College Football Preview: Texas Longhorns vs. Florida Atlantic Owls

With just two games left in their season, the Longhorns have to win out and they can start by beating their next opponent, Florida Atlantic.  Texas is coming into this game having been beaten by the Oklahoma State Cowboys last Saturday 33-16.  The Owls last played the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns and beat them 24-23.  The Longhorns are coming into this game with a record of 4-6, while the Owls are coming in with a record of 4-5.

These two teams have played once in the past and Texas essentially dominated that game, 52-10.  Can they dominate again despite the fact they have played poorly this season?

Is Texas going to be a disappointment again or will they be able to handle the Owls and inch one game closer to .500 and bowl eligibility?

Let’s find out in this in-depth preview of the Longhorn’s match-up against the Owls this Saturday in Austin.

When the Longhorns have the Ball

Texas has been struggling a lot on offense with Garrett Gilbert at quarterback and it looks like they won’t be making any changes there soon.  So far this season, Gilbert has thrown 383 passes completing 225 passes for 2262 yards, seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions.  These numbers are not that impressive but then again neither is their record.

Gilbert’s primary receivers this season has been James Kirkendoll, who has 41 catches for 532 yards, and Mike Davis, who leads the team with two touchdowns. The Longhorns passing attack looks pedestrian when compared to those of other teams in the Big 12, showing that the Longhorn’s passing offense is leaving a lot to be desired.

Texas has been averaging right around 230 yards of passing per game which is pretty respectable but still not productive when it comes to getting wins.  If they plan to use the passing game at all on Saturday, they have to avoid making mistakes and give Gilbert some good pass protection.

Not having good pass protection has also affected the way that Gilbert plays.  The Longhorns have starting freshmen on their offensive line and the lack of experience they have has really hurt the offense.  

Texas has had some success running the ball this season and may choose to do some of that this Saturday.  Their leading rusher is Cody Johnson with 92 rushes for 361 yards and five touchdowns.  Their other rusher, Fozzy Whitaker, will probably be out of this game with a shoulder injury and Tre’ Newton appears to be out of football all together.

If the Longhorns wish to win this game, perhaps they should get their running game going.  Not only does it help decrease the chance for mistakes from the quarterback but run blocking will help with the offensive line’s confidence and help them build more as they have success running the football.

The Owls have been allowing some decent yardage in the running game so the Longhorns should take advantage of this Saturday.  If they can establish the run, control the ball and the clock for a better part of the game they will win.

When it comes to pass defense, Florida Atlantic is hot and cold there.  There have been times when they have allowed quarterbacks to gain a lot of yards and others where they nearly shut the opposing quarterback and his passing offense down.  The Owls don’t have near the athletes that the Longhorns have defensively, so hopefully the balance of power shifts to Texas and they can dominate this game.

When the Owls have the Ball

The Owls offense hasn’t been that powerful for the most part this season.  They are balanced both running and passing but they don’t gain a lot of yards doing so.

Their quarterback is Jeff Van Camp.  So far this season he has attempted 233 passes and has completed 140 of those.  He has 1746 yards, twelve touchdowns, and seven interceptions.  Not overly strong numbers by any means and ones that may not scare the Longhorns.

Camp's leading receiver is Lester Jean.  Jean has 46 catches for 750 yards and six touchdowns.  While his production may not be as strong as you would see with big school wide receivers, he is still doing better than any single Longhorns player is in terms of yards and touchdowns this season.

Texas is currently allowing opponents an average of 160 yards per game through the air, so they aren’t allowing too many yards through the air.  As long as their passing defense can hold up, they should be able to keep the Owls from doing a lot of passing (and having success with it) in this game.

The Owls leading rusher is Alfred Morris.  Morris has carried the ball a total of 177 times this season for 762 yards and seven touchdowns.  Once again, this skill player is not a very productive one and hopefully the Longhorns will be able to take care of the Owls because of this.

The Owls have accumulated a total of 920 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground this season.  The Longhorns are allowing teams to gain around 133 yards per game on the ground so hopefully the Longhorn’s defense holds up and doesn’t allow the Owls to run the football all day long.

Analysis

On paper, this looks like a mismatch.  The Longhorns have a lot better talent, a lot better players and have the track record to prove that they are a winning team.  But, their track record this year has been one of losing and now they are on the cusp of not only finishing without being bowl eligible but also finishing below .500.

That would be horrible for the Longhorns and their fans.

It could also be detrimental for the coaching staff if they fail to achieve the aforementioned goals.  Even though Mack Brown may be suffering the only losing season in a long time, he could still be on his way out if the team doesn’t improve in the next two games.  His career with the Longhorns could be hanging in the balance this Saturday.

Trying to cut through the whole big school versus small school thinking might be difficult for this game.  We know that the Longhorns are light years above the Owls in terms of talent, coaching and tradition but the Longhorns are experiencing the great equalizer right now and that is losing.  Texas looks like a team playing at the same level as the Owls are.

Not to knock the Owls but the Longhorns are a much better team than they are and Texas needs to show that they indeed are the better team.  How can they do that?

They need to run the football a lot in this game in order to keep possession and not allow the Owls a chance to move down the field with the ball and score.  The Longhorns have been allowing opponents too much time of possession in their games and this is part of the reason why they are not winning games.  They have to turn that around in this game.

This would be a good game to allow Gilbert to develop a little bit more.  If the Longhorns can build a lead, they should try to put Gilbert in some situations to try to help him develop more for the future.  Granted, that can only happen if the Longhorns are ahead but for all intents and purposes they should be able to win this game.

Texas’ defense needs to tighten up, eliminate their mistakes and play well.  In the past, the Longhorn’s defense has played down to their level of competition and has cost this team some games.  They need to tighten things up and play much better this Saturday against Florida Atlantic.

Finally, the Longhorn’s special teams need to play better as well.  Their punting and kickoff teams have been poor in coverage and they need to clamp down here in order to not allow the opposing team to get good field position and score points.

Prediction

Texas knows that it has to win this game at all costs.  They desperately want to avoid a losing season and avoid missing a bowl game so you can expect them to play as hard as they possibly can in this game.  It’s also against an opponent that doesn’t have the same talent level that Texas has so you would think that Texas should be able to easily win this game.

Let’s just hope that strange things don’t happen (or keep happening).

Texas 24 Florida Atlantic 10