Texas Football: 5 keys to success in 2018

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AUSTIN, TX – SEPTEMBER 02: Jerrod Heard #13 of the Texas Longhorns runs the ball defended by Antwaine Richardson #20 of the Maryland Terrapins in the third quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

5. Taking care of business outside the Big 12

One of the road blocks to the Horns finding their way early in the 2017 campaign was some unexpected and heartbreaking defeats out-of-conference. Texas only knocked off the San Jose State Spartans outside of Big 12 play last year. It fell short against the USC Trojans and Maryland, one at home and one on the road.

This time around, the field is flipped against USC and Maryland. Texas starts out the regular season by taking on the Terps on the road. Take the 10-point defeat from last year and learn from it to take care of business in College Park, MD, on Sep. 1.

Moreover, USC doesn’t have the same hype coming into the 2018 campaign that it did last year. Sam Darnold is gone, and the Trojans will be looking for a new answer at quarterback. Even former star running back Ronald Jones II is gone, leaving the to-be sophomore Stephen Carr as one of the best players for the USC offense.

The other non-conference opponent that Texas has on tap is the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. That should be a similar matchup to that of San Jose State last year. It’s a nice break for the Horns between Maryland and USC. Take advantage of that fact, and hopefully the Horns can pull out at least two wins against non-conference competition.

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