PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Sam Ehlinger, a sophomore, has taken every snap at the position this year after he and junior Shane Buechele split the starting position last season. He finished 22 for 33 for 255 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 11 yards and another score in the win over No. 17 TCU. Ehlinger played well overall and has now thrown for at least 200 yards in all 10 of his starts as a Longhorn, a streak former Texas quarterbacks Clot McCoy and Vince Young did not achieve.
–WR Collin Johnson, a junior, led the team with seven catches for 124 yards against TCU including a highlight-reel, diving-between-two-defenders TD catch at the end of the third quarter. It’s the second game in a row that Johnson has paced Texas in receptions — he seems to always show up in the big games — and is closer to producing the really big game that the Longhorns have been looking for from him. Johnson is the huge, downfield target that the Texas needs to help open up the offense because the 6-foot-6 receiver can go over or through most of the defensive backs that are covering him. He now has 20 catches for 299 yards and two TDs combined in the first four games.
–LB Gary Johnson, a senior who came to Texas last year after playing in junior college, has already asserted himself as the Longhorns’ do-everything linebacker and be one of the team’s leaders. Johnson registered 11 tackles, one for a loss, in the win over TCU. At 6-foot and 230 pounds, Johnson might be a little undersized to be a constant run stuffer, but he plays bigger than his size and hits as hard as anyone in college football. Johnson will make some plays this season where he will come from the far side of the field to force a turnover.
–CB Kris Boyd, at 6-foot and 195 pounds, has the size to take on and stop most of the receivers that will line up across from him. Boyd had three pass breakups, including two in the end zone interception, five tackles and a pass break up against USC and has 15 stops, a sack, and interception, and seven pass breakups for the season.
SERIES HISTORY: Kansas State leads Texas 10-8. The Longhorns defeated the Wildcats 40-34 in double overtime last season in Austin. KSU owns an all-time edge of 7-1 against UT in games played in Manhattan.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “The more Sam does progress, the more confident he is in himself and the people around him. And then it’s kind of a flywheel effect or snowball, if you will, the more confidence he has, the better he plays; the better he plays, the more confidence he has and so on and so forth.” — Texas coach Tom Herman on the improvement of quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
