There’s a tough under-the-radar battle Texas needs to win to avoid a letdown against UTEP
The Texas Longhorns will try to improve to 3-0 versus the UTEP Miners Saturday. Arch Manning looked much better last week against San Jose State and former five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson looks to play spoiler at DKR.Let’s take a look at some of the top matchups in the game this weekend.There’s a growing concern DeAndre […]
The Texas Longhorns will try to improve to 3-0 versus the UTEP Miners Saturday. Arch Manning looked much better last week against San Jose State and former five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson looks to play spoiler at DKR.
Let’s take a look at some of the top matchups in the game this weekend.
There’s a growing concern DeAndre Moore may not be ready to go due to concussion protocol and Tre Wisner is still doubtful. Jack Endries is going to be limited and Alex January is another name on the injury report which is in question.
Texas has one of the best secondaries in the country.
Nelson will try to go after Michael Taaffe, Jaylon Guilbeaux, and Malik Muhammad Saturday. The Miners’ Cam Thomas is expected to miss another game, but Kenny Odom is legit with 14 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Toric Goins is another name to know after he had 105 yards and a score last week on just three receptions.
The Longhorns handled Ohio State in Week 1 with relative ease. Jeremiah Smith had trouble getting open once again against Texas and outside of a few big-time third catches by Carnell Tate, the game was won by Ohio State’s defense.
This UTEP aerial attack may not test Texas and Nelson might have Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr., in his lap all day, but it’s still a matchup to keep an eye on.
Can UTEP run on Texas?
The Miners ran for 194 yards last week. But it was against UT-Martin.
Ashten Emory and Hahsaun Wilson combined for 153 of those last week – Wilson leading the way with 117 yards and a score. But, Texas has a loaded front seven led by the aforementioned Simmons and Hill as well as a legitimate group of defensive linemen. Even with January probably out.
The Longhorns are only allowing 88 yards per game on the ground and are hoping to build off this moving forward as Florida looms in a few weeks.
The biggest matchup is going to be in the trenches.
We already talked about the UTEP defensive line and how explosive it is. Despite being a bit undersized, the Miners win on quickness and technique. The Texas offensive line has been solid thus far but it’s still a relatively new unit and there’s still some meshing going on.
Arch Manning has shown he’s more than capable utilizing his legs. I look for Steve Sarkisian to lean into the quarterback run game to keep UTEP at bay and to open things up for the running back group – including CJ Baxter, Jerrick Gibson, and Christian Clark.
UTEP leads the FBS in tackles for loss with 23 through two games but this will be the stiffest test beyond measure for the Conference USA unit.
Texas Longhorns News
Another five-star vs five-star quarterback matchup for Texas this weekend – Steve Sarkisian hopes to ‘disrupt him a little bit’
Everyone knows about the former No. 1 overall prospect, Arch Manning. But, folks have probably forgotten about Malachi Nelson. The former Los Alamitos (Cali.) blue chip was the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2023 class but after signing with Southern Cal, he has bounced around from Boise State to now landing at UTEP. On […]
Can Texas find its footing in the run game Saturday?
Through two games, the UTEP Miners are 50th nationally in rush defense – giving up just 102 yards on the ground per game and allowing less than three yards per carry. But, this one is going to be different.
Texas has dudes at running back, even without Wisner. The talent level and explosiveness Sarkisian’s offense is more than enough to humble UTEP. I like for Texas to run for 200+ in a big statement type of win Saturday.
And if it doesn’t work, maybe try and find Ryan Wingo more than a handful of times.
