Texas Toast; Lone-Star State Unkind to the Hawks

Source: KU Sports

No, the 43-0 stomping at the hands of the Texas Longhorns actually was not rock bottom for the Kansas Jayhawks. On Saturday, Kansas pitched its worst game of the season, maybe one if its worst in program history, falling 61-7 to a mediocre Texas A&M Aggies team. Kansas did not compete in any phase of the game, at least as far as I know (I quit on the Jayhawks at halftime: 44-0 A&M).

Saturdays this fall have been hellish to say the least. I wake up on a crisp fall morning full of optimism, only to find myself trapped in the same nightmare week in and week out. All the tension I had been building up over the past 12 or so weeks finally burst on Saturday. I finally broke free from the Catch 22, the never ending cycle of miserable Saturdays, and it felt really, really good.

A combination of cheap, greasy bar food, uncompetitive football, and a beautiful November day led me to tune out at halftime. To be brutally honest, I don’t feel any guilt at all. I enjoyed the day outside with friends, burning off the very stress that would have been accumulating within the noisy and crowded confines of Buffalo Wild Wings.

If you are more of the speed reading type, then this week’s episode will be just great for you… No more lollygagging around with statistics (trying to make this team look as good as humanely possible) and I’m not going to breakdown the key plays in the game. Instead, I’m going to cut to the chase: Kansas is awful. Let the blood-bath begin.

Week 12
Box-Score Courtesy of: KU Athletics


Kansas (2-9,0-8) vs. Texas A&M (6-5,4-4)

Date: Nov 19, 2011  

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Kansas..............  0  0  0  7  -  7
Texas A&M........... 23 21 17  0  - 61

            Oh, the vagaries of Kansas football. After playing their most complete, assignment sound, football game in an OT loss to Baylor, Kansas came out and laid a giant turd on Kyle Field.
            The Home of the 12^th man was in full effect on Saturday. Kansas was called on numerous early false starts, killing whatever hope they had of maintaining any sort of drive. Nate Bukaty, the Jayhawk Radio Network sideline reporter, said the crowd really wasn’t a factor down on the field, focused more on the final matchup against the Longhorns, so that’s a poor excuse. 
            It was natural for the team to have a letdown in emotion after tough loss, I pondered. Must be? No, that argument is fallacious as well. The Aggies were coming off a tough loss too, a 4 OT thriller against Kansas State on the road (and Manhattan is a depressing town as is).
            Speaking of Manhattan's hospitality, overall, the state of Texas has not been a very gracious host for the Kansas Jayhawks this year: Kansas has been outscored 104-7 in the Lone-Star State. Most players, when given the chance, would die to prove their hometown school wrong after that school didn't offer them a scholarship. Kansas is stocked with UT and A&M leftovers, so I figured that the 38 Texas natives on the roster would feel at home "deep in the heart of Texas" and would play balls-to-the-wall, but I guess that's just not the case. The residue that the Texas powerhouses pushed away from their plate was what donned the crimson and blue on Saturday. A&M: meat and potatoes; Kansas: bread crumbs.

Source: KU Sports

Jordan Webb was under pressure all day long and the rushing game was disappointing. Kansas was not prepared for the A&M blitz that was discussed, I don't know, the entire week before the game, gaining only 166 yards on the ground, but losing 102. Webb was sacked 6 times for 43 yards. Kansas completed its passes for a measly 7.0 yards per completion, A&M averaged 13.3. James Sims earned a lot of his yards late when the game was out of hand, rushing 19 times for 88 yards.   

Hear me out: I wanted to defend Gill today. I really did. I wanted to prove that the last two weeks of November were not an aberration, but the product on the field did not help my cause. Gill fails to meet his annual paycheck. Heck, the product isn’t in the same area code, or even country of the paycheck. I wanted to write a plea to keep him, but the task is insurmountable.

Source: KU Sports

Here are just the highlights if you don’t want to hit the link:

•        Turner is the 5^th highest paid coach in the Big 12. Kansas is 0-8 against Big 12 teams this year, and 1-16 overall (0-15 excluding Nebraska and Colorado).
•          Turner is the 28^th highest paid coach in the nation. $2,101,200 a year.
•          This year he has made $1,050,600 a win.
•      Gill makes more than Mike Gundy (No. 2 Oklahoma State), Tommy Tuberville (Texas Tech), Bill Snyder (Kansas State), Art Briles (Baylor), and Paul Rhoads (Iowa State).  

I had heard from some insiders that KU has been notorious for “soft practices”. I couldn't believe it. There was no way that there was some coaching issue. Well, then I saw it with my own eyes... Basically there is no discipline, the summer strength and conditioning program is not BCS caliber, and we already know about the “6 live tackles a week.” I can't help but ask myself, is this the worst team in Kansas Football History?

There probably isn’t a more telling play than the botched snap on a Kansas punt, when Kansas trailed 7-0 early in the 1^st quarter. Freshman Tanner Gibas snapped the ball over senior punter Ron Doherty and into the end-zone. Doherty, a heady player, kicked the ball through the back of the end-zone. Although it was just a 2 point play, it proved to a worn Kansas team that the day would be business as usual, and the game was lost for good.

Source: KU Sports

     One thing that stuck out like a sore thumb: Kansas covers kicks in geological time. The Aggies totaled 3 punt returns for 162 yards and a touchdown. A&M returner Dustin Harris had eons to catch the punt, look for an alley, and gallop down the field for 6. Kansas punted 5 times for 221 yards; A&M didn’t punt once.
      Bukaty reported late in the game that he had heard A&M RB Cyrus Gray was showered and dressed in street clothes by the start of the 4^th quarter. Gray averaged 10.4 yards per rush and scored on two thirty yard runs…untouched.

      Now it's not like the officials had a say in this game in the first place, but I was very, very upset with one play in particular. Keeston Terry missed a tackle on Ryan Swope almost immediately after the catch, early in the first half, and Swope scampered away for a 52 yard touchdown. Terry had an opportunity to lay the wood on Swope, a fairly defenseless receiver, but he did not. He pulled up short. This may be a result of the targeting penalty called on Terry in the Texas game a few weeks before. The rule is very subjective and I'm not liking what it has done to Terry’s game. It’s football. Players will get hurt.
      There is just no longer any intrigue. I have my Border War ticket, and I am actually kind of relieved this time of year is upon us. We can see the finish line: when the clock hits three zeros and this abominable season finally ends. Believe it or not, this egregious, forgettable season will finally come to a close, no matter how long it has seemed. I cannot believe I am excited to see the end of my most favorite time of year.

       Late November is usually the most invigorating time of the year; rivalry week in College Football is unparalleled. The Kansas vs. Missouri rivalry is especially exciting (more to come later) because both teams are fighting for bragging rights for the year to come, often for bowl eligibility, or in an enigma, a national championship. This year, all of that is gone. No next year, since the rivalry ends this Saturday, no bowl eligibility on the line, and do I even need to address the unlikelihood of a national championship berth.
      If KU beats Missouri, then according to transitory property, Kansas is the best team in the conference. After all, Missouri beat Texas Tech and Texas Tech beat Oklahoma and Oklahoma beat Kansas State and Kansas State beat Texas A&M and Texas A&M beat Baylor and Baylor beat Iowa State and Iowa State beat just beat Oklahoma State and Oklahoma State beat Texas. So Kansas should, in all probability, have an outside shot at the Fiesta Bowl.

Believe it or not, Kansas is actually number 2 in the country in the latest polls. Yes, we have an excellent Quidditch team. Maybe they should have suited up against the Aggies on Saturday? 

All joking aside, it goes to show how much parity is in this league, outside of Kansas. Texas Tech sits at 5-6, just 1 game from bowl eligibility, and the other 8 teams (not including the Jayhawks) have already become bowl eligible. Kansas is the butt of this conference, there is no arguing that.

Need a win? Play Kansas. Oklahoma, Baylor, and Texas A&M all became bowl eligible in beating Kansas. Texas, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State all won their 5^th game of the year, against Kansas. Kansas is the little MAC school Big-12-wanna-be. The little raggedy-Ann doll that everyone punishes, who seldom puts up a fight.

I was upset, at first, when analysts such as Kirk Herbstreit and Mark May were taking shots at a Kansas Football team on the ground. Now, I appreciate their criticism, because the Jayhawks were deservedly reamed for their utter ineptitude. Gill is as good as gone.