Big 12 Football Game of the Week: #24 Kansas @ #3 Texas
For as bad as Kansas has been over the last decade, they have given the mighty Texas Longhorns a good bit of trouble.
In 2016, the Jayhawks beat Texas for the first time since 1938. The Longhorns were bad that year, finishing 5-7, but Kansas was much worse. The Jayhawks finished 2-10 with wins over Rhode Island and Texas and effectively sent Charlie Strong packing.
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy in Week 4 against Baylor.
© Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
In 2018, an equally terrible Kansas team kept the game within a touchdown against the 10-4 Longhorns, and the following year almost upset Texas again but fell two points short.
In 2021, for the first time ever, Kansas beat Texas in Austin in an overtime thriller that finished 57-56 in favor of the Jayhawks.
This year, things are different. For the first time in the matchup's history, both teams come into the showdown ranked and undefeated. Kansas has what many believe is its best football team since the late 2000s, and honestly, the same thing goes for Texas.
Kansas enters the game with wins over Illinois and BYU, which has proved itself to be a good team. Texas has wins over Rice (might be better than expected), Wyoming (beat Texas Tech), and Alabama (Alabama) and has earned itself a top-three AP Poll ranking.
Both teams have been good, but I, like many others, believe Texas is just on a different level than Kansas. Quinn Ewers has more weapons than most of the world's militaries, while the Longhorn defense has played like one of the best in the conference. Texas' offensive line is not just good, but great and will have a chance to swallow up Kansas' defensive line.
On the other side, Jalon Daniels is a freak. This is something that is universally known. But the question that remains to be answered is, can he be as freakish against good defenses? Illinois had one of the best defenses in the country last year, but it looks like it may have regressed. Nonetheless, Daniels led Kansas to victory against the Fighting Illini. Other than that, Kansas' explosive offense has not been tested. This will be that test.
I'd love to believe this will be a good game, but for that to be the case, Kansas will have to come to play. This has not been a problem for the Jayhawks against Texas recently, so who knows. I am picking Texas to win comfortably but am not writing off Daniels and the Jayhawks.
Texas hosts Kansas at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Austin, Texas. The game will be broadcast on the ABC Network.
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