Texas @ Kansas preview
Memorial Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2011 ) Kansas 0, Texas 43
Texas’ maligned defense can breathe easy this week. After giving up 50 points in a victory over Baylor, the No. 24 Longhorns travel to Lawrence on Saturday to face hapless Kansas - a team they haven’t loss to since 1938 - in a rare break from the high-scoring offenses of the Big 12. Texas, which has won nine straight versus Kansas, including the last seven meetings by an average of 36 points, has received unexpectedly strong play from quarterback David Ash. That hasn’t been enough to offset a defense that is on pace to be the worst in school history. Luckily, the Longhorns face a Kansas team that has lost six straight and is embroiled in a quarterback controversy. Last season, Texas ended a five-game conference losing streak with a 43-0 rout of the Jayhawks as Joe Bergeron, who ran for five touchdowns last week, and Malcolm Brown combined to rush for 255 yards and four touchdowns.
TV: 12 p.m. ET, FSN. LINE: Texas -21
ABOUT TEXAS (5-2, 2-2 Big 12): Any dreams the Longhorns had of winning the Big 12 have been crushed by a defense that ranks 107th against the run (215.7) and overall (472.1), as well as 102nd in scoring (35.0). Texas ended a two-game skid last week, but needed every one of Bergeron’s five scores after allowing 677 yards to the Bears in a wild 56-50 victory. The Longhorns, who lost star defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat (torn pectoral) for the season two weeks ago, have allowed an average of 580 yards over the last four games. Ash, arguably the most improved player in the nation, has done well to keep pace with opponents. He leads an offense ranked sixth in scoring (44.4).
ABOUT KANSAS (1-6, 0-4): It is never a good sign when a team is unsure of its starting quarterback after seven games; it’s worse when your coach is former NFL offensive guru Charlie Weis. But that’s the case with Kansas, which has alternated between Notre Dame transfer Dayne Crist and red-shirt freshman Michael Cummings. Cummings was named the starter Tuesday. He played the majority of last week’s 52-7 loss to Oklahoma and finished 10-of-21 for 110 yards with two interceptions. Cummings will try to jump start the nation’s 114th-ranked offense (17.2 points). Kansas has been outscored 148-43 in Big 12 play and is allowing 428.4 yards per game (85th).
EXTRA POINTS
1. Texas’ worst season in terms of scoring defense came in 1997 (33.3), and the Longhorns last allowed more than 5.0 yards per carry (it's allowing 5.1) in 1956 (5.5).
2. Crist started the first six games and threw three touchdowns and seven interceptions before he was benched in the loss to Oklahoma State.
3. Kansas’ lone shot will be to attack Texas’ rush defense with the nation's 49th-ranked rushing offense (180.1 yards per game).
PREDICTION: Texas 45, Kansas 13