WEEK 3 - utsa PREVIEW
08 Sep 2022 | Sam Martens
Longhorn Faithful,
Jeff Traylor and the UTSA Roadrunners travel to Austin to take on the depleted Longhorns in a not-so-subtle pre-conference tune-up.
Let’s begin now.
ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE RECAP
Boy, oh boy. First off, hats off to you, the Longhorn Faithful, as DKR was the most hostile environment I have ever been a part of. I will not spend too much time here as I have no doubt each and every one of you watched every second of the hard-fought game last Saturday. The grueling result did not fall our way, but here are the largest takeaways from my perspective.
Primarily, Steve Sarkisian’s game plan was far and away the most complete and creative he has put together during his time at the 40 acres. We talked last week about how schematically this primarily looks like a lot of misdirection both pre and post snap. What did Steve do? He came out with 7 different personal packages including a 6 OL package, a wildcat package, and a diamond formation. Well, he did say he game planned for 3 months for this one…But this is a sign that down the line in conference championships, bowl games, etc., we will have the luxury of a creative mind on offense.
The most surprising aspect of the game to most had to be our defensive performance. Credit to PK, Gary Patterson, and all other staff members for preparing our defense to succeed. Patterson’s signature zone blitzes, that have frustrated the Longhorn Faithful for many years prior, were all over the gameplan from start to finish. There were very few moments where Bryce Young a Co. looked comfortable, something that simply has not been true for opposing offenses over the past few years.
Notably on the outlook, the Burnt Orange did suffer major injuries. Despite our prayers in last week’s write-up, Quinn Ewers was taken out early with a sprained SC joint. Man did he look good before he was unable to return. Expectation is this is a multi-week injury and I will peg OU as his return, anything prior would be a blessing. Hudson Card is also sporting a sore ankle, D’Shawn Jamison suffered a lower leg injury, Bijan required an MRI on his shoulder, and Roschon is also experience shoulder soreness. More on these later but Sark is keeping all updates close to his chest as of now, simply declaring all injuries “day-to-day.”
Primarily, Steve Sarkisian’s game plan was far and away the most complete and creative he has put together during his time at the 40 acres. We talked last week about how schematically this primarily looks like a lot of misdirection both pre and post snap. What did Steve do? He came out with 7 different personal packages including a 6 OL package, a wildcat package, and a diamond formation. Well, he did say he game planned for 3 months for this one…But this is a sign that down the line in conference championships, bowl games, etc., we will have the luxury of a creative mind on offense.
The most surprising aspect of the game to most had to be our defensive performance. Credit to PK, Gary Patterson, and all other staff members for preparing our defense to succeed. Patterson’s signature zone blitzes, that have frustrated the Longhorn Faithful for many years prior, were all over the gameplan from start to finish. There were very few moments where Bryce Young a Co. looked comfortable, something that simply has not been true for opposing offenses over the past few years.
Notably on the outlook, the Burnt Orange did suffer major injuries. Despite our prayers in last week’s write-up, Quinn Ewers was taken out early with a sprained SC joint. Man did he look good before he was unable to return. Expectation is this is a multi-week injury and I will peg OU as his return, anything prior would be a blessing. Hudson Card is also sporting a sore ankle, D’Shawn Jamison suffered a lower leg injury, Bijan required an MRI on his shoulder, and Roschon is also experience shoulder soreness. More on these later but Sark is keeping all updates close to his chest as of now, simply declaring all injuries “day-to-day.”
UTSA ROADRUNNER PREVIEW
Led by Jeff Traylor, the UTSA Roadrunners come into week 3 with a victory over Army and a loss to Houston, both games requiring an overtime period to decide the winner. Traylor was the former UT special teams coordinator, tight end coach, and Big 12 Recruiter of Year in 2016. He guided the Roadrunners to a 12-2 record last year after taking over in 2020.
The most important thing to know about the Roadrunners is their experience. 18 of the 24 starters are seniors or redshirt seniors (9 on offense, 7 defense, and both specialists). That has to be one of the oldest groups in the country. There is a talent gap, be sure of that, but to expect to roll out of bed and put away this team is naïve.
On offense, 6th year lefty QB Frank Harris has 6,000+ yards and 48 TDs to his career to date. He has eclipsed over 330 passing yards in each of his first two games. Traylor runs a similar RPO scheme and looks to get the ball out quickly, but Harris is a decent threat with his own legs at times. Arkansas tranfer Trelon Smith leads the backfield, but Smith has been modest at best through 2 games in a pass-heavy offense trying to replace all-time leading Roadrunner RB Sincere McCormic006B. 3 seniors (Zakhari Franklin, De’Corian Clark, and Joshua Cephus) are the top Roadrunner weapons at wide out. The biggest deficiency for this offense is their Big Uglies. They have had multiple injuries already to a unit who has struggled to run and pass block against Houston and Army.
Defensively, Sarkisian explains that Converse Judson safety Rashad Wisdom is the “quarterback and leader of their defense.” Traylor has also brought on a couple Power-5 transfer secondary members to support around him. UTSA lost 6 of their top 8 tacklers from last year, but interestingly enough, Traylor believes his front 7 might still be the strongest asset of his team. They rotate a lot of experienced players in, and Texas should expect to have their hands full on protection after the Roadrunners have amassed 5 sacks and done well in the run game int their first two.
The most important thing to know about the Roadrunners is their experience. 18 of the 24 starters are seniors or redshirt seniors (9 on offense, 7 defense, and both specialists). That has to be one of the oldest groups in the country. There is a talent gap, be sure of that, but to expect to roll out of bed and put away this team is naïve.
On offense, 6th year lefty QB Frank Harris has 6,000+ yards and 48 TDs to his career to date. He has eclipsed over 330 passing yards in each of his first two games. Traylor runs a similar RPO scheme and looks to get the ball out quickly, but Harris is a decent threat with his own legs at times. Arkansas tranfer Trelon Smith leads the backfield, but Smith has been modest at best through 2 games in a pass-heavy offense trying to replace all-time leading Roadrunner RB Sincere McCormic006B. 3 seniors (Zakhari Franklin, De’Corian Clark, and Joshua Cephus) are the top Roadrunner weapons at wide out. The biggest deficiency for this offense is their Big Uglies. They have had multiple injuries already to a unit who has struggled to run and pass block against Houston and Army.
Defensively, Sarkisian explains that Converse Judson safety Rashad Wisdom is the “quarterback and leader of their defense.” Traylor has also brought on a couple Power-5 transfer secondary members to support around him. UTSA lost 6 of their top 8 tacklers from last year, but interestingly enough, Traylor believes his front 7 might still be the strongest asset of his team. They rotate a lot of experienced players in, and Texas should expect to have their hands full on protection after the Roadrunners have amassed 5 sacks and done well in the run game int their first two.
TEXAS – UTSA GAME PREVIEW
Kick off will be at 7 PM in Darrel K. Royal Stadium with a game time temperature of 91 degrees (but will feel nothing like last week). TV coverage will be your Longhorn Network with color commentary from Lowell Galindo, Sam Acho, and Alex Chappell. The spread is hovering at -12.5 with an over/under of 61.
I am of the belief that so many people, including those within our program, have labeled this as a letdown/trap game/etc. that it will in fact not be. I do however think that due to our many key injuries, this game will be more difficult than it should be.
I expect Hudson Card to suit up and be QB1. However, 3rd string Austin High Maroon Charles Alan Wright III is preparing to see game time, whether that be to start or fill in if Hudson’s ankle cannot hold up. Wright is not the talented arm of Ewers or Card, but his experience within the system should not limit Sarkisian’s playbook in a detrimental fashion. I don’t expect to see much of Bijan, if at all. Not much of a reason to trot him out with our RB depth unless he is 110% healthy.
So what does Sark do? I think like Bama, we do see a lot of 2 RB formations to start coupled with a WR in motion to create options. That has worked consistently through Sarkisian’s time here and will be our bread and butter. I expect us to be able to move the ball on the ground modestly, but Card/Wright needs to be able to connect in the air. Most importantly for Card, get the ball out and quit taking unnecessary sacks/hits. I’d like to see more of a week 1 performance from J’Tavion Sanders as he was quiet last week. I want to see a big(ger) game out of Xavier Worthy even if he is spotlighted by UTSA’s Rashad Wisdom.
But most importantly, our defense should be able to limit the Roadrunners with pressure. Our Big Hefties should be simply too much for their Big Uglies. Our secondary will be tested by their pass heavy attack, and likely without Jamison the unit is stressed. But the stressed unit did perform exceptionally against Bama, so the high expectation is now the standard. Expect a lot of zone blitzes with clever stunts/twists/gap shoots that we found success with against Alabama to get pressure on Frank Harris.
In conclusion, I see a much lower scoring game than our friends in Vegas. I think the Horns offense with either QB should still find the endzone 4 times. I might be riding too high on our defense, but I don’t see the Roadrunners eclipsing the 20 pt mark. Take the under.
I am of the belief that so many people, including those within our program, have labeled this as a letdown/trap game/etc. that it will in fact not be. I do however think that due to our many key injuries, this game will be more difficult than it should be.
I expect Hudson Card to suit up and be QB1. However, 3rd string Austin High Maroon Charles Alan Wright III is preparing to see game time, whether that be to start or fill in if Hudson’s ankle cannot hold up. Wright is not the talented arm of Ewers or Card, but his experience within the system should not limit Sarkisian’s playbook in a detrimental fashion. I don’t expect to see much of Bijan, if at all. Not much of a reason to trot him out with our RB depth unless he is 110% healthy.
So what does Sark do? I think like Bama, we do see a lot of 2 RB formations to start coupled with a WR in motion to create options. That has worked consistently through Sarkisian’s time here and will be our bread and butter. I expect us to be able to move the ball on the ground modestly, but Card/Wright needs to be able to connect in the air. Most importantly for Card, get the ball out and quit taking unnecessary sacks/hits. I’d like to see more of a week 1 performance from J’Tavion Sanders as he was quiet last week. I want to see a big(ger) game out of Xavier Worthy even if he is spotlighted by UTSA’s Rashad Wisdom.
But most importantly, our defense should be able to limit the Roadrunners with pressure. Our Big Hefties should be simply too much for their Big Uglies. Our secondary will be tested by their pass heavy attack, and likely without Jamison the unit is stressed. But the stressed unit did perform exceptionally against Bama, so the high expectation is now the standard. Expect a lot of zone blitzes with clever stunts/twists/gap shoots that we found success with against Alabama to get pressure on Frank Harris.
In conclusion, I see a much lower scoring game than our friends in Vegas. I think the Horns offense with either QB should still find the endzone 4 times. I might be riding too high on our defense, but I don’t see the Roadrunners eclipsing the 20 pt mark. Take the under.