Don't let Jeremy Maclin beat you
Another week, another tough opponent for the Longhorns. This week it’s Missouri and their Heisman candidate quarterback Chase Daniel in a national primetime game on ABC. The Texas defense will be trying to slow down the Tigers’ offense while Colt McCoy and the offense attempt to continue to put up huge numbers on the scoreboard.
Read on below to see what the keys are for the Longhorns to come out on top:
1. Use Missouri’s wide splits against them.
ESPN was useful for the first time in years when they posted a video breakdown of how Oklahoma State’s defense slowed down the Mizzou offense. The defensive end instead of trying to get outside simply takes advantage of the wide splits and speeds right at the quarterback while the defensive tackle twists outside to provide contain pressure. The Missouri offensive coaches better either have come up with a counter for that or change strategy completely because if they don’t Brian Orakpo and Sergio Kindle are going to blow things up all game long.
2. Don’t let Jeremy Maclin change momentum with a kick return.
Last week against Oklahoma the Longhorns were down by 11 when a big Jordan Shipley kickoff return for a score completely flipped the game’s score and momentum. Texas can’t let Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin do the same thing in this game. Texas needs punter John Gold and kickoff specialist Justin Tucker to either kick it away from Maclin or put it high enough and deep enough that the coverage teams can do their job.
3. Continue developing third receiving option.
Last week Shipley and Quan Cosby together absolutely torched the OU defense but at some point this year the Horns will face a team with cornerbacks who can man up against those guys. The team needs to find another option Colt McCoy can rely on. Sophomore Brandon Collins caught three passes against the Sooners and may be becoming that guy. Now that the Texas offense will be using more four wide receiver sets both Collins and James Kirkendoll will get their chances and need to step up.
Can Colt McCoy make like VY against the Buffs?
Texas opens up Big 12 play tonight at 6pm against a good Colorado team coming off their first loss of the season. The Buffaloes are a talented team heading in the right direction thanks to head coach Dan Hawkins and the play of his quarterback son, but the Longhorns are 13-point favorites and if they do their job they’ll win the game.
Read below for the Longhorns’ keys to beat the Colorado Buffaloes:
1. Don’t look past Colorado to next week.
Texas fans are already making plans and looking forward to next week’s huge match-up with Oklahoma but the team can’t do the same. The Buffaloes are easily the toughest team Texas has faced and can easily pull off the upset if the Horns don’t play as well as they should.
2. Don’t give up a big kickoff return.
WR Josh Smith is Colorado’s biggest weapon, particularly on kickoff returns. Nothing kills momentum worse than giving up a backbreaking return after a touchdown. The kickoff coverage team has been solid so far but they haven’t faced a guy like Smith. Kicker Justin Tucker needs to what he’s done all year and put his kickoffs high and in the end zone and he’ll completely neutralize Smith’s abilities.
3. Pressure quarterback Cody Hawkins.
After back-to-back weeks of seven sacks the Texas defense suddenly has one of the top pass rushes in the country. The Colorado offensive line has been decimated by injuries and Brian Orakpo and company need to take advantage. The real test comes next week but this will be a good indicator of what the defensive line and linebackers can do against an offensive line that doesn’t average sub-260 pounds. Texas needs to hound Cody Hawkins and bring him down for at least three sacks tonight.
Butch Hadnot runs against the Piggies
Read below for the Longhorns’ keys to beat the Arkansas Razorbacks:
1. Match their intensity/hatred.
The Texas/Arkansas rivalry isn’t what it used to be back in the days of the Southwest Conference, but the hatred for the Longhorns in Fayettenam hasn’t waned. On the field the Horns can’t let the Razorbacks ride that energy to a quick start. The talent Mack Brown will be putting on the field Saturday easily overmatches that of new Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino, if the Horns come out and score early they should be able to pull away and win easily.
2. Keep an eye on RB Michael Smith.
5-foot-7 junior running back is leading the Razorbacks in rushing and is also on of Casey Dick’s top receiving options. He’s averaging nearly 125 yards per game on the ground and has also chipped in 10 catches for 90 yards. The Horns have problems in the secondary so they need to be able to bottle up Smith and make Arkansas one-dimensional. Roddrick Muckelroy needs to introduce himself Mr. Smith early and often.
3. Get one of the Texas running backs rolling.
The top two rushers for the Longhorns against Rice were the starting and backup quarterbacks. Colt McCoy is leading the team with 194 rushing yards through three games and while he needs to keep running he’ll need one of his running backs to step up behind him. Speedy Foswhitt Whittaker is likely out for the game so it’ll be up to Vondrell McGee and big Cody Johnson to provide ground support. Alabama ran all over the Razorbacks last week (328 yards rushing) and the Horns need to do the same, even if it takes 30 carries from Johnson to get there.
The UTEP fans and players have likely had this weekend circled on the calendar for months. Their match-up against the Longhorns might be the biggest game they’ve ever played in the Sun Bowl. After the Miners’ loss to lowly Buffalo last week this game lost a little luster, but the Texas team still has plenty to work on both for this game and the rest of the season.
Read below for the Longhorns’ keys to beat the UTEP Miners:
1. Don’t sleepwalk to start the game.
A 9:15pm game time is not normal for the Texas players but they can’t let it affect the way they start the game. There’s going to be a lot more downtime for the team on gameday but the players need to find a way to get into their routine and be ready for the opening kickoff. If it takes Texas two quarters to wake up, UTEP will gain confidence and start believing the upset is possible.
2. Secondary play must improve.
The young secondary certainly looked inexperienced in the first half against FAU before they settled down a bit. UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe had a rough season opener but was great in 2007 and will test the pass defense. There have to be fewer mental mistakes and fewer missed tackles this week and the safeties in particular need to improve quickly. The passing defense may not hurt the Horns this week or even against Arkansas, but when the team travels to Colorado in October they better not be playing like freshmen anymore.
3. Get more big plays out of the running game.
Vondrell McGee and Chris Ogbonnaya were both solid last week but the longest run of the game came on a 25-yard scamper from QB Colt McCoy. The offense was near perfect but not explosive, this week it would be good to see McGee take one 30+ yards to the house. Getting the speedy Fozzy Whittaker back will certainly help but he’s still not full strength yet.
4. Hit UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe.
The best way to help out the secondary is by getting after the quarterback. The defensive line did get decent pressure on FAU QB Rusty Smith but didn’t record a single sack. That has to change this week. Against UTEP the Horns will likely stay pretty vanilla on defense but the team should still be able to get to and hit Vittatoe repeatedly. I want to see at least one sack each from Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton, and Sergio Kindle Saturday night.
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