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Steve Sarkisian discussed his quarterbacks and new starters among other topics.
The Texas Longhorns open the season on Saturday against the Rice Owls, and while there aren’t too many question marks surrounding the 2023 team there are still a couple of unknowns. Continue reading “Everything Steve Sarkisian said to the media ahead of Texas’ season opener”
Texas needs execution on offense and risk-taking practice on defense against Rice.
The No. 11 Texas Longhorns and Rice Owls face off on Saturday afternoon to kick off the season. We expect big things from Texas in the game mostly because of what we expect this season.
The game presents different opportunities for both the offense and the defense. Offensively, we need to see consistency. For that, we need the offense to show it can execute plays over and over again. Given the talent on the offensive side and what Rice lacks defensively, it should result in a high score by halftime.
Texas does not need to press if it falls behind, but a well executed half should result in a high scoring output by halftime. If the Longhorns have executed they should have at least 28 points on the board at halftime. Again, they shouldn’t press to reach that total. It would simply reflect that the team did not execute plays offensively and needs to improve.
On defense, the team could benefit by taking more risks. Finding out what risks defensive backs can take could benefit the team when they need a play later in the season.
Earlier this week, we noted a five-touchdown line in favor of Texas. The team will look to perform up to expectations on Saturday.
The Rice head coach has a ton of respect for Steve Sarkisian and his offensive prowess.
Texas is set to host Rice for their season opener on Saturday, and emotions are running high for a couple of reasons.
For starters, college football is finally back. However, the hype around the Longhorns has many thinking that this team will be generational. Texas is set to field what should be their best team since 2009, and are looking to finally be…we all know the word.
On Tuesday, Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren was speaking to the media about the game and spoke highly of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. He highlighted how innovative Sarkisian is on offense and even went as far to call him surgical as written about by On3.
“I think everybody knows Sark’s background. When you go back to those mid-2000’s USC teams when him and Lane (Kiffin) were as innovative as anybody in the country. What Sark did when he went to the Falcons and went to Alabama again, I mean, just an unbelievable offensive mind that’s very surgical.”
With a more confident and improved Quinn Ewers, elite receiving corps, and one of the best offensive lines in the country, Texas fans are hoping to see the success that Sarkisian had while at Alabama as the offensive coordinator.
Unfortunately for Rice and Bloomgren, they are subject to feeling the wrath of this high powered offense and enter the game as 35 point underdogs. They do however have an experienced quarterback in JT Daniels and a pair of receivers that could challenge the defense.
Rice has a pair of receivers that will be a nice test for Texas before ‘Bama.
Despite the fact that Texas is favored by 35 points against Rice doesn’t mean that the Owls won’t test them. Continue reading “Rice’s WR duo will be a good test for Texas secondary”
Saturday is a big game for several Texas Longhorns players.
The No. 11 Texas Longhorns kick off the season against the Rice Owls on Saturday. The game is set to start at 2:30 p.m. CT on FOX. It probably won’t see great interest from casual football viewers, but it gives several players the opportunity to set the tone for the upcoming season.
Texas does have questions at various positions although they are short and mostly insignificant. Interior offensive line, edge and linebacker have mild concerns while many want to see more consistency from starting quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Ewers had an up and down season in 2022. The year likely left a bad taste in his mouth that might still be there. The Longhorns’ second-year starter will look to make a statement in his first outing of the season.
Here are a few players other than Ewers who could have a big game on Saturday.
College Football News looks at how Texas will perform in the season opener.
It’s game week in Austin. Texas does not have a pushover in the first week according to College Football News. The site views the Rice Owls offense as one that could score on the Longhorns.
According to the respected site, Rice’s offense has a particularly strong receiver corps. We have noted Nebraska transfer Luke McCaffery, but CFN name drops Bradley Rosner as a player who could create issues for the Texas defense.
The quarterback throwing them the football is pretty good. The once five-star talent J.T. Daniels is now on his fourth college football team. He still possesses the arm that made him a coveted player out of high school.
CFN still sees the Longhorns winning decidedly. The site predicts the Longhorns will win, 52-16. The defense is viewed as what could be the team’s undoing in the game.
The publication opines that Texas has multiple NFL quarterbacks on hand with a loaded receiver room. Nevertheless, it questions the defense more than the offense in the game.
The Longhorns defense is nationally undervalued, but there are some weak points to exploit if you dig deep. Certainly, Texas allowed teams to chip away with long drives and third and fourth down conversions last season. It’s unlikely that Rice will be able to capitalize.
Texas will look to leave the game with a convincing and uneventful win.
Texas opens the season as the 35-point favorite over Rice.
The 2023 college football season is less than a week away for the Texas Longhorns. Continue reading “No. 11 Texas heavily favored against Rice for season opener”
Texas has looked the part in the first two games of the season.
The No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns have looked the part in the first two games of the season.
Following up a 7-0 opening night victory, Texas displayed a fantastic offensive performance on Saturday. The Horns jumped out on the Owls for 15 runs on 10 hits en route to a 15-1 victory.
Senior right-hander Tristan Stevens set the tone on the mound for Texas. He stayed ahead of hitters, mixing in a nice slider to keep the Owls off balance. A beautiful relay from the Texas defense kept Rice off the board in the second.
PERFECT EXECUTION. @DouglasHodo to @Mitchdaly19 to @SilasArdoin4 and the Horns are out of the 3rd!#HookEm pic.twitter.com/LVqFsHWjgk
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 19, 2022
Stevens finished his outing with six shutout innings, spacing out three hits and a couple of walks.
Much of the Texas offense was provided from the bottom lineup today. Eight-nine hitters Trey Faltine and Murphy Stehley combined for five hits and seven RBI.
Tomorrow the Horns look to complete the three-game sweep over the Owls. Tanner Witt is set to pitch with preseason All-American closer Aaron Nixon still available behind him.
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It was a touchdown party for the Texas running backs on Saturday night.
Stan Drayton is somewhere smiling at the fact that he may have assembled the best running back room in the nation.
There was an exclusive party in the end zone on Saturday evening, and four of Texas’ running backs were in attendance.
The Longhorns unleashed a deadly rushing attack against Rice that saw seemingly every running back that touched the ball tearing up the opposing defense. Starting running back Bijan Robinson led the team with three touchdowns and 127 yards rushing, the Texas running back room as a whole combined for six touchdowns and amassed over 400 yards rushing.
Bijan Robinson also made history in Week 3, as he became the fastest running back at Texas to reach 1,000 career rushing yards since the legendary Jamaal Charles.
Even with the change at quarterback, it was evident that the game plan was to feed the running backs as much as possible. The 38 rushes was the most of the season for Texas, and it is evident that Sarkisian should consider utilizing all of the backs as much as possible.
On every touch, it seemed as if one of the running backs could have gone the distance. Take a look at five of the six that did:
Texas had numerous players grade well in the 58-0 win over Rice.
Texas absolutely dominated Rice on Saturday evening. Continue reading “Texas Report Card: PFF grades from the Rice matchup”
