Texas football plays against Oklahoma State this weekend, and it should be a great game to watch. Let’s break down this matchup between two high-profile teams.
Texas offense
Despite the defense playing well against Baylor last week, it’s still hard to trust it considering its past performances. The offense is the reason Texas has won three games this year. Specifically, because of Sam Ehlinger and his level of play this season.
Ehlinger is not only responsible for the passing but the running game as well. He ran for nearly 300 yards this season and has scored seven rushing touchdowns on top of that. His rushing performances prevent opposing defenses from committing an extra defender in the passing game. That is important because it sets up more single coverage matchups between the defenders and receivers.
Texas defense
This defense has had some lackluster performances this year. It played poorly against teams that shouldn’t have even got into the end zone as many times as they did. This defense needs to step up in a major way if the Longhorns hope to qualify for a Big 12 Championship this year. Baylor was a good start, but it needs to put up those type of performances consistently to show the improvements and adjustments it made during the bye week have worked.
The Longhorns’ remaining opponents are going to be tougher than some of the competition it faced in the first half of the season. Texas can get it done and win out for the rest of the season. It must be a team effort, and everybody needs to play well.
Oklahoma State offense
The biggest threat that Texas must worry about is Chuba Hubbard. He’s been running all over the opposing defenses the Cowboys have played this year. He has had 90-plus yards in every game this year and he is averaging just over five yards per carry. This is something the Longhorn defense must worry about. The way Texas wins this game is to apply pressure on Spencer Sanders and force him to beat Texas. Sanders struggled last week and threw two interceptions against Iowa State. The defense must force him to make mistakes this game.
Oklahoma State defense
This defense is known for its sacks and putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. So far this season, it has 15 sacks in just four games. That is amazing, but it presents a huge challenge for the Longhorns’ offensive linemen. The one area it struggles in like Texas, is forcing turnovers. So far, it has only forced four turnovers this season. That is not saying Texas can just chuck the ball up and it won’t be a turnover. This is still a very talented defense, and the Longhorns must play smart if they hope to beat the Cowboys this weekend.
Prediction
This game is gong to be high scoring. The Longhorns’ defense needs to keep the Cowboys under 35 points this game and the offense as to play with a sense of urgency. Texas football will win this game with a final score of 42-31.
