Texas @ Kansas State preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 29, 2007 ) Kansas State 41, Texas 21

The reeling Texas Longhorns could be just the tonic for the Kansas State Wildcats when the two teams meet Saturday at Manhattan, Kan., in a Big 12 matchup.

Kansas State (5-3, 2-3) is coming off back-to-back losses, 47-42 at Baylor on Oct. 23 and last week’s 24-14 home loss to Oklahoma State.

The Longhorns (4-4, 2-3) have slid from early season top 10 team to its current struggles. Last week’s 30-22 loss to Baylor was the Horns’ first loss to Baylor since 1997 and ended Texas’ streak of nine consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins. The Longhorns’ streak of playing in a bowl game in a school-record 12 straight seasons is also in jeopardy heading into the final four games of the regular season. Dating back to his tenure at North Carolina, Mack Brown has taken his teams to 18 straight bowl games, the current NCAA standard for active coaches.

Kansas State has one of the most potent rushing attacks in the Big 12, led by senior running back Daniel Thomas, who ranks eighth in the nation in rushing with an average of 124.5 yards per game. Overall, the Wildcats average just under 200 yards rushing per game. Kansas State gets big play possibilities from speedy senior running back William Powell, who also leads the nation in kickoff returns with an average of 33 yards per return. Senior quarterback Carson Coffman effectively manages the Kansas State offense and is completing more than 66 percent of his attempts, but he’s only attempted 176 passes so far, with eight touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Cats, led defensively by junior safety David Garrett, held the high-scoring Oklahoma State offense to a season-low 17 points in the loss last week. Meanwhile, coach Bill Snyder, in his 19th season at Kansas State, is presiding over a team that features his trademark discipline. The Wildcats are one of the least penalized teams in the nation.

After losing its last three home games, Texas will try to regroup on the road, where the Longhorns have gone 64-22 during Brown’s 13 years in Austin.

The Longhorns and Wildcats have split the all-time series 5-5, but Kansas State has won the last two meetings and is 4-2 against Texas since Big 12 play began in 1996. Bill Snyder is 2-2 against the Longhorns. Kansas State won the most recent meeting, 49-21 at Austin in 2007.