Texas Football: What the Longhorns Must Do to Stop BYU's Taysom Hill

Stopping Taysom Hill has been on the Longhorns' minds since the BYU quarterback shredded them for 259 rushing yards in last season's backbreaking 40-21 defeat.

Now that the offense will be down four starters, containing him and the rest of the BYU offense will be the only shot Texas has at avenging their humiliation on Saturday.

"Revenge, being amped up—I'm not into all of that," defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said at his Wednesday press conference. "I'll go back to years ago when I played here," the former Longhorn later added. "We walked on the field and we were supposed to win because we were The University of Texas and that's why we came here."

No matter the approach Bedford and the rest of Charlie Strong's staff takes, this is one of the three most important games of their entire season. And if they're going to win it, they will have to do it with their defense that the Cougars exposed a year ago.

David Ash is out indefinitely with a concussion, per multiple reports, forcing raw athlete Tyrone Swoopes to make his first start at quarterback. Making matters worse, the sophomore will be doing so behind an offensive line without its leader, Dom Espinosa (broken ankle), while starting tackles Desmond Harrison and Kennedy Estelle sit out for violating team rules.

With those four starters out, Texas' defense will have to buckle down on the unit that gashed it for the most rushing yards, first downs and offensive plays run in the program's history (per ESPN.com's Max Olson).

To do that, the Horns will have to slow down quarterback Hill, who rushed for 259 yards and three scores last time around, by keeping him inside, forcing him to make mistakes in the passing game and, quite simply, finishing tackles.

Keep Him Inside

Whether Texas wants to spy Hill on most downs or designate players to keep him from breaking runs to the outside, it has several options thanks to its unique personnel.

As SB Nation's Wescott Eberts points out, the goal with the 232-pound Hill should be to keep him contained between the tackles on runs. Furthermore, a member of the front seven needs to at least be slowing him down before he can bear down on any member of Texas' smaller secondary.

That means Texas is going to lean on athletic linebackers Demarco Cobbs and Jordan Hicks extensively in this game. Both have sideline-to-sideline ability along with the size to bring Hill down one-on-one. Watching Cobbs on his 28-yard interception return for a touchdown, don't be surprised to see him outright spying Hill throughout the night.

The other player that will have to step up here is junior defensive end Shiro Davis. The Cougars will test him so long as it means running away from Cedric Reed, so Davis must make good on his reputation as a run-stuffer to keep Hill in check.

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Force Him into Mistakes as a Passer

If there is one obvious flaw in Hill's game, it's his accuracy as a passer and his knack for throwing it to the other team. By getting pressure in his face, the Horns can keep the pick party rolling.

Though he was sharp against Connecticut, which gave up 7.6 yards per attempt in 2013 (per cfbstats.com), there's no doubting that Hill is mistake-prone. He posted a 19-14 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2013, throwing multiple picks in six games.

Reed will provide consistent pressure, but the entire defensive line is capable of getting hits on Hill. Malcom Brown had 12 tackles for loss last season, and third-year sophomore Hassan Ridgeway is coming off a career night as one of the team's most impressive physical talents.

Simply put, this group is far more talented than the Connecticut one that got one sack and two pressures on Hill a week ago. These guys will get into the backfield, and the back seven is licking its chops after a four-interception debut against North Texas.

Simply Finish Tackles

The biggest thing that Texas can do to stop Hill, and the rest of the BYU offense, should also be the simplest—finish tackles.

For each of the three touchdowns Hill ran in against Texas' "defense," there are at least three missed tackles due to some combination of bad angles and poor effort.

Bedford noticed this as well:

"

You know what, I've seen the game on television and I've seen the video numerous times, that's tough. I grew up in a wishbone era – Oklahoma, Alabama – and 300 yards rushing back in those days was something special. When you look at that, it's somewhat disappointing and shocking. If you look at the video, a few plays here and there and a guy makes a tackle or a guy does an assignment the right way, you can cut those numbers in half.

"

This inability to finish plays is a big reason why the last regime collapsed, and fixing it alleviates a massive portion of the team's defensive woes. The Horns have the size and the speed on paper but have lacked the results to match it.

Based on last week's performance in which they held North Texas under 100 yards of offense, the Longhorns look like they're finally ready to get guys on the ground. 

Considering that Strong has only given up 600 rushing yards to quarterbacks over the last 10 years (per Olson), that should be enough to keep Hill in check and give Texas a chance to slug out a victory.