LSU vs. Texas is one of the biggest games of Week 2. The Longhorns are the underdog, but here’s why Texas football fans will be celebrating a win.
Texas vs. LSU is one of the best games this weekend and the Longhorns have a solid chance at pulling off the home upset.
This matchup of Top 10 teams provides an opportunity for Ed Orgeron’s Tigers and Tom Herman’s Longhorns to make a statement in the eyes of the playoff committee. The winner will have a resume-builder while the loser will need to run the table to get in.
LSU is favored by 5.5 points on the road, but here are three reasons why Texas wins.
1. Sam Ehlinger is just that good
Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger is the most underrated college football player in the country. He would have been one of the favorites to win the Heisman going into almost any other season if it weren’t for Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa. Ehlinger threw for 3,392 yards and 25 touchdowns last season while running for 462 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s basically Texas’ version of Tim Tebow.
Ehlinger is coming off a strong performance in the opener vs. Louisiana Tech where he completed 28-of-38 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns. The Bulldogs were No. 21 in the country last season in passing defense and returned four of five starters to that secondary. To put it lightly, Ehlinger made that same secondary look bad.
LSU’s defense was No. 30 in the same category last season and they lost their best corner. Their defense has been the strength of their team in recent seasons, but expect Ehlinger to still put up big numbers Saturday night.
2. The LSU offense can be one-dimensional
Yes, I know that LSU just got done putting up 55 points and 472 yards of total offense last week against Georgia Southern. But, only 122 of those yards were on the ground. Their leading rushing effort came from junior running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who ran for 45 yards on nine carries and punched it into the end zone once.
Texas has a run defense that ranked No. 26 in the country in opponent rushing yards per game last season. While they do lose a lot of starters from that team, redshirt freshman and four-star recruit Keondre Coburn should begin to star for the Longhorns at defensive tackle in 2019. Mix that with the veteran presence of Malcolm Roach and Gerald Wilbon and this defensive front will be tough to move the ball on.
If the Longhorns can focus on slowing down Joe Burrow and some of the talented Tiger receivers, Texas will have no problem outscoring LSU, especially with a solid defensive line and Ehlinger on the other side.
3. The Longhorns have one of the best safety groups in the country
Burrow had an impressive Week 1 against Georgia Southern, completing 23-of-37 passes for 278 yards and five touchdowns. But that was against Georgia Southern and they don’t have the back end of the secondary that Texas has.
Safety Caden Sterns was a part of that stellar 2018 Texas class that ranked No. 3 in the country and he played a huge part as a freshman. Sterns was a ball hawk, picking off four passes, including two against TCU. He also finished No. 6 on the team in tackles.
Joining Sterns in the defensive backfield is fellow safety, senior Brandon Jones. He brings a bit of veteran experience to an otherwise young secondary. Jones led the team in tackles last season with 70 with 5.5 coming for a loss.
With Sterns and Jones roaming the backfield, the Longhorns have a versatile set of safeties that can keep quarterbacks honest when throwing the deep ball but can come up and make some plays in the backfield.
Burrow didn’t throw down the field much despite his big numbers last week. If he can’t get the ball down the field this week, it’s going to be a long day for the LSU offense. Look for Texas to prove they are the real DBU and not LSU.
And if that isn’t convincing enough to think Texas is going to beat LSU, then this surely is. Texas is 7-1-1 all-time vs LSU at home. Herman is 3-0 as a head coach against SEC schools. LSU is 3-12 all-time on the road in Top-10 games, which is the worst record by any team with at least 10 such games.