The Texas Tech football team will face the Texas Longhorns this weekend and Red Raider fans should become familiar with these UT offensive weapons.
An offensive juggernaut is headed to Lubbock this weekend. At least, that’s what the numbers suggest after one game.
Granted, the Texas Longhorns’ first game of 2020 was against one of the most putrid teams in the nation, UTEP. But still, the UT offense was sterling in its first appearance of the season.
Texas amassed 689 yards of total offense in week one. That was second-most of any team in the nation.
481 of those yards came through the air as the Horns averaged 11.7 yards per reception. What’s more, nine players caught more than one pass on the evening.
Interestingly, the 208 yards UT picked up on the ground were rather evenly distributed. In all, no Longhorn ran for more than 44 yards. However, four runners had at least 38.
After week one, UT sat at No. 1 in the NCAA in scoring offense (59 points per game), No. 2 in total offense, and No. 2 in passing offense. That’s quite impressive for a team breaking in a new offensive coordinator.
Bringing in Ohio State quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich to run the offense is the latest attempt at trying to take the Longhorn attack to an elite level. And after one game, the people in Austin couldn’t be happier.
Playing just one half against UTEP, Texas QB Sam Ehlinger came within 44 yards of matching the school record for passing in a game, 470 yards. What’s more, he was just one passing TD shy of matching the program record of 6.
That’s a terrifying thought for a Texas Tech defense that was absolutely torched by FCS opponent Houston Baptist. If a player like the Huskies’ Bailey Zappe can shred the Red Raider secondary, fans have to be shuddering at what a Heisman contender like Ehlinger will be able to do.
With 34 starts under his belt, the UT signal-caller is now the second-leading passer in UT history, trailing only Colt McCoy. But Red Raider fans likely know plenty about the dual-threat QB given how much attention he’s garnered during his career.
So let’s spend some time getting to know his weapons on offense. And we will begin with his top target from a week ago.