At least Texas fans will not have to wonder if the next Texas game will be picked up by the Longhorn Network. No, not at all. The 24th ranked Texas Longhorns will take on the BYU Cougars on ESPN2 this Saturday night at 6:00 pm in Austin. BYU managed to escape Oxford, Mississippi with a win against the Ole Miss Rebels last weekend but looked anything but stellar doing it. The 14-13 BYU win could be attributed to the great play on the defensive side of the ball, particularly from senior linebacker Jordan Pendleton. BYU limited Ole Miss to only 64 rushing yards and 144 yards passing. BYU quarterback Jake Heap struggled for the most part but did manage to throw a touchdown pass in the 4th quarter.
In the two meetings between the two schools, Texas is 0-2. The Cougars beat the Longhorns 22-17 in 1987 and 47-6 in 1988. After a win against Rice hopefully the Longhorns are on the road to recovery. Gilbert played decent, the running game showed promise – particularly from freshman Malcolm Brown, and the defense played well. This week’s game against BYU will push the Horns to work even harder against a tough BYU team that is much like the Longhorns – scrappy and possessing the desire to win at all costs. We know Texas struggled last year with a 5-7 record with every team and their dog coming into Austin and leaving with a win. BYU had somewhat of a similar season but managed to turn it around. After a 2-4 start BYU finished the second half of the season with a 4-2 record improving to 6-6 overall and advancing to the New Mexico Bowl where they beat UTEP 52-25.
Make no mistake, this weekend will be a fight for both teams. Texas needs Gilbert to play error free and the defense will need to step up. The BYU players will be ready but Texas will be ready on both sides of the ball.
Our Prediction: Texas – 41, BYU – 24
