Texas Longhorns vs. BYU Cougars: Keys To The Game

The Texas Longhorns will need to protect their new starting quarterback on Saturday against the BYU Cougars.

The Texas Longhorns square off with the BYU Cougars on Saturday in a precarious position without their starting quarterback, Quinn Ewers.

With BYU in its first season in the Big 12, the Cougars are looking to score a huge win against the Horns and gain bowl eligibility in one fell swoop.

Here is what both teams have to do if they want to come away with the win on Saturday.

Texas wins if...

... it runs the football.

The Longhorns will be starting a new quarterback under center in Maalik Murphy, and in his first start at the college level, the Horns will need to make things as easy as possible for him. 

Yes, Murphy is as physically talented of a quarterback as you will find in college football. That said, he has yet to see meaningful snaps for the Horns, and if the Longhorns can take the pressure off of him, they will be in great shape. 

Texas Longhorns quarterback Maalik Murphy (6) hands off the ball to running back Jonathon Brooks (24) during the third quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

The good thing for Texas is they have arguably the best running back tandem in the Big 12, with Jonathon Brooks sitting at No. 4 in the nation with 128 carries for 825 yards and six touchdowns in seven games. 

Meanwhile, true freshman backup Cedric Baxter has added 50 carries for 217 yards and two touchdowns. 

BYU wins if...

... it gets after Maalik Murphy

As we said above, Murphy is making his first college start on Saturday and is likely to be a bit jazzed up, and prone to making a mistake here or there. 

If the Cougars can make things difficult on Murphy and make him uncomfortable in the pocket, they could provoke the young red-shirt freshman into some mistakes. 

They also need to make sure they contain the Longhorns running attack, which could be utilized more than usual on Saturday.