Texas football: Can Longhorns get back on track vs. Baylor?

The eyes of Texas are lying upon Texas football to respond, after a thrilling defeat in the Cotton Bowl. Can the Longhorns bounce back versus Baylor?

In what was considered to be an instant classic, the clear star from the Red River Showdown was quarterback Sam Ehlinger. He put the Longhorns on his back and willingly carried them to double overtime, where he could carry no more.

The Longhorns would lose, 53-45. There would be a ton of questions at Tom Herman for poor coaching and performances from notable players throughout the game. However, Sam’s 400-plus total yards and six touchdowns was now where near to be a problem.

For Baylor, it seems like getting a game has been the only problem. After back-to-back contests played, COVID-19 struck again. The Bears were supposed to play Oklahoma State at home this past weekend, but it got postponed and rescheduled, due to too many cases on Baylor’s end.

Prior to that, Baylor came out of Morgantown with a lot to be desired offensively. Charlie Brewer’s 229 yards and three touchdowns looks solid on paper and it did not represent the struggles the Bears had in their 27-21 loss.

The Bears had more rushes than rushing yards and Brewer was sacked six times. The Bears could not contain the pressure coming from the best duo in the Big 12 in the Stills brothers, Darius and Dante.

The Bears’ defense wasn’t too much of an issue, as they held the Mountaineers to just 14 points in regulation and forced four West Virginia turnovers.

Last year’s contest between Baylor and Texas was a rare Big 12 defensive slugfest. The teams combined for 34 points and neither had over 400 yards of total offense. Texas didn’t score a touchdown till there was a second left in the game, as the Bears would clinch their first Big 12 berth, with a 24-10 victory in Waco.

With the combination of Baylor missing the last two weeks, and the Longhorns coming off a bye after a heartbreaking loss, this surprisingly sets up well for the guys from Austin.

Here’s how to watch the matchup between the Longhorns and the Bears:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 24
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Austin, Texas
Venue: Darrell K. Royal Stadium
Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

For Texas, they have to do a better job of stopping the run. TJ Pledger (who came into the season as the fourth-string running back) did a fantastic job on consistently finding holes and was set up well, by the offensive line. The Sooners rushed for 208 yards and ground enough clock when they needed to.

With Baylor’s offensive line struggles, Texas needs to get to the quarterback early and often. They only got two sacks on Spencer Rattler last week. The good news for the Longhorns is that with a week of getting healthy, they should have their full first unit on Saturday.

For Baylor, they have to get some sort of identity on offense to work in Brewer’s favor. Baylor’s receivers had a hard time separating from West Virginia’s defensive backs for what seemed like all day.

Brewer cannot afford to get sacked six more times, in order for the Bears to win, that portion has to get cleaned up and soon. Creating innovative ways to get Trestan Ebner the ball has to be a game plan just about every week.

After the senior had 250-plus total yards and four touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving, two kickoff returns), he was shut down completely in their last game. Ebner had 26 total yards on just nine touches. Giving him the ball at least 20 times a game in some sort of way will increase Baylor’s chances of an explosive play and a Bears upset.

Prediction

Texas doesn’t have as good enough defensive line as West Virginia’s, so the Bears having more success running the football is a strong possibility. Baylor didn’t do a great job against Texas last year, but was serviceable and much better than their performance in their last contest.

Brewer should have a better time finding his receivers and Baylor’s offense will look more dynamic against the Longhorns than they did against West Virginia. However, there is a good chance the Bears come out rusty after being off for two straight weeks.

Texas could expose that early and jump out to a quick lead. Leaving the Bears having to work from behind throughout and not quite being able to catch up.

Ehlinger has not thrown a touchdown against Baylor in his career. On Saturday, that will change and his Longhorns will improve to 3-2 on the year.

Final Score: Texas 34, Baylor 24