WHERE: Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium | Austin

WHEN: 11 a.m. Saturday

WATCH IT ON: ABC

SERIES HISTORY: Texas leads 53-17 and has won the last three games. Texas is 3-2 the last 5 games in Austin

CURRENT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK ODDS: Texas -7.5, (OVER/UNDER): 61.5

Texas is 2-1 in 2021, with victories against Louisiana (38-18) and Rice (58-0) sandwiched around a Week 2 loss at Arkansas 40-21. The defensive line was supposed to be a strength for the Longhorns this season, but that hasn't translated to many sacks. The UT defense was unable to shut down the run against Arkansas, giving up 333 yards on the ground.

The left side of the offensive line has been a struggle for the Texas offense. Denzel Okafor and Christian Jones moved from playing on the right side of the line last season to the left side this season. The Longhorns had similar issues on the right side of the o-line last year, and through three games that seems to be a weakness for the offense.

Steve Sarkisian was named the coach in January 2021, replacing Tom Herman. Over the past two seasons, Sarkisian was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama and oversaw a Crimson Tide offense that went 24 straight games of scoring 35 points or more, the longest streak in major college football history. Sarkisian was named the 2020 Broyles Award winner as the best assistant coach in college football.

Last year the UT receivers struggled to beat press coverage. Sarkisian said last week that his team needs to get the ball in the hands of its playmakers and wanted to get wide receiver Xavier Worthy more involved. Worthy finished the game against Rice with 88 yards on 7 catches with a TD and got the ball on several jet sweeps. Moving the receivers around and getting them the ball in space has been a clear change in the Longhorn offense this season.

Texas scored 50 points or more four times last season, including two 60-point games. It was the first time since 2008 that Texas recorded at least four 50-point outings in a season. Texas eclipsed the 50-point mark for the first time in 2021 last weekend.

Two Longhorns were named to the preseason All-Big Conference 12 team and Texas was picked to finish third by the league’s media.

1) Running back Bijan Robinson: He's not only the focal point of the offense but is widely considered as one of the best backs in the nation. Robinson was named as a 2021 preseason watch list candidate for the Maxwell and Doak Walker awards and was a pre-season first-team All-American and first team All-Big 12 selection. Since Robinson became a more integral part of the offense, Texas is 5-0 in games where he eclipsed 100 yards rushing and 0-2 when held to less than 100 yards. Robinson earned honorable mention as Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2020 and started the final six games. Texas went 5-1 in those outings. Robinson rushed for a team high 703 yards on 86 carries with 4 touchdowns in 2020. Robinson is a great receiver out of the backfield as well, adding 15 catches for 196 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns to his 2020 stat line. He broke two Longhorn records in 2020 for yards-per-carry averaged in a game (19.1 against K-State) and in a season with 8.2. Robinson also had 14 explosive plays of 20+ yard.

2) Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown: He has played in 27 career games with 12 starts. Overshown moved from safety to linebacker last year. At 6-foot4 and 220 pounds, he’s got good size for a linebacker, but the speed of a safety so he can cover some ground. Overshown was selected to the 2021 Butkus Award preseason watch list, was a second-team All-Big 12 preseason selection and named to the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list. Overshown earned All-Big 12 honorable mention as a linebacker in 2020 and was the Defensive MVP in the 2020 Valero Alamo Bowl. He had 60 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1 sack, a team-high 7 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 4 quarterback hurries and led the defense with 2 interceptions.

3) Quarterback Casey Thompson: He started his first game for the Longhorns last weekend against Rice. Thompson was 15-of-18 for 164 yard and two touchdowns in a lopsided victory. Thompson made his first college appearance last season when he took over for Sam Ehlinger in the second half of the Valero Alamo Bowl win against Colorado. Thompson threw for 170 yards on eight completions with four touchdowns against the Buffalos and was the first FBS quarterback to throw for 4 or more touchdown on 10 or fewer attempts in bowl history. Thompson took over for Hudson Card in the fourth quarter of the Arkansas game. Thompson rushed for over 3000 yards in high school, so he’s a threat to keep the ball and run with it.

The 2021 matchup of the soon-to-be SEC Longhorns and the Texas Tech Red Raiders should be a battle decided in the trenches. Texas wants to establish Bijan Robinson and the running game, averaging 245 yards rushing per game this season. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders have played some stingy run defense through three games, allowing only 54.3 yards per game. One of these things will have to give on Saturday. The Longhorns seems to go as Robinson goes, so keeping him in check should be the main goal of the Tech defense. Texas has had issues on the offensive line, so the opportunity will be there for Jaylon Hutchings and Tony Bradford to wreak havoc on the inside and be disruptive in the running game. Robinson can bounce the ball outside, so Tyree Wilson and Nelson Mbanasor will be key in keeping the outside contained. Expect a heavy dose of blitzing with the linebackers in an effort to make life hard for Thompson, who will be making his second career start. Arkansas was able to consistently disrupt the pocket and shut down the running lanes without having to overload the box, so the defensive line winning in the trenches will be a key factor for Texas Tech.

The Longhorns entered 2021 with a defensive line that was expected to be the strength of their defense. While the sack numbers aren’t there, the Texas d-line has an impressive amount of talent across the board. The Longhorns are allowing 188.3 yards per game rushing and 5.2 yards per carry, so it’s critical that the Red Raider offensive line win this matchup and establish the running game and give Tyler Shough enough time to throw the football. The offensive line winning their matchup will have more to do with how the offense moves the football than anything else.