On Saturday, the Longhorns hosted the nation’s twenty-third ranked team, Louisiana-Lafayette, and beat the Ragin’ Cajuns in a decisive 38-18 victory. Texas’s season opener certainly felt like the start of a new era for Longhorns football thanks to a plethora of fresh faces such in head coach Steve Sarkisian, running back Bijan Robinson and redshirt freshman quarterback Hudson Card.
Speaking of Hudson Card, the redshirt freshman looked the part of Texas’s starting quarterback as he threw for 224 yards and scored a total of three touchdowns. Additionally, Card did not look fazed under the pressure and afterwards said “I’ve played in big games in my past, in high school. Lake Travis does a great job of preparing you and I think that had something to do with it. Just practice and being prepared. Preparation gives you confidence”.
Alongside Card, fellow underclassman Bijan Robinson had himself a day as he rushed for 103 yards and a score, in addition to catching a touchdown pass and totaling 76 receiving yards.
“We came together and thought we did a pretty good job, and I think that we have a lot more work to do to keep rolling and to be able to be at our full potential,” Robinson said.
The Texas offense’s secondary weapon of choice was Jordan Whittington, who finished the game with 7 receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. But, more importantly, Whittington consistently provided the Longhorns with a reliable safety blanket on third downs.
Texas’s defense complemented the offense’s output, limiting major plays and forcing Louisiana senior quarterback Levi Lewis to beat them with his arm. While Lewis ended the game with 282 passing yards and one passing touchdown, the Longhorns held the Ragin’ Cajuns to 76 yards on the ground.
Leading the defense in tackles, senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown tallied 13 while junior linebacker Luke Brockermeyer had 10.
Overshown commented on Brockermeyer’s performance saying “I love that guy. He comes to work every day. I don’t know how many times I hugged him since the game was over. I know how much this means to him with his father playing here and getting his first start, seeing him earn his scholarship since he first got here. I have so much love for that guy”.
Steve Sarkisian’s offseason transfer additions also made an impact as both Ray Thornton and Ovie Oghoufo, transfers from LSU and Notre Dame respectively, came away from Saturday’s contest with a sack.
Lastly, keeping his promise, Steve Sarkisian inserted Casey Thompson into Saturday’s contest when the Longhorns had a 28-12 lead late into the third quarter. Thompson helped to add to Texas’s lead thanks to a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Whittington early in the fourth quarter.
Next Saturday, the Longhorns will travel to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. The non-conference game against Arkansas will be at 6 P.M CT and will be televised on ESPN.
