Texas Longhorns football game preview: Unbeaten Kansas looks like a Big 12 threat
In an early Big 12 showdown between two of the leading title contenders, can Texas avoid the slow starts that stymied the team in its first two home games against a dangerous Kansas squad looking for a second straight win in Austin?
No. 3 Texas (4-0, 1-0) vs. No. 24 Kansas (4-0, 1-0)
2:30 p.m., Royal-Memorial Stadium
TV/radio: ABC, 1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)
Line: Texas is favored by 17
Weather: Hot, muggy, temperatures in the mid-90s and a slight chance of showers
Texas history: Kansas
All-time: Texas leads 17-4
Last meeting: Texas 56, Kansas 14 (2022)
Most memorable meeting: Kansas 57, Texas 56 (2021). An offensive showcase turned into the lowest point of Steve Sarkisian’s difficult first season at Texas. The Longhorns amassed 574 yards of offense but couldn’t overcome a four-turnover deficit and a relentless Kansas ground game. Both teams seemed to respond to that result; Kansas is 10-9 since that game late in the 2021 season after winning just one of its previous 22 games while Texas is 14-7 since the contest.
More: Bohls: Is Kansas for real? Lance Leipold bringing Deion-like frenzy to Jayhawks football
Know the foe: Kansas
Last week: The Jayhawks pulled away for a 38-27 win over BYU in their Big 12 opener, which gave the team its second consecutive 4-0 start.
Players to watch: QB Jalon Daniels, a fourth-year junior who had his breakout game in Kansas’ upset win in 2021, has been a model of efficiency this season with 705 yards and five TDs on 74% passing for a robust QB rating of 173. ... RB Devin Neal remains a focal point on an offense that averages 463 yards and 37.8 points with 539 yards from scrimmage and six TDs. … The Big 12’s defensive player of the week, CB Cobee Bryant forced a fumble and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown against BYU last week, added an interception and recorded three solo tackles.
Central Texas connections: WR Keaton Kubecka, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound freshman who starred at Westlake, has yet to catch a collegiate pass but has popped up on the depth chart. … Freshman walk-on WR Hunter Luke, Kubecka’s teammate at Westlake, is also on the team. … De’Kedrick Stearns, a 6-4, 320-pound redshirt sophomore offensive lineman from Del Valle, has not seen much action in his first two seasons.
More: Texas' Steve Sarkisian touts Kansas coach Leipold before Big 12 football home opener
When Texas has the ball
One of the worst defenses in the Big 12 a year ago, Kansas has turned things around while allowing just 297 yards a game, which ranks second in the Big 12. Bryant leads an especially effective secondary, which could make things difficult for Texas QB Quinn Ewers and a passing attack that averages 277 yards a game. ... Bryant has played boundary corner and has also shadowed some receivers, so Kansas coach Lance Leipold and his staff might lock him on Texas star wideout Xavier Worthy. That could help open things up for TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, who already has two 100-yard receiving games this season. In fact, Sanders became the first tight end in school history to have two career games with at least 100 yards receiving after catching five passes for 110 yards in last week’s game against Baylor. … The portal helped Kansas rebuild its defensive front. Minnesota transfer Austin Booker, a 6-6 edge, has 4½ tackles for loss and 3½ sacks while Colorado State transfer Devin Phillips anchors a run defense that ranks just behind Texas in the conference with 93 yards allowed per game. That front will try to slow down Texas RB Jonathon Brooks, who has 270 yards rushing on 39 carries over the past two weeks.
More: Perimeter blocking a must for Texas receivers as Longhorns prepare for Kansas defense
When Kansas has the ball
Daniels ran for 425 yards and seven TDs in nine games during the 2022 campaign but has played more conservatively this season while nursing a sore back. Even though he has just 74 yards on the ground, Daniels might show more of his running ability against a Texas defense that already has 13 sacks. … It’s strength against strength when Kansas runs the ball. Led by Neal, the Jayhawks average 218 yards rushing a game and 5.5 yards a carry, which both rank second behind UCF in the Big 12. Texas counters with a defensive front anchored by tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II that gives up 87.3 yards a game rushing and 2.7 yards a carry. … As shown during its win over BYU last week, Kansas uses a short passing game to complement the running attack and help control the clock. The Jayhawks average just 9.5 yards per attempt but rank second in the conference in time of possession with an average of 33 minutes, 3 seconds a game.
The key matchup
Texas defensive tackles vs. Kansas center Mike Novitsky: In a conference with several elite centers, Kansas might have the best. The 6-5, 305-pound senior has started 48 games in a four-year career at Kansas and Buffalo and has landed on virtually every preseason watch list for offensive linemen. But he’ll have to contend with more than Sweat and Murphy, since the Longhorns boast arguably the deepest set of interior linemen in the conference with Alfred Collins, Vernon Broughton and Trill Carter part of the rotation.
How we're calling the game
Kirk Bohls: Texas, 34-24. The Longhorns are facing one of their top three challenges of the rest of the season, but can’t be looking ahead to next week.
Danny Davis: Texas. It's been a while since Kansas beat Kansas State, Oklahoma or a Texas team that wasn't struggling mightily. So I need to see it to believe it with the ranked Jayhawks, and I don't think I'll be a believer after this weekend.
Cedric Golden: Texas, 35-24. This will be closer than the oddsmakers are suggesting. The Horns win in gritty fashion.
Thomas Jones: Texas, 42-31. The Jayhawks will be the best offense — and Jaylon Daniels will easily be the best quarterback — that Texas has faced this season, so expect Sarkisian to use, well, all gas and no brakes for the Longhorns' offense.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Preview: Kansas takes on Texas in battle of unbeaten football teams
