At least Texas gets to save some money on airfare this weekend as they'll be hosting the #9 Vanderbilt Commodores in Austin, Texas. It feels Bizarre that this game wasn't a nighttime slot, due to how well the Commodores are doing in the SEC. Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia might end up being a finalist for the Heisman Trophy at the end of the season, and I wouldn't be shocked if they were in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta, Georgia, later this year.
With it being a new weekend, Texas football looks to prove that they're one of the toughest teams in the country. They might do some outlandish things against the Commodores, like shut down their high-powered offense. Who knows how many yards Ryan Wingo and Parker Livingstone will have? It's going to be a fun weekend of football for the Longhorns.
Here are four bold predictions for Texas as they try to sink the Commodores' ship on Saturday.
1. Parker Livingstone carries the offense
Not to take away from the rest of the Longhorns' offensive players, but Parker Livingstone has been on another level and is one of the reasons the Longhorns beat the Bulldogs. My first bold prediction this weekend is that Livingstone will have more than 150 receiving yards and will be the top target for either Arch Manning or Matthew Caldwell. I hate to put a lot of pressure on him, but the Longhorns need him to get wide open for some touchdowns this weekend.
2. Caldwell gets the start for Texas
I don't know if Manning will be healthy enough to start at quarterback for the Longhorns this weekend. That was a pretty nasty hit that he took in Starkville last Saturday, and the medical staff was right to keep him out of the game. We're also predicting that Caldwell will be the starting quarterback for the Longhorns against Vanderbilt this weekend. I know it's not ideal to start Caldwell against a top-ten opponent, but it might be good for Manning's health if he sat out this weekend.
3. Less sacks this weekend
One of the things that makes Pavia such a good quarterback is his ability to scramble out of the pocket. He reminds me a lot of Johnny Manziel when he was at Texas A&M. With that being said, watch the Longhorns have fewer than five sacks this weekend. Texas might be running a zone defense to keep him contained. The last thing the Longhorns want to do is blitz eight and watch him run right by them for a touchdown. Anthony Hill Jr. and Colin Simmons might not have the most productive outings this weekend.
4. Secondary redemption
The Longhorns' secondary wished they had a better game last weekend. That was not the shutdown secondary that showed up against Oklahoma earlier this season. I'm sure they would like to prove to the country that they just had a bad weekend in Starkville.
My last bold prediction is that the Longhorns will limit the Commodores' passing attack to less than 200 yards through the air this weekend. The Longhorns' secondary loves a good challenge, and shutting down the Commodores' passing attack would be a great one to conquer.