Steve Sarkisian reveals how preparing for K-State got Texas ready to defend Kansas this year

One of the more intriguing games on the Week 5 slate is Texas vs. Kansas. A showdown between two ranked Big 12 teams with unique offenses, all eyes are going to be on how the defenses look on Saturday afternoon.

For Steve Sarkisian, the Jayhawks present a unique challenge with their offense. Led by Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal, the Longhorns will have to make sure they’re sharp as Lance Leipold keeps them on their toes. In order to prepare for the matchup, though, Sarkisian is drawing inspiration from the game plan against one of Kansas’ biggest rivals.

“I think, probably the closest thing was last year, going against [Adrian] Martinez at Kansas State,” Sarkisian said.

Last year, Texas had its hands full against K-State, allowing 468 yards of total offense in the 34-27 thriller. Martinez had a big game with 329 yards and two touchdowns in the air while adding 52 yards and a touchdown on the ground. His dual-threat ability was tough enough to defend, but Deuce Vaughn also made things difficult with a team-high 73 rushing yards.

Sarkisian pointed out the challenge Kansas State presented because of the layers to the offense. He’s expecting something similar out of Kansas this week, although it won’t be entirely the same.

“Kansas State has a lot of offense, too,” Sarkisian said. “They have option football at their finest. You still have to defend the play-action pass, you had to defend Deuce Vaughn, and they still ran the ball really well. So that was a very complete offensive football team.

“In that game, it kind of felt like when you play Kansas, you’d better maintain and corral the quarterback because he’s a weapon throwing it and running it. And Daniels, the running back Devin Neal is a really good player, very versatile guy. I think he has 11 catches on the year, as well, for almost 200 yards. And then, they have the scheme to do all the other things with the play-action pass and whatnot. So that’s probably the most comparable thing.”

Of course, Texas is no stranger to the Kansas offense. The two teams have played each of Steve Sarkisian’s first two years at the helm. The first time didn’t go as planned as the Jayhawks stunned the Longhorns 57-56, but Texas got payback last season with a resounding 55-14 victory.

That familiarity will likely help with the game plan, according to Sarkisian.

“I would say Kansas is unique to themselves in what they do,” Sarkisian said. “And so, the best thing that we had to prepare for Kansas was having to defend them the last two years, quite frankly. We were fortunate enough to had to play them two years in a row. The second year, we did a little better than the first year of getting some stops.”