As Texas travels to Lawrence, Horns determined to close, not open, all Kansas options

Ovie Oghoufo isn't a meteorologist, but Texas' edge rusher had a weather forecast ahead of Saturday's game at Kansas.

When a reporter mentioned Monday that the temperature in Lawrence might dip below 20 degrees, Oghoufo didn't shiver. He's from Michigan, after all, and the first three years of his college career were spent at Notre Dame. "This is my weather," Oghoufo insisted.

As for the Longhorn who's the least happy about playing in the cold?

"Jahdae (Barron) can't take it," Oghoufo said. "He hates the cold. He just can't deal with the cold."

Barron didn't dispute Oghoufo's claim. The Austin native and UT defensive back also wasn't buying his teammate's act. "Ovie wears hats. He caps a little bit," Barron countered.

OK, so maybe Barron won't ask Oghoufo for advice on how to stay warm this weekend. But Oghoufo might still have some tips that the Longhorns could find useful in Lawrence.

Scoring 36.9 points per game — the 17th-best average in the country — Kansas has attacked opposing defenses with an offense that added an option element this season. While at Notre Dame, Oghoufo got to defend against the option when the Fighting Irish hosted Navy in 2019. He also faced option offenses in high school.

"It was hard. We came out with a bunch of scrapes and scars at the end," Oghoufo said.

In 2021, the first go-round with head coach Lance Leipold and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, the Jayhawks averaged 20.8 points. According to SB Nation, Kansas ran just one option-based play the entire fall.

The option hasn't been the only thing in the Kansas playbook in 2022. But that offensive option has boosted the Jayhawks (6-4, 3-4), who are averaging 444.6 yards per game and have scored at least 28 points in five of their seven Big 12 games.

The Jayhawks don't run your grandfather's — or high school's — version of the option, either. While option football has traditionally favored the run, Kansas likes to pass out of it. The Jayhawks also snap the ball from the shotgun.

"Very unique style of offense," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "A lot of triple-option components to what they do. Everyone talks about playing the Armys, the Navys, the Air Forces of the world and how difficult they are to defend, well, Kansas has a lot of those same elements.

"They just do it from a little bit more of a spread-type set with the quarterback in the pistol and things of that nature, but there's still those elements. They still force you to play disciplined football. You've got to play the dive, you've got to play the quarterback, you've got to play the pitch, and then they have the play-action passes off of it."

On Monday, members of the Texas defense were asked about the key to stopping the option. Several players uttered the same word.

"Eyes. Your eyes, make sure your eyes are in the right spot," Oghoufo said.

"Basically you try to keep your eyes on your side of the ball," Barron said. "Don't try to look on the other side of the ball because you're going to get confused."

Said linebacker Jaylan Ford: "My eyes, just looking at my keys. Everybody else has a job to stop the option; everybody has a gap to fit; everybody has somebody they need to be watching. I need to be able to trust everybody else and do my job along with ❜em."

Said cornerback Ryan Watts: "Just keeping the eyes on my work and making sure that I'm executing my job."

So, eyes on the prize?

"The way they use option, they have a lot of creative ways that they get into it," Ford added. "Your eyes (are) most important because they can easily get one extra blocker on you and they can take it to the house easily. ... It's really important that everybody knows their number and where to fit where our scheme is."

This season, Texas is allowing 3.4 yards per rush and 127.1 rushing yards per game. Both are top-40 numbers among the 131 FBS-level defenses. Only one player has topped 100 rushing yards against the Longhorns, and TCU's Kendre Miller picked up 75 of his 138 yards last week on one of his 21 carries.

As an overall unit, Texas is No. 32 nationally in scoring defense (21.3 points per game) and 59th in total defense (371.8 yards per game). Texas has struggled against the pass, but TCU quarterback Max Duggan was limited to 124 yards in the Horned Frogs' 17-10 win over UT last week.

On Saturday, Texas will be tasked with stopping running back Devin Neal. Not that the Longhorns need a newspaper article to tell them that. Last season Neal rushed for 143 yards and scored four times as Kansas stunned Texas in overtime. One year after that 57-56 victory, Neal enters the rematch with the fifth-most rushing yards in the Big 12. He also has eight offensive touchdowns to complement his 951 yards.

"(They've) got a dynamic runner. Neal's a fantastic player," Sarkisian said.

Kansas has a bigger question at quarterback. Jalon Daniels, who beat Texas in 2021 and led the Jayhawks to an unexpected 5-0 start and No. 19 ranking this year, has missed the past four games. Backup Jason Bean is also banged up. Both have practiced this week.

"We're hoping that they're both going to be available," Leipold told the American-Statesman's "On Second Thought" podcast this week. "Then we've got to add the young true freshman Ethan Vasko (as a possibility)."

Saturday's game

Texas (6-4, 4-3) at Kansas (6-4, 3-4), 2:30 p.m., FS1, 104.9, 105.3 (Spanish), 1260, 99.3, 98.5

Scouting Kansas

Last year: 2-10, last place in the Big 12 (1-8) and didn't make a bowl game

A tale of two quarterbacks: Jalon Daniels was setting the country on fire earlier this season, sparking Kansas to a 5-0 start before suffering a shoulder injury Oct. 8 against TCU. He's "really, really close" to returning, coach Lance Leipold said this week. In his place, Jason Bean has put up the stats but hasn't delivered the wins; he's 1-3 as a starter, and the Horned Frogs have dropped four of their last five games.

Three players to watch: (1) QB Jason Bean, who has thrown for 1,256 yards with 14 touchdowns and four picks in place of regular starter Jalon Daniels; (2) Jalon Daniels, who had Kansas off to a 5-0 start before he got injured. He had thrown for 1,072 yards with 11 touchdowns and one pick; (3) DE Lonnie Phelps, a former Big 12 defensive player of the week who has 9½ tackles for loss and six sacks in 10 games.

FYI: The lone conference victory for the Jayhawks last year? The 57-56 overtime win over Texas in Austin. Since that game, the Jayhawks have gone 6-6. (Texas is 7-5.) ... The Jayhawks have produced seven plays of 60 or more yards. ... Kansas had one player on the Big 12 preseason team: safety Kenny Logan Jr., who's fifth in the conference with 80 tackles and has had double-digit stops in four games. He also has two picks. ... Nationally, Kansas ranks 17th in points per game, 29th in total offense, 18th in rushing and 64th in passing, but defensively, KU is 117th in total defense, 118th against the pass and 93rd against the run.

Rich Tijerina

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football ready for option element of Kansas Jayhawks offense