As Texas makes their way through game week, the anticipation begins to mount. Texas is a 29.5-point favorite against Texas State, meaning many expect this to be a comfortable win for the Longhorns. In games like this, it’s often that you don’t learn much about the heavy favorite. To me, that isn’t the case for Texas this weekend
. They are things to be learned from this weekend before the heavyweight bout against Ohio State in Week Two.Here are the three things I’ll be paying special attention to this weekend:
OL Cohesion/Competency
In my eyes, this is the most important aspect this weekend. It seems Trevor Goosby will be available for this weekend but is still unlikely to see the field much, if at all. The left guard position could see Laurence Seymore and Dylan Sikorski
splitting snaps. Despite that, seeing the OL working as a unit instead of individuals is a must.
Last season, many of the issues up front were simply missed assignments, not lack of ability. This offseason, the steps have been taken to both upgrade the talent and build a more fundamentally sound unit. The Longhorns should be able to dominate the LOS just based on talent and size, but the unit being assignment sound is the No. 1 key.
Rotations at WR, LB and S
How many guys get in and how often? That is the question that has to be answered this weekend. While we are expected to see many depth pieces, how many find the field before this game gets out of reach for Texas State. At WR, how quickly do players like Jermaine Bishop Jr., Sterling Berkhalter and Daylan McCutcheon find the field? That answer could show what the rotation could look like against the Buckeyes.
On the defensive side, I have a fairly good feeling about the rotations on the defensive line and at cornerback. That picture is less clear at linebacker and safety. This is a game where those questions can be answered. At LB, Rasheem Biles, Justin Cryer and Brad Spence will lead the way. How quickly does the freshmen trio get on the field and, maybe more importantly, which one is first?
At S, how even is the split between Derek Williams Jr. and Kobe Black? How often is Jonah Williams added into the equation? Those answers will inform how concerned Texas should be about the depth at safety heading into a battle against a potent passing attack.
Arch Manning’s Efficiency & Accuracy
Manning’s issues a season ago came back to one thing: accuracy. He finished the season with a completion percentage of 61.5%, including multiple games under 50%. Now, accuracy is largely a function of mechanics, which is difficult for the untrained eye to track on Saturdays. What the untrained eye can track is his completion percentage. Obviously that is not the only indicator of efficiency but they are tied together. This isn’t a hard and fast number, seeing Manning complete 66% or more of his passes would be a great sign to start his season.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Things to watch out for when Longhorns host Texas State
