The Texas Longhorns will try to stay in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff when they host the Kansas State Wildcats in a key Big 12 showdown on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. The Longhorns (7-1, 4-1 in Big 12) were slotted at No. 7 in the initial CFP rankings of the season released on Tuesday. Meanwhile the Wildcats (6-2, 4-1) were ranked No. 23.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET. The Longhorns are 3.5-point favorites in the latest Texas vs. Kansas State odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 50 (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college football odds page.)

Before you make any Kansas State vs. Texas picks, you need to see the college football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a stunning profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

The model knows that the Longhorns have one of the most productive running backs in the country in Jonathon Brooks. The 6-foot, 207-pound Brooks ranks second in the Big 12 and fourth in the nation in rushing yards per game (115.4). He has really come on over the last six games, averaging 135.7 yards a game over that stretch.

The model also has taken into account that the Wildcats face a Texas team that will very likely be without its starting quarterback. Quinn Ewers -- a sophomore from Southlake, Texas, who was widely regarded as the No. 1 player in the 2022 recruiting class before reclassifying to 2021 -- missed last week's game against BYU with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder and is week-to-week, coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. All signs point to the Longhorns once again starting redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy, who turned the ball over twice on Saturday against the Cougars in his first career start.

Now, the model has set its sights on Texas vs. Kansas State. We can tell you it is leaning Over the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in nearly 60% of simulations! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any college football picks.

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