Texas football starts quest to be “back” vs. UTEP in season opener

Texas football opens the season with the UTEP Miners, an opponent they look to use a tune-up to iron out the details before starting conference play.

The 2020 season is going to be a make-or-break year for the Texas Longhorns. After taking a small step back in 2019, the Longhorns look to get back to the Big 12 title game and do what they have not done since 2019: win a conference title.

This will be head coach Tom Herman’s fourth-season and will be his best team since he took over the head coaching duties from Charlie Strong.

Herman has the pleasure of having his offense by one of the country’s best quarterbacks, Sam Ehlinger, a dual-threat talent quarterback with a lot of moxie and fire in his game. Ehlinger seems to have been at Texas for the longest time now, rivaling that of former Ohio State quarterback JT Barrett but looks to make it worth it by ending his college career with more than just a conference title.

Texas starts that journey with a home game versus the UTEP Miners in their only non-conference game of the 2020 season. UTEP posses no threat to the Longhorns as the Miners have been one of college football’s worst program the last three seasons, posting a 2-34 during that span. So do not expect any miracles in this one.

With that being said, here is everything you need to know about Saturday night’s game between the Texas Longhorns and the UTEP Miners:

Date: Saturday, Sept. 12
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Austin, Texas
Venue: DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium
TV: Longhorn Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

The Texas Longhorns should have a field day against the Miners, providing playing time to second and third-stringers in most of the second half, which will build some depth along both sides of the ball. Ehlinger does not need to get cute with it but take care of business and get out of the game as early as possible. The conference is going to be tougher than it has been in a while and the Longhorns cannot afford to have a less than 100 percent Ehlinger heading into conference play.

For UTEP, just find some highlights to build off of for the season. If the Miners can score at least two touchdowns, and force and maybe one turnover, that can be marked down as a moral victory to build on for the rest of the season. They only need two wins in 2020 to have an improved season, but one of those wins will not be coming against Austin.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of The Action Network

Point Spread: Texas -42.5
Over/under: 61

Prediction

As expected, this game is dominated from start to finish by the Longhorns. Ehlinger finds the endzone multiple time through both the air and the ground before being taken out for the second half, starting his Heisman candidacy off on the right foot. Texas’ defense scores a touchdown of their own as they force several turnovers. Longhorns take care of business in week one and send UTEP home with the highly anticipated loss.

Final Score: Texas 59, UTEP 10