Following the bye week, Texas returns to action Saturday afternoon in Houston against new Big 12 member Houston. The Cougars enter the matchup 3-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Last Thursday, Dana Holgorsen’s squad beat West Virginia on a hail mary to secure their first ever Big 12 victory. Despite the win, it has been an up and down year for the Cougars with more bad than good.
Offense
The entire Houston roster is littered with transfers, starting with QB Donovan Smith. Smith is someone Texas fans should be very familiar with. The Texas Tech transfer beat the Longhorns last year in Lubbock in a heroic effort that saw the Red Raiders convert six 4th down attempts. The 6’5 240 pounder is a threat with both his arm and legs. He is completing a respectable 66% of his passes with 13 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. He has also added 4 rushing TD’s.
The Cougars have struggled mightily to run the ball. Smith is actually the team leader in carries with 67. Freshman Parker Jenkins leads all running backs with 47 carries and is averaging just over 5 yards a rush. With a shaky run game, the Cougars will lean heavily on a passing game featuring several talented wide receivers. West Virginia transfer Sammy Brown leads the team in receptions (37) and yards (549). Sophomore Matthew Golden has a team high 4 receiving TD’s and is also extremely dangerous in the return game. USC transfer Joseph Manjack and Oklahoma State transfer Stephon Johnson round out the talented unit.
LT Patrick Paul is going to be a high NFL draft pick and anchors the Houston offensive line. He has not allowed a sack or pressure all season. The rest of the Cougars OL and fairly unimpressive, although former Longhorn Tyler Johnson can flash at times at LG. The unit has allowed 15 sacks in 6 games.
Defense
Houston has had some major struggles defensively to start the year, allowing 40+ points to Rice and Texas Tech and 30+ points to TCU and West Virginia. The Cougars have struggled stopping the run and the pass, surrendering an average of 429 yards per game.
NT Chidozie Nwankwo and DE Nelson Caesar are solid players who could cause some issues for the Texas OL, but the rest of the Houston front 7 is inconsistent. The backend of the Cougars defense has been shredded at times, giving up a ton of explosive pass plays. Safety Adari Haulcy is probably their best player but he alone isn’t able to mask many of the issues the unit has.
The only offense the Courgars have shut down this year is winless Sam Houston State. Every other team has had success moving the ball in chunks. This should be a get right game for the Texas offense and Quinn Ewers could easily throw for over 300 yards if the game script is right.
Final Thoughts
Houston has some individual players that could cause some issues for Texas, but overall this matchup is heavily slanted towards Texas. The biggest concern for the Longhorns is the Houston skill talent on offense. If they let Donovan Smith play pitch and catch with his receivers without much resistance, they could give up some cheap score and make this game somewhat interesting. Offensively for Texas, if they avoid penalties and careless turnovers, they should be in for a very good day.
