Football preview: Kansas State

Friday, November 26

Austin, Texas

11 a.m. CT

University of Texas

Kansas State

11.22.2021 | Football

Game Notes

Texas Football will face Kansas State for the 22nd time in program history on Friday.

Texas (4-7, 2-6) vs. Kansas State (7-4, 4-4)
November 26, 2021
Where: Austin, Texas
Stadium: Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
Time: 11:00 a.m. CT
TV: FOX (Aaron Goldsmith, Mark Helfrich)
Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Will Matthews)
Spanish Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva, Jesus Mendoza)

THE OPENING KICKOFF

The University of Texas continues its 129th season of football on Saturday when the Longhorns face West Virginia for the 11th all-time meeting.
Texas (4-7, 2-6) will look to end a six-game losing streak on Friday after falling to West Virginia, 31-23, in Morgantown last weekend.
Kansas State arrives in Austin with a 7-4 record, including a 4-4 mark in Big 12 play. The Wildcats saw a four-game winning streak snapped at home last Saturday after losing to Baylor 20-10.
Saturday's game will be Texas' seventh 11 a.m. CT kickoff this season, with the Longhorns holding a 2-4 record in the previous six games.
Texas currently boasts 927 all-time wins, the fifth-most in college football history. UT holds an all-time record of 927-385-33 (.701).

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

The Longhorns and Wildcats have met 21 times previously, with Texas holding a one-game series edge with an 11-10 all-time mark against K-State.
Texas is currently riding a four-game winning streak against K-State, with all four wins coming since 2017. It is the program's longest winning run against the Wildcats.
Texas holds an 8-3 mark when hosting Kansas State including wins in each of the last four meetings in Austin.
The Longhorns won last season's game in Manhattan by a score of 69-31.
The 100 combined points scored between the two teams was the highest-scoring contest in series history (previously: 87 points in 2006).
Texas' 69 points were the most points scored by a either team in the series, topping the Longhorns' 64 points scored in 1942.
Last year's victory was UT's second-straight win in Manhattan, marking the only time in school history that Texas has won consecutive road games vs. Kansas State.

A Texas Win Would ...

Be Texas' 928th victory all-time, keeping UT as the fourth-winningest program in college football history.
Improve the Longhorns to 12-10 all-time against Kansas State and 9-3 in Austin.
Give Steve Sarkisian his 51st victory as a head coach and fifth at The University of Texas.

The Captains

This season, Texas will be naming game captains on a weekly basis.

LOUISIANA (Game 1): OL Derek Kerstetter, RB Roschon Johnson and LB DeMarvion Overshown.
ARKANSAS (Game 2): TE Cade Brewer, K/P Cameron Dicker and DL Moro Ojomo.
RICE (Game 3): OL Junior Angilau, DB B.J. Foster and WR Jordan Whittington.
TEXAS TECH (Game 4): DB Anthony Cook, RB Keilan Robinson and QB Casey Thompson.
TCU (Game 5): DL Keondre Coburn, OL Denzel Okafor and RB Bijan Robinson.
OKLAHOMA (Game 6): RB Roschon Johnson, OL Derek Kerstetter, LB DeMarvion Overshown and RB Keilan Robinson
OKLAHOMA STATE (Game 7): TE Cade Brewer, DB B.J. Foster, EDGE Ovie Oghoufo and DB Brenden Schooler.
BAYLOR (Game 8): RB Roschon Johnson, OL Derek Kerstetter, DL Moro Ojomo and DB Josh Thompson.
IOWA STATE (Game 9): OL Junior Angilau, LB Luke Brockermeyer, DL Keondre Coburn, RB Bijan Robinson
KANSAS (Game 10): DB Anthony Cook, DB Brenden Schooler, WR Marcus Washington, OL Jake Majors.
WEST VIRGINIA (Game 11): DL Keondre Coburn, RB Roschon Johnson, EDGE Ovie Oghoufo, QB Casey Thompson.

The 2021 Senior Class

Texas will honor its 2021 senior class on Friday with a pregame ceremony on the field at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Longhorns will recognize 29 players against Kansas State.
The players scheduled to be recognized in front of the home crowd are: LB Ayodele Adeoye, WR Kartik Akkihal, RB Skyler Bonneau, TE Cade Brewer, P Ryan Bujcevski, DL Keondre Coburn, EDGE Ben Davis, K/P Cameron Dicker, CB Darion Dunn, DB B.J. Foster, OL Rafiti Ghirmai, OL Tope Imade, EDGE Jacoby Jones, LS Chandler Kelehan, OL Derek Kerstetter, LS Justin Mader, WR Kai Money, OL Denzel Okafor, DB Tremayne Prudhomme, DB Brenden Schooler, LB Carlton Smith, RB Jarrett Smith, DB Turner Symonds, DB Josh Thompson, EDGE Ray Thornton, RB Gabe Watson, WR Travis West, WR Al'Vonte Woodard and RB Daniel Young.
Brewer, Coburn, Dicker, Foster, Kerstetter, Schooler, and Thompson have all served as team captains in 2021.
The 2021 Texas Football senior class has combined to play in 639 games (220 starts) during their Longhorn careers.

Saluting a Texas Great

The University of Texas and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame will jointly honor 2021 College Football Hall of Fame electee and Longhorn Legend Kenneth Sims with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute during halftime of Saturday's game.
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular event remains the first of numerous activities in the Hall of Fame experience.
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution.
A two-time First Team All-American, Sims earned unanimous honors as a senior and consensus laurels as a junior. The 1981 UPI Lineman of the Year finished eighth for the Heisman Trophy, receiving three first-place votes. Sims' 23 tackles for loss that season were a then-school record.
He also led Texas to four wins over top 15 teams during stellar senior campaign, including a 12-tackle performance in a decisive 34-14 win over No. 10 Oklahoma.
The two-time consensus First Team All-Southwest Conference selection led the Longhorns to four consecutive postseason berths, including wins in the 1978 Sun Bowl and the 1982 Cotton Bowl. The 1981 team captain guided Texas to three top 25 finishes: No. 9 in 1978, No. 12 in 1979 and No. 2 in 1981.
The two-time team MVP boasts the Longhorn record with 15 career forced fumbles. On the Texas career charts, Sims ranks fourth in sacks (29), fifth in fumble recoveries (seven) and ninth in tackles for loss (50).
His other honors include the 1981 Houston Post SWC Defensive MVP Trophy and a 1982 NCAA Today's Top V Award. Sims was inducted into the University of Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 1997.
The first overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, Sims spent his entire pro career with the franchise from 1982-89. He helped guide the team to an appearance in Super Bowl XX following the 1985 season.
A dedicated supporter of Texas Athletics, Sims has participated in numerous letterman functions. He is also an annual volunteer for the Grays Harbor Football Camp, a free youth event. Now retired, Sims resides in Round Rock, Texas.
The 2020 and 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Classes will be officially inducted during the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas Dec. 7 at the ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas. (The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19.)

Bijan Brings the Noise

Bijan Robinson was on a roll this season, racking up yards at an astonishing rate before an elbow injury sidelined him for the final two games of the season. In 10 games, he has 1,127 yards on 195 carries (5.8 ypc) and 11 touchdowns to go along with 26 receptions for 295 yards (11.3 ypr) and four more scores. In 221 plays he has 1,422 yards for 6.4 yards per play and 15 touchdowns.
The Tucson, Ariz. natives strong season earned him semifinalist nods for the Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
The sophomore's hot first half of the season earned him nods on five midseason All-America teams, garnering accolades from the Associated Press, CBS Sports, ESPN, The Athletic and The Sporting News.
Robinson eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the season in the Iowa State game to become the 13th Longhorn to surpass 1,000 yards on the ground in a season. It marked the 24th time in program history in which a Longhorn has accomplished the feat.
Robinson is currently second in the Big 12 Conference in all-purpose yards (142.20) and rushing yards per game (112.7), ranks third in rushing yards (1,127), scoring (9.0 points per game) and total touchdowns (15), and fourth in rushing yards per carry (5.78), rushing touchdowns (11) and total points scored (90). His marks in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, total touchdowns and all-purpose yards all rank in the top-50 nationally.
Over his last 14 games, Robinson totaled 1,649 rushing yards on 242 carries (6.8 ypc) with 15 touchdowns, while hauling in 34 receptions for 424 yards (12.5 ypr) and scoring six touchdowns. All told, he had 2,073 yards on 276 plays for 7.5 yards per play and 21 touchdowns.
He scored 21 touchdowns (15 rushing and six receiving) in his last 11 games.
In a 10-game stretch that began last season against Kansas State and concluded against Baylor this season, Robinson scored a rushing or receiving touchdown in each game, equaling the longest stretch for a Longhorn since Jordan Shipley scored in 10 consecutive games in 2008. It was the longest streak for a UT running back since Cedric Benson in 2003-04, when Benson matched Ricky Williams' UT record of 11 consecutive games in 1998-99.

Thompson at the Helm

Junior QB Casey Thompson was named the starter ahead of the Longhorns' week three game against Rice and quickly took advantage of the opportunity.
Thompson guided Texas to victories in each of his first three career starts, the first Longhorn to begin his career 3-0 since Garrett Gilbert in 2010.
The junior currently leads the Big 12 Conference in passing touchdowns (23), points responsible for (162) and points responsible for per game (14.7), while ranking third in passing efficiency (155.9), fourth in passing yards per completion (13.13), and fifth in passing yards (1,943) and yards per pass attempt (8.16).
He put on a show against Kansas, completing 30-of-43 passes for 358 yards and matching Colt McCoy's single-game UT record with six touchdown passes.
Thompson also ran six times for 28 yards and another score, his second game this season with a passing and rushing touchdown.
His seven touchdowns accounted for against Kansas (6 pass/1 rush) equaled Clyde Littlefield's (4 pass/3 rec) Texas record established in 1915 against Daniel Baker.
Has three games of five or more touchdowns this season and in his career, the most-ever for a Longhorn.
The 300-yard passing game against Kansas was the third of his career, tied for seventh-most in program history.
At Baylor, the junior established career highs with 23 completions and 38 attempts, while passing for 280 and two touchdowns and rushing five times for 31 yards, including a long of 25 yards.
With his two touchdown passes against Baylor, Thompson had passed or run for a touchdown in each of the Longhorns' first eight games of the season and nine straight dating back to the Alamo Bowl last season.
Against Oklahoma State, Thompson completed 15-of-27 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown.
The Oklahoma native had a career day in his Red River Showdown debut against rival Oklahoma, setting then-career highs in completions, attempts and passing yards completing 20-of-34 passes for 388 yards and five touchdowns.
His 388 yards passing were the 12th-most for a Longhorn in program history, while his five touchdowns were tied for the second in UT history and were the most-ever for a Longhorn against the Sooners.
Joined Colt McCoy and Sam Ehlinger as the only Longhorns to have multiple five-touchdown passing games.

Freshman X-Factor

Texas true freshman WR Xavier Worthy has been a dynamic performer in his first season on the Forty Acres, smashing decades-old Texas records and setting a new standard for Longhorn freshmen.
Worthy holds Texas freshman single-season receiving records for receptions (56), yards (916) and touchdowns (12), while also holding the top single-game marks for receptions (14), yards (261) and touchdowns (3, twice).
His strong season has earned him a semifinalist nod for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
He had a spectacular first half of his freshman campaign, landing on a pair of Freshman Midseason All-America teams with nods from ESPN and The Athletic, as well as a spot on the Biletnikoff Award watch list.
Worthy is averaging 31.2 yards per touchdown catch (374 yards on 12 TDs).
The Fresno, Calif. native is fourth in the FBS and leads all freshman with 12 touchdown receptions and tops the Big 12 Conference in receiving yards and receiving yards per game (83.3), while ranking fourth in yards per reception (16.36) and fifth in receptions per game (5.1).
Worthy leads all FBS freshmen in receiving yards, receiving yards per game and touchdown receptions and tops Power 5 freshmen with 56 receptions.
At West Virginia, Worthy caught seven passes for 85 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown.
His 56 receptions this season are tied for 18th-most in a season in UT history.
Hauled in a touchdown reception in his fourth-straight game, tied for the fifth-longest streak in UT history.
His 52-yard touchdown reception was his fourth of 50 or more yards.
The seven receptions against West Virginia are tied for the ninth-most in a game by a freshman in UT history and gave him four of the top-14 marks in the Texas record book.

Brewer's Breakout

Super senior TE Cade Brewer emerged as an offensive weapon for the Longhorns in 2019, and continued that in the 2020 and 2021 seasons to become one of the top receiving tight ends in UT history. He ranks in the top-10 among Texas tight ends in receptions (55) and receiving yards (579) and is tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns (seven).
In Texas' 2021 season opener against Louisiana, the Austin native hauled in the sixth touchdown reception of his career.
At West Virginia, he registered 37 yards on a career-high-tying four receptions.
Against Kansas, Brewer caught a pair of passes for 40 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown reception in the final minute of regulation.

Dynamic DeMarvion

Senior LB DeMarvion Overshown has played in 38 games and made 22 starts during his collegiate career.
A Butkus Award semifinalist, Overshown has racked up 74 tackles (38 solo) with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.
He has recorded 153 tackles (87 solo), 20.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, 12 pass breakups, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, three recovered and one block punt.
At Baylor, Overshown had a team-high two pass breakups while collecting five tackles (three solo).
Totaled four tackles (one solo) against Oklahoma State before leaving early in the second half with an injury.
Against Oklahoma, the Arp, Texas native had eight tackles (five solo) with two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and his first career blocked punt.
In Texas' victory over TCU, Overshown registered 10 tackles, including a career-best eight solo tackles, for his second game of 10 or more tackles on the season.
He collected a team-high eight tackles against Arkansas, the second-straight game in which he has led the team in tackles.
In UT's season-opening win over Louisiana, Overshown registered a career-best 13 tackles (4 solo), while also picking up a half sack for a loss of four yards.
Overshown recorded 21 tackles in the first two games of the season, the most tackles for a Longhorn in the first two contests of the season since Cedric Reed had 24 in 2013.

Jamison in Rarified Air

Senior DB D'Shawn Jamison is one of the most electrifying returners in school history, and a threat to score anytime he touches the football.
In 2021, he has returned 17 kicks for 369 yards (21.7 ypr) and 11 punts for 100 yards (9.1 ypr).
For his career, Jamison ranks fourth in kick returns (52) and kick return yards (1,380), while his current average 26.5 yards per return stands as the second-best in UT history.
The defensive back intercepted his first pass of the season against Oklahoma State, the fourth pick of his career and first since 2019.
At TCU, he had three tackles (two solo) and recovered a fumble in the first quarter, the second fumble recovery of his career and first since 2019 against Oklahoma.
Jamison moved into fourth place on UT's all-time kick return yardage list with a pair of 36-yard returns at TCU, giving him 1,155 yards for his career at that time.

Dicker the Kicker

Senior K/P Cameron Dicker has scored 376 points during his career, the most all-time for a Texas kicker and the third-most all-time for any position in UT history.
Dicker is 57-for-76 on his career field goal attempts and has made 205-of-208 PATs.
He ranks fourth in UT history in field goals made (57) and is fifth in attempts (76).
With success on two extra point tries at West Virginia, Dicker extended his streak of successful PATs to a career-best 69, the fourth-longest streak in UT history.
His 208 career point after attempts and 205 career point after makes are each three behind UT's all-time leader Dusty Mangum.
This season, he has connected on 83.3 percent (10-of-12) of his field goals, on pace for the sixth-best season in UT history, while his career rate of 75 percent (57-of-76) is currently the fifth-best mark in program history.
Went 8-for-8 on extra point attempts against Kansas.
At Baylor, Dicker scored six points, making his lone field goal attempt and all three PATs. His third point after try gave him 359 points for his career, supplanting Dusty Mangum as UT's all-time leading scorer among place-kickers.
Against TCU, Dicker earned Co-Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors after connecting on a career-best four field goals and finishing 4-for-4 on the day while also making good on both of his PAT attempts to extend his streak of successful tries to 46 straight.
In Texas' victory over Rice, Dicker was successful on all 10 of his extra point attempts, equaling the UT single-game records for both attempts and successful tries.
The Austin native is all handling punting duties this season and added to the Ray Guy Award watch list following week eight of the season. He has punted 42 times for 1,985 yards for an average of 47.3 yards per punt, eighth-best among FBS punters, with 10 punts landing inside the opponent's 20-yardline.
This season, Dicker has booted two of the six longest punts in Texas history, registering the fifth-longest punt in program history with a 78-yard effort in the Red River Showdown against Oklahoma followed by a 77-yard punt the following week against Oklahoma State.
At Iowa State, he established career bests with 11 punts for 483 yards.

Full Steam Ahead

The running backs ran wild in Texas' 58-0 win over Rice with three Longhorns breaking runs for over 60 yards, the first time in program history that three different players have registered rushes of over 60 yards in the same game.
Junior Roschon Johnson started things off with a 72-yard jaunt for a score in the first quarter and sophomore Bijan Robinson followed with a 62-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Not to be out done, sophomore Keilan Robinson added a 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Texas finished the game with a program-single-game record 10.4 yards per carry (41 carries for 427 yards).
The last time Texas had three different players with a run of 60 yards or more in a season was 2004. Romance Taylor had a 74-yard touchdown run in the season opener against North Texas and Cedric Benson busted a 60-yard run at Arkansas the following week. Vince Young added one of his own with a 60-yard run in the Rose Bowl against Michigan.
Texas' previous season with at least three runs of 60 yards took place in 2015, when D'Onta Foreman had three (Kansas – 93 yards, Oklahoma – 81 yards, West Virginia – 65 yards) and Chris Warren III had one (Texas Tech – 91 yards).
The last time there were three plays of 60 or more yards in a single game occurred against Oklahoma in 2005 when Jamaal Charles ran 80 yards for a touchdown, Rodrique Wright scored on a 67-yard fumble return and Vince Young connected with Billy Pittman for a 64-yard touchdown pass.
In addition to three players busting 60-plus yard runs, four different players rushed for touchdowns against Rice, with freshman Jonathon Brooks joining the trio with a 17-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Breaking Big Plays

Texas has registered 600 yards of offense in each of their two games (620 vs. Rice/639 vs. Tech). That's just the second time in school history that the Longhorns have had back-to-back 600-yard games. UT had 3-straight 600-yard games in 2005 (606 vs. Oklahoma State/645 vs. Baylor/617 vs. Kansas). The 1,259 yards over two games are the second-most yards in a two-game stretch in UT history.
Texas rushed for 427 yards against Rice and 346 against Texas Tech, the first time rushing for more than 300 yards in back-to-back games since 2016 against Cal (307) and Oklahoma State (329).
The Longhorns surpassed 300 yards passing and 300 yards rushing on the day, which was last accomplished against Colorado in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.

Passing on Punts

Against Rice and Texas Tech, the Longhorns did not attempt a single punt, the first time in program history that UT had not punted in consecutive games.
Between a punt following their first drive of the second half against Arkansas and an early second quarter punt at TCU, the Longhorns went 29 consecutive drives without attempting a punt, the third longest streak since 2005.
The Longhorns streak included 10 full quarters without attempting a punt.
The only other season in which Texas had two games with zero punt attempts was in 2011 (vs. Texas Tech, at Baylor).