BON Roundtable: Texas hosts Kansas State to close the regular season

The end of Steve Sarkisian’s first season on the Forty Acres is upon us. Things clearly haven’t gone according to plan, but before any major reset or rebuild happens, Texas has to take the field one more time at DKR as the Horns host Kansas State.

The BON staff discussed what to expect on Friday morning and more.

With how the season has spiraled and everything that’s happened along the way, from injuries to transfers to a coach urging players to hit the portal, what would the significance of a Texas win to end the season be?

Daniel Seahorn — Ending the season on a “high” note before heading into a long offseason. It also leaves the door open to back into a bowl game if that becomes an option.

Gerald Goodridge — You never want to end the season on a losing streak, especially one that will be one of the longest in school history. I also like the idea of any sort of momentum as the wind seems to be out of the sails completely at this point.

Cody Daniel — Well, ending with a win is always better than a loss, for starters. Then, as Seahorn said, it leaves the door open for a potential bowl bid if there aren’t enough six-win teams, and Texas absolutely needs every extra practice they can get. But to me, you just want to see a team that still fights and competes and doesn’t just rollover because things haven’t gone well. With that, you could find a couple guys worth building around going forward.

Texas wins if...

Seahorn — They manage to play their best game of the year on both sides of the ball, because that is what it will take at this point.

Gerald — They somehow find a way to contain Deuce Vaughn. They’ve been awful against the run so I’m not super hopeful, but even slowing down Deuce will go a long way to giving Texas a shot in this one.

Cody — A miracle? It’s crazy to think Texas needs a ton of luck to beat an average KSU squad, but here we are. With the injuries mounting up and the team probably playing with an all-time low level of confidence, I think we’d need to see the offense get lucky with some explosive plays and the defense to get more than a takeaway or two. A lot would need to go right.

Prediction: Does Texas drop its seventh straight, or end the season on a positive note with a win over KSU?

Seahorn — Even with Kansas State being down their starting quarterback I feel like it is going to be an uphill climb for Texas to get a win based on what I’ve seen from them this year.

Gerald — The eternal optimist in me wants to pick Texas. That being said, I don’t know what the Texas offense will look like with Card out and Thompson injured.

Cody — It would be the Texas thing to do to come out on Friday morning and suddenly have things hitting on all cylinders, but I’m just not sure how much fight this team has left, especially without being near full strength. KSU by two scores.

Which Thanksgiving dish most resembles this Texas football season?

Seahorn — A deep fried turkey that has been burnt to a crisp that almost caused the house to catch on fire.

Gerald — A few years ago we were responsible for a few sides. Everything was good to go and it looked like we were going to make it there safely and then I dropped one of them on the way in. Totally a blown fourth quarter lead.

Cody — A turkey that got cooked way too long. There’s the hype before the meal about how good it looks and will be, but next thing you know, it’s just disappointing and a story of what-if.