Game Preview: No. 1 Texas vs UL-Monroe

The Texas Longhorns are ranked No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and open up as a 44.5 point favorite against the UL-Monroe Warhawks on Saturday at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium. The ‘Horns are overwhelming favorites for a reason but they must continue to execute against a 2-0 ULM team that has never beaten Texas. The Warhawks come in with nothing to lose, which mean the Longhorns must be prepared for all the tricks in UL-Monroe head coach Bryant Vincent’s bag.

From an execution standpoint, this game will start and end with quarterback Arch Manning. Manning is making his first career start against his home state team in UL-Monroe. He saw his first action last week when the game wasn’t in hand and passed the test with flying colors. This week will be different as it is the first time Steve Sarkisian builds his entire game plan around Manning. It also marks the first time an opponent prepares for Arch exclusively. UL-Monroe will be sure to test him in ways he has yet to be tested, which will be pivotal in determining if the Warhawks can stay in this game before things get too far out-of-hand.

UL-Monroe ranks 34th nationally in passing yards given up per game with just 167.. That statistic will certainly be tested by Manning and the Longhorn offense on Saturday. The Warhawks did force three turnovers vs UAB in their 32-6 victory on September 7th, showing they have an opportunistic defense. UAB then followed that poor performance and gave Arkansas all they could handle in Fayetteville last week. It was a one score game in the fourth quarter and Arkansas escaped with a 10 point victory, but it showed that UAB can play above their talent level.

This a game in which the Texas defense can really get after an opposing offense. UL-Monroe is coming off a bye week but in their last game against the Blazers, the offense wasn’t pretty. They managed just 296 yards of offense and only 87 of those yards came through the air. A one-dimensional offense like that will not fare well against a the Longhorns’ defense. Should Texas shut down the run game, it will be a long night at DKR for the Warhawks.

Saturday’s contest marks the last non-conference game for the Longhorns in 2024, which means the SEC gauntlet begins soon. Look for the Longhorns to possibly rest some guys who are banged up such as RB Jaydon Blue, which will give some of the younger players one more chance to show Sarkisian they deserve a chance for more reps as the season goes on.

The Longhorns open SEC play at home next week with Mississippi State before a bye followed by the Red River Rivalry in Dallas and Georgia in Austin. Now is the time for Sarkisian to test things out he may have questions about before SEC play starts.