Three key matchups for Saturday’s game against Kansas State

By Riley Zayas

For the Texas Longhorns, going 1-0 is the main goal heading into each game, and this Saturday’s home showdown with Kansas State is no different. The message from the coaches to the players is that they don’t want to look ahead.

“We just gotta go 1-0 versus K-State,” senior center Zach Shackelford said Tuesday. “That’s all we can do. We have to go out there and execute like we know we can.”

Coming off of a bye week, the Horns will try [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]to keep their Big 12 championship game hopes alive while facing a team that has won three straight, including an upset of Oklahoma. When the Longhorns and Wildcats meet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, there will be important individual matchups that will directly influence who comes out victorious.

Quarterbacks collide
In what’s shaping up to be one of the best quarterback matchups in the Big 12 this season, K-State’s Skylar Thompson faces off against UT’s Sam Ehlingher. At first glance, the signal callers are very similar in their styles of play. Each is efficient when he scrambles and runs, showing a knack for extending plays. This year, Thompson, who is a fifth-year senior, has picked up 331 yards on the ground and scored 10 rushing touchdowns. Ehlingher, meanwhile, has rushed for 361 yards, with five carries going to the end zone.

Both Thompson and Ehlinger also are accurate passers. Thompson threw his lone interception of the year against Baylor and Ehlingher threw just three interceptions over the first seven games before a dismal four-interception game against TCU two weeks back.

Finally, each has shown he can rise to the occasion and come up clutch in big games. Two weeks ago, the Wildcats shocked the college football world by upsetting then-No. 5 Oklahoma in a back-and-forth showdown. Thompson completed 18 passes and ran for four touchdowns, leading his team to the upset victory. Despite not getting the “W” against now-No. 1 (and then-No. 6) LSU early on in the year, Ehlingher’s play was nearly flawless in Week 2 as he never turned the ball over and threw for 401 yards with four passing touchdowns.

Kansas State defensive line vs. Texas running backs
Ranked No. 4 in the Big 12 by Athlon Sports, this Wildcats D-Line returned all four starters from 2018. Led by defensive end Wyatt Hubert, who leads the defense with four sacks, the Wildcats have allowed just 14 rushing touchdowns and 1334 yards on the ground.

“They’re all around a really stingy defense,” said Shackelford.

With that said, UT’s running backs will be faced with a challenge, but sophomore running back Keontay Ingram might be one of the best backs K-State has faced all season. While he has played sparingly due to an early-season injury, Ingram is at full health heading into this week and has an average of 5.0 yards per carry, and is a key member of the Texas offense that has scored 26 touchdowns in the red zone this season.  

Special teams showdown
In a game expected to be as close as this one, special teams will play a significant role in the outcome. A missed field goal here or a fumbled punt return there, and the course of the game could change dramatically. But mistakes have been few and far between for both of these squads, considering each sports a fantastic kicker/punter duo.

The Wildcats have Blake Lynch handling placekicking duties, and he has played pretty well in just his second year as the starter, ranking No. 12 nationally in field goal percentage, at 90 percent. Punting will be Devin Anctil, who is a 2019 Ray Guy Award watch list, and has shown his ability to pin opponents deep in their own territory multiple times throughout the year, with 11 of his punts going for 50 yards or more.

For UT, Cameron Dicker has been perfect on 39 extra points this season and kicked a 57-yard field goal against Rice, his longest of 2019. After achieving national fame for his clutch kick to beat Oklahoma as time expired last season, he has continued to show an ability for kicking well under pressure, smashing the game-winner two weeks ago to beat Kansas, 50-48. Texas punter Ryan Bujcevski is following in the footsteps of his cousin, Micheal Dickson, one of the most decorated punters in UT history.

The Longhorns are aware that this is a must-win game if they want to achieve one of their preseason goals and play in their second straight Big 12 championship game. Texas is tied for third place in the conference with K-State and Iowa State, the two teams they’ll face in the next two weeks, and wide receiver Devin Duvernay acknowledged that there is little margin of error.

“They’re hot,” Duvernay said, “and we’re going to have to be on our ‘A’ game.”

“We want their best shot,” senior receiver Collin Johnson said, “so we can give our best shot.”
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