Texas Football Can Exploit Kentucky’s Weakness In Saturday’s Game

After a slow start to the 2025 season, the Texas Longhorns bounced back with a big win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry.

The Longhorns look to carry over that momentum to Saturday’s game against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Texas opened up as 12.5-point favorites over Kentucky and have a 82.2% chance to win according to the ESPN Matchup Predictor.

The Longhorn’s Key To Victory

Oct 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) hands off the ball to running back Quintrevion Wisner (5) during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Last season, Texas dominated the Wildcats at home in a 31-14 victory in the two programs’ first-ever SEC matchup.

The Longhorns were able to rush for 251 yards and two touchdowns in the game and Kentucky had no answers on defense.

Junior running back Quintrevion Wisner was the star of the game and totaled 158 yards and a touchdown.

Now with Wisner back healthy, the game plan should look very similar to last seasons.

He is coming off a solid performance against the Sooners, where he rushed 22 times for 94 yards and had several key runs that set up Texas to secure the win.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian has always established the run in his offense, but with several injuries in the running back room, the Longhorns have not been able to get the rushing attack they’ve wanted so far this season.

Sophomore running back CJ Baxter has been ruled out for the game and the Longhorns will also be without sophomore running back Jerrick Gibson, who is no longer with the program.

To add depth to the running back room, freshman Michael Terry III practiced with the running backs this week and he impressed the coaching staff.

Terry III was a five-star recruit in the 2025 class and can play anywhere on the field for the Longhorns.

Wisner and freshman running back Christian Clark will do most of the work on the ground for Texas as they take on Kentucky, which has one of the worst rushing defenses in the SEC.

The Wildcats rank No. 12 in rush defense in the SEC and allow almost four yards per carry.

So far this season, Kentucky has allowed 768 yards on the ground and allows an average of 153 rush yards per game.

Sarkisian and his players understand how hard it is to win on the road in the conference and they are treating this as an “SEC Championship game.”

This is a perfect opportunity for Texas to get the run game going and start gaining confidence heading into the middle of SEC play.

The Longhorns face the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky.