Texas football team's Week 10 matchup will be a Big Noon Kickoff event that will have the No. 7 Longhorns taking on the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats in what could lead to a chaotic mess in the Big 12 should things go awry for the home team in Austin. While that still remains to be seen, one thing we do know is that Texas will be without their starting quarterback Quinn Ewers.
This will be the second straight week that Ewers will be out after suffering a grade 2 AC joint sprain in the game against Houston. That means it will be left up to Maalik Murphy once again, a freshman they played it fairly safe with last week against BYU. But Murphy and the Longhorns will have a much tougher matchup this week in Kansas State.
The Wildcats' two losses were only by one score. One was a late game-winning field goal against Mizzou, and the other was by eight points to Oklahoma State. The same Houston team that Texas beat two weeks ago 31-24, Kansas State beat last week 41-0.
This seems like a challenging game for Longhorns football, one that could get away from them quickly if they're not buttoned up. Sitting in the No. 7 spot in the rankings, they can't afford another loss, if for nothing else, that could put them out of contention for the Big 12 Championship and, thus, the College Football Playoff. So, let's get into some Texas football Week 10 predictions.
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Jonathon Brooks rushes for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries
This will be one of the harder-hitting defenses the Longhorns football team faces this season. With head coach Steve Sarkisian more than likely still playing it a bit safe with Murphy behind center, look for the rushing attack of Jonathon Brooks to play an even more prominent role.
Brooks is averaging 6.4 yards per carry and has carried the ball 20 or more times four times this year. He'll likely get that or close to it again on Saturday to take the pressure off Murphy.
Maalik Murphy throws at least one touchdown
It will be up to Texas's big offensive line to make sure Maalik Murphy has the protection and time he needs in only his second start. Last week against BYU, he only completed 16-of-25 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. The Wildcats are going to be a much more formidable defense than the Cougars.
Again, more than likely, Texas will be heavily focusing on the run, but the question is, can that win the game for them? Does Murphy have to make some big plays in this game for Texas to come out on top? Possibly so. Murphy is probably going to have to throw for at least one touchdown, but getting to 200 yards may be iffy.
Texas holds Kansas State football to under 30 points
Kansas State is averaging 36.3 points a game, which is 12th best in the country, according to Team Rankings. They've outscored their last two opponents 83-3 and have only scored under 30 points twice, and that was in their two losses where they still scored 27 and 21.
It's paramount that this Texas defense, which is averaging giving up the eighth-best 16 points per game, limits the possessions for Kansas State and creates necessary turnovers. And that's probably more so because of the Longhorns' offense possibly being limited. If Texas can do that, they'll hold Kansas State under their average total.
Texas football wins to keep their Big 12 title and CFP hopes alive
This may not be a pretty one for Texas football; they may struggle and even lose the lead a couple of times. But in the end, they'll walk out with a win at home and stay alive in the CFP hopes, just patiently waiting for Ewers to return. Texas wins 28-27.
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