Texas Football: How will the Longhorns rebound in Week 8 vs. Kansas?

For Texas football, the hoped 2019 road to the Big 12 Championship Game continues as Les Miles and the Kansas Jayhawks come to town in Week 8.

Longhorn fans are justifiably disappointed after Week 7’s loss in the Red River Rivalry. The 34-27 defeat against Oklahoma, though, doesn’t have to be the end of the 2019 season.

A Big 12 title is still very much up for grabs, and there’s even still an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff. Without digressing too much, consider a possible, even if unlikely, ending scenario to 2019: an undefeated LSU wins the SEC, OU loses at least once in the regular season, and only three undefeated teams separate themselves from the rest of the power conference pack. A Big 12 title (especially if it comes at the hands of the Sooners) would put the Longhorns squarely in the CFP conversation.

But to borrow a line from what head coach Tom Herman is likely repeating to his team this week, let’s take it one game at a time.

Kansas (2-4, 0-3 Big 12) arrives in Austin as a significant underdog in head coach Les Miles’ first year with the team. After the Jayhawks dropped a 12-7 decision to the Sun Belt’s Coastal Carolina, the squad rebounded in one of its finest performances of the year: a 48-24 road victory against Boston College.

Big 12 play hasn’t been kind to Kansas this season. A close 29-24 home loss to West Virginia was followed by two drubbings, a 51-14 loss at TCU and a 45-20 loss to No. 5 Oklahoma in Week 6.

Before you dismiss the Jayhawks as bottom-of-the-rung Big 12 cannon fodder, consider the recent series history: the Longhorns only won by one score last year, 24-17, en route to a Big 12 title game appearance. In 2016, the Jayhawks handed Texas a 24-21 loss.

Here’s how you can watch:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 19
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Austin, Texas
Venue: Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium
TV: Longhorn Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

Keeping quarterback Sam Ehlinger in sync in the passing attack will be the goal for Texas. In last year’s closer-than-should-have-been victory against Kansas, he threw two interceptions and completed only 16-of-28 passes. The UT rushing attack was held to 3.5 yards per carry, too, as the Jayhawks’ defense was able to key in on pressuring Ehlinger.

Ehlinger has been simply sublime through six games this season, throwing for 1,658 passing yards,17 touchdowns and only two interceptions. The only quarterbacks nationally who have similar TD-to-interception ratios with the same volume are Oregon’s Justin Herbert, LSU’s Joe Burrow, and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.

Kansas has struggled mightily with turnovers all season, ranking second-worst in the Big 12 (behind Oklahoma State) with a minus-5 turnover margin in its first six games of 2019.

Texas’ weakness this year has been its passing defense — it’s allowed 310 yards per game through the air, the fifth-worst mark in the country. It’ll be on senior quarterback Carter Stanley, who completed 18-of-28 passes for three touchdowns and no interceptions against OU in Week 6, to keep the Longhorn secondary on its heels on Saturday evening if the Jayhawks are to have a chance.

Prediction

Expect Texas to show that it’s ready to forget last week’s showing in Dallas. Though Les Miles may expect the Jayhawks’ offense to improve after firing the offensive line coach in the wake of the OU loss, expect the Longhorns’ wide receivers and an efficient Ehlinger to pick apart the Kansas defense and expect Texas to force some crucial turnovers defensively.

Final Score: Texas 41, Kansas 17