Important players from all teams are still on the Texas Longhorns schedule

Texas is two-thirds of the way through the season and is 7-1 so far. The Longhorns are still in control of their playoff fate and are in a similar situation compared to last year.

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Steve Sarkisian's group has a challenge ahead of them at the end of the season Florida After saying goodbye, a trip to ArkansasThen Kentuckyand then finally the rivalry game against Texas A&M at Kyle Field. Let's take a look at some of the key players Texas will face down the stretch.

After the bye, Texas hosts Florida on November 9th. Florida will play a game against Florida Georgia where the Gators are strong underdogs. Assuming things go according to plan, Florida should be pretty banged up coming to Austin. While they're now 4-3 and hoping for some life, they've picked up wins against lower-tier SEC teams.

All in all, the Gators are a pretty talented team. On offense, Florida's key player is a five-star freshman and Texas native DJ Lagwaywho made comparisons Cam Newton and even Sam Ehlinger by Eric Nahlin of Inside Texas. Lagway is streaky, as you would expect from an inexperienced rookie, but he has a dual-threat ability that could cause similar problems for Texas Diego Pavia.

Lagway has 96 yards rushing, but that low number is mostly due to limited usage and sacks. He only has one game with 10 or more carries, which was in Florida's most recent win over Kentucky. Through the air, he has 1,024 yards and five touchdowns, with five interceptions on 63% passing. He likes the deep ball and Florida has weapons with it Elijhah badger And Eugene Wilson III who have several touchdowns or a few hundred yards.

In defense they have some athletes up front, but the key player is Tyreak Sapp who has 24 tackles, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble. This is a game-breaking defensive lineman that probably wouldn't have caused much stress for Texas fans in the first half of the season, but after the Longhorns gave up 11 sacks in the last two games, Sapp is a guy to keep an eye on.

After Florida at home, Texas has to make its way to Fayetteville. The Hogs are a volatile team that has been hot and cold much like their quarterback Taylen Greenbut on any Saturday Sam PittmanThe crew can defend itself. Green is without a doubt the key player in the Razorbacks' offense, he is 1.90 meters tall and can attack the Jets. He's also from Texas and has a gunslinger mentality. So far, Green has totaled 2,451 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is dynamic to say the least, but also cunning. Green completed just 61% of his passes.

On defense, the key player is the 6-foot, 280-pound EDGE specimen Landon Jacksonwho has 30 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He played a great game against Tennessee and is the man to watch on Arkansas' front line. Jackson is a sure-fire NFL draft pick and could cause problems for the Longhorns if Texas doesn't clean up the play in the pocket.

After visiting Fayetteville, Texas, it will head home to take on a struggling Kentucky Wildcats team that appears to be on the rise but still has weapons on offense and NFL athletes on defense. Dane Key is the key player (no pun intended) in the Cats' offense. Key is a lanky 6-foot-3 outside receiver who has 587 yards and two touchdowns this season. He is an athletic deep threat who was crucial in the upset of Ole Miss, a game in which he had eight carries for 105 yards and a touchdown grab. key along with Barion Brown are talented athletes who can break you at any moment, but with a difficult passing game, the Texas secondary should be able to strangle them.

On defense, there are a few threats up front in the pass rush, but the key player on defense is the big guy in the middle. Deone Walker. Walker has 29 tackles and 1.5 sacks and is a sure-fire first-round pick in this spring's draft. However, he makes the biggest impression as a run stopper. Against a mediocre Texas rushing attack that had had no breakthrough up to that point, he was able to keep Texas on the ground.

Lone Star Showdown returns to conclude the season. Texas returns to Kyle Field, where the Longhorn football program will make back-to-back trips to College Station for the first time in the rivalry's history. In the Aggies' offense, the key player is the current man of the moment after Texas A&M's big home win against LSU Marcel Reed. Reed is a dynamic QB who breathes life into the A&M offense. Reed has 943 total yards and 11 total touchdowns with no interceptions in limited action. Trey Moore will be crucial in containing this dual-threat attack and look for a similar game plan that was employed against Pavia.

After all, it's the Aggies' strength. Defense is the key player to watch out for Nic Scourtona highly touted transfer from Purdue who had 10 sacks last season and is living up to the hype so far with 23 total tackles and five sacks. The fear for Texas is that the situation is good for Scourton as there is a night game at noisy Kyle Field and the offense continues to have issues with communication and penalties.

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This will be the toughest test for the offensive line since Georgia. Texas hopes the unit will play with more unity by then. Quinn Ewers You must be extremely alert and able to move fluidly in the bag. Texas can't afford another offensive performance like the last few weeks or they'll lose the first game of the renewed rivalry, likely thanks to Scourton.