Texas Longhorns Create a Well of Turnovers vs. San Jose State

Really quickly, it was clear there was an emphasis for the Longhorns' defense to force turnovers against the Spartans. The emphasis was apparent as Texas forced four turnovers against San Jose State, all in the first half. 

Steve Sarkisian spoke postgame about the importance of taking the ball away and how vital turnovers are for Texas as a team, which was one of the Longhorns' key points of preparation throughout the week before the game.

“We talked all week, y'all guys had heard me talking all week about our ability to generate turnovers on defense,” Sarkisian said. “That it wasn’t just about stopping people but that we needed to attack the football more, and clearly we did that in the first half, getting the four turnovers, in a variety of ways and a bunch of different people.”

The takeaways were forced by three different players: an interception from cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau, two forced fumbles from linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., and a forced fumble for linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith. 

The forced turnovers were key in helping out the Longhorns' offense, which at times struggled to piece together long, sustained drives. 

After the interception from Guilbeau, the Longhorns were in the end zone five plays later as Arch Manning connected with wide receiver Parker Livingstone for his second touchdown reception of the game. And after the forced fumble from Smith, Texas scored on the very next play with a touchdown reception from tight end Jack Endries. 

The Longhorns scored quickly once again after Hill’s first forced fumble, which Texas capitalized on with a touchdown two plays after with Manning’s third passing touchdown of the game and Endries’ second touchdown reception of the game.  

The Longhorns' defense should have another opportunity to create even more turnovers when the UTEP Miners travel to Austin on Sep. 13, which should be another comfortable victory for Texas and another week to fix any issues.