Texas opens as a 9-point favorite over Kansas State

For the second time this season, the Kansas State Wildcats were blown out on Saturday. For the second straight week, the Texas Longhorns defeated a ranked opponent.

So it wasn’t a significant surprise on Sunday when the initial betting odds for next Saturday’s game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium placed the Horns as nine-point favorites over the Wildcats.

However, a win would go against longtime trends in the head-to-head series, which Kansas State leads 10-8 — Texas hasn’t won in Manhattan since 2002, with the Wildcats holding a six-game home winning streak.

The current state of the Kansas State program gives Texas a big opportunity, though, as Mississippi State and West Virginia both notched easy victories against head coach Bill Snyder’s program. Struggles along the offensive and defensive lines are a major culprit, but turnover on the coaching staff is likely a factor as well, as defensive coordinator Tom Hayes retired during the offseason and offensive coordinator Dana Dimel took the head coaching job at UTEP.

Snyder was so upset after Saturday’s loss, which included a failed 4th and 1 attempt, that he said, “I can’t coach a team that can’t get six inches on a play.”

So it’s clearly time for the Horns to take advantage of a reeling program.