There’s no such thing as an automatic win in college football, but if history is any indicator, the guys from Austin should easily handle UTEP.
In the 4 previous meetings between the programs, Texas has won all 4 matchups by an average of 44 points, with 3 of the 4 victories coming by 34 points or more. Even more impressive, in 3 of the games, the Texas defense has held UTEP offenses to 1 touchdown or less.
Despite history overwhelmingly being in their favor, this year’s version of the Longhorns must do more than win their matchup with UTEP if they are going to become the team many think they will be in the end.
Here are some key things I need to see from Texas as they creep closer to SEC action:
1. Texas must begin developing a consistent run game
If one just glanced at the stats, you’d see Texas is averaging 160 yards a game overall on the ground and averaging 4.6 yards per carry as a team. Both are respectable numbers until you take a deeper look at the Texas running game situation and see the Longhorns have more things they need to improve on than things they do well.
One big cause for concern is the lack of explosive plays from the run game this season for Texas. Through 2 games and 69 carries, the Longhorns’ longest run was Arch Manning’s highlight reel 20-yard touchdown run last week against San Jose State.
To date, Manning’s run is the only run which qualifies as an “explosive” run for the Longhorns. For this weekend to be a true success, Texas must get at least 2 explosive runs from the running back duo of C.J. Baxter and Jerrick Gibson with lead back Quintrevion Wisner out due to injury.
The quicker Texas finds ways to develop an explosive ground attack, the better Manning and their explosive passing game will be.
2. Colin Simmons and Ryan Wingo need to emerge
Coming into the season, the sophomore duo of Colin Simmons and Ryan Wingo were almost universally viewed as the most important players on Texas roster not named Arch Manning. Through 2 games, both have been major disappointments, as neither has lived up to the hype despite being put in good positions to make plays for the Longhorns.
In Simmons’ case, he simply must be more disciplined and stop trying to do too much and let things come to him. Currently on the season, Simmons has more penalties than tackles and sacks combined as he’s registered 0.5 sacks and 2 solo tackles while committing 3 penalties.
A breakout game against UTEP is a necessity for Simmons, as the talented edge rusher needs to right the ship before Texas begins SEC play on Oct. 4 against Florida.
On the offensive side of the ball, there’s an APB out for Wingo, who came into the season listed as Manning’s No. 1 receiver after a stellar freshman campaign where he racked up 472 receiving yards on just 29 catches. Through 2 games, Wingo only has 6 catches for 65 yards and has at least one drop in every game. It’s very important that Wingo breaks out against UTEP, because when he’s clicking, Texas’s offense tends to take things to another level.
A big barometer of Wingo’s impact can be shown in games he’s been able to deliver explosive plays in his career. So far in Wingo’s young career, Texas is 5-2 in games he’s been able to produce an explosive play, with both losses coming against Ohio State.
Catching a touchdown and producing explosive plays against UTEP needs to happen so Wingo can get on the right track before Texas gets to the SEC part of its schedule.
3. Texas must dominate from beginning to end
After struggling and never getting its footing while losing to Ohio State and starting off slow while beating San Jose State, Texas needs to dominate from beginning to end against UTEP. Unlike last season, Texas has yet to display it has another gear most teams don’t possess this season.
Although it’s early in the season and UTEP is a major 40-point underdog, Texas needs to flex and produce a dominant and complete game this weekend to prove this year’s version of the Longhorns has that extra gear. Because sooner or later, Texas is going to need consistent domination and another gear if it plans to get through the SEC gauntlet without stepping on a landmine.
Kendrick E. Johnson writes for various national outlets such as High School on SI, Yardbarker, ESPN Andscape and MMA Weekly. He is an independent print journalist, sports television reporter and multimedia journalist who has covered the NBA Finals, NFL, NCAA football, MLB, NHL, WWE and over 75 world championship boxing and UFC Fights nationally. Johnson has also covered every prep sport possible in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and all across the great state of Texas. He’s done numerous 1-on-1 interviews with some of the biggest names and personalities in sports from Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry and Shaq on the basketball side to Jon Jones, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford on the combat sports side and John Cena, Jey and Jimmy Uso and Charlotte Flair in WWE.
