Texas Football: 3 biggest trap games on Longhorns schedule in 2023
BYU (Oct. 28: Austin, TX)
ESPN FPI Rank: 60
Sharp Beta Rank: 61
The second of the two games that Sark and the Longhorns will play against the new additions to the Big 12 this fall will come on Oct. 28 at home at DKR against head coach Kalani Sitake and the BYU Cougars.
Sark will face his alma mater the week after Texas travels to TDECU Stadium to face Houston on Oct. 21. And the week after the BYU game will see the Longhorns host the Kansas State Wildcats and head coach Chris Klieman at DKR in Austin.
While the two games do come at home at DKR, this two-week stretch in late October and early November against BYU and Kansas State could be one of the most sneakily difficult of any two-game stretch during the regular season. Texas has to be careful not to overlook the threat that BYU brings to the table in late October while preparing to host the defending Big 12 Champion Kansas State on Nov. 4.
BYU has a team laden with upperclassmen among the projected starters on both sides of the ball heading into the fall. A lot of the key starters on offense for the Cougars are transfers, including former USC and Pitt senior quarterback Kedon Slovis and a 1,000-yard rusher in UNLV transfer running back Aidan Robbins.
If this new group of transfers settles in well together on offense in the first couple of months of the regular season, this could be a dangerous squad for the Longhorns to face. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick is sure to keep opponents on their toes too given his ever-involving schemes and playcalling in the last couple of seasons.
On defense, BYU also has a lot of new faces in the mix. BYU made one of the more interesting coordinator hires of the offseason in the Power Five with the former Weber State DC Jay Hill. Hill was one of the best defensive coordinators in the FCS in the last decade, helping Weber State to four consecutive Big Sky Championships in the last few years.
BYU is going to focus on pressuring opposing quarterbacks and wreaking havoc with an experienced group among the front seven.
Next. 3 grad transfers UT should add if a roster spot opens. dark
All in all, BYU is a tough team to gauge at the moment. The combination of all the roster attrition in Provo along with the change in defensive coordinators put a lot of uncertainty surrounding this program heading into the fall. BYU will have ample time to figure things out before it faces Texas in late October in Austin, though.