The Texas Longhorns\nand Kansas State Wildcats both have Big 12 title aspirations, but one\nof those teams will see its hopes dashed this Saturday. Both teams\nare 3-2 in conference play, and they can\u2019t afford a third loss if\nthey want to catch either Baylor or Oklahoma to play in the Big 12\nChampionship Game. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas has had two\nweeks to prepare for Kansas State, so the Longhorns are a touchdown\nfavorite over the Wildcats per the college\nfootball betting odds<\/a>. The hosts were originally\nfavored by 5.5 points, but the line has moved to seven points as\naction has come in on Texas. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kansas State has a\nwinning record against Texas all-time. The Wildcats are 10-9 against\nthe Longhorns, but Texas has won the last two meetings. Neither one\nof those wins was convincing though with Texas beating Kansas State\nby six points in 2017 and five points in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Wildcats hired\nChris Klieman to replace Bill Snyder this offseason, and the offense\nhasn\u2019t changed too much under Klieman\u2019s watch. Kansas State is\nrunning the ball a lot with quarterback Skylar Thompson, but they are\nmore effective moving the chains on the ground than they were under\nSnyder last season. They are pulling guards a lot more often, and the\nWildcats are just outside the top 40 in total offense per SP+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kansas State is\nrunning for 4.8 YPC. Thompson is the second leading rusher on the\nteam with 331 yards and 10 touchdowns, and his ability to pick up\nneeded yards on third and short was pivotal to the Wildcats beating\nOklahoma two weeks ago. He ran for four touchdowns in the massive\nupset per the NCAAF\nbetting odds<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only three players\non Kansas State have caught more than 10 passes this season. The\nWildcats are not known for their passing prowess, and Thompson has\nnot completed a pass longer than 46 yards this year. He has completed\n60.5 percent of his passes, averaging 7.5 YPA, and he has tossed just\none interception this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Texas does not have\na good defense. Attrition robbed the Longhorns of some of their best\ndefensive backs, and they have struggled mightily without them this\nyear. They have the 86th<\/sup> ranked defense in the nation by\nSP+ standards and opposing quarterbacks have torched them\nconsistently throughout this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sam Ehlinger has\nbeen the star of one of the best offenses in the nation. Texas hasn\u2019t\nhad any trouble scoring points for Tom Herman this season, and the\nLonghorns have the No. 6 rated offense in the country by SP+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ehlinger\u2019s\naccuracy has improved greatly this season. He is completing almost\ntwo-thirds of his passes, averaging 7.8 YPA. He has thrown 23\ntouchdowns against seven interceptions, and his legs have proven very\nuseful too. Ehlinger has carried the ball 97 times for 367 yards and\na team high five touchdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Devin Duvernay is\nthe leading receiver on the team by a mile. He has caught 69 passes\n(41 more than any other Texas receiver), and he has 800 receiving\nyards (more than twice as much as any other player on the Longhorns).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kansas State has\ndone a good job stopping opposing quarterbacks this season. The\nWildcats boast an above average pass defense, and that comes in handy\nin the Big 12. However, they are allowing 5.1 YPC, and that\u2019s an\nissue. Texas could have a lot of success running the ball against\nthis front seven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This should be a high scoring affair. These two teams usually don\u2019t score many points when they square off, but this year is different. Don\u2019t be surprised if this game has 70 points or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the latest college football odds and information–follow BetOnline.ag on Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\nRECENT HISTORY<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
WHEN KANSAS STATE HAS THE BALL<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
WHEN TEXAS HAS THE BALL<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
PREDICTION<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n