Texas Football: Ranking the difficulty of every opponent in 2018

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AUSTIN, TX – NOVEMBER 11: Mitchell Becker #38 of the Texas Longhorns reacts to a field goal attempt in the second quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

The head football coach for the Jayhawks David Beaty took an unexpected step back in 2017, similar to that of Montgomery and Tulsa last year. Although, the last time the Horns traveled to face the Jayhawks in Lawrence resulted in one of the most surprising upsets in program history and of the 2016 college football season.

Kansas has uncertainty all over the place, including at the worst position possible. Rising senior Peyton Bender is the likely starting quarterback, but the sophomore transfer Miles Kendrick will see the field a lot too. Bender is yet to have a season where he tossed more touchdowns than interceptions.

This matchup with Kansas is an opportunity for Texas to solidify its spot in the Big 12 Championship Game if the rest of the regular season goes well. The Big 12 will be pretty competitive top to bottom, maybe outside of the Jayhawks, so the Horns need to take advantage of the expected victories when they come along.

Another wildcard with the Jayhawks this season is the program’s head coach having his seat heat up a lot leading into the 2018 season. If Beaty is on pace for another one win season, he possibly won’t be coaching for the Jayhawks any longer. Kansas made a splash hire with a new athletic director with Jeff Long, formerly with the Arkansas Razorbacks athletic department. Long won’t be messing around in his attempted turnaround of this Kansas football program.

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