Here is everything you need to know about the Sooners upcoming game in Austin in our Texas vs. San Jose State preview.
Broadcast Info
2 p.m. Central Time, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas.
TV: Longhorn Network (Lowell Galindo, Ahmad Brooks, Kris Budden)
Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Quan Cosby), Sirius 132, XM 199
Key Players
Texas Longhorns
The QB (Shane Buechele, Sam Ehlinger, Josh Covey, Blake Nevins)
All of them are underclassman. Buechele will be a game-time decision. If he can’t go, Ehlinger is next in line. What if the Austin Westlake product gets injured in his first game though? Josh Covey is a sophomore from Georgetown East View. Blake Nevins is a freshman from Cypress Ranch. It’s been a rough ride for Texas quarterbacks since Colt McCoy got hurt in the 2009 National Championship Game. All four of them need to be taking every practice rep seriously because any of them could wind up going in at any point of any game this season. This is game is more important to Texas than the usual match up against a Group of Five team. The future is uncertain, and every snap is now a building block towards future success.
Coach Tom Herman
Herman has three of the best running backs from the state of Texas. The Longhorns have so much depth here, one of them had to be pushed out to receiver (Lil’Jordan Humphrey). Despite this, Buechele had far more carries than any other player on the team against Maryland. Herman needs to use Warren and Porter more often and take pressure off his young gunslingers. Four of the five starting lineman have two letters. There is absolutely no reason why Porter and Warren combined for just 55 yards on 14 carries compared to Buechele’s 45 yards on 14 carries. It’s the perfect recipe to have your fourth-string quarterback taking snaps. By the way, San Jose State gave up 315 rushing yards to a Charlie Strong coached South Florida team.
Holton Hill
Hill is on pace to be a Bednarik Award candidate. Despite playing in the secondary, Hill is second on the team in tackles. Every one of those eight tackles are solo. Additionally, he scored two touchdowns against Maryland. The first one being a 31-yard pick-six. His second score came on a blocked field goal when he scooped up the ball and returned it 65 yards for the score. For Texas, it was their first touchdown on a blocked field goal since Sept. 28, 2002 against Tulane.
San Jose State Spartans
QB Montel Aaron
It didn’t take long for San Jose State to have a quarterback controversy. In fact, the controversy may have been over after Aaron came in during the second quarter of San Jose State’s victory over FCS school Cal Poly. The freshman quarterback finished 11-of-17 for 183 yards and three touchdown passes during his second game. However, he has yet to face a Power Five school, much less one which has enough talent to compete for a National Championship in the near-future.
LB Frank Ginda
Ginda recorded the same amount of tackles one week ago as Malik Jefferson and Holton Hill did combined. Yes, Jefferson and Hill were the two leading tacklers for Texas. Ginda was a part of 17 total tackles, 10 of which were solo. He faces a young, inexperienced backfield this week. Expect Ginda to smell fresh blood.
Key Storylines
You can run the ball?
Someone has to let Herman know about the talent he has in the backfield. Warren has already broken records held by Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams. Kyle Porter is just one of many running backs out of state dynasty Katy High School. They have so much talent at running back, Lil’Jordan Humphrey became a wide receiver when he arrived on the Forty Acres. These are three of the best running backs the state of Texas has to offer. Take the pressure off your young quarterbacks and hand off the ball.
The Defense
It’s not good when a member of your secondary is second in tackles on the team. Holton Hill was an absolute menace against Maryland. However, the Terrapins racked up 263 rushing yards against a linebacker crew featuring highly touted recruits Malik Jefferson (5-star), Jeffrey McCulloch (4-star) and Anthony Wheeler (4-star). These men are supposed to high NFL draft picks, but Maryland’s Ty Johnson averaged 11 yards per carry. He finished with 132 on 12 carries. Texas must use this game to figure out why the talent isn’t translating into results.
Prediction
Texas 28 San Jose State 10
It’s not going to be pretty, but Texas will get the first victory of the Tom Herman era. The offense will improve. The defense will gain confidence. We always hear about “the process”. Well, this game is simply about “the process” and a victory will be a major piece to the process. If Herman decides to use his rushing attack, this can easily become a larger margin.
