Kansas football vs. Texas: Jayhawks will need some Pooka Magic

The Jayhawks take on #15 Texas tomorrow night in Austin. Kansas football will need running back Pooka Williams to have a tremendous game if the Jayhawks want to have a chance at the upset.

Kansas football has beaten Texas just three times: once in 1901, once in 1938, and once in 2016. None of the victories came on the road, and all of them were close ballgames. History isn’t exactly on the Jayhawks’ side, but when it comes to football, it rarely ever is.

Kansas can’t let their troubled past dictate the future, and hopefully, Les Miles and new offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon can get Kansas football back on track with a huge road win over the Longhorns.

The key to the game for Kansas will be getting Pooka Williams out in space and letting him do his thing. Williams was one of the most dangerous backs last season in the entire Big 12; however, his stats for this season seem to indicate he may have lost a step, until the Oklahoma game that is.

Against the Sooners, Williams ran for 137 yards and even ripped off a couple of the nice long runs that he’s known for. Yet, Williams never found the endzone against Oklahoma, and that will need to change this week for Kansas to have a chance against Texas.

Not only will Williams need to have a huge game, but so will senior quarterback Carter Stanley, who did play well against Oklahoma. Stanley threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns, including a beautiful pass to Daylon Charlot for a touchdown. The Jayhawks will have to be firing on all cylinders this week to compete with the Longhorns.

The good news for the Kansas offense is that RPO expert and rising coach Brent Dearmon just took over the offensive coordinator responsibilities for the Jayhawks. The promotion of Dearmon is considered excellent for the program, and it’ll be exciting to see what Dearmon can do with Pooka Williams and the other weapons on the Kansas offense.

READ MORE: Will Brent Dearmon’s offense work for the Jayhawks?

The other factor in Kansas football’s favor is the number of injuries and suspensions Texas has on its defense. The Longhorn defense will be missing a number of players due to injuries, as well as Malcolm Roach who will be suspended for the first half this week due to a targeting penalty last week.

Ultimately, Kansas football will need its offense to step up big time if the Jayhawks are going to have a shot this week, and it all starts with the playmaker Pooka Willams. If Williams can force the Texas defense to respect the run, that will open things up for Stanley to get the ball to guys like Andrew Parchment and Stephon Robinson. It will be up to Brent Dearmon and the offensive staff to get the gameplan together and figure how to maximize production from the talent that Kansas has.