The Longhorns have held the all-time record advantage over every team they’ve played so far this season — that is until they face Kansas State on Saturday.
Texas is 10–10 all time against the Wildcats, but head coach Tom Herman has enjoyed recent success against the Big 12 foe that has repeatedly managed to beat Texas in the past.
Herman is 3–0 against Kansas State. Charlie Strong and Mack Brown were 1–2 and 3–7, respectively, in their tenures as former head coaches.
Those three wins under Herman haven’t been blowouts, however, with Texas winning by margins of six, five and three points from 2017-2019.
Last year, Texas needed a game-winning field goal from then-sophomore kicker Cameron Dicker to win 27-24 and defeat a No. 16-ranked Kansas State team. While this year’s Wildcats might not be ranked, they have been a constant thorn in Texas’s side throughout program history.
GAME TO REMEMBER:
Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger was making just his third career start as a true freshman when the team played the Wildcats in 2017. In front of a packed Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Ehlinger proved his mettle to the Longhorn fan base for the first time in his career.
Ehlinger’s pass was intercepted in Texas’s first down of the game. But on Texas’ third possession, Ehlinger connected with wide receivers then-freshman Reggie Hemphill-Mapps and then-sophomore Lil’Jordan Humphrey to set the tone for the Longhorns all game long. Hemphill-Mapps would set a Texas freshman record with 12 catches and had a career-high 121 receiving yards.
But Texas couldn’t convert a fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, and Kansas State drove 97 yards to go up 10-0.
Facing a steep first-quarter deficit, Ehlinger wasn’t fazed, answering right away by connecting with receivers then-sophomore Collin Johnson and Hemphill-Mapps to set up a touchdown run.
On the Longhorns’ next drive, Ehlinger flashed the running and scrambling ability that would bail Texas out so many times over the next couple of years. He rushed for 24 yards on the first play and scrambled to make a brilliant 33-yard touchdown pass.
Texas and Kansas State continued to trade scores until the Longhorns, with the game tied up at 27-27, had a clutch interception. Ehlinger went to Hemphill-Mapps to set up a 45-yard field goal attempt.
But fortunately for the Wildcats, it would be a year before Texas boasted Cameron Dicker. The field goal attempt missed wide right.
In overtime, Ehlinger connected with then-junior receiver Jerrod Heard on the first play to score, but the Wildcats responded once again. In the second overtime, Texas’s defense came in clutch. With an opportunity to win the game, Ehlinger set up the Longhorns by rushing to the Kansas State 4-yard line.
Then-junior running back Chris Warren III sealed the deal four plays later by barging into the end zone and giving Texas a statement 40-34 double-overtime win.
Ehlinger wouldn’t win the starting job outright after the performance against Kansas State, but he certainly earned the respect of the Wildcat defenders after the game.
“"Everybody is in shock right now," Kansas State cornerback D.J. Reed said to the Associated Press. "I don't think we were ready for the freshman quarterback to be a good scrambler like that."
HISTORY IN THE MAKING:
Nov. 9, 2019: UT-Austin vs. Kansas State University, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, 27-24
Sept. 29, 2018: UT-Austin at Kansas State University, Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, 19-14
Oct. 7, 2017: UT-Austin vs. Kansas State University, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, 40-34
Oct. 22, 2016: UT-Austin at Kansas State University, Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, 21-24
Oct. 24, 2015: UT-Austin vs. Kansas State University, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, 23-9
