Kansas Jayhawks vs Texas Longhorns
Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium – Austin, TX
Saturday October 29Moneyline: Texas -7200, Kansas +3250
Spread (ATS): Texas -28.5
Over/Under: 64.5
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes
Kansas
There is a very good chance that Kansas is the worst team within the BCS conferences this year. They may have two wins but all five of their losses have been by 11 points or more and in every single one of them they have given up more than 45 points. I am not sure what the reasonable expectations were for coach Turner Gill but he is not coming close to them.
I may have been underselling how bad the Jayhawks are on defense above. They are dead last in yards allowed and points allowed per game with an astonishing 50. That’s a FG worse than New Mexico by comparison. The Kansas program used to be competing in the Big 12 but it has really bottomed out over the last few years. Texas, even in down cycle is still favoured by more than 4 TDs.
Kansas has not beaten the Longhorns since the Big 12 was formed out of the ashes of the Big 8 and Southwest Conferences. The closest they have come was back in 2004 when they lost by just 4 points, the only time they have covered the spread in this series. Kansas has always had the lesser talented team and was lucky to not have to face Texas every season in the old divisional format. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Texas
Can anyone really explain what has happened to Texas? I know that quality QB play is essential to winning football but it seems like more than that is going on at a program which, if you can believe recruiting rankings, is about as talented as anybody in the country. This week is the best chance they will have this year to make a statement and have some fun doing it.
One of the problems at Texas is that they can’t seem to make up their mind at QB. I fully subscribe to the theory that if you are playing two QBs you really don’t have one. Last time out David Ash got all of the snaps in a loss to Oklahoma State. He wasn’t very good but assuming they used their off week effectively he should show much better against Kansas. Plus it is Kansas right!
This week Texas should be able to get by with a mediocre performance and still win by 20. however, this team is so skittish right now that I would be hesitant to get behind them in a major way. It might be time for Mack Brown to shuffle off and let someone else inject some enthusiasm into the program. Sorry if this preview isn’t as focused on the game as others but I find the Texas situation so interesting and it is not as if Kansas/Texas is a real game anyway. Sorry Jayhawk fans.
ATS Pick: Texas -28.5
Over/Under Pick: Under
Score Prediction: Texas 42 – Kansas 7
