Houston Game Preview
Texas goes on the road for the 3rd time this season. Photo: Vasha Hunt, Associated Press
Outlook
The Longhorns are back in action after a much needed bye week to heal bodies and minds. Referring to the fans, of course. The football team also returns to play Houston on the road at 3pm on Saturday. The game will be televised on FOX.
Texas comes in as a heavy favorite, despite the two teams’ reversals of fortune in their last respective outings. The Longhorns fell to arch-rival Oklahoma 34-30 after leading in the final minute. Houston, on the other hand, beat West Virginia on a Hail Mary pass with no time remaining for a walk-off 41-39 victory. What Texas fans would have given for that same fortune to fall their way in the Cotton Bowl a couple weeks ago…
Still, Texas is 5-1 and should control its own destiny in the Big 12 conference to reach the title game. I think if you’d have told Longhorn fans before the season that we’d be looking at a 5-1 start, they’d very much take it. I know I would have.
The Cougars improved to 3-3 (yeah…) with their last second win and won their first Big 12 conference game. They lost each of their previous 2 by at least 3 touchdowns. They also sport a loss to Rice on the resume.
This is a matchup that hasn’t been played since 2002 - Texas leads the all-time series 16-7-2, having won each of the last 7.
In what will be the only matchup as member of the Big 12, the Cougars will attempt to play spoiler in front of a sold out crowd (of max capacity 40,000).
Texas has scored at least 30 points in every game this season. Photo: Shafkat Anowar, The Dallas Morning News
Texas Offense vs. Houston Defense
The Texas offense had its worst outing of the year against the Sooners - and still scored 30 points. It was a game in which they turned the ball over 3 times (all by Ewers) and also failed to score on 4th down on the goal line. Still, the Horns had to settle for 3 field goals and only got into the end zone twice offensively, as the special teams cashed in for the other score. Despite throwing interceptions on his first two possessions, Quinn Ewers responded with an amazing performance for the rest of the game - at one time throwing 19 consecutive completions. Still, the 3 turnovers proved too much to come back from, and a late sack led to a field goal with too much time left. Expect Ewers to shake off the turnovers and respond the way he did in the later part of that game - 300 yards should be a given. Give me Jonathon Brooks over 100 yards on the ground, too. If the Longhorns don’t roll up at least 500 yards of offense, something went wrong.
The Houston defense is…bad. Yep, they are flat out bad. The unit ranks below 100th in FBS in total yards given up per game, passing yards per game, and points allowed. They’re giving up 31.3 ppg - that’s not a great recipe going up against a Longhorn offense scoring over 35 per game. UH is also 124th in red zone defense, which is a welcome sight for Texas given their red zone struggles this year. There’s just not much to like about the Houston defense. Texas should have no problem scoring in this game.
Advantage: Texas
The Longhorn defense looks to respond after their worst outing of the year a couple weeks ago. Photo: USA Today
Texas Defense vs. Houston Offense
The Texas defense is coming off its worst game of the season, giving up 34 points and not being able to stop a last minute touchdown drive. I would expect them to bounce back in this game, especially generating pressure on the QB and getting home for sacks. Another performance like the last one and there might start to be questions raised. I don’t anticipate that to be the case.
The Houston offense is by far the strength of the team. They average a little under 30 points per game on the season, and QB Donovan Smith is a much improved player from his time at Texas Tech. He has thrown for 1600 yards with 13 TDs and just 3 INTs on the year. Still, it’s hard to see UH having the same type of production they have been with the way the Texas defense has played for a vast majority of the season.
Advantage: Texas
Prediction
Texas comes out hungry after feeling the pain of defeat for the first time this season and having to deal with that for two weeks. Horns will roll as Ewers has a field day and the defense returns to its dominant ways.
Texas 45, Houston 20
Hook ‘em
