Texas Football: 3 reasons why the Longhorns could put 70 on Rice

Texas can run all over Rice

The real advantage that Texas’ offense holds over Rice’s defense is on the ground. Texas has the size, athleticism, and production advantage along the offensive line and in the backfield compared to Rice’s defensive front.

Texas has a two-inch advantage in height and nearly a 50-pound advantage in weight among the average size of its offensive linemen compared to Rice’s starting down linemen.

Texas has some menacing and powerful starting offensive linemen who will set the tone on the ground against the Owls this weekend. New starting guard DJ Campbell joins sophomore All-Big 12 offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., and experienced redshirt senior Christian Jones can bully this smaller Rice defensive front that struggled to stop almost everyone it faced last season on the ground.

I’m excited to see what this stable of Texas backs can do against a Rice defense that ranked in the bottom 10 in the FBS last season in opponent yards per attempt, 5.4, according to TeamRankings. Rice also struggled to stop explosive runs, ranking in the bottom eight in the FBS last season in opponent rushing plays of at least 20 yards (28).

This is a great opportunity for Texas to set the tone on the ground with true freshman back CJ Baxter Jr. in the zone running game. Texas should also get Brooks involved in the ground game and on screen passes to get him out in space and see what he can do with the starting running back job this fall.

In Rice’s bowl game loss to Southern Miss last season, the Owls allowed more than 350 rushing yards and 9.5 yards per attempt. I think there’s a good chance Texas could go over 300 rushing yards if Sark sticks with the ground game consistently this weekend.

Texas should easily be able to amass enough explosive plays and chunk-yard runs to put up at least 50 points on Rice this weekend.