Fox’s announcers didn’t exactly know how to process it all. Tim Brando made a comment about how a Cole Moos’ 67-yard punt might have been KU’s best play. At halftime, Matt Leinart was asked to talk about KU and he literally couldn’t, dropping his head into his hands as he started to laugh.
One could understand the reaction. KU’s offense was embarrassingly bad, mustering 21 — 21! — total yards on 49 plays. Seventeen of those yards came on the team’s final drive in garbage time.
To give that some context: College Football Reference’s play index tracks stats going back to 2000. KU’s 21 yards were the worst mark out of more than 26,000 results, beating out Mississippi State’s 24-yard effort against Mississippi in 2008.
Here are some other stats that will take some time to digest:
? The Jayhawks never advanced the ball past their own 43 yard offensively.
? KU finished with negative-25 rushing yards.
? The Jayhawks had four first downs total, with two coming off TCU penalties.
This is what it’s become in KU coach David Beaty’s third year, a hope-filled season circling the drain quicker than anyone could have expected. This drubbing was so out of hand that both coaches agreed to a running clock for the final 12:49 of the fourth quarter — so the teams could end it before severe weather hit.
So where does KU go from here? The next two home games seem vitally important.
The Jayhawks play host to rival Kansas State next week and winless Baylor the week after, representing the two contests left where KU won’t have an overwhelming talent disadvantage.
In other words KU, at 1-6 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12, is running out of time to show signs of progress in Beaty’s third season.
