Texas football: Three things Texas must do to beat Oklahoma State

The Longhorns hope to pull a monkey off their back with a win over the Cowboys. Here's how they do it.

It may be the first conference game of the season, but when Texas and Oklahoma State meet there will be tons of Big 12 title implications. 

For Texas, there's no more room for error if the Longhorns want to make the College Football Playoff. Two losses likely means the Longhorns' ceiling becomes the Sugar Bowl. 

Add in the fact that the Cowboys have owned this series in recent years, winning the last four games and every matchup in Austin dating back to 2008 and you understand why Tom Herman declared this to be an "all hands on deck" kind of game directly after the Rice win last Saturday. 

So what does Texas have to do to beat the Cowboys, end the streak and start Big 12 play 1-0?

Here are three things Texas has to do to beat Oklahoma State. 

1. Control the pace 

Texas is far more explosive this year than they have been the previous two under Tom Herman. Sam Ehlinger has a full array of weapons including Collin Johnson, Devin Duvernay, Jake Smith, Brennan Eagles and Malcolm Epps - all of which are capable of breaking off a long touchdown. 

But the thing the Texas offense did that really hurt LSU was establishing 10-plus play drives. The 19-play drive in the second half had the entire Tiger defense ready to tap out.

Meanwhile, the Texas defense gets a chance to catch its breath and recover after chasing Spencer Sanders, Tylan Wallace and Chuba Hubbard around all night. 

2. Stop the run first 

It's easy to get caught up in all the hype surrounding the Oklahoma State passing game, but make no mistake about it, this is a run-first offense. 

Everything the Cowboys do is built off success in the run game. With three returning offensive linemen and an NFL-caliber back, Oklahoma State wants to grind its opponents down, then beat them over the top. 

It is by far the best rushing attack the Longhorns have seen so far this year. Louisiana Tech's run game was non-existent, LSU's was anemic and Rice didn't have the talent to run the game plan they wanted against Texas. 

The Cowboys are the first team Texas has seen so far this year that can run the ball when they want to against almost anyone they play. 

If Texas backs off to worry about the pass, it will be death by a thousand cuts from the Cowboys run game. 

The Longhorns' best bet is to sell out stopping the run and make Spencer Sanders beat the Longhorns with smart and sound decisions.

3. Bring pressure and double up on Tylan Wallace 

Texas is almost certainly going to put Jalen Green over Tylan Wallace whenever they possibly can, but even the Longhorns' best cornerback probably isn't going to be enough to cover one on one against a guy Todd Orlando said, "might be the most complete receiver in the country".

Bracketing and shading coverage to Wallace's side will certainly open up opportunities for other guys to make plays, but if you add in a ton of pressure from blitzers and pass rushers, suddenly you get some opportunities to shift the table back in your direction. 

Texas got burned against LSU a lot with the blitz, but this isn't a senior quarterback like Joe Burrow who has seen a lot of football. It's a redshirt freshman playing in his first-ever conference game in front of the biggest crowd he's ever seen to this point. 

Mike Gundy said the game still hasn't slowed down for Sanders and probably won't at any point this season, so it's up to Texas to try and make it even faster. 

Sure, Sanders and company are going to find ways to make plays if the Longhorns bring pressure, but there's a healthy possibility that he will also make a few mistakes. With the way the offense has been playing two turnovers may be enough to give Texas a clear advantage.