Over the next several weeks, Horn Sports is counting down the most important games of the 2014 football season. For this series, “most important games” will be defined as those having the biggest impact on the program’s outlook and the 2014 season.
The main question to ask is “How would a win help bolster Texas’s national perception?”
The Countdown: #10 Kansas Jayhawks
Games against Iowa State and Kansas don’t bolster Texas’s national perception all that much but the game against the Kansas Jayhawks is ranked higher than Iowa State because of the simple fact that it is on the road. Lawrence has been a place where the Texas Longhorns have struggled to win convincingly for several years.
In 2012, the Longhorns needed a last minute touchdown to beat the hapless Jayhawks 17-14. The Longhorns were in a similar situation in 2004 when Vince Young converted a 4th and 18 and then needed a touchdown pass to win the game.
The KU game will also be played right after the UCLA game. It will be interesting to see how the Longhorns respond after their first big test of the season.
About the University of Kansas:
The University of Kansas is located in Lawrence, KS. The campus sits atop a large hill, called Mount Oread. The school is located 30 minutes west of Downtown Kansas City and 30 minutes east of Kansas’s capital of Topeka, making it a popular destination for students in both metro areas. Notable alumni include Former Senator Bob Dole, Paul Rudd, Gale Sayers, Adolph Rupp, and Dean Smith.
The University of Kansas football team is mostly used as a distraction and a countdown mechanism for Kansas basketball. Although they are near the Kansas City metro area, KU still struggles to recruit well in football. Charlie Weis is doing his best to rebuild the Jayhawks but it’s been a difficult process. He is 4-20 in two seasons in Lawrence but does have some hope for bowl eligibility this season after winning three games last season.
