Texas @ Kansas State preview
Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 19, 2011 ) Kansas State 17, Texas 13
A season that began with a No. 21 ranking will end with at least a share of the Big 12 title and an automatic berth in a BCS bowl for No. 7 Kansas State if the Wildcats can take care of visiting Texas on Saturday. Kansas State's national championship hopes were squashed with a 52-24 loss to Baylor two weeks ago, but after a week off, the Wildcats need only to beat the the No. 21 Longhorns to clinch their first BCS berth since the 2004 Fiesta Bowl and at least a share of their first Big 12 title since 2003. Kansas State can win the title outright with a victory and an Oklahoma loss at TCU. The Longhorns fell out of the conference title picture with a 20-13 loss to TCU on Thanksgiving. Now the Longhorns are simply trying to improve their bowl pecking order and play spoiler for a Kansas State team that has won the past four meetings with Texas and six of the past eight dating to the start of Big 12 play. The Longhorns have won their past five road games, including all four this season, and they've beaten two ranked teams away from home this season (then No. 22 Oklahoma State, then-No. 20 Texas Tech). Texas has not won in Manhattan, Kan., since 2002.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Kansas State -11.5
ABOUT TEXAS (8-3, 5-3 Big 12): The Longhorns are bowl-eligible for the 14th time in 15 seasons under coach Mack Brown, but they were never able to overcome back-to-back Big 12 losses to West Virginia and Oklahoma in October. The offense sputtered against TCU with a season-high four turnovers and a season-low 13 points. Junior quarterback Case McCoy will get the start after sophomore quarterback David Ash struggled against TCU. The Longhorns have a solid backfield duo in freshman Johnathan Gray (654 yards, three touchdowns) and Joe Bergeron (562 yards, 16 touchdowns).
ABOUT KANSAS STATE (10-1, 7-1): The Wildcats have been one of the most opportunistic teams in the nation, forcing 28 turnovers and leading the nation with a plus-19 turnover margin. They've turned those takeaways into 121 points while allowing only 21 points on nine giveaways. Kansas State's offense averages 415.7 total yards and is led by senior quarterback Collin Klein, who has passed for 2,306 yards and 14 touchdowns and added 787 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Under coach Bill Snyder (1991-2005, 2009-present), Kansas State is 14-5 when coming off an open date. The Wildcats have won the game following their past three open weeks, including a 56-16 victory over Kansas earlier this season.
2. Texas is 73-27 in road and neutral-site games under Brown. The Longhorns have won 38 of their last 45 Big 12 road games.
3. Kansas State has outscored opponents 246-114 in the second half and has not allowed more than one touchdown in the fourth quarter of any game this season.
PREDICTION: Kansas State 37, Texas 24