3 problematic Mississippi State players vs. Texas

No. 1 Texas football opens up conference play in the SEC this upcoming weekend at home at DKR in Austin on Sep. 28 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian will face a familiar foe this weekend in first-year Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby, who was previously the Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator under Brent Venables for the past few years.

Mississippi State's strong points vs. Texas football are in the receiving corps and defensive backfield

Sarkisian and the Longhorns are riding a ton of momentum into conference play this fall, going undefeated through four games during the non-conference slate. Despite having some injuries at key position groups on both sides of the ball, Texas still emerged from non-conference play with an undefeated 4-0 record. All four of Texas's wins in non-conference play came by double digits.

Mississippi State, meanwhile, has gotten off to a really tough start this fall, going 1-3 (0-1 SEC) in the season's first four weeks. Not only have Lebby and the Bulldogs dealt with a recent major injury to starting quarterback and former Baylor transfer Blake Shapen, but they've also dropped consecutive games by double digits to Florida last weekend and a G5 opponent two weeks ago.

Nonetheless, no opponents in the SEC should be taken lightly. Mississippi State can still run an effective offense with some quality skill weapons at receiver, tight end, and in the backfield in this veer-and-shoot offense.

Texas also must ensure that this team is finely tuned and ready to go entering the bye week before the mid-October showdown against Oklahoma in Red River in Dallas.

Here are three problematic Mississippi State players for the Longhorns to be prepared for in the SEC opener in Week 5.

Brylan Lanier, DB

The strongest part of Mississippi State's defense is the safety/nickel position, led by junior Brylan Lanier and sophomore Isaac Smith. Lanier and Smith both rank top three in tackles for the Mississippi State defense this season.

Lanier is Mississippi State's starter at the star position. He's a big 6-foot-1 and 190-pound defensive back who isn't afraid to lay the lumber on the ball carrier. Lanier is a stout run defender and a sure tackler.

Given Mississippi State's struggles defending the run this season, they'll need Lanier to come up big playing downhill against the run in this game against the Texas offense and ground game.

Last week, well over half of Lanier's defensive snaps were taken as a box defender to get some assistance closer to the line of scrimmage in run defense and help the linebackers cover shallow between the numbers and out of the backfield in pass coverage assignments.

While I expect Texas's effective intermediate and downfield passing game, depending on who starts at quarterback between Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning this weekend, to keep the Bulldogs' secondary more honest to defend over the top, I'd still expect Lanier to be lining up in the box often to set the physical tone near the line of scrimmage.