The Longhorns are making finishing touches to the UTSA gameplan, with the game just 48 hours away. Jeff Traylor brings a veteran, smart team in Austin looking to get a program-changing win. Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are coming off their own program-changing win, followed by a week with too many non-football headlines. This weekend, the Roadrunners bring some interesting problems to the table but this is mainly a battle of Texas vs. themselves.
Let’s get into the four matchups that will decide this game:
Arch Manning vs. Himself
Following the remarkable comeback, this week should’ve been a celebration of Arch Manning. Instead, a press conference answer created more for the Longhorns QB1 to focus on outside the football field. Seemingly, that saga is behind Manning and
he’s ready to turn his full attention back to the field. To me, this weekend is about him blocking out the noise, staying focused on the task at hand and executing at a high level. Outside of the surrounding drama, he has to do a better job of trusting his eyes and not hesitating in the pocket. A clean, turnover-free performance is a must for Texas’ QB1 going into his first round game of the season in Knoxville.
Texas OL vs. UTSA Front Seven
This is a matchup to watch for one simple reason: Texas should dominate it. The Roadrunners gave up 177 yards rushing in Week One and 289 in Week Two to Texas State. Coming off an encouraging run-game performance, this should be the Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown show. Much like Week One, anything short of domination up front will leave some Longhorn fans unsatisfied. The offensive line has started the season as strong as could’ve hoped but this should be the first game of true domination start to finish.
Owen McCown vs. Will Muschamp
If there is one thing McCown is great at, it’s protecting the football. Through his two previous seasons as the Roadrunners QB1, he’s totalled 55 passing TDs while throwing just 17 INTs. Through two games this season, he has a TD to INT ratio of 4-0. He’s a very smart, clean QB that rarely puts the ball in harm’s way. The Texas defense thrives off forcing turnovers, so how can Muschamp force the veteran into uncharacteristic mistakes? If he can’t, UTSA has a chance to limit possessions in this game and put a scare into the Longhorns.
The Longhorns vs. Complacency
This is the ultimate question around any team coming off a major win. During the Steve Sarkisian era, they haven’t had a regular season win like this one. The closest parallel is the win over Alabama in 2023. The following week, the Longhorns entered the 4th quarter tied 10-10 with Wyoming. They ended up winning the game 31-10 but it took a scare before the team was fully focused on the task at hand. That can’t happen this Saturday because it allows the doubt around this team to reemerge. The Longhorns putting together a dominant performance in the first half and allowing depth pieces to finish the job proves this team won’t be distracted by success.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: UTSA vs. Texas Matchups to watch include Muschamp vs. Roadrunners QB
