Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
It appears many experts are cautiously optimistic with Texas in Week 3.
Texas made a statement against the top team in the country last weekend. Continue reading “Texas vs. UTSA: Who the experts are picking to win”
The Big 12 Conference is back in action this week with a few high-profile matchups.
The Big 12 Conference is back in action this week with a few high-profile matchups.
No. 7 Oklahoma travels to Lincoln to reignite an old rivalry against Nebraska. The coachless Cornhuskers will be playing with house money at home vs. the undefeated Sooners.
Texas Tech is off to a great start to the 2022 season. The Red Raiders took down No. 25 Houston in overtime last weekend. Texas Tech faces another top 25 test this week as they make the trip out to No. 13 NC State.
No. 21 Texas looks to avoid a trap game against UTSA after the Alabama loss. The Longhorns have a few question marks regarding the health of the team entering the game.
Kansas looks to build off its upset win over West Virginia this week. The Jayhawks take on future Big 12 foe Houston on the road. Kansas is playing like one of the most improved teams in the nation thus far.
Here is a look at all nine games featuring Big 12 teams in Week 3 of the college football season.
The Texas culture will be on display Saturday night against UTSA.
Texas has appeared to have fixed its culture. Culture is the reason Texas went toe-to-toe with Alabama, undeterred as breaks went against them all game.
Heading into the game, some mocked Steve Sarkisian for suggesting that his team’s chemistry could make the Alabama game interesting. It appears Sarkisian knew exactly what he was saying.
I don’t mean to downplay the great football Texas played last Saturday. The anticipatory throw Quinn Ewers made to Jordan Whittington had nothing to do with culture. That was just a great player making a play. But the fight Texas displayed when Ewers went down is evidence that the culture is right in Austin.
Texas will face another test Saturday against UTSA. They will be asked to win with quarterback Charles Wright or an immobile version of Hudson Card.
The daunting task could be what Texas needs to refocus them after the Alabama performance. Then again, if Saturday is any indication, the Longhorns will find their motivation from within anyway.
Texas is not back, but winning culture is, and we should see that on display Saturday night.
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Texas needs to establish the run early and often against UTSA.
Texas hosts UTSA on Saturday night for the first-ever matchup between the two in-state programs.
Each team enters the ballgame with a 1-1 record. Texas comfortably handled UL Monroe in its first game before losing a heartbreak to No. 1 Alabama in Week 2. UTSA dropped an overtime thriller to Houston to open the season before getting back on track last week against Army.
The Longhorns look to avoid a trap game situation against the Roadrunners. Texas is coming off a hard-fought battle against Alabama and could be caught looking ahead to Big 12 play next week.
UTSA won 12 games a year ago and returns star quarterback Frank Harris. Head coach Jeff Traylor has the program on the rise in San Antonio.
Texas is entering this battle a bit banged up. Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is out for a few weeks with an SC sprain while Bijan Robinson, Hudson Card and D’Shawn Jamison are all day to day with injuries of their own.
Here are five keys to the game for Texas vs. UTSA this weekend.
Which quarterback has the edge on Saturday?
After coming close to pulling off the upset, the Texas Longhorns are once again set for battle at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. However, for the first time in 2022, they will have a quarterback other than Quinn Ewers leading the charge this season.
Ewers suffered a shoulder injury early on against the Alabama Crimson Tide that will sideline him for up to six weeks per some reports. This puts [autotag]Hudson Card[/autotag] back into the starting lineup as the starting quarterback.
On Saturday it will be Card and the Longhorns taking on instate foe, Texas-San Antonio. The Roadrunners are coached by former assistant Jeff Traylor. Their quarterback is senior Frank Harris. Harris led UTSA to a 12-2 record and the Conference USA championship. This is his fourth year in the program.
This game between Texas and UTSA will be the first-ever meeting, the Roadrunners began playing football in 2011. Their next meeting will happen in the 2024 season.
Here is how they break down:
| Hudson Card | vs | Frank Harris |
| 6-2 | Ht | 6-0 |
| 195 | Wt | 205 |
| RS-Soph | Class | Senior |
| 18 | Comp | 60 |
| 27 | Att | 88 |
| 66.7 | Comp% | 68.2 |
| 182 | Yards | 696 |
| 6.7 | YPA | 7.9 |
| 0 | TDs | 6 |
| 0 | INTs | 1 |
Longhorns Wire takes a look at how they compared situationally in 2021:
All eyes on Texas. Two of their three nonconference games are considered among the top 25 to watch this season.
After an underwhelming 5-7 record to kick off his Texas tenure last season, all eyes will be on Steve Sarkisian in 2022.
That’s not to say that it’s a championship or bust mentality, but his team must showcase significant improvements. The Longhorns certainly have the talent on the roster to compete for a Big 12 title, and anything fewer than four losses this year should be considered a step in the right direction.
Texas will be tested early on prior to starting conference play, and each of their three nonconference games will fortunately be played at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin.
Mike Huguenin of On3 recently ranked the best nonconference matchups on the schedule for the 2022 college football season. Texas was mentioned twice among the top 25 games mentioned.
Up first is one that many wouldn’t initially expect to be on a list of this nature. At No. 25, Huguenin put Texas vs. UTSA on Sept. 17 as one to watch.
This will be the first meeting between the schools, and it comes a week after Texas will have played Alabama. Will there be any kind of hangover for the Longhorns? UTSA won 12 games and the Conference USA title last season; while the Roadrunners don’t figure to be as good as they were in 2021, this is a solid program filled with players who weren’t recruited by Texas. Thus, think of it as a chance for the little guy to stick a finger (or maybe even a fist) in the eye of the bully on the block.
Much higher on Huguenin’s list at No. 4 is a matchup that most of the college football landscape is excited to see, Alabama at Texas on Sept. 10. This will serve as a good measuring stick for the Longhorns.
This will be just the 10th meeting all-time between these storied programs — and the first-regular-season game since 1922. Yep, 100 years. The most recent meeting was the BCS Championship Game following the 2009 season, and that is the Tide’s lone win over the Longhorns. This will be Game 2 in Steve Sarkisian’s second season at Texas, and everyone knows how Nick Saban treats his former assistants. Texas has some interesting offensive pieces, but how good is the Longhorns’ offensive line? And can Texas’ defense slow Alabama’s offense?
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