The train is coming off the tracks for the Longhorns after being blown out for the second consecutive week. Ole Miss had its way with Texas in the second half, outscoring the Longhorns, 27-0, in the second half. Kansas State isn’t that good, but expect backup quarterback Daniel Sams to get some extra snaps. He’s much more mobile than starter Jake Waters and Texas still hasn’t figured out the zone read offense. The Longhorns run defense is ranked an embarrassing 121st out of 123 FBS teams. Texas has to win at some point, but I’m not seeing any reason for the tide to turn now. Daje Johnson is still out, David Ash is still questionable, and the defense hasn’t shown any sign of improvement so far under new defensive coordinator Greg Robinson. I’ll take Kansas State to get the victory. Even if the Longhorns win, I don’t see them covering the 4.5
point spread.

Kansas State (+4.5) at Texas

Lock of the Week

Louisiana-Monroe at Baylor (-28)

Baylor takes care of lesser opponents at home. The Bears trounced Wofford 69-3 in Week 1 and in Week 2 blasted a Buffalo team that put up a fight against Ohio State, 70-13. Louisiana-Monroe is better than those teams, but not by much. Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty leads the nation in passer rating and running back Lache Seastrunk is a big-play threat every time he touches the ball. The Bears offense should be able to score enough points to cover the spread.

Upset Alert

West Virginia (+6.5) at Maryland

This pick is contingent on which Mountaineers team shows up Saturday. Will it be the one that battled tooth-and-nail with Oklahoma or the one that narrowly avoided an upset against FCS William & Mary? I’m betting on the West Virginia team that played Oklahoma to show up. Freshman quarterback Ford Childress got his first start last week, replacing the struggling Paul Millard, and threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Maryland has played nobody this year. Their three wins have come against a winless Florida International team that fell to a FCS team in Bethune-Cookman, 34-14; Old Dominion (another FCS team); and a winless Connecticut team that lost to an FCS squad as well (Towson). The jump in competition could catch the Terrapins off-guard, making them prime for an upset.

Darren’s record: 7-2 (.778)