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No. 7 Texas hosts turnover-hungry BYU, head coach Sarkisian's alma mater
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — If the BYU Cougars can continue their ways by forcing turnovers, it could end up being a long day Saturday at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.
The Cougars have a turnover margin of plus-9, third-best in FBS coming into Saturday's showdown with No. 7 Texas, and the big question mark is how will backup quarterback Maalik Murphy handle it.
Murphy was officially named the starter for today's game on Thursday while Quinn Ewers recovers from a shoulder injury, one that Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said is "week-to-week" in terms of recovery time.
Texas comes into the game ranked 37th in FBS in total defense, allowing 333.1 yards per game while BYU's offense gains an average of 301.9 yards per game, 122nd in the country. The Cougars' defense allows almost 400 yards per game and allows opponents to score 80% of the time in the red zone.
On offense, BYU is 124th in the country on third down, converting 30% of the time and scores 91.3% of the time when they get it in their opponents' red zone. Texas, meanwhile, is eighth in the country at keeping teams out of the end zone during red zone possessions (68.4% scoring rate) and the Longhorns convert third down 39% of the time.
The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will air on ABC. We will provide live updates during the game below.