Kansas at Texas Under 53
It takes a lot of offensive ineptness to get shut out by Iowa State. But Charlie Strong’s Texas squad managed to pull off the feat last week losing, 24-0. The Cyclones had allowed an average of 52 points per game during their last three games.
Now the Longhorns host Kansas. The mighty Jayhawks offense scored seven points last week against Oklahoma.
These are two really bad offenses. Yet the total is in the 50’s because the defenses aren’t good either, especially the Jayhawks. The defensive numbers, though, are skewed by constantly playing against high-scoring fellow Big 12 Conference foes.
There is no excuse for the offenses. Kansas is 122nd in scoring averaging a puny 16.5 points a game. The Jayhawks rank 115th in total yards. Texas rates even worse – 118th in total yards, averaging less than 135 yards passing.
Neither team can throw so there’s going to be a lot of running, which eats clock. Texas quarterback Jerrod Heard has gone four straight games without breaking the 100-yard passing barrier.
Kansas, which starts six freshmen on offense, starts a backup quarterback (Ryan Willis) who has one more touchdown throw than interception on the season. On the year, Kansas quarterbacks have combined for seven touchdown passes and six interceptions.
The Longhorns have picked up their pass rush piling up 17 sacks in their last three games. The Jayhawks have not been able to go above 300 yards total offense in four of their last five games.
So it’s no wonder there are heavy trends pointing to another under such as Kansas falling below the total in 12 of its last 15 road contests and the under cashing in 22 of Texas’ past 29 overall games.
