Rece Davis picks Texas to win, cover against Kansas State

No. 23 Kansas State at No. 7 Texas is one of the juicier matchups on this weekend’s slate and one of the biggest games for the season in the Big 12. That’s why Rece Davis had to break it down and, in the end, make a pick for a winner outright and against the spread.

Davis shared his pick during the ‘College GameDay Podcast’ on Thursday. Like many coming into this game, he started by giving a lot of love to K-State for their recent 4-1 stretch, specifically their last two wins, in order to recover in the conference. He also noted one statistic or scenario that could play into the Wildcats’ favor in Austin on Saturday.

“How about the resurgence of the Kansas State Wildcats? Sort of given up after winning the Big 12 last year. This year? Lost a couple of games early, only one of them in conference. Now, there’s a five-way tie atop the Big 12. And Kansas State, what do you know, is right in the middle of it,” Davis said.

“The week after Houston played Texas to a touchdown game? You don’t want to overreact but Kansas State beat them 41-0. They haven’t given up a touchdown in their last two games,” Davis pointed out. “They have a Top-25 rush defense. With Texas? We assume, again, playing Maalik Murphy at quarterback? Might be a little bit more reliant on the running game, which has been very good for them.”

However, for all that respect for the purple, Davis then leaned back to the burnt orange at home. No matter how good the Wildcats have been as of late and in the past five seasons, he couldn’t ignore their record against Texas, especially since they will play this game inside DKR Memorial.

“The one thing I will say is that for all of the things that Kansas State has accomplished under Chris Klieman? They’re o-fer against Texas,” said Davis. “And, in fact, pre-dating him? They haven’t beaten them since 2016. That’s six straight wins for the ‘Horns.”

In those latest six wins, Texas has beaten the Wildcats by 10 points per game. To be fair, that number is a tad skewed as a 38-point win in 2020 takes away from the fact that, in the other five, K-State has kept it within a touchdown.

Still, though, that wasn’t enough for Davis. At the end of the day, he couldn’t help but take the Longhorns to not only win outright but cover the four-point spread.

“There are a ton of things pointing towards Kansas State in this game – and I can’t do it,” Davis said. “I’m going to take the ‘Horns and lay the four