do.
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2014 result – Texas loss (4-6)
@Oklahoma State, November 15
The Cowboys have been a pleasant surprise, following up a tough, opening-season loss to Florida State with five straight wins coming into today’s action. Upon closer inspection, however, shows the competition has not been very good. Oklahoma State has beaten Missouri State, UT-San Antonio, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas. The No. 15 ranking may be a little misleading. Daxx Garman has taken over for J.W. Walsh at quarterback. The junior has looked good against inferior opponents.
The Cowboys are a young football team. This game has the makings of the last time Texas traveled to Stillwater. Ash pulled out the win with a stellar passing effort. Tyrone Swoopes will need to manage the game and let the defense take care of business. This could be the game the young signal caller grows up and gets a critical road win.
2014 result – Texas win (5-6)
TCU, November 27
Texas hosts TCU on Thanksgiving Day with a chance to finish .500. The Horned Frogs came into the season with a question mark at the quarterback position. Trevone Boykin has answered those questions admirably. Entering today’s game, he has a touchdown-to interception ratio of 11:2. He also leads the Horned Frogs in rushing. Boykin has come to earth a little bit in the last two games against Oklahoma and Baylor. Still, he beat the Sooners, and put up 44 of TCU’s 58 points against the Bears.
An easy non-conference schedule makes this team hard to figure out. Texas needs this game to become bowl eligible. The Longhorns ride an energized home crowd to get the win.
2014 result – Texas win (6-6)
With wins in four of the last six games, Texas becomes bowl eligible.
*records based on games played early on Saturday, October 18.