First off, I would like to thank the Missouri Tigers for their excellent efforts yesterday in dismantling Tennessee-Martin 51–14. The Tigers could have played “name the score” after roaring out 28-zip before twenty minutes had elapsed. Their efforts meant that my game watching work (play?) last evening was a whole lot simpler.
The Tigers did so many things right and were so dominant that even simple plays became explosive ones, and they didn’t let the Colonels do anything on offense while it mattered. There isn’t really that much to add to what the Tiger did, but that doesn’t mean it should be just passed by. Going out and taking care of business handily is something they didn’t do in their opener last year and it was sign of what was to come for a few weeks to follow. Kicking ass is never a bad sign.
So, I didn’t have to grind through their second half action very much and could save that for the Sunflower State boys. Let’s save the worst for last. Although clearly not the worst, K-State certainly was pretty bad against South Dakota. They had four turnovers and over 100 yards in penalties, and I’m sure some might say that they were lucky to win. But they also pitched a shutout on defense in the second half, and their special teams were special as usual.
One of the real mysteries of college football may be just how lackluster K-State almost always is at the start of seasons. The good thing is that they generally trend upward from the moment they start like this. The problem is that these games count and K-State usually has escaped, but not always. While I know the narrative will be that Bill Snyder was saving all his stuff for Mississippi State next week, there is a difference between a vanilla game plan and not being ready to play. The ‘Cats sure didn’t look ready, and Snyder said it.
Maybe we will look back and see that it was just rust, but neither quarterback made any kind of statement that he should be the man, Alex Barnes fumbled three times (although he did gain over 100 yards), and the wide receiving corps looked like the issue that it was expected to be. Kansas State does look like they are going to have to ride the running game, and being one-dimensional in 2018 football is tough going. Comparative scores are a fool’s errand, but still, as I said about Missouri, Mississippi State winning 63–6 in their opener and allowing less than 250 yards certainly seems like a better prep than the Wildcats served up.
That being said, it certainly will be a Saturday to look forward to in Manhattan when the Bulldogs come to town. Come about three o’clock in the afternoon, perhaps all the worries that had ‘Cat fans leaving the stadium before Isaiah Zuber woke K-State, and the stadium, up with his punt return to start the rally from 24–12 down, will have vaporized.
They sure haven’t vaporized in Lawrence. No matter how you thought the night might go against Nichols, this one was probably worse. First off, when I mentioned to my wife that Kansas was playing Nichols, she said “What’s that???”. Now, of course Nichols has turned themselves into a pretty good FCS program, but it was already troubling that KU went into the game less than a touchdown favorite, and then went out and made the line look bad.
Kansas is bad enough to lose to anyone, we know that, and the fact that they lost is not the thing here. This might have been the lowest moment in the David Beatty tenure (and that is truly saying something) because Nichols played pretty poorly and still won the game. They were moving towards a comfy win, when they gift wrapped nine points on a botched snap safety and a muffed punt to give KU the lead. But KU apparently thought they had been re-gifted because they handed it right back.
Their response to perhaps being allowed to escape with an ugly, but precious, win was to allow a game-tying field goal drive, serve up a three and out on their overtime possession, and then quickly capitulate for a game winning TD. The capper was the touchdown itself. As Nichols had done often in the game, when they needed a play, they went to the absolute basics. Quarterback Chase Fourcade ran a Harry High School straight keeper to the right, and easily muscled into the end zone. Hat on hat, we are better than you, and Nichols was, 27–23. KU gained all of 255 yards in a football game played in 2018. Really.
You almost are left groping for words. Nichols is better than Kansas, so much better that not even close to their best was good enough to win….on KU’s home field. The ever-patient loyal Jayhawks who bothered to show, finally booed. They have every right. It’s almost impossible for a BCS team to be this bad, but every mistake in the book has been made by David Beatty and his staff. Trying to recruit in areas with too much competition. Either by design or necessity ignoring your own state. Preaching roster building with high school players, while actually going with quick fixes with graduate transfers and junior college players.
This has new AD Jeff Long in the worst of positions. The paralyzingly awful numbers leading in, and this type of opening performance, almost demand firing the coach, but it’s a choice with an extremely arguable upside. I think I will lean on the side of, it can’t hurt. That’s how bad this is. Even giving Clint Bowen a second go-round as an interim guy seems better. It would allow you to kind of get a second opener. It’s not a good plan at all, but I will repeat, it can’t freaking hurt.
On top of that, no one is going to pay attention anyway. Any shred of interest in 2018 had a giant Gatorade bucket of ice water thrown on it. Next week KU will likely extend the longest road losing streak in college football history at Central Michigan. Twenty four hours ago that was supposed to be the potential streak breaker. A game with a team picked fifth in their division in the MAC. The last I checked the MAC is in the FBS, and Kansas just looked dreadful against a team from the lower division on their home field, while Central Michigan was in the game much of the day at Kentucky.
For all the wrong reasons, KU was the headline story in our local area on this opening college football weekend. They can now fade back into anonymity until they hire a new coach.
