Josh Pate of CBS Sports appears to be high on head coach Steve Sarkisian’s squad, believing the No. 3 Longhorns will not only win but cover against No. 10 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
Many have pointed to Texas' speedy targets who arrived this offseason on the outside to replace the likes of Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell, where Texas may have the advantage on Saturday, but Pate also believes the Longhorns may have an edge in the trenches.
“The perception is (that) Texas is going to try and go in here and try and run all around Michigan,” Pate said on Wednesday. “Michigan is going to try and run through Texas and, you know, just classic bully ball. And can Texas withstand it? Like, can Texas handle it? The mentality from Texas should be ‘no we can actually go in there and deal that out too.’ I think they can.”
Pate would continue to underscore the Longhorns’ physicality, believing Texas’ offensive line, which returned four starters from last season, and a talented defensive front will be able to bully the Wolverines, similar to how Michigan manhandled teams last season en route to its first national championship since 1997.
“There's no excuse, based on the way Texas has recruited and based on the mentality they tried to instill in their program, why they go get their nose bloodied and then just cower in a corner Saturday,” Pate continued. “So I got the offensive edge here. I think Texas can do enough to match physicality that I don't think that's going to be leaned strongly against them.”
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Before giving his prediction on the spread, which currently favors the Longhorns by 7.5 points, Pate did acknowledge that Michigan fans will love that he picked against them because he did so several times during the Wolverines’ undefeated 2023 season.
"Michigan fans will love this, because I did it last year," Pate said. "I'll take Texas to win and cover. I'll take them to make the kind of statement on the road they made at Bama a couple of years ago. I will, I will roll those dice, I'll be the one who does it."
“Pate picks against Michigan: Win secured,” wrote one commenter on the video.
The Longhorns, given the kiss of death by Pate or not, will visit Michigan Stadium on Saturday to play Michigan (1-0) with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. CT. The game will be the “Big Noon Kickoff” game on FOX and will be the site of ESPN’s College Gameday.
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