UTSA Roadrunners vs. Texas Longhorns: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 9/17/2022

Game time: 8 p.m. ET

Venue: DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX

Where to watch: LHN

DraftKings: Texas -12.5

FanDuel: Texas -12.5

BetMGM: Texas -12.5

Caesars: Texas -12.5

UTSA: 1-1

Texas: 1-1

UTSA: won 41-38 (OT) at Army

Texas: lost 20-19 vs. No. 1 Alabama

Texas back? Not if you listen to Steve Sarkisian.

The Texas Longhorns nearly pulled off what seemed impossible last weekend. If not for a missed sack and maybe a missed field goal that shouldn’t have been missed, the Longhorns would have knocked off the Alabama Crimson Tide at home and begin the party in Austin.

Instead, we’re left to wonder ‘what if?’ for Texas, but the season rolls on with a home game against the UTSA Roadrunners in what should be a fun battle for the state of Texas.

"First of all, to quote my old boss, we've got to be careful of the rat poison of people telling us how good we are, which is important," Sarkisian said of what Nick Saban would say about good or bad press. "A week ago, everyone told us how bad we were. Now this week, everyone wants to tell us how good we are. We've got to be careful to quiet the noise outside of our building and focus on us."

The Longhorns were so close, and I’m not sure we could really press that point home even greater if we tried. Texas had just a minute=plus to hold off Bryce Young and it would’ve been the story of the college football season no matter how far we got into the point of it.

But Texas just ran out of gas, and that’s expected when facing Alabama. The Longhorns, whether Sarkisian wants to hear it or not, seem to be on the right track and things appear to be going right in that regard.

But can they do it again, against a team in the Conference USA that is on the rise and has at one point laid claim to the best team in Texas? UTSA went 12-2 last season and won the conference title. This isn’t going to be a walk in the park for the Longhorns.

"I definitely wanted to address it because, you know, I'm getting the text messages too," Sarkisian said. "I'm getting the phone calls. 'Hey, you guys are great, man. You look great,' this and that. Thanks, but you know, we got more work to do."

And if there’s a team that could catch Texas napping, it’s going to be UTSA. With injuries to quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card, the status of who runs the offense is up in the air. At least in the first half of last season, UTSA’s defense was tremendous especially against the run.

"Like I told the team, in particular the defense, but the team in general: We've now created a new standard of what's acceptable, what is our standard of play," Sarkisian said. "And now we're held to the standard of defense that we're playing. We need to meet that standard and exceed that. So now's not the time to relax; now's not the time to take a step back. Now's the time to push even harder to go to a new level."

UTSA is coming off a hectic start to the season, losing in triple overtime at home to Houston, but responded with a 41-38 overtime win at Army. Frank Harris is off to a tremendous start with almost 700 yards and six touchdowns to only one interception.

There’s no denying that Texas should be able to win this game because of the pedigree between the two teams. But UTSA is talented enough to hang around and take down Texas. Texas might be back in the eyes of some, but the quarterback issues might be too much for Texas to overcome, even at home. UTSA isn’t scared of the moment. UTSA by 7

UTSA is 10-3 ATS as an underdog over the last three years, and 6-1 ATS as a road dog.

UTSA is 35-24 ATS all-time on the road.

Texas is 16-6 ATS against Conference-USA opponents.

Passing: Frank Harris -- 696 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT

Rushing: Frank Harris -- 93 yards, 1 TD

Receiving: Zakhari Franklin -- 222 yards, 2 TD

Passing: Quinn Ewers -- 359 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT

Rushing: Bijan Robinson -- 128 yards, 2 TD

Receiving: Xavier Worthy -- 121 yards