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Texas vs. Vanderbilt: Staff predictions for Week 9

Can Quinn Ewers and No. 5 Texas show strength and parity on each side of the ball, down a couple of key starters on offense and defense, against a good Vandy offense on Saturday afternoon in Nashville?

By Andrew Miller

Quinn Ewers, Texas football
Quinn Ewers, Texas football / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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No. 5 Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian needs to come out with intensity and physicality on both sides of the ball after they were taken down a peg in the trenches against Georgia. Texas's 15-point loss to Georgia last weekend gave Sarkisian's squad plenty of motivation to dial up the intensity in practice this week.

Texas battles the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores on the road in Nashville this weekend in what promises to be a tough contest for the Longhorns against a standout dual-threat quarterback, Diego Pavia.

Head coach Clark Lea has the Commodores 4-0 at home for the first time in over four decades. Vandy has been an incredibly difficult team to play for ranked SEC teams in Nashville this season. The Commodores nearly knocked off the No. 7 Mizzou Tigers in overtime and pulled off the massive upset of the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in early October.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers needs to show more confidence and production, leading this offense compared to the past two weeks against Vanderbilt. Ewers has not passed for over 200 yards in a game since he returned from injury for the Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago.

As Ewers has been inconsistent, the offense hasn't been able to convert on the plus side of the 50-yard line. Texas hasn't even turned 75 percent of its offensive possession that went into the opponent's territory on their side of the 50 into points since the Oklahoma game.

If Ewers comes through with a strong performance this weekend, Texas should be able to find parity to offset the possession battle for Pavia and the Vandy offense.

Game predictions for Texas football vs. Vanderbilt in Week 9

In the weekly Hook'em Horns Show, Andrew Miller and Shane Black highlighted the importance of the Texas defense holding up and staying assignment sound against the efficient and methodical Vandy offense.

Give Ewers enough time in the pocket, and set the tone on the ground, and the Longhorns should be in a good spot to win this game against Vandy on the road.

Andrew Miller: Texas-38, Vanderbilt-24

Shane Black: Texas-41, Vanderbilt-20

Tarik LaCour: Texas-31, Vanderbilt-17

Brian Sweet: Texas-42, Vanderbilt-24

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