Texas Football Game Breakdown: Scouting Week 3 vs Wyoming

The 2023 college football season is fast approaching, and the hype for Texas football in Year 3 of the Steve Sarkisian era is high. The Longhorns bring back 17 starters from a 2022 squad that won eight games and had flashes of greatness. Those flashes must become more consistent if the Horns want to leave their mark during their final season in the Big 12.

In July, Texas was selected atop the Big 12 Media Preseason Poll for the first time since 2009. The Horns received 41 of 63 first-place votes, ahead of Kansas State’s 14 and the four received by Oklahoma and Texas Tech. This solidified Texas as the program to beat in the Big 12 this fall.

The Longhorns first took the field for fall camp on Wednesday, Aug. 2. The hype for Texas football and the 2023 season has grown with every passing practice. It would be apropos to take a game-by-game look at the Longhorns’ 2023 opponents, diving into every aspect of what Texas will face this fall.

After Texas football’s home opener against Rice and road blockbuster against Alabama, the Horns return to the friendly confines of Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium to take on the Wyoming Cowboys. The games kicks off at 7:00 PM CT on Sept. 16 and will be shown on Longhorn Network. According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, the Horns have a 96.6 percent chance of beating the Cowboys.

Here is everything you need to know about Texas’ Week 3 matchup against the Wyoming Cowboys.

How Texas football stacks up against Wyoming

Overview:

Craig Bohl returns to Laramie for his tenth season as the head coach of Wyoming. Bohl has taken the Cowboys to five bowl games in the last seven seasons, including back-to-back appearances over the past two years.

Despite back-to-back seven-win seasons, the Pokes were not shown much love in the Mountain West Preseason Poll. Wyoming was picked to finish sixth in the conference by the media. This should not shock Coach Bohl and his team, as the Pokes seemingly go into every season underrated by the media.

Wyoming plays a hardnosed, gritty style of football. Their goal is to muck up the game and speed up the clock. The Cowboys do not possess near the athleticism of a team like Texas, but their togetherness masks many of those deficiencies. Wyoming will bring their A-game to Austin. Let’s look at the potential problems their offense could cause the Horns.

Offense:

The Wyoming offense needs a major revamp if the Pokes want to improve on their 7-6 mark from last season. Here are just a few telling statistics from last year’s Cowboy offense.

• 104th in third down conversion percentage
• 110th in scoring offense
• 119th in total offense
• 125th in passing yards per game

There are obvious needs for improvement, especially in the passing game.

Fifth-year senior Andrew Peasley looks to be once again the day one starter at quarterback for Coach Bohl. With a career completion percentage of 52.8 percent and a TD-INT ratio of 17-14, Peasley certainly leaves a lot to be desired. He does have a scrambling element to his game, but there is not one thing Peasley does that should scare the Longhorn defense.

Wyoming must control the clock with its rushing attack to keep this game competitive. The Cowboys have a strong stable of backs who complement each other well. Up front, veteran offensive linemen Frank Crum and Nofoafia Tulafono lead one of the better units in the Mountain West.

If the Cowboys get the ball into the red zone, they should feel comfortable cashing it in. Last year, Wyoming ranked 14th nationally in red zone scoring percentage (90.6%). Elite tight end Treyton Welch had a lot to say about that. Welch led the team with five receiving touchdowns.

In all honesty, the Wyoming offense does nothing that should challenge the Texas defense.

Defense:

Wyoming will once again rely on its defense to win games this fall. 10 starters and nearly the entire two-deep return for a unit that finished last season 48th nationally in points per game.

Junior linebacker Ethan Gibbs is the leader of the defense, finishing with a team-high 121 tackles in 2022. Gibbs was selected as Preseason Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. He is a true do-it-all linebacker and leader of this Cowboy defense. Pencil him in for double-digit tackles every game.

Defensive linemen Jordan Bertagnole and DeVonne Harris were also selected to the Preseason Mountain West All-Conference Team. They will be a duo the Texas offensive line must key in on. Bertagnole and Harris clog up the middle of the line, forcing backs to constantly bounce to the outside. They will be a handful for the Texas interior offensive line.

The Cowboys have a veteran secondary that is very adept at limiting the big play. Upperclassmen Jakorey Hawkins and Wyett Ekeler are the names to know, with Hawkins taking home the crown of best cover corner on the roster.

The depth and experience Wyoming brings back on the defensive side of the ball is invaluable. This unit has very few holes and will not beat itself. While I believe the Texas offense will succeed against the Pokes, I foresee it being harder to score against Wyoming than many fans might think.

Prediction:

Given the game that precedes, this is one of the more intriguing weeks on the Texas schedule. Regardless of the result against Alabama, I do not see the Longhorns sleepwalking through this contest. Wyoming provides little threat on the offensive side of the ball but has a stingy and prideful defense that will not let Texas walk all over it. I see the Cowboy defense keeping this one close for 1.5 quarters before Texas’s athletic advantage wins out. – Wyoming 10 Texas 38