Texas @ Kansas preview
David Booth Memorial Stadium (Lawrence, KS)
Last Meeting ( Nov 11, 2017 ) Kansas 27, Texas 42
No. 11 Texas takes to the road for its regular-season finale as it visits Kansas on Friday. And there’s plenty at stake for the Longhorns, who will secure a berth in the Big 12 Championship game with a win over the last-place Jayhawks.
Texas enters Friday tied with West Virginia for second place in the Big 12 at 6-2, one game behind 7-1 Oklahoma. And since the Longhorns beat the Sooners 48-45 on Oct. 6, the loser of Friday's Oklahoma-West Virginia matchup automatically will be eliminated from title-game contention with a win by Texas in Lawrence. The Longhorns will have the services of starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who left Saturday’s win over Iowa State in the second quarter after aggravating the AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder. Ehlinger, who initially injured the shoulder Oct. 13 against Baylor, has impressed in practice and workouts this week and will make his 12th start Friday.
TV: Noon ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Texas -15
ABOUT TEXAS (8-3, 6-2 Big 12): Ehlinger is averaging 272.6 yards of total offense while posting a Big 12-best 21-2 passing TD-to-interception ratio and rushing for 10 more scores. Texas does have a more-than-capable backup, though, in Shane Buechele, however, has started 19 contests in nearly three seasons with the Longhorns and completed all 10 of his passes for 89 yards and a TD after replacing Ehlinger in the 24-10 win over the Cyclones. The Longhorns' defense ranks third in the conference in stopping the run (136.5 yards) but is eighth against the pass (264.5 yards) and will be without senior linebacker Gary Johnson (team-high 74 total tackles, including 14 tackles for loss), who has been suspended Friday following an unspecified violation of team rules.
ABOUT KANSAS (3-8, 1-7): The Jayhawks are locked into their fourth straight last-place finish in the Big 12, but they envision better days ahead with Sunday’s announcement that former LSU coach Les Miles has been hired and inked to a five-year contract. In the meantime, David Beaty, who is 6-31 in three-plus seasons at Kansas, will finish out the season Friday with his team having lost three straight and seven of eight after a 2-1 start. Freshman tailback Pooka Williams Jr. has been the unquestioned bright spot, ranking second in the conference with 102.2 rushing yards per game after a season-high 252-yard, two-TD effort in Saturday’s 55-40 loss at Oklahoma.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Texas has won 14 of its 15 Big 12 meetings with Kansas, but the lone loss came in its last visit to Lawrence – a 24-21 overtime defeat in 2016.
2. The Longhorns are 4-1 against ranked foes and 4-2 versus unranked teams this season.
3. Kansas has lost 31 straight games against ranked opponents, dating back to a Sept. 11, 2010 win over No. 15 Georgia Tech.
PREDICTION: Texas 36, Kansas 24