The #3 Texas Longhorns will have another tough road game on Saturday afternoon against the #10 Michigan Wolverines. The game will kick off at NOON ET on FOX. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian defeated his former team last season, the Alabama Crimson Tide in an early season matchup.
This year, the importance of the game will be huge. Texas and Michigan both have playoff expectations for the 2024 college football season.
Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian Not Overlooking Matchup With the Michigan Wolverines
The Texas Longhorns are not trying to overlook this matchup with the Michigan Wolverines. Texas is favored on the road over Michigan by seven points on Saturday. For a road team to be favored by a touchdown against the defending national champs, that’s a pretty big number.
Sarkisian told Trent Knopp of Sports Illustrated by saying:
“Three straight College Football Playoffs, national champs, 41-3 in their last 44 games, have won 16 games in a row. They’ve won 23 straight at home. So we’re gonna be in for a dogfight.”
It is good to see that the Longhorns are respecting their opponent and taking this seriously. He also added:
“So these guys know how to win. You can see it in their style of play. They play with a great deal of confidence. They believe in one another, so it’s a heck of a challenge for our team. But this is why you come to Texas, is to play in games like this, and to think this is the first time in the history of college football that Texas is going to play Michigan in the regular season is pretty awesome and pretty humbling to be part of that. And so we’re definitely looking forward to the forward to the opportunity.”
There is no doubt that it will be the biggest game of the college football weekend in Week 2. However, the offensive talent is a lot better for the Longhorns than the Wolverines.
Quarterback Play
The Longhorns are going to have a massive advantage over the Wolverines at the quarterback position. Quinn Ewers is the starting quarterback for Texas. As for Michigan, it will be Alex Orji. Steve Sarkisian said about preparing for the Michigan Wolverines quarterback:
“I think I’m going to be Alex Orji this week [on the scout team]. Ok, I don’t — dude, I’m not going to tell you how we prepare. Ok, so, very similar [to Jalen Milroe]. This guy is a problem because you have to treat him like a runner. He’s got size, he’s got speed, he can change the math on you quickly when you start adding into the quarterback runs. But yet the arm talent is there to where he can affect you, especially down the field. And if you remember, in that game last year at Bama, Milroe made a couple big-time throws down the field to create explosive plays, and that’s something in this game for us that’s going to be critical.”
The Texas Longhorns are doing the right thing by treating them like the national champion even though Vegas isn’t with their line for this game. Quinn Ewers will be the difference in this game over Alex Orji and the Michigan Wolverines.
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