Texas football will be matching up against West Virginia this Saturday. Both these teams just completed huge upsets this past weekend. Let’s break down the matchup.
Texas offense
This Texas offense has played just OK since the bye week, and that needs to be fixed. With the Longhorns remaining schedule, some of these games can turn into shootouts, and the offense needs to play better if Texas has any hope of reaching the Big 12 Championship. Tom Herman should’ve preached ball security all this week in practice.
Not because the Longhorns have a turnover problem, but because West Virginia is good at forcing them. The Mountaineers forced Will Howard from Kansas State to throw three interceptions last weekend. Sam Ehlinger can’t afford to do the same. Unfortunately, Texas will be without Keaontay Ingram for a few weeks after he suffered an ankle injury last week. So the running game falls on the shoulders of Ehlinger, Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson.
Texas defense
This defense has showed out since coming out of the bye week, especially last Saturday. It forced multiple turnovers and got multiple sacks against Oklahoma State. While it was an amazing performance, it won’t perform like that every weekend. This does give the defense something positive to build from. The defense had a lot of struggles this season, but it’s worked out the kinks and we’ll have to see if it can play good consistently.
West Virginia offense
The Mountaineers offense loves to run its offense through starting running back Leddie Brown. He’s already run for nearly 700 yards this season and had eight rushing touchdowns. He’s also part of West Virginia’s passing game as well. The Longhorns defense did well slowing down Chuba Hubbard last weekend, now the game plan remains the same. Stop the running game, apply pressure on Jarret Doege and force him to beat you.
West Virginia defense
Like Texas, this defense played outstanding last week. With both defenses playing at a high level, it’s possible this could be a low scoring game. The Mountaineers defense got two sacks and forced three turnovers. This game could come down to which defense forces the most turnovers to put its team over the top. Ehlinger must keep a close eye on Dylan Tonkery, who helped West Virginia not only get an interception but returned it for a touchdown last week.
Prediction
Kansas State underestimated West Virginia last week, and Texas can’t afford to do that. Just because a team is unranked doesn’t mean you should play down to your competition. You have to put your foot on the gas and can’t afford to ease up. Teams that have nothing to lose or don’t have high expectations are the most dangerous. It is often referred to as a trap game. Kansas State fell for it last week, and Texas faces a similar situation.
Texas is going to win this game, but with both defenses coming off great performances, this game could be a low scoring affair. I see the Longhorns winning this game with a final score of 28-17. This would also complete phase two of the Longhorns plan to qualify for the Big 12 Championship.
