Texas Longhorns Way-Too-Early Week 4 Preview: Sam Houston State

The Texas Longhorns will enter week four of the 2025 season after a tough heavyweight battle against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes to start the season, followed by two back-to-back games that should be blowouts; their week four matchup should resemble the latter.

As the Longhorns get a bye week after week four and eye SEC conference play with a trip to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators after the bye, Texas welcomes in the Sam Houston State Bearkats to Darrel K. Royal Stadium for its final non-conference matchup under the lights on Sep. 20 at 7 p.m. CT.

The Bearkats come into Austin off the back of their first winning season in Conference USA after the transition from a FCS to FBS school in 2023. Going 10-3 in 2024 after going 3-9 the year prior, it was Sam Houston's best record since an 11-1 season in 2021, and the Bearkats won their first-ever bowl game 31-26 in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl against Georgia Southern.

Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns linebacker Colin Simmons (11) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Sam Houston will now be led by new head coach Phil Longo, who was with the Wisconsin Badgers from 2023 to 2024, serving as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach until his firing in November of 2024. Longo was quickly hired by Sam Houston, who named Longo their head coach a month later in December. The hiring is a return for Longo, as he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Sam Houston from 2014 to 2016.

Longo takes over from previous head coach K.C. Keeler, who, after the 2024 regular season, was hired by the Temple Owls to be their new head coach. Keeler had been at the helm of the program since 2014. Under the decade-long leadership of Keeler, Sam Houston had reached unprecedented heights, including the program's first-ever FCS national championship in 2020 and its transition to FBS as a member of Conference USA in 2023.

A big plus for Longo is the return of starting quarterback Hunter Watson for his final year of eligibility. In his first season with Sam Houston after transferring in from junior college, Iowa Western, Watson started in 12 games and totaled 1,811 passing yards and 12 touchdowns while having eight interceptions. Watson was also a plus in the run game, adding 647 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

However, with the hiring of a new head coach, roster turnover heavily impacted the Bearkats' roster as they lost their two leading running backs, their leading receiver, and the leading tackler from a season ago to the transfer portal.

The Longhorns should outmatch Sam Houston across the board when they match up in late September, but as everyone knows, nothing is guaranteed in football, so the Longhorns must come out strong to avoid the game becoming closer than it needs to be.