Habe on the Horns: Texas football will have to be more disciplined to win at Kansas State

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

AUSTIN, Texas — Saturday’s home win over Iowa State may have been the turnaround the Texas football team craved, but a real indication about whether the Longhorns have flipped the script will come this week when they travel to Kansas State.

For teams looking to turn around a weak history of performance and execution on the road, Manhattan, Kan., would not be a place to pin in a phone’s Maps app.

Texas usually struggles against the [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]stick-to-the-fundamentals-at-all-costs Wildcats, having lost four games in a row at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and winning just once (in 2002) in Manhattan in the seven games played on the Kansas plains.

“We know we will be up against a team that will be disciplined and fundamentally sound and won’t do things to hurt themselves,” Texas head coach Charlie Strong said Monday at his weekly media availability. “To win there, we will have to match their discipline, toughness and focus. We will have to play our best game of the season.”

The Longhorns (3-3 overall, 1-2 in Big 12 play) dominated while handling Iowa State, but were anything but disciplined, drawing nine penalties that cost them 100 yards and roadblocked several first-half drives against the Cyclones.

The Iowa State game also served as a mile marker of sorts, as the Longhorns hit the halfway point of the regular season. Texas has six games remaining — three on the road (at Kansas State, Nov. 5 at Texas Tech and Nov. 19 at Kansas) and three at home (Oct. 29 against Baylor, Nov. 12 against West Virginia and TCU the day after Thanksgiving).

Kansas State (3-3 overall, 1-2 in Big 12 play) has lost three times on the road, falling at Stanford, at West Virginia and last week at Oklahoma, but the Wildcats are 3-0 at home, including their one conference victory against Texas Tech.

Texas defensive end Breckyn Hager said Saturday that he expects the team to win out. Strong loves Hager’s enthusiasm and belief in the team, but said he was focused on taking things one game at a time.

“We just have to keep moving forward,” Strong said. “I love our kids and love the way our football team has responded through the adversity it’s seen this season.”

Texas is just 5-11 in games away from Austin (and 4-7 in “true” road games) in Strong’s two-plus-year tenure on the 40 Acres. The last time the Longhorns visited Manhattan, they left on the short end of a 23-0 shutout.

“We haven’t played well on the road, so we need to go into Kansas State with the attitude that we are already behind and get after things from the start,” Strong said. “Kansas State is a team that grinds things out and is so patient. It’s not pretty but it gets the job done.”

Also addressed in the media availability for Strong and selected players Monday:

• Strong lauded the play against Iowa State of defensive backs Kris Boyd and John Bonney, defensive end Naashon Hughes and linebackers Jeffrey McCullough and Erick Fowler, each of whom saw the first action of his Texas career Saturday.

• Strong said he employed only “three or four” defensive calls against Iowa State, preferring that his players excel in the team’s base defense and create confusion and pressure with varied adjustments and pre-snap movement.

• The Big 12 Conference named true freshman UT wide receiver Devin Duvernay as its Newcomer of the Week for his performance against Iowa State. Duvernay caught a career-high four passes for a team-high and career-best 96 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came from 75 yards out and was the Longhorns’ longest play from scrimmage this season. Over the past two weeks, Duvernay has had seven receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns. It marks the third time in six games a Longhorn has won the award, as freshman quarterback Shane Buechele won the award two times earlier in the year.

• Kickoff for the Longhorns’ Oct. 29 home game against No. 9 Baylor has been set for 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

• Strong listed running back Chris Warren III (right knee) and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (medial collateral ligament) as out for the Kansas State game, but remains undecided on the availability of freshman starting center Zach Shackelford, who reinjured his ankle against Iowa State.

• Strong confirmed that redshirt freshman quarterback/wide receiver Kai Locksley has decided to transfer. Locksley was not on the sideline with the team for the Iowa State game.

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