Red Flags: 5 college football teams on upset alert in Week 10
- Two Pac-12 teams in tough road spots could be in trouble
- Could two rivals both get upset in the same week?
- Alabama faces its biggest test since the loss to Texas
3. Texas Longhorns
Opponent: 23 Kansas State | Time: Saturday, Nov. 4, Noon ET (FOX) | Spread: TEX -4.0
It was no Quinn Ewers, no problem last week for the Texas Longhorns. Maalik Murphy, who got the start at quarterback for Steve Sarkisian's team in Ewers' absence, didn't wow anyone with his effort at the helm of the offense. It also didn't matter as the defense completely suffocated the BYU attack, Jonathan Brooks had the reins of the offense and ran with it, and Hook Em ran away for an emphatic win.
But the task now gets much more difficult for the Longhorns this week with Ewers once again not being expected to suit up as he recovers from his shoulder injury. Kansas State is coming to town, quietly sporting a 6-2 record and cracking the CFP Top 25 as well this week. They are a dangerous group with a unique offense that has caused Texas problems in the past.
More importantly, though, there is at least some reason to be concerned about the possibility of the Longhorns offense stalling a bit with Murphy leading the charge.
The redshirt freshman was a mixed bag in his starting debut, going 16-of-25 for 170 yards, two touchdowns and an ugly interception. There were plenty of great throws but there were a number of head-scratchers in the mix as well. And with Kansas State's defense being a bit better against the run than the pass, Murphy may be asked to do more.
Sure, the Texas weapons like AD Mitchell, Xavier Worthy and Ja'Tavion Sanders could help the cause in a massive way. However, with the unknown factor of Murphy in this game, you have to think that the Longhorns could possibly get clipped against a team that has been a nuisance for the program in recent years.