Photo: USA TODAY Sports
The Texas Longhorns, led by second year head coach Steve Sarkisian, will take the field at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday night as they host the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. Terry Bowden’s team went 4-8 last season and lost five straight to end the season, but they aren’t without talent. Senior wideout Boogie Knight led ULM with 588 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season and Texas fans should expect to hear his name called often on Saturday.
Heralded Ohio State quarterback transfer Quinn Ewers will orchestrate a Texas offense that looks to shake off a dismal 5-7 season in Steve Sarkisian’s first year in Austin. Texas returns a strong running back corps which includes Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Keilan Robinson and Johnathan Brooks. All eyes will be on the offensive line, which struggled last year, but returns starters and will likely include one or more true freshmen.
Texas has been stung in season openers over the last five seasons, losing to Maryland at home and on the road in consecutive years. Sarkisian feels that his team has bonded even closer in the off-season and through camp, which should contribute to team confidence.
It’s a new season and Alabama looms next week, but the Longhorns need to get past the Warhawks first. Do they get caught looking ahead and suffer an upset? Or do they stay focused and play for each other and send Bowden’s team back to Louisiana with a loss?
The HornSports staff gives their predictions on the outcome of Saturday’s game at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.
Jameson McCausland (0-0)
The offseason is finally over and football is back. Last year, Texas had to open the season against a pesky Louisiana squad who ended up only losing one game all year. This year, Louisiana-Monroe comes to Austin and no one will be confusing the Warhawks with the Ragin’ Cajuns. ULM went 0-10 two seasons ago before improving to 4-8 in Terry Bowden’s first year. Despite the record improvement, this is still a huge mismatch on paper.
The biggest weakness for Louisiana-Monroe is their secondary, so it should be a good opportunity for Quinn Ewers to knock off any rust he has after not starting a game for almost two years. It is certainly possible that Texas sleepwalks their way through part of the game while looking ahead to Alabama, but the Longhorns should be able to score almost at will and put the game out of reach relatively early.
Score Prediction: Texas 48, ULM 10
Aaron Carrara (0-0)
If Texas came out and laid an egg in the opener I would be very, very surprised. I think we will see a Texas offense that dominates, particularly in the running game, with Quin Ewers notching a strong outing through the air in a tune-up for the Tide next week. Both the Texas defense and offensive line need improvement this season, and this game gives ample opportunity to start things off on the right foot. ULM just isn’t that good of a football team and the Longhorns should have no problem stacking the points up in front of a home crowd. Look for a defensive touchdown and possibly one one special teams to compliment a solid performance by the ‘Horns in Week 1.
Score Prediction: Texas 51, ULM 10
Mitch Lovell (0-0)
Texas shines ahead of their massive test in week 2 when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Score Prediction: Texas 52, ULM 14
TFloss32 (0-0)
It may sound dramatic, but Saturday feels like the beginning of a new era for the Texas Longhorns. This is the starting point for Steve Sarkisian to make his mark and entrench himself in Austin as the unquestioned leader of the program after a successful offseason recruiting and adding key pieces from the transfer portal. Thankfully that journey begins with Louisiana-Monroe as a 37.5-point favorite. This match-up isn’t one where you wonder if the good guys will come out with the W, but if they can put together a mostly clean, dominant performance against a lesser opponent and we aren’t left debating if the previous season’s issues are still lingering. What we do know for certain is the front end of Texas’ schedule gives little room for error after this weekend.
Score Prediction: Texas 48, ULM 17
Devon Messinger (0-0)
On Saturday, the Longhorns will kick off the 2022 season at home against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. Last season, ULM had a 4-8 record and was certainly not proficient on offense – with no one eclipsing 500 rushing yards or 1,500 passing yards on the season.
Despite ULM’s struggles from last year, the Longhorns were no angel on the football field either. Of course, a lot has changed since last season, including the addition of new starting quarterback Quinn Ewers. While Saturday presents Steve Sarkisian with an opportunity to test Quinn’s arm, also expect the team to lean on the running game with Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. However, the real position group to watch on Saturday will be the offensive line, as it is quite possible that the unit will be needing to start four underclassmen. As a result, the season opener will prove to be a prominent opportunity for the line to get some reps in before the Crimson Tide rolls into town in week two.
Score Prediction: Texas 34, ULM 10
