concerns – Syndication Server

Notre Dame vs North Carolina: 3 Confidences & 3 Concerns

Through three weeks what do we know about Notre Dame? And what do they know about themselves?

Nothing comes easy. That’s the lesson rookie Notre Dame head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] is learning the hard way this September. From a competitive loss versus Ohio State, to the starting quarterback going down in a no show effort at home against Marshall, to a less than inspiring but at-least-it’s-a-win versus Cal, Notre Dame has had to fight for every inch of progress made early on in the Freeman era.

What Notre Dame team shows up to face North Carolina? Nobody knows, including Notre Dame.

While this may be unnerving to the Irish faithful, the truth is this team is struggling to find itself, its identity. Both now, and what they want it to be in the future. While ND nation sits in “wait and see” mode Saturday in Chapel Hill, I do think there is now enough body of work from Notre Dame that we can identify some key confidences and concerns to ponder leading into the game.

Five areas of concern for Texas ahead of the season opener against Louisiana

Five areas of concern to keep an eye on ahead of Texas’ season opener against No. 23 Louisiana.

It’s finally game week in Austin.

Texas has a big task in front of them with having to take on the No. 23 ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in their season opener.

The Longhorns had a full offseason under a new coaching staff to prepare for their tough first half of the schedule, and to just simply just to train in general as last season the offseason was decimated by COVID-19. However, just because Texas feels as if they are prepared for this matchup, does not mean that it will be a walk in the park by any means. It’s college football, anything can happen.

There is added pressure for Texas to succeed this season for a multitude of reasons. The first being the fact that they hired arguably the best offensive mind in college football in Steve Sarkisian to help them contend, and also the fact that the Longhorns are slated to make the move to the SEC conference in the near future. The target on their back is as big as its ever been.

All the questions of whether Texas is back or not will not be determined by a single game, but it could be a great indicator as to how this era will be different from the last.

The Longhorns got off to a rough start under Tom Herman when they lost to Maryland. Many of the issues we saw in his opening game became a constant throughout the Herman era as the team struggled with penalties and were unable to overcome a slow start.

Granted, this is obviously a much different team, but there are areas of concern that have emerged and could be prevalent in the Week 1 matchup for Texas.

Let’s take a look at some potential issues that could potentially get the Sarkisian era off to a Herman-like start.

Five biggest concerns heading into the Alamo Bowl

The Valero Alamo Bowl is just days away, Longhorns wire breaks down the five biggest concerns for Texas ahead of its final game of 2020.

On Tuesday, the Texas Longhorns will return to the football field. It will have been 24 days since they last suited up for a game.

In the Alamo Bowl, the Longhorns will face an old foe, the Colorado Buffaloes — a team they haven’t played in over a decade since Colorado left the Big 12 Conference for the Pac-12 Conference.

Sam Ehlinger could be suiting up for the very last time in the burnt orange. Next month he could be playing in the Reese’s Senior Bowl. We offered dueling opinions on if he should stay another year or declare for the NFL draft. He is one of only two team captains who didn’t skip the bowl game on their own accord. Derek Kerstetter is the other, but he will not play due to a dislocated ankle and broken fibula that required surgery.

Given that this is the final game for the Longhorns in 2020, there will be plenty to watch for: young players who must step up in the absence of captains who have declared or maybe to watch Sam Ehlinger one more time. I offer my five top concerns heading into the Alamodome on Dec. 29 in San Antonio.

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Texas Longhorns vs Oklahoma State: Key defensive players

The Texas Longhorns defense is being tasked with stopping one of the best trios in college football. Who needs to step up for Texas?

When the Texas Longhorns decided to move on from Todd Orlando, many thought that this would make a massive improvement on the defensive front. Present company included on that thought. However, they are still waiting on the Chris Ash to make the level of impact that many expected.

It could be that some of the issues stem from the fractured football program that defines the state of the Texas Longhorns. Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has raved about him, he has improved the defense everywhere he has been a defensive coordinator. The Longhorns need more from that side of the ball and it all starts on Saturday.

Against the No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, this defense will be tested. They have an up and coming young quarterback in Spencer Sanders. Not to mention the backfield duo of Chuba Hubbard and LD Brown, plus the dynamic playmaker in Tylan Wallace. Safe to say this defense will be tested.

Here are the three defensive keys for the Longhorns to try and upset the Cowboys on Saturday afternoon in Stillwater.

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Texas vs. Oklahoma State: Three primary concerns heading into Saturday

Texas is experiencing a slew of issues on and off the field. Let’s take a look at three primary concerns ahead of the Oklahoma State game.

Negativity continues to surround the Texas football program this season. Continue reading “Texas vs. Oklahoma State: Three primary concerns heading into Saturday”