Texas Football: 3 weaknesses Sarkisian can exploit vs. Louisiana

In a little bit less than one week, new Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian will lead his squad out on the field at DKR to face the No. 23 ranked Louisiana Ragin-Cajuns. No. 21 ranked Texas has high hopes riding on the 2021 season, with a new head coach in store in the former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator/reigning Broyles Award winner Sark.

But the regular season slate is not easy by any means to start off. Sark and the Longhorns are set to take on No. 23 Louisiana on Sep. 4 at home to open up the regular season slate. And then, the Longhorns travel to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks on the road on Sep. 11.

Two straight weekends of facing solid opponents that could challenge a Longhorns team that still has some uncertainties means that Sark needs to have his team ready right away. Texas is breaking in a new starting quarterback, likely with sophomore Hudson Card, a new coaching staff, and some new skill position talent on each side of the ball.

The onus is on Texas football HC Steve Sarkisian to prepare well for a tough Louisiana team in Week 1

Texas is currently a 9.5-point favorite in the betting line against the Ragin-Cajuns as of the afternoon of Aug. 29. And the ESPN matchup predictor (based on the Football Power Index metrics) gives the Longhorns just over an 87 percent chance to beat Louisiana at home next weekend.

Those seem to be pretty favorable odds for Texas in taking on one of the best Group of Five programs in the entire country this fall. Louisiana returns more than 20 starters from last season’s team, which is a lot more than the Longhorns do. It will be a challenge for Sark and the Longhorns to solidify this win over such a strong opponent out of the gates this fall.

Here’s a look into three weaknesses Sark must exploit if the Longhorns want to take care of business against Louisiana in the regular season opener on Sep. 4.