Texas vs. Kansas Complete Game Preview

The Texas Longhorns will face their first true road test of the season Saturday when they head to Lawrence to face the Kansas Jayhawks.

The season has not begun the way many Texas fans may have hoped, but the Longhorns have the chance to gain momentum in Big 12 play with a win over the Jayhawks.

However, winning in Lawrence is not always an easy task. Just ask the players who were on the Longhorns' 2012 roster.

The last time Texas played at Memorial Stadium was a game to forget for Longhorn faithful.

Texas was down in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. But quarterback Case McCoy saved the day when he threw a touchdown pass to D.J. Grant with 12 seconds left on the game clock, and the Longhorns escaped with a 21-17 win over the Jayhawks.

Is it possible the Longhorns will have another near-death experience in Lawrence?

Let's take a look.

When: Saturday, Sept. 27, 4 p.m. ET

Where: Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kan.

TV: FS1

Austin radio: KVET 98.1/1300

SiriusXM satellite radio: XM 202; Sirius 117; Internet 969; Spanish 550

Last meeting: Nov. 2, 2013, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

Last meeting outcome: Texas 35, Kansas 13

Opening spread: Texas (-14), per OddsShark.com

Texas Keys to Victory

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Offense: Move the Chains

Texas struggled to put up a consistent offensive performance since Week 1.

The Longhorns only have converted 27 percent of third downs, which ranks the offense at No. 119 nationally in third-down conversion percentage.

This needs to change in order to have any success moving forward.

To be fair, the Longhorns have gradually improved on third downs. Against BYU, the offense only converted three but increased the number to five against UCLA the following week.

The offense may receive a pass for the BYU game, considering it was quarterback Tyrone Swoopes' first career start, and the starting offensive line had five combined starts.

But the group has two games under its belt and a bye week to work on moving the chains.

Kansas has been somewhat successful in holding opposing offenses from converting on third downs, so the Longhorns will need to step it up to move the chains and help give the defense the rest it needs.

Defense: Create Turnovers

Throughout fall camp, the Texas coaches emphasized the importance of creating turnovers.

It went so far that the Longhorns made a "takeaway belt," which was given to the position group with the most turnovers each week.

Texas currently has seven turnovers; four of those came against North Texas.

The Longhorns need to increase this number as they head into conference play and will have a chance of doing so against an inconsistent Kansas offense.

Kansas Keys to Victory

USA TODAY Sports

Offense: Control Time of Possession

Time of possession is often a key component in the offense's success.

If the BYU game taught opposing teams anything, it was the longer the Longhorns defense is on the field, the better chance opponents have of securing a win.

Texas' defense shut out BYU's explosive offense for the first half of the game. But the unit was on the field for more than 11 minutes in the second quarter alone. And it was evident the team was tired after halftime, which led to BYU scoring 28 points in the third quarter.

Against UCLA, the Longhorns offense controlled the time of possession, and the defense held the Bruins from scoring a touchdown in the first two quarters.

The second half was a different story. UCLA had the ball 58 percent of the time and scored 17 points in the Bruins' come-from-behind win over the Longhorns.

If Kansas can keep its offense on the field, the Texas defense could wear down as the game progresses.

Defense: Dominate the Line of Scrimmage

The strength of the Longhorns offense was in the ground game heading into the 2014 season.

But the ankle injury to center Dominic Espinosa, suspension of Desmond Harrison and dismissal of Kennedy Estelle have left the offensive line struggling to open up holes for the run game.

Let's not sugarcoat things: Texas' offensive line is simply not good right now. It can get better with time, but that may not happen in the near future.

The Longhorns' ground game appears to have a favorable matchup against the Jayhawks defense, which has allowed opponents to rush for an average 5.2 yards per carry.

There is no doubt Texas will pound the rock, so the Kansas defense will have to dominate the line of scrimmage and shut down the run game in order to keep it close with the Longhorns.

Texas Players to Watch

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

DT Malcom Brown

Defensive tackle Malcom Brown is a force to be reckoned with. The 6'2", 320-pound junior leads the Longhorns with eight tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

And Kansas head coach Charlie Weis is aware of Brown's talent.

"Malcom Brown is one of the best players that I've seen. Period," Weis said in his weekly press conference Tuesday. "He's big. He's aggressive. He's nasty. He moves well. He makes several tackles for loss. He's every bit of 325 and runs a 4.7. He will be a high draft choice, and is a very, very disruptive player."

The Jayhawks have allowed six sacks and 16 tackles for loss against two unranked FBS programs and FCS Southeast Missouri State. Brown will have the chance to increase his sack numbers against Kansas Saturday.

QB Tyrone Swoopes

Swoopes has shown gradual progress since his first start against BYU. And the coaches seem to be opening the playbook for the young QB.

Quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson said Swoopes has been running a limited package because there wasn't enough time to throw everything in his direction.

But the playbook opened up more against UCLA. Swoopes completed 71 percent of his passes and threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns against the Bruins defense.

The Longhorns' bye week came at a perfect time to help Swoopes take in more of the offense.

Strong said his quarterback has become a student of the game, which is not something Swoopes was accustomed to because he didn't think he would have the opportunity to see significant playing time behind David Ash.

Swoopes is a talented athlete. If he can continue his progress with a wider range of plays, he has a chance of helping turn around the Texas offense.

Kansas Players to Watch

USA TODAY Sports

QB Montell Cozart

The Jayhawks offense has been up and down through the first three games of the season. Quarterback Montell Cozart started on a high note and threw three touchdowns in the season opener against Southeast Missouri.

Then Kansas traveled to Durham, North Carolina, where the offense struggled to do anything positive against Duke. Cozart completed 11 of 27 passes for 89 yards and two interceptions in the 41-3 beatdown by the Blue Devils.

The sophomore bounced back the following week and led the Jayhawks to a 24-10 victory over Central Michigan.

Strong has described Cozart as a mobile quarterback who can get out of pressure. The question that remains is can the quarterback be accurate when he moves around behind the line of scrimmage? It will be interesting to see if Cozart can get around the Longhorns' front seven.

RB Corey Avery

Running back Corey Avery has been a key contributor in his first season at Kansas. The former Dallas Carter athlete is averaging 4.6 yards per carry and leads the Jayhawks in total rushing yards.

Avery has only scored one touchdown, but that could very well change against the Longhorns defense, which at times has struggled to contain opponents' ground games. 

Texas has allowed seven touchdowns this season—five rushing—and has given up an average 232.5 yards rushing in its last two contests.

The Jayhawks will more than likely use Avery to test the strength of the Longhorns run defense.

What They're Saying

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Texas head coach Charlie Strong on the importance of the defense stepping it up on the road

"

You have to take the crowd out of the game. I tell our players, 'Whenever you go on the road, they are yelling for you.' But the fans can't come on the field, so they have no control over the team. Whatever happens on the field is us. It's all about controlling it with our defense. The defense is totally key. Any time you're on the road, it's all about the defense and how well they can play.

"

Texas cornerback Quandre Diggs on having the right mindset heading into Lawrence

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We just have to focus. This isn't going to be two years ago where we went out with the attitude that we are going to beat them pretty bad. They almost beat us (in 2012). We can look back to those experiences, but it's a new year, and you've just got to get guys focused, myself included.

"

Kansas head coach Charlie Weis on Texas' defense, via KUAthletics.com

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It all starts with (the Longhorns) defense. They're stout on defense. There isn't really a glaring weakness. I can talk about the 11 guys and several of the backups too. They're No. 18 in turnovers and No. 6 in sacks, but they just have some dynamic players.

"

Weis on issues on the Texas offense, via KUAthletics.com

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The biggest issue is an offensive line going through a transition. They've had multiple guys suspended or dismissed from the team, or just a transfer and no longer be there. It's a totally different line than we've seen from Texas for the last couple of years, and I think they're just trying to get settled in at that position. I feel their pain.

"

Prediction

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The Longhorns are not in a great situation at the start of Big 12 play. In fact, the football program has not been in the best condition for quite some time.

But that's the hand Strong was dealt when he took over at Texas.

Starting the season with a losing record is not a foreign concept to the team, which was 1-2 heading into conference play in 2013.

The Longhorns rebounded last year and went on a six-game winning streak against Big 12 opponents.

Will that happen in 2014?

Probably not.

The Longhorns had more experienced players on offense last season and one of the most veteran offensive lines in college football.

This year is the exact opposite situation. 

But with all things considered—suspensions, injuries, dismissals, inconsistent performances, etc.—Texas is a more talented team than Kansas.

The Longhorns should not have an issue beating the Jayhawks and will likely kick off Big 12 play with a victory.

Prediction: Texas 30, Kansas 14

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand. 

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.