The Texas Longhorns (6-1) face their toughest test of the season against the BYU Cougars (5-2) in Austin. It’s not so much about BYU as it is about who Texas will be without.
The Longhorns face their first game without their starting quarterback Quinn Ewers. The backups are talented and capable beginning with Maalik Murphy and followed by Arch Manning. They simply haven’t had the reps to reach midseason form. And it’s doubtful they will be there by the game on Saturday.
In spite of the Longhorns’ tough task ahead, there are factors in their favor. The transitive property doesn’t determine whether a team is better than another, but it does give an idea of how capable are the two teams.
BYU lost to Kansas. Texas beat Kansas 40-14. BYU got blown out by TCU, 44-11. We have a good feeling Texas would not get blown out by TCU.
The matchup as you might imagine favors Texas in the trenches, and for that reason the team should be able to run the football. Regardless of what defense BYU presents, the Longhorns need to pound the rock like they did against Kansas. Texas ran for over 300 yards despite declining several rushing opportunities.
What does that mean for Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy? He just needs to protect the football and move the chains.
The Longhorns don’t need Murphy to throw the football all over the field. And frankly, it might be unwise to try. There’s a Doak Walker Award leader in the backfield in Jonathon Brooks and a dynamic backup running back in Cedric Baxter Jr.
Texas would welcome a deep shot or two from Murphy, and that would be advantageous. But the Longhorns don’t need him to throw 30 passes. They just need him to connect on a handful of plays. Should he take the field, Murphy will look to make those plays on Saturday.