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) /

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1. Texas had less off-field controversy

Texas has faced less distraction in the offseason while Maryland has been involved in a scandal that led to the firing of former head coach D.J. Durkin.

Texas head coach Tom Herman was a name that swirled around the Zach Smith case at Ohio State, but he was not directly involved in the act.

Just weeks out from the season, Maryland was forced to regroup under interim head coach Matt Canada which may be a negative when it comes to the progress the team made with Durkin at the helm of the program. Canada has experience as an offensive coordinator with a Power 5 team (at LSU) but has yet hold a head coaching position.

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On the opposite sideline, Herman was pegged as Texas’ head coach as a top target after leading Houston to much success. In that regard, Herman has several years of experience as the head coach of a competitive college football team.

The Durkin scandal may have subsided by this point, but some of its residual effects may linger especially in the first game of the season.

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