Texas football vs. UTSA: 4 bold predictions for Week 3

This coming weekend, No. 21 ranked Texas football will battle head coach Jeff Traylor and the defending Conference-USA Champion UTSA Roadrunners at home for the third straight game. Texas got off to a good start this season, despite the 1-1 record through the first two weeks.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns got their first loss of the season on Sep. 10, which came by just one point after the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide knocked through a game-winning field goal with less than one minute left in the fourth quarter. That was surely a tough loss for the Longhorns, but the fact that this team competed until the very end with the No. 1 squad in the country is something positive to takeaway.

Meanwhile, UTSA comes into this game with a record of 1-1 (0-0 C-USA) after downing the Army Black Knights in a tough game on the road on Sep. 10. UTSA also has a tough loss under their belt, with the Roadrunners falling short in overtime to the Houston Cougars at home on Sep. 3.

Bold predictions for Texas football vs. UTSA

Texas is sure to have a tough battle ahead against a good UTSA team that has a lot of experience on both sides of the ball. Here’s a look at four bold predictions for Texas vs. UTSA in Austin on Sep. 17.

Ryan Watts racks up one interception, one sack, and one forced fumble

Redshirt sophomore cornerback Ryan Watts was one play away from essentially putting the Longhorns in a prime position to seal the win against the Crimson Tide late in the fourth quarter last weekend. Watts had star Alabama quarterback Bryce Young within his grasp on a key play late in the fourth quarter where he could’ve brought him down for a sack and kept the Tide even farther out of field goal range.

Young wound up escaping the tackle, though, and we all know how things went after that, regardless of how you feel about the missed call when Ovie Oghoufo was being held.

Yet, that shouldn’t take away from how Watts’ play was viewed in that game. Watts was solid for the Longhorns in the back end of the defense for the second straight week. He only allowed two catches for nine receiving yards and just four yards after the catch.

Watts has performed with the very best of them among Big 12 corners in the first two weeks of the season. In fact, he ranks among the top six corners in the Big 12 so far this season in terms of receptions per snaps in pass coverage. He’s allowed around one reception every 26 snaps he’s taken in pass coverage.

It’s also worth noting that Watts ranks among the three best starting corners in the Big 12 so far this season in terms of receiving yards allowed per pass coverage snap (0.16 receiving yards allowed per pass coverage snap).

Watts has also proved that he can make an impact in multiple phases of the game. He’s generated some pressure on the quarterback in the first couple of weeks of the season, and also has two stops under his belt.

It feels like only a matter of time before Watts breaks through in the turnover department. And it would be massive if he could find this breakthrough this weekend against a quarterback that takes such good care of the football such as UTSA’s Frank Harris.

Yet, Harris was pretty prone to fumbles in the last two seasons. He’s fumbled the ball more than a dozen times in the last two seasons.

Thus, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Watts be in a spot to force a turnover or two if he can really get a good read on Harris.

The pressure that Watts has generated on the quarterback so far this season also goes to show that it’s just a matter of time before he finally gets home.