Texas vs UTEP: Week 2 Schedule, Preview, and Prediction
By Tyler Brett
It’s a great time to be a part of Texas football. After a thrilling win to open the season, the Longhorns take on the UTEP Miners in Week 2. Following their huge game Week 1 and big games on the slate coming up, this could be an easy game for Texas to look past. However, that would be a mistake.
Where to watch
Saturday, September 10, 6:00 PM CT, LHN
What to Watch For
Following the win over Notre Dame, everyone is singing the praises of Texas. They shot up in the polls, everyone got an award, and people can’t stop talking about the return of Texas football.
But there are still games to play. While they impressed in the win over the Irish, this Longhorn team has plenty of room to grow and UTEP isn’t going to just roll over for them. The Miners enter this game 1-0 after beating New Mexico State 38-22 in Week 1. They showed good balance last week, passing for 229 yards and rushing for 289 yards.
On paper, Texas is a heavy favorite. They have the talent, the facilities, the coaching, and a 30-point spread in their favor. But if Week 1 taught us anything, it’s that games aren’t played on paper. UTEP is a team with some depth and some pride, and it would make their year to pop Texas’ balloon right now.
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The Longhorns have taken a big first step towards restoring the program but they need to remain focused. There are still big things the team can improve on and they will need to be better to meet the challenges coming their way. UTEP might appear like an opportunity to relax and take a breath, but as we saw numerous times last week, you need to bring it every week to win.
Keys to Victory
- Stay Focused – There is no reason that Texas should not blow out UTEP. No offense to the Miners, but the talent disparity is as big as its going to be in any game the Longhorns play this season. However, if Texas comes in flat and looking ahead, they can be tripped up. Maybe not enough to lose, but even winning close would be damaging to the team’s momentum right now.
- Be More Consistent on Defense – Yes, the defense came up with the stops they had to have against Notre Dame. But they gave up 444 yards and 47 points in between. The Longhorns could stand to get better on all levels of the defense by being more consistent and missing fewer assignments. Texas had zero turnovers, zero sacks from the defensive line, and too many missed tackles against Notre Dame. Using this game to tighten that up could make the difference down the stretch.
- Play Texas Football – There will be the temptation to get cute this week. But this coaching staff should have an idea about what this team does well at this point. With a difficult stretch coming up (Texas won’t return to DKR until October 15), this is an opportunity to sharpen what Texas does well.
Prediction
Texas is favored by 30 points and the team is on a roll. The coaching staff is going to want to build momentum heading into their games at Cal, at Oklahoma State, and against Oklahoma, so they keep the pedal to the metal.
Texas 56, UTEP 16