Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
The 2013 season is finally underway and there is no team more excited to prove their worth than the Texas Longhorns after a 9-4 record from 2012. Mack Brown has been in the news recently for his poor decision to pass on Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston, but if David Ash plays as well as he did in week one, he won’t regret it one bit.
On the other side of the field, the BYU Cougars are coming off a week one loss at Virginia and are looking to capitalize on mistakes — something they couldn’t do against the Cavaliers. If there’s one team that will give Texas some trouble early in the season, it’s the Cougars who will be playing at home.
Texas’ offense is returning 10 starters from last year and it showed in its week one victory. The Longhorns racked up 715 yards of offense against New Mexico State in a 56-7 win. Ash silenced many critics, passing for 343 yards and four touchdowns while throwing two interceptions. The run game was also solid — even though no one rushed for over 100 yard — as it finished with 359 yards.
BYU’s offense was not nearly as successful in week one. They accumulated just 362 yards of total offense while quarterback Taysom Hill completed 13 of 40 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. Hill also threw an interception as he finished his inaccurate day on a sour note.
The Texas defense is returning nine starters and could be a tenacious group. Brown is hoping they are much-improved from the squad a year ago that gave up over 400 yards and nearly 30 points per game. BYU, on the other hand, held the Cavaliers to just 223 yards of total offense in week one while causing two turnovers. Problem was, the Cavaliers held the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer — the difference in the game.
The Texas Longhorns will travel to BYU to take on the Cougars in a week two battle at 7 p.m. EST on Saturday, Sept. 7. The game will be aired on ESPN 2.
PREDICTION: Texas 38, BYU 24
Related: BYU-Texas Preview
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at .
