No. 3 Texas is the 16.5-point favorite over No. 24 Kansas

Are you buying the three-score blowout against the undefeated Jayhawks?

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns are 16.5-point favorites over No. 24 Kansas in Week 5, according to BetMGM. Are you buying the three-score blowout against the undefeated Jayhawks?

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold has turned the program around in Kansas, and in 2022 delivered their best season since 2008. It seemingly all started with a major upset against Texas in 2021, but according to Leipold that’s now old news.

Neither Sarkisian or Leipold want to talk about a game that happened two years ago, which ironically changed both programs for the better.

Texas and Kansas are both undefeated heading into Week 5 and this will be the toughest conference matchup for both teams thus far.

Kansas, like Texas, has scored 30+ points in every game this year. Their high-powered offense will meet Texas’ stifling defense to see which breaks first.

Will the Texas defense stop a Kansas offense that has lit up the scoreboard every week? Can Texas’ surplus of weapons on offense outlast the weak Kansas defense? Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday in Austin.

Sunday Stats: Pete Kwiatkowski’s scoring defense is Texas’ best since 2009

Defense made all the difference in erasing last year’s Kansas loss.

The Texas Longhorns secured arguably their most impressive win of the season on Saturday. Steve Sarkisian’s squad took down the Kansas Jayhawks on the road, 55-14.

Texas wholly defeated the Jayhawks on the strength of Bijan Robinson and the Texas running game. Robinson ran for 243 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries. It was the type of performance Texas should have had last season against the Jayhawks. This time, the defense made all the difference.

For all that has been said about defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, and I’ve personally said plenty, the unit has become the defense fans hoped it would become.

The last two games have seen the unit reach another level defensively. Last week, the Longhorns held the playoff favorite TCU Horned Frogs to 17 points despite hardly any offensive production. They followed that performance by keeping Kansas off the scoreboard for nearly three quarters.

Let’s examine a few statistics that capture the improvements the Longhorns have made this season.