Texas Football: Staff predictions for Week 1 vs. UL-Monroe
The day of the regular season opener for head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program has finally arrived on Sep. 3. Texas is set to take on head coach Terry Bowden and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks out of the Sun Belt at home under the lights at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, with kickoff time set for 7 p.m. CT.
Sark and the Longhorns come into this matchup against the Warhawks as a pretty heavy favorite, by more than five possessions in some sportsbooks.
Texas will have the chance to build up some momentum this weekend before the schedule gets really difficult ahead of Big 12 play. In the next two weekends, the Longhorns are set to face the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and defending Conference-USA Champion UTSA Roadrunners.
But first, we have to see Sark and the Longhorns take on ULM with a new starting quarterback leading the offense. Redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers is set to get his first career college start this weekend.
Here’s a look at our staff predictions for Hook’em Headlines for the regular season opener between Texas and ULM on Sep. 3.
Hook’em Headlines staff predictions for Texas football vs. UL-Monroe
Shane Black:
The Longhorns should come out firing on the offensive side of the ball in the first half of this one. Expect a heavy dose of Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy to help build the confidence of Quinn Ewers in his first career start.
I expect Sark to put on the show for the fans, running an up-tempo offense with a good amount of shots over the top of the defense. With that said, I expect the second and third units to enter this game sooner than we may think. With Alabama coming to DKR next week, there is no reason to risk injuries or give Nick Saban any extra tape. Though I think the ULM offense will have trouble moving the ball, I could see them putting together a few scoring drives against the Longhorn backups.
Texas-55, ULM-17
Carson Jones:
Texas has the advantage in about every category vs LA Monroe. I expect Texas to manhandle the Warhawks, and no offense to Coach Bowden and his team but Texas has all the firepower. Look for Quinn to throw all over this young Warhawk secondary on offense. On the defensive side, I expect the pass rush to be much improved.
Texas-41, ULM-13
Tarik LaCour:
Texas-49, ULM-10
Andrew Miller:
This game is a great opportunity for Ewers to get a lift-off for his first season as a starting quarterback. If Ewers can start the season off on a high note, then the Longhorns should dominate this game right from the get-go.
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It’s also worth noting that with the combination of the insane skill position talent and depth for the Longhorns on the offensive side of the ball with a defense that should be markedly improved, this should be an easy win. I think Texas takes a big first-half lead and never looks back.