After being humbled by the Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas football looks to redeem itself vs. the San Jose State Spartans this weekend. This will be their first home game in 2025 and San Jose State is the perfect opponent for a Longhorns team that needs to get back on track to winning the SEC this season.
Here are the four main storylines surrounding the matchup against the Spartans
1. Will Steve Sarkisian take the "training wheels" off?
The main storyline for the Longhorns this weekend is centered around their offense. After having a conservative play-calling weekend against the Buckeyes, Texas HC Steve Sarkisian has to decide to take the training wheels off his offense. They have too much talent to be holding players back from reaching their full potential. Sark should know which plays work and which ones don't after this past Saturday. Time to let the Longhorns stampede their way to victory by calling offensive plays aggressively.
2. Give Quintrevion Wisner the ball
I have no issue with what C.J. Baxter did against the Buckeyes this past Saturday. He had a great first game back after being injured last season. The thing is, I don't want him to get hurt in a meaningless football game against the Spartans. Baxter is expected to be very helpful when the Longhorns reach the SEC portion of their schedule, and they might as well allow Quintrevion Wisner to carry the ball most of the time this weekend to keep Baxter healthy for later on.
3. Longhorns' defense continues to excel on the field
The Longhorns' defense had a great showing against the Buckeyes despite losing in week one. I expect them to continue dominating this weekend against the Spartans by creating lots of pressure on their quarterback. It also helps that they're at home this weekend and will have all of Longhorn nation to help disrupt the Spartans' offense. Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr. should both have great home-opening performances this weekend as they continue to show their dominance in 2025.
4. Will Arch have a better weekend?
Another hot storyline surrounding this weekend's game against the Spartans is Arch Manning. He did not have the best of games against the Buckeyes and after watching him perform against Ohio State, he might not be ready to declare for the NFL Draft in 2026. I'm sure Sarkisian spoke with him this week about just getting back to the basics and not trying to be a "superhuman" on the field (again). Houston Texans quarterback C.J Stroud even talked about how he doesn't need to live up to how his cousins played in the NFL.
Arch needs to use this game to work on getting the football out of his hands on time and not rushing passes. All eyes will definitely be on Manning this weekend as he tries to get back into the Heisman Trophy race against the Spartans.