Three Keys: Kansas Jayhawks at Texas Longhorns

Highlighting the most important things the Jayhawks need to do against the Longhorns.

The Kansas Jayhawks have already started off the conference season right, defeating the BYU Cougars at home last week. But they have their first real road test coming up this week against the Texas Longhorns. This might be the toughest game on the schedule this year, so being successful (even without a win) will be important to set up the rest of the year.

So even though a win is not assured here at all, the Jayhawks need to do some things so that fans can feel good about where the team is. Here are my top three keys to Saturday's game down in Austin.

Fast Start

This could apply to either side of the ball individually, as either a quick turnover, multiple sacks or an early score from the offense/special teams will send the message. A ton of people think that Texas is going to dominate this game. And if it gets ugly early, Texas isn't a team you expect to be able to come back on from 3 scores down. So building confidence early will go a long way to keeping Texas from getting comfortable. 

Pressure Early and Often

Another one that both seems obvious and could apply to both sides of the ball. 

On defense, the defensive line has to show the ability to get pressure on Quinn Ewers with just the 4 down lineman. The Texas offensive line has been good but not great. The Kansas defensive line needs to show they have greatness this week. 

On offense, pressure comes in the form of giving the defense too much to think about. Is it a run or a pass? Is the run to the outside, down the middle, or in completely the opposite direction? Is Jalon Daniels waiting to throw deep or going to hit the guy crossing in the middle? Is the scramble turning into a run or are his eyes still downfield? With all this to legitimately think about, the offense has a massive advantage if they can keep all of those in play.

Turnovers

While it is important for Kansas to create opportunities for them on defense, I'm specifically thinking about the offense here. The Jayhawks did a good job against BYU last week, but they have a propensity to fumble the ball at the most inopportune times. This season, they haven't had the benefit of getting back on top of most of them. Kansas can't afford to waste many opportunities in this game, so holding onto the ball will be crucial here.

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