BYU
vs.
Texas
College Football
Pick with Analysis
9/6/14
It’s unlikely Texas has forgotten about last year’s 40-21 loss at BYU, even with new head coach Charlie Strong. The Longhorns had high expectations for their season until they were gashed by Taysom Hill for a ridiculous 259 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. This year, back in Austin, Texas opened as -3.5 point favorites, but that is now down to -1 due to injury issues.
The Longhorns will be without starting quarterback David Ash and senior center Dominic Espinosa. It’s not the end of the world, but Ash’s replacement is sophomore Tyrone Swoopes, who has yet to start a college Game. In limited late-Game appearances last season, Swoopes finished 5-of-13 for 26 yards. There’s not much to go off for him.
BYU will have a much harder time moving the ball in this matchup than last year because this Charlie Strong defense isn’t going to give up 550 yards on the ground, which is what the Cougars were able to do. Taysom Hill is still there, but this is set to be a closer Game.
Hill got off to a solid start last week by going for a career-high five total touchdowns, which included308 yards in the air. Starting running back Jamaal Williams was suspended in the first Game and is dealing with a knee sprain, but should return for this one. Even then, BYU has a viable committee with guys like Paul Lasike and Algernon Brown in waiting. The loss of record-breaking WR Cody Hoffman wasn’t evident in the last Game, as Hill spread the ball around evenly between his targets.
The Texas defense dominated in their opener, as North Texas managed going only 3-of-17 for 15 yards between their two QBs. BYU is obviously a different level team. However, it is worth mentioning that Texas wasn’t completely dominant on offense, with David Ash finishing with just a 27.4 QBR. The rushing duo of Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Gray led the Longhorns and that’ll probably be the case against the Cougars with Swoopes at the helm.
Getting a fairly even line is enticing, especially for the Longhorns at home, but how much should we trust a guy like Swoopes? Texas will lean on the ground Game, but BYU isn’t a slouch on the defensive side either. Granted the Cougars’ win against UConn doesn’t mean much, but they did stop the Huskies to 71 yards on 31 carries.
BYU has shown in the past that they can beat bigger teams and have the offense to keep up with them on the scoreboard. A lot of the money is on the Longhorns, but that’s just because of their name.
The Cougars have covered in their last Four Games against the Big 12, but are only 1-5 ATS in their last six road Games. However, that one win came last week against Connecticut. The Longhorns are only 1-6 ATS in their last seven Games following an ATS loss, but this was prior to Charlie Strong. The under has hit in the Cougars last Four Games and the Longhorns last five Games.