Kansas State University

Kansas State-Texas college football preview

When/where: 11 a.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan.

TV/radio: ESPN; WHB (810 AM)

The series: K-State leads 8-6

The line: K-State by 10

K-STATE (5-1, 3-0 Big 12)

Date

Opponent

Result/time

Aug. 30

Stephen F. Austin

W, 55-16

Sept. 6

at Iowa State

W, 32-28

Sept. 18

Auburn

L, 20-14

Sept. 27

UTEP

W, 58-28

Oct. 4

Texas Tech

W, 45-13

Oct. 18

at Oklahoma

W, 31-30

Saturday

Texas

11 a.m.

Nov. 1

Oklahoma State

TBA

Nov. 8

at TCU

TBA

Nov. 20

at West Virginia

6 p.m.

Nov. 29

Kansas

TBA

Dec. 6

at Baylor

TBA

TEXAS (3-4, 2-2 Big 12)

Date

Opponent

Result/time

Aug. 30

North Texas

W, 38-8

Sept. 6

BYU

L, 41-7

Sept. 13

vs. UCLA*

L, 20-17

Sept. 27

at Kansas

W, 23-0

Oct. 4

Baylor

L, 28-7

Oct. 11

vs. Oklahoma**

L, 31-26

Oct. 18

Iowa State

W, 48-45

Saturday

at Kansas State

11 a.m.

Nov. 1

at Texas Tech

TBA

Nov. 8

West Virginia

TBA

Nov. 15

at Oklahoma State

TBA

Nov. 27

TCU

6:30 p.m.

*at Arlington, Texas; **at Dallas

What’s at stake

K-State is trying to add to its lead in the Big 12 standings in the first of back-to-back home games. Texas is trying to climb back to .500 after a slow start.

Cheers if …

The Wildcats run for more than 150 yards. Texas is best against the pass, so K-State can set the tone for the game by successfully rushing the ball.

Jeers if …

K-State turns the ball over. The Longhorns best chance to win is with some cheap scores.

Three things about Texas

1 Coach Charlie Strong has made a major impact one at least area: pass defense. The Longhorns boast one of the nation’s top passing defenses, limiting teams to 163.9 passing yards.

2 Texas has been average, at best, on offense this season without quarterback David Ash, who quit football earlier this year because of repeated concussions. But it has shown signs of progress the last two weeks. Behind back-to-back 300-yard throwing efforts from Tyrone Swoopes, the Longhorns pushed Oklahoma and then scored 48 points in a narrow victory over Iowa State.

3 The Longhorns like to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Texas ranks 14th nationally with 24 sacks through seven games.

Key matchup

K-State’s secondary vs. Tyrone Swoopes: The young Texas quarterback has been both electric and boring this season, throwing for as many as 321 yards and as few as 144. The Wildcats need to make it difficult for him to complete long passes, which he has done the past two weeks, and work for yardage. His early success, and his corresponding confidence level, could have a major impact on the game.

K-STATE OFFENSE

P

No.

Player

Ht.

Wt.

Yr.

WR

16

Tyler Lockett

5-11

175

Sr.

WR

14

Curry Sexton

5-11

183

Sr.

LT

55

Cody Whitehair

6-4

309

Jr.

LG

77

Boston Stiverson

6-4

312

Jr.

C

66

B.J. Finney

6-4

303

Sr.

RG

68

Luke Hayes

6-6

295

Jr.

RT

65

Matt Kleinsorge

6-5

306

Jr.

TE

85

Zach Trujillo

6-5

256

Sr.

WR

6

Deante Burton

6-2

205

So.

QB

15

Jake Waters

6-1

210

Sr.

RB

20

DeMarcus Robinson

5-7

209

Sr.

K

3

Jack Cantele

6-0

193

Jr.

K-STATE DEFENSE

P

No.

Player

Ht.

Wt.

Yr.

DE

44

Ryan Mueller

6-2

245

Sr.

DT

60

Will Geary

6-9

290

Fr.

DT

95

Travis Britz

6-4

293

Jr.

DE

75

Jordan Willis

6-5

250

So.

LB

9

Elijah Lee

6-3

214

Fr.

LB

35

Will Davis

6-0

223

So.

LB

21

Jonathan Truman

5-11

219

Sr.

CB

33

Morgan Burns

5-11

195

Jr.

SS

22

Dante Barnett

6-1

186

Jr.

FS

20

Dylan Schellenberg

6-9

195

Sr.

CB

7

Danzel McDaniel

6-1

205

Jr.

P

14

Nick Walsh

5-10

198

Fr.

TEXAS OFFENSE

P

No.

Player

Ht.

Wt.

Yr.

WR

8

Jaxon Shipley

6-0

190

Sr.

WR

7

Marcus Johnson

6-1

193

Jr.

LT

65

Marcus Hutchins

6-5

278

Jr.

LG

66

Sedrick Flowers

6-3

320

Jr.

C

74

Taylor Doyle

6-4

298

Jr.

RG

76

Kent Perkins

6-5

330

So.

RT

52

Darius James

6-5

304

Fr.

TE

82

Geoff Swaim

6-4

250

Sr.

WR

9

John Harris

6-2

218

Sr.

QB

18

Tyronne Swoopes

6-4

243

So.

RB

28

Malcolm Brown

5-11

222

Sr.

K

23

Nick Rose

6-2

203

Jr.

TEXAS DEFENSE

P

No.

Player

Ht.

Wt.

Yr.

DE

88

Cedric Reed

6-5

272

Sr.

DT

90

Malcom Brown

6-2

320

Jr.

DT

98

Hassah Ridgeway

6-4

307

So.

DE

40

Naashon Hughes

6-4

232

Fr.

LB

19

Peter Jinkens

6-1

237

Jr.

LB

33

Steve Edmond

6-2

258

Sr.

LB

3

Jordan Hicks

6-1

234

Sr.

CB

6

Quandre Diggs

5-10

195

Sr.

FS

2

Mykaele Thompson

6-2

191

Sr.

SS

44

Dylan Haines

6-1

194

So.

CB

21

Duke Thomas

5-11

178

Jr.

P

4

William Russ

6-3

206

Sr.

Kellis Robinett’s pick: K-State 34-17

Texas is an improving team with an above-average defense, but it is unlikely to truly challenge K-State on the road. Expect the Wildcats to win comfortably.

To reach Kellis Robinett, send email to krobinett@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @KellisRobinett.

This story was originally published October 23, 2014 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Kansas State-Texas college football preview."

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