Longhorns 2nd bye crucial to prepare for the long haul toward potential January football

AUSTIN (KXAN) — If the Texas Longhorns want to reach their goal of playing for a national championship, this second bye week marks the season's halfway point.

It seems crazy to say that eight games into the season only means the job is halfway done, but with the expanded College Football Playoff, the teams that will clash for the national title will essentially play an NFL schedule in terms of length.

If the Longhorns end up outside of the top four seeds for the playoff, they'll need to play nine more games this season. Using this bye to prepare for the final stretch of the regular season is paramount not only for Steve Sarkisian's squad, but also for the coach himself. Having coached in the NFL, he's experienced that kind of grind first-hand and uses his previous relationships to his advantage.

"I've tapped into the guys that do it the best. Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean McVay, guys who are accustomed to being in the playoffs and what that looks like and how they got their teams ready," he said. "Especially in the Southeastern Conference, it's taxing physically and mentally. The idea you have to maintain that level of mental intensity and focus in preparation week-in and week-out is critical. I don't think anybody thought when our schedule came out that when we went to Vanderbilt, it would be a top-25 matchup. You just don't know in this conference."

This bye week, Sarkisian said, is similar in a lot of ways to the one a month ago, but there's an emphasis on building even more roster depth by investing in the younger players. It's nearly impossible for a front-line player to be 100% healthy this late into the season, so Sarkisian stressed making sure the coaching staff can trust the younger players to fill in when they have to is of utmost importance.

"We've seen the injury bug bite us at some positions where the young players need to get ready to play." he said. "We need to get some of the guys that have been nicked up back healthy and everyone is dealing with something. We have things we need to work on schematically and philosophically, and we know our best football is still ahead of us."

Sarkisian opted to keep Isaiah Bond, the team's leading receiver, out of the Vanderbilt game so he could have three weeks to heal his injured ankle after playing in the Georgia game on it. It worked out for the Longhorns thanks in part to DeAndre Moore's huge game against the Commodores, but having Bond back as close to full strength as possible for the Florida game on Nov. 9 and beyond is the goal. The same goes for safety Andrew Mukuba and others who are carrying bumps and bruises.

The Longhorns will gameplan for Florida later in the week and then the coaches will hit the recruiting trail like the first bye week while the players get some time to relax and heal. There's a three-day stretch where coaches will "get the younger players up to speed" to help with roster depth.

Texas (7-1, 3-1 SEC) hosts the Gators at 11 a.m., Nov. 9. With quarterback DJ Lagway now at the helm with a season-ending injury to starter Graham Mertz, the Gators rolled up 48 points on Kentucky to win 48-20 on Oct. 19. Lagway racked up 259 yards on seven completions and he rushed for 46 yards on 10 carries. Running back Jadan Baugh rushed for five touchdowns against the Wildcats, as well.