Texas Longhorns Week 10 Opponent Preview: Kansas Jayhawks

The Longhorns will welcome a fledgling Kansas Jayhawks program to Austin that is in the beginning stages of a rebuild

Matt Galatzan | Nov 8, 2021

The Kansas Jayhawks will be heading to Austin this Saturday looking to upset Steven Sarkisian and end a three-game losing streak to the Longhorns.

In their last matchup in 2019 under Tom Herman, the Longhorns narrowly escaped an upset, winning 50-48 in Austin behind four touchdown passes from Sam Ehlinger

Ehlinger also threw for 399 yards that afternoon, while running back Keaontay Ingram ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

The is will be the 20th matchup all-time between the two schools, with Texas winning 16 of the last 17 meetings.

Outside of their 2016 victory in Lawrence, Kansas's only wins over the Longhorns on the football field have come in 1938 and 1901

Stick with LonghornsCountry.com throughout the week as we bring you everything you need to know about the matchup between the Longhorns and the Jayhawks.

Kansas

2020 Record: 0-9 (0-8 in Big 12)

Head coach: Lance Leipold

Leipold is entering his first season as the Jayhawks head coach.

Offensive Set: Multiple

Defensive Set: 4-3

The Jayhawks offense really struggled in 2020, ranking 123rd in the nation in scoring offense (15.8 ppg) and 126th in the country in total offense, averaging just 259.2 yards per game.

In 2021, things have not gotten much better for Kansas, where they rank at the bottom of the Big 12 conference in just about every statistical category.

Projected starters on Offense:

QB Jason Bean

RB Devin Neal

WR Luke Grimm

WR Kwame Lassiter II*

TE Mason Fairchild

LT Earl Bostick Jr.

LG Malik Clark*

C Mike Novitsky

RG Michael Ford Jr.

RT Bryce Cabeldue

Much like the offense, the defense in Lawrence was one of the worst in the country. In short, things have been brutal for the Jayhawks, ranking last in the conference in scoring defense, rushing defense, and total defense.

They do rank fourth in the conference in pass defense, however, which is a major improvement from a season ago.

Projected starters on Defense:

DE Kyron Johnson

DT Kenean Caldwell

DT Caleb Simpson*

DE Malcolm Lee

LB Nate Betts

LB Gavin Potter

LB Taiwan Berryhill

CB Jacobee Bryant

CB Ra'melo Dotson

S Ricky Thomas*

S Kenny Logan Jr*

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Published Nov 8, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.