After escaping the Bulldogs last weekend in Starkville, Mississippi, Texas Football gets to save some travel time this weekend. They will be hosting the #9 Vanderbilt Commodores at DKR Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Longhorns have the opportunity to knock the Commodores out of their Cinderella season in the SEC this year.
Let's take a look at some of the other storylines that surround this weekend's game in Austin.
1. Matthew Caldwell or Arch Manning?
One of the biggest storylines surrounding this weekend has to do with Matthew Caldwell, the Senior QB from Troy, possibly starting for the Longhorns. After sitting on the bench for most of the season, it would be tough for him to make his first start against a top-ten team. Hopefully, some of the offensive weapons, like Quintrevion Wisner, can help take the load off of his shoulders in the passing game.
Everyone will be on their phone, refreshing social media on Saturday morning, wondering if Manning is out against the Commodores.
2. Diego Pavia
Vanderbilt has one of the best SEC quarterbacks this season in Diego Pavia. I think of him as Johnny Manziel 2.0. He has the quickness and awareness of when to scramble, which makes him very dangerous against any team he plays. The second storyline surrounding this weekend is which type of defense will the Longhorns use against him?
3. Can the running game deliver?
One of the parts of the Longhorns' offense that needs to show up this weekend is the running game. Last week, the Longhorns tried to get C.J. Baxter back into the swing of things after being injured. Now that he had a nice warmup against the Bulldogs, it's time for Baxter and Wisner to dominate the running game this weekend.
As mentioned above, Caldwell is going to need some help making his life easier if he is going to start. Having both running backs ready to go this weekend could make a huge difference if they're able to be effective against Vandy's front seven.
4. Which version of Steve will the media get?
I know Steve Sarkisian was pretty upset about the NFL coaching rumor that surfaced last weekend. He was trying to keep the Longhorns focused on the game and had to do damage control before Texas took the field in Starkville. Will there be any other rumors about him surfacing this weekend? He could explode again if another false report surfaces right before taking on a top ten team.
Will he be calm with the media, or will he have another angry weekend?