Answer me these questions. If we didn't have the personnel to run the 3-4, how come we looked like a near dominant defense earlier in the season? IMO, the defense looks worlds different right now because of two reasons:
1. The players aren't playing with any emotion like they were at the beginning of the season. They look disinterested, like maybe they feel like they have failed already because after losses to Oklahoma State and Iowa State, they were mathematically an also ran in the North. Did Prince set them up to fail by harping on San Antonio Dec. 1 so many times as the main goal and after falling short, they feel there is little to play for besides another meaningless bowl game? The bottom line is their body language says it all. They looked like Nebraska has all year. Just disinterested and no emotion whatsoever.
2. Depth has taken a huge hit because of injuries and disqualifications. This isn't an excuse, this is reality, on both sides of the ball. We aren't able to rotate quality players as often as this defense needs and it shows, especially up front.
I feel that saying we don't have the personnel to play the 3-4 when it has proven to be effective against top 25 teams is a cop out. What has changed since then? Not the formation.
Next question: Would the balance of power in football in the state have been termed shifting at this point last season? When ku was struggling to make bowl eligibility but falling short and we beat Texas and went to a bowl game? My point is, how can it shift so rapidly in 1 season? Maybe if ku plays for a National title, I could see it, but that is a LONG shot right now. Really long. Beating Missouri and Oklahoma, both top 10 teams, in back to back weeks when they haven't even played a legit top 25 team all season is a monumental task for Kansas. I mean, what if KSU goes on a similar run next year when ku is struggling against Texas and Oklahoma and hits the skids? That's a real possibility. Would it still have shifted in favor of Kansas at that point? The fact remains they have no signature win to prove they are worthy of a top 10 ranking. They are just beating a bunch of mediocre to bad teams because they have a schedule sent from heaven. One season doesn't make a complete shift in the strength of a program. It takes a good 3-4 years at a minimum for that to happen.