Texas-Texas Tech preview – Syndication Server

Texas HC Steve Sarkisian gives Quinn Ewers update and more

Quinn Ewers will suit up with the team on Saturday.

The story of the week for Texas is whether or not starting quarterback Quinn Ewers will play this weekend.

For a week or more, some have hinted that Ewers could return much earlier than expected. It appears that could happen on Saturday.

On Thursday, Steve Sarkisian stated Ewers would suit up for the trip to Lubbock in Week 4. That doesn’t necessarily mean he will in fact start the game, but there’s a growing sense of confidence as the Texas Tech game approaches.

Certainly, there is little benefit to suiting up a player who can’t play. Using Ewers as a decoy doesn’t make much sense either. It seems like Sarkisian will give Ewers a shot to play on Saturday if the signal caller is up to the task.

Sarkisian discussed that and other topics during his time with the media. Here’s a glimpse at some of what Sarkisian had to say.

Texas must come to Lubbock prepared for mayhem

Texas needs to start the game in attack mode in all three phases.

The Texas Longhorns can look forward to a rowdy crowd on Saturday. Texas Tech fans welcome home a Red Raider football program that has battled admirably for their school over the last three games. With something to cheer about, they’ll be sure to make some noise.

Tech fans’ antics are well documented. The school’s fanbase is well known for throwing tortillas at the road team’s sideline. With Texas departing the conference, you can expect Red Raider fans to get under the Longhorns’ skin one last time.

We saw how much noise an angry Tech fanbase can produce when the Raiders hosted the Longhorns in basketball last season. Inevitably the crowd will be riled up and ready to make life miserable for the Texas football team. The Longhorns need to embrace it.

Texas needs to come into the game expecting a raucous atmosphere, ready to deliver hard hits on their opponent. The louder Raiders fans get, the harder the Longhorns should hit.

Jeff Traylor’s UTSA team tested Texas’ mettle last Saturday. Texas will have the opportunity to show how much confidence they have gained from the experience in their next game this Saturday.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz52bnpekkafqb player_id=none image=https://longhornswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Looking Ahead: Longhorns face a winnable road game on Saturday

Looking at interesting stats from Texas and Texas Tech through three games.

Texas should beat Texas Tech on Saturday. If the Longhorns take the game seriously, it shouldn’t be close.

Last season, Texas defeated their conference rival, 70-35. Texas Tech has a new coaching staff, but the defensive personnel is similar enough to expect Texas could exploit some of the same issues.

The Red Raiders did lose Riko Jeffers and Colin Schooler, whose absence could leave a void for Bijan Robinson to gash. The two linebackers combined for 178 tackles last season.

A cursory view of Texas Tech’s season shows improvement from the Red Raiders, but not so much on the offensive side of the football. The Raiders put up 14 points on Saturday against NC State on the heels of 23 points in regulation against Houston.

Houston, though well regarded in preseason, has failed to live up to its billing this year. Last week they lost to Kansas, 48-30. The Red Raiders will need to elevate their offense this week to hang with the Longhorns.

Here’s a look at both teams by the numbers through three games.