Kansas State Wildcats vs. Texas Longhorns: Kickoff time, TV, 5 things to know

The Kansas State Wildcats will try to bounce back from a lopsided loss to West Virginia in their second Big 12 game of the football season against the Texas Longhorns at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

It should be a fascinating matchup.

The No. 18 Longhorns (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) are favored coming off three straight victories that include impressive outings against Southern California and TCU. But they haven’t won away from Austin this season, and Manhattan has not been kind to them over the years.

The Wildcats (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) haven’t looked good in their first four games, particularly against ranked opponents, but they have won five straight at home in this series dating back to 2006.

The details

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan

TV: FS1

Radio: KQAM (1480 AM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City

The line: Texas by 7

Five things to know

1. This isn’t the same Texas team that lost to Maryland in Week 1. The Longhorns have come a long way since then. That surprising early defeat dropped Texas out of the national polls, but it has surged back up to No. 18 with consecutive wins over Tulsa, Southern California and TCU.
2. Texas QB Sam Ehlinger has improved since last year. He has thrown for 978 yards and eight touchdowns with just two interceptions this season. Ehlinger looked like a breakout star against K-State last season, but he cooled off as the year went along. He seems to have matured since then and found some consistency.
3. K-State will need to keep an eye on Texas linebacker Gary Johnson. He is more than a solid playmaker in the middle of the Longhorns’ defense. He also leads the team with six tackles for loss.
4. The “we own Texas” days may be over, but K-State still holds its own against the Longhorns. The Wildcats have won seven of the last 10 games in this series, dating back to 2006.
5. Snyder backed off some of his previous comments on K-State’s quarterback situation on Monday. He was originally high on backup Alex Delton, saying he played “extremely well” against West Virginia, and down on starter Skylar Thompson, saying he didn’t play up to his capabilities. It seemed like he was ready to shake things up at the position. But, after repeat viewings of the game, he said they played about the same. It will be interesting to see how Snyder handles the QB situation this week.

This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 11:36 AM.