Tag: Texas vs Kansas State preview

Texas has the depth to overcome its unexpected injuries this week

Texas was built to overcome injuries.

According to a couple of reports, Texas has been bit by the injury bug. A handful of Longhorns could unexpectedly be out for Saturday’s game. Despite the news, the team is built to overcome the losses.

Heading into the season, we discussed the team’s championship depth. Talented players are being developed by the current staff despite our issues with play calling philosophy and decision making. The team can find a way to win.

The downside of frequent substitution is that lesser players take valuable playing time from starters. Fortunately for Texas, the Longhorns’ pattern of giving playing time to backups will mean that those backups are more ready to play in the place of injured starters. Now, its time for those players to step up in the absence of starters.

Make no mistake: Texas will have several key players suit up and play a huge role on Saturday. The unforeseen losses do not leave the cupboard bare. Moreover, several of the backups are capable players, too. The Texas coaching staff will look to feature their strengths against Kansas State on Saturday.

Shift in Philosophy: Texas can embrace defensive battle and win

Kansas State likes to win with physicality. Texas can play that game, too.

Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was brought to Texas to build a championship defense. He will have an opportunity to show if his year three defense has reached that level on Saturday.

It’s Kwiatkowski’s time to shine. Quite frankly, Texas needs the impressive defensive effort his unit brought in both the Alabama matchups during his tenure. The standard for the Texas defense is what Kwiatkowski has proven capable of thus far, and his team needs a shut down effort now more than ever.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has mentioned complimentary football several times in his three seasons in Austin. He will likely need it on Saturday.

The Longhorns will need to take the points on fourth and short in the red zone. On the rare occasions that Sarkisian and company convert a fourth down within field goal range, the team often finds itself back in another fourth down scenario.

Every point will matter Saturday. Take the field goal and three points.

There’s enough on film for Kwiatkowski to find ways to slow the Kansas State offense. And there’s enough track record, though inconsistent, for Sarkisian to trust his defensive coordinator to put the team in position to win if the offense occasionally only puts up three points.

We are not suggesting that Texas should call plays conservatively outside of fourth downs. The Longhorns should attack downfield in the passing game, but they need to value every point when faced with money downs.

If Texas gets through Saturday unscathed it should be playing for a Big 12 title in Arlington. Complimentary football could be what gets the team over the top in the game.

Oklahoma great Teddy Lehman says Texas’ best might not beat Kansas State

Teddy Lehman feels confident Kansas State beats Texas.

Teddy Lehman is back to his bold ways again this week. He had some interesting thoughts on the game between the No. 7 Texas Longhorns and the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats.

Lehman shared the following thoughts about the game.

“You know, K-State, if I were them, and I know they’ve got some of this stuff in their package, they’re going to be able to neutralize that defensive line a bit. With the quarterback run game, it’s way easier to gain the edge and work the edges of the defense, and kind of get away from the teeth of what Texas does there at the inside backer and interior defensive line spot.”

His initial contention is fair save for the lack of downfield passing threat the Wildcats have displayed this season. Texas could clamp down on the run and short pass and give Kansas State difficulty. Nevertheless, he continued his thoughts on the matchup.

“I can’t, if we get the best of both, I don’t see how Texas can match up to K-State.”

Lehman’s co-host and former Oklahoma lineman Gabe Ikard pushed back asserting Texas would win at its best because it has the better, more talented football team. Lehman still held firm.

You can’t fault the podcaster for going bold. If you consistently pick against Texas, at some point you’ll be right. Perhaps the Longhorns’ second Kansas opponent will come through for him.

Texas will look to avoid the upset on national television against Kansas State at 11 a.m. CT on Fox.

Examining the simple path to success for Texas against K-State

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian must call plays with a purpose Saturday.

The No. 7 Texas Longhorns can beat the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Albeit, the Longhorns have made the simple complicated in past weeks.

Texas has a problem with getting in its own way. It does so with drive killing plays or unnecessary play calls that stall good drives. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is brilliant at scheming up explosive plays, but sometimes his reliance on ingenuity gets the best of him. He fails to find the most obvious solutions.

The path to success for the Texas offense is simple and straightforward: run the ball and do just enough through the air that you can run the ball some more.

If Texas running back Jonathon Brooks runs the ball effectively, you simply cannot take the ball out of his hands. You can’t call a reverse only to keep the other team honest. You keep doing what is working. And if you have to get creative, you get creative with positive-gaining pass plays and with various blocking schemes behind which Brooks can run.

A purposeful play calling day will give the Longhorns the best chance to win on Saturday. If the objective is to win, Texas will give Kansas State a heavy dose of Jonathon Brooks. If he proves effective, the Longhorns will run Brooks at the Wildcats defense ad nauseam.

Brooks and company will look to carry the team to an 8-1 record and a place atop the Big 12 standings on Saturday.

Looking at implications of Texas’ must-win game against K-State

Win and Texas is most likely in the Big 12 title game. Lose and the Horns are all but out.

The game between the No. 7 Texas Longhorns (7-1) and the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats (6-2) is as big as it gets. It will play as big a role in determining Texas’ conference title bid as any other game on the schedule.

The Longhorns are 4-1 in conference play. So are four other Big 12 teams. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Iowa State all fit that description.

Two of the five teams will leave Saturday with two losses. After Texas and Kansas State play, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 22 Oklahoma State battle for positioning in the standings. Iowa State has a tough game of its own against the No. 21 Kansas Jayhawks who just handed the Oklahoma Sooners their first loss of the year.

Put simply, Texas cannot lose Saturday and hope to make the Big 12 title game. For starters, the loss to Oklahoma gives the Sooners the tiebreaker over Texas. A loss to Kansas State would favor the Wildcats in the same way. And you simply cannot count on Oklahoma State losing any of its last three games. The Cowboys face UCF, Houston and BYU to close the season.

The Longhorns’ playoff hopes certainly rest on a win over Kansas State, but so does its conference title hopes. Saturday is the epitome of a must-win game.

The team will look to secure the victory on Saturday before a national audience at 11 a.m. CT on Fox.

Keys to victory for No. 7 Texas against No. 23 Kansas State

Maalik Murphy has to be much more careful with the football Saturday.

The No. 7 Texas Longhorns are on upset alert nationally ahead of a huge matchup with the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats. The team will need to play sound football to avoid a loss.

There’s reason for upset concern although we see the Longhorns winning. Texas’ six-game winning streak over K-State is in real jeopardy because of how the Wildcats are playing.

Last week, Kansas State shellacked the Houston Cougars 41-0. A week prior Texas struggled to finish the game in a 31-24 victory. We are well aware that matchups vary from week to week.

In fairness to Texas, we’re confident Kansas State loses by a comfortable margin against Alabama in Tuscaloosa rather than accomplishing what Texas did. Nevertheless the Houston result gives us pause.

Let’s look at how Texas can avoid an upset.

What Texas can learn from Oklahoma State in defending K-State offense

You have to take away the short and intermediate game.

Oklahoma State does not do Texas many favors. It did earlier this season in a matchup against the Longhorns’ next opponent. The Cowboys stunned Kansas State to hand the Wildcats their second loss of the year. In doing so, they provided a blueprint to beating Kansas State.

The Pokes gave the Longhorns some critical schematic clues on how to upend the K-State offense. The most emphatic statement Oklahoma State made comes from its pass defense.

The Cowboys made Kansas State quarterback Will Howard look lost. Howard put up 256 total yards on the day, but 104 of those yards came on the ground. Through the air, the veteran quarterback was ineffective.

Howard completed 15 of 34 passing attempts from 152 yards. He added a touchdown and three interceptions to finish with a QBR of 44.6.

What did Oklahoma State do? Quite simply, they conceded little to nothing within fifteen yards downfield. Oklahoma State flooded potential close range throws with defenders. It clamped down on the short and intermediate game and made Howard beat them. As the stat sheet would indicate, he didn’t win downfield.

The blueprint is clear for Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski: concede nothing up close and make Kansas State beat you through the air. That doesn’t mean you ignore K-State tight end Ben Sinnott and let him free upfield. It does mean you take away easy pitch and catch throws within fifteen yards of the line of scrimmage.

We already noted the Wildcats’ dominant running game. The team ranks No. 5 in the country in rushing yards per contest with an average of 226 yards. Quarterbacks Will Howard and Avery Johnson have combined for over 500 yards rushing this season. It’s a game where Texas can and should play closer to the line of scrimmage and clamp down on the short passing game as well as the run.

There’s an apparent solution to slowing this Kansas State squad. The question is whether or not Pete Kwiatkowski will move from his comfort zone to a more aggressive approach. If he does, we believe Texas can win.

Texas can make the most of its statement opportunity on Saturday when it takes on Kansas State at 11 a.m. CT on Fox.

Texas defense gets set to take on the No. 5 rush offense in the nation

Kansas State’s rushing attack could put a strain on the Texas defense.

Buckle up for a tough battle. The Texas defense will have a different than usual test this week. Continue reading “Texas defense gets set to take on the No. 5 rush offense in the nation”

Beat Kansas State: Looking at Texas’ next matchup on the schedule

Can Texas escape Week 10 with a win?

The Kansas State Wildcats are on a tear over the last three weeks. This team is not the same squad that started the season 3-2 with losses to Missouri and Oklahoma State. Continue reading “Beat Kansas State: Looking at Texas’ next matchup on the schedule”

Looking ahead to pivotal game between No. 10 Texas and No. 7 Kansas State

Saturday’s game at No. 7 K-State is a must-win for Texas’ bid for a regular season conference title.

The Texas Longhorns secured an impressive home victory over the No. 11 Baylor Bears on Monday. It was the bounce back we needed to see following a 82-71 loss to the now No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers.

The Longhorns got needed production from Timmy Allen and Tyrese Hunter, both of which scored double digit points after quiet performances of late.

Sir’Jabari Rice led all scorers with 21 points off the bench. Rice has been a virtual certainty for the Longhorns’ offense regardless of the venue in which the team plays. What Texas gets from players other than Rice away from the Moody Center is another issue altogether.

The Longhorns will face the No. 7 Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday, who are coming off a road loss to their rival, No. 8 Kansas. Manhattan has been a difficult place to play for Texas in seasons where the Wildcats were competitive.

The game presents another opportunity for Rodney Terry’s team to show its mettle. With a road trip to No. 8 Kansas looming on Monday, Saturday’s road battle will be of great importance for Texas’ bid for a Big 12 regular season title.

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