College football’s early kickoff weekend saw a big-name program struggle against a lesser opponent. It wasn’t Notre Dame that struggled against Navy’s flexbone triple option. It was the USC Trojans at home against the San Jose State Spartans. The game should not have been close.
Southern Cal head coach Lincoln Riley and his offense performed just fine. It was the defense that embarrassed the program. At halftime, USC led by a modest seven-point margin, 21-14. They shouldn’t have allowed the Spartans to reach the end zone. Ultimately, they separated from the Spartans with a still unimpressive 56-28 final score.
Texas needs to avoid a game like that against the Owls. We have written extensively about the importance of the following game, but Rice needs the players’ attention by game day.
The coaches do not need to give an elaborate game plan. You save those for Alabama and Oklahoma and you don’t waste those on Rice. We are not suggesting they wing it on game day, but the amount of creativity used should be limited.
That said, the team needs 100% effort and respect for its opponent on game day. More importantly, it needs to focus on executing at the highest level regardless of the team in front of it. It’s about a focused Texas beating nonchalant Texas, not Rice.
USC did not execute in its first game. The Longhorns will look to fare better against the Owls.