If there was a downside to Texas’s dominant win over Michigan, it was allowing the Wolverines to score their only touchdown in the final two minutes.
This left coach Steve Sarkisian wondering if the No. 2 Longhorns could have performed even better and how to improve their already strong start to the season.
“We need to go to another level with our killer instinct. We need to be more relentless in the fourth quarter,” Sarkisian said as his team got ready to face UTSA on Saturday night. “I want to make it 60 minutes of hell for our opponents.”
If Sarkisian can push Texas (2-0) to improve further, the Roadrunners (1-1) might have a tough time. The veteran players on the Texas roster remember too many times when they let leads slip away in the past.
“Too many times in the past, the last four years that I’ve been here, have we let teams crawl back in in the second half,” safety Michael Taaffe said.
Even when a game seems out of reach, Taaffe said, “It’s a just a matter of pride you have in yourself to where it’s like you want to take that opponent’s soul. You want them to really understand that when they go to bed that night, they remember the Texas Longhorns defense.”
Texas achieved its first season-opening shutout since 2004 against Colorado State with a late endzone interception. The Rams crossed midfield only twice during the game. Michigan rushed for just 80 yards, went 3 of 12 on third down, and the Longhorns forced four turnovers.
UTSA is coming off a heavy road loss to rival Texas State, where they were down 35-3 by halftime. The last time UTSA played Texas in 2022, the Roadrunners led 17-7 before Texas came back to win 41-20.
“The last time we went up there, we knew who we were. We had a real identity. We played with them for a while,” UTSA coach Jeff Traylor said. “Now we’re a team in transition.”
