Texas Football: 3 games that will make or break the 2020 season

3. Kansas State Wildcats

Most notable returning player: Skylar Thompson, Senior QB

An often forgotten team in the Big 12 that will be a tough team to beat during the 2020 season is the Kansas State Wildcats. Former North Dakota State Bison head coach Chris Klieman is entering his second year with the Kansas State program, and he had a solid result during his inaugural campaign.

Kansas State rounded up with a record of 8-5 (5-4 Big 12) after falling short against the Navy Midshipmen in the Liberty Bowl by the final score of 20-17. Navy beating Kansas State was one of the more significant results of bowl season for any Big 12 team. But they had a good run in Big 12 play last season, including a few big upsets.

Rising senior dual-threat quarterback Skylar Thompson is the most notable returning player for Kansas State this year. Thompson registered 2,315 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, five interceptions, along with 405 rushing yards, and 11 rushing touchdowns. He also registered a 59.6 completion percentage, 135.0 passer efficiency rating and 7.8 adjusted yards per passing attempt.

The biggest reason why Kansas State is chosen as one of the three “make-or-break” games for the Longhorns this season is that they are on the road and are the Big 12 opener. Texas takes on Kansas State on Oct. 3 in Manhattan, traditionally a difficult spot for this team to play. Up until Texas knocked them off in 2018 at Bill Snyder Family Memorial Stadium, they had a five-game losing streak in this series.

Ehlinger traditionally struggles statistically against Kansas State, but he is 3-0 in his career as the Longhorns starting quarterback in this series.