I said last week the Texas Tech game was a tough one to take. Well, the KSU game was tougher.
After going back over the game this morning I think KU was the better team on the field. But there is one thing you can't do against Kansas State team's and that's make more mistakes. KU was so close and the fact they were the better team almost allowed them to overcome the mistakes.
My fear going in was KSU was going to be too physical but I was wrong. KU was every bit as physical as Kansas State. I said late in the week when I made my prediction the one thing that concerned me was not enough information about the KU QB position to pick the Jayhawks to win. There were too many question marks and it ended up being that nobody knew what was going on and although Bean was cleared he never took a snap. But Andy Kotelnicki compensated for that with a brilliant game plan.
He must have seen something on film that he knew he could attack the KSU LB and defense on the perimeter. 157 yards came from rushes to the edge of the defense. Another 45 came on QB scrambles from Ballard. Deep down I don't think you could have put the ball in Ballard's hands and let him win the game. So, Kotelnicki schemed up the option with Locklin and the wildcat with Neal and took some of the pressure off Ballard.
Devin Neal is the real deal. It would be huge to see him in a Jayhawk uniform next year but I'm starting to question if that happens. I've been watching KU football for a long time and he's as good as I have seen. On the other hand Hishaw either isn't seeing the hole or not breaking as many tackles as he did earlier. The last three games he is getting just 3.32 yards a carry and hasn't been effective.
The defense held up enough to win the game. They gave up some runs but we knew that would happen.
If you would have told me going in that KU wins the total yards by 60, gets 1.5 more yards per play and wins the time of possession I would have said the Jayhawks are your winner. But the bottom line is you can't lose the turnover battle by two to Kansas State and win the game. It is how they play. They force teams into those situations. There is no way KU could lose the turnover battle and win the game. But the fact they looked like the better team allowed them to stay in it until the very end.
Cole Ballard is a gamer. He's tough and smart. Kotelnicki schemed up the game to his strengths and kept him out of having to come up with tough throws. The area he struggles is when they are in passing situations and the defense drops into zone and he has to fit the ball into tight windows.
There were some plays on special teams that were costly. The Wilson fumble changed the game. The blocked extra point for two points softened the momentum. And then something you rarely see the long snapper runs down and gets called for kick-catch interference. That should never happen.
I am not pinning that game on Rich Miller but if he picks that pass off and walks in the end zone it might be ball game. But give Kansas State credit. They weathered the storm, took advantage of some mistakes, and found a way to win. I can promise as the KSU coaches go over Sunday film they are feeling very fortunate to leave with a win.
It is going to be tough getting ready to play next week. Coming off two games they probably should have won at home and senior night they have to go on the road in a night game, and they are banged up. There are several players who fought through bruises to play. I have watched Cincinnati several times. They have some good players in certain areas but they are poorly schemed. Kotelnicki will find a plan to attack their weakness. The Cincy offense isn't great but they are physical and will try to run the ball. In the last three years they have been to the Cotton and Peach Bowl so there are still players remaining. But this isn't the same structure Fickell had.
After going back over the game this morning I think KU was the better team on the field. But there is one thing you can't do against Kansas State team's and that's make more mistakes. KU was so close and the fact they were the better team almost allowed them to overcome the mistakes.
My fear going in was KSU was going to be too physical but I was wrong. KU was every bit as physical as Kansas State. I said late in the week when I made my prediction the one thing that concerned me was not enough information about the KU QB position to pick the Jayhawks to win. There were too many question marks and it ended up being that nobody knew what was going on and although Bean was cleared he never took a snap. But Andy Kotelnicki compensated for that with a brilliant game plan.
He must have seen something on film that he knew he could attack the KSU LB and defense on the perimeter. 157 yards came from rushes to the edge of the defense. Another 45 came on QB scrambles from Ballard. Deep down I don't think you could have put the ball in Ballard's hands and let him win the game. So, Kotelnicki schemed up the option with Locklin and the wildcat with Neal and took some of the pressure off Ballard.
Devin Neal is the real deal. It would be huge to see him in a Jayhawk uniform next year but I'm starting to question if that happens. I've been watching KU football for a long time and he's as good as I have seen. On the other hand Hishaw either isn't seeing the hole or not breaking as many tackles as he did earlier. The last three games he is getting just 3.32 yards a carry and hasn't been effective.
The defense held up enough to win the game. They gave up some runs but we knew that would happen.
If you would have told me going in that KU wins the total yards by 60, gets 1.5 more yards per play and wins the time of possession I would have said the Jayhawks are your winner. But the bottom line is you can't lose the turnover battle by two to Kansas State and win the game. It is how they play. They force teams into those situations. There is no way KU could lose the turnover battle and win the game. But the fact they looked like the better team allowed them to stay in it until the very end.
Cole Ballard is a gamer. He's tough and smart. Kotelnicki schemed up the game to his strengths and kept him out of having to come up with tough throws. The area he struggles is when they are in passing situations and the defense drops into zone and he has to fit the ball into tight windows.
There were some plays on special teams that were costly. The Wilson fumble changed the game. The blocked extra point for two points softened the momentum. And then something you rarely see the long snapper runs down and gets called for kick-catch interference. That should never happen.
I am not pinning that game on Rich Miller but if he picks that pass off and walks in the end zone it might be ball game. But give Kansas State credit. They weathered the storm, took advantage of some mistakes, and found a way to win. I can promise as the KSU coaches go over Sunday film they are feeling very fortunate to leave with a win.
It is going to be tough getting ready to play next week. Coming off two games they probably should have won at home and senior night they have to go on the road in a night game, and they are banged up. There are several players who fought through bruises to play. I have watched Cincinnati several times. They have some good players in certain areas but they are poorly schemed. Kotelnicki will find a plan to attack their weakness. The Cincy offense isn't great but they are physical and will try to run the ball. In the last three years they have been to the Cotton and Peach Bowl so there are still players remaining. But this isn't the same structure Fickell had.
