Texas Longhorns vs. the Kansas State Wildcats Game Preview

Times are tough for the Texas Longhorns.  They are 4-4 and not anywhere close to being in contention for the Big 12 title or the BCS title for that matter.  It’s hard to believe that just a year ago this team was headed towards a Big 12 Championship and a BCS title game berth.  Things have definitely changed.

The Longhorns need two more wins in order to get to a bowl game this season.  Looking at the rest of their games, this is something that they could do and they have a great chance to add one of those two needed victories this Saturday when they face Kansas State.  

Can the Longhorns win this game?  Are we in for another upsetting Saturday as Longhorn’s fans?  Read on to find out in this in-depth preview of the Longhorns and Wildcats game this weekend.

When Texas has the Ball

We have all seen what the Texas offense is capable and not capable of doing.  They have a hard time passing the ball (through eight games they are averaging 147 yards per game) and that’s a problem.  The Wildcats are letting opponents gain right around 210 yards per game so the Longhorns should be able to do a little bit better passing the ball this Saturday.

Through eight games this season, quarterback Garrett Gilbert has thrown 292 passes completing 174 of them for 1788 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions.  Not very productive for a typical Texas passing offense and it’s clearly not getting the job done.

The leading receiver for the Longhorns is James Kirkendoll with 31 catches for 389 yards and one touchdown (the Longhorn’s leading receiver in touchdowns is Mike Davis with two).  Since the passing game hasn’t been working well, these guys haven’t been seeing a lot of action.

Gilbert needs to build on his passing skills so the coaching staff should have him throw the ball more in this game so that he can improve his passing and start thinking about his development for the future.
The Longhorns have had some success running the football this season.  As a whole, they are averaging around 140 yards per game and have had some success moving the ball this way.  Their leading rusher is Cody Johnson with 71 attempts for 282 yards and three touchdowns.  There are two other rushers with three rushing touchdowns including Tre’ Newton and Gilbert.

The Longhorns may want to run the ball more against Kansas State.  The Wildcats are allowing an average of 228 yards per game to opponents on the ground so Texas may want to get that rushing game going so that they can control the ball and the clock.  We will see if that’s what the coaching staff decides to do.

The Wildcats come into this game with a record of 5-3 and have been doing a pretty decent job on offense this season.  Their quarterback, Carson Coffman has thrown 178 passes, completing 118 of those passes with six interceptions and eight touchdowns.  Their passing game as a whole is averaging 180 yards per game.

The Longhorns can take out the Wildcats passing game by not allowing them to have any big plays (much like they allowed the Bears to do last week).  Keeping Kansas State’s passing game restricted to a short passing game with no big plays would suit the Texas defense well and give them a better chance of winning the game.

Pass pressure is always a big part of any defense and the Longhorns have had some success putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.  So far this season, Texas’s defense has 23 sacks and could get more against the Wildcats.  Kansas State has allowed opponents to get 18 sacks.  Texas does have an advantage here.

Kansas State’s rushing attack is averaging 193 yards per game so they aren’t doing too badly on the ground.  Their leading rusher is Daniel Thomas and he has 1019 yards on 196 attempts and has scored ten touchdowns.  The Longhorns are letting teams get an average of 119 yards per game so something has to give.  

The Longhorns defense cannot afford to let Kansas keep the ball for long.  Texas has to have the football as much as possible in order for their offense to score and help them win this game.

Analysis

Even though the Wildcats have a better record than the Longhorns, Kansas State isn’t quite as powerful as teams that the Longhorns have recently played and they have as good of a chance as any to win this game.  They just can’t allow the mistakes that they have been making or the big play to happen otherwise they will be heading for a loss for sure.

It would be nice to see the coaching staff concentrate more on getting Gilbert comfortable and functional in this offense and they should look towards doing that.  Still, the thought of still needing two more wins to become bowl eligible will be paramount and the coaching staff may want the offense to try to go for the big play on every play to either try to build a big lead or win the game.

Still, they can’t forget about the development of their young quarterback or their young offense and need to work on getting them prepared for next year even though this season isn’t quite lost (for a chance at a bowl game).

Look for Texas to tighten things up on both sides of the ball and fight the Wildcats hard in this game.  

Prediction

Texas wants to get to a bowl game and they could realize that the coaching staff may be in a little bit of tight spot if they don’t make a bowl game.  Look for Texas to be ready for this game play hard as they attempt to get one game closer to bowl eligibility.

Texas 28 Kansas State 20