Texas Longhorns Insider: Texas Versus the Missouri Tigers Game Preview

Fresh off their 52-20 win over Texas Tech, the Texas Longhons will play the Missouri Tigers as they will attempt to keep marching forward to a bowl berth. The Tigers played the Baylor Bears, losing 42-39 and seem to be on a bit of a downswing these days.

The Longhorns ended up racking up over 500 yards of offense in their game this past Saturday, and it was the rushing game that really helped them out.  They still have some issues at the quarterback position, but as long as their rushing attack and defense work like they have been, they will win some games.

The leader at the quarterback position for the Longhorns is David Ash.  Ash has attempted a total of 104 passes completing 64 of them for 729 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions.  His completion percentage is 61.5.

With numbers like that, you can tell that Texas is a running team (because they are winning).  Their leading rusher is Malcolm Brown.  Brown has rushed for a total of 635 yards on 131 attempts for an average of 4.8 yards per carry.  He also has five touchdowns.  The second-best rusher on the team is Joe Bergeron, and he has a total of 414 yards on 60 carries with an average of 6.9 yards per rush and five touchdowns.  Fozzy Whitaker leads the running backs in touchdowns with six.

The Longhorn’s leading receiver in catches is Jaxon Shipley with 33 grabs for 438 yards and three scores.  The leader in yards is Mike Davis with 490 yards on 29 catches with one touchdown.  You can see that here is not much of a passing game in Texas.

Overall, the Longhorns are gaining a total of 437 yards per game.  They are earning 246 yards on the ground and 190 through the air.  The Tigers defense is allowing teams to gain a total of 417 yards per game.  They are letting opponents gain 267 yards through the air and allowing just 149 yards on the ground.

Since the Longhorns bread and butter this year is their running game, they may have a difficult time gaining a lot of yards on the ground against the Tigers.

Looking at the Tigers offense, Missouri’s leading passer is James Franklin.  Franklin has attempted 286 passes completing 179 of them for 2,195 yards with seven interceptions and 16 touchdowns.  The Longhorns play the pass pretty well, allowing teams an average of 215 yards per game.  Will the Longhorns be able to contain this seemingly potent passing attack?

When it comes to running the football, Missouri is lead by Henry Josey.  Josey comes into the game with 1,168 yards on 134 attempts with an average of 8.6 yards per attempt.  He also has nine touchdowns.  The second-best rusher on the team is Franklin, and he’s a threat to run the ball at any time.  He’s rushed 149 times for 730 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The leading receiver for the Tigers is T.J. Moe.  Moe comes into the game against the Longhorns having caught 44 passes for 547 yards and four touchdowns.  Franklin likes to spread the ball around quite bit, and there are several other receives that have more than 10 catches on the team.

Texas is allowing opponents to gain an average of 310 yards per game while the Tigers are gaining an average of 417 yards per game.  Missouri is getting 244 yards per game through the air while the Longhorn’s defense is allowing 215 yards per game.  When it comes to rushing the ball, the Tigers are getting 149 yards per game on the ground while Texas is allowing teams to gain just 94 yards.

The Longhorns come into this game on a winning streak and are starting to look tougher to beat with each and every win.  They need this game to become bowl eligible and should be able to beat the Tigers as long as they don’t let Franklin and that passing offense control the tempo of the game and the clock.  The Longhorn’s solid defense should be able to help control this and keep the ball in the hands of their offense.

Prediction

Texas is playing some good football, and the Tigers won't be able to overcome the Longhorns defense.  As long as Texas can control the ball and the clock, keeping it out of the hands of the Tigers offense, they should win this game.

Texas 35 Missouri 21