Texas Longhorns vs. Kentucky Wildcats: What the Stats Say

The Texas Longhorns host the Kentucky Wildcats in their final home game of the regular season.

Jon Alfano | Nov 21, 2024

Nov 16, 2024; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian celebrates after the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Texas won 20-10. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

It may be hard for the Texas Longhorns not to look ahead to next week's regular-season finale, a renewal of the Lone Star Showdown against the Texas A&M Aggies. They can't afford to look ahead, though, as they first must take care of business against the Kentucky Wildcats on Senior Day.

The Wildcats are coming into this game with nothing to lose. They're 4-6 overall and 1-6 in SEC play and need to beat both the Longhorns and the Louisville Cardinals next week just to make a bowl game. A team with nothing to lose can be dangerous, though, so Texas best be ready for anything.

As always, let's look at the numbers to see how the two teams stack up.

Spoiler alert: most offensive numbers don't look great for Kentucky. The Wildcats average 340.5 total yards (14th in the SEC), 183.4 passing yards (15th), 157.1 rushing yards (10th) and 21.9 points (last) per game. They have some solid players, namely running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye (505 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns) and wide receiver Dane Key (44 receptions, 686 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns), but as a whole, the offense is relatively underwhelming.

Thankfully for Kentucky, the defensive characters are more encouraging. The Wildcats allow 321.9 total yards (ninth), 188.5 passing yards (third), 133.4 rushing yards (13th) and 19.3 points (eighth) per game. A secondary led by defensive back JQ Hardaway (two interceptions) could present a tough challenge for Quinn Ewers and co., so the Longhorns could look to exploit a below-average run defense.

The Longhorns' strength comes from their defense, which leads the SEC with 249 total yards, 136.7 passing yards and 11.9 points allowed per game. They're no slouch on offense either, averaging 450.2 total yards (fourth), 288.6 passing yards (fourth) and 37 points per game. Clearly, the numbers show a clear advantage for Texas.

These two teams have met just once before, with Texas besting Kentucky 7-6 all the way back in 1951. Over 70 years later, the Longhorns will look to beat the Wildcats once again and continue their College Football Playoff push.