Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian believes Saturday’s game against No. 13 Kansas State is going to come down to a handful of plays.

Sarkisian isn’t sure when the high leverage moments will come in the game against the Wildcats, but knows his Texas team has to take advantage of them when it gets opportunities.

The Longhorns, who have struggled to come up on the right side of close games under Sarkisian, have an opportunity to wipe some of the bad taste out of their mouths from the tough Oklahoma State loss with a win on Saturday. 

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“Ideally, execution has to be at a high level, and then it’s (about) making those plays in the critical moments,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “And making sure as a staff (that) we’re putting our players in the best position to make those plays when the moments arrive.”

Kansas State’s experience on both sides of the ball is part of what makes it so urgent for Texas to execute in key moments. With 16 of the 22 listed projected starters on the depth chart being fourth-year athletes or older, the Wildcats are not expected to beat themselves on Saturday.

One way Texas can give itself breathing room is by following through for touchdowns after getting the ball in the opponent’s territory. The Longhorns are struggling in this regard as of late.

For instance, Texas managed just a field goal after starting at Oklahoma State’s 20 yard-line late in the third quarter. Against Iowa State, the Longhorns came up empty after blocking a punt deep in Cyclone territory. 

Converting for six on huge plays such as turnovers and big special teams plays is something Sarkisian said he tries to emphasize during practices. 

“Those are momentum-building plays, and you want to capitalize on that momentum,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “When I talk about playing complimentary football, that’s what I am referring to.”

The contest between Texas and Kansas State plays out as sort of a Big 12 championship elimination game. If Texas loses, its three conference losses would effectively dash its goal of a conference championship.

However, a win would put the Longhorns right back in contention for the second spot in the championship game at AT&T Stadium this December. 

“What you do in November, they remember,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “We got an opportunity in November to do something special here. We got four games against four really good teams, but we can’t worry about games two, three and four unless we take care of game number one.”