Texas Longhorns vs. Kansas Jayhawks: Keys To The Game

The Texas Longhorns will have to key in on one player, while the Kansas Jayhawks have to have success particularly on one side of the ball.

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns are just two years removed from one of the biggest upsets in recent program history — a 57-56 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks.

Last season, Texas laid the hammer on Kansas, winning 55-14 for the biggest margin of victory over the Jayhawks since a 43-0 shutout in 2011.

No. 24 Kansas returns a lot of its weapons on offense, including 2023 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year in quarterback Jalon Daniels, and boasts an improved defense so far this season.

The Longhorns will play host to the Jayhawks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

Texas wins if...

... it contains Daniels.

No. 6 needs to be at the top of Texas' defensive game plan, circled, highlighted and posted in bold letters in the center of the whiteboard.

Daniels missed four games with a shoulder injury, but still racked up 2,014 passing yards, 18 touchdowns to four interceptions, 425 yards on the ground and seven more scores on the ground.

In 2023, Daniels missed the season-opener against Missouri State with a back injury but has returned and posted better per-game passing numbers than last season. Daniels is completing 74.7 percent of his passes, while averaging 235 passing yards per contest.

Texas' defense got a glimpse of what Daniels can do through the air, as he completed 65.4 percent of his 26 pass attempts for 230 yards and two touchdowns. The Longhorns kept his legs in check as he ran for just 12 yards on two attempts, something they'll have to do again.

Kansas wins if...

... its defense shows up.

Last year, the Jayhawks' unit was 124th in the FBS in scoring defense and 127th in total defense, which was evident in their game against the Longhorns.

Texas carried a 31-0 lead into halftime, which lengthened to 41-0 before Kansas got on the board late in the third quarter, as the Longhorns set a season high for points scored with their second-best total offense output of the year.

Kansas' defense is headlined by cornerbacks Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson, safety Kenny Logan Jr. and defensive linemen Austin Booker and Jereme Robinson.

They have shown the days of allowing 469 yards per game are over, ranking 21st in total defense this season giving up fewer than 300 yards in each contest.