The Longhorns were not only able to avoid the upset by a ranked Louisiana team on Saturday, they blew them out winning by 20 points with a final score of 38-18.
Steve Sarkisian was making his debut as Texas’ head coach, and although people were well aware of the success he has had in being one of the best offensive minds in the game, there were still many doubters that believed the Longhorns would not be able to live up to the hype. At least not this quickly.
Texas proved the doubters wrong almost instantly, as the game seemed to be in total control by halftime. The offensive side of the ball was electric thanks to the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Hudson Card and do it all running back Bijan Robinson.
The defensive unit was very much improved from years prior and gave up less than 20 points, something defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski has notably made a goal of his this season. Texas was able to make Louisiana quarterback Levi Lewis uncomfortable, resulting in four sacks on the day. The Longhorns also only missed on eight tackles, which was the best mark in 2020.
Bleacher Report took notice and bumped the Longhorns up one spot in their top 25 rankings after Week 1. Contrary to the AP Poll, Bleacher Report viewed Texas the No. 17 team before the start of the season. The win over Louisiana saw the Longhorns move up one spot to No. 16 in the nation behind schools such as Iowa, Florida and Coastal Carolina. Sarkisian’s squad is listed ahead of UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Michigan.
It seems as if their rankings gave some disappointing teams the benefit of the doubt as the 7-15 range could really be interchanged, but it’s certainly a strong start to Texas’ season.
