Alex Dunlap
I'm not sure I would give a good, road-tested, well-coached veteran team an overwhelming endorsement as likely to head in to Manhattan and go gangbusters -- as there is no historical precedent for doing so. How could I pick a bad, worse-on-the-road, poorly coached young team to do what no Texas team has done since 2002 in taking out Old Man Purple's wildcats at Snyder Family? D'Onta Foreman keeps the Longhorns in the game by going for over 100 yards once again and extending his streak as the nation's leader, but it won't be enough. It's been two years since Longhorns fans have heard the 'we own Texas (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)' chants from the K-State faithful and that's about to change.
Kansas State 28 - Texas 24
Geoff Ketchum
Texas should win this game. It has the best quarterback. It has the best overall player. It's a great match-up of styles for the Longhorns. If you give Charlie Strong a one dimensional offense that can't pass as an opponent, you're basically making things easy on him and his defense. What this game comes down to is whether the Longhorns can eliminate penalties, turnovers, horrible special teams errors and coaching mistakes. If they do those things and play a B-level game, the Longhorns win by 10. If this thing turns into the typical Manhattan affair that we've seen over the last decade-plus when these two teams meet out in the middle of nowhere, they'll lose ... perhaps in ugly fashion. In making a prediction on this game, I'm going to go with my general rule of thumb ... pick the team with the best quarterback.
Texas 24 - Kansas State 19
Dustin McComas
On paper, this game looks like one that Texas can go on the road and win.
Yes, I realize we're talking about Charlie Strong and Texas against a power-five school not named Kansas. However, the Wildcats aren't built to take advantage of where Texas struggles. They're one of the worst passing offenses in the country (No. 118 in S&P+ Passing Offense, No. 105 Passing Downs Offense, No. 117 Explosive Plays Offense). They'll challenge Texas with a rushing attack that will throw different looks and formations at the defense, forcing it to play with great discipline. But the Longhorns have handled the run okay this year.
This matchup looks like it'll come down to what Shane Buechele can do through the air against a very stout Kansas State rush defense, and if the Longhorns can make the tackles and plays against the K-State rushing attack to force it to throw the football.
But in reality, the game probably comes down to this: Is Texas ready to play a complete football game on the road, and not beat itself? Because we know it's very unlikely Kansas State doesn't play a complete game, and beats itself.
The numbers and matchup suggest a Texas win, but I can't bring myself to predict Texas to win on the road against Kansas State. This might make me look silly Saturday evening, but Texas has to prove it can take advantage of such a matchup and situation before I give it the benefit of the doubt.
Kansas State 27 - Texas 26
Anwar Richardson
Okay, I'll bite.
I will ignore how Texas struggles on the road. I will put aside the team's lack of success in Manhattan, Kansas. I will not hold their previous inconsistencies against them. Instead, I will focus on a team did find a way to play better against Iowa State, and that might be the performance this team needed to erase the problems that have plagued this team for a while.
Kansas State seemingly does not have the passing attack necessary for me to predict a Texas loss. If Kansas State is forced to be one dimensional, that will favor Texas. Plus, there are enough playmakers on offense to put up points.
There probably is not a single outcome that will surprise me on Saturday. However, I'll go ahead and predict a Texas win.
Texas 31 - Kansas State 24
Jason Suchomel
For whatever reason, a lot of people have had this one chalked up as an automatic loss for Texas, and I just don't see it that way. K-State is not a very good football team, especially on offense, and it's coming in with an injured quarterback.
This is the type of game that plays right into Texas' hands. Kansas State is a one-dimensional offense that the Longhorns should be able to stop, and the Texas offense should be able to make just enough plays both on the ground and in the air to get the win.
Texas 27 - Kansas State 23
I'm not sure I would give a good, road-tested, well-coached veteran team an overwhelming endorsement as likely to head in to Manhattan and go gangbusters -- as there is no historical precedent for doing so. How could I pick a bad, worse-on-the-road, poorly coached young team to do what no Texas team has done since 2002 in taking out Old Man Purple's wildcats at Snyder Family? D'Onta Foreman keeps the Longhorns in the game by going for over 100 yards once again and extending his streak as the nation's leader, but it won't be enough. It's been two years since Longhorns fans have heard the 'we own Texas (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)' chants from the K-State faithful and that's about to change.
Kansas State 28 - Texas 24
Geoff Ketchum
Texas should win this game. It has the best quarterback. It has the best overall player. It's a great match-up of styles for the Longhorns. If you give Charlie Strong a one dimensional offense that can't pass as an opponent, you're basically making things easy on him and his defense. What this game comes down to is whether the Longhorns can eliminate penalties, turnovers, horrible special teams errors and coaching mistakes. If they do those things and play a B-level game, the Longhorns win by 10. If this thing turns into the typical Manhattan affair that we've seen over the last decade-plus when these two teams meet out in the middle of nowhere, they'll lose ... perhaps in ugly fashion. In making a prediction on this game, I'm going to go with my general rule of thumb ... pick the team with the best quarterback.
Texas 24 - Kansas State 19
Dustin McComas
On paper, this game looks like one that Texas can go on the road and win.
Yes, I realize we're talking about Charlie Strong and Texas against a power-five school not named Kansas. However, the Wildcats aren't built to take advantage of where Texas struggles. They're one of the worst passing offenses in the country (No. 118 in S&P+ Passing Offense, No. 105 Passing Downs Offense, No. 117 Explosive Plays Offense). They'll challenge Texas with a rushing attack that will throw different looks and formations at the defense, forcing it to play with great discipline. But the Longhorns have handled the run okay this year.
This matchup looks like it'll come down to what Shane Buechele can do through the air against a very stout Kansas State rush defense, and if the Longhorns can make the tackles and plays against the K-State rushing attack to force it to throw the football.
But in reality, the game probably comes down to this: Is Texas ready to play a complete football game on the road, and not beat itself? Because we know it's very unlikely Kansas State doesn't play a complete game, and beats itself.
The numbers and matchup suggest a Texas win, but I can't bring myself to predict Texas to win on the road against Kansas State. This might make me look silly Saturday evening, but Texas has to prove it can take advantage of such a matchup and situation before I give it the benefit of the doubt.
Kansas State 27 - Texas 26
Anwar Richardson
Okay, I'll bite.
I will ignore how Texas struggles on the road. I will put aside the team's lack of success in Manhattan, Kansas. I will not hold their previous inconsistencies against them. Instead, I will focus on a team did find a way to play better against Iowa State, and that might be the performance this team needed to erase the problems that have plagued this team for a while.
Kansas State seemingly does not have the passing attack necessary for me to predict a Texas loss. If Kansas State is forced to be one dimensional, that will favor Texas. Plus, there are enough playmakers on offense to put up points.
There probably is not a single outcome that will surprise me on Saturday. However, I'll go ahead and predict a Texas win.
Texas 31 - Kansas State 24
Jason Suchomel
For whatever reason, a lot of people have had this one chalked up as an automatic loss for Texas, and I just don't see it that way. K-State is not a very good football team, especially on offense, and it's coming in with an injured quarterback.
This is the type of game that plays right into Texas' hands. Kansas State is a one-dimensional offense that the Longhorns should be able to stop, and the Texas offense should be able to make just enough plays both on the ground and in the air to get the win.
Texas 27 - Kansas State 23
