Longhorns looking to spark offense vs. Sam Houston

Breaking down the Week 4 matchup between the No. 8 Texas Longhorns and Sam Houston Bearkats…

No. 8 Texas vs. Sam Houston

When: 7 p.m. Saturday at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium

Last meeting: Texas beat Sam Houston, 56-3, in 2006

Record: Texas 2-1 (0-0, SEC), Sam Houston 0-3 (0-1, CUSA)

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TV: ESPN+/SEC Network+

What’s at stake?

For Texas football, night games bring a whole new level of excitement. The Saturday night lights, the drone show, and it’s the last home game for the Longhorns until Nov. 1.

“For the bulk of our players, growing up in the state of Texas, Friday night lights are such a big part of their experience of playing football,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Thursday. “So the opportunity to be under lights at seven o’clock at DKR Saturday night, I know one is that our players are looking forward to. I know our fans are looking forward to.”

Defensive back Michael Taaffe, an Austin-native, echoed that statement at Monday’s media availability.

“You try to starve your distractions and feed your focus,” Taaffe said. “But I don’t starve that distraction. I kind of like the light show and see ‘Hook’em’ up there and all that at night.”

As the last opportunity to fix problems before conference play begins, the Longhorns will use the night game in front of a home crowd to attempt a revival of their offense and regain confidence after an underwhelming game against UTEP.

For Sarkisian, the main goal Saturday is to see on game day what he sees in practice.

“The goal for me this week is that they take practice to the game and they trust their training and just go cut it loose and play the game of football the way I know they’re capable of playing,” Sarkisian said.

When Texas has the ball

Starting quarterback Arch Manning needs to hit his targets. Whether it’s a fundamental issue or a mental block, Manning has faced early-season struggl es on the field and will need any extra confidence he can get heading into SEC play.

With wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. back on the field, Manning will have plenty of targets to choose from. Sarkisian said the quarterback has been doing well in practice and hopes that it translates to gameday.

“My goal is that you all get to see that and that’s what we’re striving for,” Sarkisian said. “He’s had a great week, so I’ve been proud of him for that.”

Manning practically has an opportunity wrapped in paper and tied with a bow to get the ball to his receivers and make some big plays downfield. Led by first-year head coach Phil Longo, the Bearcats have one of the worst pass defenses in FBS, ranking 133rd in passing yards allowed after giving up 314.7 yards per game in their three losses so far this season.

The opportunity to rely on the passing game comes at the perfect time for the Longhorns. Texas has a limited running back room, with starting running back CJ Baxter out and Quintrevion Wisner doubtful against Sam Houston with injuries. While younger backs have gotten the chance to take the field, Manning currently leads the team in rushing with 112 yards and three touchdowns.

When Sam Houston has the ball

The Texas defense has continually proved itself as the best of the team’s three phases, forcing turnovers and putting the offense in good field position.

“When you can really minimize the run game and start forcing people to be one-dimensional, now you can really start to tie in the back end to the front end and disguising coverages and rushing the passer and affecting the quarterback and creating turnovers,” Sarkisian said.

So far, the Texas defense has done well against the run game, ranking 12th in the FBS in rushing defense.

By stopping the run, the Longhorns will try to put pressure on redshirt senior quarterback Hunter Watson and continue the streak of adding deflated footballs to Texcalibur. Similar to Manning, Watson has used his legs to generate two touchdowns and 108 rushing yards. Watson has thrown for 310 yards in two appearances for the Bearcats this season and hasn’t thrown a passing touchdown.

“I would say our defense is having a little more fun than our offense right now,” Sarkisian said. “As you’re having fun playing, you play a little bit more loose, you play a little bit more free, you play with a little bit more confidence. And so if we can get our offensive players starting to feel and play more like that, I think we’ll see more playmaking from those guys when the ball is in the air.”

Prediction

Including last week’s win against the Miners, the Longhorns are 24-0 against Conference USA opponents, holding the record for the most wins without a loss by any FBS team against the conference all-time.

While that record will most likely increase by one on Saturday night, the real question will sit in Manning’s hands. Will he look confident getting the ball to his receivers?

Score: Texas 49, Sam Houston 3

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