Kansas' Ben Heeney, left, JaCorey Shepherd (24) and T.J. Semke celebrate Shepherd's broke up pass during the second half of their game against Central Michigan Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Texas Longhorns (1-2) at Kansas Jayhawks (2-1)

3 p.m. Memorial Stadium – Game-time forecast: Sunny, 81 degrees, wind 10 mph out of the southeast – TV: FOX Sports 1

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Keys for Kansas

Kansas' Ben Heeney, left, JaCorey Shepherd (24) and T.J. Semke celebrate Shepherd's broke up pass during the second half of their game against Central Michigan Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Defense has to show up

At this point, people are not yet counting on the Kansas University offense to put up many points, and that figures to be a safe bet against Texas, which enters the game as one of the top defenses in the country. With that in mind, it’ll be up to the Kansas defense to keep this one close. Texas has had its own issues on offense, so if the KU defenders can play up to their potential and continue to stifle a Longhorns attack that is averaging just 20.7 points and 311 yards per game, KU coach Charlie Weis and company believe this one will be a game. That could be a tall order given the fact that Kansas gave up 28 points and 421 yards to SEMO and 41 and 511 to Duke, but the Jayhawks did hold Central Michigan to 10 points last week and pitched a key fourth-quarter shutout.

Play with passion

It showed up in the fourth quarter last week on both sides of the ball, and the Jayhawks are well aware of the importance of playing fired-up football. The weather is expected to be nice, it’s homecoming, and several former KU greats will be in the stadium hoping to watch their alma mater knock off Texas. Add to that the fact that a quarter of KU’s roster is from the Lone Star State and never received any interest from UT during recruiting, and it’s easy to see that there are plenty of things off the field that should have this team fired up. Several Jayhawks talked this week about how big a victory like this would be for the future of the program. And with UT sitting below .500 and still adjusting to first-year head coach Charlie Strong, there don’t figure to be many better chances for the Jayhawks to pull off an upset.

Keep QB Tyrone Swoopes in the pocket

Through three games, the Texas sophomore who stands 6-foot-4, 243-pounds and took over for retired junior starter David Ash has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 372 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. While those numbers look respectable, especially for a young guy truly running the show for the first time, several KU defenders said this week that Swoopes throws best when he’s on the run. The goal, they said, was to keep Swoopes in the pocket, where he’s not quite as comfortable and, perhaps more importantly, isn’t able to transition into a running threat quite as easily. The Whitewright, Texas, native has rushed just 15 times for 18 yards in three games during UT’s 1-2 start.

Mega Matchup: KU O-Line vs. UT D-Line

Regardless of whether Mike Smithburg (appendectomy) or Damon Martin (illness) play this week, the Jayhawks’ front five will be in for a monster challenge. Texas’ D-line is as big, strong and athletic as just about any in the country, and the Longhorns enter this one ranked sixth in the nation with 13 sacks and 18th with 322 yards against. It can’t all be put on the shoulders of sophomore QB Montell Cozart this week, which means the offensive linemen who are healthy are going to have to play one of the best games of their careers for Kansas to have a chance.

5 Questions with Senior LB Ben Heeney

Kansas linebacker Ben Heeney speaks to a reporter during Big 12 media days Monday in Dallas.

1 . What’s going on with the “Samurai Ben” look you’ve been sporting lately?

“My girlfriend just put my hair up one day, and I kind of liked it, and I wore it around here, and a bunch of guys said I looked like Tom Cruise from ‘Last Samurai,’ so I just kept putting it up there. It’s just something fun.”

2 . How often do you think back to that 2012 game against Texas at home, where you guys lost in the final seconds, and what comes to mind?

“We kind of talked about that a little bit this year. Obviously, we don’t want the game to end like that again. Everyone thinks of Texas as this powerhouse team, but, if you look at the way we’ve played them the past two years, especially on defense, they’re just another team. … Watching that game from two years ago, you just see all the opportunities you missed and how a play here or there could’ve switched the outcome to our favor.”

3 . Would you consider your career complete if go through your time as a Jayhawk without ever winning a big one, like Texas, Oklahoma or K-State?

“It’d be awesome to beat Texas, especially at home in front of our fans and in front of our student body. Because as much as our team needs this win, I feel like the fans and the students need it, too, especially at a homecoming game. This is a big week for us, and we’re gonna do everything we possibly can to win this game.”

4 . It looked like the team gained a lot of confidence from last week’s win over Central Michigan. Has that carried over into this week?

“Definitely. I’ve said it since before the season: I think this is a different team. I think the seniors on the team and the leadership has taken this team a couple steps forward, and I think the win last week and the way we played just shows we’re a different team.”

5 . Other than current KU teammate Jake Love, who’s your favorite linebacker of all-time?

“It has to be Ray Lewis, man. It has to be. I just grew up watching him play, and you just get fired up watching him out there and fired up watching him motivate and speak. Everything about his game is just awesome to watch.”

Jayhawk Pulse:

The Jayhawks got back on the winning track last week, with a 24-10 home victory over Central Michigan. While the win seemed to do wonders for the confidence of the KU players, who seemed to be holding their breath a little hoping another season didn’t slip down the drain so early, the outcome only marginally changed things for the fan base, much of which came away from the CMU game as frustrated as before. The Kansas defense got back to playing the kind of football people expect to see, but the offense remains a work in progress. With Big 12 play starting today and nine nasty games staring the Jayhawks in the face, it’s imperative that John Reagan, Montell Cozart and the rest of the offense start clicking soon if KU hopes to be at all competitive during the always-tough Big 12 portion of its schedule.

Tale of the Tape

KU run game vs. UT run D – edge Texas

KU pass game vs. UT pass D – edge Texas

UT run game vs. KU run D – edge Texas

UT pass game vs. KU pass D – edge Kansas

Special teams – Push