Habe on the Horns: ‘Horns must focus on Kansas State, put big picture in back pocket

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

If a team that has won just two of its first six games holds any aspirations of earning an invitation to a bowl game, the last thing that team can do is look past an opponent that has dominated the series between the two teams.

That’s the scenario facing the Texas football team Saturday when it welcomes Kansas State, a long-time burr under the Longhorns’ saddle, to what has been forecast to be a wet and windy Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The Longhorns (2-4 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 play), of course, come [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]into the contest off their biggest win of the season, a 24-17 victory over Oklahoma in the in the Red River Rivalry that seemed the right their wayward tack.

Many of us sat in front of our televisions last Saturday with mouths agape when the Sooners, obviously with a lot to prove after losing to Texas, walloped Kansas State, 55-0, in Manhattan, handing Bill Snyder’s Wildcats their first shutout loss at home since 1996.

All of a sudden, this Saturday’s game between Texas and K-State became one for survival and the opportunity for the respective teams to make a real statement about just what they are (is Texas really as good as it showed against OU?) or what they aren’t (K-State can’t be as bad as it played versus the Sooners, right?)

“K-State will come out ready to play,” Texas wide receiver Marcus Johnson said. “We can’t let (how K-State played against OU) dictate how we see them or how we view them as a team because that’s not how they’re going to come out and play against us.”

When previewing the 2015 campaign back in June, I had this game as one of the most pivotal in the Longhorns’ season, but back then I figured would come in to the Oct. 24 contest at 3-3, not 2-4. Now, with all that’s on the line for the Longhorns and the absolute need to continue a forward path after the win over OU, this game becomes THE MOST IMPORTANT game for Texas, a must-win.

Don’t think for a second that the importance of this game has gotten past Texas coach Charlie Strong. Beating Oklahoma gave him and his players a must-needed chance to stand up a crow and to show the Longhorns’ doubters that the program is better than its record (Strong is now 8-11 in his 19 games as Texas’ main man) and heading in the right direction.

“(Beating OU) changed the attitude of our team a lot,” Texas running back D’ Onta Foreman said. “The guys have a lot of confidence. The team has confidence. It was always there, but with the way we played (earlier in the season), some of it kind of faded away. Now everyone’s got their confidence back. Hopefully we just keep it up.”

The feeling here is that the ‘Horns are ready to take the next step forward and will handle Kansas State in a game that stays close until the fourth quarter. Once Texas emerges at 3-4, it has Iowa State and Kansas ahead, and will be head to Morgantown on the second weekend in November with five wins under its belt for the next pivotal showdown against West Virginia.

Just sayin’ … ya know?

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