Five Keys to a Texas Football Victory versus Oklahoma State

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Here are five keys to Texas football leaving Stillwater with an all-important sixth win.

  1. Special teams must be special

On a team where growing pains are the norm, the special teams unit has shown very little progress. Nick Rose is still unreliable. Not many Longhorns fans are ready to trust the game to Rose just yet. Bad weather could affect the kicking game, meaning Rose may have no room for missed kicks.

William Russ was replaced by Michael Davidson. It’s usually a bad sign when a team changes punters during the season.

Oklahoma State has dangerous kick returners. A short kickoff or bad punt can swing the momentum the Cowboy’s direction. At times throughout the season it looked like trotting out the special teams unit pained Charlie Strong. Will the unit do its job and avoid any critical miscues?

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  1. Run the ball…a lot

Texas fed West Virginia a steady dose of Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray last week. The result was 227 rushing yards on 39 carries. Gray had three touchdowns. It would behoove Texas to give the ball to Brown and Gray on a consistent basis, considering Oklahoma State ranks 42nd in the country in rush defense. If the weather is to play a factor, the Longhorns need to be smart and establish the run early. Keeping the OSU playmakers on the sideline and shortening the game is the perfect recipe for a one-dimensional Texas team.

  1. Tyrone Swoopes must minimize his mistakes

Swoopes was not good in the second half last week. It was fortunate Texas built an early lead, because the offense was dormant after halftime. Swoopes completed just 11 of 29 passes. He had a bad interception that killed a promising drive. Texas cannot afford another effort like last week. Swoopes doesn’t have to win the game by himself, he just needs to play within the offense and lean on his star running backs.

The Cowboys’ secondary ranks 111th in the nation. This is not a unit that creates a lot of turnovers – just nine interceptions on the season. But two of those interceptions have been returned for touchdowns. Swoopes needs to avoid forcing throws to John Harris and Jaxon Shipley. He must simply take what the defense gives him.

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    1. The offensive line must hold up

    With the news of Darius James’ season-ending injury, and a banged-up Kent Perkins, the offensive line is dangerously thin. The two-deep depth chart has three true freshmen on it. Playing true freshman on the offensive line is never a good sign.

    This unit needs to build upon the success of last week. It opened up gaping holes for Brown and Gray. It has to do the same on Saturday. More importantly, this group must avoid the injury bug. Texas’ season could rest on the shoulders of six inexperienced lineman. Yikes!

    1. Keep the ball out of Tyreek Hill’s hands

    Hill has not been a big threat in the passing game, with a mere 23 receptions in nine games. He has, however, had 43 carries in the last three games. Oklahoma State is finding ways of getting the ball to Hill. Texas will need to pay special attention to him. Like Daje Johnson, Hill is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball.

    Hill is not just an offensive threat. He is a dangerous kick returner. Texas would be wise to kick the ball out of the back of the end zone, or risk a big return from one of college football’s fastest players.