MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley was asked Tuesday what his biggest concern was with Texas' offense.
 
He answered by rattling off different player numbers, beginning with tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders, who wears No. 0. When he was finished, he basically listed just about Longhorn wearing a single-digit uniform number.
 
"I'd say numbers zero through 10 are my biggest concern," he noted.
 
When you think of Texas, you certainly must start with No. 5 Bijan Robinson, a player WVU coach Neal Brown calls a "five-tool-player." He runs extremely well, of course; he blocks well, and they can use him in the passing game.
 
West Virginia avoided Robinson last year because of injury, but he ran for 113 yards in Texas' 2020 win over the Mountaineers in Austin. He has 11 career 100-yard games, including a career-high 216 last year against TCU.
 
The Longhorns have two other single-digit-numbered runners who would start for most teams in No.2 Roschon Johnson and Keilan Robinson, a former Alabama transfer who wears No. 7.
 
Johnson ran 21 times for 121 yards in Texas' 2019 victory over West Virginia, while Robinson accounted for 111 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries in last year's game in Morgantown.
 
"Bijan Robinson, you can make a strong argument that he's the best player in the country. Then they have Roschon Johnson and Keilan Robinson; all three running backs are special," Brown said.
 
Occasionally, the Longhorns will play two running backs at the same time and have also used Johnson, a former high school quarterback, in the Wildcat formation. That means extra hats might be required to slow down the Longhorns' run game.
 
The problem with that, of course, is it leaves fewer guys to cover Xavier Worthy, who wears No. 8, and Jordan Whittington, who sports No. 4. Worthy can really take the top off a defense and has had some impressive games in the past, including a nine-catch, 261-yard performance last season against Oklahoma.
 
He caught five passes for 97 yards in Texas' narrow loss to Alabama earlier this season.
 
Whittington leads the team with 18 catches for 199 yards, including seven in the Alabama game. Sanders is second on the team with 15 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown.
 
Who will be throwing them the football is the biggest question. Five-star Ohio State transfer Quinn Ewers looked great against Alabama before going down with an injury, but he traveled to Texas Tech last weekend and the expectation in the Milan Puskar Center is he could be ready to go on Saturday night.
 
If he can't play, backup Hudson Card is an excellent alternative. The Austin native completed 20 of his 30 pass attempts for 277 yards and two touchdowns in last week's overtime loss at Texas Tech.
 
"Their tight end, Sanders, is a great pass receiver," Brown noted. "They have Whittington and Worthy was a freshman All-American and he can fly. They have a lot of skill pieces for either Ewers or Hudson Card, whoever plays. One of them was a five-star and the other was almost a five-star, so they both can play to go along with an improving offensive line."
 
"(Coach Steve Sarkisian) is a good play caller who can hide his pieces within their offense," Lesley added. "Texas has the ability to create space with their speed, and our big challenge will be trying to eliminate that space."
 
Defensively, Texas boasts one of the best defensive fronts in the Big 12 and will be a formidable challenge for West Virginia's much-improved offensive line.
 
Brown says the Longhorns go six-deep at defensive tackle, with seniors Moro Ojomo, T'Vondre Sweat and Keondre Coburn all in starting roles. Texas also has a senior starter at defensive end in Ovie Oghoufo.
 
Strongside linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is another senior performer of whom is a familiar name to Mountaineer fans. He has been one of Texas' most active defenders with 29 tackles, 3½ tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup.
 
Middle linebacker Jaylan Ford leads the Longhorns with 38 total tackles.
 
The secondary includes a couple of up-and-coming corners in D'Shawn Jamison and Ryan Watts.
 
Through four games, Texas' strongest areas statistically are fourth-down conversion percentage (tied for ninth), time of possession (tied for 25^th), fewest penalty yards per game (tied for 36^th) and scoring offense (42^nd).
 
The Longhorns' weakest areas are third-down conversion percentage (tied for 104^th), first downs allowed (tied for 91^st), passing yards allowed (85^th), red zone defense (tied for 78^th) and turnover margin (tied for 77^th).
 
During last Saturday's loss at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders were successful six of eight times on fourth down, were six of seven in red-zone scoring opportunities and had a 100-to-60 advantage in total plays.
 
"If we can make them one-dimensional, that would be great, but it's going to take more hats than normal because they're so talented at running back," Brown pointed out. "That means we're going to have to commit more to the run, which means we are going to have to get better play out of our secondary. That's one-on-ones with some very talented guys. Then, we've got to take care of the ball offensively.
 
"If we can get made first downs and hold on to the ball … because we're going to need to score points to win," Brown concluded.
 
West Virginia has had considerable success in Austin, winning four of their six meetings there in games dating to 1956, a year before Darrell Royal took over the Longhorn program. Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, West Virginia has won games there in 2012, 2016 and 2018 and suffered a 17-13 defeat in 2020 when the Mountaineers got into the red zone but were unable to score late in that game.
 
Overall, West Virginia holds a 6-5 advantage in the series.
 
Saturday night's game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on FS1 (Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman).
 
Mountaineer Sports Network coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning at 6:30 p.m. MSN radio coverage can be heard on stations throughout West Virginia, Sirius/XM and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile apps WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network.
 
The team is scheduled to fly to Austin, Texas, on Friday afternoon.