Texas Football: 5 reasons Longhorns will beat Maryland in Week 1

AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 02: Shane Buechele #7 of the Texas Longhorns scrambles and is tackled by Brett Kulka #96 of the Maryland Terrapins in the second quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

3 of 6

(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

4. Texas has the slight edge at quarterback

Both Texas and Maryland were embroiled in a quarterback race in the offseason. Texas has named Sam Ehlinger its starter while Maryland still has yet to name a starting quarterback. The race is currently between Tyrrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill.

Both Pigrome and Hill saw playing time against the Longhorns last season. Pigrome sustained a season-ending injury in the second half of the opener last year which opened the gates for Hill to step in and help lead the way in the Terrapins’ win.

While both played against Texas last season, they don’t have as much game experience as Ehlinger because of injuries — a few games after Hill became the No. 1 quarterback, he met the same fate as Pigrome, suffering a season-ending injury.

On the other side, Ehlinger didn’t face Maryland’s defense last season as a freshman because he served as the backup behind Shane Buchele. He played in nine games and started six times for the Longhorns in 2017.

Although Ehlinger didn’t put up amazing numbers in his first year (11 touchdowns), he comes into 2018 as a battle-tested quarterback, playing in tight contests last year against USC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Home/Texas Longhorns