College athletics are a breeding ground for corruption. Incentives are misaligned, transparency is minimal, and power is held by a few. No program has displayed this more than KU. Between a never ending cycle of incompetence in hiring a football coach, to the outright dismissal of rules by their basketball program. KU displays zero attributes that contribute to the greater good of college athletics.
With no accountability at the top, the KU football program has wandered aimlessly. A recurring cycle of bad coaching, off the field issues, and poor decisions have lead this program to the depths of college football relevancy. This might change with the hiring of Lance Leipold. The former head coach of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Buffalo.
Leipold emphasis fundamental football, discipline, and stability. KU will not win another game this year, but you can see a glimpse of something starting to build under Leipold.
Unwinding years of incompetence and bad decisions takes time. I think Lance deserves that time.
Passion
Ego, envy, and hate are all traits the Bible tells us to avoid, yet we indulge every chance we get when it comes to our rivals. When all three traits are mixed together, a deep burning passion is calcified inside every one of us only to be revealed during college football season.
Humans have had rivals since the beginning time. While times have changed since then, the innate desire to hate your rival has not. Never lose that desire or let someone tell you that its stupid for that would be a loss of what it means to be human.
The Challenge
It has been observed that K-State plays to the level of their competition. This is a challenge K-State will have to overcome in order to take the next step as a program. KU will view this as their bowl game. Lance Leipold has been in the ears of his players this week preaching on winning this one game because beating your rival is the only thing a hapless team can hold on to.
Containing the KU quarterback will be the primary challenge for K-State. While not the most accurate or best decision maker, Jason Bean is an athlete at the quarterback position. Bean, has 88 rushes for 386 and 2 touchdowns so far. If K-State contains Bean, they control this game and win easily.
What to Watch For
KU will focus on stopping the K-State rushing attack. I still think K-State is talented enough to still be effective here. I am curious as to what happened to the 3 running back set K-State deployed during the Nevada game. They had a lot of success with it and I wonder if we will see it again this season. They can attack defenses a variety of ways out of the three back set, but it seems that it was a wrinkle rather than a feature. I think we see that return this week.
In a game with nothing to lose, I fully expect KU to pull out all the tricks to win this game. Reverses, double passes and onside kicks. There is no need to be a hero this game if you’re K-State, make the play in front of you.
By The Numbers
Scoring Defense- 43.8 PPG (129th nationally)
Rushing Offense and Defense- Offense: 144.38 YPG (82nd nationally) Defense: 250 YPG (128th nationally)
3rd Down conversion Offense and Defense- Offense: 33% (37/111) (114th nationally) Defense: 55% (52/93) (130th nationally)
Turnover Margin- -2 (T-86th nationally tied with K-State)
Penalty Yardage- 40 YPG (13th nationally)
Wrapping Up
Overall, K-State should cruise to a win. I could see KU dragging K-State into the muck with them his game, making it appear closer than it looks. That being said I still say take the Cats at -24.
Week 10 Picks
We were -1 units last week and overall (-1 units) for the year. Please find my week 10 picks below.
UTSA -11 vs. UTEP (2 Units) - MEEP MEEP
UNLV vs. New Mexico -2 (1 Units)- UNLV is horrible and while New Mexico is not great, I think they can muster enough to win by at least a field goal.
Tulsa vs. Cincinnati -22.5 (1 Units)- Cincy has to turn on the gas here.
Rice vs. Charlotte -6 (1 Units)- Rice is horrible, I think Charlotte can get to a touchdown in this one.