Texas Longhorns football game preview: Horns try to get back on track against Houston
Coming off its wrenching setback to Oklahoma on Oct. 7 in Dallas, Texas will try to rebound from its first loss of the season against an old Southwest Conference foe eager for a rare shot at the Longhorns.
No. 8 Texas (5-1, 2-1) vs. Houston (3-3, 1-2)
3 p.m., TDECU Stadium in Houston
TV/radio: ABC, 1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)
Line: Texas is favored by 23½
Weather: It will be a typical fall day in Houston, warm and muggy with the temperature around 90 at kickoff and a slight chance of showers.
More: Bohls: Texas' remaining football schedule is a mixed bag of good and bad for the Horns
Texas history: Houston
All-time: Texas leads 16-7-2
Last meeting: Texas 41, Houston 11 (2002)
Most memorable meeting: Texas 45, Houston 24 (1990). After almost a decade of mediocrity, Texas reintroduced itself to a national audience during the Shock the Nation tour with a rousing whipping of a powerhouse Houston program in its run-and-shoot heyday. The nationally ranked Cougars had pummeled UT by a combined score of 173-64 in the three previous seasons, and the Texas win triggered a wave of students rushing the field and a surge of confidence in Longhorn Nation.
Know the foe: Houston
Last week: QB Donovan Smith heaved a 49-yard Hail Mary to Stephon Johnson for a touchdown as time expired to lift the Cougars to a 41-39 win over West Virginia. The wild play capped a woolly night, with Houston allowing 546 yards of offense but still escaping with a win.
Players to watch: Smith has seized the reins of the offense since transferring from Texas Tech in the offseason, throwing for 1,601 yards and 13 TDs on 66.2% passing and adding 296 yards gained on the ground. … WR Samuel Brown, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore from Georgia, leads the Big 12 in receptions (37) and receiving yards (549) and has caught a touchdown pass in each of the past two games. … DL Nelson Ceasar entered the year with plenty of preseason accolades, and the Houston-area native hasn’t disappointed with 25 tackles, 7½ tackles for a loss and 4½ sacks.
Central Texas connections: LBJ's Letraveon McCutchin decommitted from Minnesota to join the Cougars in the offseason, and the freshman linebacker has already burned his redshirt while appearing in all six games in a reserve role. Older brother Latrell McCutchin, also an LBJ graduate, joined Houston after short stints at Oklahoma and USC. The junior has to sit out this season since the latest move was his second transfer. … Georgetown’s Darson Herman, a star quarterback in high school, has switched to tight end, but the redshirt freshman hasn’t seen much action.
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When Texas has the ball
Texas can move the ball in myriad ways, as evidenced by a running game led by Jonathon Brooks that ranks 32nd in the nation with 185.8 yards a game and a passing attack keyed by QB Quinn Ewers, who's second in the Big 12 with 1,704 yards through the air. … Houston’s pass defense has been especially porous, which doesn’t bode well for a unit that has to face Texas receivers Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell as well as tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, all of whom have at least 290 yards receiving. The Cougars rank last in the Big 12 in pass defense with 267 yards allowed per game, and West Virginia’s Garrett Green enjoyed a career game last week with 391 yards passing. … Houston does do a good job of forcing takeaways; Malik Fleming and Isaiah Hamilton have three interceptions each for a team that ranks ninth in the nation in turnover differential at plus-7.
When Houston has the ball
Two weeks after allowing Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel to rack up 113 yards on the ground, the Longhorns will try to corral another dangerous runner who uses his 6-4, 250-pound frame to pound out positive yards on the ground. Smith doesn’t scramble around outside the pocket as much as Gabriel, but the Cougars’ designed runs up the middle with a quarterback option will keep LBs Jaylan Ford, David Gbenda and Anthony Hill Jr. honest. … Houston ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 276.5 yards passing a game behind Brown and sophomore Matthew Golden, who has four touchdowns and 295 yards on 27 catches. … Smith and the Cougars take care of the ball, which isn’t good news for a Texas team hungry for more takeaways. Houston has committed just three turnovers all season, second-fewest in the nation. In comparison, Texas has just three takeaways over the past four games.
The key matchup
Texas’ kick coverage team against Houston kick returner Matthew Golden: A four-star recruit at receiver who picked his hometown Cougars over an offer from Texas, Golden brings elite speed to both the offense and special teams. He’s already returned two kickoffs for touchdowns this season, which means Texas’ coverage unit headed by Keilan Robinson and Kitan Crawford could face its most dangerous test of the season.
How we're calling the game
Kirk Bohls: Texas, 48-13. I expect to see an emotionally riled up Longhorns team that is eager to correct all that went wrong against Oklahoma.
Danny Davis: Texas. Despite that loss to Oklahoma and a bye week, it doesn't seem as if Vegas has jumped off UT's bandwagon. I'm not placing any money on the Longhorns covering that large spread, but I also don't think Texas will have any problems as it attempts to return to its winning ways.
Cedric Golden: Texas, 38-14. The Horns take out their OU frustrations on the homestanding Cougars in workmanlike fashion. Quinn Ewers throws three touchdown passes in the win.
Thomas Jones: Texas, 48-24. Houston's offense will cause some headaches for Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, but the Longhorns have too much firepower on offense not to control the game.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns football preview: UT faces dangerous Houston offense
