Texas Football: 4 overreactions from the dismantling of Kansas State

Bijan Robinson, Texas Football (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
Bijan Robinson, Texas Football (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /
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Deuce Vaughn Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Deuce Vaughn Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /

2) Overreactions from Texas football’s win over K-State

Deuce Vaughn and Malik Knowles exposed problems with the Texas defense

It was a known fact that the Longhorns were going to be very shorthanded in the secondary on Dec. 5. Texas figured out that the former five-star recruit and standout junior safety Caden Sterns would opt out of the rest of the season earlier in the week. And then more bad news arrived for the Longhorns secondary in the wake of injuries to junior cornerback Jalen Green and junior safety/SPUR B.J. Foster.

Texas might get Green and Foster back for next weekend’s matchup on the road with the lowly and winless Kansas Jayhawks, but that might not matter too much.

What we did see in this Kansas State game is the fact that Texas could be exposed for the rest of the season against better skill position players, like freshman running back Deuce Vaughn and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Malik Knowles. But Texas might also be fine without Sterns back in the secondary for whatever games remain this fall (likely the Kansas matchup and a bowl game).

In this game, Knowles registered six catches for a game-high 95 receiving yards and two touchdown catches. The 6-foot-2 and 200 pound receiver registered the best game of his season to date in the loss to Texas.

Meanwhile, Vaughn registered 125 rushing yards on just 10 carries (12.5 yards per carry), with two rushing touchdowns. Vaughn added 45 receiving yards on four catches, with no receiving touchdowns.

Texas got solid performances out of newer faces on defense like redshirt freshman linebacker David Gbenda and freshman safety Jerrin Thompson (both got their first career picks in this game). That could bode well for them now that Sterns opted out of the rest of the season.