TAKE SOME CHANCES

One of the Longhorns’ offensive  issues is how conservative they are.

The offense starts with the quarterback, and neither one was very good for Texas on Saturday against Iowa State. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard was 6-of-9 for 26 yards and one interception. Junior Tyrone Swoopes, who took over for Heard late in the game, was 6-of-13 for 59 yards.

Heard should get the start again, but no matter who takes the most snaps under center, Texas has to take some chances. It’s time to throw down the field more instead of short screen passes or runs. A winless Kansas team is the perfect situation to take some shots down the field and mix it up a bit.

GIVE THE CROWD SOMETHING                     

The Texas faithful aren’t exactly thrilled with the 24-0 loss to Iowa State. A win — and a blowout win at that — should pump some energy back into the fan base.

Sure, it would be against a winless Kansas team, but the Longhorns need something to get themselves and the fans excited again. A big win over Kansas with some highlight plays would do just that.

THIRD-DOWN DEFENSE

Texas’ third-down defense has been bad all year and hasn’t shown signs of improvement yet. 

Texas currently sits at No. 9 in the Big 12 on opponent third-down conversions. The inability to get the opposition off the field has come back to bite Texas, and it can’t happen against Kansas. The Jayhawks are No. 8 in the Big 12 in third-down conversion. 

The Longhorns need to get Kansas off the field whenever they have the opportunity and put this game away quickly.